by Peyton Bogue
Sage is not exactly delicate, what with the looming physique of a six foot, incredibly fit and built homicide detective, but Rhys is an Alpha werewolf. He’s the strongest creature on earth. He could break Sage in half as easily as breathing. It’s kind of a slight miracle that Sage only has a few small bruises; if Rhys wanted to, Sage knows that Rhys could have easily ripped him apart.
Sage can also see that Rhys is steadily growing more worked up, but this time he’s starting to shift from being upset rather than being angry. Sage needs to get him to calm down right now.
“Rhys, listen to me,” Sage says, getting up on his knees so he can pointedly look Rhys in the eyes. “You didn’t hurt me, and I’m fine. Breathe for me, baby, you’ve got to calm down.”
Sage can tell that Rhys is growing steadily more upset with himself, and if he shifts now, it’ll be way worse than him shifting from getting angry, and having Rhys wolf out is definitely not how the rest of this night is supposed to go. They should be cuddling together in their bed, lulling the other to sleep because, yes, it is late, and Sage needs to wake up extra early tomorrow morning so that he can make sure that he gets his run in, but Rhys just keeps growing more and more upset, snarling when he looks down and sees the deep red handprint on Sage’s thigh again.
Rhys is so incredibly protective over Sage. He’s constantly worrying about Sage when he’s at work, or when he has to work late at night. He gets all moody and growly when someone does something to upset Sage, and it gets even worse when Rhys is the one who’s upset him. The thought that he’s the one to hurt the person he cares about most in the entire world when he’s supposed to protect Sage from anything and everything makes Rhys so upset with himself that he’s practically vibrating with rage.
He gets upset like this anytime he thinks that he’s done something to hurt Sage. When Rhys had first seen the red splotches left by his mouth or his touch on Sage’s entire body after their first night of lovemaking, he’d been so upset with himself that he’d shifted. It’d taken Sage nearly an hour to calm him down and make him comfortable enough to shift back, and even then he’d been sullen and quiet until Sage had explained that his skin is sensitive and that Rhys really shouldn’t feel guilty about it because Sage had thought that the marks were incredibly hot.
It had been the first night that Sage had learned that it takes a long time for Rhys to calm down when he shifts because he’s upset. Sage has found a remedy that helps speed up the process since then, and it’s the one thing that pops into his head now.
Sage takes one of Rhys’s hands, the one that’s not holding the washcloth, and brings it up to his naked chest so that Rhys can feel his heart beating, steady and loud in his chest.
It brings a sort of calmness to Rhys when he hears Sage’s heartbeat, and the extra stimulation of being able to not only hear but feel Sage’s heartbeat is normally enough for him to start forcing his breaths to slow and his body to relax.
Rhys can detect lies just by listening to the beating of a person’s heart, so Sage knows that Rhys will have to believe him when he says, “I swear to you, Rhys, I’m not hurt, and I’m fine. I liked it, Ree. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m okay.”
Rhys feels and hears how Sage’s heart remains steady, and he completely deflates against Sage with a sigh, moving towards where Sage is resting up on his knees to bury his face into Sage’s neck.
“I didn’t mean to do it,” Rhys says pitifully, moving his body so that he can put his arms around Sage. His voice cracks, and he mutters, “I’m so sorry, Sage.”
Sage melts into him, whispering, “You don’t need to be, baby. Everything’s okay.”
All the fight seems to leave Rhys as he completely slumps forward, and he just stands next to their bed in the middle of their bedroom, stark naked as he completely engulfs his body around Sage's.
“C'mon, Ree. Let’s get into bed, baby,” Sage says, pulling Rhys onto the bed and shuffling to the top, where he kicks the comforter off and crawls underneath it.
Rhys follows him, still looking upset and broody, but he lies down and wraps his arms around Sage after he throws the washcloth towards the laundry hamper.
He kisses the back of Sage’s neck, muttering another apology, but Sage turns around in his arms and kisses him deeply to shut him up.
He pulls back, a little shocked when he sees that Rhys’s eyes are still glowing brightly, and says, “Your eyes are still red, Rhys.”
Rhys blinks, like that’s going to make them turn back into his normal gray, and mutters, “Probably because I’m upset.”
“Please don’t be upset,” Sage says, running his thumb along Rhys’s jaw. “I love you, and I’m not mad at you or upset at you. I like when you leave marks on me, baby, you know that. Don’t think about it like that—”
“How are you thinking about it?” Rhys cuts him off, frowning deeply.
Sage is quiet for a second, trying to piece together his thoughts. “I think,” he starts, moving closer so that he can press a kiss to Rhys’s cheek before continuing, “that you lost control of yourself for a second, because we were so caught up in each other that you forgot to pull yourself back.” Rhys looks at him, still frowning, but he works an arm around Sage, gently rubbing over the dark red handprint on his thigh. Sage leans forward, whispering against his lips, “It’s not a bad thing, Rhys.”
“It becomes a bad thing when I lose control of my shift enough to hurt you,” Rhys says quietly, brooding.
“You didn’t hurt me,” Sage argues, bringing both of his hands up to cup Rhys’s jawline, a blush working at his cheeks. “I actually thought it was. . .very—arousing, Rhys.”
Rhys’s frown slips from his face entirely at Sage's admission, and a smile begins to curve at his lips. He pulls Sage closer to him, moving Sage’s right leg gently to slot between his legs. “You drive me crazy, Sage,” he mutters, running his thumb over Sage’s bottom lip. “I love you, too,” he says after a moment, kissing Sage’s forehead, and Sage smiles at him before he pulls back to look into Rhys’s eyes, frowning at what he sees there.
Rhys has clearly calmed down enough now, perhaps still slightly a little upset, but he’s relaxed completely onto the bed as his features soften and his stoic expression falls away, but his eyes are still glowing Alpha red. Sage looks at him cautiously, a little puzzled as to why Rhys hasn’t changed his eyes back to their normal gray.
“Are you okay?” Sage asks, stroking Rhys’s cheekbone. “Your eyes are never red for this long.”
Rhys nods. “Yeah, baby. They’ll probably go back to normal here soon. This happens sometimes.” He shrugs, settling further into the bed, unbothered. “If they’re not back to normal in the morning, you can worry about it then.”
But he’s smiling softly as he tilts his head down so that he can nose against Sage’s face.
Sage smiles, whispering, “Okay, grumpy.” He places a kiss on Rhys’s mouth. “I love you. Goodnight.”
Rhys shifts again so that Sage is pulled even closer to his chest, before he says, “Goodnight. I love you, too.”
The last thing Sage sees before he slips into a deep sleep is Rhys’s glowing, gorgeous red eyes.
THREE
The next day at work, Sage is feeling pretty content. He’d been able to go on his run that morning, fortunately with Rhys, so he’s not feeling antsy or wound up.
Like Rhys had said, his eyes were their normal gray in the morning. He’d apologized again to Sage for hurting him, running his hand soothingly over Sage’s thigh when they’d still been lying in bed together, but Sage had given him a stern look and a raised eyebrow, and Rhys had backed off petulantly, tail between his legs and all.
Dog jokes aside, Sage and Rhys both had a good night and good morning, so Sage is feeling pretty mellowed out from where he’s sitting at his desk, drinking his coffee from his favorite mug, and flipping through the Kell file.
When he spots Kai a few minutes later, walking towards him with a big smirk on his face, he ca
n tell that Kai knows it, too.
“There you are, man. I’ve been calling and calling you,” Sage huffs, sitting the file down when Kai reaches his own desk that’s adjacent to Sage’s and shrugs out of his jacket.
“Did you have a good night, Sage?” Kai asks him teasingly, wiggling his eyebrows as he tosses his jacket over the back of his desk chair.
Sage gives him a blank look. “What?”
“You’ve got a glow,” Kai informs him, leaning onto Sage’s desk and snatching the Kell file up, waggling his eyebrows again.
“What glow?” Sage asks incredulously.
“The sex glow, man! It’s all over your face!” Kai says, excited, but he doesn’t say it too loudly.
Sage looks around anyway, making sure no one has heard them as his face flushes in embarassment. He looks back at Kai, replying indignantly, “I don’t have a glow. I’m just in a good mood.”
“Uh-huh,” Kai snorts, opening up the manilla file and beginning to flip through it. “Tell Rhys he’s definitely done a job well done to get you smiling while staring at a homicide board.”
“Oh my, God, Kai,” Sage huffs again, mortified, before he runs his hands down his face and sighs. He looks back at Kai, crossing his arms, and says nonchalantly, “I'm just excited. I found the murder weapon.”
Kai snaps his green eyes up to Sage’s, and he drops his teasing expression for a serious one. He looks down at the Kell file, flipping through one of the pages. “I thought Hazel told you that she went through all of the products we brought to her.”
“She did, but it’s what’s not here that’s important,” Sage replies, pushing himself up from his chair. He moves towards the murder board they’ve been compiling with all of their evidence, pointing at one of the many pieces of paper hanging on the glass. “Look, the sign-out sheet. Eliana signed out four products the day before she died. We only found three. The killer probably took the fourth.”
“Did you figure this out before or after you got laid?” Kai asks, moving from his own desk and reading through the sign-out sheet.
“Malakai!” Sage hisses quietly, indignant, punching Kai lightly on the shoulder. “I figured it out while I was waiting for you to get in, you ass. You’re, like, half an hour late, man.”
Kai just chuckles, gripping the underside of the sign-out sheet from where it’s posted on the board, shrugging as he replies, “I was talking to Mikalina. Glad to know how much my presence was missed, though, sweet cheeks.” Sage rolls his eyes, and Kai runs his eyes over the sheet, continuing more seriously, “So, you think that someone put nicotine poison in Eliana’s ColorMeBlond?”
“That’s what I think," Sage confirms. “I just need to get Hazel to confirm it.”
He grabs the file out of Kai’s hands and turns back towards the entrance of the precinct and down the stairs that lead to Hazel’s lab. Kai follows after him, and Sage inputs his code into the keypad.
They both walk into Hazel's lab as soon as the door opens, and Hazel looks up at them quickly from where she’d been studying a slide under a microscope.
“Hey, boys,” she greets, moving her protective glasses up to rest in her brown hair.
“Hey, Hazel. Is there any way to tell if that nicotine was absorbed through Eliana’s scalp?” Sage asks, moving to stand in front of the microscope.
“I’ll check her hair follicles,” Hazel replies, snapping her gloves. “I’ve been pretty occupied with testing all of those products you guys had bagged for me, but after I got off the phone with you last night, Sage, I got called back in.”
Sage glances at her questioningly. “For what?”
“These little guys,” she says, turning around and grabbing a large test tube. “I was just about to call you guys down. Techies found these in the power couple’s bed.”
The test tube Hazel shows them is full of four or five dead red bugs.
“Ugh, bedbugs?” Kai asks, grimacing.
“That rash band around Eliana's neck was actually bites. Since these things are little bloodsuckers, they carry the DNA of whoever’s been rolling around in those sheets. Your vic wasn’t on any heart medications, nor was she taking any cancer drugs. It was the wife that was stepping out.”
“Can those mini vampires tell us who with?” Kai asks, nodding towards the test tube.
Hazel sits the tube down. “I’ve got bedbug DNA from three women. When I ran it, I found Eliana’s, the wife’s, and an unknown female who’s not in CODIS.”
“So, we’re back to knowing the killer’s a female,” Sage sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Well, we’ve already ruled out the wife as a suspect,” Kai supplies, leaning back against a countertop. “We need a list of names of anyone who had access to Eliana and Lillian’s house.”
“Hold on,” Sage says, straightening up, “didn’t Minerva say she worked with Eliana twenty-four seven in the interview you and I conducted? I thought I saw something about her sleeping over the night before Eliana’s murder in the Kell file when I was reading over it earlier.”
Kai moves to grab his pocket notebook and opens it to a page scribbled with notes, nodding as he reads. “Yeah, I wrote that down in there before we went home last night. She said that she often spent the night at their house with Eliana so that she didn’t have to wake up early the next morning if she and Eliana had been working late.” He’s quiet for another second, reading over his notes, before he stiffens. “Wait, Hazel. Did you say cancer drugs?”
“Yeah, for a rare form of cancer I discovered our suspect had last night,” Hazel confirms, nodding.
Kai abruptly turns to Sage, snapping the pocket notebook shut. “Minerva paused in the middle of our interview to take some kind of nausea medication.”
“Okay,” Sage replies, waiting for Kai to continue. “Why was she taking it?”
“To help her with side effects of intensive chemotherapy treatments.”
Hazel freezes, snapping her brown eyes up to meet Kai’s. “Looks like you just found our perp.”
Kai looks at Sage, smiling smugly, and declares, “Let’s go get us an arrest warrant.”
◆◆◆
“Hazel confirmed it,” Sage says as he and Kai step off of the elevator, reading off of his screen from the text message she’s just sent him. “The poison was absorbed into Eliana’s system through her scalp.”
He’s about to pocket his phone when another message comes through.
Hazel Kimura: Results on the serial numbers on the pill bottles just came in. Positive identification for our suspect.
Thanks, Hazel, Sage sends back to her. Hazel responds with a smiley face.
“And the bottles of chlorthalidone and metolazone are Minerva's,” Sage adds, glancing at Kai.
“The concierge at the hotel in Manhattan confirmed that Minerva Carlisle ia a guest of the hotel. We've definitely got enough to hold her. We just need to get her to confess,” Kai replies.
“It might not be that hard,” Sage offers, letting his eyes sweep over the lobby. Minerva’s standing with her back to them from where she’s perched behind the welcome desk, rifling through papers and files in a tall, black file cabinet behind her. “I don’t think we’re dealing with a psychopath here. Maybe just a woman scorned. Let’s keep the focus on Eliana. If she and Eliana were as close as Minerva claims, she’s bound to feel at least somewhat remorseful.”
Kai nods.
Sage’s phone buzzes in his hand again, and when he looks down, he sees a preview of a text message from Rhys.
Rhys Becker: What the hell? Kai can screw off. . .
Sage stifles a grin at the notification, already forming an idea about what Rhys has texted him, but hastily pockets his phone when they’re only a few steps away from the welcome desk. He’ll have to check Rhys’s response later.
“Hey, Minerva,” Kai says as they step in front of the desk, and Sage watches as Minerva startles and turns around to face them, a confused look on her face.
She smiles at t
hem. “Hey, Detectives. Are you looking for Caroline? I’m her new assistant.” She motions broadly to herself, before clasping her hands together in front of her body, waiting.
She’s dressed even more immaculately than she had been the day prior with an expensive blouse and pencil skirt. Her cat-eyes are even sharper in the bright light of the office space.
“Actually, Minerva, we’d like to talk to you,” Sage says.
“We appreciate your cooperation and how helpful you’ve been with our investigation, but you forgot to mention one thing,” Kai adds, taking a step forward towards her desk before continuing, “You have cancer.”
“Cancer?” Minerva repeats, narrowing her eyes, and the confused pull of her eyebrows causes her eyes to squint somewhat unattractively.
“Angiosarcoma, in fact. And a long history of heart problems,” Kai says, staring down at her coolly.
Sage takes another step forward. “The pill bottles we found in Eliana’s things for blood pressure medication are yours, aren’t they? We traced the serial number, Minerva. Want to guess who they came back to?”
“I. . .” she starts, before taking a deep breath and starting again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Sage pulls the sign-out sheet from his pocket, unfolding it and showing it to her. “I’m pretty sure that if we showed this to an expert, they’d confirm that this was your handwriting. You’re the one who signed out Eliana’s ColorMeBlond.”
Minerva glances at it, swallowing audibly. “No, uh, Caroline runs that closet.”