By the time I wake up, Aiden is gone. A note by my bed says we're leaving at 9:00 AM. I check the time on my phone to see that it is already eight. Jumping from my bed, I hurry through my morning rituals and pack up my bag. The rest of the time at the cottage is a blurry of suitcases and cars while we travel to the airport.

Aiden sits beside me, but he is calm as he gazes out the window. I open my mouth, thinking of talking to him, but then close it, confused about what to say.

What can I say to him? I am sorry I am not accepting you as my mate, but you should not be upset with me.

Even in my head, it sounds so bad. As if I am not holding him to the same standards as myself. Letting out an internal sigh, I turn toward the window and watch nature pass by. However, I feel him peeking at me now and then, when he thinks I am not noticing.

Once we reach the airport, the onboarding process goes smoothly, and soon we are seated in his private jet. This time, there is no disguise for boarding a commercial airline. The bright side is that I have a window seat. The downside is that Aiden is still not talking to me.

Henry, Bill, and other weres occupy seats behind us. The hostess serves me my favorite drink. I glance at Aiden to see him staring at me, but as soon as he sees me looking at him, he stiffens and hastily turns forward.

I put my drink aside and glance at him. Our eyes meet, and he hastily jerks his eyes away from me and focuses on the screen in front of him. Internally, my beast chuckles at his gestures. She finds him cute.

I am amused too, but if we call him cute, I am sure we will be glared at, and I can almost imagine him saying, I am the Alpha King. Nobody has ever called me cute, and neither will you.

I need to have a discussion with him regarding my research. I had emailed one of my acquaintances, who is a software engineer.

She had replied that she could develop the software, but she needed some time. At least two weeks. We did not have that long to solve the mystery.

"Aiden," I call.

His head whips toward me at lightning speed, and his eyes are bright and full of expectation. "Yes."

"I wanted to talk to you about my research."

His face drops at my words and is a block of stone again. I flinch, seeing the change in expression. He must have thought I would talk about us. He takes a deep breath and then says, "Yes, Aurelia."

His tone is bitter and cuts through the silence on the plane. I gulp and turn a little.

"You know, yesterday, the vampire was talking about having genome scientists on its side. Add to that their pursuit of my research and the unsettling language heard in your castle dungeon. Maybe decoding those words can help us."

Aiden scratches his chin in a thinking gesture but then nods. "You are right. What were those words said by him again?"

"Two halves. Two drops. A drop of lupus, a drop of fate. One more step, one more drop—that is, vos and collate. Within them lies your indagation, and so does ours. For the Salus comes only thou mizug. From yours sincerely, Shamesh."

Aiden listens to me with full focus. "Hmm. From his words, I could say he had proficiency in different languages. He had used the word ensnare while talking. It's not a word used in day-to-day life. And the words lupus, fate. I think there's a different meaning.

He ponders, tapping his forefinger against his chin.

"Yes, well, Lupus means Were in Latin. A drop of lupus. What does that mean? He could have directly said werewolf. But he used lupus. Maybe fate also means some supernatural creature. Maybe the other words have translations, too.Hmm."

Suddenly, the night at the palace flashes before my eyes. The vials of blood dropped throughout the corridor. I jump as a switch in my brain turns on, and I look at him with excitement.

"Wait, they left vials of blood on the hallway floor in the palace."

Aiden's eyes widen at my words. "Maybe a drop means blood. And if indagation means research, they need your blood as the last piece of the puzzle. That is why the vampire that was captured yesterday carried empty syringes. He wanted your blood."

"The day of Archer's attack, I had just completed the DNA processing, with only the comparison left to do. That is when the lab tech, Brock, arrived, and I had to stop. That means they have spies at the lab, too. And all that I have left to do is compare the results."

"Hmm. Well, until now, I was just the majority shareholder of Helios. Even though I had a power of attorney, it was a public enterprise. Maybe I need to change it to a private enterprise and take control."

He murmurs to himself.

"Henry!" he shouts.

Henry rushes forward and angles his neck in submission. Aiden jerks his hand.

"Schedule a board meeting with all Helios shareholders and the board of directors right now. Online. I want to buy out the company. Including the ones of Dr. Cyrus. Complete control. Ensure everything is completed before our arrival. After we land, we are directly going to Helios Labs. Give all the employees an extended leave.

I want the lab to be empty until we arrive. Schedule personal interrogations by our finest Kappas tomorrow. Take the prisoners to the dungeons and begin questioning them. I want their brains cracked open. Whatever they know, I want to know."

Henry nods at him and then rushes. Several Gammas, including Bill, stand up, and the plane bustles with activity. There's another laptop being set up with a camera and headphones, notepads, and files being printed from a printer I did not notice.

All the while, Aiden grinds his teeth. Soon, he logs into the laptop and starts speaking into the headphones. Well, it looks like I am going to have no work until we reach the lab.

Getting off the flight and driving to the lab goes in a flash, and by the time we reached the lab, Aiden was the sole owner of the company.

We enter my laboratory, and Aiden holds the door open for me. Even though he's upset, he's still a gentleman.

"Your research is the key. Finish it now."

I nod and dash to my computer. I power it on and log in to my private account to download the files.

"So, Aurelia, you have never told me what your research is about? You have said that it is about your abnormality, but you never elaborated."

He leans on my desk, his left palm resting on the edge of my desk for support. This is the first time in two days that he has spoken to me directly without making faces.

My research is not just about me. Yes, I would like to trace the source of my abnormality, but I will also step closer to discovering the origins of the supernatural. I think it's time to fill him in. I face him, giving him my full attention.

"So, you know DNA is what we use to classify species, right?"

Aiden rolls his eyes as he says, "I may be an engineer by degree, but I own a genome company."

I smile sheepishly at him and continue, "So, the DNA of an average werewolf is eighty percent identical to that of a human, and the same is the case for other supernaturals. The rest, nineteen point five percent, is unique to each species. About one-tenth of DNA is unique to the individual."

His mouth forms an 'o' as he hears my words and he nods in understanding.

"What about your genetic makeup, then?" Aiden is now serious as he gazes at me.

"Well, you hit the nail on the head. Before I met you, I could compare mine with that of a werewolf. It is seventy-five percent werewolf."

"What about the other twenty-five percent?" He inquires.

I shrug my shoulders in response. "That is what I was hoping to know. I want to compare my DNA with that of other supernatural beings. Only then can I know."

"Hmm. Well, you will get to know soon."

His words are assuring as he smiles at me tightly, but then his brows come together in confusion.

"Heyy. Wait, you can get a sample of werewolf DNA from Nana or your uncle? But where did you get the DNA samples of others?"

"Umm, well, that..."

My eyes roam around the room, unwilling to meet his gaze.

"Aurelia!! No secrets anymore," he growls, his palms now resting on his waist.

I splutter, "The Fae princess Maria gifted me fae and mer blood, and I could scrape off vampire DNA from my clothes that I wore on the day we found the vampire Lint."

"What? That was the gift you got from her that day."

He stands shocked now, his hands dropping to his sides as he connects the dots.

"Yes," I say, cringing at his reaction.

He narrows his eyes at me for a few moments before rolling them. "Damn fae."

The sound of Aiden cracking his neck resonates throughout the deserted laboratory. He glances at the screen.

"It looks like it will take a while for the data to download. I'm going to get a drink of water. Do you want a glass?"

"Only if it isn't a chore for you."

He rolls his eyes again in response and walks away. The only water dispenser is near Archer's office, which is on the next floor. Now that I am alone in the office, the sound of Aiden's steps starts fading away.

I hear the creaking of a door and look to where Aiden left off. However, the door through which Aiden left is closed. Suddenly, the laboratory door opens, and I see Brock, the lab tech, walking through it.

My brows scrunch in confusion. I thought all the employees were given extended leave. Brock waves at me, grinning.

I wave back at him.

"Hi, Aurelia. How are you doing?"

"I'm good. But what are you doing here? I thought everyone was on leave," Brock says.

Brock walks forward and drags a chair from the neighboring computer. He places the chair in front of my desk and says, "You are here."

"Yes, but..." I start, only to be cut off by him.

"There are certain privileges you get as the Alpha King's mate. Don't you?"

Word Count: 1741 PROFR