The woman was no older than thirty, half of her body was hanging by a thread, legs holding a bite marks belonging to a vicious animal, and her throat sliced open. It was a horrid site, I wouldn't have wished this attack on my worst enemy. "The report say she was found on the side of the road in the back woods. First being mistaken as a deer by people who pick up road kill." Aunt May huffed while slamming the folder and tossing it to the side.
Red hair, blue soulless eyes, plump lips; she was beautiful. I circled my arms around me, mainly to keep warm and not throw up on the freshly cleaned floor. I eyed her body, studying every mark and wound. "I thought Lycan's were on the down low, like vampires."
"They are... at least they're supposed to be. Lycan's can lose their temper sometimes, especially the young ones. The poor thing could of been out with her boyfriend, they could of fought and things turned ugly, he turned and killed her." Aunt May pulled the lamp over our heads closer to her torso. "The slice are deep, so she was close- very close. Her nails shows signs of struggle, which means DNA."
My lips thinned in disgust, my eyes scanned her pale naked form to see every wound, scrape, and cut; until coming upon the side of her neck. Putting on latex gloves, I tilted her head to the side to get a better look. "Are these vampire bites?" The tissue just below her eyes was old, pink and tiny enough to miss.
Aunt May pulled the light closer to the head, taking a good look for herself. "Yeah, looks about a few months old. The bayou is mostly known for vampires, they hide out there and do their sex clubs. I'm gonna call down an expert, maybe he'll know something." Snapping off the gloves, Aunt May walked to the small office.
I continued to look, finding several hairs and blood under her nails, and a red painted nail in one of the wounds upon her stomach. I grabbed the tweezers and carefully pulled it out. Definitely a broken nail, and most definitely didn't match the victim's own nail.
"What did you find?" She came back, a look of satisfaction in her brown eyes as a soft sigh past her lips.
"A nail, looks like it was broken from the root. Since this is a supernatural thing, what will we tell the others?"
"Half the cops on the force doesn't give two shits about murders on the street, the detectives would be very happy to know they don't have to work the cases. What major did you graduate from again?"
"Mass communication."
"Really?"
"Yeah, mom wanted me to do something involved with a desk job making a six figure salary. I can't blame her but it wasn't me."
"Well, the morgue is hiring if you're interested. I can pull some strings."
"Nah, thank you for the offer, seeing dead bodies every day isn't my thing. No offense."
She chuckled lightly and nod her head in understanding. "Yeah, my first time was gruesome but very interesting."
"You rang?" Lucas walked into the room, a stern irritated look upon his face as if we disturbed him- which we probably did.
Aunt May barely looked over her shoulder to acknowledge his presence. "Come look at this, don't forget your gloves."
He rolled his eyes slowly and huffed before snatching the large size latex glove, his eyes took a quick scan at the body. "What type of attack is this?"
"We thought you would know. Isn't it Lycan?" I voiced.
Lucas stepped closer once his hands were protected, brows raised as he shook his head no. "It's more than possible. Where was this?"
"The bayou."
He hesitated before shaking his head in disagreement. "That's impossible. Lycan's down there has strict orders to turn, we take precautions."
"Well, certainly this person didn't take his chill pill." Aunt May reached over to grab the tweezers with the nail. "Perhaps the victim got into a huge fight with a female lycan. Jupiter found this in one of her wounds. How about you give it a sniff, see if you know the chick." She was teasing him, the smug look upon her face showed victory and challenge.
Lucas ticking jaw showed he wasn't please as he fought back whatever he wanted to say to the woman. I huffed, grabbing both of their attention and reminding them they weren't alone. "How about we go down to the bayou and ask around? Since you know the place so well, it would be easy."
Instead of against the thought, Aunt May placed the nail into a secure bag with red tape for evidence. "Here, it's best to do it soon before the girl heals back into shape. Tell the lieutenant before you go, for overtime purposes. Also, give Jupiter a ride home."
"No, I'm fine." I peeped. "I can walk back."
"No, I don't want you walking home by yourself, especially not after sunset. I'm sure Lucas will be fine with it." Practically tossing the bag to his chest, Aunt May walked backed into her tiny office.
"Sorry." I whispered. Walking away from the rows of body and tearing away the gloves from my hands, I grabbed my bag and waited patiently by the door. Lucas eyed the victim, his brows furrowed and lips thinned. He shook his head and sighed heavily before walking towards the door.
"Don't worry about it." He mumbled once we were in the long cold hall.
"Does she look familiar?"
Twiddling with the small evidence bag, Lucas sighed heavily once again. "She's a bartender, served me a few drinks, flirted with me to get a better tip; that's all. I can drop you off-"
"No, I don't want to go home." I can't be in the attic by myself, I can't go through the horrid dream again. "You can drop me off at Francis's book shop."
"That's in the other direction, and I'm trying to clock out as soon as I can. I'll just take you along with me."
You can say I was giddy to have an excuse to not to go home, however, being apart of a homicide investigation wasn't apart of my agenda. "Thanks, for suggesting the group to me."
"Are you going to go Friday?"
"I don't know. I-um... I'm just worry something might slip out, you know, I can't risk that."
Lucas scoffed lightly in disagreement. "You choose the community over your mental health, that's a hell of a lot of loyalty."
"What? You're not loyal to your community?"
"Oh, I am, but they don't write my paychecks or make sure I'm stable." He climbed the stairs two at a time, it was tough keeping up with his fast pace.
*~*~*~*
We were in the bayou just after sunset, the back woods were dark, the trees hung low, and for the first time in a long time; I say the stars perfectly. My lips tugged into a smile as I looked at them through the windshield. "When my mom named me Jupiter, all the planets were in line with the sun." I spoke at random, the memory of her telling me was so long ago, I was barely six; but that was one of the best memories I had of her. "Jupiter was the only reasonable name for a kid, other than Venus, but she thought Jupiter fits in more."
The car fell silent; Lucas kept his eyes on the road, and the radio sounded like mumbling in the background. It wasn't until the car pulled up to a bar just along the highway, when Lucas finally spoke. "Uranus is not that bad of a name."
I chuckled lightly and cracked a fatal smile that barely showed. "Yeah, if my fate was to get bullied until I were old enough to change my name."
"Wait, before we go in there it's best if you lay low."
"Lay low?"
Lucas reached behind my seat, grabbing a thin rain jacket and placed it in my lap. "It'll hide your scent, just enough to go in and out."
I grabbed the light jacket, the smell of his after shave and nature filling my nose as I discreetly sniff it. I made the exchange, the jacket swallowed me whole and gave me warmth. I even released my dreads from the ponytail, rustling it around so it can fall over my shoulders and face. "How do I look?"
He eyed me closely, his forest green eyes raking over my body slowly until it reached my own brown orbs. "Exhausted." Just like that, Lucas climbed out the car and slammed the door close behind me.
I pulled the small mirror down to see myself, the dark circles only became worse, face slight pale as if I were scared half to death; which I was. I pout to myself before pushing it all away by climbing out. Lucas was waiting for me, along with scanning the area for any potential threat. "So, what's the escape plan? Just in case things go south."
"Run fast as hell and wish for the best." He strides to the door, past the bikers having themselves a beer in the crisp chilly night; I felt their eyes on us, specifically Lucas. The strong lycan didn't exactly take the time to hide his badge and gun. He opened the door, allowing me to walk in first.
The bar was filled, my body buzzed with warmth and static, Lycans were all around- getting drunk and sloppy. There were more women than men, they looked rough; built with tattoos up and down their arms. I wasn't scared, I've seen some shot that would make them pee themselves like pups, however, I was intimidated.
Lucas walked in, head still high, long legs carrying him straight to the bar. I followed close behind, making sure his scent was effective enough to make me blend in. "Jack." He leaned on the bar, easily taking a seat in the stool.
The bartender immediately grabbed two glasses and poured whiskey in each before pushing them towards us. I hopped on the nearest stool, hand wrapped around the cool glass before bringing it to my lips to have my throat burn and tongue twist in bitterness. "What's going on Lucas?" The old guy spoke, his voice gruff and low as his eyes flickered to me quizzically.
The lycan cop reached inside his hoodie and threw the evidence on the polished surface. "Have Carla been in today?"
Jack's face dropped immediately from the site of the red polished nail. "No, she hasn't nor did Rebecca. What did they do now?"
Lucas immediately puts the evidence back into his pocket and grabbed his glass, pressing the rim to his plump lips and downed it whole as of it were water. "Has Carla and Rebecca gotten into a fight recently?"
"No, they argue with customers here and there but that's all. What's going on Luke? Who's she?"
Just a girl trying to fight my sleep.... Lucas sighed heavily and nudged my side, signaling me to step away for a little bit so they can have a heart to heart. I slide out of the stool and staggered to a empty table near by, I kept my eyes from scanning their faces; even though they all look like their beast were trying to crawl out of their skin. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and waited a few seconds before opening them to see everything was normal.
The chair before me was pulled back, the legs scraped the floor- puncturing my ears and causing my heart to drop. A woman sat down, thick brows raised in curiosity, blue eyes dark, face strong, and a purple leather jacket covering her arms. I knew she had a boat load of tattoos, both hands held a large animalistic tat, her auburn hair cascaded down her back and shoulders, and lips coated in thick red lipstick. "Well, hello." She spoke smoothly, her voice the sound of water hitting rocks.
"Hey." Here I am sounding nervous and uneasy. I cleared my throat and sat up straight to show a little amount of confidence I had left.
The woman studied me, her nose flared as she took a huge whiff of my scent. "Aftershave?"
"Oh, I uh-"
"Jupiter." Lucas steps in before it was too late. He looked down at the woman, his lips dropped into a displeasing smile. "Dakota."
Dakota hopped to her feet, a smirk upon her face and eyes scanning him as she stepped closer. They were almost the same height, forehead an inch below his own in heels. "Lucas, long time no see. I stopped by your place, you weren't there."
His jaw ticked as he ignored the woman. "Let's go." He didn't have to tell me twice. I was already on my feet heading for the door by time Lucas started to move. We were outside, the air twice as humid than before, and the parking lot twice as full. "Keep walking." He ordered in a gruff voice while picking up his pace.
There's no doubt Dakota was following us, her heels crushed the gravel on every step, and breathing became the house of a horse huffing. "Hey! Don't you dare walk away, Lucas." She was fast, she pushed him forward with extraordinary strength that I've seen Lucas use recently.
He manage to catch himself before his face hits the hood of the car. "Dakota, knock it off!" He order, his temper starting to spark. "Move away Jupiter."
Once again, I did what he asked. I stood with the crowd that came forward in loads, eyes wide as I stared at the two having their argument. Clearly there history between them, I could feel it; that weight on my chest, the electricity between them that only suffocated me. Dakota only grew twice as angry, she charged at Lucas again, hands out- ready to tear his throat apart. However, she didn't exactly move to kill, only pushed him against his car again. "Months of being fucking M.I.A and you show up with a fucking witch on your arm."
I wouldn't say I was on his arm, more like sticking to his hip because of the circumstances.... I would of said if it weren't for the fact everyone was looking at me like I were dinner. I stepped away from them as well, moving closer to the car and away from everyone else.
"You liar!" She continues, pushing Lucas over and over again until getting tired. Although the situation was emotional, she didn't cry. The woman stayed strong and kept her ground.
Lucas looked highly annoyed but reasonable. "Get in the car." He spoke out, eyes strained on Dakota, but I knew he was speaking to me. I hurried to the vehicle, climbing in through the drivers side I wouldn't cross paths with the dangerous lycan.
I could barely hear them, just muffled words that lowered. It took him about five minutes to talk the woman off the ledge and another three to be able to climb in the car. "What was that all about?" I questioned, my eyes strained on her as she gave me a deadly gaze that would of easily frighten me, but now it was nothing but a simple slap to the face. "Ex-girlfriend?"
"It's complicated." He grumbled before driving off. "Shit, I knew I should of taken you home."
"You're always so calm." I stated while crossing my arms in front of my chest to sink into the seat. "The disrespect and pushing would of made me crack already. I kinda admire that." I stared out the window, forcing down the bad memories of my low tempered moments.
Lucas scoffed and chuckled while shaking his head in disagreement. "A girl like you losing her temper must be a rare site to see."
"Trust me, you don't want to be in the room when I blow my top. It gets pretty bad. What did you find at the bar?"
"Well, Rebecca and Carla are very best friends, quite unbelievable for Carla to attack like that."
"Well, you never know. What men don't truly understand is a woman's nature. You see, when murder occurs with a man, it's mostly full of jealousy and anger. When a woman kill someone, it's years of anger and deception piling up until she finally cracks. Perhaps Rebecca did something to Carla that made her hold a grudge and then one night she just cracked."
"What did you study in college?"
"Mass communication. Where do you think Carla can be right now? A boyfriend's house? Parents? Her own home?"
"I'm going to take you home before I look into that. The last thing I need is someone ripping your throat out."
"Come on, you'll need back up. Besides, I did take down a demon once."
"Demon and lycans are different. We're faster, crafty. You have to be quick on your feet. I'm not willing to argue with another female tonight."
I tried to contain my laugh at his frustration, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and leaned further back into the seat. The car settled into complete silence, leaving me with my thoughts which went back to the dream from the night before. "I don't think I can sleep." I mumbled.
"You have to." He leaned over, popping open his glove box and taking out a pill bottle. "Here, sleeping pills. Before you say anything, yes I know it's illegal to give out medication, but in your state you need whatever falls on your lap. Only take half of a pill, see how you feel in the morning."
I hesitated, my hands balled into a tiny fist to restate the temptation, which failed. I grabbed the bottle and stuffed it into my pocket. "Thanks."