CHAPTER 28: SECRET STATUES

Harris gave a sharp nod to the coroner, signaling it was time to begin. The wolves moved quietly around the statue, their scents thick in the cold night air. The coroner, a careful old wolf with a silver streak down his muzzle, prepared to scrape a small piece of the stone just enough to test its composition and confirm what everyone feared.

They couldn’t just destroy it outright. The statue belonged to Beta Julian, and in our world, even the Alpha couldn’t violate a pack member’s rights without a Council order. So Harris had to play it by the book.

But word travels fast in a pack.

Within the hour, cars began to arrive one after another engines humming, headlights cutting through the snowy dusk. The whole Hale Pack compound was soon crawling with wolves, the air buzzing with unease.

Julian was the first to appear. His scent hit before he did sharp with fear. He jumped out of the car before it stopped moving, stumbling through the snow toward Harris. "What’s going on?" he demanded, voice tight, eyes already darting toward the statue.

Behind him came Alpha James and Luna Vicky, steadying Jeffrey, the frail elder wolf who leaned heavily on his cane. Their guards followed, cloaks drawn tight against the wind, their silver badges glinting faintly under the yard lights.

Then came the Morrigan car.

The door flew open before the engine even quieted. My mother Luna Morrigan burst out, stumbling as her heel sank deep into the snow. She fell hard, a broken cry escaping her lips. My brother leapt out behind her, his voice strained as he pulled her up. "Mother, careful! You’ll hurt yourself!"

But she didn’t stop. She shoved his hands away and kept running, desperate, wild like a she-wolf who’d lost her pup.

My father stepped out next, calm and cold as always. But when his eyes found the statue, a flicker of something broke through that mask guilt, maybe. Regret. It disappeared just as fast.

Camilla stood off to the side, wrapped in her long coat, watching. Her face was unreadable, but her wolf energy was restless sharp and defensive.

By then, both families the Hales and the Morrigans had gathered under the falling snow.

Dusk was settling. The yard lights glowed golden against the white. The storm was building again wind howling through the trees, sharp enough to sting. It reminded me of the night I died. Cold. Violent. Merciless.

But now... I wasn’t cold anymore.

From inside the stone, I watched them all. I could smell their fear, feel the tension rising in the air like static before a storm.

My mother reached Harris first, grabbing his sleeve. "Captain Tucker, please," she cried. "Did you find her? Did you find my Elena?"

Her voice broke. She was trembling all over trapped between hope and heartbreak.

Sometimes... not knowing is easier than the truth.

Harris’s voice was calm but heavy. "We believe Elena’s body may be sealed inside this statue," he said softly.

Her breath caught. My brother’s jaw clenched. "That’s insane," he said, stepping forward, his wolf barely restrained. "You have no proof. My sister isn’t dead. And even if she were, who would hide a body inside their own home?"

Harris didn’t flinch. "Sometimes the safest place to hide a body," he said evenly, "is where no one would ever dare to look."

Camilla finally spoke, her tone smooth as silk but cold as frost. "Captain Tucker," she said, "you’re suggesting Elena’s body is inside this statue? That’s a serious accusation. Do you have any evidence at all?"

Her golden eyes gleamed under the lights confident, yet wary.

The statue was flawless. No cracks, no seams, no scent of death. Only the faintest trace of something wrong something only a wolf like Lewis would sense.

Harris ordered the team to drill a small hole. Not to break it open, not yet just enough to slide in the scanner and see what lay within.

Before they could start, Camilla stepped closer. "You’re going to ruin private property over a guess?" she snapped. "Is this how the pack police operate now? What’s next torching the whole den because you ’suspect’ something?"

Harris turned toward her, calm but firm. "We’ve already received permission from Alpha Lewis Hale," he said. His voice dropped, sharp with quiet dominance. "Why are you so nervous, Ms. Morrigan? Unless you’re afraid of what we might find."

His words struck like claws. The crowd went still.

Camilla’s posture stiffened. But her voice was smooth when she replied, "Of course I want Elena found. I just think you’re handling it poorly."

Liar.

Her scent was wrong. Sweet, but soured underneath with fear. I could feel it from inside the statue her pulse, her unease.

Before anyone could speak again, one of the technicians stepped forward. "We’re ready," he said quietly.

Harris gave the nod. "Begin."

The drill whirred to life.

From within the stone, I didn’t need air, but I still held my breath. They wouldn’t find me not all of me. I knew that much.

The statue was hollow, yes... but not empty. Camilla had been clever. Too clever. The inside had been carved out, altered, coated with chemicals that masked scent and decay. There were no remains left whole only fragments. Only whispers of what had once been a body.

If they didn’t look close enough, they’d find nothing.

And if they found nothing... her secret would stay buried.

The snowstorm had settled into a quiet rage the kind that made the whole world hold its breath. The yard was full of wolves, the air thick with tension and grief. I could feel it pulsing through the pack bond like static.

Harris gave a single nod to the forensics unit. "Report," he ordered.

One of the wolves stepped forward, holding a small tablet with the results. His scent reeked of unease. "Alpha Tucker," he said, voice low. "We found nothing. No remains, no trace of flesh or blood within the statue. It’s clean."

The silence that followed was heavy too heavy.

Alpha James’s voice cut through it, sharp and furious. "This investigation is reckless!" he growled, his tone layered with dominance. "You’ve stirred up the entire pack, humiliated my family, and for what? Empty words?"

"Alpha " one of his sons began, but James snapped his gaze toward him, silencing him instantly. A nearby Beta guided the older Alpha back toward his vehicle, muttering that the storm was worsening.

Elder Jeffrey stood by, his fur-lined cloak whipping in the wind. He had come all this way for closure, but his shoulders sagged under the weight of disappointment. His eyes were tired haunted.

My mother was mumbling prayers under her breath, her hands trembling. My father looked ready to rip someone’s throat out, though he stayed still the kind of stillness that came before an Alpha attack.

And Lewis... Lewis was quiet. Still as stone. His wolf energy simmered beneath the surface cold, sharp, calculating. His gaze never once left the statue. He knew. He could feel me.

Just when the tension began to ease, his voice broke through the wind.

"Wait."

Every head turned.

Julian’s eyes blazed as he snapped, "Wait for what?" His wolf instincts were close to surfacing, voice trembling between rage and fear. "You sent me away, Uncle Lewis. You came here behind my back with your own pack to dig through my land. What are you accusing me of? That I murdered my mate and buried her in my own territory?"

Lewis didn’t even blink. "It’s not about my suspicions," he said coolly. "It’s about the truth. And the truth takes patience."

The dominance in his tone quieted even Alpha James. Nobody spoke again.

Then came the sound of screeching tires.

A patrol vehicle slid to a halt on the snowy road, its scent cutting through the air adrenaline and shock. An officer jumped out, holding a folder in one hand, panting. "Captain Tucker!" he barked. "We found something!"

Harris’s eyes narrowed. "Report."

The wolf swallowed hard. "It’s her. The body it’s inside the statue!"

A wave of disbelief rippled through the crowd.

Julian snapped, "That’s impossible! You already searched! You said there was nothing!"

The young wolf shook his head. "We were wrong. The readings missed it the first time because... the body wasn’t whole. It was ground up, mixed with the building materials. When we ran a deeper analysis, we found traces of organic tissue human. The DNA matches the blood we found on the wedding dress."

The air cracked with gasps and howls. Wolves recoiled, tails twitching, breath steaming in the cold.

Alpha James’s face went pale. Jeffrey’s cane fell into the snow. My mother’s eyes rolled back before she crumpled with a broken cry.

Julian stumbled, his knees buckling as the truth hit him like claws to the chest. "No," he choked out. "No, that can’t be true. She can’t be gone. Not like this..."

He pushed past everyone, staggering toward the statue like a wolf chasing a ghost.

From within the cold stone, I watched him. The same way I had once watched him charge through the rain to save me. The way he used to look at me like I was his whole world.

What changed, Julian?

He stopped a few steps away, his breath ragged. Then, slowly, he lifted his head.

And saw me.

I stood in front of the statue, my spirit taking form a pale shimmer under the moonlight. My long hair swayed in the wind. My white dress flowed like mist. My bare feet made no prints in the snow.

His voice broke when he whispered, "Elena...?"

I met his eyes, and for the first time in a long while, I said his name. "Julian."

He stumbled forward, tears freezing on his lashes. "You’re here. I knew it. You’re still here. You promised we’d grow old together, remember? You wouldn’t leave me like this."

I looked at him this wolf I had once loved more than life itself. His face, twisted with regret, was the same one that had haunted me in death.

"Julian," I said softly, "the greatest mistake I ever made... was trusting you."

He flinched as if struck. "No, please, Elena," he begged, stepping closer. "I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t know. Just tell me who did it who hurt you and I’ll destroy them. Just say the word."

I turned my gaze.

And locked eyes with Camilla.

Her scent soured instantly fear. Real, raw fear.

But before I could speak, something in the air shifted. A pull, deep and unrelenting, like the Moon Goddess herself was calling me home. My voice faltered. My body shimmered. My arms began to fade, glowing faintly like starlight breaking apart.

"No!" Julian cried, panic taking over. "Don’t go! Don’t leave me again!"

He lunged forward, trying to grab me. His hands passed through me like mist.

And then, with a quiet sound like breaking glass, my spirit shattered dissolving into thousands of tiny silver sparks that scattered into the wind.

The snow carried me away.

I felt no pain. Only release.

Julian’s howl tore through the silence raw and heartbroken. "ELENA!!!"

He fell to his knees in the snow, reaching for me though I was already gone.

A faint snap echoed in the distance the sound of breaking metal.

The bracelet on his wrist the one I had tied there the night we pledged our bond split in two and fell into the snow.