The Alpha's Borrowed Luna (Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 249

Kains

The unexpected deaths had been mounting for days within our pack Frost and I had spent those days digging, interviewing. searching for anything concrete. I slumped into my office chair, the ustrating lack of progress a familiar weight.

The evidence board in my office was covered with photographs, note, and red string connecting related elements. Fifteen deaths in total, all pack members, all brutally murdered.

“Every single commander and a few high ranked members had been interrogated, but none had been found wanting. I said, turning to Frost who stood by the window, his expression grim.

“None of them did this.” It wasn’t a question.

Okay, here is the revised passage incorporating your requests:

“Yes, I could tell they weren’t lying.” I used my Alpha thingy to judge their truthfulness, pushing them for the truth, but still turned up nothing. This means either the culprit is incredibly cunning, able to resist my ability, or the one I should truly suspect is someone I haven’t confronted.

A knock at the door interrupted our contemplation. One of the senior guards, Leighton, stood in the doorway, his posture tense.

I wanted to speak with you,” he said, glancing nervously at Frost.

“Go on,” I gestured for him to enter.

He closed the door behind him, lowering his voice. “So from the investigations, it is clear that the murderer is not a Commander or a high ranked. What if we’ve been looking in the wrong place all these while?”

My patience, already thin, frayed further. “Skip to the point, Leighton.”

“The point is, what if it’s someone closer… maybe the Luna, I mean after what-”

“Do you have proof?” Frost cut in, ice in his voice.

Leighton shifted uncomfortably. “No, not exactly…”

“So you come here and accuse the Luna with no proof?” Frost pushed off from the wall, his stance aggressive.

“Forgive me, my mistake; I shouldn’t have said that,” Leighton backtracked quickly, sensing the danger.

“Wait.” I raised a hand, studying him carefully. The accusation was outrageous, but I needed to know if others were thinking

similarly. “Have you spoken of this with anyone else?”

“No.” The lie was obvious in his elevated heart rate.

I moved closer, letting my Alpha presence fill the room. “Have you spoken of this with anyone else?” I repeated, my voice carrying the weight of command.

He swallowed hard. No, I have not. I wanted to come to you first.”

“Good. Now leave.”

He retreated quickly, the door closing firmly behind him.

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Chapter 249

“You just… let him walk? Just like that? Frost asked, surprise sharp his tone.

“His suspicions weren’t entirely baseless, Frost. I need to confirm a few things. My gaze met his, dark with a hint of something colder. “Didn’t you see the look on her face yesterday when she spillet that juice?”

Frost shrugged, a knowing, almost wicked grin spreading across his face. “So my little interruption yesterday came just when it was needed, didn’t it? That juice… was it…?”

“Poison? I scoffed, dismissing the idea with a wave of my hand, the danger secondary to the lingering image. “Who gives a damn about a little poison? Her look yesterday though… the way she carried herself… yeah, that’s what stuck. A flash of memory – Elowen in that blue silk nightgown, wasn’t it? The sheer confidence in her eyes, the promise… it still made my blood hum.

My voice lowered, a definite warning now. “Tonight, I need answers, the real kind. I’m going to hit her with the Alpha thingy. Don’t interrupt this time.”

“Of course, I would hate to spend another night patrolling the pack borders.” His smirk told me he wouldn’t.

I gathered my jacket, preparing to return to our quarters.

Elowen had been acting strangely recently, alternating between clingy and distant. Perhaps tonight I could get to the bottom of whatever was troubling her.

I walked back through the familiar halls of the pack house and pushed open the door to our room. It was silent and empty, The bed was undisturbed, and there was no sign of Elowen. On her pillow, a single piece of paper lay folded. I picked it up.

Meet me at the old warehouse at midnight. I’ll be waiting. -E

Something about it felt off–Elowen rarely left notes, and the handwriting was close but not quite right. But after the stress of the investigations and the interruption of our earlier evening, the thought of meeting her somewhere private was too tempting to ignore.

The warehouse stood abandoned at the edge of our territory, a relic from before I became Alpha. As I approached, the hair on the back of my neck stood up–a primal warning I should have heeded.