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Remus quickly explained what had happened to the bodies; I was glad, at least, that Ryan’s remains would be taken care of properly and not just left in the forest for the government to spirit away. “How are you going to identify the gunman?” I asked, kneading the blanket between my fingers.
“We have some contacts working as quickly as possible,” Nic explained as he rubbed his chin. “We will go the normal routes, of course. Fingerprints, identifying marks — such as the tattoo you uncovered, as well as any others that might have been hidden under his clothing. Some packs have specific tattoos; he may have those hidden somewhere.” He paused, turning his attention towards me. “Eli implied you’d seen that tattoo before? The one on his wrist?”
“Yes,” I replied slowly, looking back at Eli. He was watching me intently. “How much did he tell you?”
Nic shook his head. “Only that.”
I paused, quickly trying to weigh the risk of admitting where I’d seen that tattoo before. No quick and simple lies came to mind, which only left me one option.Well, here goes nothing….
“My pack was attacked and killed when I was eleven. All of them,” I said, not quite looking at the eldest alpha. “I was also shot. That’s why I have this.” I pointed to my pacemaker; they’d undoubtedly seen its outline under my clothing. “Right before I was shot, a masked man reached for me, and I saw the same tattoo on his inner wrist.”
Nic looked appalled, and Remus leaned forward, his brows knitted. “Can I ask you about that night?”
I tipped my head, surprised he bothered to ask. “Yes,” I said, “but much of my memory is blurry. A lot happened at once, and I was seriously injured. I was in and out of consciousness for weeks after that.”
Remus gave a slight nod. “I understand. Was your pack meeting for a specific reason? Would someone have known?”
“No.” I shook my head. “It was just a meeting. Maybe we’d have gone for a hunt; I don’t know. It wasn’t a celebration or anything like that, though. It was a very small pack, only twenty wolves or so. Getting the entire pack together wasn’t hard.”
Remus hummed thoughtfully. “And the days and weeks before? Did anything weird happen?”
That question made me pause — I didn’t usually think about the attack, much less the days and weeks leading up to it. “I…” I licked my lips and shook my head. “I don’t know. I barely remember it, now that you ask. The attack is such a powerful memory, that everything else feels so… dim by comparison. I can barely remember what my parents’ voices sounded like.” I took a deep breath. “Do you really think these could be the same people, though? That was Alaska… and that was over a decade ago.”
Eli finally spoke up. “We don’t know,” he said, shrugging. “But we can’t rule it out, either.”
I sighed at the implication. Before I could say anything else, I felt a trickle of blood exit one nostril and I cursed softly, pressing a finger to stem the blood while I fought with the blanket.Really, body? Now? Right now?Eli was already on his feet, disappearing and reappearing in the blink of an eye with a tissue.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, wadding up the tissue and pressing it against my nose.
Remus looked mildly alarmed. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“It’s the blood thinners,” I sighed, tapping my pacemaker again. Usually, that many questions would aggravate me, but after everything else that happened today… I couldn’t muster the energy to be upset. “It happens sometimes — it’s a normal side effect. I promise I’m not about to explode into a thousand pieces.”
Remus had the manners to look mildly abashed but gave me a small nod. Nic cleared his throat. “Well, you’ve both had a very long day,” he sighed, rubbing his chin. “We should probably get out of here so you can rest. I’ll call in the morning as soon as I hear something.”
The others murmured, and Eli got up to let them out, locking up once they were gone. When he returned, he offered me a hand. “Ready for bed?”
“Desperately,” I admitted, checking my nose. The blood had stopped, so I allowed Eli to pull me to my feet. Before I could walk anywhere, he scooped me up, bridal style, and began to carry me back towards the master bedroom. “I can still walk, you know. Eli, your arm…”
“It’s okay,” he said, not setting me down until we made it to the bed. “Are you warm enough?”
“Getting there,” I sighed, pulling the covers down to burrow inside. “Sure doesn’t feel like I’m in Texas right now, though.”
Eli gave a tired chuckle before he crawled into bed after me, wrapping an arm around my middle. He tucked me close against his chest as he pulled the covers up over us. “Is this okay?”
“Yeah,” I muttered, grateful for the warmth radiating off of him. For the smell of him all around me. Sleepiness was already starting to dance around the edges of my vision, threatening to pull me under.
“Okay,” Eli hummed, pressing a gentle kiss to my cheek. “Sleep well, Iris.”
And, somehow, I did.
We had sleptin as much as we could before the reality of the situation kicked back in. Eli had ordered breakfast, and the delivery arrived just minutes before Remus and Nic. I’m glad Eli warned me they were coming — I was at least able to wash my face and fix my hair, even if I didn’t have anything else to change into.
I was poking at my waffle when the other two alphas joined us at the table, helping themselves to the small spread. A fresh wave of anxiety bloomed up in my gut. “Did you find anything?” I asked, unable to keep the question to myself.
Remus gave me a sideways smile, brushing a few pastry crumbs from his face. “Good morning to you too, Iris,” he said. I flushed and then grumbled that he even managed to make me do that. “Are you feeling better?” His gaze flickered over to Eli. “And how is your shoulder doing?”
“I’m fine,” I said quickly, more interested in what Eli had to say.
