SURPRISE! I wanted to reward all of you who have supported me by buying privilege this month, as well as… well, I just missed Reth. That's the pure truth. So this story is just a little bit of fun and fluff to give us all a chance to enjoy a little more time with Reth and Elia. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! There will be 10 chapters released today, one every 20 minutes starting NOW! Thank you for your support, your encouragement, and your love for these characters.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ME AND MY LOVED ONES TO YOU AND YOURS!

*****

KALLE

Even though it was only five o'clock, the winter night had already fallen—along with at least a foot of snow—when Kalle opened the front door to find the same sandy-brown haired detective who had visited them every few days for the past couple months. But something was different tonight. When she opened the door he stood on the stoop without his badge, and his shirt sleeves rolled up to his forearms, despite the chill outside.

"Kalle,

" he said quietly.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late, but I'm hoping we can speak privately for a few minutes?

"

Normally the moment he showed up he was listing his reason for needing to speak with her or Eve, and his attitude of authority brooked no argument.

But tonight he seemed… disturbed. And his eyes… he stared at her, almost pleading.

Kalle was wary.

"Of course,

" she said, though she didn't mean it.

"We always want to help officer.

" She ushered him inside.

The dining room was dark when they walked in, so she turned on the chandelier over the table and offered him a seat.

"Can I get you a coffee?

" she asked casually, as if every inch of her skin wasn't prickling with fear.

"No, thank you. I won't keep you, It's late, and it's Christmas. A bad time, I know, but I received some test results today and I wanted to discuss them with you.

" The detective—sandy-brown hair, trim suit, and that air of confidence that men of authority wore like cologne—didn't smile.

Kalle's heart kept jumping—suddenly certain the detective would scent Gahrye upstairs, but then she remembered… no, it was the other way around.

"Oh?

" she said, as if she were a little surprised.

"What's going on?

"

"We got the bloodwork and DNA results back from the lab. And once I saw them, I knew I couldn't wait until after the holidays to speak with you.

"

Kalle's heart began to race. She prayed Gahrye—who paced the room upstairs, furious that he had to leave her face this alone—wouldn't give in to the urge to run down here and watch over her. She'd explained the risks, and he'd understood. But he was… protective.

"Do you have a suspect, then?

" she asked, as eagerly as she could.

"Of a sort,

" the detective said carefully. He'd pulled his little notepad out and put it on the table in front of him. The giveaway for his tension was the way he kept tapping his pen on it.

Kalle waited.

The detective looked around.

"Are we alone?

" he asked quietly.

"Yes,

" she said.

"The staff are on leave now until the day after Christmas, and my grandmother is out shopping.

" And her mate was upstairs, but under strict instructions not to move from the suite, so he wouldn't be heard. When the detective didn't immediately respond, Kalle let her impatience show.

"Is there something you need from me, sir? So that you can share this information with me, I mean?

"

"No, no. I'm just… trying to figure out the best way to say this,

" he said.

He'd been visiting for weeks and had warmed to Kalle more since that first encounter soon after Shaw's death was reported. Kalle had been wary, but willing to endure his professional attention if it meant he would be less likely to pry into her personal life.

"Officer, I live in a strange house, with a family of wealth and a long history. I can tell you, there's just about nothing you could say that would shock me. And since I'm sure you want to get home to your family as well, why don't you just spit it out and we'll deal with whatever it is so we can both be done?

" She smiled to soften the words. But he didn't.

"I don't have a family,

" he said carefully. His eyes rose to meet hers, but she didn't let anything show on her face.

He was self-aware enough to understand that she wasn't going to take that bait.

"Okay,

" he said on a sigh, sitting back in his chair.

"We know who killed your Uncle Shaw… or at least, maybe the better way to say this is that we know what killed him.

"

Kalle frowned.

"An exotic animal, you said?

"

The detective snorted and ran a hand through his hair.

"Kalle, exotic doesn't cover it.

"

"I… what?

"

"We found bloodstains in the garden and made samples. Many, many samples. Most of them belonged to your Uncle, as we'd expect. But one… one pool of blood and a few splatters weren't human.

"

Kalle tilted her head as if she was curious, but had to stop herself swallowing in fear.

"Oh? So what was it?

"

The detective leaned forward, elbows on the table and laced his fingers together.

"That's the thing… I can't tell you. Not in detail, anyway.

"

Kalle blew out a breath and tried to make it sound like exasperation.

"Then why are you even here?

"

"Because… because when we received this result, we were baffled. Assumed the lab had made a mistake. But they were insistent the sample had been tested several times with the same result. I've been looking into this for days and today… today I found out similar samples have been found in the past.

"

"Oh?

" She had to sound curious, not terrified.

He nodded, watching her closely.

"There have been similarly unique samples discovered on four or five other cases across North America.

"

"Similar?

"

"Yes.

"

Kalle took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, officer… I can't help noticing you're not actually telling me anything, and this is getting a little tired. What can I know about this… this sample? And why are you telling me? If you can't tell what it is, what is it you think I'll be able to help you with?

"

The detective stared at her for a long moment, then shook his head and raked a hand through his short-cut hair.

"The blood we found isn't human, Kalle. But it also isn't from an animal—at least, not one that we know of. It's… different. It's a thing.. And my fear is… my fear is that your uncle may have gotten himself wrapped up in something dangerous.

"