"Lydia worked for the government, alright," Arthur said, looking at his phone with a cold smile. "She was a CIA agent."

Lillian's head snapped up, her wolf's ears twitching. A CIA agent? Lillian had known Lydia's occupation wouldn't be something as mundane as a clerk. But a CIA agent?

She cocked her head at Arthur. He scrolled through his phone, his eyes narrowed. "After she presumably retired, she worked as a 'treasure hunter.'"

"A treasure hunter?" Elle asked, stepping out of the house to stand next to her mate.

"That's code for rogue hunting," Arthur said, glancing at Noah and Lillian. "Human government agencies have been going after rogue immortals for as long as I can remember."

"Why?" Elle asked, her hand on her sword. "I thought only the Order had the authority to hunt down rogues."

"Yes. Treasure hunting is illegal, but humans never cared for following laws that aren't beneficial to them. They want immortals to study and experiment on in order to find out more about us. And rogues, especially weak ones, are often a convenient target. No one misses them, no one will start asking around about some rogues if they're not causing trouble."

Lillian whined and shook her head. The thought that Lydia was responsible for such things made her heart ache. Noah made a noise at the back of his throat and stepped close to her, his side brushing hers.

Arthur looked at Lillian. "This information is certain. Lydia Harrison worked as a treasure hunter after retiring as a CIA agent. But this is where it gets interesting. Five years ago, she went under the radar."

Five years ago. That was around the time she came into Lillian's life. Lillian's blood ran cold.

"Our guess is that she was tasked with some sort of mission," he continued. "Probably something that ran long term and required she go off the radar."

Elle pursed her lips and looked at Lillian. "Do you think she knew about you when she approached you?"

Lillian sat down under the shade of the big oak. Had Lydia known about Lillian? Was that why she approached her? But it didn't make sense. Lydia had never done anything to hurt Lillian or the twins. She'd protected them until her dying breath.

Maybe it was all a big coincidence, but even as she thought that, she knew it was unlikely.

Lillian's wolf dug her claws in the ground. She didn't like this. She didn't like this at all.

"A treasure hunter," Elle mumbled. "I never knew such a thing existed."

Treasure hunter.

Lillian cocked her head to the side. A memory nipped at the edges of her mind, just out of reach. She looked at the ground, trying to pull on the skein of that thought.

Treasure hunting.

It popped in her head, suddenly clear as day. The memory of coming back from work to find the twins covered in dirt and Lydia coming in from the backyard with a small shovel.

"Mommy! We buried a treasure under the tree!" Elijah's excited voice announced. Lydia had laughed and shaken her head at the twins.

"It was supposed to be a secret, Elijah," she said, her smile deepening the lines on her kind face.

"Oh! Sorry," Elijah's wide eyes.

"But you always tell us not to keep secrets from mommy," Ezra said, looking at Lydia with big blue eyes.

"I do, don't I?" Lydia had patted the twins' head. "Well, then. I guess your mommy can know this secret, then."

Lillian's wolf started digging where she stood. She had thought the twins and Lydia were simply playing, that they had buried something silly like a toy or a bone. It could still be nothing. But her instincts said otherwise.

"Lillian, what is it?" Noah asked, his big black wolf coming to stand by her.

"The twins and Lydia buried something under the tree once," Lillian replied, her claws digging through the rough ground.

Without a word, Noah picked a spot a few feet away from her and put his claws to use.

Arthur and Elle understood and joined them. Lillian dug, wondering how deep she'd have to go before changing the spot.

It was Elle who found it.

"Something here," she called from around the tree. Noah and Lillian were beside them in a second. Elle's nails were sharp claws encrusted with dirt.

She pushed the soil away, wiping the surface of what looked like a metallic box. But they couldn't edge it out, it was bigger than the hole Elle had dug.

"Excuse me, my love," Arthur said. Elle sat back. Lillian felt a sniff of what she realized was Arthur's magic, dark and impossibly strong. The box shook and wiggled out of its spot, lifting with it dirt and grass. Arthur put the box on the ground and rapped his knuckles on its top.

It was around forty inches in length and half as wide. A thick metallic lock sealed the lid to the box.

"It's locked," Elle rattled the lock. Arthur closed his fist around the lock and put his other hand on the box, holding it in place. He pulled on the lock and it came apart with a groaning noise. The lid sprang open.

"It's not anymore," Arthur said, throwing the lock aside.

Right. Note to self: locks don't stop immortals.

"Showoff," Elle muttered.

They all peered inside the box. A red toy truck sat atop a stack of documents, next to a USB key and a worn-out notebook.

Arthur picked up the notebook and ruffled through it. His brows raised. "Well, I guess we found what the immortals were looking for."

Noah put his hand on Lillian's shoulder. They'd gone back into the house, shifted to their skin and dressed before joining Elle and Arthur under the old oak.

Noah could feel Lillian's shock. She sat on the ground, leaning against the tree, the red toy truck held tightly in her hands. He was next to her, the files they'd fished out of the box scattered around them. "Are you okay?"

What a stupid question. Of course she wasn't okay. What they found in the box made it clear that Lydia had known Lillian was not a normal human, that she was a result of Blazius' experiments.

Lillian just shrugged, her eyes following the movements of Elle and Arthur though she didn't seem like she was seeing any of it.

"This is interesting," Arthur said, flipping through the small notebook as Elle pocketed the USB key and handed Noah another file.

Most of the documents they'd found so far were records of names and locations. Some were detailed accounts of the missions she'd been involved in while working for the Treasure Hunters.

Everything from the races of immortals she'd helped hunt down, the names of the team members she worked with, her supervisors, dates and locations. She was very thorough.

"With what we have here," Arthur said, "we might be able to incriminate many, many people."

Arthur, who was still looking through the small notebook, suddenly chuckled.

"It appears Mrs. Harrison was a double agent," he said. "I told you before she went underground five years ago. We were right, it was because of a mission. She had to infiltrate a group of people who were leading experiments on humans. Guess who is the leader of that group?"

"Blazius," Noah and Elle guessed as one.

"Yes," Arthur waved the notebook in his hand. "This is an account of the details of the mission. It seemed this was to be her last mission before retiring for good."

"Was that why she approached me?" Lillian asked, her eyes coming back to life. "Was it on purpose?"

"Yes," Arthur replied without hesitation. Lillian raised her knees and wrapped her arms around them. The disbelief was slowly replaced by sadness. Noah sighed and threw the file in his hand on top of its brethren. It seemed like the world just wouldn't give her a break.

"According to what she knew," Arthur continued, reading the notes, "her agency caught Senator Brady in a covert meeting with a witch."

The name sounded vaguely familiar to Noah. Lillian frowned. "Isn't that the Senator who's famous for being a supporter of the Pure Human Association?"

"Yes," Arthur said, giving Lillian a look. "Interested in politics?"

"No, but having two immortal babies made me follow any news of immortals in the media."

"Hmm. It seems senator Brady is a two faced bastard, according to your friend," Arthur said. "The Treasure Hunters Agency Lydia worked for threatened him with exposure if he didn't work with them, so he revealed what he knew to the Agency.

"Blazius had approached him more than twenty years earlier when he was still a lowly, dirt poor government official. He had to acquire resources and secure locations that Blazius would need for his experiments, machines and other things that humans manufacture."

"Why not get them himself?" Elle asked. "I assume Blazius has the money for it."

"It's not about the money. It's about traceability," Arthur replied. "Blazius knows that immortals are closely watched. If he suddenly starts buying weird stuff from human companies, news will get out."

"Okay, so he acquired whatever Blazius needed for him," Noah said. "In exchange for what?"

"For help in his political career," Arthur said, flipping to the next page. He narrowed his eyes. "It makes sense, Brady has been unusually lucky in his career despite the many scandals he was involved in."

"What does that mean?" Lillian asked. "What kind of help would they offer him?"

"Anything from mental manipulation to destroying his rivals," Arthur shrugged. "Immortals are gifted in different ways, and humans are very prone to our magic."

"What a sleazy asshole," Elle mumbled. "He's been outwardly supporting the Pure Human Association when he's the first person to benefit from immortals."

"So what happened after the Treasure Hunters Agency caught Brady in bed with immortals?" Noah asked.

"They made him help them in their cause," Arthur replied. "The chance presented itself when Blazius required a few humans in order to keep an eye on certain Test Subjects, around five years ago."

Lillian sucked in a sharp breath.

"My guess that would be you, Lillian," Arthur said. He flipped through the pages. "Hmm. Your friend mentioned meeting members of Blazius' group several times. They briefed her on the mission-"

Arthur closed his mouth with a snap. He frowned, and Noah felt a chill run down his spine. The darkness in Arthur swirled and wheezed, a dangerous monster.

"What is it?" Lillian asked. Noah was glad to see her getting out of the black hole of shock and sadness, but Arthur's next words made him wish he could get his hands on Blazius right then and there.

"Blazius was the one who arranged everything," Arthur said. "Including getting the Test Subjects pregnant."

"What does that mean?" Elle said.

Lillian stopped breathing, her eyes turning amber. Elle plucked the notebook from Arthur's hands and read through it, her eye squinted. Arthur looked at Noah.

"She doesn't know the details of it or why he had ordered it, but he did," Arthur continued. "Apparently, it happened to several other women as well. She refers to them as Test Subjects, so they're most likely part of Blazius' experiment, as we'd assumed."

"There are more like me?" Lillian asked, a growl in her voice. "That bastard."

Noah's own anger turned into a cold fire. His jaw clenched to a breaking point. Lillian suddenly stood up and started pacing back and forth. The afternoon sun had begun to sink low in the horizon, and a cool wind blew, ruffling her hair. "So Lydia knew all about it even before I told her. She knew about everything."

"Her mission was to keep an eye on you and report anything odd, including immortal-like behaviors in you or your offspring."

"So she approached me on purpose," Lillian whispered, closing her eyes tightly.

"But she didn't report the changes to them," Elle said, waving the notebook. "It might have begun as a mission to her, but she didn't report the twins' shifting to them. She protected you."

Lillian stopped and crossed her arms. "I don't know what I should believe anymore."

Elle stood and handed her the notebook. "You should read this before coming to any conclusions. It sounds like she was truly fond of you three."

Lillian held the notebook and stared at its plain gray cover as if it held the answers to her questions.

Noah's ears pricked. He jumped to his feet. The sound of a car parking in the driveway. "We have company."

Noah went to the door while the others stuffed everything back into the box. A human. Noah opened the door. A man stood on the other side, his hand raised to the doorbell, blond with tan skin and curly blond hair. His blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Um, who are you?" He asked, taking a small step back.

"Ted?" Lillian asked behind Noah. Elle and Arthur were out of sight.

"You know him?" Noah asked in a mind-link.

"Yes. He was a regular in the diner where I used to work."

"You're back," Ted said, his eyes flickering to Noah.

"Just for the afternoon," Lillian said, standing closer to Noah. "How did you know?"

He pointed over his shoulder with a small smile. "I was driving by and saw a car in the driveway."

"Oh." Lillian nodded. She paused, a frown tugging down her brows. "I never knew you know where I live..."

Something flickered in his eyes. Too fast for Noah to read, but it tugged on his wolf's wariness. Noah took a small step forward. Ted glanced at him and smiled. "It's a small town, and after what happened, well, the neighborhood kind of got famous."

"I see," Lillian said. She switched to mind-link and asked him, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I just don't like him," he replied.

"Well, I'd like to stay and chat. But we have to go," Lillian said with a blazing smile. "It was good seeing you again."

"You didn't bring the kids?" He asked.

Lillian's shoulders tensed. Intense protectiveness and anger flared through the bond, matching Noah's own. He fixed the human with his gaze, feeling the wolf look through his eyes.

"No. I didn't bring the kids," Lillian said, her voice suddenly cold. "I think you should go now."

Ted's eyes snapped to Noah's. They widened and he stumbled back with a nervous chuckle. "Right. Sure. I'll see you around."

He basically ran to his car. Just as he was backing out of the driveway, two police cars came racing down the street and parked right in front of the house. A coincidence? Noah cursed.

"Arthur," Lillian said. "I think you might want to call your lawyers right now."

"Nonsense, my dear," Arthur said, appearing with Elle. "We'll handle them ourselves."

They went down the steps right as the police cars opened and four officers stepped out, guns blazing.

"Freeze, hands over your heads!" one of them said, his finger on the trigger. Lillian froze.

"I would drop those guns if I were you, officers," Arthur said, without breaking his stride. "Elle, my love, go to the car."

"I said freeze!" The officer said. The scent of their fear permeated the air.

Noah urged her forward. "Go with Elle, baby."

Elle grumbled something under her breath and pulled Lillian with her to the car.

"Stop right there!" One of the officers said when Arthur kept walking towards them. Noah rounded the car and stood between it and the police officers. He was aware of the neighbors peeking through their windows, their muted voices reached his ears.

Someone shot. A bullet hovered right in front of Arthur's chest.

The officer choked. Arthur looked at the bullet, sighed and flicked his hand aside, throwing the bullet to the ground.

"Hey, isn't that Arthur?" One of the officers whispered to his friend next to him.

"Yes. The one and only," Arthur said, stopping next to Noah. "I said to lower those guns."

The officer at the lead raised his gun a little higher. It was trembling. Noah had to admire his bravery, though it toed the line toward recklessness when one pointed a gun at an immortal, especially Arthur.

"Arthur or not, we received a tip that Lillian Miller is here," the officer said. "We're here to take her into custody, she's charged with murder. It's human business."

"Lillian Miller is a member of my pack," Noah said. "You have no authority over her."

The officers exchanged looks. "She's human. She's under-"

"I'm afraid that isn't strictly true," Arthur said. "Lillian Miller is a werewolf. So, officers, what will it be? Will you let us drive away without further disruption, or will we have to take things into our own hands? I must say, it has been a boring day so far. I would prefer you take the second option."

The officer at the lead pursed his lips. His eyes went to the car behind Noah. Noah growled loudly. The officer jumped.

"Whoever sent you here isn't going to take responsibility for your broken bones," Noah said.

"Lower your guns," the officer said after a beat of silence, yet his own gun was still raised and pointed at Arthur.

"Stubborn human," Arthur mumbled. A wisp of his magic, and the barrel of the officer's gun twisted upward with a metallic whine. The officers stared at the misshaped gun.

"Next time, it will not be your gun," Arthur said. "When I give an order, I expect it to be obeyed. Understood?"

The officer nodded jerkily. It seemed like the motion was ripped out of him.

"Have a good day, officers," Arthur said, then he and Noah walked to the car.

Arthur slowly steered the car out of the neighborhood, as if he was driving around for pleasure. Noah glanced at the rearview mirror. The police officers were still frozen in place, and some of the neighbors got out of their houses.

"Next time, I want to be in on the fun, your lordship." Elle said from the backseat, the metallic box between her and Lillian.

"Let's hope there isn't a next time," Lillian said, looking over her shoulder.

Elle deepened her voice, imitating Arthur's, Noah supposed. "'When I give an order, I expect it to be obeyed. Understood?' Very badass."

Noah's lips twitched up. Arthur raised a brow and looked at his mate in the mirror. "You need about two feet of height before you can imitate me, Elle."

Elle glowered and sent a flicker of a blue flame towards Arthur. The spark of blue nipped his ear before dying out.

When the car turned and the house disappeared, Lillian faced forward again. Her eyes were a glowing amber.

All the emotions and the stress was getting to her. So soon after her shift, Noah would've expected her wolf to burst out of her skin several times over the past few hours. Her control was truly astounding, and if Dawson's words were true and Lillian had acted as a wolf would when she was younger, then it was no wonder she adjusted quickly to the changes in her. Perhaps she was always meant to be a wolf.

His mind went back to their recent findings. They had more leads now.

"We should pay Senator Brady a visit," Noah said.

"Yes, we should tug on that thread. It might lead us to intriguing places."

"Where do we find him?" Elle asked.

"Won't he be in Washington D.C.?" Lillian said. She opened the box and fished out the notebook. Beneath the jumble of emotions, Noah sensed determination in her. Good.

Arthur drove the car out of the small town. The sun was slowly falling below the horizon. The sky changed from the ruddy shades of sunset to the dark colors of dusk.

"My love, will you call Harvey, please?" Arthur said.

"Since you said please," Elle said, a smile in her voice. She called the vampire and threw the phone toward Arthur. It hovered next to his ear.

"I'll never get used to that," Lillian mumbled.

"Harvey, find out where Senator Brady is-"

"A second." Harvey's voice sounded from the other side of the line. After a few moments, he came back. "He's in Washington DC. Do you want me to have someone on him?"

"Yes," Arthur said. "I want them to sit on him until we get there."

"Do I even want to know?" Harvey asked.

"You will, just make sure he's secured. I don't want him reaching out to anyone, and I don't want anyone to get to him before we do. And watch his communication channels."

"Yes, your lordship," Harvey said. "Any further commands, your lordship?"

"No," Arthur said, flying the phone back to Elle who cut the line.

"The disrespect I deal with," Arthur said. "They all had some sense of self-preservation before you came along."

Elle poked her head between them and grinned. "Shut up. I have a gentling effect on your people."

"Gentling effect, my ass," Arthur said.

Elle pointed at him. "And on your vocabulary."

Noah met Lillian's eyes in the rearview mirror. Her grin was infectious.

"Do you keep tabs on all politicians?" Noah asked Arthur.

"Of course," Arthur said. "All people of interest in politics and business are watched."

"And immortals?" Noah asked.

Arthur smiled a little. "Immortals are more elusive, but I do my best."

Noah hummed. Arthur was one scary bastard. Harvey had said before that Arthur valued information above all else. He guessed it was true.

"Do you need to get back to your pack?" Arthur asked.

Noah looked back at Lillian. She shook her head, her face set in determined lines.

"No," Noah said. "Let's go now. The sooner we get this over with, the better."

Especially after they found the box. Whoever had searched Lydia's house must have known she had something hidden there.

Lillian must be thinking along the same lines, because she put her hand on the box and asked, "how did those immortals know Lydia was hiding this?"

"Maybe she let something slip during her interaction with people of the Agency?" Elle said. "Or maybe after they found out that the twins were actually immortal, they knew she had abandoned the mission. If they suspected she'd turned on them, then they would suspect she kept a fail safe in order to expose them."

"Or maybe she threatened them with exposure if they didn't leave you alone," Noah suggested.

At this point, it was all speculation. Lydia was dead. No one would ever know her true motivations. But the fact that she kept records of all this, the fact that the twins knew about it, made Noah believe she had been trying to protect Lillian and the twins.

What mattered was that they knew Lydia was hiding something dangerous to them, so they would've had the house watched in case someone, namely Lillian, showed up.

Noah's mind flickered to the human, Ted. But even if he was just a normal human with no link to this mess, the police might have reported their presence. They needed to act now and get a hold of Brady before anyone else got to him first.

An hour later, they were thousands of feet up in the air in Arthur's private jet. Lillian had raised her brows when they had boarded the fancy airplane.

"He's stinking rich," Elle had said in a conspiratorial whisper. "That's why I put up with him. Otherwise I would've ditched him months ago."

Lillian had laughed, and even Arthur chuckled. Noah shook his head with a smile. It was particularly funny because Elle was the last person who cared about wealth.

The cream colored seats were comfortable. The neutral colors, the plush seats and the polished wooden tables screamed luxury. They all took their seats in a four seater around a table where a laptop waited for them.

Once they were in the air, Elle took out the flash drive from her pocket and stuck it in the laptop.

"I wonder what's in it?" Lillian asked, setting aside the notebook.

Elle frowned, typing on the laptop. "I have no idea what this is."

Arthur looked over Elle's shoulder. "It's some kind of encrypted program. We should get someone to have a look at it."

Elle pulled out a phone from her pocket. "I know someone who might help."

"A human?" Noah asked.

"Yes. I've hired him a few times back when I was still, well, human," she said, her lips twisted into a sardonic smile as she added, "Right now, he's the only one from my previous contacts who's taking my calls. Being outed as an immortal sure has a way of turning old friends into strangers."

Her voice was lighthearted, but Noah wondered how much it truly bothered her.

"If he's not up for it, we have people who can look at it," Arthur said.

"He's faster," Elle said, switching to the laptop. After a few minutes, she said, "interesting."

"Already?" Arthur said.

"I told you, he's fast."

"What did he find?" Lillian asked. "What does the program do?"

"It will release a bunch of files online and send them to several destinations if Lydia didn't check in once a year."

"What files?" Lillian asked, leaning forward.

Elle typed something and waited a few seconds. She gave a humorless laugh. "Everything we found in the box, everything Lydia knows about Blazius' experiments, the Agency, the identities of the Test Subjects. Everything would go public."

Lillian sucked in a sharp breath. "That would put the women in danger, and their children, if they have them."

"Not necessarily," Elle said, glancing up. "Arthur's office was also among the destinations of the files. It's no secret that Arthur would protect the immortals. Lydia knew that outing them as potential immortals would put them under Arthur's protection and keep them safe from the humans' experimenting."

Arthur said, "tell your friend to make a list of all the women-"

"He already did," Elle said, turning the screen to face Arthur. "He organized all the files by type and sent them to me."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Is your friend available for hire?"

"Hiring a human, Arthur?" Elle said, her smile impish. "How very progressive of you."

"You can gloat later, my love," Arthur said, taking the laptop from her.

"Oh, I intend to," Elle said.

"What are you going to do with the women?" Noah asked.

"We'll put them under watch," he scanned the laptop screen. "According to what we have here, some of them have children, but they're all humans."

"It doesn't mean anything," Noah said. "The twins were humans until they shifted."

"Yes. I was always able to tell if a person is immortal or human, and the twins have been human since the moment they were born until the day they shifted," Lillian added.

"We should keep an eye on them, then," Arthur said. "I'll tell Elle's friend to disable the program."

Lillian crossed her arms and scooted closer to Noah. "Do you think Lydia knew she would be targeted?" She asked him via mind-link.

"Maybe. She must have set it as a failsafe in case she did," Noah replied. "She knew the people might come after her if they knew about the twins. Doing this made sure the knowledge didn't die with her, that it reached the right ears."

"I feel like she betrayed me," she said, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Why didn't she tell me?"

Noah raised the arm rest between them and wrapped his arm around Lillian. "Maybe she was ashamed of what she'd done. She didn't betray you, Lillian. She protected you."

"I know," Lillian said, looking out the window. "But it doesn't feel good, all the same."

--- ---- ---

Hey guys! Sorry I'm a little bit late, but it was a long chapter!

I hope you're doing well. Did you like the chapter?

Vote and comment if you do.

Also, I'm watching Extraordinary Attorney Woo (k-drama) and the lead character is such a cutie!! Have you guys seen it?

Much love <3 <3 <3

M.B.