Page 1 of Beautiful Butterfly

Chapter One

Wyatt wasn’t sure why his gut told him to go upstairs when he’d driven Cannon to Paris’s apartment. His coworker and friend had told him he’d be back down in a minute. A feeling of unease had gripped him, making Wyatt get out of his car.

Now he stood in the open doorway of the unit, stunned at the scene in front of him. What the hell? The apartment was a disaster, with blood on the floor and splattered on the wall. There was even a body-sized imprint in the drywall, the edges deeply indented.

Entering slowly, he saw Cannon on his knees, a small red fox in his arms. Wyatt’s heart clenched. Cannon was crying heavily. The fox wasn’t moving. Wyatt couldn’t even see its chest moving. Was Paris dead?

“Is…is he…?” Wyatt gripped the guy’s shoulder tightly, unsure what to say or do. The sight threw him back in time to when he’d held his sister in his arms, wailing uncontrollably at her senseless death. He shook his head, desperately trying to dislodge that thought from his mind. Now wasn’t the time to think of Andrea.

A tiny noise wheezed out of the fox. Cannon’s head shot back as he stared down at the animal. As he checked the fox, Wyatt looked across the room and saw Negan lying there, his eyes staring blankly at them.

That troublemaking son of a bitch had something to do with this. The pieces clicked together in Wyatt’s head.

“Negan is lying over there in a pool of blood.” A deadly growl rumbled in Wyatt’s throat. “The son of a bitch knew you were looking for him and used the opportunity to strike.”

The human had been a straight-up menace. Wyatt couldn’t count how many times he’d arrested the piece of shit. The only person who would mourn Negan’s death would be his own mother.

Cannon set the fox onto the cushions of the couch then lifted the small red panda and did the same. Flashes of Wyatt’s past kept surfacing. He needed to focus on something else to purge Andrea from his mind.

“The smell of blood is fucking with my senses.” Wyatt pressed the back of his hand against his nose. “I’m gonna call this in. Check Negan and make sure he’s dead.”

Cannon’s lip curled as he snarled, “If he’s clinging to life, I’m ending him.”

If Cannon didn’t, Wyatt would. The human had shown up at the apartment and tried to kill Cannon’s mate. Only, instead, Paris and Alister had taken Negan down. Good for them.

Wyatt stepped into the hallway then closed his eyes, fighting to erase his past from his mind as he pulled out his phone.

“Sheriff Harper,” his boss said when he answered.

“It’s pretty bad.” Wyatt stared toward the ceiling and swallowed. “Paris’s apartment is trashed. Negan is dead, and Paris and Alister are in their animal forms, healing.”

Dominic let out a slew of curses. “I’m on my way. Secure the scene so Paris’s neighbors can’t get an eyeful. I’ll send some deputies your way, too. I’ll also get the coroner out of bed.”

“We’ll be here.” Wyatt hung up and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. It wasn’t often he saw someone weeping for a lost loved one. Whenever he did, Andrea plagued his thoughts. But this wasn’t just anyone. It was Cannon’s mate who’d been hurt, as well as Paris’s best friend.

After taking two more long breaths, Wyatt headed back inside the unit, forcing himself to concentrate on the present instead of the past.

“Deputies are on the way,” he said. “The coroner has been dispatched, too.” He hunkered down next to Cannon, thankful he had something to focus on. “They kicked his fucking ass. Those short shits weren’t messing around. Look how deeply that blade goes in. Some of the handle is buried in his neck. Those two just impressed the hell out me.”

Wyatt really was amazed the two had done this kind of damage. They were shifters, stronger than Negan, but from the looks of the apartment, the fight had been brutal. Even though Paris and Alister were stronger than humans, they were small in stature, and Wyatt wouldn’t have pegged them as fighters.

“I won’t be able to breathe easy until my mate shifts into his human form and I know he’s okay.” Cannon straightened and walked toward a short hallway.

As soon as his friend was out of sight, the red panda stirred and shifted back to his human form. Alister appeared dazed as he sat there, his black hair disheveled. He blinked several times before finally looking at Wyatt with his pale blue eyes.

Fuck, the guy was stone-cold beautiful. That wasn’t an appropriate thought to have considering the circumstances, but it was the damn truth.

“You’re safe, butterfly.” Wyatt made sure to use a calm and soothing voice. “I’m Deputy Birch, but call me Wyatt. Can you tell me what happened here?”

Alister shook his head, his eyes wide as his gaze bounced all around as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. As though he had no clue what had taken place in the apartment.

Beneath the overwhelming scent of blood, Wyatt was hit with a sweet and powerful strike to his senses, an intoxicating aroma that reminded him of nature’s perfume. Vivid memories swirled through his mind, transporting him back to his days as a playful cub, carefree and full of energy, bounding through the forest with his sister by his side. It was a time when the world had still been kind and his innocence hadn’t been shattered by the cruel realities of life.

Wyatt’s cheetah purred softly inside of him, as though his cat knew this wasn’t the time to become aroused.

Alister was his mate, but this wasn’t Wyatt’s first time meeting the little red panda. He’d shown up on scene when Alister and Negan had been arguing outside of Deep Dish.

Why hadn’t Wyatt felt the pull then like he did now?

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