CHAPTER 13: THE BLOOD TRAIL

CHAPTER 13: THE BLOOD TRAIL

The words lingered in the air.

Maybe my survival twenty-two years ago wasn't an accident.

Maybe someone had made sure I survived.

And whoever did—

had a reason.

I looked at Steele, waiting for him to say something.

He didn't.

He simply stared at me with those unreadable eyes, his jaw tense as if he was trying to figure out something he had been avoiding for a very long time.

"The bodies disappeared from the morgue," I repeated. "How?"

"We don't know."

"Who was guarding them?"

"Human police officers."

"Then someone had to get inside."

"Not necessarily."

I frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Steele walked toward the window and looked outside.

"The morgue has cameras?"

"Yes."

"Then check them."

"I will."

I grabbed my phone.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To the headquarters."

"No."

I stopped.

"No?"

"You're not going."

I stared at him.

"Excuse me?"

"You were attacked last night. You have a vampire mark on your neck. Your investigation has already attracted attention from creatures that have been hiding for centuries, and now the bodies have disappeared. You are staying here."

I crossed my arms.

"Are you my boss now?"

"No."

"Then don't tell me what to do."

His eyes narrowed.

"Amber."

"Steele."

For a moment, we simply stared at each other.

He was the first to look away.

"You're impossible."

"That's what everyone tells me."

"I mean it."

"So do I."

I grabbed my coat.

He suddenly appeared in front of the door.

I hadn't even seen him move.

I stopped.

"You can't be serious."

"You're staying."

"I am a detective. Two bodies disappeared from police custody."

"And you think walking into the station will make you safer?"

"No. But it might help me solve the case."

He stared at me for several seconds.

Then he sighed.

"Fine."

I smiled.

"Thank you."

"But I'm coming with you."

My smile disappeared.

"You can't walk into a police headquarters with me."

"Why?"

"Because you're not human."

"And?"

"And that's enough of a reason."

He raised a brow.

"You've already seen me turn into a wolf. I think we're past keeping secrets."

"That doesn't mean I want to explain to everyone why an immortal werewolf is following me around."

"Then don't explain."

"Steele."

"I'll stay out of sight."

I shook my head.

"You're incredibly stubborn."

"You're one to talk."

I couldn't argue with that.

---

The headquarters was already chaotic when I arrived.

Kane spotted me immediately.

His expression changed the moment he saw Steele walking several steps behind me.

"Who is he?"

"An acquaintance."

Kane's eyes moved from me to Steele.

"An acquaintance?"

"Yes."

"Since when do you have mysterious acquaintances?"

"Since recently."

Kane looked unconvinced.

Steele gave him a brief glance before walking toward the other side of the room.

Kane lowered his voice.

"Amber, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You have a mark on your neck."

I instinctively touched it.

"It's nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing."

"I'll explain later."

He sighed.

"Fine. But right now, we have a bigger problem."

He handed me a folder.

"The bodies."

I opened it.

"Tell me everything."

"They were placed in the morgue at around three in the morning. Two officers stayed outside the entire time. Nobody saw anyone enter or leave."

"How long before they disappeared?"

"About four hours."

"Any camera footage?"

"We're checking."

"Give me the recordings."

Kane handed me a tablet.

I played the footage.

Nothing.

The hallway remained empty.

The clock moved from one hour to another.

No people.

No movement.

No suspicious shadows.

Then at 6:17 AM, the screen flickered.

I paused.

"Go back."

Kane rewound it.

The same thing happened.

The screen flickered for exactly three seconds.

"Enhance it."

He did.

The image became blurry.

But there was something there.

A shadow.

Not in the hallway.

Inside the morgue.

I leaned closer.

"That's impossible."

Kane looked at me.

"What?"

"The camera is facing the hallway."

"So?"

"The shadow is inside the morgue."

He frowned.

"There are no cameras inside."

"Exactly."

Steele suddenly appeared beside us.

"Play it again."

Kane looked at him.

"Who are you?"

"Someone who can help."

Kane looked at me.

I nodded.

He played the footage again.

Steele stared at the screen.

"Stop."

Kane paused.

Steele pointed at the monitor.

"Right there."

I looked.

The shadow was barely visible.

"What is it?"

"Not a shadow."

"What, then?"

"A trace."

"Of what?"

"Vampire movement."

Kane blinked.

"Vampire?"

I looked at him.

"Long story."

He stared at me.

"Amber, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?"

"I'll explain."

Steele shook his head.

"No. We don't have time."

He looked at the screen.

"The mark on your neck is reacting."

My hand immediately went to my neck.

It was burning.

I winced.

"What does that mean?"

"They're close."

"Who?"

"The vampires."

Kane's face paled.

"How many?"

Steele looked at me.

"At least one."

I stared at the monitor.

The image suddenly changed.

For a split second, a figure appeared.

A woman.

Long hair.

Tall.

Her face wasn't visible.

But her hand was.

Long, sharp nails.

My breathing stopped.

"That's her."

Steele turned toward me.

"You've seen her before?"

"Twenty-two years ago."

Kane looked between us.

"What woman?"

"My mother's killer."

Silence.

I replayed the footage.

The figure was gone.

But I knew what I saw.

I knew those hands.

I knew those nails.

I had spent half my life remembering them.

"She's alive," I whispered.

Steele's expression became grim.

"Apparently."

"Then we can find her."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because if she wanted to be found, she wouldn't have hidden for twenty-two years."

I closed my fist.

"Then we'll make her come to us."

Steele stared at me.

"What are you planning?"

I smiled.

"A trap."

Kane immediately shook his head.

"I don't like that smile."

"You shouldn't."

---

That afternoon, we returned to my condo.

Steele remained silent throughout the drive.

Kane had gone back to headquarters to continue examining the footage, while I wanted to study everything I had gathered about the plane crash.

I placed the old passenger list on the table.

"Steele."

He looked at me.

"How many of the passengers could have been shapeshifters?"

"That's impossible to determine."

"But they could have taken the identities of people on the plane."

"Yes."

"So we start there."

He nodded.

I pointed to the list.

"These people were confirmed dead, right?"

"According to human records."

"Meaning?"

"The records can be wrong."

I slowly looked up.

"So some of these passengers might not have been passengers at all."

"Correct."

"Then the group could have used someone else's identity."

"Or they could have been there under their own."

I stared at the photographs.

Twenty-two years.

Twenty-two years of searching.

And suddenly the pieces seemed to be moving.

"The bureau."

"What about it?"

"You said the bureau was supposed to hunt them down."

"Yes."

"But they stopped."

"Yes."

"Why would an organization responsible for controlling supernatural criminals suddenly stop searching for the most dangerous group they'd ever encountered?"

Steele's expression changed.

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

"I don't know the reason."

"You've never questioned it?"

"Of course I questioned it."

"And?"

"They told us the investigation was closed."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

I shook my head.

"That's suspicious."

"It is."

I looked at him.

"You've never tried to investigate?"

"No."

"Why?"

His gaze fell toward the floor.

"Because I had other things to deal with."

"Anna?"

His eyes immediately met mine.

I knew I had hit something.

"Don't."

"She was the reason you saved me, wasn't she?"

"I told you what happened."

"You said you were told another child had Anna's face."

"Yes."

"And you came because you thought I was her."

"Yes."

"But who told you?"

Steele didn't answer.

"Who told you about me?"

His expression hardened.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I received information."

"From whom?"

"I can't remember."

My eyes narrowed.

"Can't remember or don't want to remember?"

He didn't answer.

I leaned against the table.

"Steele, someone knew I was on that plane. Someone knew I looked like Anna. Someone sent you there."

"Yes."

"And now, twenty-two years later, someone is sending vampires after me."

"Yes."

"Then perhaps the two things are connected."

He stared at me.

"They are."

The certainty in his voice made my heart pound.

"You know something."

"I know enough to tell you that you need to stop."

"No."

"You don't understand what you're doing."

"I understand perfectly."

I picked up the photograph of my parents.

"I'm looking for the people who killed them."

Steele stared at me for a long moment.

Then he said quietly,

"Maybe they're not the ones you should be afraid of."

"Who, then?"

"You."

I frowned.

"What?"

He looked at the mark on my neck.

"Whatever that vampire did to you, it wasn't simply an attack."

I touched the strange symbol.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the mark may be connected to why you survived."

My heart skipped.

"So you're saying someone marked me twenty-two years ago?"

"No."

He stepped closer.

"Someone may have marked you last night because they recognized something that was already inside you."

I stared at him.

"What is inside me?"

"I don't know."

For once, I believed him.

And that scared me.

Suddenly, my phone rang.

Unknown number.

Steele's expression changed.

"Don't answer."

I looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because they may be trying to locate you."

I answered anyway.

"Hello?"

There was silence.

Then a woman's voice whispered through the phone.

"Anna."

My entire body froze.

"Who is this?"

A soft laugh came from the other end.

"You finally found him."

My eyes went to Steele.

He was already standing.

"Who?" I asked.

"The one who saved you."

My heart began pounding.

"How do you know about him?"

Another laugh.

"Because I was there."

My fingers tightened around the phone.

"On the plane?"

"Yes."

Everything inside me stopped.

"You're the woman who killed my mother."

The voice became quieter.

"Your mother was never supposed to die."

I froze.

"What?"

Steele suddenly moved toward me.

"Hang up."

I ignored him.

"What happened to my mother?"

The woman sighed.

"Ask your wolf."

The call ended.

I slowly lowered the phone.

Steele's face was unreadable.

"What did she say?"

I stared at him.

"She said my mother was never supposed to die."

His expression changed.

And for the first time, I saw something in his eyes that looked dangerously close to guilt.

"Steele?"

He didn't respond.

"Why would she tell me to ask you?"

Silence.

"Steele."

He finally looked at me.

"Because she knows something about me."

"What?"

His eyes turned gold.

"The truth about what happened twenty-two years ago."

He stepped closer.

"And if she's the one I think she is, then she isn't just coming after you."

He looked toward the window.

"She's coming back for me, too."

I stared at him.

"For what?"

His voice became barely a whisper.

"Revenge."