“I can only imagine the hell that came with the murder,” Hazel told her, shaking her head.
“You know what happened, don’t you?”
“Actually, no,” Hazel shook her head, seeing the surprise in Annaleigh’s eyes. “I haven’t talked to anyone at work and only heard about it in passing with a friend this morning. I’m guessing the whole town knows, or will when they wake up. What really happened, though?”
“Well, I’m sure Matthew will tell you everything when he gets back.”
Hazel had to fight from rolling her eyes at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. They were currently in their off phase, even though they hooked up every now and then. Hazel really didn’t want to see him, though. She was quite sick of him, recently. “He’s at the morgue right now learning more, but he was the first to arrive on the scene. And as the only detective in Jerome, he’s working on the case.”
Calling Matthew a detective was a stretch; though, that was truly how everyone referred to him. He didn’t do any detecting really. Not because he was bad at his job, but because there was nothing to do in Jerome. He was called in to work on cases in the other towns surrounding Jerome, as well as busier cities, more than he actually worked in town. A full-fledged homicide detective in other parts of Maine and the country, Matthew, sadly, seemed to deal with kids acting out or drunken brawls more than anything in Jerome.
“Tell me what you know,” Hazel insisted. She didn’t want to wait until Matthew came back. She wanted to know now, especially if this was going to lead to the whole police force descending into Moonlight Maine territory with search warrants and a need to find a murderer.
Because there were so many bad things that could happen if things got that bad.
“Okay.” Annaleigh took in a deep breath as if what she was about to say was a struggle. “It was the Phillips kid.”
Annaleigh paused, letting that sink in.
Hazel didn’t know what to say. She stood there in utter shock. She didn’t move, just stared at her friend in disbelief. She knew exactly who she was talking about. Everyone did. It was Jerome’s very own county sweetheart and golden child.
Camilla Phillips; eighteen years old and about to graduate from Jerome High School as valedictorian in a month.
Hazel breathed out all the air she was holding in her lungs, feeling like she was going to burst. Camilla Phillips was the last person she thought would be found dead in the woods surrounding Jerome. What was Camilla doing out there? And what exactly was going on?
“Her parents know?” Hazel asked Annaleigh, wincing as she realized the pain they must be going through. Camilla was their only child and a miracle at that. Her parents were told they couldn’t have children. Camilla showed up a surprise–but a pleasant one.
Annaleigh sighed, her eyes getting a bit watery. “They’ve been here all morning.”
Hazel sighed, her heart dropping in her chest. A wave of emotions hit her like a brick, and she tried her best to hold it all together. Hazel wasn’t like some of the other members of her pack who never went into town and pretended that the humans in Jerome didn’t exist. Hazel lived in town. She worked in town with humans and even had close friends that didn’t know who, or what, she really was.
Hazel didn’t know Camilla personally, but that didn’t matter. Every single person in town knew of Camilla, and everyone knew that she wasn’t a bad kid. She would never be caught hanging out in the woods in the middle of the night with the kinds of kids who normally did that. They were rebels. Addicts. Acting out.
Camilla was getting a full ride to Harvard because she was so smart. A blonde, tall, all-American girl.
And now, she was murdered in the middle of the woods.
No wonder hell had broken loose. A murder was bad enough. But Camilla being the victim? Well, that just made matters so much worse.
“Do they have any leads? Any clues? Anything?” Hazel knew that this was going to be a big case. It was a big case before she knew who the victim was, but now it was astronomical. And it needed to be solved. Fast.
“Matthew is keeping a tight lid on anything,” Annaleigh told her, nodding at the journalists still yelling outside. “He doesn’t want the public to know anything until the murderer is caught. Especially the press. Once one person knows, the whole town will know, and anything could tip off the person who did this. We’re all supposed to keep our mouth shut.”
“Well, let’s hope we can figure this out fast.”
Annaleigh gave Hazel a look that she couldn’t quite understand. Hazel gazed at her, confused. Annaleigh saw this and changed her expression, trying to keep it neutral, and then ultimately giving up on hiding her emotions from her friend.
“You know the guy, don’t you?” Annaleigh asked her, watching her face very carefully. Hazel looked back at her, narrowing her eyes, still confused.
“Who are you talking about?” Hazel asked her. She really didn’t know what, exactly, Annaleigh was trying to hint at.
“Hann Bellova.” Hazel knew exactly what Annaleigh was hinting at then. “Her body was found on his property.”
“Well, Hann does own more than a few acres of that forest,” Hazel carefully said, nodding. “The rest is owned by the government. What’s that got to do with Camilla?”
“Hann Bellova has been here since this morning, as well.”
Hazel’s stomach dropped, and she hoped that she didn’t show the instant fear she felt for her alpha in that moment. She knew she looked surprised, though. Annaleigh saw this.
“Why is Hann here?” Hazel didn’t know what else to say or ask or do. So, she just asked the real question she wanted an answer to. Now that she realized her alpha was in the same building as her, she could sense him. She didn’t know how she didn’t before. She must’ve been so focused on the chaos that was playing out inside and outside the precinct to really focus. She zoned in on him, figuring out that he must be in one of the interrogation rooms.
That wasn’t good.
“He found the body on his property.” Annaleigh shrugged as if that was all the excuse they needed to question him. In a murder case, it really was. Hazel shouldn’t be as shocked as she felt. She knew that the police were just doing their job, and she also knew that Hann had nothing to do with it.
Then why did she feel sick to her stomach?
Maybe it was because her alpha was in danger, or in danger from humans assuming he killed an innocent teenage girl, and she couldn’t do anything but wait. She hated that feeling of not being able to help. She desperately wanted to run into the interrogation room and get to Hann before anyone else, but that would cause more questions. And she didn’t want to put Hann in more trouble.
For the first time in months, she wished that Matthew was there. But only to pick his brain on the case and figure out what really happened.
Chapter 2
Ethan felt like he was going insane.
A murder? In pack territory? That wasn’t good. No, that wasn’t good at all.
The police were searching every inch of the forest, looking for clues and potential murder weapons. Looking for anything that would lead them to the monster that killed that poor girl.
Ethan was currently at the Moonlight Pack Bar, a full beer in front of him that he hadn’t taken a sip of. He hadn’t even asked for it. The bartender had just looked at him and poured him a glass with no questions.
Ethan must look worse than he thought.
He was stressed, and it was only eight in the morning. And it really hadn’t been a good morning. The pack bar was full, though. Many shifters, mainly the ones that didn’t have much to do with the human population in town, lived on a night schedule. They would be out at night and sleep during the day. There were a few shifters that were incredibly drunk at the bar, and Ethan sighed as he realized the mess that they would be in. The police hadn’t gained access or warrants to search the bar or anywhere near the area they were in, but that didn’t mean anything.
Everything was under scrut
iny now. The humans didn’t even know about the pack bar or the gym where all the shifters trained.
Ethan felt like that was going to change soon. And Hann was at the police station answering questions and not making Ethan feel better at all.
“Tough morning, huh?” Ethan heard a voice ask him. He turned slightly in his seat to see Finn, his closest friend and someone he had learned to greatly rely on in the few months he had been in Maine.
Ethan, an alpha of the Blue Creek Pack from Louisiana, had come to Maine shortly after becoming the alpha of his pack when his father had suddenly died. Ethan was very young as an alpha and very inexperienced. He knew he needed to learn. He needed to train. He needed to fight. And what better way than to come to Maine, to be with his father’s close friends, Hann, and Michael, and learn from the best?
So, Ethan took the chance to better himself and his pack by making the trek to Maine to stay for a bit. Other members of packs around the world did the same thing, and the gym in the middle of the forest in Maine had become a huge international training facility for shifters to use. And times were tough, with rogues trying to kill them every chance they got. Ethan and about half of his pack had come to Maine and adjusted somewhat, while the other half of his pack stayed back in Louisiana with his older brother, who was the de facto leader while he was gone.
A part of Ethan wished his older brother would just take over as alpha. Ethan knew his brother had never wanted the job. That was why Ethan’s father left it to him. They all thought Ethan would be older and wiser when he got it, though.
“Tough morning, indeed,” Ethan replied, sighing and playing with the full mug in front of him. He didn’t want to start drinking. He was still replaying the scene of what happened earlier that morning.
Hann had called him and told him to meet him quickly in the woods. Ethan, of course, raced out of bed in his wolf form and followed the signal Hann had sent him.
That was when he discovered the dead body below Hann and Ross. The young girl. The blood. Hann and Ross had just stumbled upon her and were telling Ethan that they were going to notify the police. The human police.
Ethan understood before they even said anything else. He needed to get all the shifters out of the forest before the humans got there.
So, all morning, Ethan was making sure that every single shifter in Maine knew what happened last night–and knew that they needed to be on their best behavior and steer clear of that section of the forest for the time being.
He had just finished making sure that every shifter knew when he realized the humans were starting to search throughout the forest. He quickly made his way to the other end of the forest, where the bar and the gym were held. They didn’t have a warrant to search anything else other than a certain area of the forest, so Ethan felt assured, somewhat, that they wouldn’t stumble upon the bar or the gym.
Well, not yet, that is. He was quite sure that they would find out soon enough. When there was a big murder like that, they were going to search until they found out what exactly happened.
Ethan wanted to find out what exactly happened, too. How did a murder happen in the middle of pack territory without anyone finding out? No shifter stumbled upon the body that whole night during runs? Ethan didn’t know what to think about that.
Ethan saw the blood. He saw the carnage. He saw that young face, that held so much beauty, contorted into sadness and fear. He saw that murder.
How did no one else?
“You look like you haven’t slept in weeks,” Finn said, bringing Ethan out of his dark thoughts for the time being. Finn nodded to the bartender and asked for a water, running his hands through his blond hair.
“I feel like I haven’t slept in weeks,” Ethan responded, taking a tentative sip of his beer. He could hear his own southern accent become very strong as he spoke to Finn. Normally, he kept his southern accent controlled when he was up in Maine. He didn’t know why. It just happened. He must’ve been really tired for it to slip in that much.
“Do you have any more news about what happened?” Finn looked like he was sick to his stomach. Ethan couldn’t blame him. The fear of not knowing what the humans knew wasn’t a very comforting feeling.
“Hann has been there since this morning and hasn’t texted or called me or anything,” Ethan told his friend, nodding at where Ross was pacing toward the back of the bar. “Ross is going crazy because Hann wouldn’t let him go with him into town. He’s worried something is going to happen to him. We’re all on edge.”
“Hann knows what he’s doing,” Finn sighed, though Ethan could see he was beginning to get worried as he saw that Ross, Hann’s bodyguard, wasn’t with him. “Hann will be back before we know it. And then, everything will be okay.”
“Yeah. Everything except anything that’s involved with that girl’s murder.”
Ethan didn’t know who Camilla Phillips was. But even some shifters knew the teenager. Evidently, she was the golden child of Jerome. A good kid with good grades and good parents. A kid that didn’t mess with the kind of kids that normally messed around in the forest. At least, that was what the town said.
Then why was she in the forest? Did someone bring her there? Or was she meeting someone there?
Ethan didn’t know. And he hoped that the police would find out soon enough. The town of Jerome hadn’t even awakened yet, but one step into town earlier told him that a lot of people already knew. And they were not taking the news well.
A murder always rocked small towns. But the murder of Camilla Phillips? Well, things were definitely going to change.
“I just wish I knew what was going on right now,” Ethan muttered, taking another sip of his beer as he watched Ross silently pace. He really didn’t like seeing the sanest member of the Moonlight Pack look so distressed.
“Hazel works at the police department in town, you know,” Finn told him, sipping his water and watching Ross pace as well.
Ethan perked up a bit at the mention of Hazel. Hazel. The girl he couldn’t seem to get out of his mind. He didn’t know her, and he hadn’t had the time to relax at all since he’d come to Maine. He had been basically shadowing Hann every second of every day to learn all that he could from one of the most powerful and intelligent alphas in the world.
But he really wanted to get to know her.
He didn’t even know she held a job in town with humans. While some shifters chose to do this, Ethan found that more shifters in Maine practiced this lifestyle than any other pack he had been around. He found it . . . interesting.
And he sure as hell found Hazel interesting.
“I didn’t know that she worked in town,” Ethan admitted. He hated the way that Finn was looking at him. It was as if he knew exactly how Ethan felt about her. Ethan wouldn’t be too shocked if he actually knew, considering Ethan knew he didn’t really hide the crush that well. He couldn’t help it, though. He found her enchanting.
“Yep.” Finn nodded, that ever-present smirk on his face as he glanced at Ethan. Ethan managed to somehow not roll his eyes in his friend’s expression, though he really wanted to. “She’s some type of, like, administrative person. She’s worked there for a few years now and is really good friends with some of the high up police officers. Including the one and only homicide detective that Jerome currently has.”
“So, you’re saying she could have some intel?”
“I’m saying there’s no way she doesn’t have some intel.”
“Well, this changes things, doesn’t it?” Ethan smiled at his friend, realizing this could finally lead to his chance to be around Hazel. He obviously hated the situation. He didn’t really like that a death of a human in pack territory had led to this.
But he would sure as hell take the opportunity the universe seemed to be giving him.
“I’d thought you’d like the idea.”
Ethan shook his head and slapped his friend on the back as he got up to leave the musty pack bar, leaving a full glass of beer behind.
Chapter 3
Hazel was practically jumping with joy when Hann finally left the interrogation room. She heard herself breathe a huge sigh of relief. She made sure to hide any emotion that she had when she realized that Annaleigh was watching her very carefully. She didn’t want to give her any ideas.
Hazel smiled slightly when Hann walked past her, and Hann gave her an almost invisible head nod, catching her eye and wearing that casual smile that never seemed to leave his face. Hazel felt a little better about the whole situation. She somehow felt like Hann wouldn’t be smiling and feeling like his happy-go-lucky self if the police were accusing him of the crime.
Hazel knew that Hann wasn’t to blame for this. She trusted her alpha more than anyone else in the world. Hann wasn’t capable of anything like this.
Before Hazel could race out the front door after Hann, who she assumed was heading back up to Moonlight Maine territory, Matthew left the interrogation room that was previously inhabited by Hann. Hazel squinted her eyes at him in surprise, making sure it was really him. She hadn’t even seen him walk into that room, or come into the precinct, the whole time she was there. She knew for a fact he was at the morgue only moments ago, but somehow he’d managed to slip through her constant watch.
Matthew met her eyes and nodded before walking past her without saying anything. She didn’t know if he was just stressed about the case or if he was upset with her still.
They’d had a fight a few nights ago when Hazel refused to go to dinner with him after a long night at work. She didn’t want to lead him on, and she was trying to, somehow, put up the boundaries of their work relationship again. It was her fault for continuously finding herself in his bed. They weren’t together anymore, and she realized that their sleeping together wasn’t helping matters.
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