It is none other than Dr. Cyrus. Being invited here means that he has close connections with either the Alpha king or the vampire king or both. I hastily stand, brushing my hands against my thighs, and shake his hand. It is a surprise seeing him here.

"Likewise, sir, pleasure and an absolute surprise," I respond.

"Yes, well, Dr. Rex invited me here, but how are you here?" he asks.

"Of course, Mr. Rex invited my Nana, and I was her plus one," I answer.

I can't call the Alpha king by his title near the humans. Despite being in the pack grounds, the top priority is to make humans feel that there are not so many differences between them and the Supernaturals. Even if they are among the few humans who are aware of us. Understanding dawns on his face, and he smiles.

"I assume Dr. Archer spoke to you about the change of shift. I want to discuss. Mr. Rex informed you about helping us. Can we go somewhere else? I know a corridor that nobody frequents," he whispers.

Mr. Rex? This implies he's knowledgeable of both the corpse and the supernaturals? He knows the Alpha King? Perphaps through Dr. Archer?

I nod and follow him, as he leads us out of the ballroom and into the corridor that we entered. Next: He turns right past a few doors, accessing a different corridor. We walk along it until we reach its end.

"You seem to be familiar with the palace, sir," I say to Dr. Cyrus.

"Yes. I've been visiting this palace for years. I knew Mr. Rex's father too. He was a good friend," he replies.

My brows touch my hairline. I never knew that he was so close to the Were royals. Have I always been in the same circle as the Alpha King unknowingly?

He chuckles at my expression. "Now, about the testing. I hope you know the repercussions. Have you signed the NDA? It is confidential."

"Yes. Ofcourse. And I signed it during the onboarding process," I say, looking him in the eye.

He nods to himself before his mobile rings. He takes it out and glances at the mobile, but then smiles sheepishly at me.

"I have to take this. I will be back. You stay here," he orders before walking down the corridor and exiting the door.

It must have been a private call. Shrugging, I look around the corridor. It is constructed strangely. There are no doors or windows. It has high walls, and a roof made of glass.

In the corridor, lanterns illuminate the way, and the glass roof allows me a clear view of the moon. I gaze moonward, but a burning scent intrudes, making the hair on my nape rise in alarm. Quickly, I turn and search for the source of fire and find that the door leading the corridor is ablaze with fire.

The flames are licking the brown wooden door while black char forms on he white walls as the flames engulf the walls. It creeps towards where I am and smoke spreads throughout the corridor, making me cough.

I gasp for breath as I look around the corridor for escape, but to no use. The only entrance and the exit is the door. I step towards it but sudden ringing noises echo in my head making me step back. They are the sounds of chanting, but I find no one near me.

"Save her!" I hear a lady scream, and I bring my palms to my ears, trying to block the sounds.

I can't catch my breath, and it feels like I'm suffocating. My beast tries to overtake me, but the suppression shot stops us from shifting. I feel my heart racing and look above me. The glass. Maybe I can break it.

But before that I need to inform Nana, "I am stuck in a corridor, help," I cry via our link.

Her fear echoes through our link but I am sure, she will inform someone. But now I need to escape. Taking off my stilettos, I gather all my strength and aim them at the edge of the glass roof. It shatters and I cover my head to protect myself from the shards. They fall all around me and I step forward with my now bare feet as the shards dig into my soles.

I grunt in pain but the open roof lets smoke escape and my breathing eases, but with it increases the volume of sounds echoing in my head. They increase in the volume and I hear another wail.

Feeling of being suffocated returns but I try to overcome it and climb the wall. This time, I feel my heart sprint and tears well in my eyes. I wipe my forehead and my hand comes back wet. A hazy vision of a boiling pot and two women whispering fills my mind, making my legs tremble.

I try to hold on to the wall, but the visions fade and turn into blackness and I feel myself falling. Something cushions my fall and I feel someone holding me as I feel myself going slack.

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

The sound of rumbling breaks through my consciousness. I try to open my eyes, but they don't listen to me. Can't my senses co-operate with me?

My throat is dry as I splutter and gasp, trying to open my mouth and speak. This time my eyes cooperate, but the blinding light stops me from opening them completely. Squinting, I see through the slits and look to my side.

"Oh, Elle. You worried me," my Nana, cries.

By now, my eyes are wide open as I calm her down. "I am fine, but parched. Can I have some water?"

She nods while a glass of water appears from my right. Confused, I look to my right and find the Alpha King to my right. He is still in his tuxedo, but it is burnt and torn in places.

My eyes bulge as I take him in. "King," I bow my head, as I can't curtsy.

He rolls his eyes and pushes the glass of water to me, before grunting and sitting beside me. Taking slow sips, I look around and find I am in an unfamiliar place. However, the luxurious furniture shows that I am still in the palace.

Feeling conscious, I look down on myself and see that I am still in my black dress, but a sheet covers me from the waist down. Once I finish drinking water, I lean to keep it aside but nana, takes it from me and places it on the side table.

I peek at the Alpha King and see him narrowing his eyes at me. Wait, the party. If he is here, who is there? I have disrupted the party.

"Sorry," I mutter.

He sighs and scolds, "You should have been alert. If it wasn't for Dr. Cyrus, we wouldn't have been able to find you."

So Dr. Cyrus told them where I was. I should thank Dr. Cyrus. With my beast suppressed, I was essentially weak and could not climb out of the corridor.

"I am really sorry, King. Dr. Cyrus wanted to talk about testing. We went there, but then he got a call and left. The door caught fire," I try to explain.

He puts his palm up, stopping me.

"The only mistake of yours was to go out. I had a fire break out in my palace when we just signed a treaty. But I think the Blood Mafia did this. They are the ones who lose with this treaty. You should know now how serious this is. Are you sure you want to be mingled up in this?" he asks, something akin to concern in his voice.

"I am," I say, my voice firm.

I feel something is amiss so I voice my doubt.

"Was the corridor the only place where there was fire?" I ask.

The Alpha king nods. Strange. The Blood Mafia is ready to even assault the Were king's palace to sabotage a peace agreement. Was the person who was found dead only a collateral?

Perhaps the person witnessed them doing something shady. That is why they killed him. Or they were just a snack for the Blood mafia.

My head throbs as I try to figure out what's happening.

"Hey Elle, you rest now, dear. Aren't you excited about tomorrow? Your first day at internship. You will figure things out. You always do." Nana calms me, brushing her fingers through my hair in a familiar manner that makes me calm down.

She is right. I always figure out things. I will help the king solve this mystery and then continue my research. Once, a Theta confirmed, I was alright, it was time for us to go.

The Alpha king insisted Henry on accompanying us to our home. He is concerned about Nana's security. In fact, he offered Nana to stay at the palace along with me. But Nana declined him and we returned to our home and tucked in for sleep.

Reporting on the first day of my work goes smoothly. I had to make sure that I sign everyday at the register and submit my readings ato the Lab tech Brock. Dr. Archer and I dived into work and Dr. Cyrus joined us in carrying out the DNA tests.

 One day blends into the other as we busy ourselves, engaging in DNA testing. The number of samples that were collected was just overwhelming. It really was shocking to me and my beast that so many people went missing in the last year. The initial forensic analysis concluded that the male was roughly 20 to 30 years old.

While the technology isn't advanced enough for precise age prediction, a reasonable estimate allowed us to collect samples from parents of missing persons within that age range in the district. After all, distance was not a big thing for us supernatural creatures.

Meanwhile, my beast was growing tired that she could not visit the forest. She understood the seriousness of the situation and obeyed her king's orders, but that did not mean that she could not miss those runs and whine, making me grumpy. 

Dr. Cyrus was late today. Apparently, he had an urgent seminar that he had to attend, which was completely unavoidable. He had also been cracking the metaphorical whip on me since he came to know I was a werewolf.

Just then, Dr. Archer exclaims, "It's a match."

I come out of my thoughts, jerking upright and staring at Dr.Archer. A match means we have a lead. His eyes flash and dilate before focusing on me. He must have mind-linked somebody.

"Sample ID number 5628754. Check the records and find the address," he instructs. I nod at him and run to the records, flickering through the pages.

"Found it!" I shout just as the door slammed open and Alpha King enters the lab. His eyes wander everywhere before coming to rest on me.

"Where?" He growls, his beast flashing in his eyes.

"It's a house. House number 5/6/12, English street," I blurt out.

"Let's go," he commands, and we scramble and speed up to catch up with him. I observe him controlling his pace and trying to keep it human. I metally pat myself on my back, thankful that I aam wearing my black boots and not some heels as I almost sprint behind him. 

As we emerge from the entrance, a car waits for us. He opens the door hastily, glaring at me.

I quickly climb in, not wanting to slow them down, and he climbs in behind me, closing the door with a thud. The car then speeds off, navigating through the lanes and arriving at the address.

All of us step out, and the king still seems agitated. Dr. Archer approaches and puts a hand on his shoulder, calming him down, and we walk towards the door. I reach out and knock at it. No sounds come from inside the house.

'Wait,' the king links and then the both of them go around the house, sniffing.

'Here this way,' Dr. Archer links and I follow his scent. My beast growls as she smells blood, and so does the king standing behind me.

We follow the scent, around the perimeter of the house until we reach a lawn, with a window on the wall. It is broken with shards of glass lying on the sill and the grass. Dr. Archer, steps forward and takes out his kerchief and wraps it over his wrist, then pushes away the shards. He then opens it and gestures to me to go in.

I take a quick glance at the king and lift my left leg over the ledge, lean my head inside and, after finding the footing, bring the other leg inside too.

I move aside to give way to the others while I scrutinize the surroundings. It's a hallway with several doors on one side. The window illuminates the hallway, but I see a door open and that room is pitch black. The walls of the hallway are all bare except for a few flower pots that line them. But those flowers are all dried up and emmit no scents to hide ther rotten scents coming from th door. The entire house is silent and I can't hear anything unusual except for the sound of someone hitting the nail, from the neighbouring house.

I quickly pull king and Dr. Archer into a link and say, 'rotten smell, again.'

They move forward, take a protective stance in front of me and start walking towards the room, making sure their footfalls don't make a sound.

Word Count:  2187 PROFR