We rounded the corner and came face to face with Isadora.
She was outside her office, pacing, and stopped in her tracks when she saw us. “Thank the gods you’re here.”
“Most women I know say that when I come.” Cole smacked Damien in the arm. “Get it, come.”
“Mr. Smith, do you really find that appropriate in front of me?” She stiffened, and her nostrils flared.
Despite the fact that it was close to four in the morning, she was dressed impeccably in a suit, her hair and makeup perfectly styled.
“How is it not appropriate?” Cole blinked his eyes and placed his hands on both sides of his face.
“You’ll never pass as angelic.” Rage grumbled and took a step toward Isadora. “What was so important that we had to come back immediately?”
She glanced down the hallway and then behind her. “Let’s go into my office to discuss it.”
I wanted to ask who the hell was she thinking would be up this hour, but I bit my tongue. That lady didn’t like me much, so I didn’t need to press my luck.
We all filtered into the office with Isadora in the very back. She shut her office door and sighed before turning around to face us. “We have an unprecedented issue.”
“Then you called the right team.” Cole walked over to her desk and sat on top of it.
“Mr. Smith, get your ass off my desk right this instant.” Her face was already lined with worry, and her words sounded more exhausted than menacing.
“Fine.” He stood and leaned against the desk.
“We found a dead body in the clearing that Ashley was killed in.” She wandered behind her desk and sat, her fingers rubbing her forehead.
“Who was it?” Damien stared out the window in the direction she spoke of.
“That’s the problem.” She dropped her hands on the table and leaned back. “We have no clue.”
A person being killed in the exact same location as Ashley was strange. Could it somehow be tied to The Elites? Surely not. I never answered their letter, and they never reached out to me again.
“What species is he?” Rage glanced at his phone checking the time.
“That’s the one hundred dollar question.” She bit on her bottom lip and sighed. “It’s a half-breed.”
“Like part human and part something else?” Times like these were when I showed my ignorance.
“No, it’s two supernatural breeds.” Damien turned away from the window.
“He’s a half breed, fae and wolf shifter.” Isadora sat upright in her chair and stared straight at Damien.
“How did he die?” For some reason, this was important to me.
A shiver racked her body. “It was like both supernatural parts fought one another. One side has teeth and nail markings from a wolf. While the other side was burnt as though from elemental magic.”
There was no telling what that person had gone through. It obviously made an impression on Isadora, so I could only imagine how awful this was going to look.
“It’s getting close to daylight, so we need to get moving.” Rage squeezed my hand and grinned. “Go on back to the dorms. I’ll see you later.”
“No, she needs to go with you.” Isadora squared off as if she was prepared to fight Rage.
“There is no reason for her to go.” Rage wasn’t going to let this one go. He didn’t want me to witness this.
“There absolutely is.” Isadora narrowed her eyes at him, and her normal demeanor returned. “She is your mate, and whether you like it or not, you both need to do this together.”
“Awe, this is a team-building exercise.” Cole snickered and winked at me.
“Shut up, Cole.” Rage's jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed on Isadora. “If you want her to be more involved, that’s fine, but not with this.”
“You seem to forget that you’re a student here at Bloodshed Academy and that I make that decisions.” She lifted her head and looked at him down her nose. “Not you.”
“It’ll be fine.” Damien patted Rage’s shoulder. “Just come on.”
I wasn’t sure why, but I needed to see what had happened. This situation, all of it seemed too coincidental.
“Fine, let’s go.” Rage tensed as we headed out. When we were outside, he turned to me. “Go on back. You don’t need to see this.”
“No, she has to go.” Damien stepped in front of me, blocking the way to the dorms.
“Like hell she does.” Rage growled.
“She’s expecting you to do this.” I’d rather have run away and hid, but something inside me told me to face this.
“As always, the lady is right.” Cole wasn’t his usual jolly self. “Last time we didn’t listen, we had to clean the bathrooms for a month. I don’t want to do that again.”
“Why did she make us come back? Doesn’t she have someone else who can handle this?” It didn’t make sense. After all, this was a prestigious school.
“Because she only trusts us three …” Cole stared off into the woods, and then a small grin filled his face. “I mean four now.”
“Let’s get this over with.” Damien headed into the woods and took off running.
“How many times have you all disposed of a dead body?” I might not even want to know the answer.
“This is a first.” Rage grimaced. “We better catch up.”
The rest of us set out, and despite my being a girl, I kept up. It was only a matter of seconds before we reached the clearing. Damien stood there with his back toward us, but his body stiffened.
“Are you okay?” It was unusual for him to act like that.
He glanced over his shoulder, his face a shade paler than normal. “It’s worse than I expected.”
That’s all it took for Rage to grab my waist. “No, you can’t be part of this. Go home.”
Who the hell did he think he was, telling me what I was going to do? He wasn’t my alpha. “Hell, no. Isadora told me to be part of this for a reason.”
“It’s not worth you having to deal with this.” Rage’s eyes darkened, filling with anger. “I’ll take the repercussions, so go home.”
This was the first time we had ever fought, and I understood that he was trying to protect me. There was a reason Isadora wanted me here, and to be honest, I needed to see it. Somehow, I knew it was linked with Ashley’s death. “No, I’m not leaving.” If I didn’t stand my ground now, it would be even harder in the future.
“Please.” Rage’s voice cracked.
“She’s right.” Cole’s usual demeanor was gone. “There is a reason why Isadora wanted her here.”
Not wanting to prolong an argument, I hurried and stood next to Damien. The smell of burnt flesh made my stomach roll, and the sight of it didn’t help either.
Never had I ever seen anything like it. It was as if the guy’s body was torn in half. The left side of his body had teeth marks and deep scratches. The cuts were so deep that blood still oozed from them.
The right side of his body was completely charred. The black skin melted onto the bone, and even though his face was sliced down the middle, the pain he had been in was evident. This wasn’t like Ashley’s death. Whatever caused this, the victim had stood no chance of survival.