He glanced back at me, eyebrow raised.
“Are you sure you want to go in there?” If Xen was already inside, then odds were the situation was under control. Did we really want to go in and possibly make things worse?
Indecision clouded Jake’s features before his gaze drifted to the door again and he nodded. “I need to know he’s all right. I’ve got a bad feeling…”
I did too.
Sliding my fingers lower to link with Jake’s, I gave his hand a quick squeeze before letting go. “After you.”
“Fucking hell.”Jake stopped so abruptly I almost walked into his back.
Xen stood next to the large table in the middle of the room, hands in his hair.
And then the smell hit me.
Blood.
And aconite-laced alcohol.
Neither of which should be present here.
“What the fuck happened?” I hissed, easing past Jake and into the room fully. He stood frozen in the doorway, and following his line of sight, I soon saw why.
Jake’s dad was passed out on the floor behind Xen, blood smeared over his face and hands, clothes ripped in a way that suggested claws and teeth. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief that he seemed to be alive at least. But if the blood wasn’t his…
A pair of feet were the only thing visible of whoever else was laid out on the floor, but they didn’t so much as twitch.Fuck. Dread pooled low in my gut, instinct telling me that this wasbad.
“Xen?” My police training kicked in automatically as I rushed over to the body that had yet to move. “Whathappened?” I repeated, kneeling to check for signs of life, already knowing it was pointless, but I had to be certain.
The victim was male, shifter, and currently lying on their front, but the edges of a torn-out throat were unmistakable. Whoever had attacked him had meant to kill him. This wasn’t an accident, or a fight that got out of hand. Despite all evidence pointing to Jake’s dad, I prayed it wasn’t him.
There were no other obvious injuries, just one lethal strike.
And that wasn’t the worst of it.
I sucked in a breath as I leant closer to get a better look for identification. “Goddess above.”
“Who is it?” Jake whispered from behind me. He’d moved next to his dad, but thankfully hadn’t touched him yet, even though it probably took every ounce of control he had to stand his ground. But whether he liked it or not, this was a police matter now, and he knew as well as I did that we needed to tread carefully, family or not.
This room was a crime scene.
And both Jake’s dad and our fuckingalphawere now murder suspects until we ascertained what the fuck had happened here.
“Max?” Jake urged, the desperation in his voice snapping me out of it.
I glanced down at the body again and sighed. “Lee Faris. Beta of the Thoresby Park Pack.
“Fuck,” Jake breathed. His hand landed on my shoulder, fingers digging in painfully as the enormity of the situation sank in. “He’s mydad, Max?”
“I know.” I also knew what he was asking, and as much as I wanted to make this all go away for him, I just… Icouldn’t. I loved Jake’s dad, but Faris was dead, and it looked increasingly likely that Jake’s dad had killed him. Whether there were extenuating circumstances for whatever had happened here remained to be seen, and as difficult as this was going to be, we had to do our jobs.
Jake’s grip eased and I felt the resignation in his next words. “Call it in.”
“No!”
The word snapped through the air, alpha power skittering down my spine, making me flinch.
Jake’s fingers flexed against my shoulder and we both turned to stare at Xen.
