"Our captive is dead. They discovered him dead in his prison cell," he grumbles, his eyes flashing with his wolf.

My eyes widen as I take in his words. The only lead we had was now dead.

"Come on, let's get out of this place. I can't be here any longer. I am needed at home," he spits, teeth still clenched in anger. He places his hand on the middle of my back and gently pushes me forward.

For some reason, my beast relishes the proximity but I don't dwell much. I nod as he drags me towards the car, where it is waiting for us. He jerks the door open and glares at me, urging me to get inside.

I scramble into the backseat of the car, and the door shuts. Aiden steps in through the other door. The other door clicks shut and I glance to my side, finding the gift box resting on the seat.

He glares at the gift box. He leans forward, picks it up and drops the gift onto the passenger seat before leaning back into his seat and loosening his tie and unlinking his cufflinks.

I haven't seen him so furious, and the power he is projecting in his anger is almost suffocating. He leans his head back on the seat, takes a few more breaths before looking at me.

"I am sorry, Aurelia. I know I have been vague. It's just that I don't like the scent of fae. The Fae king was persuading me to marry Maria. I was vexed. It was why I needed a date."

I feel my eyes widen as I understand the meaning behind his words. No wonder, the Fae queen was glaring at me.  Some unknown emotion stirs in my heart and my beast is annoyed. She dislikes Maria, and does not like her pairing uo with Aiden. I shake my head off these thoughts. My beast has gone mad.

"You could have told me earlier," I say, pursing my lips.

"No, the Fae can read emotions very well. Be it human, were, vampire, or mer."

"Mer?" I ask, my brows furrowing.

"Yes, Mer-people."

"You mean mermaids?" I ask as I process this information. I knew of the Fae, but mermaids? Who knew?

"That's the human term. Only a few supernaturals know about them. Those who live near water know."

"Ooh, wait, marry Maria. Isn't she a fae, and you a were? Will the Council of Supernaturals agree? They are a bit old-fashioned, aren't they?" I ask, curiosity lacing my tone.

"Yes, but you know how rare it is to find fate mates. Many live happily with their chosen mates. The Fae King wanted me to choose Maria as my Chosen. I figured he'd be upset to see us together, but he actually seems to like you," he groans.

"Well, yes. Who doesn't like me? I am charming," I joke, attempting to lighten his spirits.

He lets out a slight chuckle, a dimple popping on his left cheek that I didn't know existed. "I wanted to talk more, Aurelia, but this is not the time. I have to focus. Mind-link. Sorry. Duty calls."

"Aiden, one moment, please?" He purses his lips at me but nods, urging me to continue with his gestures.

"How was the vampire dead? I mean, it is a prison in the royal palace, and..."

Aiden lets out a deep sigh. "That vampire committed suicide. You are aware of how difficult it is to kill a supernatural being. He repeatedly hit his head, causing a fatal injury that led to his death from blood loss and dehydration. He just kept saying one thing repeatedly. Save Leah. Save Leah."

Leah. Strange coincidence. Samuel calls me Leah. Samuel. Well, he is a story for another time. I shake off my thoughts.

"Leah. Who is Leah?" I ask.

"Who knows? We are investigating. Someone has to pay for this," he growls out the words, his entire body vibrating with anger.

He takes a calming breath again and then turns to look ahead of him and closes his eyes, but still sits straight. I think he is mind-linking.

I turn and look out the car's window as I think about today. Aiden, Maria, Gift, and now Leah. Whoever she is, she is not safe.

Everything is so complex. Like a puzzle. But I don't know how the pieces fit together. If the Fae King wanted Aiden to marry Maria, why were they so warm and welcoming to me? Where does the gift fit into all of this?

The driver navigates the roads effortlessly and I notice that it's late in the evening. We must be reaching home soon. I slip into my thoughts, wondering about my beast's strange reactions towards Aiden. Aiden moves my shoulder, snapping me out of my reverie.

"We're home. See," he says, pointing his finger toward the window.

"Oh, I was so absorbed in my thoughts."

He looks at me disapprovingly. I purse my lips in response and exit the car. He steps out, grabbing the gift from the front seat and handing it over to me, his arms stretched.

"Thank you, Aurelia. You saved me tonight. But we still have a lot to discuss." He smirks at the end and holds the gift toward me.

I reach out and take the box from him. Our fingers brush slightly. My beast purrs on the contact and I feel something tugging at my heart.

He then reaches up and puts a strand of hair behind my ear, then leans in to whisper in my ear, his hands on my shoulders. "See you soon, Elle."

What did he call me? Elle? How does he know about that nickname? Only Nana calls me that. Is it a coincidence, or has Nana spilled the beans again? I narrow my eyes at him as he chuckles taking in my expression before turning to his car and getting into it.

I hear the engine rumble as his driver goes out of my line of sight and turns into the road that leads to the pack village. Shaking my head, I open the door to find Nana sitting on the sofa in the living room.

"Nana, haven't you slept yet?" I ask.

She nods a no and stands up before replying, "I was waiting for you, my dear Elle."

She stresses the word ELLE and I glare daggers at her pursing my lips.

"That's hilarious, Nana. Were you watching me?"

She lifts one shoulder and drops it, but red creeps onto her cheeks. I roll my eyes at her and sigh, wagging my head in a play of disappointment.

"You need to grow up, Nana. It is not good for kids to stay awake for so long," I say, teasing her.

"No, you need to grow up, my dear."

She steps in front of me and caresses my head before ruffling my hair and going to her room, leaving me alone in the darkness.

I laugh, shaking off her words and walk toward my room to freshen up. Soon, I wash my face before sitting in front of the mirror and running my comb through my hair. I wince when I can't get my comb through a difficult tangle. I yank the comb, and pain throbs in my head, with a few strands coming loose from my head.

My beast huffs in annoyance. According to her, hair is so overrated. It should cover the body, much like her fur, and provide warmth and comfort. Not to be a burden on the head. In her view, humans are strange.

With tangle-free, I put my comb on top of the dresser and looked in the mirror. The mirror reflects a smiling lady, her cheeks flushed with warmth. However, my gaze lands on the gift box lying on my study table opposite the mirror.

I feel my nose scrunching as I think about what happened today. Is it more shocking that the fae royals were so kind, or that Aiden calmed down when I touched him?

The soothing effect between non-mates is limited to family and close friends. I am friends with Aiden, of course, but it has just been a few days since I have known him. Our bond is not that strong, or technically, it should not be, at least.

Shaking my head at those thoughts, I turn to look at the box, scrutinizing it. It looks small.

As I approach the box, anticipation churns in my stomach. What would the box contain? How much do the Fae know about me? I don't think it will be jewellery. If it were, the box should have been smaller. But it does not fit in my palms. It is bigger than that. So, not a ring.

Not a necklace either, as the box is not slender or rectangular. I did not think about the gift much. The Fae royals knew about me, but they did not rat me out to Aiden, either. Strange.

It is square—I mean, a cube—wrapped in white gift paper with a red bow on top. I reach out to take it in my hands. It fits in both of my hands, but I can't hold it in one hand.

Gently, I shake the box. Something rattles inside, but it is mild. Pursing my lips and scrunching my brows in concentration, I pinch one ribbon of the bow in my fingers and pull, making it fall open.

Locating the edge of the gift paper, I tear it to reveal a metal container. It looks like a blood transport box. So, do they know about my research, too? If yes, then how? There is no logical explanation for this. Do they have premonitions?

I open the lid to find two blood samples. Two long, cylindrical tubes with the labels fae blood and mer on them. Shock holds me rooted to the spot. How do they know I will need it? I was contemplating the ways to collect the samples.

Now, I have a were sample and a fae sample, as well as a mer sample. Mermaids or Merpeople. Mermaids was a human term. That was what Aiden said.

If I could just have a vampire blood sample, things would be easier. Wait. Maybe I have. That day when we went to the house. A memory comes to my mind. When I hit the vampire, blood splattered on my shirt.

Not to raise any suspicion in the lab, Aiden and Archer had dropped me home to change before dropping me back at the lab. The jacket must be in the laundry bin.

I feel my breath quicken as anticipation fills my veins and I keep praying to the Moon Goddess. Please for once, let Nana be lazy and not wash my jacket. I dash through my bedroom door and almost jump down the stairs as I duck into the laundry room.

I pounce on the bin and throw the clothes away that are not my jacket until I find it at the bottom of the bin.

My lips turn up in a grin as I look at the patch of blood on the collar. DNA can exist for up to five weeks. As it is supernatural blood, DNA can last long. I just need to find a suitable form of extraction.

I feel my heart fill with giddiness as I jump on my toes. I glance toward the clock and find it's ten in the evening. Just a few more hours, and I will be in the lab.

Thinking of ways to avoid Brock, the lab tech, I put the clothes back into the bin. Once I am done, I rush back to my room and get ready for work.

..................

I have a head start, as Brock comes around six in the morning. Quickly, I scrape some blood off the jacket and take out the tubes before performing cell lysis and keeping the samples in the incubator.

I switch on my work computer and start my official research. The incubator pings, reminding me to take out the sample and do centrifugal analysis, separating DNA from the blood.

After spooling the samples, I conduct spectrophotometry and extract the data, and download the DNA sequences.

Now, all I need to do is extract homologous DNA from each sample and compare it. I glance at the time on my computer. It is almost time for Henry's arrival. But I just need a few minutes more.

If I were a human, I would have needed at least an hour. It's a long process, but my heightened senses and fast responses help. My left foot taps on the ground as I skim through the sequences, download the required part into another file linked to my personal account, and store it there.

I am just about to compare them when I hear the door creak open. I'm backing up my data to the server as I switch windows.

"Hi Aurelia. How's the work?" Brock comes to stand beside me, leaning on my table and glancing at my screen.

I smile in response and shift, covering the screen. "Ah, the usual, thanks." I reply.

He gives me a nod, grinning at me before walking to his station. He takes out a few registers and starts scrawling while glancing at his computer. However, I see him glancing at me from time to time. Too risky. I can't do the comparison before him. It will raise suspicions.

Internally groaning, I switch to the work account and delete the data on the server. Getting back to work, I swiftly finished today's assignment. It is not challenging, but it has a profound impact, helping cancer patients.

I glance at the screen, noting the time before making sure Brock is not looking at me. His focus on the registers gives me the chance to log out of my server and erase the history. I wish Brock were late. I would have wrapped up the comparison.

Now I have to wait for twenty-four hours. Only if I had an NGS platform lying around. However, it's costly and difficult to attain. Not without filing heaps of paperwork.

Sighing, I pack my things in a trance. I am counting the seconds until tomorrow's shift.

Word Count: 2264 PROFR