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Bain
I stood frozenin the doorway, the Alpha beside me. He started to step inside, but I raised a hand to stop him.
"Wait." I reached for the light switch and flicked it on.
Dex was going to be pissed about the blood on the carpet.
Hades only knew why that was my first thought. My second was that Gwendolyn was still naked, but blood was splattered over her fair skin.
"What happened here?" Devlin demanded.
Gwendolyn pointed a trembling hand toward the curtains. A breeze caught them and blew them inward. The door to the balcony was wide open.
"He came through there," Gwendolyn said. "I was asleep. I woke to find a tiger jumping onto the bed. I—I had to defend myself."
That would explain why she was naked, and why a dead tiger lay on the floor, his throat ripped open.
"Did you call for help?" I became aware of the guards now standing behind each shoulder. I sensed their surprise as strongly as I felt my own.
"I had no time." Gwendolyn's voice was shaky. "I just had to act."
Devlin eyed her sideways, like he wasn't sure what to believe.
I rounded on the guards. "You heard nothing?"
"Not a sound." Blond haired Henri looked as troubled as I felt. From him I read confusion. And fear of what might happen to him.
"A group of people just walked past," red haired Novak said, his brow furrowed. "They could have masked the sound."
Henri nodded. "That's right. They were saying the Alpha wouldn't be seeing anyone else tonight." He nodded toward Devlin.
I nodded. "Get back to your post." It would be up to Dex and the Alpha to decide what happened to the pair. They might be assigned to another part of the Vault.
Lucky for them, Gwendolyn could take care of herself.
I didn't want to consider the obvious question here. Did Gwendolyn let the tiger in? If, somehow, she was working with them…
I shook my head. That was also not up to me.
"I'll get someone to clean this up," I said. Before that, though, I stepped toward the balcony doors and looked outside. If the tiger was alone, it was because he thought he'd find only sleeping shifters inside. If Gwendolyn hadn't awoken, it would be her blood pooling on the bed.
If the Alpha was here too…
I frowned into the darkness. I felt no other presence, but it made no sense for the tiger to act alone. If he thought he might have to deal with two wolf shifters, why not bring several companions? Unless they only planned to target Devlin. Killing Gwendolyn served little purpose if Devlin was dead.
I ran a hand over my head. None of this made any sense.
I turned, stepped back inside, closed and locked the doors behind me.
"Dex will want to find you clean rooms," I said. "One without a balcony."
"Is anywhere safe?" Gwendolyn asked. No,accused.
Fair enough, it was my job to keep the Residence safe. So far, I wasn't winning any gold stars for it.
"We'll make certain you are," I said firmly. "Both of you. I'll double the guard inside and out. No one is getting in who shouldn't."
"How did they?" Devlin asked. "Did someone let them in?" He frowned at Gwendolyn.
