SWNOVELS Chapter 5, murder
“Lyna! Lyna! I was in the woods hunting…”
“Why? My parents are hunting for dinner.”
“Yeah, I heard, and they haven’t come back, and I heard gunshots while you were in the house.”
“Yeah I heard them, but I thought it was just some hunters hunting near the human city...Oh, no…you don’t think?” I started fearing the worst hoping that it wasn't true.
“I need an extra sniffer to help me. I know you two can’t shift very well yet, but an extra set of eyes could help.”
“Sure, of course, we'll help.”
We all shift and of course, it takes me a few minutes to become Emmy and luckily Conall just learned to shift too but we follow Lyall and I was calling out for my parents, but no response. After a while, I changed back to myself with some difficulty, and with my bag of extra clothes I put on a decent shirt and jeans. Still getting used to this whole shifting thing.
“MOM! DAD?! Where are you!?” I hear no response, but I hear Lyall from a distance. I was screaming out for them but nothing but nature noises. My heart begins to accelerate and I gasp for air.
“LYNA! I FOUND THEM!” When I finally find him…I froze in my spot for a moment...my brain was refusing to see what was in front of me. My mom was laying a few feet in behind my dad, her eyes still open. I fell onto my knees as a blood-curdling scream escaped me and rumbles through the trees. Pain pouring out of my heart...I cry into my hands shaking my head...not believing what was in front of me...
“MOM! DAD?! Speak to me! Please wake up.” I start bawling over them as I look closer, I realize that they’ve been shot probably by a hunter… “MOM! DAD?! Please come back to me…come on we have to go home…” I nuzzle my mom’s face, but she didn’t move…I start sobbing harder on Conall’s lap. “Please tell me they’re going to wake up and come back to us…” I feel my heart breaking as I cradle my mom's body on my lap. I'm blinded by the uncontrollable tears that welled out of my eyes I taste the salt of my tears as they fall near my mouth...I heave and pant, sucking in the cool, fresh air until my lungs are back to normal
“I’m sorry Lyna…I think they’re dead…” He tries to find a pulse and doesn’t feel any…and I start sobbing some more…Finally, another sob ripples through me and I sob so loud that it rumbles the forest again. Pain pouring through my heart again until I have no more tears left to cry for now. Lyall carries my dad’s body and I try to carry my mom’s back to the packhouse…I try to mind link everyone to tell them the news.
“Hey everyone…um I’m not sure how to say this but just meet me at the community center and I’ll tell you. I have some bad news.” Lyall and I gently put their bodies by the ceremony spot where we will eventually have their funerals.
“What’s going on Lyna? Why do you look like you’ve been crying?” Calla looked concerned as she asked. Everyone else looked confused.
“So, while my parents were out, they didn’t come back…obviously that’s why I’m up here and not my parents.”
“Lyna…what happened?” Raff was always a “get to the point” kind of guy…
“Lyall, Conall, and I found them dead…our guess until we can see them in daylight are that they were shot by a hunter while they were trying to get dinner.” Screams came from the girls and tears were shed…the guys surprisingly came up to me and offered their sympathies and a hug.
After everyone said their sympathies I went back to mom’s body and grabbed the necklace that she always wore, she allowed me to wear it when I met Conall since she figured that he was going to be my mate, and wanted to show me. She told me when I was young that it would glow sunset colors if you ever found your mate. I always thought it was just a silly story and your wolf instincts would kick in whenever you found him or her, but I wanted to keep that necklace since now it’ll be a nice memory of my mom...after I told them the news I called some local funeral homes or looked around the internet for some caskets, those things are so darn expensive but I want them to be buried with dignity…
The next few days I spent planning their funerals. I went alone to talk to Doctor Bader and he did their autopsies, embalmed them so they wouldn’t stink, and confirmed Lyall’s and I theory about being shot.
“I’m sorry Lyna, but they have been shot…a clean shot…whether it was accidental or on purpose, I don’t know yet, but from the way the bullet when in and out of both of them it seemed like it was a normal human hunter probably looking for a buck. It is that time of year where humans would be in our territory. Guess they didn’t check to see if any were around.”
“Humans don’t usually come this deep into the forest, so they probably didn’t think they needed to.”
“I’m sorry Lyna…I wish you didn’t have to see your parents like this…”
“I don’t either, yet here we are. Does that make me the new leader of the pack?”
“I’m not sure…usually the alpha and luna roles are passed down to their children through a big ceremony, but not because they died.”
“Well thank you for confirming my theory, what about our new guest, Conall? Does seem strange that this guy shows up, butters them and me up a few weeks ago and now my parents are dead, but he was with us when we found them.”
“That is not my expertise…”
“Ok, thanks, Bader…”
Once I finally got decent caskets for my parents, we were able to have a nice funeral for them. I dressed them in black clothes. A mid-length sleeve, knee-length black lace dress for mom and dad’s black suit for him. I gently placed them into their casket and said my goodbyes…I thought I’d have a lifetime of memories with them and I wouldn’t have to do this for a long time. I admit I had my sob moment again after I put them into their casket…I called the rest of the pack to start the funeral and let everyone else say goodbye to their alpha and luna.
“We’re here for a sad occasion…we’re here to say goodbye to your alpha and luna…and my parents…I’m not much for speeches and I’ve already cried twice today…but they were the best parents a kid could ask for…fun, but fair. They knew the times to be fun and times to be strict and punish me. Even if I didn’t want to admit it at the time, they were probably right. I’m not sure what this means in terms of leadership, but if this means I’m in charge now bear with me…I didn’t expect to be in charge so soon.”
I started to sob almost wail in pain and the next thing I know I can feel myself shifting again. It was excruciating pain! Between crying, screaming, and trying to grieve, I could hear the others running up to me, and they all figured what was going on and tried to soothe me. I could hear everyone trying to calm me down to try and not to shift, but it was too late. This was my 3rd shift in a matter of weeks. I just had to run and get away for a moment. I howled as I entered the forest and just went somewhere. I didn't know where I was going but I didn't care...I ran until I was tired and went back home to finish the ceremony. I shifted back and changed back into my funeral dress and went back to the others.
"Sorry everyone...didn't mean for Emmy to show up and ruin the ceremony." Lyall came up to me and hugged me trying to comfort me.
"It's ok, no one expects you to be all put together. It is ok to cry, to scream, to howl, to get angry, to grieve..." Conall put his hand around my shoulders trying to comfort me.
Then with my new heightened scenes, I could hear Doctor Bader running towards us…
“I hate to rain on your parade, but I did a test on the bullets you found on your parents and this wasn’t an accident…the bullets were laced with wolfsbane…this was murder…"
“Murder!? Are you sure, you’re absolutely positive doctor??”
“Unfortunately yes…I did the test myself and I triple checked to make sure I wasn’t wrong…I’m sorry Lyna…”
Doctor Bader hugged me and left me to my grief…now Emmy and I really wanted to get this s.o.b who hurt my family…they died a slow and painful death and I couldn’t save them…wolfsbane is a poison to werewolves and humans…it is a deadly toxin The poison further paralyzes the nerves, lowers blood pressure, then gradually stops the heart and the roots were the worst part that had the most venom of the poison and to never handle it without gloves…I remembered that lesson from my mom…sigh I miss her…and dad…
So whoever the killer was either knew my parents were werewolves and did their research or thought they were human and just thought of a unique way to kill them…but if they thought they were human wouldn’t the bullet kill them enough? Why go through the trouble of adding the poison? Ugh…I’m not a detective…I felt like a mix of emotions…angry, hurt, grieving, wanting to scream, and possibly wanting to shift to Emmy and just run…so I decided to shift again it was still excruciating, but it was getting easier. Luckily Calla was nearby to make sure I shifted safely and we both went on a run. I was able to mind link with my pack normally but now I can with just one person.
“Thanks, Calla, for coming with me. Sometimes I just need one wolf and alone time. With everything that’s happening I just don’t have any idea what to do. What does this mean for me? Do I become Alpha until Conall officially becomes my mate? Does Lyall become Alpha since he’s next in line?”
“I have no idea. This has never happened as long as I’ve been in this pack.”
“Great…so this is all on me?”
“No, you still have us, we just have to go through this together.” She hugged me…that doesn’t happen much. Calla isn’t much of a hugger, but given the circumstances, I guess it was ok I did appreciate it. She nuzzled me for a minute or two and tried to calm me down.
“Thanks, I didn’t realize how much I needed it…how in the world are we going to solve their murders and arrest this killer?”
“I’m not sure nobody has ever wanted to kill an alpha and luna before…”
“Great…so history isn’t on our side…guess we’re on our own. I’m going to continue my walk you can head back if you want.”
“No one should be alone in a time like this. I’ll keep you company for a little while longer and then I’ll send someone else.”
“Alright, I guess that’s better than nothing.” I continued deeper into the forest before I realized that I wasn’t on our land anymore and as I started to head back home; I spotted another wolf…
“Hello? Who’s there?” Maybe it went away…I kept walking back and still felt like I was being followed. “Guys…something doesn’t feel right. I feel like I’m being followed.”
“I’m with you, you goof.” Calla was a few feet behind me, and that made me feel better, but it didn’t feel like someone I knew.
“Besides you Calla. I don’t think we’re alone anymore, and with everything else that has happened, I don’t want the entire alpha family to get wiped out. Please come here please.”
The others shifted and eventually found their scent. I felt relief when I saw my family here even Conall showed up.
“Everything ok Emmy?” Lyall showed up first probably ran here, he’s been so protective since all this happened. True we were good friends before all this, but now we’ve felt like a big brother/little sister or best friend relationship. I thought he was a mate for a little while, but it just didn’t feel right. That’s a talk for another time, anyway I kept smelling this unfamiliar smell. When I did finally find it, it was another wolf, but to me, it looked like an Alpha. It was a black and white alpha with a red scratch on his left golden amber eye and his right was a soft blue.
“Hello, alpha wolf?”
“Yes, who are you and what are you doing on my land?”
“Your land!? This land belongs to the Wild Forest Pack! MY pack!”
“You don’t look like an alpha to me small fry.”
“That’s because it’s a new job for me…it was kinda just dropped in my lap. We had a tragic event happen in our pack and now the job is mine for now until we can figure it out.”
“I see…well I am alpha Adolfo from the Crescent pack, and I see you have one of my pups in your pack. We have been looking for you for a long time Ulva…” We all snapped our heads and looked at her…she hung her head low.
“Hi alpha Adolfo…yes I’ve been living with this pack this whole time since you banished me all those years ago.”
“Because you were an oathbreaker!”
“I was always loyal to my alpha and luna…I had no reason not to be loyal to you! They are a sweet and fair former alpha and luna…but when you deserted me as a teen, I was heartbroken and then I found a new home! One that has not deserted me!”
“Enough of your lies! You were unfaithful which meant you had to go!”
“I was never unfaithful! You never asked me why you thought I was unfaithful you just banished me without giving me a chance to explain myself, but I guess that doesn’t matter now since after you and Beta Sterling left me that day. I got food, water, and a new home for the past 16yrs…and a new pack tattoo when they took me in since yours faded not long after you left while I was in the hospital.”
“Fine…still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
“We just followed a mysterious scent that was on our land that is it, and as the alpha and luna’s daughter I’m the highest-ranking wolf right now…get off my land.”
“Fine, fine I’ll go…I’ll be watching you kiddo…”
Adolfo left peacefully for now…sigh what a piece of work of a wolf…ugh I’d hate to mess with him when he’s in his human form. We hunted for a little while as a pack and then went back home. We all shifted back to our human selves.
“Wow…isn’t he charming…Ulva how the heck were you so loyal to him!?”
“He wasn’t always like that. He must’ve changed after I left. When I was a part of his pack, he was kind, charming, fair, strong…now he’s just cold and bitter. Not sure what happened to him since I left. Nobody kept in contact with me over the years…probably thought I was dead or something and didn’t bother looking for me.”
Ulva started to walk away sadly and angrily…guess seeing her former alpha really made her feel things she hadn’t felt in a long time…I went back home and wrote down in a journal all that’s been going on and how I felt. Things I didn’t want the others to know about. My thoughts on my parent's death and funeral, meeting Conall, my first shift, meeting alpha Adolfo in the forest, and his connection with Ulva…it was all a lot that I didn’t really want to talk about.
I eventually realized that my shift overthrew my parent's funeral so I went back to the ceremony space and I put them in their graves…once I put the last bit of dirt on their graves I had a bouquet of white flowers standing by to put on them. I have another cry as she put the flowers down. Lyall heard me crying at the gravesite and came over to hug me…
“The person who did this will pay, Lyna…we will make sure of that.”
“I know you will…but as long as I’m the one giving it, I’ll be happy.”