Page 37 of Black Hollow: Awakening

“God, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” he complained, taking a deep breath.

“Then why did you come snooping?”

“I saw your car. I thought something had…”

At that moment, Will’s hand tilted involuntarily, and the light fell to the right. Then Will saw something that made his blood run cold.

A dead girl was lying in the snow. Her black hair was fanned out around her head. Her lips were parted, her eyes open. She was lying in a pool of blood.

Will shifted his terrified gaze to Blake.

“What did you do?” he whispered weakly.

“What? Nothing. It wasn’t me.”

Will started backing away.

“I’m serious. I didn’t do it.”

He moved faster.

“Wait.”

He turned and started to run, but Alden caught up to him in an instant. Will screamed. Blake covered his mouth with his hand.

“It wasn’t me, you hear? Shut up!” he ordered sternly. Will struggled with all his might. “You’re going to get us into trouble!”

“What’s going on?”

The familiar voice made Will calm down a little. A few feet away stood Liam, watching them intently.

“Liam!” Blake called out, relieved. “Tell him to shut up!”

“Everything okay, Will?” Liam asked.

“Y-Yeah,” Will confirmed nervously, glancing furtively at Blake, who moved away but still stood close enough to silence him if needed. “What happened?”

“So when you saw me, you immediately assumed I was a murderer, but seeing him somehow calmed you down?” Blake asked, irritated.

“You’re a vampire,” Will reminded him pointedly.

“And he’s a werewolf! You think his ancestors never devoured people?”

“They probably did,” Liam admitted freely.

Will glanced at him anxiously.

“Besides… you racist…” Alden seethed. “Take a good look. See this hole in her head? I didn’t gouge it out with my fangs, she was shot!”

Will really didn’t want to, but he moved closer to the body and examined it carefully. Alden was right. There was a bullet wound in the girl’s head. And they weren’t the only visible injuries. She had cuts on her, and her wrists bore the marks of a rope or something similar. Will felt sick. He had never seen anything so horrifying.

“Who did this?”

“We don’t know.”

“The police are on their way, right?”

He got no answer.