Aurelia's POV...

I am woken up from sleep by many shouts outside. I pry my eyes open and glance at the clock. It's one a.m. It's not even time for my shift.

The door crashes open and a few men walk in. They are all wearing sharp black suits with the royal werewolf paw marks engrossed on their chests.

I jerk upright and keep staring at them as my mouth hangs open in shock.

They walk in one by one, spreading out throughout the room, surrounding my bed, before Aiden walks in, flanked by two women.

The women come to stand at the foot of my bed, assessing me. I feel conscious and clutch the sheet closer to my chest.

"Why -"

But then I remember there are other weres are in the room and I get out of bed, bowing to him.

He nods at me and says, "We don't have time. Adrian has been attacked and he's being rushed to the hospital."

"What?" I exclaim but then continue, "What has that got to do with me?"

"CCTV recordings show that he was at your work desk and it's suspected that it has something to do with you."

Oh No. This is more complicated than I wished for. This is almost a confirmation for me. They are after my research.

Even for a moment, if I assume anybody knew about my abnormal wolf form. What good will it be to them? I would just be killed out of fear and then my corpse would be researched, if they are really interested.

If they are after me, they could have captured me before. But they are targeting my research. This makes no sense at all. My mind throbs in pain as I look around the room.

Grandma peeks from behind the door, worried for me. I try to give her a small smile. I can't link in the presence of Aiden without his permission; it's disrespectful to the Alpha King.

Aiden must have opened a link with her and me, because I feel them stirring in my mind.

'It's ok, Nana; you don't need to be concerned. I'll take care of her but she has to come with me.' Aiden echoes through the link.

He looks at me from top to bottom and says, "You can change in their presence. We'll be waiting downstairs."

He directs the last sentence to the lady guards and goes away from the room, with his guards except the two ladies following him out the door.

Am I a prisoner now or a suspect? I would need some shots. I don't know how long I'll have to stay. It's time to use my secret shots. Oral shots. Concentrated in the form of oral pills. I keep them stocked in case of emergencies.

"Can I use the bathroom?" I ask.

The ladies look unsure for a moment but then nod at me.

"We will stand outside the door," one of them says.

I nod at them and rush to the cupboard, taking a shirt, jeans and clean undergarments. They keep staring at me while I open the door to the bathroom and run towards it, closing it behind me.

I hear their footsteps coming to a halt at the door. I open the tap, for the cover of water and quickly reach behind the mirror in my bathroom, opening the first aid box.

As I open the lid, it creeks slightly and I hold a breath, wishing the guards didn't hear it. I sense no movement.

I quickly grab the strip of tablets and consume one while placing the strip into the back pocket of my jeans.

When I hear a knock on the door followed by "Be fast," I quickly change into my spare set of clothes.

I push open the bathroom door. "I am ready.

They look at me from top to bottom and exchange nods.

"You walk in front of us. So we can keep an eye on you," one lady says.

I keep my eyes downcast and walk ahead, them following my trail. It appears more serious than Aiden had indicated. I might be under arrest.

As I get down the stairs, I see Grandma anxiously waiting for me. She steps forward to hug me but is stopped by the guards.

I try to assure her by giving her a small smile but the guards push me towards the door.

Aiden has not said anything to me in all this time. Does he believe I was involved in Adrian's attack?

My questions are not answered as I am led to a car and a female guard climbs in beside me.

I notice Henry, Aiden's head of security, riding in the passenger seat ahead of me. He gives me a reassuring smile before frowning and looking ahead.

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

"Open your desktop and tap into the research. Open everything in it," Aiden orders.

I gulp and nod at him, not used to him being so cold to me. A person whom I don't expect walks into the lab. It's none other than my PhD guide. Dr. Cyrus.

"I will take it from here, Mr. Wolfe. let me check her work," he says to Aiden.

Aiden nods at him and gestures for me to get up. I hastily get up and move aside. Dr. Cyrus gives me a stern look and checks my research.

Internally, I pray to the moon goddess that my personal research is not exposed. Dr. Cyrus browses through my data and clicks on history, then opens the server and checks its data.

He keeps clicking the mouse and browsing for a few more moments, then stops. Disappointment flashes on his face before a bright smile appears on his face.

It is so fast that I doubt whether I am seeing things. I probably am. Why would Dr. Cyrus be disappointed? I shake that thought off and look anxiously at Aiden as he turns to look at Aiden now.

"Everything is well accounted for, Mr. Wolfe. perfectly logged in. I see Adrian, too, logged in, opened our ongoing research about cancer and downloaded some data but the server history shows it was not downloaded to an external source. Nothing seems to be missing."

I hold my breath, waiting for Aiden to react. Aiden stares down at Dr. Cyrus some more but then drops his shoulders in defeat.

"Thank you, Dr. Cyrus. You can go now," Aiden says to him and he gives him a respectful nod and walks away.

All eyes follow him and as soon as he is out the door, all of their gazes focus on me.

"The situation is now clear. Aurelia had no involvement in Adrian's attack, nor was her research downloaded or stolen," he tells the audience, and everyone bows their heads.

"I apologize, Aurelia. you were being attacked and the man who was captured just knew that they wanted you. You were the only link and prime witness," Aiden says to me cautiously, choosing every word so that he does not offend me.

'It was clear that you had not left your home because the security detail assigned to you confirmed but we had to make sure that your research was not compromised. Still, I couldn't let you go without any investigation, as the royal beta was kidnapped.'

'Royal beta.. Adrian is the royal beta?'

How come I never knew about this? Probably because I was so focused on Adrian being a scientist. I never saw that side of him.

'Yes, didn't you know?' Aiden asks, confusion lacing his tone.

'Err, no' I say.

He just purses his lips in response and then urns towards the others and says, "To the hospital."

"Can I come with you? I mean Adrian..." I was not sure how to finish the sentence.

"No, Aurelia. It's late. You should return to your home."

"It makes no sense I have to come back to the lab in a few minutes anyway."

Aiden now looks at me with pity and says, "No, you won't because your research funding has been stopped."

"What?" I whisper in shock.

"Yes, it is the place where Adrian was last seen on CCTV; the remaining part of the footage is missing. All suspicions lead to your research. In fact, this whole project has been suspended."

"But how? This is for cancer patients; it is important."

In response, he simply looks at me sternly and says, "The owner of the company funding this project has suspended it."

"Then perhaps I should speak with him."

He responds with a dry chuckle. "You are currently speaking with him, and he has informed you that this research has been suspended." His words carry weight, and I realize he owns this lab. My eyes widen in understanding as I gulp and nod at him.

"Henry will drop you home," he declares in a final tone before leaving. As the other weres depart, only Henry remains behind.

Henry approaches me from behind and gently squeezes my shoulder to reassure me. Surprised, I look up at him.

"King's condition is not good. it is better to go with whatever he says. Beta is critical and we don't know if he will be alive or not."

I just stare at the door through which Aiden has gone and give a longing glance towards my work desk. So close yet so not close. Maybe I can develop software to overlap the sequences. I just need to compare the data. I take a long, deep breath.

Henry snaps his fingers in front of my eyes, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Come on, I will drop you home. I need to go to the hospital after that."

I nod at him and look wishfully at the computer for one last time before following Henry out the door.

Henry drops me off at my driveway and drives away in a hurry. Most probably, he is needed at the hospital. I walk toward my door and unlock it.

Stench of blood reaches my nose as my eyes adjust to the light. Blood. Has somebody trespassed?

Wait. grandma. I hope she is okay. I suck in a breath and take a step inside as I take in the scene in front of me.

Blood is splattered all over the floor. The scent indicates it's not grandma's, though. I let out a breath in relief but then my lungs almost stop functioning as I see a trail of blood going straight towards Grandma's room.

It almost looks like somebody dragged something on the floor. I hope it is something and not grandma. Tears well in my eyes as I try to compose myself.

What should I do? If somebody has really trespassed, then I doubt they would be alone. I have to fight them.

It is not the time to think from my heart. I have to be focused. Maybe I should let Aiden know. Yes. That is the better course of action.

'Aiden, there's lots of blood splattered in the living room and Grandma is not in sight.' I said through the link.

I feel him stirring over the link but don't get a response for a few seconds but then I get a reply.

'Damn it. Get out of your house. I am sending guards over to your place. Stay alert, Aurelia.' he growls through the link.

He is asking me to go out into the darkness when I don't know how grandma is. Not possible.

'Sorry, Aiden.' I say this through the link and close it off, before he gets a chance to react.

I reach towards the switch board and lift a finger, trying to switch on the board. It doesn't turn on. I try again but it doesn't work.

Not that the light matters much. My heightened senses would have been better but since I have taken a suppression pill, my senses are barely higher than those of a human.

Taking a deep breath, I take a tep in the direction of the trail that is in front of my eyes as it leads to my grandma's room.

I push the door open gently, but it creeks and the sound echoes in my ears.

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

Word Count: 1953

Another Cliffhanger.

I know it is not pleasing sometimes but hey, it makes your interest peek aand keeps you waiting for the next chapter.

So how was this chapter?

I think it is quite contrasting to the earlier chapter.