After finding more information, Rana handed everything to Jack and then asked to be dismissed for the day. It was not uncommon for her to sometimes ask to leave early if there was no job done and Jack understood that.

He did, though, mention that he would call her if needed but she already knew that. It was not the first time it had happened and it wouldn't be the last one either.

Usually, when Rana left early she did simply because she needed to go for a nice long run in the woods or hunt or just do some shooting practice. During tough cases, she always needed some release for all the tension she would let gather and bottle up inside of her.

However, this time it was different because she had a date.

She had a small call with Hannibal during the day, a little bit after the crime scene and he invited her over for some wine; wanting to check up on her considering it had been two days since the night they slept together.

While it was not clear where this was going and what kind of serious feelings they harboured for one another, his interest in her well-being was a welcoming change. In addition, with everything she had in her mind and her worry about Will, she felt it would be better if she could discuss it with someone; especially someone that knew and helped Will.


The evening had started simply, with the two of them enjoying a nice glass of wine and scotch respectively. Sitting on the couch, they talked a little bit about Abigail and the case. Hannibal had already been informed by Will and he was interested in this unique new killer; mostly because he was in his turf and he did not like to share.

However, during the talk, Hannibal could not help but notice that Rana was not fully present. He had started to read her very well but never truly exposed it to her, since she would become self-conscious and make her less comfortable around him.

After all, he did and the patience he took to approach her, he was not going to let little details ruin everything he worked so hard for.

"Are you okay, Rana? You seem...distracted" he said casually, worry evident in his velvet voice.

The female Wolfskin played with the scotch in her glass, having already emptied two glasses in the short amount of time she was present. She moved her legs to be a little higher on the ground and her body to be on its side, so she could have a better view of Hannibal sitting next to her on the couch.

"My mind is simply crowded with thoughts" she explained, eyeing the brown liquid but she could feel his sharp gaze. She looked at him, seeing that he was not satisfied with that little bit of information she had given him. Defeated, she continued. "It's Will, mostly. I can tell that he is not getting any better. On the contrary, I think he is getting worse and Jack only pushes him deeper into those cases. Not to mention that he is being very dismissive lately as if hiding something"

Hannibal listened carefully, understanding why she was that way. Based on his sessions with Will, it was clear that his gift was taking a toll on him. However, hearing that she mostly thought of Will and focused on him, did not sit well.

Hannibal wasn't one to get jealous, finding some emotions to be trivial and he considered himself too superior to ever be jealous of someone. Yet, he had started to dislike Rana's focus on Will specifically and not enough on him.

"Will is handling a lot of things, you are aware of that. I am sure he simply needs his time to work on them. Each person reacts differently and requires their way to handle certain situations" he replied calmly, taking a few sips of his wine.

Rana heard him loud and clear but it did not truly help with her worry, since Will was part of her pack and her instincts were ringing to help him. She grabbed her phone from the coffee table. "I understand but I still feel that I should call him, check up on him and remind him that I am here if he needs anything"

A hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her from dialling any number. She looked from the screen at Hannibal, who had leaned his body faintly forward to make such a move. "Will needs his time. If you call him now, you pressure him to talk the same way Jack does" he said, deciding that bringing up some guilt would help to make his point pass through. "We already talked about this, Rana. You cannot control their lives or protect them from everything. If you trust Will as part of your pack, then you must trust him that he will come to you when he wants to"

Rana kept looking at him, hearing his voice loud and clear echoing in her mind. Not only he made a very good point but the way he stated it, sounded so obvious that for a moment she felt embarrassed not to have realized herself.

"You are right. I am letting my insecurities influence my mind" she said and relaxed her grip on her phone.

Hannibal was pleased to hear her mature approach and even picked up a few proper terms to describe her actions. He took the phone from her hands and placed it back on the table but never let go of her wrist.

"Admitting it is a very important step. I am proud" he said, his voice almost getting husky as he uttered the second sentence.

They were now closer, both leaning faintly forward to cover most of the gap left between their bodies. His touch on her skin sent a hot flare that crawled all over her body, his scent reaching her nose and clouding her senses.

For a moment, her heart rate started to increase and she felt the same temptation from that night coming back. At first, she treated it like a one-night stand but being close in his presence, taking his intoxicating scent and having his lips just a certain distance away from her; made her question whether she wanted to have more than one night with the charming Alpha in front of her.

He had tilted his head to the side, amused by her reaction and was eager to test the waters. Hannibal did not like how obsessed Rana was with Will and he preferred that when she thought of a man or a Wolf, to think of him and him alone.

He made well to hide his intentions, not wishing to push her away. Rana was a delicate case that required patience and proper handling, or everything would backfire and then it would be impossible to have it fixed.

He studied how her body reacted, picking up her heart rate and even noticing the faintest of flushes at the base of her neck. He could see the faint movement with each shallow, instincts tempting him to leave yet another bite; this time far closer to her jugular.

He moved his eyes at hers and tilted his head faintly, watching her. Their lips could be closer but he decided to test everything first. Just like that night, he would let her voice what he wanted and even how.

Hannibal always took pride in hearing the faint pleas when one approached him, needing something that only he could provide; whether be a piece of advice or something more. When it came to Rana, forcing that pride of hers to be shallowed and voice what she needed from him, was tricky but essential.

Both were Alpha, both were born to lead and control others. They were powerful, prideful even. Yet, between the two of them; one had to eventually lower their head to the other for balance to exist. He would make sure that it would be her bowing her head in the end as he took charge but that needed careful planning with zero room for errors.

Her head tilted forward ever so slightly, clearly tempted to be closer to him. He was not sure what feelings she harboured but he did enjoy the times he could take things from her, giving him the satisfaction no other woman ever could.

The moment that could lead to another lively night between them ended up being ruined by the sound of a phone ringing. With a groan, Rana pulled back and stretched her hand to grab her phone before seeing the Caller ID.

"Stones" she said and Hannibal could hear Jack's voice faintly from the other line. "I see...yeah, I will be on my way" She let out a sigh and hang up, passing a hand through her loose dirty blond locks. She looked at Hannibal, clearly not liking how they had been interrupted. "I got to go. Jack needs help narrowing the suspects and assigning agents for the interviews in the morning" she explained as she stood up and he did the same.

While bothered that Jack interfered and ruined everything, a glance at his clock made him realize that the timing was not that bad. It was merely 7 pm and by 9 he expected another guest to come over, the other killer that had started to take the spotlight with his latest murder.

Of course, he would have enjoyed it more drawing more reactions from Rana and trying to see how closer he could come before he would dismiss her. Yet, it looked like things would have to wait for now.

"It is quite alright, it is important to catch this new killer," he said casually, taking her glass and leaving it on a coaster on the table along with his.

"I will make up for it, mark my words," she said and headed for the door, with him hot on her trail.

He was amused by her stubbornness and her manners. She had some strong opinions about what was right to do as a guest from helping clean the dishes to making up for a missed dinner; although in their case it wasn't exactly anything major.

"I do not doubt that," he said and helped her wear her coat, deciding not to disagree with her and simply go with her flow.

"Thank you for the nice evening, Hannibal," she said and gifted him a smile as he opened the door for her.

Hannibal watched her walk to her SUV and get inside, not long before she drove away. He kept watching her before he slowly closed the door, deciding to finish preparing dinner for his next guest.


The very next morning, Will and Rana sat across from Jack in his office. The night prior, Rana had helped Jack narrow down the suspects and they had ended up with 4 major ones. One of them was Tobias Budge, a music shop owner that made his strings and was also a talented private music tutor.

Upon Will noticing the four folders, his eyes landed a moment longer on Tobias. Last night he had visited Hannibal and the psychiatrist had mentioned Tobias as a suspicious man based on what his patient had told him.

"Let me these two," Will said as he took the folder of Tobias and another suspect, making Jack and Rana exchange a look.

"Why these two specifically?" Jack asked, finding his sudden impulsiveness odd.

Will shrugged his shoulders, tired eyes mostly looking at the folder. "Just a hunch. You need me to find you the killer and I believe he might be the lead" he explained rather casually, avoiding giving direct reasons behind it.

Rana lifted an eyebrow, not liking the idea. "If you plan to visit them, let me come with you," she said. "You will need backup if your hunch is right"

To her surprise, it was Jack that argued at the idea. "I need you elsewhere, Rana," he said, earning her attention as he handed her a folder. "The Trombonist's girlfriend lives nearby. I want you to find out more about our victim and any potential enemies he might have. You have your way when it comes to women"

What Jack said was quite true. Due to being a woman herself, Rana often was more empathic with spouses, girlfriends or widows. In addition, those grieving were always more willing to open up to another woman than a man, simply because they think a man won't understand them or care enough.

Rana knew that she could not argue. "Fine, but I want Will to take two local Baltimore policemen with him and they stay together at all times" she added.

"Very well. I will assign him the best the Department has" Jack agreed, both talking about Will as if he was not present or like two parents discussing their child without asking for his opinion.

Will felt self-conscious all of a sudden and while he understood Rana did it mostly because she cared, he could not help but feel pressured. His mind was quite a mess and the lack of sleep did not truly help him either.

After being dismissed, the two of them left Jack's office and walked down the corridor. However, merely a few steps later and Rana pulls Will into an empty room before closing the door behind her.

The force of the grab was not something super strong, clearly her trying not to harm or scare him. It was enough to be able to lead his body where she wanted and she now stood between him and the only exit.

"I am sorry, Will but I feel this is the only way. Before you go I have to ask, what is going on?" she asked him, knowing she did what Hannibal had informed her not to do but she could not help it.

Will at the beginning thought of lying, simply to get her off his back. However, he then remembered that Rana was from the few that cared about him and in a way, being part of her pack did play a role.

At the same time, while she tried to sound nice and look at him with understanding; naturally her aura said otherwise. From the way her hands were crossed to her sharp gaze about to glow red, it was clear that as his Alpha, she would not take a lie for an answer.

Defeated and tired, he passed a hand through his tangled unwashed hair and let out a groan of exhaustion. He was not sure what to start with, to be honest. Should he start with the haunting melody of the killer that had been following him around all day? Or what took place the night prior?

"Look...I...am sorry...I am just tired from the case and I...I didn't truly sleep well last night..." he explained, deciding not to bring up the fact that he had restless sleep for a while now.

Rana's gaze softened and the tension in her shoulders started to disappear slowly. She should have known and a part of her suspected that was the case, but that didn't mean that she liked it. She was now even more determined to talk with Jack after this case was solved.

"Did something happen last night?" she asked with pure concern, her arms now hanging by her sides.

"Well...in a way...I...I kissed Alana Bloom" Will confessed after taking a deep breath, finishing his sentence in one go. "And I don't know if what I did was right and how she feels and it was all spontaneous and..."

A strong but comforting hand was placed on his shoulder. Immediately, he felt warmth crawling all over his body and as he looked at Rana; he saw her bright red eyes staring right into his soul.

"Will, take a deep breath first," she said, a passive and hidden order making him do exactly that, his body reacting to her presence. Once she was satisfied, she gave a small smile and squeezed his shoulder. "How about I talk to Alana when all of this is over? I get her view of things and we can know what that kiss meant" she suggested.

Somehow, her suggestion did calm some of his worries. Rana was a great speaker and people found it natural to open up to her. He had noticed that while the two women were not exactly friends, they had a good colleague relationship. In addition, Rana was a woman and thus it would be easier for Alana to talk about such topics.

"Thank you," he said, his head little lowered and avoiding her gaze; afraid his own eyes will react.

"Be careful out there, Will" she added and took her hand back, her eyes back to normal.

Will only nodded a few times with his head.


The interrogation of the victim's girlfriend was partially successful. The woman was grieving but Rana had managed to make her talk and find a few important things. For example, his confidence started to drop after each play because of some anonymous negative feedback he had received.

That affected his performance and even the maestro pointed out his mistakes, going as far as to think of replacing him.

Those little details were enough for Rana to realize that the killer could be behind the anonymous feedback and that choosing that man as his next victim, was not exactly random. She started to have some theories of her own and she had called Jack to inform him, but he was busy interrogating the other two suspects.

He had told her that they would discuss it later once Will was back and that allowed her at least an hour of free time if not more. Since she had this theory and no one to talk to, her mind went to the next person she should talk to.

A part of her brought up Alana, to fulfil her promise to Will but before she could call the woman; she passed in front of a famous Cava. Eyeing one of the few bottles on display, she remembered how she had sort of ditched Hannibal the night prior for work.

It was almost lunchtime and usually around that time, he had no patients. Making up her mind, she went inside the shop and got an expensive wine that she suspected would fit his tastes before deciding to visit him, using it also as a chance to discuss her theory about their killer with him.