“That’s not equipment failure. That’s sabotage.” The words tasted bitter, carrying implications I didn’t want to face.
“From someone with administrator access. The list is very short.” Carlton pulled up another screen, showing security clearance levels. Only a handful of people could have executed such precise system manipulation.
The list made my stomach clench. My mother. Myself. Carlton. The head of IT. Two senior guards who’d served our family for decades. Each name represented someone I trusted implicitly, someone with the access and knowledge to create this blind spot.
“Show me everything. Every anomaly, every discrepancy.” I needed to see it all, to understand how thoroughly I’d been manipulated.
Carlton methodically worked through the evidence. Entry logs showed irregularities that night, doors that should have been locked standing open, guards assigned to different posts at the last minute, patterns that suggested orchestration rather than chance.
“Guard rotations were changed without authorization,” he noted, showing duty rosters. “Three guards who should have been in the east wing were reassigned to perimeter duty an hour before the incident.”
The reassignments carried electronic signatures, but something about them felt wrong. The timing was too convenient, removing potential witnesses from crucial areas. Someone had cleared apath, ensuring minimal observation of movement through the compound.
“I’ve tracked Laziel’s movements through partial footage,” Carlton continued, showing clips from cameras that hadn’t been disabled. “He left his quarters at 11:45 PM, moving with apparent purpose toward the Thornback wing.”
The footage showed my brother walking through hallways, his posture suggesting determination rather than casual movement. He’d had a destination in mind, a purpose that drove him toward Rhea’s room despite having no official reason to be in that area.
“His personal guard didn’t accompany him,” I noted, finding another irregularity.
“The guard reported being dismissed for the evening, told the prince had retired.” Carlton’s tone suggested what we both knew, Laziel had deliberately ensured he wouldn’t be followed.
More footage showed Laziel’s path, tracked through the few functioning cameras. He’d moved efficiently, suggesting familiarity with the route. This wasn’t a spontaneous decision but something planned. The question was whether he’d planned it alone.
“The timestamp here,” Carlton highlighted a specific frame, “shows him entering the Thornback wing at 12:32 AM. The attack occurred between 12:45 and 1:15, based on blood evidence and body temperature calculations.”
Such a narrow window. Less than an hour between my brother entering that wing and his death. What had happened in thosecrucial minutes? What had driven him to seek out Rhea in the middle of the night?
“Sir,” Carlton’s voice carried reluctance. “There’s something else you need to see.”
He pulled up different footage, this from the main entrance cameras that monitored the alpha wing. The timestamp read 12:15 AM. A figure emerged from the alpha quarters, moving with unusual aggression. Even in the grainy footage, I recognized the gait.
It was me.
“Multiple guards reported seeing you that night,” Carlton said carefully. “Moving through the compound with unusual focus.”
My blood ran cold as I watched myself on screen. I moved differently than normal, shoulders hunched forward, stride longer and more aggressive. Even in human form, something about my posture screamed predator.
“I don’t remember this.” The admission felt like glass in my throat.
Carlton pulled up testimony from guards who’d encountered me that night. Their reports were consistent, I’d passed without acknowledging greetings, seemed focused on something with single-minded intensity. My eyes had been wrong, they said. Full wolf despite human form.
“Three guards saw you in the east corridor at 12:43 AM.” Carlton highlighted their positions on the compound map. “That putsyou in the vicinity of the Thornback residence at the time of the attack.”
The evidence was building a picture I desperately didn’t want to see. But Carlton wasn’t finished. He had more footage, more testimony, more pieces of a puzzle that was reshaping itself into a nightmare.
“You didn’t acknowledge them. They said your eyes were... different. Full wolf despite human form.” Carlton’s clinical delivery couldn’t soften the impact of his words.
I stared at the screen, watching myself move through corridors with deadly purpose. The timestamp aligned perfectly with Laziel’s death. The location put me exactly where I needed to be. But my mind held nothing, no memory of leaving my room, no recollection of that journey.
“Are you suggesting I killed my brother and don’t remember?” The question emerged as barely more than a whisper.
“I’m presenting evidence. The conclusion is yours to draw.” Carlton’s professionalism couldn’t quite hide his concern. He’d helped raise me, had been more present than my father during crucial years. Now he was showing me evidence that I might be a kinslayer.
“Alpha rage blackouts are documented, especially involving mates and territorial disputes.” He pulled up medical texts on his tablet, showing case studies. “Extreme emotional states, particularly those involving newly formed mate bonds, can trigger dissociative episodes. The alpha acts on pure instinct, with no conscious memory forming.”
The cases he showed were eerily similar. Alphas who’d committed violence while in rage states, who had no recollection afterward. Usually triggered by threats to mates or challenges to newly formed bonds. The clinical descriptions matched what the guards had seen - the strange eyes, the predatory movement, the failure to respond to normal stimuli.
“Laziel went to Rhea’s room,” I said slowly, pieces clicking together. “I was newly mated, the bond still raw...”
