Death was not always natural, nor were the victim’s final moments peaceful. Rayne Calloway realized that his first day as a detective at the scene of a heinous murder down in the rough side of Levingston. Crime ran rampant in those depths often, taken over by alpha-run gangs and illegal drug dealing, but nothing prepared him for the ghastly crime committed that autumn morning.
Blood sprayed the sidewalk in petals of bright red, almost mistaken for the fallen leaves around them from a distance. If not for the body sprawled out across the pavement with a ghastly laceration inflicted to his throat. The victim wore a fancy gray suit and a pair of comfy athletic shoes, which didn’t quite go together but Rayne couldn’t fault him for not wearing lavish shoes on such a filthy side of town.
It was difficult to determine how many times he was stabbed, but judging from the amount of blood and visible markings to his slim neck, it was quite a lot. Perhaps five times at least? Rayne would know for certain after their medical examiner provided their report.
Crouching down to get a better look, Rayne frowned as he studied the young man’s neck closer. Amid all the blood, he nearly missed his mutilated scent glands. The young man was an omega.
Sympathy pains burned his own neck as he pulled back with a grimace. Aside from his neck being slit, he didn’t notice any other visible injuries. Of course, his hands were bruised but Rayne suspected that had to be from the fight the victim had put up with his assailant.
Once he checked the man’s pockets for any form of identification, which he didn’t find, Rayne rose to his feet. The killer must’ve taken it with them.
While there didn’t appear to be any signs of a sexual assault, Rayne knew that down in the territory they were in, it wasn’t uncommon for such to occur. Their assault laws only protected omegas from so much, especially when it came to prideful alphas who refused to control themselves and thought they were above everyone else. Like the laws didn’t apply to him. It honestly made him sick to remember all those assault reports that landed on his desk during his beat cop days.
It was one thing to kill the poor omega, but another to quite literally damage his scent glands to the point no pheromones could emit from him. That explained why he or nobody else in the area had scented him out as an omega. His scent glands no longer functioned, no longer even had the ability to produce a scent that would’ve warned of danger to anyone nearby.
His killer had to have done it intentionally.
An icy chill swept over Rayne as he tugged his black overcoat tighter around his body. Gray clouds gathered in the sky above, as if the Gods above mourned the loss as well.
Unfortunately, since the omega didn’t have any form of identification on him so they weren’t able to locate his next of kin right away, and Rayne had a sneaking suspicion their killer stole it with the purpose of making it much harder to find out who the omega really was.
“Detective Calloway.” Medical examiner Priscilla Goodwin made her way over to him, casting a glance down at their victim as she gestured for her colleague to come help prepare the body to be transported to their lab. “Tragic when death claims such young souls. Gosh, he barely looks like he’s eighteen. You think it’s another gang affiliated attack?”
“I’m not sure.” Rayne shook his head, knowing full well of the rampant crime with Alpha gangs lately, but something about this seemed different. “He’s an omega actually. Severed scent glands. That’s why nobody noticed when we first arrived. It’s hard to see with all the blood.”
“I have to be honest. This reminds me a lot of a case we had over a month ago.” Priscilla frowned. “The victim slit his own throat to escape an Alpha who marked him. He must’ve felt like it was the only way… You know how finicky the law is when an Alpha marks an Omega. It’s almost impossible to legally separate them or attempt to remove the mark with surgery.”
“That omega’s scent glands were severely damaged.” Rayne shuddered to remember it. “I suppose it could’ve been self-inflicted. But Gods, that’s such a brutal way to go.”
“Well, their alpha can scent them out when distressed. Could be he tried something else. Or tried to get help.” Priscilla shook her head. “It’s a dangerous world for an omega without protections like yours. You’re lucky you joined the force, you know that.”
“I know it is.” Rayne glanced back at the victim one final down. “Maybe that omega did commit suicide, but until you can provide evidence that suggests it, I’m treating this as a homicide.”
Something deep within Rayne’s gut told him it wasn’t suicide or alpha gang related, and his instincts had never steered him wrong. Whatever happened to the poor omega, it was personal and Rayne would do everything he could to uncover the truth.
“You taking the lead on this, Calloway?” Rayne turned around at the sound of Detective Graves' stentorian voice. The man towered over him by at least a foot, his curly auburn locks framing his chiseled face. If not for his arrogant attitude and the way he ogled every omega like a piece of fresh meat, he might’ve found him attractive.
“I am.” Rayne couldn’t resist the defensive pheromones that emitted around him like a protective shield, strong enough that it made Detective Graves literally choke on it and stagger back with a murderous glare. “Tell me what you know so far. Given you were the first at the scene and spoke to the passerby who discovered our victim.”
“Right.” Detective Graves wrinkled his nose. “Keep your pheromones to yourself and I will. Damn, omegas,” he grunted under his breath. “The shopkeeper who found him was heading to her store to open for the morning and found him here on her walk. She comes this way every morning and every evening after closing up. Didn’t recognize him. She figured, much like the rest of us, it’s gang related. Alpha on the wrong turf or maybe a fight over some pretty little omega.”
Rayne rolled his eyes at the last remark. “Charming theory. But our victim’s an omega.”
“Wait. Seriously?” Detective Graves asked incredulously.
“It was hard to tell with the trauma inflicted to his neck. Damaged his scent glands. That’s why nobody noticed he was an omega to begin with,” Rayne explained.
“You think he has a mate out there looking for him?” Detective Graves asked, eyes darkening. “If so, he would have felt that omega’s death through their shared bond.”
“Alphas can scent when an omega’s marked, can’t they?” Rayne asked, then received a head nod from his colleague. “Do you think you could tell if our victim was marked? Even with his scent glands mutilated? If not, don’t worry about it. I’m sure our medical forensics can find that out through blood testing and from a sample of his injured scent gland.”
“I can try to check.” Detective Graves cast a weary look back toward their victim. “I’m doubtful though, given none of us even knew he was an omega.”
It was a longshot in seeing if Detective Graves could scent any lingering Alpha marking on their victim. Seeing how nobody else had come to the scene of the crime yet or called in to report a missing omega, Rayne wondered if he was either unmarked or unwanted by his alpha.
After a brief moment passed, Detective Graves moved away from the body with a shake of his head. “I’m not picking up anything. He might be marked, but his neck’s far too damaged. I don’t smell any lingering scent of an alpha on him though, if that’s any help?”
“Interesting.” Rayne rubbed his chin. “Once forensics are able to identify his DNA from our database, we’ll work on getting his cell phone records next. I know he doesn’t have a phone on him either, but you know how young adults and teens these days are. Always glued to one. Most schools require you to have one to keep in contact with peers and instructors as well. So it might ping at the last location he was alive.”
A sleek black sedan crept down the road, halted by the barricades omega beat cops had put up once they arrived on the scene. The driver wasted no time putting it in reverse and zipping right the hell out of there, so fast that Rayne barely caught a partial license plate. He jotted it down in his little notebook for later, despite knowing he’d have it memorized by the time they got back to the station.
“Well, that was fucking weird,” Detective Graves muttered.
“It certainly was.” Rayne frowned. “You don’t flee like that unless you’re hiding something.”
Detective Graves peeked over his shoulder to glimpse at what he’d scrawled on his notepad. “Damn, you seriously saw that much of his license plate? I literally only got the first letter.”
“Of course you did.” Rayne tucked his notepad back into his overcoat’s pocket. “I pay attention to details. Honestly, it shouldn’t be that hard to find with those custom rims either. Very few people can afford that steele because they don’t manufacture it here in Levingston.”
“Yeah, I noticed it was some kind of fancy sports car. Not the best place to be driving something like that around unless you want it stolen.” Detective Graves shook his head. “Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one of those alpha gangsters. Probably dealing dope down here and spotted us.”
“Could be.” Rayne agreed. “Or maybe he had another reason to book it out of here so fast.”
Back in his unmarked squad car, Rayne typed in the partial license plate into the built-in computer with hopes it was registered to the individual driving it. Sports cars like that had to be insured of course, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it were stolen either. Much to his relief, a name did pop up.
Kellan Lestrange
The Lestrange family owned Omega Pharmaceuticals, which provided most healthcare to his kind in Levingston, ranging from suppressants to birth control. How strange that someone with ties like that would be out on that sketchy end of town. With the registration of the car, it also provided Kellan’s current home address and his folks place of work. Presumably where he worked as well, Rayne imagined.
It certainly wouldn’t hurt to pay him a visit.
Perhaps he knew the victim. Kellan could possibly be their victim’s alpha or perhaps even his killer.
Ω
A languid sunlight gathered above the sumptuous houses protected by iron wrought gates with top of the notch security guarding their property. Simply driving down their street made Rayne feel like thousands of eyes were watching him. It was quite uncanny. The measures rich people went to in order to protect their peace and homes was beyond comprehensible to him, but Rayne had never had the luxury of owning a car triple of what his old family home cost.
It wasn’t long before Rayne located the vehicle that sped off at their crime scene. Parked right outside a house that resembled a mansion. Thankfully, the owner did not think to hide his car in his garage and left it parked on the side of the road, giving Rayne every right to cruise up behind it and hop out to take a look.
There wasn’t much Rayne expected to find amid the car, but that didn’t stop him from peeking in through the passenger’s side window anyway. Much like the exterior, the interior was well kept with black leather seats that didn’t have a speck or crack in them. No snack wrappers or forgotten take-out drinks in the cupholders either.
However, more interestingly in the back seat, lay a brown paper sack. It resembled the kind that Rayne got at the pharmacy for his prescriptions, and it even had the same Omega logo printed across the top. Not exactly something he expected an alpha like Kellan to have with him. Perhaps it belonged to an omega he’d encountered… Or killed.
“Can I help you?”
That deep, mellifluous voice sent a shiver down Rayne’s spine as he jolted away from the car. There stood perhaps one of the most handsome alpha men he’d ever laid eyes on. The kind he’d literally fantasized about because actual alphas were subpar to the kind he’d used to dream about as a hopeful yet horny teenager.
Windswept chestnut locks framed his chiseled and ruddy face, gazing upon him with eyes the color of misty fog on a stormy morning. His skin was lightly tanned, like he’d spent many days under the warm sun, but most prominent was a black tattoo of a two-headed snake that peeked out from his billowy white shirt. A trademark tattoo for the Midnight Vipers gang.
On instinct, Rayne drew his gun from his side holster and aimed it at the tall, broad-shouldered alpha standing before him. “On your knees. Now.”
It wasn’t long before Rayne located the vehicle that sped off at their crime scene. Parked right outside a house that resembled a mansion. Thankfully, the owner did not think to hide his car in his garage and left it parked on the side of the road, giving Rayne every right to cruise up behind it and hop out to take a look.
There wasn’t much Rayne expected to find amid the car, but that didn’t stop him from peeking in through the passenger’s side window anyway. Much like the exterior, the interior was well kept with black leather seats that didn’t have a speck or crack in them. No snack wrappers or forgotten take-out drinks in the cupholders either.
However, more interestingly in the back seat, lay a brown paper sack. It resembled the kind that Rayne got at the pharmacy for his prescriptions, and it even had the same Omega logo printed across the top. Not exactly something he expected an alpha like Kellan to have with him. Perhaps it belonged to an omega he’d encountered… Or killed.
“Can I help you?”
That deep, mellifluous voice sent a shiver down Rayne’s spine as he jolted away from the car. There stood perhaps one of the most handsome alpha men he’d ever laid eyes on. The kind he’d literally fantasized about because actual alphas were subpar to the kind he’d used to dream about as a hopeful yet horny teenager.
Windswept chestnut locks framed his chiseled and ruddy face, gazing upon him with eyes the color of misty fog on a stormy morning. His skin was lightly tanned, like he’d spent many days under the warm sun, but most prominent was a black tattoo of a two-headed snake that peeked out from his billowy white shirt. A trademark tattoo for the Midnight Vipers gang.
On instinct, Rayne drew his gun from his side holster and aimed it at the tall, broad-shouldered alpha standing before him. “On your knees. Now.”
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