Half Truths (A Helheim Wolf Pack Tale) by Lauren Dawes

profile,
noticing at how the sun touched her face. He wanted to let out her hair, and
run his fingers through it, but he scrubbed the idea away quickly. She turned
to look at him, capturing him in her green gaze.
    ‘You can be kind
when you want to be Vaile,’ she said smiling, and got out of the car leaving
him floored and floundering to get back his usually indifferent facade. He
managed it after a minute, following her to the door.
    Grey rang the
doorbell, and took a step back, bumping into Vaile’s chest as she did. He
sucked in a hiss, but didn’t move out of her way. She looked over her shoulder
at him; her gaze molten until it was torn away when the front door opened.
    The woman,
Aaron’s mother presumably, was the same height as Grey. Her hair was tied up in
a tight ponytail, adding to the fitness fanatic vibe she was giving out. When
he looked at her hard enough, he could see Aaron had had her eyes.
    ‘Mrs Mills?’
Grey asked politely. Mrs Mills nodded. ‘I’m Larissa Grey from Buxton P.D., and
this is my partner, Detective Wolfe. May we come in?’
    While Grey had
been speaking, Vaile could see the understanding dawning in Mrs Mills’ hazel
eyes. She knew exactly why they were there. Nodding in a dazed way, she stepped
back and showed them into the living room, sinking down into the plush blue
sofa after offering them both a seat.
    ‘Mrs Mills,
we’re—’
    ‘Lucy,’ she said
with a cracked voice. She cleared her throat before trying again. ‘Call me
Lucy, please.’
    Grey nodded.
‘Lucy, we’re here because I’m afraid we have some terrible news for you.’ Grey
paused, waiting for some kind of signal from Lucy before continuing. Lucy
nodded, tears already filling her eyes. ‘Early this morning, my partner and I
were called out to a night club in Buxton to investigate a murder.
Unfortunately, we have since found out the identity of the victim. And Lucy,
I’m so sorry, but it’s your son, Aaron.’
    Aaron’s mother
just sat there for a moment before she began to shake and sob. Vaile felt
completely ill-equipped to deal with sobbing women. In fact, he avoided it at
all costs. Luckily for him, Grey stood up, walked around the expensive glass
coffee table sitting in the middle of an equally expensive rug, and sank down
next to Lucy. It was a small gesture, but it was somehow the one Mrs Mills
needed because the next moment, she was clutching Grey while her body shook
with ragged gasps.
    Vaile took the
opportunity of female bonding to have a look around the living room. There was
a bookshelf filled with books about sports training and sports psychology.
Scattered on the shelves were family photographs of Aaron with his mother, and
a man Vaile assumed to be his father.
    ‘H-h-how?’ Mrs
Mills managed to sob.
    ‘He was found in
the men’s room of the club “The Imp and Impaler”, dead.’
    ‘What happened
to him?’
    ‘It appears that
he bled to death.’ Vaile spoke over Grey, giving her a look to tell her not to
say anything about the symbol carved into her son’s chest.
    ‘But how did he
bleed to death?’ Mrs Mills asked, lifting her eyes to meet Vaile’s.
    ‘His throat was slashed,’
Vaile replied, his gaze unwavering. She was looking for the truth in his eyes,
and he was sure she was seeing it then. ‘We’d like for you to come down to
confirm it’s your son if you don’t mind.’
    Anger suddenly
darkened her features. ‘If you aren’t sure, why did you just tell me it was my
son?’
    Grey pulled the
autopsy photo from her file and showed it to Mrs Mills. ‘Is this your son?’ she
asked gently. The living room filled with more sobs and a wailing that cut
Vaile down to his heart. He looked away.
    They finally
left Mrs Mills, agreeing to meet her down at the morgue to officially ID her
son in an hour. She thanked them when they left, but Vaile didn’t know why.
Grey and he had only just delivered the most heart-wrenching news they could
ever give to a mother, and he stood