Shadow of the Wolf

A/N:

Thanks for your patience and all your comments and votes. I really enjoyed reading your feedback, long or short, it gives me an idea how much my story impacts the reader. I hope you keep it coming. Once more I thank my wonderful editors: Lunarosa and MythOFreak who helped make my thoughts more cohesive and appealing to the readers.

CHAPTER FOUR

The barely audible hum of the cool air coming out of the air-vents was the only sound in the otherwise deafening silence inside the room in the basement of the pack hospital. Three shrouded figures lay on separate tables like grotesque exhibits, and the lights directly over the tables glaringly displayed the white sheets covering them, stained with blood, splotched in random patterns. The cloying smell of blood and death lingered, and the brutal violence of their death fairly screamed for retribution of the victims' fates. All three bodies, still unidentified, shared a gruesome end at the hands of pure evil.

It had been a couple of hours since the discoveries of the recent murders. The bodies were carefully transported to the pack hospital, where their mutilated remains could hopefully shed some light on the identities of their killers.

The wolf betas, with the help of the visiting alphas and their betas, combed the ridge for any possible clues and evidence left by the killer or killers. The bodies were examined and processed by Armand Marchal, the pack's resident doctor. Samples of tissues and fluids were taken from the victims, which were being tested for any foreign substances introduced prior to the deaths. All the victims were shifters this time -- identifying the remains would be the next step, so the families could be notified of their loved ones' demise. The pup who discovered the bodies knew the victims had been guests at the party because he tended the bar the night before, and remembered serving them.

The alphas, acknowledging the need for haste, resumed their meeting and finished forming the triad taskforce. They were charged to investigate the latest attack and follow any leads they could uncover. One by one, the alphas and their entourages left the estate and pack lands to go to their own territories, leaving Rance, Dominic and Annawon behind to wait for further news of the results of the different tests done to the bodies.

Earlier that same day, right after the pup brought the news of the murders, Rance, for the first time in his role as alpha, felt torn in two directions: he wanted to go and protect his mate from whatever was terrorizing her, but he also knew that he needed to oversee the crime scene and deal with the bodies found on pack lands. Fortunately, Dominic understood the dilemma and volunteered to go ahead with the alphas; the alphas told Rance to go ahead and deal with his mate's need. Rance readily agreed, and instructed to have the bodies brought to the pack hospital. He would follow as soon as he determined what or who had frightened his mate.

Flanked by the twins, Rance ran down the driveway. The terror coming from Alex he felt earlier had subsided, so he knew that whatever it was that scared her was no longer there. When he sensed his mate's presence slowly wane, he knew that she must have had a cab pick her up. In her head, Rance urged Alex to come back, but she determinedly refused. Although reluctant, he understood her need for space, and so he let her go, but promised himself that after things settled down a bit, and once she had a chance to think it all through, then he would come for Alex.

His mate bond with her would assure her cognizance of his presence even when they were apart. Maybe tonight, after he was done with everything, he would dream-share with her. He could not wait to have Alex back in his arms, even if it was only in their dreams.

He promised himself that nothing would keep them apart in the future; they would have to work out any kinks in their relationship and agree on a workable compromise. He would not live without his mate by his side, and he refused to believe that

Luna

would just abandon them right at the time that he needed her help to make his mate choose to stay with him.

Rance and the twins easily followed Alex's progress down the driveway and found the exact spot where the faint scent of her trepidation lingered. They panned out in the woods, scenting, and looking for clues as to what caused her alarm. A couple of paces from the paved road, they discovered where the observer hid in the thick woods. It seemed that whoever it was hunkered down long enough to flatten the vegetation, and then stealthily followed her. The scent marker was peculiar, and left all three alarmed and puzzled. They had never before encountered anyone with this odd stench.

Whoever it was left a sharp tang of rotting flesh and mixed with shifter scents in the area. Not only that, but the woods reeked strongly of hate and evil intent. It was greatly troubling for Rance to know that his mate was being maliciously targeted by an unknown entity. Both the twins were known for their sharp sense of smell, and could easily identify any shifter species, but this one baffled them. No matter how hard they tried to identify what stalked Alex, they could not exactly pinpoint what kind of shifter it was.

Rance's current situation was not conducive to finding his mate and strengthening his mate bond: on top of the attacks on shifters, there was now an unknown shifter threatening his mate. He prayed to

Luna

that Alex was not easily scared off, and would stand by his side. A strong

Regina

would reassure the pack in the midst of the menace that hung like a pall of clouds over the shifter community.

He called off the twins after determining that the mystery shifter was long gone. He mentally told the betas to tighten security around the estate, and also assigned protection to his mate. The video from the security camera on top of the gate would shed light on the cab company his mate used, and from then it would not be a problem to find out where she was dropped off.

He wanted her protected at all times, so assigned the twins as her protection detail. The twins left right after they got their

Regina's

address. They would know immediately if the unknown shifter got near their

Alpha Regina

, now that they had its spoor memorized. They would not let their alphas down.

******

Dr. Armand Marchal slowly walked the mansion's hall. Elated that the slaughtered shifters' bodies had finally revealed some clues, he wanted to bring the news personally to the three waiting alphas. As he reached the door to the alpha's office, he heard the quiet murmur of voices and the tinkling of ice on glass inside. All conversations inside ceased as his hand touched the knob, signaling that his presence was already noted by those on the other side of the door. Armand briefly knocked and heard his alpha bid him enter.

"Good evening alphas," he courteously greeted everyone. Taking note that all were standing and looking at the pack lands map on one of the walls, he briefly wondered if they were discussing the area where the bodies were found.

"Good evening doctor," Rance replied. "Would you like a drink?" he asked as he walked to the drink cabinet, took a glass and put ice in. "Whiskey okay?" The doctor nodded and Rance poured him a liberal amount. Rance waited for the doctor to take his first sip. "I trust you have some news for us? Otherwise, you wouldn't have graced us with your presence," Rance said with a grim smile, and turned to the two alphas in the room. "Our pack doctor is notoriously known for getting so engrossed in his work that he forgets everything until he has completed his task." Rance motioned for Armand to sit on one of the chairs grouped around his desk not already occupied by Dominic and Annawon.

Armand had been the pack doctor since Rance's father's reign as alpha. Although more than two and a half centuries old, his face and body had the youthful appearance of a man in his late thirties. In all of his time serving the pack as its doctor, this was the first time that he encountered a shifter killing that was so baffling. He'd seen challenges, wars and ambushes in his time, but never a killing when the victim was already rendered helpless. It was just not the shifter way. Thus, the traces of the paralyzing chemical he found in the tissues and blood samples taken from the latest victims unnerved him to say the least. It was strong enough to leave a shifter instantly paralyzed and unable to shift to counteract the drug, and also bring him or her to the brink of unconsciousness.

Tamping down his excitement at his discovery, but trepidation at being the bearer of bad news, Armand crossed his legs and folded his hand together holding his whiskey glass and cleared his throat to gain some time to clear his mind. He was not sure how the three alphas would take his news, and all three in the room projected a barely leashed air of impatience as they waited for his report. His discovery was something big and could be the break they were looking for on the recent killings.

Not wanting to keep them in suspense, Armand finally spoke. "The killers have been careless this time," he said with repressed excitement. "The samples taken from the victims showed that they were given a chemical compound, much like succinylcholine. This drug renders shifters briefly paralyzed and semiconscious. A shifter body would have metabolized it given enough time."

Rance sat up straighter on the desk, his face a mask of foreboding. "How did we miss this in the other murders?" he quizzed the doctor. Annawon and Dominic both agreed that something like this should not have been overlooked.

"I believe it was because the most recent bodies were found within hours of their murders. Remember that the previous victims were not found until a day or so after they were killed." He paused to let the significance of the information sink in before he continued, "The killer got cocky, or maybe impatient. He preferred to have the recent murders found right away. He must have known that the ridge is a famous place for our pups to do their run, and yet the bodies were dumped there." Armand continued, "We know that the compound breaks down after some time, and that's likely why we failed to garner this information from the previous murders. We took more samples later on to compare our findings, and it showed that as the bodies started to decompose, the drug introduced breaks down into chemicals that our bodies naturally produce. Unless we are specifically looking for this drug, it would be nearly impossible to detect and identify it. I got curious as to why three healthy shifters showed no defensive wounds, so I tested for foreign chemicals and discovered the paralyzing agent...."

A thoughtful look passed between the three alphas. "Why change his MO now?" Rance asked the other two.

"Could be he was sending us a message," Annawon muttered.

Dominic cast a thoughtful look at his friend, then slid his eyes to Rance and held his gaze, "Or maybe they are sending our friend here a message."

Rance's eyes glittered with repressed fury. His wolf's hackles went up as a quiet rumble echoed in his chest. The alpha in him was riled and wanted to start hunting for the killer, to protect his pack from this mysterious killer.

"There's more," the good doctor broke in.

"Go ahead doctor," Rance encouraged. "Now that you have identified the compound, do you know how long are we affected by it?"

"I believe that it was introduced into the victim's body by injection. Once injected, paralysis is almost instantaneous. As for the duration of its effect, I need a volunteer to test it on," Armand said.

"So they were helpless to protect themselves. That answers the question why they did not fight off the killer and why they bled to death." Annawon said.

"Yes," the doctor replied. "Not only that, but the drug also inhibits their ability to shift and leaves them semi-conscious. They were cognizant of everything happening, but unable to defend themselves."

The longer Rance listened to the doctor enumerate the ways that the unknown compound affected shifters, the more his fury built. It was a coward's way to kill. And what message was this fucker trying to send him? If the killer wanted war, he got the message loud and clear.

If only the coward (or cowards, he supposed; they still didn't know if there was more than one killer) would come out and challenge him openly, then he could mete out some just rewards, but the killer cloaked himself in secrecy. He doubted that any of his friends had an inkling of what motivated these monsters. For all they knew, the killers might be some deranged shifters who got high on murdering helpless prey.

Dominic looked at Rance and held his gaze. "We cannot be careful enough as long as these attacks keep happening. I hope you've put your strongest wolves to protect your mate. Her inability to shift yet could prove detrimental. Damn! Just look at how easily shifters were killed. She'd be completely helpless to protect herself."

"I have thought of that, my friend, especially with an unknown stalker in the mix. I have Troy and Luc guarding her right now. I will also inform them of the latest development once we're done here," Rance said. "I have complete faith in the twins' abilities to protect Alex while I can't be there myself. My desire to protect my mate wars with my need to see to the pack's welfare. But, I have to give my mate the time and space she needs to adjust to her changed status. In light of what we are dealing with now, she will need it," he said starkly. He turned to the doctor, "Has your team identified the remains yet?"

"All we know at the moment is the lone male and one of the female victims were wolf shifters, the other female body was that of a coyote shifter," the doctor replied. "I believe Damian is still investigating as to their identities."

Rance mentally called Damian,

"Did you have any luck identifying the bodies yet?,"

he asked.

"Alpha,"

the grim tone of Damian's voice resonated in Rance. A sense of dread enveloped him; his friend only addressed him by his title when they were in the presence of other alphas, or when he bore grave news, like Rance's parents' deaths.

"We were able to identify the wolves. I'm sorry, but one of them was the granddaughter of Council member, Parvon. The male wolf was also related to them, a visiting relative from some European pack. The coyote shifter is a little hard to identify, so we are still working on that."

The ramification of the female wolf's death was great. Parvon was known to dote upon his only granddaughter. To learn not only of his granddaughter's, but also of another relative's, death would be devastating blows to the old patriarch. Rance would not be surprised if Parvon demanded immediate retribution, were he to mistakenly conclude another shifter clan or pride were the ones responsible, rather than one or more rogues. Rance hoped cooler heads would prevail and open war could be averted. It was time for him to call the wolf council and inform them of the recent developments. Transparency could garner their cooperation and support.

Facing the other alphas and the doctor, Rance relayed the information given by Damian. He then told Damian to get in touch with the nearest Coyote pack and discreetly ask its alpha's help in identifying the female shifter.

Having nothing more to report, Armand stood up and bid all three good night. He needed to work more on the samples while they were still relatively 'fresh'. He wanted to know how the killers managed to mask their scent and leave not a trace of their signature on any of the bodies, or the surrounding area where they were dumped.

Dominic, the panther alpha, got up and stalked to the drinks cabinet, and poured himself a liberal amount of whiskey. "I don't know about you two, but that calls for a strong drink." He lifted the bottle at his friend and when they nodded in assent, brought it to them. He refilled both of his friends' glasses and replaced the bottle back in the cabinet. Dominic could not help but wonder why the sudden escalation of attacks happened on the eve of Rance's mating. Why would the wolves'

Alpha Regina

be stalked and threatened on their territory? It made one wonder if the two were connected in some way. He had an uneasy feeling that this would get worse before it got better. Only time could tell. All they could do right now was be extra vigilant.

******

Miles away, a shadowy figure furtively approached an abandoned house sitting atop a bluff overlooking a densely forested valley. The weak light of the moon cast shadows over the hooded figure, making it look obscurely grotesque in appearance as it hurried through the woods. Small wild animals scurried away from it sensing its malevolent aura, leaving the woods deathly still. The moon's faint light failed to penetrate the thickest part of the woods where the figure suddenly paused, tilting its head as if listening. Swaying like grass being blown by the wind, the hooded figure vigorously nodded its head from time to time, wildly waving its arms, gesticulating at an unseen being. The macabre spectacle was interspersed by unintelligible mutterings and random shuffling of its feet.

As the moon reached its zenith in the dark sky, lights filtered through the thick canopy of trees and briefly touched the shrouded face. The dappled moonlight revealed glee and malice flashing in its amber eyes as it threw its head up and howled in the night. Its exultant ululation ricocheted through the forest and sent the animals scurrying farther away from the predator that oozed pure evil. The sound carried through the quiet stillness followed by spine chilling cackles that echoed through the night for miles.

Soon!

It thought with barely leashed excitement

. Soon the time will come for them to know who their true Master is. I will reveal myself in due time. They will all acknowledge me the supreme ruler and kneel before me, or they will pay with their blood as I eagerly feast on their flesh.

Its vileness emanated so palpably that even the moon's weak light seemed to withdraw from it, leaving the creature once more in the dark.

Yes!

It hissed.

The revelation is at hand! The prophecy will be fulfilled. And the fulfillment and the judgment are within reach! My own pack won't need to hide in the dark anymore -- we will rule over all.....as is my right....as my destiny calls for me to take my rightful place!

*******

Everybody had gone for the day and she was left alone in her garage finishing up a last job. The bay doors were already closed and the office lights were off. Kate, her receptionist had left hours ago. Alex blew the hair off her perspiring face. She tried to secure the lot of it in a ponytail at the back of her head whenever she was working, but tendrils escaped no matter how tight she tied it.

At the moment, she bent over the open hood of Mrs. Johnson's old sedan. She had been working on the car on and off for the past year. The car was ready to croak, but she did not have the heart to tell the sweet old lady the truth. From what she told Alex, this car belonged to Mrs. Johnson's late husband and was loathe to part from it. Alex understood the sentimental value of the car, but was no longer reliable or safe for Mrs. Johnson to drive it. The body was sturdy enough, but the engine would need to be overhauled for it to work efficiently and parts needed replacement too. Alex had already replaced the brakes and clutch on the car to make it safer for Mrs. Johnson on the road, but she could not keep on repairing the piece of junk forever. Sooner or later she would have to tell her to replace it with a newer model.