A suspect
1323 Words
BRAHAM'S POV
Something was wrong.
I'd been feeling it for days now… a constant prickling at the back of my neck, an itch I couldn't scratch. My wolf was restless, pacing beneath my skin like a caged animal. Every instinct I had was screaming that danger was close, but I couldn't pinpoint the source.
It was driving me insane.
"You look like hell," Renan said, dropping into the chair across from my desk at pack headquarters.
I looked up from the security reports I'd been reviewing for the third time. "Thanks for the observation."
"I'm serious, Braham." He leaned forward, his expression grim. "You've been on edge for days. What's going on?"
I rubbed my face, feeling the exhaustion down to my bones. I hadn't slept properly in almost a week. Every time I closed my eyes, my wolf surged forward, demanding I patrol. Demanding I protect.
"Something's coming," I said finally. "I can feel it."
Renan nodded slowly. "I've felt it too. Nothing specific, just… wrong. Like the air before a storm."
That was exactly it. The air before a storm.
"The pack?" I asked.
"Restless. They don't know why, but they feel it. Some of the younger wolves are getting aggressive. Roy got into a fight at training yesterday over nothing."
I cursed under my breath. When the Alpha was unsettled, it rippled through the entire pack. They could sense my anxiety even if they didn't understand the cause.
"It's about Millie and Leo," I said. It wasn't a question.
Renan studied me for a moment. "You think someone's going to try something?"
"I know someone is." I stood up and walked to the window overlooking the training grounds. "I've increased security around the estate. Added two more guards on rotation. But it doesn't feel like enough."
"Have you told Millie?"
"Some of it. She knows I'm worried. But the forthcoming legal battles, the media, her father in prison, her stepmother and stepsister plotting…" I turned back to face him. "I don't want to add my wolf losing its mind to her list of problems."
He was quiet for a moment. "If your wolf is this agitated, there's a real threat. You need to find out what it is before something happens."
"I know." I moved back to my desk and pulled up the security footage from the estate. "I've been reviewing these all morning. Look at this."
I pointed to the screen showing the main gate. "Three days ago. See that car?"
Renan leaned in. It was a beat-up Ford, parked down the street with a view of the gate. Nothing remarkable about it.
"Now look at this." I pulled up footage from two days ago. The same car, same position. Then yesterday's footage. There it was again.
"Someone's watching the estate," Renan said, his voice hard.
"Tracking when we leave." I felt my wolf surge forward. "Every time, it shows up around 1:45 PM. Stays for about forty-five minutes. Right around when Millie takes Leo to Riverside Park."
"You think it's connected to the Harveys?"
"Who else would it be?" I closed the laptop. "I sent the footage to Jonas to enhance the plate, but I'm not waiting. I'm heading back now."
"Want backup?"
"No. I need you to track down that car and check with the pack. See if anyone's noticed strange scents near the territory border or unfamiliar faces."
"On it." He headed for the door, then paused. "Braham? Be careful. If your wolf is this worked up, whatever's coming is serious."
"I know."
After he left, I grabbed my jacket and keys. My wolf was clawing to get out, to get home, to protect what was mine… ours.
The drive back to the estate took twenty minutes, but my wolf settled slightly knowing I was heading to them. Still, the unease intensified with every mile.
When I finally pulled through the gates, I noticed it immediately.
The scent.
I parked and got out slowly, every sense on high alert. It was faint but distinct… human, female, with undertones of cheap perfume and something bitter. Not fear. Rage.
Someone had been here. Recently. Within the last hour.
My wolf surged forward, my eyes flashing gold as I followed the scent along the perimeter fence. It led to a spot near the east side where the trees provided cover. Someone had stood here for several minutes, watching the house.
Watching my family.
My wolf snarled, and I had to force myself to breathe, to maintain control. When I opened my eyes, they were still glowing gold, my canines lengthening.
I pulled out my phone and called Renan.
"Yeah?" he answered.
"Someone was here. At the estate. Within the last hour." My voice came out rougher than normal, the wolf bleeding through. "Female. The scent is familiar but I can't place it."
"I'll send a team to sweep the perimeter."
"Do it quietly. And Renan? Find that car. Now."
I ended the call and stood there, breathing in the lingering scent. Trying to place it.
And then it hit me.
I had smelled this before. Some time ago, when Millie first came back… In her mom’s house… then… There was a crowd of reporters and onlookers, and in that crowd…
Martha.
The realization crashed over me like a wave. Martha Harvey. Millie's stepsister. The woman who'd conspired to ruin Millie's life, who'd stolen her fiancé, who'd helped destroy her reputation.
Martha had probably been here. On my property. Watching my mate and child.
My wolf roared to the surface. My eyes blazed gold, my senses sharpening to painful clarity. Every sound, every scent, every shift in the air.
If Martha thought she could threaten my family, she was about to learn exactly what happened to people who threatened an Alpha's mate and child.
I forced my wolf back down enough to appear human and headed inside. Millie was in the living room with Leo, helping her with a puzzle.
"Braham!" Leo jumped up and ran to me.
I picked him up, holding him tighter than necessary. Over his head, I met Millie's eyes. She saw something in my expression that made her go still.
"Everything okay?" she asked carefully.
"Leo, buddy, why don't you go play in your room for a few minutes?" I set him down. "I need to talk to your mom about grown-up stuff."
"But I just saw you," Leo protested.
"I know. Just ten minutes, okay? Then we can play whatever you want."
He pouted but nodded, heading upstairs. Once he was gone, Millie stood, her arms crossed.
"What's going on? And don't tell me it's nothing."
"Someone was here," I said bluntly. "On the property. Watching the house. Watching you and Leo."
Her face went pale. "Who?"
"Martha… I guess."
For a moment, she didn't move. Then she let out a shaky breath. "You're sure?"
"I'm sure. And there's more. Someone's been following you. That beat-up Ford near the gate. They've been tracking when you leave for the park."
She sank onto the couch, her hands trembling. "She's planning something."
"Yeah." I sat beside her, taking her hand. "And I'm not going to let her succeed."
She looked up at me, fear and steel mixing in her eyes. "What do we do?"
"We change everything. Your routine, your routes, all of it. No more Riverside Park until this is resolved. And I'm doubling security on the estate."
"Okay," she said quietly. "What else?"
"We’d find out exactly what she's planning. And then we stop her and make her pay."
She nodded, squeezing my hand. "Together."
"Together," I agreed.
Upstairs, I could hear Leo playing, making little car noises. Innocent. Unaware of the danger that had been watching him.
My wolf settled slightly now that I was home, now that I could protect them. But the unease didn't leave.
Because I knew what desperate people were capable of.
And Martha Harvey was very, very desperate.
- Writer
