Ophelia's disappearance didn't settle well with me. Especially when she didn't look so well when she disappeared. I wanted to go check on the crystal, but there were other pressing matters that I needed to take care of.

The attack wasn't normal.

Several times, I felt the wolves weren't trying to kill me but take me alive. Was this an order from their alpha king, or was it an attempted kidnapping from a neighboring pack? Even with these questions simmering in my mind, I couldn't help but feel that their sudden appearance while I was in North Dakota wasn't coincidental. It had to do with our research facility.

"Silas, I need you to make a call. We need more guards around the research facility. We need our most elite guards. I also need you to make a call to Paula. Inform her of what happened here. She must be prepared for anything. If it means halting our research and destroying all evidence and traces of our research, we must do what is necessary," I ordered while still standing in the middle of the front yard. The smell of blood mixed with rain is still heavy and burning through my nostrils and throat.

"Lazarus, I need you to clean up here. No one must know what happened. We must return our deceased to their home and their families."

Both Silas and Lazarus nodded their heads. They started to move, but I stopped them.

"I feel that this attack wasn't an impulsive attack. Our arrival and their sudden appearance must be related to our research facility. If what I assume is true, we must do everything we can to keep our secrets safe. I don't know what they want yet, but if anything, we can't trust these mutts."

"I also came to the same conclusion," Lazarus replied. "What should we do?"

"I don't know yet. If anything, I fear that we may have a mole in our midst, and we need to hurry before it's too late."

Silas and Lazarus didn't look injured from their fights. We stood in the rain drenched. It was a good thing because it cleaned the blood and smell off our bodies.

"I'll work fast and quietly. I have all the resources I need back in New York. If I find anything, I'll let you know." Lazarus turned to me and bowed. "I'm afraid I won't be able to keep you company for the rest of your trip. I'll have to make haste in order to find out what's going on."

I nodded my head in approval. Lazarus disappeared shortly after. With that cleared, I walked back to the cabin. I needed to get to the crystal. Silas followed alongside me.

"What do you think happened to Ophelia?" Silas asked.

"I'm not sure. But I hope she's ok." I fisted my hands behind my back as I walked up to the broken window and into the scattered sitting area.

"She's fucking powerful," Silas whispered as he recalled what happened minutes ago.

I nodded my head. Never in my hundred years have I've seen such power extrude from a being. Witches were a rare sight. To see the amount of power they could emanate from their body—they could kill an entire village if they wanted to.

"Did you see how she moved with those swords?"

I nodded my head again. "Her movements were fluid. As if she was flowing water. Her attacks were precise and sharp. Her blade left no soul alive."

"Where do you think she learned all that?"

"Hell, I don't know." I realized that I don't know very much about Ophelia. She told me a story, and I believed it. What was her history?

I glanced around the area once more and realized the place was no longer a livable place.

"We need to move. With all our kind dead, we might not be able to protect ourselves if more come."

Silas nodded in agreement.

"I'll escort you to our nearest safe house. Afterwards, I'll take care of what you asked."

I shook my head immediately. I needed him to take care of this. I'll be fine making my way to the safe house here. There were more of us there.

Silas looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn't. He nodded his head before disappearing into his room. I headed for my room where my suitcases were. Opening the suitcase that held the crystal, I opened to see if anything happened to it.

To my relief, the crystal was still there. However, I noticed the crystal glowed less. I ran my fingers over the crystal and thought about Ophelia. I hope she was okay.

It didn't take long before I made it to the safe house. The guards there were informed of my arrival. There were more than fifty guards. It would be much harder for another pack of werewolves to attack at this rate.

I stayed at the safe house for several days while we handled the matter at the research facility and cleaned up the mess at the previous location. With so many things going on, it kept me pretty much occupied. I spent most of my days talking and video chatting on my laptop.

On my fifth day, I walked into the bedroom I was staying in and stopped in front of the crystal that sat on top of the nightstand. It still had a low glow to it. Sitting down on the bed, I leaned forward and propped my elbows on my knees. Staring into the crystal as if I was willing Ophelia to just pop out of nowhere.

"Where are you, Ophelia?" I whispered.

There was no response. No abrupt glow or glint that might make me think she heard me, but I kept talking. It helped ease my mind.

"I'm pissed at you, woman. You were supposed to stay inside the cabin. You would have been safe. I should have known that you wouldn't listen and knocked your ass out. It might've saved us from this situation right now. But I knew that you would disobey every order that I give you." I stopped talking and rubbed a hand over my face. I was frustrated and worried.

I didn't want to think about it. I have to believe that she will come back. I can't imagine what to do if she didn't. Ophelia nested herself in my life. She made a bed and stretched her body. She made sure I knew she was there every second.

I admit, I missed her fucking teasing and jokes. I missed wanting to throttle her every second. I wanted to hold in my arms and breathe in her scent. It amazed me how quickly she immersed herself in my life.

"You made yourself comfortable. Every fucking second you were out of the crystal. For once, you should've listened to me and done what I asked of you." I recalled the situation back at the cabin. The way she spoke back to me. It didn't disappoint me. She was actually a fucking queen for standing up to me. No one had the guts like her.

"Fuck..." I ran my fingers through my hair and fell back onto the bed.

Staring up at the ceiling, I spoke what was on my mind.

"I need you to come back, Ophelia. I'm not finished with you—we're not finished. I still need to kill you for getting yourself hurt." I went quiet for a second. Each second, I grew more agitated. My words grew more agitated. "You put yourself into my life. You made yourself comfortable, Ophelia. You fucking got under my skin and into my mind. Now, you are just going to go silent and not pay back what you did. When I get my hands on you-"

There was a knock on the door. I sat up from the bed.

"Enter," I ordered.

Silas walked inside. His eyes found the crystal first. It lingered there for a while before he looked back at me.

"She's not out yet?" Silas asked.

I shook my head and shoved my fingers through the roots of my hair again. At this rate, I might as well go bald. Ophelia was driving me insane.

"What do you think happened to her? Do you think she's dead?" Silas asked what I feared most. The one thought I don't want to think about.

"No," I snarled before standing up. I began pacing.

"Hey, she might just be tired and need to rest." Silas's tone changed the second he felt my rising anger.

I stopped in front of the crystal and for a second I wanted to shake the damn thing or rub it like a fucking lamp to see if she'll just pop out of it.

"It isn't normal. She isn't usually gone this long."

"It was a tough fight. She might just need a little bit more to recover." Silas tried calming my nerves.

"Tell me what happened at the research facility." I needed a distraction. Silas was happy to oblige.

"The security has been heightened. All our data has been backed up and encrypted at the highest security level. If someone attempts to steal our information, it will detect and destroy everything. Paula and her team are aware and have increased their cybersecurity. All employees will be subjected to individual interviews again."

I nodded my head in approval. There would be no mistakes this time. If the research facility is breached, everything will be destroyed. It is better that way.

I glanced at the crystal again. Suddenly, I felt a throbbing at my temples and I massaged the area with my fingers.

"We will head back to New York in two days," I said.

"Did you want me to prepare for our leave?" He asked.

I shook my head. There was something else I wanted him to do, now that he has finished the task that I gave him. I looked away from the crystal to him.

"I need you to find out more about Ophelia. Look through every damn book you could find—human or by any other beings. I need to know who she is."

Silas nodded his head before turning to leave.

Left alone again, I sat back on the edge of the bed and stared at the crystal. I stared at it for a very long time. Hoping for some kind of life to breathe out of it, but there was no change.

I didn't want to think about it, but I was losing hope. I could only hope that Silas was able to find more information about Ophelia that might be able to help me understand her better.

I placed a hand on the crystal. The room seemed darker than before. My mood plummeted to complete silence. I felt nothing but darkness. This was how I felt before I met Ophelia. My life was dull and redundant. Everything was given, and no one stood up to me.

"I swear, Ophelia, if you don't come out soon, I'll bring down hell on you when you do," I threatened her once again.

Still, nothing.

Not even a flicker of life.