Mated to the Triplet Alphas-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.”

Matilda then pursed her lips, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Until...” she said, trailing off.

“Until?” Lucas prompted, noticing her hesitation. He raised an eyebrow in question.

Matilda sighed deeply. “Until I saw this.”

She pulled out a stack of photographs and spread them across the desk. They showed close-ups of the dead kidnapper’s skin, focusing on his left shoulder blade. There, burned into the flesh with what appeared to be silver, was a distinct symbol—a wolf howling at the sun.

Lucas leaned forward, studying the brand. “A wolf and the sun? That’s unusual.”

Wolves are typically associated with the full moon and were considered creatures of the night.

“Exactly,” Matilda nodded. “But the strangest thing is that this symbol seems familiar to me. I feel like I’ve seen it before, but I can’t place where.”

Lucas picked up one of the photos, examining it more closely. “Could it be a pack symbol? Perhaps from one of the northern territories?”

“Possibly. But most pack symbols are registered in the council archives. This one...” She trailed off, her brow furrowing. “It feels older somehow.”

Another knock interrupted them. Lucas looked up to see Levi standing in the doorway, his usually playful expression replaced with seriousness.

“Mind if I join?” Levi asked, stepping into the office.

“Where’s Liam?” Lucas asked, gesturing for his brother to come in.

Levi smirked. “Shopping spree with Hazel. She needs outfits for the party, and he volunteered before either of us could blink, that sneaky bastard.”

Despite the gravity of their current situation, Lucas felt his lips twitch in amusement. “Good. She needs a break after everything that’s happened.”

“Agreed,” Levi said, then held up a small notebook. “I have some information about Angeline Bailey’s old contacts.” free𝑤ebnovel.com

Lucas’s attention sharpened. “You found something?”

“I decided to go straight to the source,” Levi said, leaning against the desk. “I talked to Mom.”

“And she actually told you something?” Lucas was genuinely surprised. Their mother had always been tight-lipped about Hazel’s parents, especially Angeline.

“Not willingly,” Levi admitted with a mischievous grin. “But you know how she gets when she’s angry. I pushed her buttons until she let something slip.”

Lucas shook his head, though he couldn’t help but admire his brother’s tactics. “What did you learn?”

“A name—Esther Perez.” Levi flipped open his notebook. “Apparently, she and Angeline were close. Mom mentioned it when she was ranting about ‘that woman and her troublemaking friends.’”

Lucas turned back to Matilda. “Please continue searching for DNA matches and see if you can place where you’ve seen that symbol before. This is now our top priority.”

The physician nodded, gathering her materials. “I’ll let you know if I find anything else.”

After Matilda left, Lucas stood and grabbed his coat from the back of his chair. “What else do we know about this Esther Perez?”

Levi pushed away from the desk. “Not much. She’s still alive, living on the outskirts of our territory. Bit of a recluse from what I could gather.”

“Someone who knew Hazel’s mother might have answers about why someone would target her,” Lucas said, shrugging into his coat.

With the new discoveries that had come to light, this attempted kidnapping was getting darker by the second. At first, Lucas had theorized that the kidnapper might’ve wanted to take Hazel as some form of hostage to threaten them as the Alphas of Emberfang, but now, it seemed like Hazel was their primary target after all.

Not for a mere ransom.

“That’s what I figured,” Levi agreed. “Though Mom seemed pretty hesitant to even mention her name. Makes me think this Esther person might know things our parents don’t want uncovered.”

Lucas’s green eyes flashed with determination.

They had promised Hazel they would get to the bottom of her parents’ mysterious disappearance. Now, it seemed like this kidnapper might just help them get a step closer, along with Angeline Bailey’s old contact.

“While you’re here,” Lucas said, handing Levi the file he had just received from Matilda, “take a look at this.”

“What’s this?” Levi asked. But once his eyes landed on the documents inside, his expression darkened.

“Think it’s linked?” Lucas asked.

“Hard to say,” Levi replied, “but it might be. This brand...”

“Seared into his skin with silver,” Lucas finished his sentence with a cold laugh. “I hate to say it, but our mother might just be right.”

Levi suddenly straightened, his eyes widening as he looked at his older brother. “You don’t think that Esther Perez might also be part of them?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Lucas said. “Let’s pay Miss Perez a visit.”