As the Alpha of Deathwhisper Pack, Rick was no stranger to the dark underbelly of Howlton. But when a series of brutal murders shook the city to its core, I knew that Rick was aware that this case would be unlike any he had ever faced before. Because I could see him with a furrowed brow in the dimly lit confines of his office at that time. 

That morning, Xavier came to him.

As the body count continued to rise, Rick asked his trusted Beta, Xavier, for assistance, knowing that he would need all the help he could get to unravel the mystery before it was too late.

Xavier was a loyal and steadfast member of Deathwhisper Pack, who stood by Rick's side through thick and thin. He also had known Rick from childhood, so they could be called as a best friend, before going into Alpha and Beta. 

Xavier reported, “My team found a new dismembered body in the forest, close to the border of the Deathwhisper Pack and the Riverstone Pack. It seems that the location of the incident is very random, to the point that our patrol team cannot predict where the next incident will occur.” 

So, they found my body. I couldn’t help feeling relieved and looked at Rick’s expression.

“So, the brutal murders case has spread to almost the border. Do you think we need to contact the Riverstone Pack about this?" Rick asked in a panicked face.

Riverstone Pack?

I felt my anger rising when he mentioned that. It turned out he was very worried about Louisiana's safety, without knowing that the case he was investigating at that moment was about me, his mate.

“I think it’s not necessary, because they definitely have their own team to investigate things like this. What's more, our Pack's relationship with their Pack is not that close,” Xavier answered.

“Alright,” Rick nodded in agreement.

“Then I will expand patrol areas to catch criminals. We also have to ask help from Luna Daisy to help warn every Pack member to always be alert when going out at night. I see the Pack members really like her, so they will definitely comply if it was Luna Daisy who said it,” Xavier advised. 

I could understand Xavier’s intention. As Rick’s best friend, he absolutely knew about me and Rick’s relationship. So, maybe he said that to make Rick a little dependent on me and make us get closer from it.

But Rick’s answer was as cold as an iceberg, “No need. just pass out flyers for them to read. Then, have you succeeded in identifying the victim’s identity?” Rick was trying to divert the conversation.

“Not yet, the body was too dismembered, so it's difficult for our forensic team. They are even still in the forest to collect the victim’s body parts now.

“Huh, you must be very upset because this incident happened on the night of your wedding anniversary, right?” Xavier asked, thinking that Rick felt disturbed because of that. Little did he know, Rick was still thinking about Lousiana’s safety instead of that.

Since Rick stayed quiet, Xavier continued, “Would we celebrate a feast again today as usual? I love Luna Daisy’s cooking.”

“Maybe not, she went to stay overnight at her friend's house,” Rick answered coldly.

That morning, when he came home, I was nowhere to be found. So, Rick thought that I must be so upset with him because he ignored my link tonight and stayed at Isaiah’s house as usual. 

Well, I knew that Rick actually didn’t care about it. Since the thing that fulfilled his head was only the brutal murder case and Lousiana. 

Little did he know, the answers he sought would lead him down a path of betrayal and deception, testing the limits of his loyalty and love in ways he never thought possible.

Rick grimaced as he surveyed the scene, his stomach churning at the sight before him. It was the latest in a string of murders that had plagued Howlton in recent weeks, each one more savage than the last.

However, Rick actually had a special ability that could easily recreate the scene just by seeing. So, he analyzed blood spatters like it was some messed-up art exhibit even if he wanted to vomit many times.

It actually was like a nightmare come to life, even he was taken aback by the horror show. "This is some next-level brutality," he whispered, face going pale.

Rick was pointing out every detail in passion and explained, "See these stains? Looks like someone did some organ harvest. Also, those marks on the trees indicated that this poor victim was trying to counter the whole time."

He was absolutely correct. This simply demonstrated that my mate's intuition was as sharp as a silver dagger that killed me last night.

I couldn't wait to witness his reaction when he finally figured everything out.

Xavier's scratching his head, saying, "So, according to the forensic guys, our victim's a young woman under thirty. I mean, the preparator really can’t be investigated easily since he did it in random ways.”

But soon, a forensic guy came with my finger and showed the ring they found in the scene, the key physical evidence.

Rick casually picked up the ring, but Xavier's observation prompted a moment of silence. 

"Alpha Rick, doesn't this ring resemble yours?" he whispered. 

Rick briefly inspected the ring, finding it unengraved, but he shrugged it off, "Ah, it's probably just a common style. I just choose the popular one that time, you know?" 

As Rick finished his sentence, he lingered near the scene entrance lost in thought. After some contemplation, he tried to link me by mind-link. But there was no answer.

Then, he tried to call my phone, but again, it couldn’t get through.

"Look at her, acting all superior after her daily tantrums! Whatever, it's not her, though."

Rick must have thought I didn't answer because I was still angry with him or taking revenge because last night, he ignored my link. So, I couldn't help but feel stressed about it.

“What? Did you fail to mind-link Luna Daisy?” Xavier asked when he heard Rick’s frustration scream.

“Nevermind, bring all of the evidence and ask the team to quickly investigate the victim's identity. Then look for all evidence that could lead to the identity of the perpetrator, we shouldn’t delay it any longer,” Rick ordered angrily.

Poor him. He didn’t know that the answers he sought were closer than he ever imagined, hidden in plain sight among the wreckage of the crime scene.

Before the dismembered body that was found could be rearranged, since they still couldn’t find my head and some of the important parts, the investigation team had found another body not far from the scene. Different from before, the victim that time was still intact, only had a few scratches and a silver dagger stab mark on his stomach.

I was shocked when I saw a face that was very familiar to me. The body that was found was the Rough who attacked me last night. How could he be killed?

Last night after being killed, I couldn't bear to see how my body was being torn apart by the perpetrator, so I chose to go looking for Rick. But when I arrived at the cottage, I realized that it was already early in the morning, so he had already left the cottage, even Lousiana wasn’t there.

My next destination was his office and this was where I listened to Xavier report.

While I was still wondering, an investigation team reported that they had managed to find the second victim after asking search dogs to smell the scent left around the first body.

The forensic team also reported that the DNA on the second body matched the DNA on the skin taken from my nails. Furthermore, his fingerprint also somewhat matched the fingerprints that were left behind in the victims before.

I was a little proud because I managed to get them to find evidence, but I didn't expect that they would find the culprit in the form of a dead body.

Suddenly, the sound of a dog barking startled me. When I turned around, I was surprised to see a dog that I knew very well.

Apparently, the search dog they brought was Louis, the dog I had been looking after since I married Rick.

Back then the dog was a gift that Rick's parents gave me. The breed was indeed a Labrador Retriever, which was devoted to guarding me. But when a murder case occurred, I lent him to the patrol team as additional help.

I didn't expect Louis to be so helpful, in fact it seemed like he was the only one who could see and recognize me in this invisible body.

"Oh, good boy. Louis, I miss you, I hope you can help me tell them about the truth," I said.

But then my brain works perfectly. "You indeed can help me."

Last night, I remembered that I managed to get the Riverstone Pack emblem. Unfortunately, the perpetrator was suddenly furious, making me accidentally throw it down a cliff.

So, it looked like I had to take Louis and the patrol team there.

Because of my brilliant brain and Louis’ help, the emblem was then on Rick’s hand. When I saw him, for some reason I could see a look of shock that he rarely showed. Could it be that he knew who the emblem belonged to?

“Alpha Rick, could it be that the perpetrator was from the Riverstone Pack?” Xavier asked in confusion.