"Aiden is missing," Archer says, his eyes red.

He is breathing hard, his chest heaving, sweat dripping from his brow, no doubt from the running. I feel like the earth is now spinning on a different axis. My mate. The Alpha King. Missing.

How is it even possible? How can the Alpha King be missing?

"What?" I stutter, unable to comprehend what he is saying. No. That can't be true. This must be one of Archer's jokes.

"Haha. Pretty amusing, Archer," I say to him, shaking my head at him, but his silence speaks volumes as his lips turn downward into a frown.

Seriousness drips off his tone. "It is not a joke, Aurelia."

I flinch and look at him in shock. "You are serious," I say it more to myself and he nods at me.

I feel my fingers trembling as I look at Archer and comprehend his words. My beast caresses my mind, soothing me before my fear turns into rage. My beast roars inside my head, and the reaction is so forceful that I shake with anger.

Red clouds my vision as I snarl, "How can the Alpha King be missing? He practically has an army of guards with him!"

"They are all missing, or maybe kidnapped. I think it was all a trap. Samuel was the bait."

I stiffen at his words. Samuel. "Then what are you doing, wasting time talking with me? Why aren't you searching?" I shout.

Archer winces at my tone. "I can't go after him."

I squint my eyes at him and he says, "Well, I can, but we aren't able to trace him. Aiden's watch, which is usually used to track him, is not active," he says, and I notice the sorrow he hides behind his calm exterior.

Ofcourse. Aiden was not just the Alpha King. He was his best friend.

"Maybe trackers can help?" I say, trying to control my anger.

There must be someway by which we can track him. Our fight can't be the last words that we have spoken to each other.

He was saying something. So many unsaid words, hidden emotions. Confessions. I can't lose him like this.

"No leads so far." He shakes his head in disappointment.

Remorse and disappointment wash over me as I drop to the ground, palms on my knees. How is this possible? Is the Blood Mafia so powerful they can kidnap the King of werewolves?

But what will they get from kidnapping him? My head throbs with pain and suddenly darkness fills my vision and my wrists ache with pain. I rub them and scratch them, but no use.

Wait, this is not my pain. It is Aiden's. Even if we have not bonded, his pain is reaching me. I gasp and try to mind link him, but fail.

Something is blocking me. Perhaps wolfsbane that stops us from linking or the darts that suppressed me. It could be anything.

Archer crouches beside me and looks at me questioningly. "I felt Aiden's pain. He is bound by silver. My wrists ache."

Archer's eyes widen at me, but then he nods and says, "What should we do?"

I look up at him, my brows furrowed with bewilderment. As I stare around find many eyes are peering me. I am taken aback by the intensity of their gazes.

All I manage is, "Huh?"

Archer purses his lips at me and asks, "What is our next plan of action?"

My confusion grows as I scrunch my nose and look at him.

"Why are you asking me? Shouldn't you be the one who decides, being the Royal beta and all?"

He nods at my words and a sense of relief washes over me, but it is short-lived as his words shake me to the core. "You are right, but only if there was no Alpha Queen. But you being here makes you in charge."

"But Aiden and I haven't mated!" I hiss.

Despite the tense atmosphere, I feel warmth rush to my cheeks. I will not elaborate. Not to Archer. Not to anyone. This is something between Aiden and me and not meant for other's ears.

Archer's lips turn up slightly but his eyes are full of compassion as he says, "Aiden clearly stated that you were going to be in charge if something happened."

He mind-links me and says, 'In fact, he has a will in place. You are the Heir.'

'When did this happen?'

'A few days ago.' Archer looks at me, his lips pursed, as he lets me process the news.

This piece of information shocks me as I feel my eyes going wide. Aiden has really accepted our bond. Even when I have been stubborn and not let him in. He doesn't really care about my abnormal nature.

'Why did he go? Why not let someone else trail Samuel?' I ask Archer.

'To avoid the potential injustice of wrongly accusing Samuel, he decided to be extra careful. He knew Samuel was your only friend. He was looking out for you.'

That... Man. My beast soothes me, yet she pines for her mate. She wants Aiden back by her side and, for the first time in many days, I agree with her. We are going to bring Aiden back.

"What was his last known location? And where is Samuel?" I growl.

Archer gets up and says, "Samuel is not traceable either."

Samuel will have to pay for this. But the question is, what is his motive? I will have to find out about that. But right now, Aiden is the focus. Rescuing him.

"No scents?" I ask and Archer nods, his jaw tight as he grinds his teeth.

He is not pleased with the turn of events, either.

"They are using scent masking spray and most probably suppression shots on him, too."

Suddenly, whispers fill the room and only then does it come to my attention that we have an audience. I can't be weak. I won't. Taking a deep breath, I rise from my crouched position on the floor.

All the weres in the room look at me in confusion. "It's a formula developed to suppress werewolf traits and the spray. Well, it absorbs the scents," I elaborate, trying to explain to them.

So trackers, or Zetas we call them, won't be able to track him. No were on earth can trace without a scent. Wait, no were can trace but the Fae can.

But Aura tracing is time-taking, and it might alert them once we are in the vicinity. There must be some other way. Giasemi might have some ideas.

"Giasemi. She can help us," I say to Archer.

Archer nods and looks at a man standing near the door. The man rushes out the door and in a few minutes, the door bursts open and Giasemi enters the room.

She looks around the room and then at Archer for a moment before her gaze lands on me.

"We need to trace Ai.., Alpha King. He ..." I start only to be cut off by her.

She sports a sympathetic expression on her face. Well, soon, she will be sympathetic to those who captured Aiden.

"I know. You don't need to fill me in. I am so sorry. I read Archer's aura."

Archer looks at her in astonishment.

"You can trace him by his aura, right? And I don't mean the conventional route where we follow his aura. There must be some other way."

"Well, I can send an aura ripple, but if his wolf is suppressed, it might not work. It will be like trying to tune into a weak radio signal. My connection with the Alpha King is not strong enough."

Oh, No. Aiden. We need to save him. If she can't trace him, how will we track him down? I punch the wall beside me in anger.

"Maybe you can, Aurelia," Giasemi says, worry lacing her tone.

I look at Giasemi with hope filling my eyes. "But it will be difficult. And doing it here will drain you."

"I don't care. Tracking him is important."

Right now, I will do anything to find him. There is no choice. In fact, there was no need for a choice ever.

"If that's the case, we better be as close to nature as possible. Come on, I will teleport you and Archer. Tell the others to prepare for some cars to travel. This should only take a few minutes."

I nod at her as she comes to stand beside me and Archer, her palms outstretched. I nod and close my palm over hers, extending the other to Archer. He looks at us in confusion, but I jerk my head towards my palm.

Confused, he places his left palm on mine and his right in Giasemi. I feel Giasemi shiver for a bit. She must be reacting to physical contact with her mate.

Her reaction reminds me of Aiden. The morning after he found out we were mates, he didn't really shy away from showing affection. He had caressed my cheek, making me shiver.

The familiar feeling of losing weight brings me to the now as we float and then disappear altogether for others' eyes before we whoosh past the walls on the grounds. The moon is glowing. It is not a full moon day, but it's close since the moon's light illuminates the grounds.

Archer gasps for breath as our feet touch the ground. He groans, "I need water."

Huh. Maybe I am getting used to this Fae thing. That is why I am not affected as much as Archer is. Giasemi rolls her eyes and drops into an Indian squat as she floats in the air. She didn't even sit on the ground before starting her float. I wonder when I will reach that level, but this is not the time or place to think about these things.

Right now, Aiden needs me, and he is my sole focus. I mimic Giasemi and sit on the grass before floating. I close my eyes and feel Giasemi's voice echoing in my mind.

'Can you feel the aura of the surroundings?'

Yes. I think in my mind, knowing that Giasemi can hear.

'Picture it flowing into you.'

I take a deep breath and the haze of brightly lit star-like points fills my vision. I do as she says and try to imagine all the auras around me flowing into me.

It works. I feel all the greens from the trees and grass flowing into me. But something surprises me. I feel as if the moon is flowing into me. My skin feels hot wherever the moonlight touches me.

It is akin to the feeling that I had the day when I tried my healing on Archer. Only the flow is into me and not out of me.

My beast growls in my mind as hair sprouts all over me, but I am not in my complete Lycan form. I still feel my nose and not a snout.

I open my eyes and see that I am covered with fur and that my hands have turned into claws. She smiles encouragingly at me and I hear shuffling all around me but keep my focus fixed on her.

'Now reach into your bond with Aiden and imagine projecting yourself into it, but remember leaving a part of your aura in your body.'

Huh. How can I project and leave at the same time?

'Imagine that all of your body is flowing except for one part.'

Now I am more confused than before. How can my body float? She makes no sense.

'Ok. Imagine the aura in your body flowing except a small part. If you project your entire aura, you will die, as your soul will also flow out of it. Your Aura tethers your soul.'

Oh. But how do I leave a part behind?

'Hmm. Maybe I should explain it in more humane terms. Do you know the Achilles heel myth?' she asks.

The one where his mother dipped him into the River Styx? I have not learnt the art of Blocking Aura reading and I am sure she can hear my thoughts.

'Yes. It tethered his soul. Now you can imagine one part of your aura, just about a fist tethered to your body. That way, your soul shall remain in your body while your aura travels.'

This feels so much like Percy Jackson right now, but I have to do as she says. It is the only way to save Aiden.

'Focus,' Giasemi says in my mind.

Internally sighing, I do as she says. I do as she says and imagine my aura going into our bond. However, I tether a part of my aura just to the side of my heart in my body and start projecting.

My aura trickles slowly into our bond, like a small stream of water initially. But as I focus more, it gushes like a river into my bond with Aiden until I feel a barrier like a dam that obstructs it from flowing. It's a one-way street between him and me. I feel like he could come to me, yet I'm unable to go to him.

My focus shatters as I gasp a breath out. My aura returns to my body.

'What happened? Why did I sense something blocking you?'

I don't know.

'Hmm. Have you accepted him as your mate verbally?'

Her words make my eyes go wide. Of course. That's why it was a one-way street. Because I haven't accepted him.

I didn't accept him for his own safety. My beast reminds me, I am only kidding myself and I have wanted to accept my bond with him from the moment I realised he was my mate.

I am tired of putting him at an arm's width. It is time I accepted him. He was right. From the moment we met, it was inevitable. That is why I trusted him the day he gave me a lift. That is why I always felt a pull towards him. A pull that I could never understand.

But my fear came in the way. But no more will it stop me from accepting him. Accepting our bond. Nodding my head at Giasemi, I close my eyes and imagine him standing in front of me and pouring all my heart into our bond as my lips whisper the words. "Mine."

Suddenly, I feel like I can breathe. A burden of thousands of kilos has lifted off from my shoulders. I didn't realize the toll it was taking on me while I was still in denial. I feel Aiden stirring over our bond. He must have felt it.

Now, even his presence feels like fire. A fire that engulfs my entire brain. Its flames lick my doubts away and suddenly I feel complete.

But then my beast nudges me, bringing me back to reality. Finding Aiden is our top priority. I take a deep breath and squat before levitating and once again focusing on our bond and pouring my aura and my heart into it.

This time, I don't feel any blockage and I feel my aura flooding into what seems to be an ocean. Aiden's ocean of Aura crashes into me, but soon our Auras mix and I feel him, his breathing.

However, I can't feel his thoughts. He is unconscious. I am lost now and don't know what to do. All I can feel and see is darkness as I float through his mind. At least that's what I think.

But then I hear Giasemi's voice in my head. 'Stand and walk out of the darkness.'

Just as she says it, I see a sharp point of bright red light. I get up from my squat and walk towards it. It is far, so I start into a jog which eventually turns into a run.

Touching the light feels like emerging from the depths of the ocean, gasping for breath.

Word Count: 2568 PROFR