Last Female Sypher and Her Brother's Friends Book 2

Ronan

Three months later

Nothing compares to the smell of a rotting body.

It is a pungent, vaporous acid that lingers on all the molecules in the room. It attaches itself, like a fungus on every available surface.

And this crappy rundown motel-room furniture is no different.

I stare into the vacant eyes of the male shifter lying in a pool of his own blood.

My wolf growls at the sight, not liking what this death represents.

Peace has made us too complacent, my wolf says.

I don't want to agree with him, but logically I can't refute it.

“Goddess have mercy,” Kade says, stepping around the body. “How long do you think it’s been here?”

Liam crouches down, feeling the blood splatter with the tips of his fingers and sniffing it.

Several details stand out to me.

The male is naked. His claws are shifted out, hair sprouting from his spine, shoulders, and forearms.

He was killed mid-shift. More than likely taken off guard.

“I’d place my best bet on four days,” Liam replies. “Do you see how the blood has congealed, and the abdomen has started to bloat?”

“What did Rick say?”

The Magnus Alpha—Rick’s new title as Alpha King— has made great strides in the reassimilation of both old and new ways.

Packs began to experience peace and forge new bonds.

Bridges were created with humans who knew of our kind, and our people began to flourish with new matings and pups.

But two months ago, the first of a series of deaths began to occur.

“There is a pattern surfacing. He informed me that the last few who were killed all had either genetic markers for sypher or human blood in their lineage.”

“Do you think it is just a coincidence?” Kade asks.

“It could be. I won't rule out the connection, but there might be something else linking all the victims together. We won't know unless we get clearance to see the others.”

I look back at the door. The lock is dangling, holding on by only a few attached parts.

“Whoever it was that did this was in a rush. They didn't have time to cover their tracks or hide how they got in.”

“They also didn't bother to sweep the body after doing the job,” Liam says, pulling out a wallet from under the bed and taking out an ID.

Who the hell would risk being so sloppy?

Someone who was more afraid of letting the male live than being caught, my wolf guesses.

“Finish searching the room; if there is anything to find, I want it.”

Kade and Liam spread out, moving furniture and checking corners and crevices.

I curse silently under my breath, wishing we would have been alerted even a day sooner. There might have been a chance of catching the perpetrators' scent if we had.

I hold my mental walls firmly, not wanting to distress Aria with a torrent of dark emotions running through me.

How the hell could this happen on territory?

The Alpha in me wants revenge, wants to hunt down the b*st*rd and make him choke on his blood for bringing danger so close to my pack.

To my pups.

“Uh, guys,” Kade calls out.

Liam and I rush over to him. He is in front of a curtain. The drab fabric is pulled back to reveal a disguised brick wall.

On that wall, drawn crudely in the blood of the victim, is a single raven.

Looks like our resident psycho is trying to communicate with us.

Great.

“We need to contact Elliot. If this b*st*rd is hiding anywhere near our land or town, he needs to be alerted so his patrol can be vigilant.”

“I'm on it,” Liam says, wiping out his cellphone.

“I'll have the cleanup crew come clear the area before humans notice,” says Kade.

I nod, pulling out my own phone to contact Rick.

He picks up after the second ring.

“Well.” Rick's voice was devoid of its usual taunting mirth.

“We’re guessing the body has been here for four days, but the shifter isn't part of my pack or the Nightbane pack. He doesn't appear to have had any business with us either.”

Rick makes a low grunting sound. “So, a traveller, then.”

“You don't sound like that surprises you,” I comment.

“That's because it doesn't.”

“But you won't give me any more information,” I guess.

“Right now, no. There are a few things I need to figure out before I call on the Alphas for a meeting.”

“All the Alphas?” My gut twists in an unpleasant way. “Do you suspect it will be that bad?”

Rick's moment of silence is all the answer I need.

My wolf stands at attention, baring his fangs at the Invisible threat.

His voice is grave when he finally says, “I believe it may be our first trial yet.”

I knew the dismantling of the council wouldn't be the end of it, that the true challenge would be changing the hearts of those we call our kin and those we once called our enemy.

Still, it happened faster than I anticipated.

Or it’s happening right when our enemies want it to; my wolf challenges.

The twinge in my instinct lets me know that this speculation has merit, so I tuck it away to analyze later.

“There is one more thing. The killer left a calling card. A drawing of a single raven. I'll take a picture and send it to you.”

“Appreciated. No, hurry up and wrap up the body so you can get back home to your mate and pups. I won't lie, Ronan, this isn't looking good, so don't waste the time you have.”

“I'd say the same to you. Your great-grandchildren haven't seen you in almost a month.”

He gives a dramatic sigh, more like his usual self, and it eases something in me. “Such is the burden of the crown.”

“All right, old man. Enough of your dramatics. We’ll speak again soon.”

I hang up the call and find Liam and Kade.

My bandmate’s cobalt stare makes our bond thrum like the slow, steady beat of a drum. “I take it, it didn't go well.”

“No. We need to get a picture of the message and send it to Rick.”

“Already ahead of you,” Liam assures.

“Good, now we can get the f*ck out of here and prepare to grovel,” Kade says with a frown. “Aria is agitated about the wall.”

Ugh. I know. Her fiery little temper has been banging at for a little while now.

“Can't say Barric and Theo are much different,” I add.

My wolf lets out a contrite whine.

Pissing off your pregnant mate is never a wise move.

Pissing her if and half your band is even less advised.

At least I'm not in this alone, I think selfishly.

From the flat look Kade gives me, I swear he can read my mind.

“I’d say I feel sorry for you, but I don't,” Liam says, tucking his phone into his pocket. “ At least you have a few pairs of hands to help calm her.”

We start walking towards the pack’s all-terrain vehicle.

Kade snorts. “Not our fault fate paired you with such a hot-tempered female.”

I take the driver's seat. Liam takes shotgun, and Kade gets in the passenger seat behind me.

Navigating the truck onto the road, I opt for the back roads to get to the territory quicker.

“And Aira is just a bastion of temperance, is she?” Liam taunts.

“I like it,” I taunt, “especially when she bites.”

Liam's face wrinkles in disgust. “Now I'm going to have to find a way to bleach my memories.”

The tension of the morning seems to slip away under our good-natured jeering.

But no matter how hard I try, Rick’s words play in the background.

Don't waste the time you have.

Was it a warning or a prediction of the future?

Either way, I can't keep this information from the pack, though I want to. I owe it to them to prepare them for the potential threat that lies ahead.

Sypers or those with human lineage.

That's who is suspected of being taken.

I think of Lowden. My wrily wide eyed pup.

A pup who just manifested as a wind Sypher.

I think of my nephews, Rayne and River, both with human blood running through their veins.

My hands tighten on the steering wheel.

No one will hurt my family.

My wolf growls his agreement.

Kade wraps his hand around my shoulder, the gesture both grounding and affectionate.

“Easy,” he says, his tone soothing. “Whatever it is, we'll figure it out together.”

His knuckles brush my cheek, and I lean into the gesture, no longer surprised by how the touch from my male counterparts is just as essential to me as Aria’s is.

I give him a non-committal grunt.

“And we'll rip apart whoever has the balls to come onto our territory and try this sh*t,” Liam adds, the disembodied voice of his hybrid slipping through.

Now that is a plan I can get behind.

Aria

“Care to explain yourself?” I say, tapping my foot when Ronan and Kade walk into our house.

He better if he knows what's good for him, my wolf warns.

Liam gives a little salute from the driveway as he jogs to his own den, probably anxious to check on Hazel and the pups.

“I would help you out,” Barric says from behind me, “but I'm with Aria on this one.”

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Kade cajoles, placing a kiss on my lips before bending to put on my recently protruding belly.

As if we’d be swayed by sweet words. My wolf takes a swipe at him.

“Don't sweetheart me,” I call after him as he slips past me and Kade takes his place.

Barric follows him into the kitchen.

Kade pulls me into a slow, firm kiss that sends my already overactive hormones into a frenzy. Cupping my nape, he pulls me closer, licking into my mouth and fil