Chapter 50: Mysterious Clues
Lucas drummed his fingers on the polished oak desk, his eyes scanning the financial reports of the Emberfang Pack. The numbers blurred together after hours of concentration. He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension that had built there.
A soft knock at his office door provided welcome interruption.
“Come in,” he called, setting down the papers.
Matilda, the pack physician, entered with a solemn expression. Her gray-streaked hair was pulled into a tight bun, and she carried a manila folder tucked under her arm.
“Alpha Lucas,” she greeted with a slight bow of her head. “I have the results from the examination.”
Lucas straightened in his chair. “What have you found?”
Matilda took a seat across from him, placing the folder on the desk. “As you and your brothers suspected, the kidnapper died from wolfsbane poisoning. He had a capsule hidden between his back molars. Once bitten, death would have been swift.”
“A suicide pill,” Lucas muttered, his jaw clenching. “Whoever sent him never intended for him to be captured alive.”
“That’s not all,” Matilda continued, opening the folder. “The tips of his fingers and toes were surgically removed. No fingerprints or toe prints to identify him.”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed before he let out a scoff. “Seems like they’ve had it all thought out.” This was too thorough to be a random attack. “What about DNA?”
“I ran his hair sample through our pack database. No matches.” Matilda shook her head. “He could be a rogue, or from a distant pack we have no records of.”