Chapter 143
Everyone was silent after Marcellus’ words.
Once again, just like the murders committed before this one, it seemed like each step we took to unravel the mystery led to more confusion.
“Two culprits?” Kaelos repeated Marcellus’ words before he rubbed his forehead. “By the goddess, that means more work.”
I furrowed my eyebrows as a thought crossed my mind. I tilted my head, squatting again to scrutinize the corpse.
“So do you guys think maybe the maid was threatened to drink the potion? Or was it forced down her throat by the killer?” I asked absentmindedly as I placed my right hand above her head.
I could feel Kaelos’ intense gaze on me and knew then that he knew what I was up to.
Before now, I didn’t have magic to help with investigations like this. But now I did.
’You do realize that you have to keep it a secret from the others, right?’ Sirena queried in my head, but I ignored her as I stared blankly at the body, trying to concentrate.
“My bet is on her getting threatened.” Gamma Zane suddenly blurted in response to my last question.
“I can see it now. The culprit who raped her probably did so after finding the vial with her. Then he threatened her to drink it. Her body doesn’t seem disturbed or moved. He wanted us to see her.”
As he kept on talking and painting a picture of what might’ve happened, I dimmed my eyes as I began picking up something. It was faint, but malevolent, like an imprint branded in her mind.
“Well, at least we now know that one of the culprits is male,” Marcellus remarked, but then sighed. “Still, how exactly was he able to threaten her to drink it? Why didn’t she scream out? She doesn’t even look like she tried fighting back.”
My eyes twitched the more I thought about it. This was a brutal death, no doubt. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on.net
Merely thinking about it sent shivers down my spine, especially after I was able to pick up something lingering in her brain.
’Mind control spell.’ I thought to myself, swallowing hard before I stood up and faced the others.
“I think she was mind-controlled. Compelled to follow the orders of the culprit.” I blurted, scanning my gaze on the faces of everyone present.
However, Marcellus frowned, raising an eyebrow.
“Wouldn’t that make the man who raped her a witch?” He asked, causing me to scratch the back of my head awkwardly.
“Or maybe he drugged her with some kind of mind-numbing potion.” Layla suddenly muttered, seeming disturbed as she stared at me curiously. “Those exist, right?”
I parted my lips to say something, but Kaelos beat me to it.
“Enough of this. So far, we’ve been able to discover that the culprit responsible for this is male because of the signs of rape. There’s also the possibility of a witch being involved, perhaps the person who’s been killing people in the pack.”
The air became tense as everyone listened silently. But then Gamma Zane cleared his throat and spoke up.
“Pardon, Alpha King. But I just thought of something. This reminds me of the burnt-down human town we were investigating. Remember, we concluded a witch controlling a werewolf to do her bidding was behind it.”
Her?
I furrowed my eyebrows, noticing the subtle jab at me. Male witches exist, too, for the gods’ sake!
“But what if indeed, there’s a hybrid involved in all of this? That would explain how they’ve been able to blend in our midst for so long, killing our people whenever they please.” He remarked, glancing briefly at me.
My body shivered with anxiety as I glanced at Kaelos, who merely sighed, rubbing his forehead.
“Gamma, call the pack soldiers to discreetly take the body for a proper autopsy. Most of what we’re saying here are baseless theories.” He blurted, glancing at me subtly before he spread out his arms. “The rest of you can leave. We have a ball tonight to prepare for.”
Which was the most ironic part of all this…
People were dropping one by one like flies, yet the elites like Celine were still throwing parties.
’We have no choice but to attend anyway.’ Sirena sighed in my mind as everyone left the scene, leaving the Gamma, who made some calls.
.
.
Nighttime finally came, and with it, the charity ball.
But tonight, I was also expecting something that has kept me on my toes for the past five days.
This was the night when the anonymous message said my ’secret’ would be revealed.
“So, tonight is the night,” Caroline mumbled to me as we stepped out of the mansion and walked out into the night, heading to the event building.
She wore an elegant pink dress, and her hair was tied into a ponytail, making her seem like a noble. Why was she dressed like that?
Simple… She was going to be my plus one for the ball.
“No offense, ma’am Odessa, but making me your plus one when you literally have a husband is a bit off,” Caroline remarked begrudgingly as we walked side by side.
I grinned at her, poking her shoulder before I whispered. “You know damn well that I did that only because I need you around to keep an eye on Celine. I’ll be too busy joining Kaelos to welcome the human and witch guests.”
Soon, we finally got to the event building, which was only partially crowded, with some cameramen already stationed outside taking pictures while guests parked in front of the building, elegantly dressed.
Caroline seemed tense, but I nodded at her before gesturing for her to go climb the steps and head into the building while I remained standing at the first step.
However, as I stared at her walking awkwardly, a voice spoke up.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the acclaimed Alpha King’s Witch Bride.”
That voice…
It brought back memories… Memories from my childhood and teenagehood, where I was bullied and shunned as a powerless witch. An outcast. A disgrace.
I slowly turned my head to the source of the voice, my eyes widening when I saw the person it belonged to.
“L– Lucinda?”