Un.Requited (Claimed Series) (27 page)

Like a shadow, Cole’s powerful figure swooped from the darkness, his eyes amber and narrowed intensely on his target. Without any concern for gentleness, his large hand curled greedily around Adolf’s throat.

“I truly hope you’re not threatening her, Adolf,” Cole murmured softly as he pressed his face closer to the other Alpha. 

From Hayden’s position, she could visibly see two of Cole’s fingertips digging into Adolf’s jugular vein. If Cole unsheathed his claws, Adolf would be bleeding, possibly to death. Her heart gave a profound
thump
in anticipation.

Cole always had the remarkable ability to intervene when things got too difficult.
Though
, Cole hardly looked like a wholesome savior as he grinned almost eagerly at the prospect of harming Adolf. His eyes were wolf-like and he hungrily inhaled Adolf’s controlled fear.

The silver-haired Alpha tried his best to contort his expression to one of indifference, but everyone could sense his distress. “She killed a human, just like we all predicted she would.”

His response hardly seemed to steady Cole’s wrath, for her Alpha smirked more widely. “And how do you know it was her?” he asked coolly. His arm muscles flexed noticeably as he tightened his hold around Adolf’s neck.

Dimly, Hayden was conscious of the door opening to the bowling alley. Both Devan and Shane stumbled onto the scene, stopping abruptly at the sight of the trio locked in a power struggle. A single move from any of the three werewolves would set off a chain reaction.

Adolf exhaled past Cole’s gripping hold. “Look at her, boy,” the
Alpha
growled. “She’s covered in blood.”

“That is certainly not evidence in itself.” Cole chuckled lowly, his eyes narrowing on Adolf. Never once had he taken his eyes off his prey, too cautious of the other werewolf’s intentions. “You value your life too much to waste it on killing her. Let her go, or I won’t hold back.”

Adolf growled once again before releasing Hayden’s hair. “Bitch,” he spat and proceeded to throw her to the ground.

Cole seethed, easily returning the favor. He tossed the silver-haired Alpha aside, the man’s body appearing like a rag doll as it collapsed against the brick wall of the alleyway. Adolf was unnaturally quiet as he regained his dignity, a hand against the wall acting as a crutch.

Eric quickly made himself known as he turned his back on Adolf’s moment of weakness and faced the dumpster in contemplation. “It is reasonable to gather all the facts first, Adolf. A logical mind may ask Hayden who committed the murder before executing her.” 

All eyes turned to Hayden. She braced her arms on the ground as she struggled to get on her feet. “I don’t know,” she replied quietly, feebly trying to wipe away the blood on her face. “It sounds unrealistic, but someone grabbed me from behind and smeared blood on my face.”

Cole’s broad upper body stepped in front of Hayden, effectively blocking any inquisitive stares on her person. He tore a piece of his shirt off at the hem and began wiping away the drops of blood she hadn’t been able to get off herself. His eyes were no longer amber, but still an angry and guarded emerald.

“It’s a likely story,” Adolf sneered as he recovered from Cole’s earlier shove. He carefully approached the dumpster and opened the lid. His face morphed into an expression of repulsion before he reached inside and tossed out a human corpse with a single flick of his wrist.

The sound of the lifeless body thumping against the floor was sickening, hollow, and Hayden could only stare at it in horror. Behind the werewolves, Shane made a gagging sound before throwing up in the corner. Hayden wasn’t too far behind him as she reached out and clawed at Cole’s shirt, pulling him closer.

“I didn’t do that, Cole,” Hayden insisted fiercely, almost deliriously. The prodigious smell of rotting flesh and pierced internal organs made her eyes water.

Cole paused in cleaning her mouth and gave her a look full of frustration. “Of course I know you didn’t do that, Hayden.” He turned marginally, looking at the corpse. “You are not even capable of committing such brutality.”

He was trying to block her from seeing the corpse, but Hayden had already seen it. If she closed her eyes, she could see the mess that was the man’s face and his ripped body. His neck had been a shallow hole of nothingness and his torso
had been picked
apart, unknotted.

Cole was wrong. Hayden
was
capable of committing such brutality. They all were. There was only one creature capable of unraveling a human body with a few lazy lifts of their fingers.

Eric crouched down next to the body, searching. “Definitely a human,” he acknowledge dimly. “This will be difficult to cover up, as opposed to Matthew’s body. He was Falco’s pack member, but
this
… this is a threat to our exposure.”

Hayden vaguely remembered Matthew as being the werewolf who had attempted to infiltrate into Nicolas’ pack. His body had been hand-returned to Falco’s property only a few days before the full moon.

“Did he taste good, Mutt?” The sudden question came from Adolf. He stared down at the corpse before locking eyes with Hayden. “Did you enjoy ripping his throat out? Was his blood as delicious as it smells?”

“
Enough
,” Cole barked, immediately silencing and stilling everyone in the alley. “We will get nowhere with your thoughtless commentary, Adolf.” Easily dismissing the insulted Alpha, Cole turned his shoulder to address a pale and shaken Shane Donovan. “Do you mind if we use your bowling alley as a meeting ground?”

Shane’s eyes were huge as he blinked a few times at Cole. His mouth opened once, twice, before he cleared his throat. “Yes, sir,” he agreed as he shuffled closer to the bowling alley. “I’ll close up and get the rest of the customers out.” With one last look at Hayden, Shane disappeared inside.

“Adolf, collect Falco and our betas. Bring them here to the bowling alley. Eric, call the sheriff and tell him about the body.” Cole seemed unruffled, almost calm as he spurred the others into action. Surprisingly enough, the other Alphas appeared as if they didn’t mind carrying out his instructions.

Devan abruptly snapped out of her shock. “Hayden thought she saw Nicolas, Cole.” She happily ignored the disproving look Hayden sent her way.

“I
thought
I saw Nicolas, but it wasn’t him,” Hayden denied quickly, her face flushing.

While someone had grabbed her from behind, she couldn’t be certain it was Nicolas. Besides, Cole was already on edge. Telling him his mother’s killer was in Albertville would set him off.

Adolf snickered, his fingertips grazing the brick wall for composure. “This has to be one of the most entertaining nights thus far. A Mutt, who was
Sired
by a rogue, claims she didn’t eat a human, though the blood on her face says otherwise.
And now
, Nicolas has made an appearance in a bowling alley. It fits, really it does.”

Hayden snarled lowly and clambered toward the silver-haired Alpha. She was secretly pleased when Adolf abruptly stopped laughing and snapped his head around to look at her.

“The only thing entertaining is your lack of competency, you—”

“Hayden,” Cole cut in. He reached out a restraining arm and curled it around her waist. “Come inside and tell me exactly where you saw Nicolas. I will try to catch any lingering signs of his trail.” His hand all but covered the small of her back as he guided her inside.

Breathing past her anger, Hayden allowed herself to be ushered inside the bowling alley. Tonight couldn’t possibly get much worse.

“He’s not finding anything.”

Bracing her arms on the edge of the table, Hayden watched as Cole glided around the bowling alley, trying to catch any sign of Nicolas, a scent in particular.

A part of her had already accepted that he wouldn’t find anything. She only felt like a fool for even mentioning it to Devan, and an even bigger fool that Adolf and the others had to overhear her misconceptions.

“At least you said something,” Devan tried to soothe the situation as she sat on the bench next to Hayden. Through bored eyes, the other female watched as Cole stopped scrutinizing the perimeter of the building.

“You mean
you
said something,” Hayden snapped crossly.

Movement near the back exit caught her attention. A few sheriffs were slowly filing in and outside the bowling alley, carefully investigating and cleaning the crime scene.

They had been present for over half-an-hour, the crime out back probably the messiest and most brutal they had the pleasure of investigating in this small town. What made it worse was the fact that it
would be passed off
as an animal attack. Albertville
was surrounded
by forests. It didn’t come to a surprise when wild animals detoured into town.

“That’s Sheriff Johnson,” Devan supplied quietly, ignoring Hayden’s sour mood. “He’s another human who knows about werewolves. He and Cole are on good terms.”

Hayden looked at the scruffy-looking man in the back of the bowling alley. The sheriff was engaging Cole in a hushed, but significant conversation. On occasion, they often glanced over at Hayden

She scowled, looking away and toward the other werewolves gathered nearby. Surprisingly, they were all present, including Joseph and Falco who sat two tables away from Hayden and Devan.

Both father and son carried a motionless and refined poise, appearing almost as identical as two statues. Next to Hayden, Devan had probably already spotted their arrival, because she was looking anywhere but at her ex-lover.

At the table directly across from her, Asher straddled his bench and raised his eyebrows. His father, Eric, was currently leaning against the same table, cutting off any potential conversation between Hayden and Asher.

However, she knew the blond beta well enough to see the silent question in his eyes. She smiled tightly and nodded, reassuring him that she was all right.

“What kind of trouble did you get into now, Hayden?” Blake broadcasted his presence as he fell ungracefully on the bench beside her. For good measure, he offered Asher a look of contempt when he noticed the blond beta leaning in closer than necessary. “You always seem to cause such excitement.”

She deadpanned. “A human was killed.
By one of us.”

Blake’s grin dimmed somewhat, but he didn’t pursue the topic, for Adolf and his beta settled on a table nearby. The silver-haired Alpha had eyes only for Hayden, making sure he was doing his best at intimidating her. She hardly paid much attention to him, more preoccupied in making sure Shane sat on the bench next to her. 

Once the last of the sheriffs left, Adolf waved a flippant hand toward Shane. “Get the human out of here.”

Hayden slapped her hand down on Shane’s leg, a reassuring weight to keep him sitting. “He has just as much right to be here as you do,” she challenged. Next to her, Blake sucked in an amused breath.

The irritable Alpha stared at Hayden in disbelief, appearing taken aback for the second time that night. “You dare challenge me? Perhaps,” he began, “you need to be put in your place. Your Alpha is far too lenient with you.” With purpose, he stood up from his table.

It was male werewolves like
him
that looked down upon females, treating them as if they were
nothing
. In response to his disdain, Hayden hunched her shoulders, ready to lunge if necessary.

“I’m already in my place.” She was vaguely aware of Cole making his way over from the exit, his strides wide, worried. “On an equal level with you, surely.”

Hayden tensed as Adolf lunged, only for his dark-haired beta to catch him around the shoulders, restraining him. Leaning forward in her seat, Hayden exposed her canines. Her nails elongated and curled around the bench, ready to use if she had to defend Shane and herself.

However, Cole was quick to step in front of her, quickly putting an end to her fun.

“Hayden,” he warned softly. “This is not the time or the place to show Adolf the true meaning of a female Alpha.” Unexpectedly, he winked before turning his back on Hayden and standing guard.

“She butchered the human!” Adolf snarled, nudging his restraining beta away. 

“Ah,” Falco sighed, looking bored. “Is this why we gathered here? I was confused with the…” he motioned at Adolf, “immature banter.”

“A human was murdered by one of our kind. Hayden stumbled across the corpse in the dumpster behind the bowling alley. She claims she had nothing to do with it.” Eric took the initiative of speaking up. He sat stiffly on his table with Asher sitting obediently nearby. “When Adolf and I arrived at the scene, her face and hands were soiled with blood.”

Hayden ignored their scrutiny, choosing to keep her attention on Cole’s pacing form.

“Someone snuck up behind Hayden and smeared the corpse’s blood across her face. She had nothing to do with the murder, I am certain. Which brings us to the question of who is framing Hayden and why,” Cole pondered, furthering the conversation along.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Adolf, naturally, spoke up. “No one is framing her. She was the one to kill the human. She encountered an isolated and vulnerable prey outside the bowling alley.
Because her impractical and insufficient Alpha wasn’t nearby, she succumbed to her urges and attacked the human.”