AURELIAS POV...

Above me rested a human corpse atop a tree branch. dripping with blood. clothes torn to pieces. If human authorities became aware of it, things could become murky.

I quickly moved back way from the corpse, not wanting to get wet with blood and shifted back to my human form. opening my bag with one hand, I reached inside it and quickly changed into my clothes.

I could not let it go unnoticed. I had to let the others know but in a way that didnt raise alarm. Just then, I got reminded of Aiden. He could help. And well, he was the one who said he was my friend now.

Quickly, I thought to mindlink him. I do not know where he was but It would drain me to link with him, but I had to take my suppression shot before that. My beast whined, but I understood. Now a days, I always carried shots with me and quickly did my routine. Ok my power won't be felt. I would still be able to do a partial shift, which would not raise suspicions.

'King - Aiden' I reached out.

'Aurelia' He sounded confused, even through the link.'Is everything Alright? Why are you linking me at this time of the day? Is Nana alright?'

I could feel his concern through the link. In that moment I got a small glimpse of his love for nana. Images of her dancing, smiling and some more blurry images of her, most probably from his childhood flashed through the link.'Shes alright but its urgent. You wont believe me if i tell you' 

'try me ,' he replied, determination and trust emitting from him.

I felt happy knowing he trusted me. but i had more serious matters to attend'I will show you'

Borrowing extra power from my beast I sent images of the corpse. Just then I felt waves of anger from him.

'Where are you!' He barks via the link. 

'Near the lake in the forest behind my home'

'I know the lake; meet me there,' he instructed, and the link was closed.

Well, It is going to be a long day, I thought.

I ran towards the lake and sat nearby, my bag still between my shoulders. I was tired, the continuous suppression shots and the distant mind linking  drained me. 

I did not wait for much time, when I heard the sound of paws on the ground. Well, it could be mistaken for a stampede. Anger and power were emanating from them. But, for some reason, I did not feel suffocated like I had before. It felt as if the power was caressing me. Then scents reached me: Aiden and Adrian. But there were two more scents. One was a little familiar, while the other was completely new.

There are four wolves but a big black wolf stands out, leading the group. No doubt, it is Aiden. Power flows from him. It crashes against my knees but at the sametime I feel like I am in an ocean. The waves  are gentle now but can be more dangerous if he releases all of his power. That is the feeling I get from him.

Next to him on the right is a blonde wolf, most likely Adrian, as well as grey and chocolate wolves.

They quickly approach me, and I believe Aiden barks at me in greeting. They carried backpacks that looked similar to mine. I turn around, allowing them to shift.

I can hear bones crunching and snapping back into place, followed by the rustling of clothing.

"You can turn around now," Aiden tells me.

I turn around, shoulders tensed, to see Aiden and Adrian. The ball's security chief and another person whom I do not recognise accompany him.

As we had other weres, I had to follow protocol.I quickly bow to Aiden, angling my neck in submission.

"Where's the corpse?" he asked, his eyes narrowed and his face a hard mask of stone.

So far in all our interactions, Aiden has been soft—not a ray of sunshine but he has emitted a friendly vibe.Today, he was all power. Pure alpha energy.Even Adrain had a serious expression akin to his usual cheery self.

"This way," I point, raising my fingers and showing the direction.

"Lead the way," he orders. I nod at him. I understood the seriousness of the situation; a human corpse so close to a werewolf territory was not a good sign.

I run as fast as possible but not to my full speed so that it would not raise suspicions with the four following me.Even suppressed, I still had enough power and strength that could rival a gamma, at least.

I reach the spot and shout, " here! Over-"

"We'll take it from here," says, the man, whom I do not recognise. His words are full of disgust.He must know that I am a weresap, hence his cheerful tone.

They smell the air and growl. I point my finger to the tree's top branch and everyone's gaze follows my finger, glancing at where I have pointed.The sight is awful, and they growl some more, beasts flashing in their eyes.

"How did you find it?"Aiden asks, coming near me, holding my biceps tight, jerking me in the process.

"I come here for jogging I like nature, I may be a weresap but still, the lake is one of my favourite spots. Then I smelled the rotten smell on the way to the lake and came here following it," I say, looking at Aiden.

All of them sniff and the person whose name I didn't know follows my scent and tracks it.  Sucking in my breath, I wait, fingers crossed.I had already cross-checked but still, if it comes to notice, things will grow more complicated.

the heavy winds blew most of my scent away; only faint traces were left.He comes back in a few moments and confirms, "Yes, I smell her trail. It's faint but I only find hers and whoever left this corpse here left long ago; there's not even a trace, which is not surprising since wind blows alot near the lake."

Aiden nods at his words."Let's take the corpse down, maybe we can find a clue."

The security guard and him climb the tree and push the corpse down.it falls face down.

Aiden and Adrian walk towards it and bend, taking out their kerchiefs, search for a wallet in it's back pocket but they don't find it. I stand behind them, peaking.

Aiden stands and crashes into me, his head to my nose.

"Ouch, that really hurt," I exclaim, holding my nose, my head bent from the pain.

"Sorry, Aurelia, I didn't see you; here, let me take a look." he reaches out to my chin, tipping my face up with one hand while the other moves my hand away from my nose.

Adrian, too, takes a step forward, concerned, while the other two, who had climbed down by now, look at us in astonishment.

He gently brushes my nose, scrutinizing it." No bleeding, that's good."

"Good?it hurts." I wince at his touch.

"Sorry," he says sheepishly. Then he turns towards the other two. Feeling conscious from their staring, he takes a step back, adjusting his shirt collar and running fingers through his hair.

"Are you fine?" Adrian asks, his face full of concern

I nodded at him in reply. Aiden turns around to look at his body guard and the un named man.

"We need to return the corpse to it's family but we can't let humans snoop around. bring a group of trackers; they might be able to find something that we  don't. Also, make sure to call cops who are wolves and I want the post mortem to be done by someone who knows the super natural anatomy."

He then looks at Adrian and moves towards him, discussing something via mind link. I could say that as their eyes went out of focus. Well he's a royal and he is entitled to his share of secrets. I have mine too .

I glance here and there, trying to pass time, when I notice something on the corpses arm.

"Aid," I start but catch myself and continue, "king, there's something on its arm; it looks like a nail stuck on it's skin."

Aiden and Adrian move past me in a second, bending down, crouching, and scrutinizing the nail. I too crouch down, looking at it, while the other two come close and stand.

"Brilliant, Aurelia, brilliant; it's quite observant of you."  Aiden takes out the nail carefully, making sure he doesn't smear his fingers too much.

"It's not human; it's a vampire," he declares.

"But how can you say that?" I asked him, unable to understand how he deduced it.

"Look at this mark on the finger nail, it's a vampire gang that's part of the blood mafia."

"Blood mafia," I say, looking confused.

"The vampire king ordered a decree when he ascended to the throne in the early 18th century that blood should not be consumed as it became a threat. Humans hunted them. Now he laid one exemption for it, an ill vampire could not recover consuming normal food as vampires can't produce antibodies on their own. And animal blood did not bode well and many vampires died as the diseases of animals spread to them, so they needed human blood for recuperation. Only registered vampire doctors were allowed to provide blood after careful examination that too in the presence of a royal attendant.Now after that, this blood mafia began abducting humans, extracting their blood till they died and supplying it to the highest bidder. "

"That's horrible," I say, disgust on my face laced with anger. I fist my fingers in outrage that how even a supernatural creature be so cruel.

"Well, that's how it is, and this mark belongs to that gang; however, the vampire who did this must be an amateur. They don't leave behind corpses like this. I will inform the vampire king later; he needs to know this," Aiden says.

All of us get up from our crouched positions, dusting off our pants.

"Adrian, you stay here, wait for the trackers, and keep me updated on their findings."

"Henry, go back to the palace and start patrolling the area; make sure there are no more corpses in the woods," he tells his bodyguard.

"Ethan, stay here with Adrian and wait for the other trackers," he instructs.

Then he turns to me and says, "Come, let us go; I will drop you off at your house; do not enter the woods from now on."

"But..." I begin, only to be cut off by him.

"It is not safe for anyone," he growls at me.

I pout at him, disappointed that I will not be able to visit the woods, but nod in agreement with his words. What other options did I have.

My pout brings a half-smile to his face."Now, did Nana bake fresh cookies?" he asks, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yes", I beam at him and we start walking towards my home.

He keeps his pace slow, almost human-like. I speed up and zip past him, saying, "Come on, you're slowing us down."

He just looks at my speed in disbelief, looking at me from head to toe before shaking his head and speeding up to me.

"You know what? Let's race," he taunts, then smirks and continues, "I'll slow down for you."

He then takes off, I follow him for a few moments but then slow down. I had to act wisely and maintain a facade or it'd raise suspicions about how a weresap could run that fast.

I crouch, keeping my palms on my knees and huffing out, "Okay. I can't run anymore."

We were halfway to my home when Aiden heard me say those words and stopped to come back to me.

He teases me by saying, "Who's the slow one now?"

"Alright, me," I fake a sigh, showing my defeat.

He stretches his hands out to help me stand, I presume and i keep my hand in his. Pulling me up, he says, "Slow-poke."

I roll my eyes at him and push him away, Striding forward, I notice him not following me. I turn around to take a look at him and see him gazing me. I feel strange, uncomfortable by his gaze.

"What?" I ask, raising my shoulders. 

"Nothing," he replies, reaches where I stand, and says, "Let's go."

This time we keep pace with each other, our steps in sync. The leaves crunch under our feet, and birds chirp. the silence feels charged with electricity, like something is happening around us but we are unable to understand it.

I glance at him to see him already looking at me. I raise a brow in question, and he just shrugs in response. I let out a small smile in response, my lips pursed. He then jerks his head away in response.I later hear him sighing.

"Ok, what's wrong?" I question him, toping and turning to face him.

He too stops and turns to look at me"The corpse and nail we discovered—it is not a good sign. We just signed a treaty with vampires; if word spreads, things could become more complicated."

He kicks a pebble near his feet, which flies and hits the base of a tree, leaving a groove in it.

"Umm, well, yes. it is a cause of tension and a very serious matter but what if we find the vampire responsible for it and bring it to both your and the vampire king's council? That way the judgement will be on neutral grounds and nobody can question it," I advise him.

"Yes, that is a good idea if only we were able to find who was responsible for it."

"That's easy; we already have a DNA sample; we just need to cross-verify it with the human DNA of those who were missing. Ideally, a fingerprint would be a better option; accessing biometrics is easier," I say.

He looks at me with confusion in his eyes and says, "But I thought vampire and human DNA were different."

"Yes, but vampires before being bitten are always humans, and the mutation can still be traced back. It is like a paternity test; we can still figure out who the parents are, right?" I explain.

"Wait, let me call Adrian," he says, and his eyes flash.

Pursing my lips and tapping my foot, I wait for Adrian to arrive, while Aiden continues to mind link.

Just then, I hear Adrian arrive in his human form. Wow, that was quick, I think to myself, but then I remember the fact that I only know a few weres to judge their speed. He stops in front of us and says, "Quite out of the box thinking, Aurelia." 

"Yes, very innovative." Aiden agrees, looking at me with a smile on his lips but then his face becomes serious.

"But this will need a more practiced hand but I know someone, a human, who knows the secret and is trustworthy."

"Who?" I inquired, my brow furrowed in confusion.

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A/N:

Who do you think it is?

I would like to hear some guesses.

Do not forget to vote, share, and comment, guys. It means a lot.

And I have started chapter dedication from this chapter.

The first dedication to my first reader and a very dear friend of mine.

A big shout out to fictionaldove

Not only is she an amazing friend but she is also an amazing writer.

Do check out her ongoing book.