**CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR.**
No one said anything after Brianna left.
Drake’s gaze flickered around the room as he also remained quiet, staring at me with those cold, dark eyes. I was still pissed at him. Madly. Then, without a word, he turned and walked toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Topper called after him.
Drake paused, his hand already placed on the doorknob. “To clear my head,” he muttered.
“I'll come with you,” Topper said before they both walked out, leaving the rest of us standing in the suffocating silence they left behind.
Still, none of us spoke until Betty cleared her throat, breaking the silence. Her voice was a bit raspy. “I can't believe a whole shit show went down in the presence of a dead body,” She glanced around at the group, her eyes landing on Karina’s body draped over the couch. “I know we're all on edge, but...we need to focus on Karina. She deserves that much, at least.”
Her words seemed to settle over the room like a weight. We all turned to look at Karina—her body so still, so peaceful in a way that was painful to see. Her face was still covered with a handkerchief, but I could see the tug of her lips from where the handkerchief had hiked up a bit. Even at her death, she was still wearing a smile. The grief that had been simmering beneath the surface came rushing back in full force, hitting me like a wave.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, feeling my throat tighten as I went over to the couch, and knelt before it. My rage towards Drake had almost made me forget that Karina's body was still in the room with us. It hadn't even been an hour since she died and I was slowly forgetting about her. “I’m so sorry, Karina. I'm so sorry. I really am. I should have been there for you… I should have stopped this.”
Draken stepped closer to me, his hand reaching out to brush against mine. “Hey, Eline,” he said softly, his voice filled with a gentleness that only made my heart ache more. “You couldn’t have known. None of us could’ve.”
I shook my head, the tears blurring my vision. “But I *did* know. I knew something was wrong with Tyler, my cat tingles were going haywire, I felt it, and I ignored it. I thought it wasn't important…if only I had known.”
“Look, Eline, I don't want you to dwell in the past,” Hannah murmured from her seat at the end of the sofa where Karina's body lay. “It wasn't your fault, never will be. If anyone's to blame, it's Tyler and any hunters out there.”
I cleaned the tears that had dropped, took in a deep breath as I tried to steady myself. I allowed Hannah's words to sink in; It wasn't my fault. It was Tyler who snuffed out the life out of her. “We can’t let this happen again,” I said firmly, looking around at each of them. “Tyler, Ozul, the hunters—they’re not going to stop. Karina isn’t going to be the last person they come for unless we do something.”
“What are you suggesting?” Killian asked, his eyes narrowing as he sat up straighter.
“We fight,” Draken replied before I could. I could hear the determination in his voice as he spoke. “We take the fight to them. We find out who this Ozul is, what he’s planning, and we stop them before they can hurt anyone else.”
Hannah shifted, glancing nervously at Betty. “But… how? We don’t even know where Tyler is, let alone Ozul.”
“Cortland university,” I said, remembering Karina's words when she'd introduced me to him for the first time. “Karina told me he's a student of Cortland university. We can track him down there. I'm sure the school has his records.”
“That's right,” Betty said as if she'd only just remembered Tyler attended Cortland with Raphael. “Cortland. I know people who could help us track him down on campus. We could stake it out, see if he shows up.”
“Okay, so we're getting somewhere with this,” Said Kelvin as he rubbed his growing stubble.
“We also need to call the attention of our parents to this,” Links said. “The shifter world needs to be aware that the Hunters are back.”
Killian sighed. “Another *Palla soprannaturale* incoming then,” he said.
I remembered the *Palla soprannaturale*. Draken had told me about it before. In English, it translated to ‘the ball of the supernatural.’ It was held in Edinburgh, a place where every renowned shifter from around the world came together. It was like a peace treaty, but with shifters.
“Look, we can all talk about the *Palla soprannaturale* another time,” Hannah said, wearily. “But for now, we all need to rest and come to a conclusion on how to take Karina’s body to her parents. Eline?”
Yeah, right. I had to call her parents. I nodded and brought out my phone from my pocket.
My breath hitched. Karina’s family—they had no idea what had happened. And now we had to break their world apart with a single message. The thought of it felt unbearable, like I was betraying her all over again.
Shit. I felt like crying.
“Eline, do you want me to do it?” Betty offered, her voice unusually soft. “I could… I could send the message in your stead. You don’t have to—”
“No,” I interrupted, my voice firmer than I felt. “It has to be me. Karina’s my friend. I owe it to her parents to tell them myself.”
The room fell into a tense silence as I turned on the screen of my phone. My fingers hovered over the screen, trembling slightly. How do one even begin to tell someone that their daughter is gone? That her body is coming home, lifeless? That they’ll never get to hear her laugh again, never see her smile?
After a moment that felt like an eternity, I picked out Karina's mother number and began typing.
*Mrs. Cannis, it’s me, Eline Kadesh — Karina's roommate. I don’t even know how to begin writing this message, but I'll start with sending my apologies in advance. I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you this, but… Karina is…dead. We’ll be bringing her body home to you. I wish I could say more right now, but please know we’ll explain everything when we get to your place.*
I stared at the message, my heart pounding in my chest, unable to hit the send button. A lump formed in my throat as the reality of it all settled in once again. Karina was really gone, and her parents—how were they going to handle this?
Draken hand held mine, giving it a light squeeze as he read the message over my shoulder. He didn’t say anything, but the warmth of his presence grounded me enough to press *send*.
I stood there, staring at the phone, waiting for a response that I wasn’t sure I was ready for. The silence in the room thickened.
After a few minutes, the phone buzzed in my hand. My heart raced as I saw Mrs. Cannis’s name appear on the screen. I opened the message, and for a second, the room blurred around me as I read her reply.
*I could already feel it. I'll attach my address below. Thank you, Eline.*
*ADDRESS: 123 Torrent Aves, Apt 8, Forest Hills, NY, 100002.*