#beta will

Mack is an omega who learned all about all the designations and how to optimize his senses and instincts. He instantly connects with Will because he knows having a beta on the team is always great for team dynamics. They might not always be the best physically but their emotional intelligence makes up for it.

Will has no idea why everyone looks at him when there’s drama, or someone gets in a fight on the ice. He definitely doesn’t get why Mack insists on constantly scenting him when he can’t even smell it.

While he was busy there, Will had been dressed in a medical apron and a plastic visor as he hovered over the body of the girl. Around him, were Jimmy, Beverly and Brian, who were busy inspecting and working on the body; hoping to find more clues.

At one side, leaning against the wall, was Rana. She was there to gather any information the four of them found and then give it to Jack.

At the same time, she wanted to keep an eye on Will, especially with Beverly and her snoopy nose being around.

She never minded the gore, blood or the dead. It would be silly if someone like her had trouble handling it. The opposite, she was always intrigued, and the feeling of blood on her hands did trigger some more primal instincts.

For that reason, she found it wiser to keep her distance, but if she ever had to, she could control her impulses and do her job.

"Tried her skin for prints. Of course, nothing. We did get a hand spread off her neck." Jimmy started, glancing at Rana, who was watching them like a Hawk.

"What about her nails?" she asked, muscled hands folded in front of her as she leaned on the wall, with one leg bent.

"Her fingernails were smudged when we took scrapings. The scrapings were where she cut her palms with them. She never scratched him." Brian added.

"Hmm," Rana exclaimed. "That means he knew how to prevent her from scratching him. He is no certain fool," she mumbled, but the silence in the room made everyone hear her.

"Curly piece of metal is all we got," Beverly added, before sneaking a flirtatious smile towards Will.

Something that did not go unnoticed by Rana. Thankfully, the scientist did not do anything, and Will was not focusing on her at all. Instead, his mind seemed to be not present.

"We should be looking at plumbers, steamfitters, tool workers." He said, glancing at Rana, who wrote it down in her little notebook as he adjusted the visor and forced himself to look in the body bag.

While he was busy thinking, imagining and trying to recreate what had happened to the girl, the other three worked normally.

Rana had noticed him but had not said anything as she studied him. She found it fascinating how his compressed other nature formed in a way that allowed him to think like the predator he is supposed to be.

She hadn't met many of their kind, but she knew each one was unique. Each one grew and developed certain skills that reflected their personality, their character, and their environment.

Will learnt how to empathise with predators, following serial killers and their way of thinking, clearly because he suppressed his true nature.

Rana, on the other hand, always motivated by anger and adrenaline, had developed physically and had acquired skills more used in combat and, as some would suggest, hunting.

Her senses were keen, but she did not have the perception Will had, just like he didn't have her reflexes and strong fight instincts that she possessed.

While she was the only one before she met him, that wasn't always the case. She was raised in an environment with their kind and had learnt valuable information from a young age that she hoped one day to pass on to Will.

However, approaching and explaining was the trickiest part. She did not know how much he knew or if he had unlocked them yet.

"Other injuries were probably but not conclusively post-mortem. She wasn't gored."

"She has lots of piercings that look like they were caused by deer antlers. I didn't say the deer was responsible for putting them there."

The trio kept working and talking while Rana was half paying attention.

However, she focused fully when Will snapped back into reality and added his conclusions: "She was mounted on them, like hooks. She may have been bled."

This made Beverly and Jimmy glance at Will as well, while Brian was distracted by his investigation of the abdominal wound. "Her liver was removed. He took it out and put it back in. See."

This made the female agent lift an eyebrow and approach the table, leaning over to see what he was pointing at. She was not that expert in the body anatomy, but she could faintly see the signs that the organ had been sewed back.

"Why cut out her liver if he was just going to sew it back in again?" Brian asked, confused.

All muscle tone in Will's face went slack as Rana sniffed faintly, bringing her face a little closer to the body. There was something...something that smelt different... it didn't smell like the organs of a corpse would...no...it was something more.

"Something was wrong with the meat." Rana and Will said at the same time, in perfect sync.

This made the trio look at them, confused, but also freaked out that the duo knew it, although each of them had found it out differently.

They exchanged a look, something familiar passing in front of their eyes as their minds suddenly connected. "She has liver cancer."

That's why it smelled differently, Rana thought, but then noticed how Will had paled.

Before she could ask him what was happening, he spoke up, and what he said next made everyone feel a chill going down their spine. "He's eating them"

Rana had called Jack just as Will's latest conclusion came. Jack had a lead for someone who could help with the case and was on his way.

However, he needed to know all the details, so she ended up in his car as he drove them to their next destination.

She was hesitant to leave Will behind but he had reassured her that he would focus on his lectures, now that he got another clue. It would allow him to take a break and allow his mind to focus on something else.

After Rana finished explaining what they found, Jack tensed his jaw and his hands around the car wheel.

"So, this lunatic is now eating them? Is this his sick love that Will talked about?" he asked, unhappy with the news.

Rana shrugged, leaning back on the seat and looking straight ahead of her. "I don't know. They are still working on more clues, but without the other bodies, it's hard to know." There was another silence between them as Jack took a turn and went off the busy highway. "Where exactly are we heading to?"

"Dr Hannibal Lecter. Dr Bloom recommended him. He might be able to help us and Will, in this nutjob case" Jack explained.

The female agent remained quiet, not adding anything more. Somehow, having a psychiatrist look at and inspect Will made her guts twist.

Yet again, Will was sensitive; perhaps someone more experienced could help if something went wrong. She was indecisive but decided not to make any decisions before meeting the man in person.

At last, they arrived at the fancy building where the famous psychologist lived, and Rana could not help but admire the architecture.

Climbing out of the car, she sniffed the air as a certain scent reached her olfactory processing cortex. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. When she opened them again, she felt nothing had taken place.

Jack was clueless about her small reaction, already busy pushing the door open and entering the building. Rana followed behind him, her eyes seeming to be more concentrated than ever.

Unknown to Jack, his protégé started to suspect that this psychiatrist was not at all what everyone else thought.

When they arrived on the right floor, they found his door closed. It was clear that he was having an appointment, so they both waited in suspense and slight uneasiness.

The clock was ticking, and they both wanted nothing more than to catch this madman.

Rana was also uneasy because the scent of another Wolf had reached her senses while also setting one question apart.

Was the client or the good doctor, one of her kind?

Her answer soon came as the door was opened from the inside and a slightly plus size nervous man was about to be escorted out. He was very nervous, the scent of sweat and high adrenaline reaching her nose.

However, Rana knew there and then that the man was not like her. That made her attention focus on the doctor standing by his side. Her pupils dilated ever so slightly at the sight of a man with exotic features and dressed in a wrinkle-less three-piece matching suit.

Jack took the chance to step forward, blocking the way of the other two men. "Doctor Lecter?"

The man noticed him first, but Rana saw evidence that his nostrils moved slightly as he had picked up her scent just as she had picked up his.

However, he did not give anything away. Instead, he focused on Jack. "I hate to be discourteous, but this is a private exit for my patients."

He got his badge out. "I'm Special Agent Jack Crawford and this is Special Agent Rana Stones," he said, motioning for the blond, who had her badge as per usual hanging around her neck. "We are with the F.B.I. May we come in?"

Dr Lecter took a good look at the female agent, but his face had the perfect mask, exposing nothing of his inner thoughts or any of his reactions

"You may wait in the waiting room." He then focused on his patient. "I'll see you next week, Franklyn." Yet, before fully dismissing him, he turned to Jack again. "Unless, of course, this is about him."

Jack corrected him. "Oh, no, this is all about you."

And this is how Rana was once again sitting on the couch next to Jack.

Hannibal had gone inside his office momentarily and said he would call them. This gave her a moment to put on her mask and focus on her training.

Jack, next to her, was as clueless as ever about the secret world existing under his nose.

He picked up a Magazine, out of mere curiosity and to control his temper. He did not like waiting or being dismissed that way.

Usually, when people see their badges, they immediately speak to them, but it was clear that this certain Doctor wanted to make sure that he had the upper hand and was the dominant one in this situation from the very start.

After a few minutes, the door opened and Dr Lecter stepped into the doorway. "Please. Come in."

Jack and Rana stood up, heading for his office.

The female stayed a step behind Jack, and yet, as she passed in front of the good doctor, she felt his sharp gaze on her. She did not turn her head to acknowledge him but simply kept walking with her head held high.

Yet, she did not fail to pick up his unique scent. A mixture of exotic spices and well-aged wine contained in an oak barrel. Each person and wolfskin had their unique scent, which was recognisable and characteristic of them.

Hannibal watched them pass and as Rana passed by him, his senses got overloaded by her strong dominant scent. He blinked and forced a flat smile to cover his reactions, as he processed the scent of whiskey and burning wood with a faint touch of gunpowder.

Once inside the office, the two agents split. Rana took a seat on the couch, right across from Hannibal, while Jack decided to roam around and survey his collection of books and artefacts, while also admiring his art.

"May I ask how this is all about me?" he asked, his eyes going from Rana to Jack.

"You can ask. But I do need to ask you a few questions first. Are you expecting another patient?" Jack started.

"We're all alone," Hannibal informed, being so willing to cooperate and answer the questions.

"No secretary?"

"Was pre-dispositioned to romantic whims. Followed her heart to the United Kingdom. Sad to see her go."

Rana lifted an eyebrow, her back straight and her hands flat on her thighs. Somehow, the story, while sounding believable, also could not be true.

Usually, she would pick up the heartbeat of a normal human and detect when they are lying, but it was different with Hannibal.

For starters, his heart rate was stable but that was something their kind could easily control. A steady heartbeat was crucial cause increased adrenaline and blood was what caused their primary instincts to kick in and make their mind less human and more animalistic.

For that, she focused on anything else about him. It was their common technique with Jack. He asked the questions and tried to see if their suspect would bite while Rana would notice their reactions.

Being a woman, it was not easy for men to take her seriously or consider her a threat.

At first, she was quite reactive and violent to scare them and force them to speak.

However, after she started working with Jack, her teacher realised that she had other gifts she could develop to improve their partnership.

He was not wrong and his ideas worked.

Speaking of Jack, he had focused and was busy studying framed meticulous pencil drawings of Parisian landscapes. "Are these yours, Doctor?"

Hannibal gave a nod, his hand carefully pointing at the drawing of a school. " Among the firsts. My boarding school in Paris when I was a boy."

"Incredible amount of detail."

Not liking how things were, Hannibal stood up and moved to his desk. He picked up a point with a scalpel, blowing the shavings off the tip to reveal its sharpness. "Learned very early a scalpel cuts better points than a pencil sharpener."

He let the pencil down but not the scalpel. He eyed Jack carefully, focusing on the FBI agent's jugular.

However, he made no move as the strong scent of Rana kept reminding him that she was silently watching him. If only he could be alone with Jack, but that could not be the case.

"I understand your drawing got you an internship at Johns Hopkins."

Rana's muscles tensed faintly, and she moved her position on the couch faintly, just as she noticed Hannibal's faint nostril flair and eye dilation.

Yet, his heartbeat remained steady, and he simply exhaled. Others would not notice such small changes, but they were not her.

"I am beginning to suspect you are investigating me, Agent Crawford."

There is suddenly an eerie stillness as if lightning were about to strike. Rana decided to speak, change her position, and sit on the couch's armrest.

"Is there a reason why we should investigate you, Dr Lecter?" she asked, earning a hidden smirk from Jack.

Hannibal's full attention turned to her now, his pupils dilating even more. Her presence alone tested the control of his instincts; it had been years since he had been in the presence of another like him.

And the last one he was with did not have the same aura and vibe Rana did.

He was no fool; he could see the signs, as both of them showed clear, pure dominance with their body language, stable tone of voice, and intense stare.

The tension in the room started to thicken, those two never breaking eye contact.

For a microsecond, both had their irises flash to a bright red, as if triggered by the intense staring and the silent fight for control of the room.

Jack sensed that something was odd, so he moved and sat next to Rana. His attention change caused Hannibal's and Rana's eyes to return to normal.

"You were referred to me by Alana Bloom in the psychology department at Georgetown."

This caught Hannibal's attention, as his demeanour changed again, and he took his seat once again. "Most psychology departments are filled with ham radio enthusiasts and other personality-deficient people. Dr Bloom would be the exception. "

"You mentored her during her residency at John Hopkins, correct?" the female agent asked him.

"I learned as much from her as she learned from me," Lecter said coolly.

"Showed me your paper in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Evolutionary Origins of Social Exclusion." Jack continued.

"And?"

"Very interesting, even to a layman." He continued.

Rana was told about the paper, and Jack sort of summarised it in his way for her.

She could read it if she wanted, but she was not truly interested. Specialisation and science were never her cups of tea.

Instead, she focused more on other subjects like Physical Education. Philosophy, Law and History were the only exceptions, but no other subjects. Perhaps this was also a result of her internal need for justice and her strong instincts, which required more energy and physical results.

"A layman? So many learned fellows going about in the halls of Behavioural Science at the F.B.I. and you consider yourself a layman? What about your partner? Do you consider her a laywoman?" Hannibal said, deciding to try his unique psychoanalyzing skills.

He was curious about this partnership and how much Jack truly knew about Rana and her kind.

It was the first time she had seen a Wolfskin in a position of power, one that required working with and around humans daily for hours on end. It was truly fascinating to him as well, and he was curious to find out more about the unique blond agent sitting across from him.