Moonlight's Ambassador (Aileen Travers Book 3)(54)

I moved closer, careful not to step in the blood pooling around the torso. I thought I recognized the person. It was difficult to tell with the face frozen in a rictus of terror, but she was familiar. Her long blond hair had turned almost pink from all the blood, and her heart-shaped features were missing the sweetness from our first meeting.

Catherine. I wasn't sure, but I thought it might be.

My stomach turned as I noticed a bone that had been largely stripped of flesh.

"Are those teeth marks?" I asked, my voice weak.

"Yes." Liam crouched near one of the pieces, lifting a ribbon of flesh away to get a better look at it.

It looked like some animal had chewed on the bone, cracking it and then sucking out the marrow. Behavior typical of a dog or wolf, but abhorrent when you thought of the person that bone used to belong to.

The other person would need DNA testing to be definitively identified. Their body was unrecognizable. Like the other, it had been ripped apart, but whatever had done this had demolished it. The torso was in two pieces, the spine visible, and what was left of the intestines on the other side of the alley. There weren't enough pieces, which meant the attacker had probably eaten part of them.

"The head's missing," I said in a low voice, looking around. It could be hidden under some of the other pieces or further down the alley. I stayed where I was, not willing to disturb the scene any more than we already had. The brick alleyway was slick with blood, as if someone had poured a vat of it all over the place.

“The head’s not missing,” Liam said, his voice grim as he stared down at the ground in front of him. An odd shaped blob rested on the cobblestone, bone peeking out with what might be blood-matted hair mixed into the mess. It had been crushed so that it was virtually unrecognizable.

"What's she doing here?" Anton snarled, advancing on me.

I took a step back, the sight of an angry vampire distracting me from the scene. Nathan pushed me behind him, stepping to meet Anton.

"She shouldn't be here," Anton spat, his eyes finding me over Nathan's shoulder. The black in them seeming to bleed over into the white as his fangs dropped down.

"Anton, that's enough," Liam's voice cracked through the air. He straightened from where he crouched, his eyes doing that eerie glowing thing as he stared at the other vampire.

"Her meddling caused this," Anton responded, his voice heated.

"That's enough, my friend." The Viking from game night stepped forward, taking Anton by the shoulder and steering him away. "Why don't you take a breather?"

Anton sent another snarl my way before stalking off into the night.

Viking turned back to us, his eyes flicking over me in derision before he turned his attention to Liam. "Forgive him. His companion is among the dead."

Liam nodded, his face grim.

"What was Makoto thinking sending him here to stand guard?" Nathan muttered.

Viking flipped him a dark glance. "Perhaps he had no choice seeing as three of our own were forced to track down the yearling. Again. We’re understaffed since we also have to provide security for the master."

"Enough. This situation is bad enough without fighting amongst ourselves," Liam said, his voice brooking no argument. "Daniel, tell me what you know so far."

Daniel and Nathan stared each other down for a moment longer before Nathan's body relaxed, and he stepped beside me instead of in front. Daniel's gaze moved over me, something in his eyes making it clear that he held no more love for me than Anton.

It was a significant change from last night when there had almost been a camaraderie building. I didn't want to admit it, to them or myself, but the loss of that hurt. More than I thought it would. I missed being part of a team. I missed the jokes and the teasing and the sense that there was someone who'd guard your back no matter what came.

I had no one but myself to blame. I'd even gone so far as to make sure there would be no chance that I could build it into something better, but it stung just the same.

"From what Anton shared, Catherine said she was tired of being cooped up and wanted some fresh air. She likes the cream puff pastries from Schmidt’s and had planned a short excursion for one."

Damn. I was right.

My heart clenched in sympathy. No wonder Anton wanted my head. I hadn't known her well but from what I'd seen of her with him, the two had seemed like they'd had real feelings for another.

"Theo volunteered to go with her. We think he's the other victim."

Theo? I looked at the other body with sad eyes. The man had struck me as shy but nice and the thought of him lying dead and unrecognizable was more depressing than I wanted to think about while standing among those who now viewed me as an enemy.

"Have Makoto run his DNA through the system and compare it to the body. I want a firm confirmation."

Daniel nodded and walked away without glancing in my direction.

Liam crossed the alley over to my side. "This is why we're so hard on our newly turned."

"You still don't have anything proving it was Caroline," I said in a soft voice. “Why would she come after the same companions from last night? She hasn’t been a wolf long, and I doubt she knows who any of the other spooks are.”

I certainly hadn’t when I’d first been turned.

“Vampires have a distinctive smell to a wolf’s nose,” Liam said, his eyes thoughtful as he stared at the bodies. “Perhaps her wolf became confused and thought they presented a threat.”