“WHAT?” Sush’s voice blared in Greg’s car and his lycan was pushed back by the volume before he got back up and demanded his human to ask what was going on. Sush put Hazel on speaker as the deputy reported at a frantic pace, “...autopsy said she’d been dead for ten hours before the body was found. They took a full hour to identify her before notifying us about…” Greg double-parked as Hazel’s voice continued ringing through. “...the cause of death - multiple stab wounds to her chest, abdomen and face. No belongings were taken. Cash, credit cards, a five-figure watch remained intact and present on the property. They weren’t after money. Valor is sending four archers to retrieve her body and the defense ministry has been notified. Did Ferdinand say anything?” &ldqu

Greg’s thumb fiddling the ear of the mug paused, eyes enlarged and jaw tensed, finding no humor in Sush, who simply shrugged. Annoyance set in, and he noted pointedly, “Sush, as much as I want to, we’ve established that I can’t read your mind. Kindly elaborate.” She was going to tell him. She just didn’t know where to start. Patterson and Carter were an item for quite a while, before Sush herself joined the hunters. Greg’s impatience had put a stop to her mind that had already been slowed from the day’s events. The words “as much as I want to” did most of the magic, conjuring thoughts that Sush never thought she had. Deciding for

The octopuses completed the screening Valor asked for within a week. Hunters were either relocated, given more team members or reassigned completely. They sent a formal request to the government, urging them to improve communication systems in remote areas. Once Ferdinand shared the horrors of Catrine Carter’s death, the motion to see through the hunters’ request received a unanimous vote. There was some noise made by a member of the opposition party, a young woman named Joyce Clearwater, who promptly reminded the house that her party had made those recommendations several times before but was brushed aside by the leading party, using this opportunity to argue that the leading party would never take precautions seriously until the people suffered “in the most tragic manner”. Despite the slurs that went on for a few minutes after that, the result was the same - improve

Ella completed her task within thirty-six hours, reporting that Catrine Carter’s bank statements and balances hadn’t changed much pre- and post-Larson. Emails were clean. She didn’t find anything interesting in the phone records either. But the thing that intrigued her was even though Carter’s bank statements didn’t change, her outward appearance did. Ella showed Greg before and after pictures of Carter, and the difference in the chameleon’s hair, make-up, clothes, bags and accessories was glaring. Greg checked the bank records again, at which time Ella promptly noted that Carter couldn’t have afforded the change with a huntress’s payroll. “Have you traced her purchases?” Greg asked, fascinated and suspicious. &ldqu

After another shitty test run of the new earplugs, Sush dragged her exhausted self to the elevator, intending to head to the archers’ floor to blow off some steam at their gun range. When the elevator arrived, she already felt better that the octopuses who looked like they were waiting to ascend said they were waiting for another two of their own from the restrooms before they ascended together, so Sush had the space all to herself and tried not to look too happy about not needing to share and make small talk with anyone on the ride up. Right before the metal doors closed, a hand came between them, making both doors part before Greg stepped inside. “Are you out of your mind?” Sush reprimanded. “Give me a minute,” he urged in his usual monotone a