Chapter 3

The mortuary looked more sinister than the last time he was down here, and Asher hated it with every ounce of his being.

It was always cold and smelled like death—putrid stench of blood, flesh and pain. He wondered about the people who lay behind the closed drawers.

How many dreams had been lost? How many left their families with broken hearts? How many of them had their lives taken without their permission?

“It’s good to meet you again, Mr. Vaughan,” Gregory Welch, the middle-aged medical examiner, greeted him with a tight-lipped smile.

Gregory did not enjoy slicing up the bodies here, yet the need to bring justice to the victims kept him tied to this job.

"It looks like the same MO but after close observation it's not—sixteen shallow cuts on the torso, each cut an inch apart,” he listed,  scratching his beard, which sported a few grey hairs. “It is the same as the last victim. His blood has been drained before the perp slit his throat open. There are no bite marks or claw marks on his body."

Asher nodded, and confusion etched his features. Logan’s brows were knitted, and he seemed to hold his breath.

"The killer used a silver knife laced with belladonna. Our victim is a demon, so the metal had burned his skin considerably and the poison is mixed with his bloodstream," the doctor added.

"Our murderer never uses the poison or drains blood. So, this is someone else," Asher mused.

"You can say that. I don't think it’s a work of any supernatural either. This is definitely the work of humans. Our Warlington swamp murderer never uses a knife," Gregory agreed.

"He or she uses his claws to carve the victims and then slices their throats open," Asher supplied thoughtfully. The case was getting more complicated. "Did you inform the Sheriff?" Asher asked after a while.

"No, I just finished with the report. I was planning to carry it to her office," Gregory said, taking a sip of his coffee.

Asher scrunched his nose and wondered how the doctor drank that shit here. Again, being human had its perks. Their sense of smell wasn’t good like that of a shifter, and Gregory had been doing this for almost two decades.

“Come along then, I need to speak to Mrs. Wilcoxon as well.” Asher strode to the door. The sooner he got out of this hellhole, the better he’d feel.

***

"Hey, Asher, it's good to see you again." Grace stood from her seat to greet him with a bright smile. She was a short woman in her early forties and a good friend. Her hair tied back in a tight bun and he noticed a few gray strands that were a new addition.

"Good to see you too, Grace, Gregory has the reports ready." Asher shook her extended hand before taking the seat across from her.

"Here you go." Gregory handed the reports to Grace with a tired sigh and plopped on the chair.

They all took their seats as she began to read the file. Her green eyes narrowed in frustration, and he could sense the shift in her mood.

"So, we have copycat,” she surmised, closing the file. “I have received a preliminary report from our profiler and she claims our Warlington swamp murderer is a woman," she declared.

Asher sat straight in his chair upon hearing this. A woman.

Logan’s suspicion was right.

His gaze locked with his second-in-command, who seemed to share the same sentiment.

“Julia suspects there is something that connects this perp to you,” Grace continued, and Asher’s head pounded. “All these murders are centered on you. This could be someone from your past. Someone you might know personally.”

Asher could count the number of women in his life on just one hand. He’d started working very young, so he never had time for relationships. His relationships were all short except for Sienna, and he knew all of his exes were with someone now.

There was only one female werewolf he hooked up with, but she was now mated to one of the werewolves in another city. The others were humans, and none of them checked the list.

Asher's forehead creased in thought. An obsessed stalker was very dangerous and unpredictable.

“Do you have any idea who it could be?”

“No.” He shook his head and paced the office. “There’s no scent trail, but I feel that someone’s watching me.”

"Then we have a serious issue, Asher. Stalkers are never good. Today she is killing your enemies, how long before she starts killing your flings just because they were with you?" Grace asked and Asher already knew the answer.

“Then it should be a consolation that I don’t have any flings, though I had been to a couple of blind dates.” He’d never went on a second date with them or was in contact with any of them. Once again, they were all humans. None of them fit into their murderer’s description.

“Stalkers don’t need a reason to harm someone,” Grace said. “You never know what triggers them.”

She was right. If the stalker who was murdering his enemies stole the flowers he kept on Sienna's grave, then there was no telling she won't hurt the girls he went on a date with. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve some stress. Several questions clouded his mind.

There was one thing he couldn’t figure out.

Why does she clean Sienna's grave?

If she was that obsessed, she should hate Sienna for being his lover. Frustration mounted in him as he tried to find a clue.

***

Neil Titus, a demon, and the director of the Shadow Crawlers, sat with a grim look as his dark eyes scanned the reports. His thick brown hair was combed back, and his posture radiated concern. With a loud sigh, he got up and smoothed the tailored suit.

“We need to make sure this girl, whoever it is, does not create any further trouble. So far, she is murdering only the criminals. That doesn’t mean that the others are safe. We need to catch her and make sure she is restrained for the rest of her life,” he stated, glaring through the glass window, which provided the enormous view of the city.

Asher sat on the couch with his eyes closed while Logan chewed his nails. Tension hung thick in the air as they were led on a tail chase.

“We received a report from our Matlock county branch. The supernatural killings have increased considerably in the past weeks and the humans are afraid to step out of their home at nights,” Neil’s voice was thick with concern.

“The reports reveal it was the work of a vampire, a very strong one at that. There were multiple cuts in the body of his victims and a bite wound. The blood was not only drained from the victims, but this one has a habit of painting the walls with the blood of his victims. I don’t want that leech coming this way to my city and I want him stopped at any cost,” he concluded.

“I hate the leeches,” Logan grumbled.

“They’re the reason our parents are dead,” Asher said and sat straight. “One of them killed my mate.”

Logan’s father was a beta to Asher’s father, and they were killed in a surprise attack. This forced Asher and Logan to grow up in foster homes until they were ready to take over the scrambled pack.

Suddenly, Logan straightened in his seat. “I might have a solution for your problem,” he drawled, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

Asher tilted his head. “Don’t tell me it’s one of those pieces of garbage you bought in the name of technology,” he mocked.

“Hey, don’t call them that. My devices are very effective. Except your stalker knows exactly where it is placed.” Logan looked offended. “Look, I have a mini transmitter with GPS, which you can hide inside the rose bouquet you will buy tomorrow. Your stalker will pick it up, and she takes us the right to her den,” he explained, enthusiasm dripping from his voice.

“And?” Asher asked, showing little interest.

“And… we arrest her right there at her den. Duh!” His beta concluded in a serious tone, making Asher boom with laughter.

“Well, I would like to see you succeed for once,” he replied, getting up. “I will see you later, Neil,” he said over his shoulder and left the room without a backward glance.

“Why wouldn’t he believe me? This will work. It’s a great idea!”

Neil chuckled behind Logan. “Because you, my friend, have a way of goofing things up,” he said, and Logan left the room with a snort.

***

“Alright, here, put this carefully inside the bouquet,” Logan said, handing him a button-sized device.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Asher asked for the umpteenth time, making Logan huff in irritation.

“Trust me for once, will you?” He scowled with a soft growl.

“It’s not you that I don’t trust. It’s this button you call a device I am worried about,” Asher countered.

“Come on, bro, don’t be like that. You remember how I tackled Ronan Leon? It was by slipping this baby into his car? He took me right to his victims.” Logan puffed his chest in pride, and Asher laughed at his best friend’s antics.

He remembered Ronan Leon, a man with a habit of kidnapping teenage girls with blonde hair and hazel eyes. He tortured, raped and then sliced his victims. He had killed at least eleven before the Shadow Crawlers ended him for good.

Ronan was a human and Asher wondered how much worse a human could be when compared to the supernaturals to commonly coined as monsters.

“Alright, stop whining like a puppy and I will take it.” Asher climbed into the driver’s seat.

Logan climbed into the back seat with another device and a laptop. “Go on,” he said, crouching between the seats. His broad frame was a hard fit, but he managed, grunting occasionally when Asher hit a bump.

The alpha drove toward the cemetery and walked down the familiar gravel path, which took him to his Sienna. His attention today, however, was on something else. He placed the bouquet on top of her clean grave and began to mourn. After a while, he left the place without looking back.

He climbed inside his car and drove it away before stopping it, hidden from the view of the graveyard. Patiently, they waited for Logan’s machine to pick up any movements.

After five agonizing minutes, Logan's fist pumped in the air when the bouquet moved. “Gotcha!”

Asher turned in his seat, ready to move.

“Whoa, it’s moving real fast,” Logan commented while he typed something furiously on the laptop.

Asher got out of the driver’s seat and climbed beside Logan, who was dialing to their HQ.

“Neil, it's Logan. We need backup in the city graveyard. The suspect is moving quickly,” Logan informed their director as Asher’s eyes followed the green dot that was moving at an inhuman speed. It stopped in the middle of the forest and stayed there.

“It’s not moving anymore. Come, let’s go.”