>>Seraphina

I couldn't sleep.

No matter how much I tried, what happened between Azef and I wouldn't leave my mind.

He took the initiative to kiss me. He did it, and it looked like he was ready to go even further but then he left with another woman? Does that make any sense? I didn't even get to ask him about his mate.

I was left stranded in so many ways. Just what in the hell happened to him?

And that woman, who was she? She came in saying some strange things. She said something like she came because of his rut? What the hell is that even supposed to mean?

And then she was offended that he was on another girl, A.K.A, me. I shook my head as the migraine increased. This doesn't make any sense. Why does it look like Azef just sleeps around with girls all the time?

That's definitely the impression I got from yesterday night. That woman was like, 'Oh, you should have told me you got another woman!'

What the hell is that supposed to mean!?! Who was she?!?

My eyes went wide

It couldn't be.

She can't have been in a relationship with Azef. Can she?! I shook my head. No, if she was, she would have done something when she saw us on top of each other. She even took him with her.

The door opened and someone walked into the house. It was still a little dark since the sun was still coming out.

The person stepped into the lounge, making her way towards the kitchen, "Oh! Holy Shit!!" It was Runy. Her soul almost left her body when she saw me sitting there on the couch, "What are you doing there?"

She was most likely not expecting me to be there. Putting the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter she walked over to the couch.

"Hey, what are you doing?" She came over then paused when she looked at me. I didn't look at her, I knew what had caught her attention, "What happened to your shirt?"

"..." I turned my head to look at her, "Runy," I whispered her name.

"Yea?" She frowned.

"You're a wolf too, right?" Bezof told me about it.

"Yea," She pointed at my chest, "What the hell happened to your shirt?" She was already suspicious.

I looked down at the rip, "Azef did this,"

"You!" She got angry the moment I said it, "Why would the Beta do that-" And then she stopped, "Why would he do that?" She eyed me, "Where is he?" She sniffed the air, "His scent isn't here." Wow, they can do that too huh?

I shrugged, "I don't know," I felt so helpless and confused, "I don't know, where could he have gone?" I softly grabbed my ripped shirt, "Why did he do this?" I looked at Runy, "Tell me why?"

She got confused by my words, "He," She thought about it, "Wait," She took out her phone and opened the calendar, "Oh!" She let out a sigh of relief, "It was going to happen one of these days." She closed her phone and put it back in her pants pocket.

"What?"

"He probably went into a rut?" She wasn't exactly sure but made the assumption.

My eyes went wide

That's right, rut!! That Chinese woman said the same thing!!

"Did he leave?" She asked

"A woman took him." I replied

"A woman," She asked, "Who?"

"I don't know, it was a Chinese woman." Remembering her hurt my feelings,

>>Runy

I don't get it. Why is the Beta going out of his way to help this human? He even touched her during his rut. He's very picky about who he spends his rut with.

"I see," I nodded, "It must have been Miss Xia-Lin,"

"Xia-Lin?"

"She's a business partner of his," I replied, "They have known each other for many years."

"Why would he go with her?" She seemed awfully concerned about the Beta going with Xia-Lin.

"I can't answer that," I replied, "For all I know, he and she might have gone together to calm his rut down."

He's not even telling anyone anything properly, but he told me to make sure she and Eris were safe and taken care of. I can't really refuse his orders. I'm not fond of humans in general but I will have to entertain her.

Fine, if she wants to know. I'll tell her without sugar coating anything.

"If that's how he was, he went into a rut. It's something that werewolves go through."

>>Seraphina

"Calm his rut down?" I felt like someone took a hold of my heart, "That woman, Xia-LIn seems to know about his rut." I paused, "What's this rut?" I asked, "Azef looked like he was out of his mind and his skin was hot!"

"Ah," She nodded, "That was definitely his rut then," She stated, "Did it look like a fever was taking over him?"

"Yes!" I nodded like crazy, " But a rut? Is it like the same kind animals go through?"

"Yea," She answered, "Similar to a heat,"

"Oh..." I touched my neck while I processed that, "Do wolves usually lose their mind during their rut?" I chose to completely ignore the part where Azef went with another woman for his rut and that he didn't choose me for it. Now that it was clear what a rut is, I already know how that state is satisfied and I didn't want to think about it.

Runy shook her head, "No," She walked back to the open kitchen, "But The Beta's wolf isn't stable to begin with."

"His wolf isn't stable?" No one told me about that, "Why?"

She opened the bag and started taking the groceries out, "Werewolves have mates, do you know about that?" She asked as she glanced at me.

"Yes," I nodded

"A mate is very important to a wolf and if a mate dies, the wolf takes huge damage." I frowned at her explanation, "The loss of a mate can be hard on a wolf, such that there are wolves who don't recover from the loss."

"Wait- wait," I shook my head at her, "What are you trying to say? Azef has a mate right? He told me he met her."

She stopped working and looked at me, "Yes, he has met her. When they were both kids."

When they were kids? We met when we were kids!

"And, so? Where is she?" I asked, feeling excited.

"She's dead," She turned away and began to put the groceries away. My heart fell to the pit of my stomach and the subtle smile on my face faded immediately.

"What?" I blinked in confusion, "She's dead?"

The information sent me in a spiral of confusion and anxiety. She's dead? But, no. I shook my head and kept blinking.

Dead...

Wait!

Azef told me this before! He thought he had killed me when we met as kids! When she pushed me off the cliff!!! He could have been thinking about that!! And must have thought I was dead all along.

"Are you sure she's dead!?" My heart pounded in my chest, "What if she's still alive and he only thinks she's dead?" There was anticipation in my heart.

A glimmer of hope. That, maybe it was all a misunderstanding. All this time he thought I was dead after all, but when he recognized me, his attitude changed.

Right!

It was when he learned I was that girl he pushed off the cliff that his behavior became soft with me!

"Am I sure?" Runy scoffed, "What kind of a stupid question is that? She's dead, what's there to make sure of?"

"That, maybe she isn't dead?" Anxiety gnawed at my chest, "Maybe it was a misunderstanding and she's alive?" My heart was pounding in my chest.

Oh God!

Please, let this be a misunderstanding! Please!!!

Please...

"If she wasn't dead, whose grave has the Beta been going to this whole time?" She shook her head at me, "He goes to visit her grave every chance he gets."

And my world came crumbling down with those words, "What...? Grave...?"

"That's right, a grave. He visits her with flowers every month. He's been doing that for years now."

It was like something inside of me cracked, then cracked further, and then finally crumbled.

***

>>Somi Soma

"So you're saying that woman is important to him?" I stared at the picture of a pretty girl on my phone, "Are you sure?"

"He's going out of his way to help her," The detective answered, "Azef Greer isn't the type to do that. He's known for being cold and merciless."

"Hmmm," I swiped the pictures of the girl, "She's really pretty," I clicked my tongue, "I get why he likes her."

"What do you want to do?" He asked.

"He's the only one we've found who could have done something to Murim." I closed my phone, "Get the girl. If there's a problem, kill her too."

"Shouldn't we get her, we need to bargain for Murim."

I bit my lower lip, "Killing her will be the last case scenario, if we can't capture her." I stood up, "Then we kill her. They did kill my brother after all. We need to get back at them."

The detective smiled, "Roger that," Then he paused, "But I wasn't the one helping you in it," He said

I rolled my eyes, "I know Sebastian."

"You should know!" He was a funny fellow, "I get in trouble if my company finds out I was helping a criminal family."

I rolled my eyes, "Get going," I began to walk away, "I want the girl by tonight!!"