CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I hated being here and the scowl on my face was enough proof for that. I should be out with my pack members, combing every inch of this goddamn town for some sort of clue but instead I was stuck in the town hall, waiting for three other Alphas including Xander to arrive. Tapping my feet impatiently against the cemented floor, I let my gaze hover over the Alphas who were quick to look away, pretending as if they had not been looking at me just a second ago.

Lucky enough, my phone rang, saving me from the agitation building inside me. Danny’s name flashed across the screen. Picking it up, I walked outside the hall.

“Please tell me you’ve found something substantial enough to give me a break in this case. I really can’t stand not having a single clue,” I said.

“We…um…that’s not exactly why I called you but for the record, I’m still working on that. So, you remember the news that we heard on my car’s radio about a Nadia who was engaged to a famous billionaire?”

“Yeah,” I could feel my heart picking up speed. Even the mere mention of her name was enough to tingle my wolf. There was just something about that woman that made it so fucking hard to forget her; not that I even wanted to.

“Well, it turns out she was actually your Nadia and that indeed she is a famous romance author. Did you know that she-“

“Wait, so you are saying that she actually belongs to another …man?” I questioned, my voice low but angry. I was mad at myself. How could I let that happen? No, how could I be that desperate?

“Yep. Now let me get back to what I’m supposed to be doing before you take my head,”

Even after he cut the call, I just stood put, my legs seemingly frozen. She was engaged to somebody else. The worst part was that, right at that moment, I knew I had never wanted something more than I wanted to claim Nadia as mine. Maybe it was the lust talking but once all this had blown over, I was going to find her and I would not stop till I have her under me and calling her mine. The possessiveness dripping off me was something I had never felt before and I would not stop until I got her. My wolf felt just as possessive as he growled in same urge inside me. We both wanted her. Despite this being exactly who Bradley was, I found myself utterly not feeling any guilt. It almost felt like she was meant to be mine.

“I didn’t think you’d make it, big bad wolf,” I turned to look at Xander.

“And you should know who you shouldn’t be talking to if you still want to keep your head, young wolf,” I snapped before matching right back inside.

The sooner this meeting was done, the much better I would feel. Just my luck however, the persistent Xander just had to sit next to me, exuding an arrogance only a confident Alpha would possess.

“You know, you could learn to show some respect to me Collins. Because this time, I will beat your pack in the wolf games,” he whispered. He really was full of himself.

“Keep on wishing little cub,”

He would have probably gone on a full mode banter had not the last of the Alphas walked in. He was indeed the youngest Alpha in the park, but considering he was the one who had called the meeting, it befell him the duty to lead the meeting.

“Well, I’m not going to start with introductions or any sort of welcome talk. I’m going to dive straight to the matter at hand. We are facing a common tragedy right now and we all know what that is. A group of rogue wolves are going around, killing people-“

“One,” I cut him off as he looked at me blankly.

“What?”

“Do all your victims have their hearts curved out exactly the same as a whole with a blunt tool?” I questioned and they all nodded in agreement,” Then we are dealing with one person; whether wolf or not but this is just a veteran killer on the loose,” I pointed out.

“So you are saying that a single person can take out three wolves at the same time? That is highly impossible,” Alpha Elton of the Blue Moon pack countered venomously as the others agreed with him.

“Thinking about it now, I think I’m going to side with Collins with this as much as it pains me. This has to be the work of one person because only one person can do a job exactly the same for three wolves in every pack. Whoever this killer is, he or she is very well trained and it has to be something they planned for so long. One can’t just wake up one night, attack three men in each park and leave no trail whatsoever. We cannot even tell if this killer is human or not,” So the young Wolf has brains too, huh? Good for him.

“Well, that makes sense,” Alpha Hezron of White Moon Pack agreed.

“Well, if it’s true that there is a killer on the loose, does that mean the Hunters are back? We all know apart from wolf bane and silver, they are the only ones who can be a pain in the ass,” Alpha Ben of High Rise park, questioned. Fuck!! Why had I not of the Hunters?

“Hunters? We signed a boundary contract with them and they surviving ones left town fifteen years ago. Why would they want to attack us now?” Christian, Alpha of Red Moon pack pointed out.

“Maybe it was a Rogue Hunter will his or her own motives. I mean, it was pretty bloody before we signed a contract with them. Maybe one of them got hurt in the process and came back for revenge or something?” Fred, the second youngest man here being only twenty-two and also the Alpha of Hound Pack, spoke.

“That’s impossible. No hunter would dare set foot in a wolf-manned town,” Elton, pointed out. Was he just bone with a negative bone in him or what?

“Was there a record of the hunter families that remained alive?” I questioned.

“I’ll ask around and deliver the report but I have a pretty good hunch there has to be a record,” Hezron offered.

“Good. Now we know where to start. Whether it is a hunter back here for revenge or not, we need to keep our eyes open. Whoever this is, they are not some petty culprit. Heck, they could actually be one of us. Final word, I know most us don’t get along but during this tragic time with our lives being a target, we need to work together,” I said, much to everyone’s obvious shock.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Xander said much to my surprise. I had expected a snarky comment from him but he clearly knew when he needed to act all arrogant around me and when to keep his sharp tongue on check.