**CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO.**
Draken parked the car in the underground carpark of his apartment, cutting the engine with a quiet click. For a moment, neither of us moved. Now that we were at his apartment the girl's dead body flashed through my mind again. I felt like I should say something else, but I couldn’t find the words. I wasn’t even sure if there was anything more to say about the body…or even his upcoming rut that could kick in anytime from now.
Draken unbuckled his seatbelt, shifting his gaze towards me. His expression had softened a bit, the sharp edges of his earlier tension somewhat dulled, but I noticed the sheen of sweat on his forehead. He was holding himself together, but just barely. “Come on. Let’s go inside,” he said quietly.
I nodded, forcing myself to push aside the unease gnawing at me. I didn't want to think about how I'd promised Draken to help him through his rut. No. That wasn't a priority right now. The priority was meant to be the dead body that was found in my bathroom.
As I got out of the car and followed Draken, and when we got upstairs to his apartment Betty was the first person to ambush us.
“Don't tell me you love birds, couldn't get your hands off each other and that's why you're both late,” She said.
Killian groaned loudly. “I don't think now's the time for a joke. Not when there's a dead body right here,” he said pointing towards the center of the room where the body bag was. I felt my cat tingles go haywire again at that.
“I couldn't take my chance to make a joke, not when the tension here is *broody*,” she lamented as she flopped down on a chair next to Links and Kelvin. “Y'all need to learn to take a joke regardless of the mood. And Draken, no offense, but you smell terribly.”
Draken smiled softly, running his hand through his hair as he led me towards a seat where we both sat. “I'm about to hit my rut,” he replied.
“I think we all can tell,” Betty said. “Also, where the hell is Brianna and Hannah?”
“Hannah went over to her parents place, and Brianna is still pissed at everyone so she isn't coming,” Links replied immediately, passing a look at Topper who was standing by the vantage point which overlooked the Hudson River Park. It was my favorite spot in Draken's apartment.
“What?” Topper asked, directing his question to Links who wouldn't stop looking at him.
Links frowned. “Just disappointed that you made me lose two grand to that snake.”
“Hey!” Betty protested. “That snake is right here, in case you've forgotten.”
Topper didn't say anything as he sat on the floor, his back facing the Hudson river.
“So, what are we doing to the body?” Kelvin asked. He looked exhausted. “No name, identity, or any form of recognition. Are we just going to bury her ourselves?”
I shook my head as I placed my hands on my hips, resting my chin on it. “No, we can't do that. We need to look for a way to send her body back to her family. Also, we need to look for a way to alert every shifter about the reappearance of the hunters.”
“Valid. But first thing first, where do we even begin looking for the girl's parents? We don't even know her name,” Kelvin continued while everyone listened. “I took a picture of her face and tried using Google search to see if it would lead me to a Facebook or Instagram post, but It came up empty. What do we do?”
“Can I see her face?” I asked.
Kelvin nodded. “If you can bear to.”
I stood up and walked towards the body bag at the center of the room, under the eyes of everyone. I knelt next to it and gently took the zip in my grip before dragging it down to her neck. I felt a sense of familiarity as I looked at the face. I knew who she was, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen her from.
“Do you recognize the face?” A voice I knew belonged to Killian asked.
“I believe I do,” I said as I continued looking at the girl, then it all clicked. “I remember now.”
“From where?” Draken asked as he quickly came to join me. His scent overwhelmed my nose, but I tried my best to ignore that.
The girl — her name was Judy, she was Karina's course mate. I remembered seeing her with Karina once. She was also the one who made a joke about having a 0.02% chance of marrying into the royal family when Drake's existence was made known to the public. I would never have thought that she was a shifter, but she was…and right now she was dead too. “Her name's Judy. She was Karina's course mate.”
“Great, so she attends NYU?” Betty asked.
“Yes,” I answered, my voice faltering a bit as I tried zipping the bag back, but my hand wouldn't stop shaking.
Draken's hand gently wrapped mine. “It's okay, Eline. I'm here, remember,” he whispered to me as he guided my hand to zip the body bag close. “Relax.”
He guided me back to where we were sitting.
“Judy— well, we have a name now, and a faculty–— wait, you know Karina's faculty, right?” Links asked.
“Of course,” I answered, feeling a warmth at the fact that Draken's hand was still on mine. “Political science.”
“Judy from political science,” Betty repeated. “What are the odds that there are several Judy from political science? I'd say we just bury her instead of going through the trouble of searching for her family.”
“Or we can just call Drake and cut down the workforce,” Killian said.
He was looking at me as if I had the final say. “I don't know anymore,” I replied. “If calling Drake would get the girl back to her family, then I don't mind it.”
Killian nodded and pulled his phone out as he went outside to the balcony. I could tell he was calling Drake and I could listen to their conversation with my heightened senses, but I chose not to.
While Killian remained on the call, Betty, Links and Kelvin started conversing between themselves while Draken excused himself to the toilet.
Topper was still seated on my floor, a blank expression on his face as he looked at nothing in particular. I decided to go join him. I stood up and quietly went to join him on the floor.