Chapter 12 The Body
POV: Callum Brennan
Location: Pack Territory, Richmond Park
Time: Five Weeks After Father's Death
I'm doing territory patrol when I smell it. Blood. Fresh blood. Human blood.
That's wrong. Humans don't come into our territory. The Veil keeps them away, makes them uncomfortable enough that they turn around before entering restricted areas. If there's human blood here, something really bad happened.
I follow the scent through the trees. It gets stronger with each step, leading me deeper into the wooded section where we run during full moons. My heart's pounding. Part of me wants to call for backup before investigating further, but I need to see what I'm dealing with first.
The body's in a clearing about a hundred meters from the eastern border. Male, maybe thirty years old, lying face down. There's blood everywhere. It's soaked into the leaves and dirt around him, pooling in the slight depression where he fell.
I drop to my knees beside him and check for a pulse, even though I already know he's dead. The body's cold. He's been here for hours at least, maybe longer. The blood's already started to congeal.
My hands are shaking as I pull out my phone. This is a nightmare. A dead human in pack territory means exposure risk. If human authorities find out, if the Veil breaks down, every supernatural in London is compromised.
I dial Cormac. He answers on the second ring.
"Callum? What's wrong?"
"I found a body. Human. In our territory, near the eastern border of Richmond Park." I'm trying to keep my voice steady but it's hard. "He's dead. Been dead for hours from the look of it. There's so much blood."
Silence on the other end. Then Cormac's voice comes through, sharp and controlled. "Don't touch anything else. Stay exactly where you are. I'm calling supernatural authorities right now."
"Should I call Declan? Get some pack members to secure the perimeter?"
"No. Don't call anyone. Just wait with the body until authorities arrive. I'll handle everything else." He hangs up before I can respond.
I stand there staring at the body, trying not to panic. The man's wearing ordinary clothes. Jeans, a dark jacket, running shoes. He looks like someone who went for a jog and never made it home. Someone's going to be looking for him. Someone's going to be devastated.
How did he even get here? Humans can't just wander into pack territory. The Veil prevents it. They feel uncomfortable, get turned around, forget why they wanted to come here in the first place. For a human to actually make it this deep into our section of the park, something had to override the Veil's influence.
I'm careful not to disturb anything else as I look around the clearing. I need to understand what happened here. The victim's lying face down, arms at odd angles. There's a wound on the back of his head. Blunt force trauma, maybe? And there are marks on his throat. Deep punctures.
Bite marks. Werewolf bite marks.
Oh god. A werewolf killed this human. In our territory. This is so much worse than I thought.
I'm scanning the area when something else registers. There's a scent here that's familiar. Really familiar. It takes me a moment to place it because it's so out of context.
It's my scent. My scent is all over this clearing. Not just nearby because I'm standing here now. The scent is old, hours old, concentrated around the body and the surrounding area.
That doesn't make any sense. I haven't been to this clearing in weeks. My patrol route doesn't usually take me this far east. So why does it smell like I spent significant time here?
I move closer to the body without touching it. There's something on the victim's jacket. Hair. Dark brown hair. The same color as mine.
No. That can't be right. I wasn't here. I didn't do this.
But my scent is everywhere. My hair is on the victim. To anyone investigating this scene, it's going to look like I was present during the murder. Like I was involved.
The panic that's been building in my chest suddenly explodes. Someone's setting me up. Someone killed this human and made it look like I did it. But who would do that? And why?
I pull out my phone to call Cormac back, to warn him about the evidence, but before I can dial, I hear vehicles approaching. That was fast. Too fast. Supernatural authorities are already here.
Three black SUVs pull up at the tree line. Doors open and vampires step out. Six of them, all wearing dark suits and official badges. The Supernatural Enforcement Division. They handle crimes that the Veil keeps hidden from human authorities.
The lead vampire is tall and ancient-looking, with pale skin and cold eyes that have seen centuries of death. He walks toward me with the kind of confidence that comes from being an apex predator.
"Callum Brennan?" His voice is smooth and emotionless.
"Yes. I'm the one who found the body. I called my brother about thirty minutes ago and he said he'd contact you."
"I'm Inspector Harwick. Walk me through exactly what happened."
I explain everything as clearly as I can. My patrol route, smelling blood, following the scent, finding the victim, checking for a pulse, calling Cormac immediately. Inspector Harwick listens without any change in expression. His face could be carved from marble.
"Did you touch the body besides checking for a pulse?"
"No. Just that. I wanted to see if he was still alive, but he's been dead for hours."
"And before finding the body, when were you last in this area?"
"Weeks ago, maybe. I don't usually patrol this far east. My route typically covers the western and northern sections."
Inspector Harwick's looking past me at the crime scene. His nostrils flare slightly as he scents the air. I see something flicker in his eyes. Recognition. Suspicion.
"Mr. Brennan, I need you to stay exactly where you are. Don't move." He signals to the other vampires. They spread out, documenting the scene, taking photographs, collecting samples.
One of them kneels by the body and examines it closely. She looks up at Harwick and nods once. Some kind of confirmation.
Harwick turns back to me. "Mr. Brennan, I'm afraid we're going to need to take you in for questioning."
The bottom drops out of my stomach. "What? Why? I'm the one who reported this. I found the body and called it in immediately."
"Because your scent is saturated throughout this crime scene. On the victim, on the ground, concentrated in multiple locations around the clearing. Either you were present during this murder, or you committed it yourself."
"I wasn't here. I don't know why my scent is here, but I wasn't." My voice is rising. I can hear the panic in it. "Someone must have planted it. Used my clothes or something to transfer the scent."
"That's an interesting theory." Harwick's expression doesn't change. "We'll explore all possibilities during questioning. But right now, you're our primary suspect, and we need to secure you while we investigate."
One of the other vampires approaches carrying silver handcuffs. My heart stops. Silver burns werewolves. It hurts like nothing else, weakens us, makes us vulnerable.
"Is that really necessary? I'm cooperating. I'm not resisting."
"Protocol for supernatural suspects." Harwick nods to the vampire with the cuffs. "We can't risk you shifting or fleeing."
"I'm not going to run. I didn't do this."
"Then you have nothing to worry about."
The vampire grabs my wrists and snaps the silver cuffs on. The pain is immediate and overwhelming. It feels like my skin is on fire where the metal touches. I grit my teeth to keep from crying out, but I can't stop the hiss of pain that escapes.
More supernatural police are arriving now, setting up a perimeter around the crime scene. They're taking photographs from every angle, collecting samples, documenting everything. I'm standing there in silver cuffs that are burning through my skin, watching them process evidence that makes me look guilty.
A familiar SUV pulls up. Cormac jumps out before it even fully stops, with Beta Declan right behind him. My brother looks shocked and terrified. He runs toward me.
"Callum! What's happening?"
"They think I did this. My scent is all over the crime scene." The pain from the silver is making it hard to think straight. "Cormac, I didn't kill anyone. I just found the body."
"Of course you didn't." Cormac turns to Inspector Harwick. "This is a mistake. My brother wouldn't hurt anyone, let alone a human. He's the most non-violent person I know."
"The evidence suggests otherwise." Harwick's voice is clinical, detached. "His scent is concentrated throughout the scene. We found hair matching his description on the victim's clothing. This is either contamination or commission, and we need to determine which through proper investigation."
"Then investigate, but you don't need to arrest him. He's Beta of this pack. He has responsibilities."
"He's suspected of murdering a human in werewolf territory. That supersedes pack responsibilities." Harwick signals to his officers. "Mr. Brennan, you're under arrest on suspicion of murder. You have the right to remain silent during questioning. Anything you say can and will be used against you in supernatural court proceedings."
Two vampires grab my arms. The movement makes the silver cuffs shift and fresh pain shoots through my wrists. I can feel the burns getting deeper.
"Cormac." I'm trying to stay calm but I can hear the desperation in my own voice. "Find out who did this. Someone's framing me. Someone had to plant my scent here."
"I will. I promise." Cormac looks devastated. His eyes are wide and there's genuine fear in them. "Just cooperate with them. Tell them the truth. We'll get this sorted out."
They're leading me away from my brother, away from Declan, away from the pack members who've started gathering at the tree line to watch. I can see their faces. Shock. Confusion. Some of them look suspicious. They're already wondering if I actually did this.
The vampires push me into the back of one of their SUVs. The vehicle is modified for supernatural transport, reinforced and spelled to contain any kind of creature. The seats are hard metal instead of cushions. There are restraint points built into the floor and walls.
Through the tinted window, I can see Cormac talking to Inspector Harwick. My brother's gesturing emphatically, clearly arguing on my behalf. Declan's beside him, looking equally upset. They're trying to help.
But Harwick's shaking his head. Whatever Cormac's saying, it's not working.
The SUV starts moving. We're leaving pack territory, leaving Richmond Park, heading toward whatever facility holds supernatural criminals. The silver cuffs keep burning. I can smell my own flesh cooking underneath them, but the vampires don't care. They don't even look at me.
I didn't do this. I know I didn't do this. But my scent is all over that crime scene. My hair was on the victim's body. To any investigator, it looks like I was present during the murder.
Someone went to a lot of trouble to make me look guilty. Someone killed a human, transported the body to our territory, planted evidence, transferred my scent to the scene. This was planned. Professional.
But who would do that? Who has the resources and motivation to frame me for murder?
I don't have enemies. I've never had enemies. I'm Beta because Cormac's Alpha, not because I wanted the position. I help pack members. I mediate disputes. I don't threaten anyone.
So why would someone destroy me like this?
The SUV pulls onto the main road. Through the window, I catch one last glimpse of pack territory disappearing behind us. I don't know when I'll see it again. I don't know if I'll ever see it again.
All I know is that my life just ended, and I have no idea why.