ELOWEN
“What’s wrong?”Calder asks when I glance over my shoulder for the twentieth time.
I instinctively look again, unable to shake the feeling that we’re being followed. “It’s nothing. I’m just a little jumpy.”
We’re on our way to meet Gideon in a little shack in the woods bordering Elderwood Hollow. Calder and Tyler know where it is. Apparently, students meet there when they’re getting up to the kind of activities they don’t want the academy staff to know about. But it isn’t only the shack that has unsettled me. It’s Mira’s warning too. Since seeing her yesterday, I can almost smell danger in the air.
“I’ll catch up with you,” Tyler says, backing away into the woods. “Make sure no one knows we’re here.”
His absence doesn’t help, but Calder and Julian close in on me protectively, keeping me surrounded.
The shack is in sight by the time Tyler returns, a littlebreathless, hair tousled in the cool November wind. “Didn’t see a thing,” he says, planting a kiss on my cheek.
We don’t bother knocking on the ramshackle door. The windows are intact if weather-stained, ivy is crawling up the exterior walls, and what must’ve once passed for a front yard is waist-high with angry nettles and wispy weeds.
Inside the shack is one room that covers kitchen, sleeping area, and living room.
Gideon is standing behind a dusty table, staring at the four of us. “Elowen,” he says, the concern in his voice unmistakable, “how are you feeling?”
A shudder travels down my spine. “Fine.” It’s a lie. “Scared.”’
He nods. “I’m sorry. I won’t sugarcoat it for you. You should be scared.”
At my side, Calder tenses. “Okay, let’s cut through the fearmongering. Say what you’ve got to say, so that we can get Elowen back to campus.”
Gideon doesn’t protest, and strangely, it gives me some comfort. If this were a gimmick to him, he’d be ramping up the fear to keep me on board with his conspiracy theory. Wouldn’t he?
"I began investigating after Iris died." He pulls out a folder, thick with notes, and we all move closer. "To begin with, I hit nothing but brick walls and was starting to believe it was an isolated tragedy, just as they said. Then Shannon McCartney died, and Lydia Jones. Same pattern. Three months later, Helena Raven at Thornwood Academy. Now, Kira Matsuda." He lines up photos. "Five deaths in eighteen months. All from natural causes followingtheir first heat."
“So, you think what?” Tyler asks. “They were murdered?”
He raises haunted eyes to us. “Yes, that’s exactly what I think.”
“Based on what evidence?” Julian asks.
Gideon pulls out another document. "I don’t have anything concrete. No postmortems. Deaths publicly announced as natural causes. Iris’s report is sealed for fifty years. So, I think whoever this is has specific access to medical records from multiple institutions. Detailed knowledge of heat schedules. They’re either invisible enough to fly under the radar or someone is covering for them." He looks at each of us. "This is someone with authority. Someone trusted."
I try to take it all in, focus on facts rather than fear settling like cold sludge in my gut.
"Campus administration," Julian says slowly. "Medical staff. Security personnel."
"Maybe even faculty," Gideon agrees. "Someone who can move freely, access restricted information, and cover their tracks."
"Why tell us?" Tyler asks. "Why not go to the police?"
His laugh is bitter. "I tried. Campus security told me I was being paranoid. Local police said they had no jurisdiction over closed cases. My family's lawyer advised me to drop it." He meets my eyes. "I've been hitting walls for eighteen months in all directions. Then I heard about Kira. Another death, same pattern. And I heard about you." His eyes settle on me, and I shiver.
"How?" Calder demands.
"I have contacts. People who owe me favors. They told me about two newly bonded packs at Elderwood. Yours stood out for obvious reasons. Three alphas, one omega, first heat justcompleted." His expression hardens. "You fit the victim profile perfectly."
"You think he's already chosen me," I say flatly.
"I think you're in immediate danger." Gideon's voice is urgent. "Every victim died within two weeks of completing their first heat. Yours ended four days ago."
Four days. That leaves ten days maximum. If the pattern holds.
“What about Olivia?” I ask. “She survived.”
