Wolves of Haven: Lone (14 page)

“No, Sir,” the gathered Officers
said then hurried to busy themselves.

“de Wolfe, a moment,” he said,
motioning towards the Inspector’s office in the back.

Akia joined him and smirked when he
slammed the door in Pierre’s face. “Sir?” she asked.

“The person of interest that
Inspector Dumbass keeps bringing up, are they legitimate or is he
grasping?” he asked pointblank.

“In my professional opinion,”
she said, “he’s grasping. The perp might have purposely dumped the
body outside of Verulfr Manor simply because the master of the
estate has
wolf
in
his name.”

de Rue nodded; that was what he was
thinking as well. “Any idea what his fascination with wolves is?”
he asked.

“I’m not psychologist, Sir,” Akia
reminded him. “In my non-professional opinion, I’d say that it’s a
means to compensate. Taking on the persona of a wolf, an alpha
creature of the forest in essence, is a way to masculinize himself.
Most likely he’s in an emasculated state, and this is his way of
compensating. Again, that is just one woman’s opinion. If you like,
I can reach out to a contact at the Boston PD that has done
in-depth research into the psychology of serial killers and is the
foremost forensic psychologist in my precinct. He taught me nearly
everything I know.”

He smirked. “I thought I was
working with Boston’s best,” he said.

Akia simply shrugged; compliments
she never bothered to justify. “When he’s out of his glass-walled
office, he’s unstoppable,” she said. “What I do know is that this
killer is what they call hedonistic, which is one of the hardest,
in my experience, to find. Thrill killers derive pleasure from the
kill. They see people, all people not just those they kill, as
expendable means to get that pleasure. Forensic psychologists have
identified three subtypes of the hedonistic killer: lust, thrill
and comfort. Sadly, this one is the embodiment of all three, and
that makes him extremely dangerous.”

de Rue nodded. “He didn’t get his
fix, did he?”

“No, he didn’t. Because he has no
set type, we can’t warn the public. And if he is local, he’ll blend
in effortlessly.”

“So we need all the help we can
get,” he whispered, and Akia simply nodded her
agreement.

“Did you want me to carry her to
bed?” Varg asked. He hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to Akia in
the week she’s been home, and it was starting to piss him off. He
wasn’t sure if she was purposely staying at the precinct late in
order to not have to see him at home, and that she showed up back
to the estate when he was on patrol or following up on something
for Beowulf was purely coincidental, but he had a feeling that it
wasn’t.

Beowulf shook his head, his
attention on the sleeping woman using her plate as a pillow. “Akia
is mentally and physically exhausted. She needs to run, but she
won’t.”

He snorted under his breath. “It’s
far too dangerous for anyone to run. The woods are filled with
assholes with guns salivating to kill anything that moves. Kid
needs to be put on house arrest before he gets himself
killed.”

Louvel sighed, shaking his head. “I
will talk to him again. He is young, and he longs to follow the
lunar calendar. You cannot blame him for hearing her call,” he said
longingly, looking out the window towards the sliver of a moon that
hung low in the sky; one more night before the black moon, and his
skin already tingled with anticipation.

Gunshots in the distance echoed
through the night air, stealing their attention.

Beowulf sighed. “Son, check on the
others, do a head count, then check the perimeter. Stay within the
fence and take a lantern with you so there are no
misunderstandings.”

Varg softly growled under his
breath, his attention staying on Akia, hoping that the gunshot
would have woken her up so he could finally talk to her, but she
continued to snore in her plate. “Yes, Sir,” he said then left the
room.

“Lou, tomorrow can you and the boys
make sure that the amenities in the cellar are ready?” he asked,
his attention on his daughter as her eyes darted back and forth
behind her closed eyelids.

Louvel nodded. “Of course. Does she
still require such drastic means?” he asked, surprised.

Beowulf shrugged. “Honestly, I
don’t know. But she’s stubborn, so that leads me to believe that
she still fights with her. I pray that I live to see the day that
she can embrace Eve instead of fight her.”

Connell chuckled, joining them from
the kitchen with an apple in hand. “Don’t count on it. Those two
are like two pissed off tomcats in a bag,” he said before pressing
the back of his hand against Akia’s cheek. “She’s warmer than she
should be; this is kicking her ass in every way, shape and form.
Last night she pulled an all-nighter at the office. I was there to
keep an eye on her, took a nap in the hole next to the third victim
in the meat locker before she caught me, hence the lovely bruising
on the side of my face from her right hook. Akia’s been going
non-stop for a week. I don’t know if she’s trying to stay away from
the annoying Viking or if this is how she works a case, either way
it’s kicking her ass.”

They nodded their
understanding.

“I’m going to take her up to bed,”
he said. “We’ll sleep in my room tonight.”

“Son,” Beowulf said, motioning for
him to sit, “what is going on with her? She keeps popping pills.
Why?”

Connell licked his lips, fighting
with what he knows to be the right thing to do in the family and
what his oath says he has to do. “It’s not my place to say, Dad,”
he said. “Akia is fine and is more balanced than she has been in
years. She’s finally learned how to balance the two, Dad. I can’t
tell you the specifics because the oath I took prevents me from
doing so, and before you ask, yes I’ve seen her over the
years.”

Louvel’s eyes widened, but Beowulf
was already well aware of that.

“Akia doesn’t trust people, so
having a doctor in the family, as awkward as it was at times for
the both of us, helped to get her to where she is now. Every three
to six months, depending on how she’s feeling, or if she’s had any
unexpected visits from you know who, we meet up, and I do the
needful as a doctor and adjust her medications and make sure that
her hormone levels are where they should be. She’s a woman, Dad,
and that’s completely uncharted territory. Okay?”

Beowulf nodded his understanding,
so Connell pulled Akia into his arms and carried her from the
dining room and up the stairs to his room.

“Trying to get pregnant or keep her
from getting pregnant?” Louvel whispered.

“I do not know, Old Friend. I’m
scared to ask,” he admitted with a chuckle. “Knowing Akia, it is
merely a means to keep Eve as far away from her as possible. I
cannot fault her for that; she is still young thus control she
lacks in that sense.”

Louvel nodded his understanding.
“If she did not fight her, there would not be a
problem.”

“In theory,” he said. “Not all can
boast such control as your young son can.”

“Control in one aspect translates
to no control in nearly everything else. Have you seen his room? I
cannot see the floor!” Louvel said with a chuckle.

Beowulf shook his head then pushed
his hand through his falling hair. “My old friend, when did we
become old men?”

Louvel refilled their glasses of
wine. “The moment we took our first breaths we started to die,” he
pointed out.

“Poetic yet depressing,” Beowulf
said with a chuckle.

“Quand on n’a pas ce que l’on
aime, Il faut aimer ce que l’on a,” he reminded him;
if we have not the thing we love, then must we
love the thing we have.
“I fear we must
prepare for the black moon…the calling will be much too strong for
the children to ignore. I, myself, feel her call already, and it is
still a night away.”

Beowulf nodded; he felt the call as
well. “We will run in shifts with chaperones, and stay within the
fencing. Hopefully Akia can steer away those that have been
shooting up the woods. I will go to the station and make sure that
I am seen in order to prevent the Stray from trying to tie the next
victim to me.”

Louvel sighed, shaking his head.
“Will you be able to withstand the call at that time?”

He shrugged. “I’ll run tonight once
Varg is back. I’ll have him accompany me. That should satisfy
him.”

“Ulrik would immensely enjoy
running with you,” Louvel mentioned indifferently as he swirled the
wine in his glass.

Beowulf chuckled. “Discreet you are
anything but, my old friend. He may run with me,” he
said.

“Woohoo!” echoed from up the stairs
before the eavesdropping young man stumbled down the stairs,
shedding clothing as he went.

The two men shook their heads in
resignation, chuckling.

****

“And done,” Damian said, signing
off on the last report.

There was a soft knock at his
office door before Police Superintendent Manning stepped inside.
“Working late, Captain?” he asked.

“Finishing up a few things before
taking a long weekend,” he reminded him since Manning signed off on
the request. “You sure you don’t have a problem with
this?”

He shook his head, taking a seat in
the glass walled office. “This used to be my home, so I have no
problem with taking the reins again. With that said, I must request
a change in your plans.”

Damian gave him a look. “I’m sorry,
Sir, but my plans are very important and can’t be
changed-”

Manning put his hand up to stop
him. “I need you to head to Haven and assist de Wolfe,” he
said.

“With what?” he reluctantly asked
since that was exactly where he was headed.

“The case out there,” Manning said
with a chuckle. “The FBI is pleased with the profile that she has
put together, as is the RCMP, but I fear that her lack of a degree
might cause a backlash once the case goes public. I would like to
cover the Boston PD’s ass, as well as that of the FBI since they
have allowed us to take the lead on this, and with your impressive
resume and arrest record, as well as your degree in Criminal
Justice with emphasis on forensic psychology, that makes you the
one to call. I know that you had plans, plans that cannot be
changed, but I am asking this as a favor.”

Damian leaned back in his chair and
studied the man intently; if he didn’t know any better he’d swear
that Manning knew he was headed to Haven already to see Akia, not
to help in the case. “You are asking a lot of me, Sir.”

Manning merely shrugged. “Keeping
those in positions detrimental to our own position happy, having
the opportunity to be owed a favor to one, is not something that
comes along often, so when it does you should be inclined to take
it.”

“Is that a threat?” he
asked.

Again, he merely shrugged then
tossed a file packet on the desk. “Inside is everything you’ll
need. The Winterfeld family has so graciously offered you the use
of their private jet, which should get you there in only an hour,
two at most.” He pulled a key off of his keychain then slid it
across the desk to Damian. “If you would be so kind as to stop by
de Wolfe’s place and grab her some additional clothing, and you
need to pack for a month.”

Damian cocked an eyebrow. “A
month?”

“
You can never be sure,” Manning
said innocently. “With your taste for designer, something you will
not be able to get in Haven, you will need to pack accordingly in
order to properly represent the Boston PD. de Wolfe shouldn’t have
a problem with you stopping by her place; with her work ethic it’s
as if she doesn’t live there at all. Your jet departs as soon as
you’re ready thus you’ll have time to pack. If there is nothing
else,” he said, getting to his feet.

“Apparently not,” Damian said and
watched Manning head down the hall towards the
elevators.

Instead of going to Akia’s
apartment, since the only clothes there hadn’t been worn in years,
he went to their loft. Damian couldn’t shake the feeling that
Manning knew something, possibly about their relationship, and that
he has an ulterior motive. True, nothing the man said had hinted at
such, and yet could have been construed in that way, but he
couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Damian
wasn’t planning on heading to Haven for a couple more days; he had
an arrangement with his family he shouldn’t postpone, but now he
was going to have to adjust things, including discussing some
things with Akia that he wasn’t entirely sure how to bring up but
wouldn’t have a choice in the matter now.