Page 82 of The Alpha’s Unclaimed Mate

“You get anywhere on who worked Daniel’s case?”

A pause while he shifts gears. “Your uncle ran it with two men he brought in.”

“Adrian, I need their file.”

My friend hesitates. “It won’t be easy to get, but I’ll find a way. But there’s something else. While I was asking around about Daniel, I came across something.” He exhales. “His sister-in-law said something that stuck with me. She said that after your father passed, after you left on tour, Daniel was tired all the time, wrung out.”

“He was a shifter, Adrian.” My brow creases. “We don’t get tired like that.”

“I know.” His voice drops. “That’s what I found odd. Marcus, you weren’t here near the end when your father’s health began to decline. But I was. And the symptoms Lyssa, Hannah’s sister, described were eerily similar. Your father was exhausted all the time, listless. He often had trouble shifting. This went on for a year. Remember how he couldn’t take part in the pack run.”

My mouth has gone dry. “You’re saying both of them showed the same symptoms for a year?”

“Lyssa said she had been visiting from France and Hannah wanted to go for a run. Daniel shifted, but his wolf was off balance, his gait off. Hannah told her that ever since he took the temporary seat, the workload had him tired.”

“Why is this the first I’m hearing of it?” Anger heats the back of my throat. “Ten years, Adrian.”

“Because nobody looked.” He doesn’t flinch from my tone. “You asked Daniel to hold the seat while you played for two more seasons. My head was buried in reorganizing the pack. Daniel kept his own counsel after he married, so the two of us drifted apart. When we ran together, I saw nothing wrong with him. But after he became the acting alpha, we didn’t get the time to go for a run together.”

I think of all the phone calls, the video calls I exchanged with my brother. He never said anything. “Do you think someone was poisoning them?”

“That’s a long reach, Marcus.” However, Adrian doesn’t completely reject the idea.

“Nothing’s too long a reach this morning.” I move to the window and look out at the choked garden. “Walk it through with me. Say three rogues came through that door, even four. They attack Hannah first, Daniel walks in, they go after him.”

“Yeah?”

My jaw is set. “Why did we only find their blood? I can’t believe that Hannah and Daniel didn’t put up a fight. Not with Bella upstairs.”

“I thought the rogues took them by surprise,” Adrian says thoughtfully.

“Even then. Daniel wasn’t alpha-born, but he was still a powerful wolf. Catch him off guard, and he’d have torn two of them open before they dropped him. There should’ve been rogue blood on those walls, and there was none. Even if he wasn’t able to drop them or cause major injuries, he should have gotten a few hits in, drawn some blood. The only way the lack of blood can be explained is if this was an organized hit. If they were surprised and held down so they couldn’t fight back. Rogues tear and run. They don’t pin a wolf down and take their time.”

Adrian hisses, “That whole night was staged then. There were no rogues.”

“I don’t think so.” Anger simmers in my voice, fueled by grief and frustration. All these years and I never questioned the results of the investigation. All these years and my brother and sister-in-law never got justice.

“I want that file by tomorrow,” I go on, keeping my voice down. “And keep my uncle out of it. The last thing I need is him wondering why I’m digging into Daniel after all this time.”

Adrian’s slow to answer me. “You sure we shouldn’t just bring it to him? We’re getting in deep, Marc. If he learns we’ve been working behind his back, he’ll take it hard.”

“I don’t care how he takes it.” My answer is harsh. “He was investigating this. He should have come to these conclusions back then.”

“I’ll keep asking about Daniel’s state of health during that year,” Adrian murmurs. “I’ll try to keep it low key, but Marcus, people will talk. Word will get to your uncle.”

“If it does, then let’s make sure we have something substantial in hand to show him. We need to reopen that investigation.”

“Where are you right now?” Adrian asks.

I hesitate. “Daniel’s place.”

The line goes still. “Why after all these years?”

“I don’t know.” I look around at the ruin before making my way back to the study. “Somebody tore the study. The place was intact when I entered that night. This was done afterward.”

Adrian makes a sound. “What? How bad is it?”

“Like somebody was looking for something. The rest of the house is untouched. Either they found it or they knew it wouldn’t be in the house. But this was definitely after the murders.”