Elijah approached the glass tank where Hunter was standing with a pale face. Other warriors too were too shocked to move after what they saw inside it. The water inside was full of fish that were nibbling on the flesh of body.
There was a big wound on the forehead that indicated that it had been hit by something very h*ard like a hammer. Parts of the skull were visible. Whatever skin on the n*eck remained, there were angry black marks on it as if he had been strangled. The b*ody was so badly nibbled that it was impossible to determine who it belonged to, but it looked like it was that of a male.
Hunter’s heart thundered not seeing the gore but seeing how merciless the person was who murdered him. Who could have k*illed the man and dumped the b*ody in a fish tank? And whoever did it was extremely careful that the stench of the b*ody didn’t emit. Surely there was some chemical inside that was friendly to the fish.
“This is Howard…” Elijah said as he clenched his fists. “He appears to be murdered…”
Hunter closed his eyes and tipped his head up. The idea of murdering Howard and dumping his b*ody in the water tank was brilliant and well thought out. It masked the scent of the murderer. And why was Howard murdered? His daughter died a month back. He took a deep breath in and said, “Take the b*ody from here and get the forensic team to determine the date and time he was murdered.” He couldn’t stay inside any longer and so he came out of the room, feeling extremely disgusted and frustrated.
When he came out, he circled the perimeter of the house and stopped in the backyard. His mind was still working on why Howard was murdered. What was the connection between his death and Mia and River? He let out a frustrated breath. Was Rosalie involved in all this? He looked at the top of the house where there were water tanks. His gaze went to the water pipes that connected the water tanks to the various inlets in the house. Most of them looked new, as if they had just been serviced. Howard did maintain his house well.
Hunter scanned the forest that was behind the backyard where the warriors had picked up River’s smell. He was waiting for them to call so that he would go to the location where the scent ended without delay. But the wait was getting too much. “I am going there myself,” he muttered under his breath.
“No!” Elijah stopped him. “I will come with you.” Even he couldn’t wait any longer.
“Elijah whoever we are dealing with is a maniac and now too motivated to stop,” Hunter argued.
“I don’t care, Hunter,” Elijah said. “I am not going there with you because of River and Mia, but also to protect you. You are my Alpha and I will never let you venture into danger of this level.”
Hunter nodded. “Gather another five warriors and let us all go in. Call the warriors who are ahead of us and tell them that we are coming.”
Just as he was about to leave, Asher called. He reported his findings to Hunter. Hunter clenched his fists and said, “Come over here. I am going to find River and Mia!”
“Yes Alpha,” Asher replied. “There’s one more thing.”
“What?”
“We also looked into the accounts of Howard and we came to know that his money was used in buying ropes, a glass tank, duct tapes, water pipes and-”
“Water pipes?” Hunter said in a shocked voice. “When?”
There was a short pause. “They were bought a week back.”
Hunter’s eyes landed on the water pipes of the house. He started to walk around the house all over again and realized that only the pipes that were on the back side of the house were new, the rest were old and slightly rusted with moss growing over them. He disconnected the call. “Go to the roof of the house!” he barked an order and all the warriors rushed upstairs.
When they reached the roof, it appeared clean, as if it had been broomed recently. Only a few dry leaves lay on the floor. Hunter’s t*hroat became paper dry as he tried to shove the thought that entered his mind.
“What are you thinking, Hunter?” Elijah asked.
“Check all the water tanks,” he said in a hoarse voice, his feet frozen.
Elijah’s brows knitted. “Why?” he asked in a low voice.
“Just check it…” Hunter’s t*hroat squeezed with so many emotions that he thought he struggled to breathe. Panic bubbled in his c*hest. “Hunter, what are you doubting?”
Hunter didn’t say anything. He just continued to stare at the water tank in front of him. With heavy footsteps, slowly he started to move towards it. He motioned the two warriors out there to open the lid. There was nothing inside. He let out a breath of relief. There were three more. “Check all of them,” he ordered. The second one didn’t have anything other than clean water.
Elijah went to the third one, feeling tense. When he opened its lid, he saw a b*ody floating inside with its face turned away. A strong scent of chloroform emanated. His knees buckled and he rushed to the railing. He bent down and vomited. “Elijah?” Hunter came to him.
“Is that- is that Mia?” he asked, p*anting and half crying.
“No.”
Elijah turned sharply at him. “It is Natalie.”
He sagged with relief but then he saw Hunter. He too had sagged with relief. They both didn’t know whether it was right to be relieved or not, but they thanked Moon Goddess.
A while later, Hunter said, “So this was where Natalie was all the time while we were hunting for her all the time?” He shook his head. “This is a double murder. I want fifty warriors to come with me. We have to hunt Rosalie!” He ordered his men, “Fish the b*ody out and send it to the forensic lab.” Hunter couldn’t help feeling sad for father and daughter. They were victims of someone’s wrath and ambition. Someone used them and when their use was over, they both were k*illed.
“Do you think it was Rosalie who did it?” Elijah asked, mirroring his thoughts.
“Maybe… maybe not!” Just then his phone rang again. It was Asher.
“We got the location of the call, Alpha!” he said with excitement. “I am sending you the location!”
“Send it to all the warriors and then join me!”
“Yes Alpha!”
Hunter leaped off the railing of the roof and when he landed on his feet, he let go of his human. His beast took over. He looked up at the sky, let out a deafening roar and then leapt in the jungle to find his mate.
