Page 77 of Captured By Chaos


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This was unlike any of the other victims we had seen. This man was mostly naked, in nothing more than an undergarment concealing his intimate areas. His sun-kissed skin was drenched in sweat and blood, most of his body covered in deep gashes and brutal bitemarks. Unlike past victims, where the bites were clean and precise, these looked like the attacker had tried to rip his skin clean off his body, thrashed and jagged. In the center of his chest, an R had been carved, Elliot’s crest branded right in the center of the letter’s curve. The whole room reeked of wolfsbane, his body still slick with the milky liquid.

This wasn’t calculated or specific, but erratic and brutal. Something about this man had set Elliot off, and we had to figure out what it was.

But it wasn’t the intense mutilation of this poor man that made my heart pound and my stomach threaten to release its contents. It wasn’t the burning pain of the wolfsbane still lingering in the air that spun my mind with lightheadedness. What made me stop in my tracks, bone-chilling fear burying itself deep within me, was the victim’s completely unmarked face.

He was maybe in his mid-thirties, his well-defined, sharp jaw, and full lips contorted in a half scream, showing just how much pain Elliot had put him through. His dirty blond curls were matted to his forehead by sweat and blood. His amber eyes still shown with hints of gold; he had fought to the end.

And dear Goddess above, he looked like Logan.

I knew it wasn’t him; I would never forget that man’s face no matter how hard I tried. But with all of those similarities, every memory of him, good and bad, flashed before my mind, pulling at the deeply dangerous emotions I tried to keep settled.

I felt a few eyes lingering on me before Beckett and Emric took control of the scene, distracting the different officers and soldiers who were scattered around us. I didn’t know what I was doing to make people look at me; everything felt so far away.

“Kasha?”Nolan whispered only to me, keeping everyone else out.

I couldn’t respond, even within the privacy of my mind. It all seemed too much, too overwhelming, too many thoughts trying to take all at once. My fingers shook at my side, pressure building to an unbearable pain in my chest.

“I think I saw something over here.” Nolan cocked his head to the side building. “Kas and I are going to check it out.”

“Sounds good,” Emric said, Beckett giving us a knowing nod before returning his attention back to the body.

Nolan put his arm around my shoulders, guiding me away from the group. We went around the building where a small opening of tables and chairs was set up haphazardly, obviously a place where workers ate their meals during shifts. Luckily, no one was out there.

My movements were barely under my control as Nolan brought me to one of the chairs, pushing gently on my shoulders so I’d sit. The cool metal seeped through the fabric of my pants, a bit of moisture from a past rainstorm staining the back, but I didn’t care. It helped in a way, bringing the spinning fog back to reality a bit, my fingertips starting to tingle.

“What happened?” His voice was calm and low as he dropped onto one knee in front of me, our heads so close the tickling of his hair brushed lightly against my cheek.

I leaned forward, bracing my elbows onto my knees and dropping my face into my hands, fingertips rubbing circles against my throbbing temples.

“He—He—He…” Sobs started to rack through me, tears escaping from my eyes. I cursed under my breath, chiding myself for being so weak, so out of control of myself. This wasn’t alright, not during an investigation, at a crime scene no less. What had I done to deserve this? “He...looks...” My breath hitched again, the squeezing in my chest tightening even more. “Lo—looked like…like Logan.”

“Logan?” Nolan asked. I peeked through my fingers, the confusion creased on his forehead. “Your old Alpha?”

All I could do was nod.

Nolan leaned back on his haunches, eyes focused on nothing in particular on the ground. I bit my lip as a range of emotions and thoughts rippled across his features. Finally, after a few moments of silence, he looked back to me. “You don’t have to tell me anything, but…did he do something to you? Hurt you in some way? At the Full Moon Camp?”

I wasn’t even surprised at this point. He was a sharp investigator, born to find any answer with the clues and hints fed to him over time. It was only a matter of time, even if he didn’t know the specifics. My heart loosened a fraction, a shaky breath escaping my lips.

Slowly, I gave him one more nod.

“To the Goddess above, Kasha,” he whispered. “No wonder you didn’t want me here.”

Somehow, I blubbered out a laugh, the most inappropriate thing, but it was all I could do. Nothing was right in my mind, nothing was making sense. I tried to focus on something, anything. Of course, I went right to the here and now, concentrating on what was in front of me, the concern bubbling to the surface.

“Di—did any-anyone notice?” My voice barely sounded like me, so weak and terrified. “Th-th-the other off-officers?”

“No,” Nolan assured me. “I think Beckett and Emric did, but they must have seen the similarities too, because they looked just as shocked. The other officers just seemed to be waiting for us to say something. Once Beckett and Emric did, they didn’t even pay attention to us.”

I let out another deep, shaking breath. “Good.”

“Let me take you home.” His hand moved up and down my bicep with just enough pressure to help soothe my nerves a fraction. “You don’t need this right now.”

“We need to help.”

“It’s one crime scene, Beckett and Emric have it completely under control.”

I shook my head, unable to say anything else.

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