I keep running, not seeing where I go. I am doing the right thing. But why is it hurting so much? Is it just because Aiden is my mate, or do I really like him? More than a friend?

Why is his proximity affecting me this way? I wipe my tears as I run, not watching where I am going, and crash into someone. The thick sugary scent intensifies and I realize it is Giasemi.

"Oh Aurelia. Watch where you are going!" Giasemi shouts at me.

But then, she watches my tear-stained cheeks and asks, concerned, "What happened?"

I shake my head, not answering her. She hugs me and I sense a feeling of warmth wash over me. I think she looks into my thoughts as she says, "Oh, this is why you are sad. Come to my room."

She breaks the hug and starts walking towards her room. It is only a few paces away. She holds the door open for me and I mechanically enter the room.

Curiosity overpowers me as I take in her room. It is smaller than Aiden's but...

As soon as I remember Aiden, tears spill from my eyes and I sniff. Giasemi comes to stand beside me and pushes me into a chair behind me as she takes a seat across from me.

"Want to talk?"

I shake my head first, but then nod at her. "Yes. I mean, I am so confused."

"Yeah, I can sense that," she scoffs.

I look at her, offended. She raises her hands in a gesture of surrender and says, "I am not one to talk about. I mean, my mate is..."

She shrugs as she watches a painting on the wall, her mind somewhere else.

"Well, at least you are not a danger to your mate," I choke.

She purses her lips at me. "Why do you think so?"

"Why not? My parents died because of me. A witch died too. The Blood Mafia is after me. Oh. And don't forget. I am part Fae and I don't even have a Fae ancestor. Is there anything I missed?" I cry.

She winces and then smooths her expression, leaning forward and squeezing my hand. She rubs the back of my hand in a soothing gesture to calm me down.

"Well, think of the other side of things. Because of you, we know that the Blood Mafia is so well connected. I mean, they have so many spies all over the world. We thought of them as just a gang who kidnap and kill humans for blood. Now we know they are recruiting werewolves, too. Only fate knows how many fae are involved and the Mer people, too. We might have a shot at solving this mystery, all thanks to you."

My mouth drops open at her. I never thought of it that way. "Ok, I agree with you on that. But it does not negate the fact that Aiden and others are in danger because of me. My Nana was hurt. Archer was in a coma and the list just goes on," I say, waving my hands in the air as I count in my mind. My beast is upset with me because I did not agree with Aiden.

She sighs and looks me in the eye and says, "Fine, but I am sure your Nana loves you a lot. As for Archer, I see him. He respects you. And well, Aiden is your mate. He will die for you before anything harms you."

What she is saying is true, but she is not getting my point.

"That is the point. He is my mate, so he will die for me. What if I was not his mate? Will he still like me? Ignoring the danger I represent, even for a moment, would his opinion of me change if the Blood Mafia wasn't pursuing me? I mean, he is the most eligible werewolf bachelor in the world and I am just plain old me."

She needs to understand. We are just not meant to be. I will cause nothing but pain to him. He's the dream of many girls. I'm the one who didn't even go on a date with a boy in school. In fact, my first date was with Aiden.

Giasemi raises her brow at me. "Weren't you his date to Princess Maria's birthday party?"

"Yes, but only because Sarah refused!"

Her mouth forms an 'O'. "So are Sarah and Aiden a thing? I thought Archer, and she were."

It makes sense that she is asking about Sarah. Their introduction has not been on the best terms.

I sniffle. "No, Aiden and Sarah were not. She liked Archer, but I am not sure she and Archer dated either. I think it was one-sided, but she liked him a lot. She got jealous because Archer offered me a research position at his office, but she is a nice girl. You should talk to Archer once."

She looks at me suspiciously. "You are not trying to help Archer, are you?"

My eyes widen at her words. "No! I mean, why would I? Archer is a mutual friend, but this is not something where you lie. Lies are a poor foundation for any relationship, and I don't want my friends to begin theirs with deceit."

She still doesn't believe me, but she waves her hand and dismisses the topic.

"We are discussing you and Aiden. As for Archer, we will see. I have to talk to him and I will, eventually."

"The key word being eventually," I tease, trying to amuse myself.

I want to relax and be free for a second. I don't want to think of Blood Mafia or even Aiden.

She rolls her eyes at me. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I hear a growl and the door bursts open as I look at the door in surprise.

Archer bursts inside and says, "Thank the goddess, you are here. Aiden has been looking for you."

"Couldn't he just follow his nose?" I ask. This is strange. We are werewolves. Following a scent is as easy as walking.

I am sure he could not mind-link me as I was blocking everyone out for a peace of mind.

"A few servants cleaned the corridor, and it washed away your scent. Come now, quick, before he starts a hunt for you."

He casts a quick glance at Giasemi before dragging me along with him. I do not resist and let him pull me, with Giasemi following us. I turn and look at her for a moment. She smirks as she sees him pulling me.

I shake my head, and soon we are in Aiden's office. My eyes widen when I see the scene in front of me. Henry, Hayden, Billy and a few other weres stand at attention as Aiden glares at them.

It looks like Aiden really threw a tantrum. His gaze finds me and he breathes a sigh of relief. But then he looks at my hands joined with Archer and glares at Archer. Archer drops his hand and steps back, surrendering.

"Out!" Aiden barks and one by one, everyone leaves the office, bowing. He starts walking towards me, but then stops himself. I feel like a naughty kid about to be scolded by their parents.

I am sure Aiden will scold me, but he just asks, "Where were you?"

"With Giasemi."

"Oh, you were here all the time. I thought..." he trails off.

"You thought what?" I ask, now intrigued. What was he thinking that made him so agitated?

"Nevermind," he says, shaking his head and letting out a slight chuckle.

He then looks at me from head to toe. "Maybe you should take a bath and freshen up. Do you want to meet your friend in this attire?"

I glance down and realize that perhaps a tank top and leggings are not an appropriate attire to receive friends in the Were Royal Palace. I sniff myself and discover that I reek of sweat. Scrunching my nose, I nod and go into his room to get refreshed.

I hurry and wash myself and change clothes in a record time before walking out of the room dressed in a white shirt and jeans and find Aiden sitting across from Samuel. Hearing the door open, both of them turned to look at me. Samuel looks confused, while Aiden smirks at me.

I thought I was going to talk to him first. 

'I hope you didn't kidnap him,' I say, through our mind-link.

He chuckles through our link and says, 'No, I just sent Henry to bring him here. He just knows that you wanted to meet him.'

I shake my head and smile at Samuel. He gets up from his chair and comes near me, hugging me briefly, making my eyes widen. He wasn't so amenable the last time we met.

"Aurelia, what a surprise! I was wondering why you weren't visiting the coffee shop anymore."

I hug him back and say, "Work got in the way."

I hear the sound of teeth gritting and see Aiden clenching his jaw. I cringe at the sound and step back. Samuel looks at me, confused again.

"Why didn't you come to meet me? Why didn't you tell me you found your mate?"

"Long story. And you were not so warm when we met last time," I say, pointedly looking at him.

"Sorry. I wasn't doing well. You know. I am better now."

Maybe I should not be so harsh with him. Losing one's mate is hard on anyone. His mate, Emily, was our classmate, and she chose him as her mate. But when she died, he went into a shell and stopped talking to anyone. He changed but now he looks better.

Aiden now gets up from his chair and stops beside me, wrapping an arm around my waist. Sneakily, I elbow him, but he just grunts and does not let go of me.

Samuel grins as he watches Aiden and me. Aiden says, "Please take a seat, Samuel."

Samuel smiles at us and takes a seat while Aiden tugs me along with him and seats me in his chair before dragging another chair and sitting beside me across from Samuel.

'Where should I start and where are the others?'

'You just inform him that some of your friends want to meet you,' Aiden says through the link.

"Umm, hey Samuel, mind if some of my friends join us. I have mentioned about you and they are really interested in meeting you."

Samuel nods his head, saying, "Of course!"

What? How is he agreeing to everything? He should be confused, but he smiles brightly. I frown, but then nod towards Aiden.

The door opens and Archer peeks in. Aiden gives a subtle nod, and he walks in, followed by Henry, Hayden, Billy and another man with blonde hair. They wear masks of smiles, but I see their eyes assess Samuel.

"Samuel, these are my friends. Friends, this is Samuel. My best friend."

They greet him one after the other. However, I feel Aiden forming a group link.

I hear Hayden's voice echoes in my mind. 'Start with his brothers, ma'am. Tell him you ran into one.'

I subtly nod at him. "Sorry for the short notice, Samuel. Actually, me and my friends were hiking in the forest. There we met a man named Charlie Lint. I observed that you both have the same last name. Do you know him?"

Samuel's eyes widen as he gets up from his seat saying, " Charlie, are you sure? Charlie with platinum blonde hair?"

"Yes, Samuel," I say, looking at him and ask, "Do you know him?"

Samuel's mouth drops open as he stutters the words out. "Yes! He is my big brother but I have not met him in a long time. The last time I saw him was a few years ago. So, I don't exactly know how he looks, but his hair color doesn't change, right?"

I nod at him slowly, my shoulders dropping in relief, but Hayden and the other man stiffen as they stare Samuel down.

'He is lying, King. He tried to block it out, but I got a few glimpses of him meeting his brother a few days back. However, I can't say for sure he knows about the Blood Mafia,' Hayden says.

I glance at Giasemi and she too, nods subtly. 'Even I am sensing some lies. He is a human, or at least feels like a human. There's more to him than meets the eye, a certain darkness, and although it should be straightforward, he's somehow blocking me. He is not as native as he is projecting himself to be.'

I stiffen and stare at Samuel, assessing him. Samuel looks at the bookshelf behind us, his brows touching his hairline. He seems to be impressed by what he sees. But there is not an ounce of fear in his body language. Aiden glances at me, raising a brow in question.

'Can we tag him? I mean, keep an eye on his activities. He might meet somebody, or his brother, after this and we can catch him then?' I ask, using my personal link to Aiden.

Aiden purses his lips and then repeats the same words, asking for Hayden's opinion. Hayden agrees to the idea and I look at Samuel, smiling brightly at him, trying to fake it. However, I am both hurt and angry at him. I thought he was my friend.

He won't be let off lightly if he's not a genuine friend. He will have to pay if he is involved with the Blood Mafia.

Word Count: 2191 PROFR