Chapter Twenty-One

The werewolf who opened the door to Lady Sullivan's imposing gothic house was considerably smarter than Gregory. He was wearing a well-tailored suit; unfortunately, the impact of his expensive attire was impaired by the way his face turned blotchy and tufts of fur sprang forth from his forehead when he saw Lukas.

My eyes drifted down to the tag on his arm. Yellow. Whatever that meant.

‘Protocol dictates that I handle this,' Lukas murmured, before stepping up and giving the jittery wolf a dazzling, fanged smile. ‘Inform Lady Sullivan that Lord Horvath is here to see her.'

More fur appeared; in fact, whiskers were now springing from the wolf's cheeks. He didn't utter a word, he simply bowed and turned away to pass along the message.

There was the sound of ripping fabric and I saw a long tail appear from the seat of his expensive trousers. It was very hard not to stare.

‘We're getting closer and closer to the full moon,' Lukas said. ‘It's not easy for the younger, less dominant wolves to control themselves.'

‘His tag was yellow.'

‘Zeta. He's a ranking wolf,' Lukas explained. ‘But only just.'

Another man appeared, older with hints of grey at his temples. ‘Lord Horvath. How lovely to see you at our door on this fine day.' He glanced at me. ‘And the latest in a long line of Supernatural Squad detectives. I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me your name?'

‘That's incredibly rude, Robert,' Lukas said.

A lazy smile lit the older wolf's face. ‘DC Brown never minded.'

‘DC Brown didn't care.' There was an underlying tone of menace in Lukas's response. Interesting. And scary.

Robert, who was no doubt one of the higher-ranking betas given his lack of an arm tag and Lukas's knowledge of his name, continued smiling. ‘Indeed.'

He raised his head, scenting the air. It wasn't the aroma of London city he was curious about, however, it was me. ‘Alas, Lady Sullivan is very busy. She will grant you the boon of an audience as soon as she can. She is always enthusiastic about meeting with the police. There is an opening in her diary next week, after the full moon. Would 2.45pm next Thursday suit?'

Lukas growled. He appeared suddenly, genuinely angry and I had the distinct sensation that all hell was about to break loose. No doubt the fact that one of Lady Sullivan's underlings was treating me – and therefore, by extension, the Lord of all vampires – like a random passer-by was a punch in the face. And it was something that Lukas had to respond to.

If there was one thing I'd learnt in my detective training, it was that fighting fire with fire only ever led to a blazing inferno. Despite my own annoyance at Lady Sullivan's attempts to conceal the truth from us, I knew that we had to use water to fight effectively.

‘Unfortunately,' I broke in smoothly, ‘this is an urgent matter of the utmost importance. I'm afraid we need to see her straight away.'

‘As I've already said, Lady Sullivan is very busy.' Robert paused. ‘However, if you tell me your name, I will endeavour to slide you in before her next appointment.'

Lukas bristled. ‘You will do nothing of the sort,' he said to me. Then he glared at the wolf. ‘You may call her D'Artagnan.'

This show of machismo was rather exhausting to watch. ‘It's a test,' I said.

‘I don't care what it is,' Lukas replied. He didn't raise his voice, but there was no denying his mounting fury. ‘It's disrespectful, discourteous and,' he bared his sharp teeth, ‘downright dangerous.'

‘Please be aware, Lord Horvath, that this is not intended as a slight to you in any way.' Robert bowed to add weight to his words. ‘I don't wish to incur your displeasure. It is not you who concerns me. The young lady here is an unknown quantity. She has already met twice with Lady Sullivan without my knowledge. As head of Sullivan Security, I am merely performing the role I've been given and ensuring the absolute safety of my alpha.'

I couldn't be arsed with this. ‘My name,' my voice rang out clearly, ‘is Emma Bellamy.'

Lukas stiffened. Robert, however, smiled in triumph. ‘In that case, Ms Bellamy, Lord Horvath, please follow me.' He turned on his heel and walked away.

‘What the hell?' Lukas bit out. ‘Why did you do that?'

‘Because,' I answered simply, ‘we need to speak to Lady Sullivan, and we need do it now.'

‘You can't ever take back your real name! We're dealing with dominant werewolves here who will happily use your name against you.'

I shrugged. ‘First of all, you've already suggested that I'm more powerful than anyone thinks.'

‘You calmed down a delta werewolf. That's an entirely different matter to allowing betas and alphas know your real name! They could hold it over you for the rest of your tenure in Supe Squad. Look at what happened with Brown!'

‘Second of all,' I continued as if he hadn't spoken, ‘Lady Sullivan obviously wants to test the limits of whatever power I have. She already knows that I broke up the fight between Gregory and Becca. The fact that I'm trotting around with you while trying to investigate Tony's murder has probably piqued her interest even more.' I ticked off my fingers. ‘Thirdly, I'm only in Supe Squad temporarily, so what anyone does or does not know about my name doesn't matter.'

Lukas glowered at me. ‘Anything else?'

‘Yeah.' I took a deep breath. This last part was a calculated gamble. ‘You already knew my real name is Emma. You've already found it out.'

‘Whether I have or not is beside the point,' he said, his face darkening further. ‘I have done you the courtesy of not saying it aloud.'

I knew it. ‘If the vampires know my name,' I said softly, ‘then the werewolves can know it too.'

‘I'm the only vampire who knows your name, I promise you that.' He gritted his teeth. ‘Not that it will make any difference now. Do you realise how long it's been since I encountered a human as frustrating as you?'

I smiled. ‘I'll take that as a compliment.'

Robert called from inside the Sullivan residence. ‘I thought this was an urgent matter. Are the two of you coming in or not?'

I smiled more widely. ‘Coming!' And then I stepped inside.

***

Lady Sullivan didn't quite have a throne like Lukas's, but she was seated on a grand chair on a raised dais. Various werewolves lolled around the room in front of her, some in full wolf form. I reminded myself that I wanted to be here and that I wasn't afraid. Not much, anyway. Even though I was in the wolves' lair, it was still daylight and that went a long way towards keeping my terrors at bay.

‘Leave us,' Lady Sullivan said, barely raising her voice above a whisper. Every single warm body in the place rose up and left silently, until there was only Lukas, Robert and me. ‘I do apologise for Robert's behaviour just now,' Lady Sullivan continued. ‘His demands were made without my knowledge.'

Lukas rolled his eyes. ‘As if.'

‘I beg your pardon, Lord Horvath?'

‘If you genuinely expect us to believe that he was acting on his own cognisance, then your opinion of us is even lower than I thought.'

‘I can assure you that I hold a very high opinion of all vampires.' Her eyes narrowed slightly. ‘I am not seeking any sort of argument with you, and I fully accept your recriminations.'

I realised suddenly that she was nervous. Regardless of what machinations she'd tried to employ to put me at a disadvantage, she genuinely didn't want to antagonise Lukas.

I filed away that information and spoke up. ‘Let's move on,' I said. ‘I have serious questions that I need you to answer, Lady Sullivan.'

‘You are not a vampire, Emma Bellamy,' she responded, making a deliberate point of using my real name. ‘You are merely a human.'

‘Lady Sullivan,' Lukas began. ‘This is completely—'

I held up a hand. Her test wasn't over, but that was fine by me. As long as I got the answers I needed, I didn't care.

Robert stepped forward. ‘Lord Horvath is on par with Lady Sullivan,' he said. ‘As such, he is exempt from the usual guest formalities. Ms Bellamy, whether you have met with Lady Sullivan before or not, you are now in her home. We ask that you show her the courtesy required and bow.'

It would have been a whole lot easier if I'd done as he requested and given my best impression of a low bow, but I knew that wasn't what he really wanted. It wasn't what Lady Sullivan really wanted, either. Maybe I was better at understanding supes than I'd given myself credit for.

‘I'm honoured to be here and very grateful for your time,' I said. ‘However, as a member of Supernatural Squad – whether my role is temporary or not – I am not obliged to bow to you, Lady Sullivan.'

‘Bow, Emma,' Robert ordered.

I didn't move an inch.

Lady Sullivan's gaze slid momentarily to Lukas. If she was surprised that I'd not complied with the order, she didn't show it. Lukas didn't react; he merely watched me with expressionless black eyes.

‘Emma Bellamy,' she said. ‘Bow.'

This time I felt her power. A faint buzz zapped along my spine and itched at the base of my skull. I wanted to do as she'd commanded; the authority she'd exerted by using my real name made me desperate to obey. I resisted it and remained upright – but only just.

Lady Sullivan's expression flickered. ‘I see.'

I swallowed. ‘I trust you now have the answer you were looking for.'

‘Not even close.' She leaned forward and examined me intently. ‘Lord Horvath, is this why she was chosen? Is this why DSI Barnes sent her to Supe Squad?'

Lukas folded his arms. ‘I have no reason to believe that any member of the Metropolitan Police Force is aware that Emma Bellamy has any special power or authority,' he said stiffly.

I hated being spoken about when I was standing right there. I pointed at him. ‘What he said.' I tapped my foot, my impatience growing. ‘Now, can we get to the reason why I'm here?'

Lady Sullivan waved at me dismissively. ‘Carry on.'

Finally. ‘Last night, I informed you about the murder of DC Tony Brown. You know that we suspect a werewolf is the perpetrator, and that his death was made to appear an accident gone wrong or a suicide. So why,' my voice hardened, ‘did you not tell both us and the other werewolves present that one of your own died yesterday morning, too? And that her death was also apparently suicide?'

Although I searched every inch of her face, I saw no reaction on Lady Sullivan's part. ‘I take it that you're referring to Becca,' she said smoothly. ‘I fail to see any connection, remote or otherwise, between her death and DC Brown's.'

‘Do your werewolves often commit suicide?' I asked.

Her mouth tightened. ‘No,' she snapped, ‘they do not. But Becca was under considerable pressure after the disappearance of her sister. You saw for yourself how close to the edge she was. She attacked another wolf without provocation! She was no pup – Becca was a delta. She might not have been born a werewolf, but she chose to become one. She passed all of our threshold tests and was deemed strong enough and intelligent enough to be one of ours. As such, she was held to higher standards than street brawling. Unfortunately, despite her other qualities, her state of mind was obviously fragile.'

Lukas scratched his chin. ‘If that were so,' he said, ‘then why didn't you have someone watch over her? Why didn't you find her the help she so desperately needed?'

Lady Sullivan's face spasmed into something very ugly. ‘As if hindsight hasn't suggested other avenues to you in the past, Lord Horvath! I should have acted faster, but I do not require further censure. Believe me, as Becca's alpha I feel the weight of guilt. And yet, however unfortunate her death was, she killed herself. She had nothing to do with DC Brown. I doubt she'd ever spoken to the man!'

Seeking to calm matters, I took another tack. ‘You said she chose to become a wolf? When did that happen?'

‘Six years ago. She recommended her sister for conversion three years after that.'

‘Why would she recommend her sister if she was having trouble adapting to the change herself?'

Lady Sullivan looked away. ‘We didn't know she was having trouble. You have to understand, Ms Bellamy, that there are strict limits placed on how many werewolves can exist at any one time. We do not turn humans without first being confident that they can adapt to an entirely new way of life. We receive thousands of applications. We can afford to be picky.'

Not picky enough if Becca really did commit suicide. ‘How?' I asked quietly. ‘How did Becca die?'

Lady Sullivan sighed. ‘She didn't hang herself, if that's what you're asking. She slit her wrists in the bath and bled to death.'

My fingers went involuntarily to my throat, touching the spot where the knife had first slid in. ‘What did she use to cut herself with?' My voice suddenly sounded weak.

She gave me a strange look. ‘A knife. One of her own kitchen knives, in fact.'

Lukas glanced at me, concern in his gaze. ‘You're sure?'

Lady Sullivan rose to her feet. ‘What exactly are you trying to tell me? Are you suggesting that Becca didn't do this to herself?'

‘I don't know.' I licked my lips. ‘I need to see her body.'

‘Is that completely necessary?' she enquired.

‘Yes,' Lukas said.

Her lips tightened. ‘No matter what dormant power this one might have within her, she is still part of the human police force. Are you prepared to pass on the reins of this investigation to her? I'm certain, Lord Horvath, that you are more than aware of the repercussions that might have.'

‘I'm certain, Lady Sullivan, that you're also aware of the repercussions of a werewolf in your clan killing a member of the human police force. This is about damage limitation.'

‘Their deaths are not related.'

‘You don't know that,' I said, more loudly than I'd intended. ‘Nobody does. To find out for sure, I need to see Becca's body.'

Lady Sullivan sighed, then she looked at Robert and gave him a tiny nod. I breathed out. I didn't thank her, however; she was only doing what she should have done in the first place.

‘I will take you to her now,' Robert said, stepping forward. I had no idea whether he agreed with the order or not; his expression was inscrutable.

I didn't move. ‘I'm not finished yet.'

Lady Sullivan clicked her tongue. ‘What else do you want?'

I ignored her exasperated tone. ‘Anna. Becca's sister. What information do you have on her disappearance?'

‘She spent the night with Gregory. She left his house to return home and somewhere along the way she vanished.' She shrugged in a bored fashion. ‘What else is there to know?'

‘You don't seem very concerned about her disappearance.'

‘I'm the girl's alpha, not her mother.' Lady Sullivan folded her arms; she was making a very obvious production of her apparent boredom. Far too obvious.

‘What has been done so far to locate her?' I asked.

For a moment, I wasn't sure she would answer then she cleared her throat. ‘Trackers have been out searching for her scent,' she said finally. ‘They think they picked her up on the fringes of St James's Park. Becca was a rising star and progressed rapidly through the ranks. We had been hoping for the same from Anna, despite the fact that she lived in her sister's shadow. However, she only made zeta three full moons ago. Sometimes young wolves find the process of being ranked too much to handle and they snap. I suspect that is what happened to Anna.'

‘Zeta is the lowest rank?' I asked, confirming what Lukas had told me.

‘It is. But many wolves don't even achieve that.'

I sucked on my bottom lip. ‘How?' I wanted to understand as much as I could. ‘How do they achieve a rank?'

‘It only happens during the full moon. Non-ranked werewolves may challenge ranked werewolves during the lunar change. If they win the fight, they take their opponent's rank.' Lady Sullivan regarded me coolly. ‘You may think it's a barbaric process, but we need to ensure we have the strongest wolves in the best positions. Clan Sullivan is not a place for weaklings.'

‘All the clans work like this?'

‘Yes.' She raised an eyebrow. ‘It's a far better system than written examinations and letters of reference and approval that you use for promotion.'

I wasn't in a position to argue with that. ‘Fair enough. I want to see Anna and Becca's house as well.'

‘We have already searched it, but very well. Do as you will. I can assure you, Ms Bellamy, that there is no evidence of foul play in either of their cases. And there is nothing to tie DC Brown to them. Equally, whether he's a convenient suspect or not, Gregory is not involved.'

‘On that last part we are agreed,' I said equably. I smiled. ‘Thank you for your time. I'm finished for now, but I may return with more questions later.'

She looked at Lukas. ‘How about you, Lord Horvath? Do you wish to interrogate me further?'

‘I do believe,' he said, with a tiny grin, ‘that everything has been covered.'

‘Good.' Her gaze hardened. ‘Now the two of you can fuck off out of my house.' She raised a long finger and pointed it at my chest. ‘But you should know that I've got my eye on you, Emma Bellamy. You are not normal.'

That was hardly news. I gave her an ambivalent shrug and turned away.