The Hidden Alpha (Alma Venus Shifter Brides 2)

“So you covered most of it up.”

“I had to. The Tricksters have always made things difficult for us. First, they form their guild after the war and the signing of the peace treaty, right after the shape-shifters promised the humans they would never cause them any trouble again. Then, the fox-shifters tell the other factions they will deal with them, but the more they try to put an end to their schemes, the more the Tricksters retreat in the shadows. So, every time they come out of their lair and mess things up, we, shape-shifters, try to catch them, but at the same time cover them from the humans. Of course, there are humans in high positions in the Council and the police force who know about their existence, but we’re still trying to keep the Tricksters hidden from the masses, least we’d cause a panic.”

Seth hadn’t been in the mood for a history lesson, so he had cut things short. He knew very well about the Tricksters. His own parents had been, or still were part of the guild. “If there was no proof the killers were Tricksters, then how did you reach that conclusion? I’m sorry, but it seems far-fetched.”

“Yeah… you see, it’s not that far-fetched when you realize one of the victims was a fox-shifter herself and wasn’t actually killed in her sleep. Her husband, yes, but she struggled.”

“A fox-shifter… herself… What are you talking about?” His palms had started sweating, and he had trapped his smartphone between his ear and his shoulder so he could wipe them on his jeans.

“Tricksters would never assassinate two simple, harmless humans. But a vixen and her human husband? Well, that’s a different story.”

“Milla… Milla Bennett was a werefox?”

“Her name wasn’t Bennett. She and Stephen Bennett weren’t married, at least not legally.”

“Then what was her name? What clan did she belong to?”

“That, my son, remains a mystery. We found nothing in their house, no documents that could have told us who she was and where she came from. The house was new, by the way. They had moved in just a month before they were murdered. My partner and I speculated that they must have traveled a lot, moved from one place to another… maybe they had been running from something or someone. But most of our hypotheses were just guesses. With no evidence to support them, we were forced to accept defeat and move on.”

?

??All right. All right. Just wait a second.” Seth had taken a couple of deep breaths and put his thoughts in order. “If you are to follow your instinct even now, then you’d say that the two murderers were fox-shifters, even better, Tricksters.”

“Yes, that’s right. No human could have performed such a perfect murder and leave no trace behind. The only humans I smelled in that house were Amelia Bennett and Stephen Bennett’s dead body. So, the killers were shape-shifters. Given that Milla was a fox-shifter, then we concluded the ones who killed her must have belonged to the same faction. If she was, indeed, running from someone, then she might have been running from the Tricksters.”

“Holy shit. I… I did not expect this. What… what am I supposed to do with all this information?”

The bear-shifter had had no suggestions. He had promised he would send Seth the few documents and letters he had found in Stephen Bennett’s house if he gave him a postal address, then wished him luck.

That was ten minutes ago. Seth still didn’t know if he should wait for those documents or tell Amelia right away. For the time being, maybe it was better to tell Blake and Roman first. He cringed at the thought, but stood up and headed for the door nonetheless. He didn’t like the idea that Amelia would once again be the last to find out something which was strongly related to her, but he needed his Inaris’ wise advice. He didn’t know what to do with the information the bear-shifter detective had just given him, but Roman and Blake would.

***

“Come in!” Blake didn’t even bother to look Seth’s way when he entered the room. She was typing away on her laptop, two heavy books open on her desk. She figured he was probably there to see Amelia, anyway.

“Hey!”

“Hey there…” Amelia was lying on the bed, clutching her stomach. She managed a smile and tried to get up when she saw Seth, but her hand immediately flew to her mouth.

“Are you okay?” Seth took a couple of steps towards her, but Amelia had already jumped off the bed and sprinted towards the bathroom.

Blake sighed. “She’s been like this the whole day. She barely had anything for breakfast, but she keeps throwing up every…” she checked her watch, “… ten minutes. Must have caught the stomach flu or something. I called dad’s doctor half an hour ago. He should be here any minute.”

Seth stared at the closed bathroom door and contemplated going in after her. Blake read his thoughts.

“I don’t think she wants you to see her like this.”

His shoulders sunk, then he remembered why he was there. “I need to tell you something. I mean, I need to tell you and Roman something. Let’s go to his room.”

“Don’t wanna wait for Amelia?” Blake stood up and stretched.

“No… not this time.” His voice was barely a whisper. Only another fox-shifter could have heard him.

Blake raised an eyebrow, but didn’t ask any questions. She trusted her future Yako, so when he said he needed to tell her and her father something, it meant it was important. She went to the bathroom door and knocked lightly. “Amelia, are you okay in there?”

“Mhm…”

“I’m going to get that doctor, so wait here, okay?” She motioned for Seth to follow her and they both got out of the room and sneaked into Roman’s room silently. The old Inari was dozing with a book on his lap and a cup of cold tea on the coffee table. The soft click of the door startled him.