As I entered the laboratory the strong scent of chemicals and medicines hit my nostrils. I took in the interior before realizing everyone had left a huge space between me and them, except Veer. He stood just in front of me. I took a deep breath and hid myself behind him. I eyed around the lab and found Ashifa looking intently through the microscope. When she heard our presence, she straightened quickly then came up to greet us. "Beta," she said looking at Neera.

Neera nodded acknowledging her. I studied her carefully, she looked both anxious and surprised for reason. "You'll be surprised," she murmured as her eyes travelled from person to person present in the lab until they settled on me. She flashed a brief smile before turning back towards Neera.

I noticed the ambience of the room suddenly growing serious. Veer took a step ahead and asked brusquely, "What is it?"

Ashifa's gaze focused on Veer, then it strayed on me before returning to Veer again. She seemed to be hesitating.

"What is it?" Veer repeated impatiently.

Ashifa sighed then declared quietly, "I was inspecting the poison for quite some time." She paused momentarily and took a quick glance at me. My heart sank. Was it related to me somehow? My doubt was confirmed shortly. "It is made from a hybrid's blood." My heart sank deeper as she added, "A demon-fae hybrid!"

"What?!" Everyone gasped in the room except me, Neera and Ved. A sudden headache caught on as I held my temples and closed my eyes.

"So, my guess was right. It's him. Mythia is making a grave mistake by letting him loose." Ved commented in a stern voice. Veer immediately shifted his gaze towards his twin. Ved was about to say something but paused as both of them stood there motionless for a couple of seconds, looking at each other. It seemed they were having a conversation through the eyes. Then it struck. They were actually communicating psychically. Wow! Could I do that too? I kept discovering new things about the weres in every few hours and they were driving me nuts.

"This is a serious issue," Trilok murmured. "We must inform Alpha."

"I already heard."

Everyone's eyes snapped towards the door where the silhouette of the Alpha stood tall. Maya entered the room and strode in front of everyone. As she reached the examining desk she halted and turned back facing everyone. Ashifa made an eye contact with me before coming forward and stood beside Maya.

Neera spoke calmly. "Alpha, what do you make of it?"

Maya took a quick glance at Neera before fixing her eyes on the twins. "Your coronation is going to be held soon. So technically, you two are the future alphas of Bloodcrown. I'll leave this matter on to you two."

"Alpha..." Ved breathed out, shocked, while his twin exclaimed, "Granny! Alpha! What are you saying? We can't..."

"Yes, you can. You're my heirs. So, you have the full discretion to investigate this case. Besides, I need to stay back at the packhouse to supervise the pack's safety. I can't be everywhere at the same time. Start taking responsibilities, you two."

Both the twins frowned, but refrained themselves from saying anything.

Meanwhile, I felt a gradually increasing pain in my stomach. I clutched my stomach, unnoticed by everyone and bit my lower lip to keep myself from squealing out loud.

Neera said, "But we are already dealing with a hybrid. Who's this other one?"

"That too a demon-fae hybrid. This is dangerous," Trilok mumbled gruffly. "I suggest Veer to go and investigate it personally. Noraak is getting stronger day by day. If he's able to open up the portal of demon kingdom, I can't even think what'll happen!" He clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. A shadow of fear crossed his face immediately.

Maya said, "The annual meeting of the prime packs is going to be held next month. I want Ved and Veer to attain the meeting as Bloodcrown pack's representatives and Alphas. For that the coronation ceremony must be performed as soon as possible." She turned towards Trilok and Neera. "Get everything ready. I have a hunch something is on the stake of danger. So, the pack needs their new alphas as soon as possible. I might not be able to control it."

"Alpha! Please don't say that!"

"No, how can you say that? You're the best alpha our pack ever had."

"Alpha, please. You need not to..."

"No." Maya raised her hand, silencing everyone. "Listen to me. You are ready to become alphas and take the responsibilities. Alpha was never my position in the first place. It was your grandpa's. But I took the responsibilities after him as your father could not because of his heart's condition. I did not run away from alpha's responsibilities. You also cannot run away from the responsibilities. It's time that you acknowledge them and act accordingly." She paused momentarily before adding, "And Alpha is just not a rank, it's an honor. You must keep that honor intact. Right?" She asked, but did not wait for anyone's response as she continued. "Besides, I want to focus on other issues from now on. For example, the home ground is not safe anymore. Young girls are missing every day, and the demon is roaming freely. I must do something about it immediately."

Everyone remained silent. Meanwhile, Maya shifted her gaze on Ashifa and inquired, "Is there any similarities between Noraak's poison and this one?"

Ashifa took a quick glance at Maya, before nodding her head.

"Just as I suspected."

Maya ordered Veer solemnly, "I want you to go immediately to the fae kingdom and have a word with Mythia." She averted her gaze at Neera and added, "And the alpha ceremony must be done before that."

Neera nodded. "I'll arrange for the ceremony right away."

"Also, the ordeal for the next beta..."

I couldn't hear anymore as the pain in my stomach blinded me. I saw white as I clutched my belly tightly. My knees buckled and I fell on the floor.

Others didn't get enough time to understand what's going on as I gritted my teeth. "My stomach... the pain... is increasing... I..." I couldn't finish as a sour metallic taste burst inside my mouth. A thick liquid oozed out from the corner of my lips as I felt nauseous. The whole laboratory started spinning around me.

"Urvi!" Veer cried out my name the same time I fell limp against someone close by.

My eyes squeezed shut as the pain increased. I felt someone lifting me up and rushed out of the lab. A moan of desperation left my mouth when I figured someone was carrying me. I clutched the fabric of his shirt as my eyes closed. I fluttered my eyes open and figured I was carried on through the corridor.

I didn't know what happened in the meantime, but when I opened my eyes next, I felt dazed. I was constantly slipping into and out of consciousness. The pain in my stomach was unbearable as I struggled to tolerate the cramps.

"Urvi?" Someone called out my name, but I couldn't recognize who it was. I clutched onto my belly and whimpered in pain. "Mhmmhm"

"Hang in there!"

I didn't know how long it took for them to bring to the hospital but the next time when my senses and intellect aligned, I shuddered and howled to the excruciating pain in my stomach. Something immediately pushed inside my mouth and stirred to life. It vibrated and made a buzzing noise. Vaguely, I recognized it as a tube-like instrument. Due to the suction, it caused, I gagged, coughed, then threw up. I continued coughing and threw up more metal-tasted liquid. It went on forever until I felt several pinch on my arm.

Because of the pain, my eyes were scrunched shut, but the awful treatment made me shot open my eyes again. I saw the white ceiling above and several faces around me. But I couldn't recognize any of them. I tried to move my limbs but they were held captive tightly. I couldn't move. My vision blurred as a white-hot pain shot through my stomach reaching my chest. With all my strength, I screamed in agony moments before everything blacked out.

~~~

Several hours later, I got my senses back when I felt it was cool and damp beneath my body. The wet smell of covered my senses as I came to consciousness. The cool air felt stagnant as I whiffed in deeply. I took some deep breaths before my eyes opened slowly. Blinking a couple of times to adjust my vision, I slowly sat up.

I had no idea how I ended up amidst a lush green, dense alpine forest. I whirled around and saw nothing but tall, robust trees all around me. But I was yet to receive the big blow. Instinctively, I lowered my head and shrieked at the sight. Two red giant paws were beneath my body. Panicked, I turned my head from side to side hastily, struggling to take a look at myself. All I saw was thick and fluffy crimson fur. A bushy tail was wagging at the rear, ultimately frightening me more as I jumped in alarm and trotted a few steps back.

'Mani, is it you?' I asked to my wolf.

And she squealed in joy. 'Yes. Thank you for letting me out.'

I relaxed acknowledging her enthusiasm before I started strolling around aimlessly. 'Where exactly are we?' I asked again.

'Home.' Was her vague response.

Suddenly, the stagnant air stirred around me. Leaves rustled as the wind rolled by my ears just before a sweet aroma hit my nose. My nostrils flared as I tried to recognize the scent. It wasn't the smell of burning metal and camphor, but a sweet zesty smell which was coming from the south-east. I moved towards that direction.

After running for short while, I found the same clearing I had seen twice in my dream, but this time there was no black misty whirlwind. Instead, I found some gorgeous creature standing at the edge of the cliff. Taking a closer look, I realized it was a fae. She was covered in a glowing white mist and wore a yellow flowy summer dress, which was extremely dissimilar to what I saw faes wear the last time I encountered them in the woods. Her head-dress was elegant looking, made from yellow wildflowers and bejeweled creepers. Her huge yellow-sparkling-translucent wings were spread out behind her back. Although I couldn't see her face, I knew she was beautiful because the sweet aroma that was coming from her was entrancing.

At the noise, she turned her head to the side and waved towards us.

I flinched and felt someone kissing me on my forehead. The tingling sensation of the kiss sent calm all over me. I felt the warm touch as someone grazed my hair gently. Their soft lips left several feathery kissed on my forehead, eyes, cheeks, nose, until it lightly brushed my lips. I shivered slightly before blinking open my eyes just then. The light of the room tortured my vision as I tried to adjust it to the brightness blinking several times. A while later, I could focus on the face hovering over me.

"How are you?" He asked gently.

My throat was dry. I lifted my hands up and touched my throat, several thin pipes came along with it. "Water," I croaked.

He reached for the glass of water kept on the bedside table and brought it near my mouth. I lifted my heavy head a little and sipped on it a little.

"What happened? And..." I lifted up my hand again and pointed at the pipes attached to my hand, "What are these?"

Veer answered, "Noraak's poison had hit you in stomach. Although you fought it well, it had weakened your system. But don't worry. The doctors have made you puke up all the bad blood from your system. You'll recover completely in two days." He got up and went closer to the door.

"Veer," I called out.

He turned back and focused his eyes on me attentively. "Yes?"

I hesitated under his undivided attention. "What... I... I mean...you..." I wanted to ask him about the 'mate' thing Mani had told me at the forest. I didn't understand it's meaning fully but I had an abstract idea about it, and I was feeling abashed accepting the same. I wanted to confirm whether what I assumed was the reality of the situation. But I couldn't form words to say it aloud.

His brows creased. "If you cannot form a question, how can I possibly answer?"

Despite understanding his rational words, I kept struggling, "Why...we were...I mean, before the faes, no!" I shook my head, "I mean, the faes attacked...in the forest...you, no!" I shook my head again, "I mean we..."

"Stop! Stop! Hey..." He took a few long strides and reached my side before reaching forward and touched my head. "Don't stress too much. We'll talk later."

I looked into his eyes and he smiled warmly. I couldn't pin point what exactly but there was something unusual about his eyes. But when he touched my cheek and lightly patted on it, a burst of calm washed over me. I wasn't sure if it was him intentionally manipulating my energies or I was feeling some euphoria voluntarily.

But it felt good. Safe.

Then I remembered something important.

"Veer," I said. "I think I saw something..." He looked concerned as he withdrew his hand. I hesitantly added, "Someone."

His brows curled up as he waited for me to continue.

I gazed at him for a couple of seconds, unsure of how to say it. Then a sigh left me as I blinked and averted my gaze. "I saw my inner space, and I think, Noraak has somehow invaded it illicitly."

"What?" He said in disbelief. I looked up and stared at him. His pursed lips thinned as his unique green eyes glimmered in the light.

I nodded once, noticing how mad he looked at the news. He clenched his jaws at my confirmation then in a blink of an eye, stormed out of the room.

This must be some serious issue. What else I need to know now?