Who’s the Culprit
1934 Words
Caroline is a light sleeper. So when a phone vibrates in the night, she shifts in her place.
Ken nuzzles deeper into her body. He's laying stomach down on the mattress with Caroline, his arm spooning the Omega tightly. The soft waves of his locks fall down on his forehead, and his chin is placed on Caroline’s shoulder.
The phone continues to vibrate. Ken groans, pulling Caroline closer.
“Babe, it's your phone.” Caroline combs her fingers through Ken's hair once. “Ken?”
Ken opens his right eye and hums. The Alpha squeezes Caroline warmly and drops a quick kiss on her lips before rolling away. He snatches his phone off the nightstand. The moment Ken’s eyes hit the screen, his back goes stiff.
Caroline looks at the small clock on the nightstand. It’s three in the morning. She rubs her eyes, the situation slowly zooming in on her. Ken picks up the phone.
There is an urgency in the air that makes Caroline uncomfortable. Ken sits with his back to her, his shoulders tense.
“What is it? Is she okay?” Ken clears his throat.
There's a pause. Caroline crawls to Ken, trying to give him some comfort. The moment she lifts her hand to touch Ken’s shoulder, the Alpha gets up, hastily pacing back and forth. A smoky, unbreathable scent fills the room. Caroline’s Omega becomes restless.
“f**k!” The Alpha booms. Caroline jumps.
A beat passes and Caroline looks around to cover herself with something. While Caroline takes out a random shirt out of her closet, Ken’s scent changes. It buzzes with sadness, regret, and anger.
“But how the f**k did it even happen? Where the f**k were you?” Ken storms to the edge of the bed.
Caroline quickly puts on a shirt and walks over to Ken without any fear.
Ken takes a deep breath before he composes himself. “Is she conscious?”
Caroline stills. There’s a subtle fear in the Alpha’s scent.
The fear is replaced with relief. But Ken’s shoulders remain stiff. He looks sideways before he shakes his head. Caroline’s own scent blooms with worry. She holds Ken’s hand, and the Alpha’s head swirls to her. Pain. There’s pain in Ken’s eyes, which quickly turns into something bitter.
“I am coming. Email me the flight tickets that you booked. And when I get there, Nathaniel, I need a full explanation on why the f**k you left the house. I trusted you with my baby sister!” A dark look passes his eyes. “You'll stay alive if she wakes up without pain.”
Ken hangs up, and when he does, Caroline doesn't miss the wallpaper on the phone. A little girl is staring up with a flower crown in her hands, grinning. Her silver eyes twinkle under the Sun.
Caroline’s heart drops.
Oh God.
Ken is gathering his clothes in no time. He's clothed quickly, and Caroline stands with him in the living room silently.
“Ken?” Caroline asks.
The Alpha is dressed when he looks around for his shoes. He quickly wears them in the foyer while checking the phone, probably reading the flight tickets Nathaniel sent him. Caroline’s heart sprints. She knows something's wrong.
“Ken.”
The Alpha shoves the phone into his pocket and turns the lock. The door opens. Caroline stands there frozen. Alone.
The door bangs shut.
Silence.
Caroline stands there for long, hurtful seconds. She stares at the door as Ken’s sinfully sexy smile pops into her mind. Tears swell in her eyes. She shifts on her feet awkwardly in the same spot. A fat drop of water taps down in the empty sink in the kitchen. Near the door, her own pile of clothes lay astray. It reminds her of when they both came in stumbling, kissing each other. She looks up at the closed door. More tears fall down her face as she scans the empty apartment. The cushions are neatly tucked on the sofas. The novels are on the coffee table. The kitchen is tidy.
And then she stares back at the door. Her lips curl down as her shoulders shake with a sob.
Her head jerks back when the door opens with a bang.
Ken thunders in, an insane look in his eyes. His eyes wildly study the apartment and stop at Caroline, who is still standing in the living room. At the same spot. Ken mutters a curse and jogs to Caroline, yanking her into his strong arms. Caroline’s wails ricochet in the apartment.
“f**k,” Ken cusses. He lets Caroline cry for long seconds, and then when the Omega calms down a little, Ken looks down at her with his stormy black eyes. Regret swims in them. “I know you deserve better right now. But I have to go.”
Caroline shakes her head. She knows that.
“You need to go, I know.” Caroline wipes her own tears.
Ken plants a kiss on Caroline’s forehead.
“I told Nathaniel to stay in my house for tonight while I was with you here,” the Alpha says. “Kenzie was okay with the arrangement. We even spoke on the phone about it. She adores Nathaniel and I trust him.” A terrified look passes Ken’s eyes. “Nathaniel left the house after midnight for God knows what, and when he came back and checked on Kenzie, she wasn't in her bed. They found her a kilometer away from my house. In the forest. Unconscious.”
Caroline feels like a monster for having cried when the Alpha was worried sick about his baby sister.
“Your parents? Did you inform them?” Caroline asks.
Ken’s face goes blank.
“They have been dead for a decade now. Car accident.”
Caroline’s heart drowns.
“I am so sorry to hear that. W-wait. How old is Kenzie?”
Ken frowns.
“She’s ten.”
Fucking hell. It means that Ken raised his little sister.
“I’ll come back for you,” says Ken. “I don't have time now. The flight is in thirty minutes. I really need to leave.” He holds Caroline’s face in his hands. “But I know where you live. And I'll come back. I promise that, Carol.”
Carol. Right. The Alpha doesn’t know her full name.
Caroline blinks up at Ken sadly and nods. This is not the time to discuss anything further, so the Omega goes up on her toes and leaves a reassuring kiss on the Alpha’s lips. Ken kisses her again. And again. And again for the last time before he kisses Caroline’s hands.
With that, the Alpha leaves.
And this time he doesn't come back.
---
Two days later…
—-
Caroline drags her bag behind her. Her hand clamps around the handle as she trudges with a frown on her face. The modern world still lacks the sight of wolves prowling around in their true forms. The cities don’t allow them to shift. There are laws and regulations for a reason. All villages where wolves reside are from a long distance from every highway and city.
Caroline let her father know that there wasn't any need to send someone to pick her up from the bus stand. Her village is fifteen minutes away from the last bus stand in the journey, nestled between the tallest trees in the Park territory.
Caroline pants while dragging the bag. She freezes when the scents reach her. Chaotic. Scared. She sniffs once more. There's fear in the air. She frowns and drags her bag harder till she reaches the entrance of the village. There are no wolves guarding the main entrance. Caroline crosses the huge gateway and steps inside—the metal door is ajar. She pauses abruptly when the sinking feeling digs into her stomach.
Something's wrong.
A group of kids chatters in front of the nearest house. The doors of the other houses are ajar too. It’s as if the adults have left in a hurry, with the older teenagers taking care of the younger ones. Caroline fastens her pace and reaches the group. All the curious eyes of the pups hit her.
“Meena?” Caroline asks the oldest girl.
The girl in question turns toward her, her eyes flaring with panic.
“Caroline?”
“What's going on? Where's everyone?” Caroline asks, looking around them.
“Y-your house,” Meena stutters.
Caroline’s head snaps to the girl. Her grip on the bag loosens. The hint of smoke bubbles in the air. It’s thick and clogs her throat. Her heartbeat goes wild.
She runs.
The bag falls over to the side.
The smell of smoke gets heavier as she runs deeper into the village. All the people are here. Heads turn. In the rush, she misses the scared look in their eyes. They’re scared for her. And for what's to come in the future. Because nothing ever will be the same for her now. She sprints to her house. Her lungs scream for air when the flames come into view. Her heart goes haywire.
She sees it then.
A house is ablaze with the biggest flames she's ever seen in her life. It's the house she grew up in. It's the house that everyone visited with patients in their family because the pack loves and trusts the house residents with their lives. The same house burns into unruly flames with the dark, cruel smoke emanating from it.
It's the house of the healers of the Park pack.
“Mother!!!!!!!!!” Caroline’s shrill voice drowns the rush in the village. She screams for her father next, hurling out all her emotions.
Caroline stands there, numb, eyes glowing with the yellow of the fire shining in her big eyes.
She sprints, pushing everyone away violently. Just when she kicks open the fence of the house and enters the garden, a strong arm around her waist wrenches her back.
She thrashes like a wild beast. Sweat beads on her face, her body burns from the heat of the fire that consumes the two-story building. She fights harder but is yanked back again.
“You’ll f*****g kill yourself!”
Caroline goes crazy. More arms come around her and drag her away from the fence of the house.
“They’re inside! I know they are! Let me go!” Caroline screams at the top of her lungs.
“They’re gone.” Caroline whimpers. “They’re gone.” She shakes her head unbelievably.
Tears course down Lee Kael’s face. The old man’s face sharpens, and his eyes flicker with vengeance. “I know who did it.”
Caroline frowns, her fists ball up, and she tilts her head. Confused.
“The fire,” says the old man.
Caroline’s eyes flutter with recognition, her head jerks back.
“The Head Alpha of the Nightingale pack did it,” says the healer, eyes dark.
“Who?”
What is he saying? What is going on? Is this even real?
Caroline shakes her head again. She shouldn't have. She is dizzy now. Her parents were the most loved healers in the pack. It's nonsense what this old man is saying.
No one would try to kill her parents! Her head swims when the old man clutches her tighter.
The old man’s eyes terrify Caroline.
“Your parents were murdered, Caroline-ah!”
Caroline wriggles in the man’s arms. The siren of the fire department blares in the background. Heat consumes her.
The old man’s hold on her is confining.
Caroline blacks out.
- Writer
