Un.Requited (Claimed Series) Page 19

  Dimly, Hayden was conscious of the door opening to the bowling alley. Both Devan and Shane stumbled onto the scene, stopping abruptly at the sight of the trio locked in a power struggle. A single move from any of the three werewolves would set off a chain reaction.

  Adolf exhaled past Cole’s gripping hold. “Look at her, boy,” the Alpha growled. “She’s covered in blood.”

  “That is certainly not evidence in itself.” Cole chuckled lowly, his eyes narrowing on Adolf. Never once had he taken his eyes off his prey, too cautious of the other werewolf’s intentions. “You value your life too much to waste it on killing her. Let her go, or I won’t hold back.”

  Adolf growled once again before releasing Hayden’s hair. “Bitch,” he spat and proceeded to throw her to the ground.

  Cole seethed, easily returning the favor. He tossed the silver-haired Alpha aside, the man’s body appearing like a rag doll as it collapsed against the brick wall of the alleyway. Adolf was unnaturally quiet as he regained his dignity, a hand against the wall acting as a crutch.

  Eric quickly made himself known as he turned his back on Adolf’s moment of weakness and faced the dumpster in contemplation. “It is reasonable to gather all the facts first, Adolf. A logical mind may ask Hayden who committed the murder before executing her.”

  All eyes turned to Hayden. She braced her arms on the ground as she struggled to get on her feet. “I don’t know,” she replied quietly, feebly trying to wipe away the blood on her face. “It sounds unrealistic, but someone grabbed me from behind and smeared blood on my face.”

  Cole’s broad upper body stepped in front of Hayden, effectively blocking any inquisitive stares on her person. He tore a piece of his shirt off at the hem and began wiping away the drops of blood she hadn’t been able to get off herself. His eyes were no longer amber, but still an angry and guarded emerald.

  “It’s a likely story,” Adolf sneered as he recovered from Cole’s earlier shove. He carefully approached the dumpster and opened the lid. His face morphed into an expression of repulsion before he reached inside and tossed out a human corpse with a single flick of his wrist.

  The sound of the lifeless body thumping against the floor was sickening, hollow, and Hayden could only stare at it in horror. Behind the werewolves, Shane made a gagging sound before throwing up in the corner. Hayden wasn’t too far behind him as she reached out and clawed at Cole’s shirt, pulling him closer.

  “I didn’t do that, Cole,” Hayden insisted fiercely, almost deliriously. The prodigious smell of rotting flesh and pierced internal organs made her eyes water.

  Cole paused in cleaning her mouth and gave her a look full of frustration. “Of course I know you didn’t do that, Hayden.” He turned marginally, looking at the corpse. “You are not even capable of committing such brutality.”

  He was trying to block her from seeing the corpse, but Hayden had already seen it. If she closed her eyes, she could see the mess that was the man’s face and his ripped body. His neck had been a shallow hole of nothingness and his torso had been picked apart, unknotted.

  Cole was wrong. Hayden was capable of committing such brutality. They all were. There was only one creature capable of unraveling a human body with a few lazy lifts of their fingers.

  Eric crouched down next to the body, searching. “Definitely a human,” he acknowledge dimly. “This will be difficult to cover up, as opposed to Matthew’s body. He was Falco’s pack member, but this… this is a threat to our exposure.”

  Hayden vaguely remembered Matthew as being the werewolf who had attempted to infiltrate into Nicolas’ pack. His body had been hand-returned to Falco’s property only a few days before the full moon.

  “Did he taste good, Mutt?” The sudden question came from Adolf. He stared down at the corpse before locking eyes with Hayden. “Did you enjoy ripping his throat out? Was his blood as delicious as it smells?”

  “Enough,” Cole barked, immediately silencing and stilling everyone in the alley. “We will get nowhere with your thoughtless commentary, Adolf.” Easily dismissing the insulted Alpha, Cole turned his shoulder to address a pale and shaken Shane Donovan. “Do you mind if we use your bowling alley as a meeting ground?”

  Shane’s eyes were huge as he blinked a few times at Cole. His mouth opened once, twice, before he cleared his throat. “Yes, sir,” he agreed as he shuffled closer to the bowling alley. “I’ll close up and get the rest of the customers out.” With one last look at Hayden, Shane disappeared inside.

  “Adolf, collect Falco and our betas. Bring them here to the bowling alley. Eric, call the sheriff and tell him about the body.” Cole seemed unruffled, almost calm as he spurred the others into action. Surprisingly enough, the other Alphas appeared as if they didn’t mind carrying out his instructions.

  Devan abruptly snapped out of her shock. “Hayden thought she saw Nicolas, Cole.” She happily ignored the disproving look Hayden sent her way.

  “I thought I saw Nicolas, but it wasn’t him,” Hayden denied quickly, her face flushing.

  While someone had grabbed her from behind, she couldn’t be certain it was Nicolas. Besides, Cole was already on edge. Telling him his mother’s killer was in Albertville would set him off.

  Adolf snickered, his fingertips grazing the brick wall for composure. “This has to be one of the most entertaining nights thus far. A Mutt, who was Sired by a rogue, claims she didn’t eat a human, though the blood on her face says otherwise. And now, Nicolas has made an appearance in a bowling alley. It fits, really it does.”

  Hayden snarled lowly and clambered toward the silver-haired Alpha. She was secretly pleased when Adolf abruptly stopped laughing and snapped his head around to look at her.

  “The only thing entertaining is your lack of competency, you—”

  “Hayden,” Cole cut in. He reached out a restraining arm and curled it around her waist. “Come inside and tell me exactly where you saw Nicolas. I will try to catch any lingering signs of his trail.” His hand all but covered the small of her back as he guided her inside.

  Breathing past her anger, Hayden allowed herself to be ushered inside the bowling alley. Tonight couldn’t possibly get much worse.

  11. Chapter Eleven

  “He’s not finding anything.”

  Bracing her arms on the edge of the table, Hayden watched as Cole glided around the bowling alley, trying to catch any sign of Nicolas, a scent in particular.

  A part of her had already accepted that he wouldn’t find anything. She only felt like a fool for even mentioning it to Devan, and an even bigger fool that Adolf and the others had to overhear her misconceptions.

  “At least you said something,” Devan tried to soothe the situation as she sat on the bench next to Hayden. Through bored eyes, the other female watched as Cole stopped scrutinizing the perimeter of the building.

  “You mean you said something,” Hayden snapped crossly.

  Movement near the back exit caught her attention. A few sheriffs were slowly filing in and outside the bowling alley, carefully investigating and cleaning the crime scene.

  They had been present for over half-an-hour, the crime out back probably the messiest and most brutal they had the pleasure of investigating in this small town. What made it worse was the fact that it would be passed off as an animal attack. Albertville was surrounded by forests. It didn’t come to a surprise when wild animals detoured into town.

  “That’s Sheriff Johnson,” Devan supplied quietly, ignoring Hayden’s sour mood. “He’s another human who knows about werewolves. He and Cole are on good terms.”

  Hayden looked at the scruffy-looking man in the back of the bowling alley. The sheriff was engaging Cole in a hushed, but significant conversation. On occasion, they often glanced over at Hayden

  She scowled, looking away and toward the other werewolves gathered nearby. Surprisingly, they were all present, including Joseph and Falco who sat two tables away from Hayden and Devan.

  Both father and son carried a motionles
s and refined poise, appearing almost as identical as two statues. Next to Hayden, Devan had probably already spotted their arrival, because she was looking anywhere but at her ex-lover.

  At the table directly across from her, Asher straddled his bench and raised his eyebrows. His father, Eric, was currently leaning against the same table, cutting off any potential conversation between Hayden and Asher.

  However, she knew the blond beta well enough to see the silent question in his eyes. She smiled tightly and nodded, reassuring him that she was all right.

  “What kind of trouble did you get into now, Hayden?” Blake broadcasted his presence as he fell ungracefully on the bench beside her. For good measure, he offered Asher a look of contempt when he noticed the blond beta leaning in closer than necessary. “You always seem to cause such excitement.”

  She deadpanned. “A human was killed. By one of us.”

  Blake’s grin dimmed somewhat, but he didn’t pursue the topic, for Adolf and his beta settled on a table nearby. The silver-haired Alpha had eyes only for Hayden, making sure he was doing his best at intimidating her. She hardly paid much attention to him, more preoccupied in making sure Shane sat on the bench next to her.

  Once the last of the sheriffs left, Adolf waved a flippant hand toward Shane. “Get the human out of here.”

  Hayden slapped her hand down on Shane’s leg, a reassuring weight to keep him sitting. “He has just as much right to be here as you do,” she challenged. Next to her, Blake sucked in an amused breath.

  The irritable Alpha stared at Hayden in disbelief, appearing taken aback for the second time that night. “You dare challenge me? Perhaps,” he began, “you need to be put in your place. Your Alpha is far too lenient with you.” With purpose, he stood up from his table.

  It was male werewolves like him that looked down upon females, treating them as if they were nothing. In response to his disdain, Hayden hunched her shoulders, ready to lunge if necessary.

  “I’m already in my place.” She was vaguely aware of Cole making his way over from the exit, his strides wide, worried. “On an equal level with you, surely.”

  Hayden tensed as Adolf lunged, only for his dark-haired beta to catch him around the shoulders, restraining him. Leaning forward in her seat, Hayden exposed her canines. Her nails elongated and curled around the bench, ready to use if she had to defend Shane and herself.

  However, Cole was quick to step in front of her, quickly putting an end to her fun.

  “Hayden,” he warned softly. “This is not the time or the place to show Adolf the true meaning of a female Alpha.” Unexpectedly, he winked before turning his back on Hayden and standing guard.

  “She butchered the human!” Adolf snarled, nudging his restraining beta away.

  “Ah,” Falco sighed, looking bored. “Is this why we gathered here? I was confused with the…” he motioned at Adolf, “immature banter.”

  “A human was murdered by one of our kind. Hayden stumbled across the corpse in the dumpster behind the bowling alley. She claims she had nothing to do with it.” Eric took the initiative of speaking up. He sat stiffly on his table with Asher sitting obediently nearby. “When Adolf and I arrived at the scene, her face and hands were soiled with blood.”

  Hayden ignored their scrutiny, choosing to keep her attention on Cole’s pacing form.

  “Someone snuck up behind Hayden and smeared the corpse’s blood across her face. She had nothing to do with the murder, I am certain. Which brings us to the question of who is framing Hayden and why,” Cole pondered, furthering the conversation along.

  “It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Adolf, naturally, spoke up. “No one is framing her. She was the one to kill the human. She encountered an isolated and vulnerable prey outside the bowling alley. Because her impractical and insufficient Alpha wasn’t nearby, she succumbed to her urges and attacked the human.”

  Before Hayden could defend herself, Cole spoke up once again. “Hayden is very controlled around humans, almost surprisingly so. She’s been working here for two weeks and there has been not one incident.” He hardly seemed insulted at Adolf’s continued criticism. In fact, he seemed preoccupied with something else.

  Shane nodded fiercely, looking extremely fascinated by the proceedings. Hayden couldn’t share his sentiments. She hated sitting by idly as they questioned her ability to stay in control. It had been a long road for her, she was proud of how she was coming along.

  “Then why does she still have amber eyes?” Eric questioned from his table. His less than supportive query earned a reproachful look from Asher.

  Hayden hardly acknowledged the sudden surveillance from the werewolves, as she was preoccupied with Eric’s inquiry. She had been right in assuming amber eyes were a sign of unruliness, of unrestraint. That explained why Blake had trouble focusing when the rogues had attacked, and why he still had trouble with humans from time to time.

  “And yet, a human sits safely beside her.” Falco, the dark-skinned Alpha, mused reasonably.

  “A select few werewolves, who are in control, do possess amber eyes. If you had forgotten, my father had amber eyes his whole life,” Cole informed as he studied Hayden intensely.

  “And we all know how things turned out for Xavier Slayter,” Adolf commented snidely. A vindictive smile stretched across his lips when he sensed he’d hit a nerve with Cole.

  Everyone quieted and the tension heightened. Cole slowly turned his head around to look at Adolf. It was a low blow for Adolf to mention Cole’s parents, especially his father, who had killed himself over his dead life mate.

  Hayden knew very well that Cole was sensitive about Xavier, even going as far as to push others away so he wouldn’t end up like his father.

  With a fluid stride forward, Cole pressed his palms into Adolf’s chest, not shoving, but keeping them in place as a warning. “Never talk about issues that don’t concern you,” Cole warned icily. His scowl turned fiercer when Adolf only smiled thinly in response.

  Blake stiffened next to Hayden, ready to intervene if things got out of hand. Unexpectedly, Falco beat him to it.

  “Boys.” Falco chuckled as he stepped between the two Alphas. “You’re just looking for the smallest excuse to pick a fight with our young Alpha, aren’t you, Adolf?” Falco patted Adolf’s chest. “Go sit down, both of you. We’re wasting time discussing issues that should stay buried.”

  Clearing his throat, Eric defused the situation. He seemed to be the most logical Alpha out of the bunch, assessing the situation without any partiality. “If Hayden had no hand in the murder, then how do you explain the scentless alley? The only ones we smelt before arriving were Hayden and the body, no one else.”

  Joseph seemed to straighten at the question. “Unless someone came up with a solution to mask their scent,” he suggested with a thoughtful look about him. Purposely, he ignored the doubtful stares he was receiving from the other inhabitants inside the bowling alley.

  “Joseph could be right,” Blake supported. “I heard rumors that Nicolas was dabbling in science and chemicals. He’s trying to improve his rogues’ abilities. He knows he needs an advantage over us, so he’s using technology to accomplish it.”

  Cole tipped back his head and laughed coldly. A few people flinched away at the bitter tone, Hayden included. “Experimenting with science? Nicolas has no idea where to begin when it comes to creating solutions.”

  Hayden scrunched her eyebrows up as she tried to picture Nicolas surrounded by different chemicals and chemistry equipment. It didn’t conjure itself.

  “Maybe not Nicolas personally,” Hayden commented softly. “But you never know what intelligent human he could have turned into a werewolf. Not all rogues are idiots.” She thought the theory sounded reasonable, but one look around at the other werewolves hinted that they thought it was too implausible to consider.

  Obviously, they’d rather believe Hayden was the number one suspect, as opposed to supporting the idea of improbable science experiments.

  E
ric’s brown eyes grew hooded. “Do we know the identity of the human killed?”

  “Robert Warden.”

  Heads turned in the general direction of the unfamiliar voice. Hayden glanced at the newcomer, grinning lightly at his confident swagger. The man had a big belly that hung over the waistband of his jeans and a scruffy, greying beard spread wildly across his aging face. She knew his identity; after all, he did own the bowling alley she worked at.

  “Red Donovan,” Falco sneered, his eyes narrowing on the middle-aged man. “It’s always a pleasant surprise to see you up and about.” Anyone would be thick to miss the sarcasm in his tone.

  Hayden didn’t share Falco’s opinion of the human. In truth, she thought Red Donovan was an exceptionally decent man. He mirrored his grandson in personality quite a bit, though he tended to favor the grumpy-side to Shane’s exuberant energy.

  Shane was positively smitten with his grandfather, his adoration of Red overriding his interest in werewolves. The boy always spoke highly of Red in an idolized kind-of-way. Even now, the human next to her was at the edge of his seat, watching in unabashed pride as his grandfather approached the werewolves.

  “Robert Warden was killed,” Red repeated brusquely. He hadn’t even given Falco the satisfaction of reacting to the Alpha’s sarcastic remark. “I think one of the Alphas here knows a few things about Mr. Warden.”

  Silence, until Falco began chuckling in delight. A few eyebrows climbed at the Alpha’s connections to the dead human. “Yes,” Falco started, “I knew the human. But I don’t see what it has to do with the murder.” Falco tilted his head, his blue eyes searching. “Unless, of course, you think I was the one to kill him?”

  “You tell me.” Red grunted as he limped through the parlor and into the middle of the gathered werewolves. He never showed any uncertainty as he fearlessly stood up to Falco. “After all, he was the one who bought out your diner a few days ago.”

  Hayden’s eyebrows skyrocketed after hearing that bit of information. Clearly, Red Donovan was insinuating that Falco had killed Robert Warden. But that couldn’t be the case. Alpha’s had tight control over their wolves. Falco wouldn’t steep so low as to attack a human. He would go about it in a more cunning way.