Markolf- I finally had a name for the enemy. But what had my family ever done for him to target us? And what did Rafe's father get in return? Unravelling the complete story was far from over, as I was still missing answers. It was a start, nonetheless.

"He is more dangerous than any of us could have imagined. What he does to shifters... taking their animals away, their life force - that's savage! No shifter can go through that unscathed- if the process doesn't kill you, life after is worse than death."

"Yet you did the same thing to me," I stated matter-of-factly because it was the truth.

He looked at me with remorse, which surprised me. He was his Alpha's most trusted enforcer according to Rafe- I was sure he had ruined and taken away many lives. Yet he seemed to feel remorseful for what he had done to me.

"And now I have finally been punished for that," he said, looking back at the ground. "The Moon Goddess is clearly punishing me for going after one of my own like this. For trying to take away what the Goddess had granted as a gift- your wolf. But this cambion- he is not planning to stop. He is out to get all shifters, one way or another. And if someone doesn't stop him wolves, foxes, bears, dragons- whatever shifter you can think of- they will all be gone. Our world will come to an end."

"Can someone please explain to me what a cambion is?" I asked puzzled.

Aiden stepped forward. "There are ancient legends about those creatures- the offspring of a demon and a human, so they have half a human soul and the rest is demonic essence. Cambions are extremely cunning and angelically beautiful, according to the stories told, and virtually no one can resist their supernatural charisma."

"Yes, that's how he controls his human minions. They are easier to fall for his charisma and are more difficult to track," John added.

I'd heard enough. "Can we talk upstairs?" I looked at Rafe and Aiden before I made my way up to the kitchen and they followed.

"What is it, Riley?" Aiden looked at me with concern. It was sweet how he always looked out for me and how he tried to do so without getting in my way or trying to control me.

"Look, I think we have everything that we can get out of him but we still have unanswered questions. If we are to stop Markolf, we need to know the whole picture," I explained.

"She is right. And I need to start with my father." I wanted nothing more than to get the answers from Angus Macalister myself but I knew that this was something that Rafe had to do on his own. I trusted him enough to know that he would tell me the truth after but, most of all, he had lost his mother and nearly lost his sister because of the shady deals of his father so I had no doubts that he would make him face the consequences.

"I will speak to my parents...well, my adoptive parents. They are warlocks- or so I have found out recently." Rafe and Aiden both looked at me with surprise. " Oh, come on, surely you both wondered how I have a bracelet that protects me from magic and I can change my appearance?"

"Now that you mentioned it....." both of them spoke in unison.

Men.

"Anyway. I will speak to them and see what they say, seeing as they also have links to demons."

"I will see if I can get some clues from the investigation that your brother had done so far," said Aiden. "I know that I am not a Council member anymore now that I am no longer the Beta of the Fire Dragons but I can still help out, even if I can't contribute to the decisions anymore."

"And what about him?" Rafe furrowed his eyebrows while he nodded towards the basement.

"I think it should be Riley's call. He was following orders for most of it but his actions had impacted her more than anyone else. What do you think, Riley?" Aiden asked.

I pondered what to do. Did I want to end his life? I was many things but a cold-blooded killer was not one of them, even if it was to avenge my family. "If he really thinks that the Moon Goddess is punishing him by taking away his wolf, I am not going to give him the easy way out by killing him. He can do so himself if he decides, but I won't have his blood on my hands. He might as well live whatever time he has left on this planet in the same way that he condemned me to all those years ago."

"I'll sort it out then- he was part of my pack after all," Rafe said as he nodded.

"Can someone please give me a lift back to the Blackwood estate? I think we are done here and I would like to get back to my brother and Anna- I have to tell them what I know."

Rafe didn't even react to my request. It was as if he didn't even hear me, but I was sure that he was simply ignoring me before he walked off. I knew that things were going to go back to the way they were before we had hooked up - after all that was what I wanted, right? But why did his reaction stir something unpleasant in me then?

I looked to my other side and there was Aiden, his soft smile and his beautiful eyes. A warm, fuzzy feeling replaced whatever Rafe had made me feel just now.

"I will gladly do it. Grab your things and we can be on your way." He reached forward and placed a stray strand of hair behind my ear, which made my stomach flutter. How was he able to make my body react like that with the simplest gestures?

***

When we drove up to the packhouse, there was already a welcome party waiting outside, as Anna, Lucien and Connor stood in front of the packhouse. I got out of the car and went to grab my bag from the boot but Aiden was already on it.

"Riley! You are back- I'm so happy to have you home," I heard Anna say before she threw herself on my neck. "Don't leave me alone with these two for too long, please," she motioned towards Connor and my brother," they don't get me as you do and I missed my backup."

"Anna, baby, don't exaggerate- my sister was only gone for a couple of days, so you hardly had to suffer." My brother pulled his wife in for a hug before he let her go and stepped towards me to give me a kiss on the cheek."It's good to have you home, sis."

"I'll go away more often if you two miss me so much every time," I laughed at their reactions, although after all the revelations in the past 48h I was happy to see them too.

"Aiden. I hear that I have Rafe and you to thank for looking after my sister," my brother turned towards the dragon shifter.

"Actually, Lucien, I think all of us have to thank your sister for having our backs. She is as brilliant in strategy and fighting as she is beautiful." He was talking to my brother but he was looking at me the whole time, his eyes full of admiration. I felt my body tingle under his gaze, the now-familiar pull towards him emerging again.

"Would you like to come in, Aiden?" I asked a bit unsure.

"I would have loved to on another occasion and I do need to talk to your brother about the investigation but I think that right now I should let you meet in private- you have a lot to discuss."

I looked into his eyes again and for a second I forgot about everything around us. They were so captivating, drawing me in, making me want to get lost in them.

"I would like to see you again though. How about tomorrow I come and pick you up for a date? It will help take your mind off things for a bit as well." I could hear the uncertainty in his voice- he didn't know whether I was going to be up for meeting up with him but I did promise him to give things a try. To be honest, spending some time getting to know Aiden sounded enticing.

"I'd like that. But tell me where to meet you and I can make my own way to the place."

"Aurelie Moreau, what kind of a gentleman do you have me for? There is no way I could possibly accept that. Besides, I can come earlier and speak to your brother beforehand. That's if Lucien would still be willing to share information with me, now that I am no longer a Council member."

My brother gave Aiden a mischievous smile, which had me puzzled until he opened his mouth to speak. "Of course. My sister's mates are always welcome here."

His sister's what?

How did he know?

I looked around in shock and all I could see were smiling faces, except for one guilty-looking Beta. Oh no, he didn't.

"Right, I think this is my cue to leave. Don't kill anyone, please. Can't wait for our date tomorrow," Aiden whispered in my ear and kissed me softly on my cheek which immediately did wonders for dousing my anger, like a small fire that someone extinguished with the snap of fingers.

Once he was inside the car and drove off, I turned towards my family and Connor, barely containing my ire. I took a slow step towards the Beta, then another. My brother was chuckling as he knew what was about to come.

"You! You told them?" I said angrily, pointing my finger at the culprit in front of me.

Connor raised his hands in surrender and smiled at me sheepishly. "Now, now, Riley- you don't want to do anything rash. Right, Alpha? Help me out here, Lucien."

My brother shook his head at his Beta, holding Anna in a tight embrace while they both enjoyed the show. "You are on your own here, Connor."

"Seriously? Traitor. I am not telling you anything else next time," Connor retorted before he looked back at me.

"That's because there won't be a next time, Connor- I will murder you right now and will make sure that no one finds your body. How does that sound?"

"Like I should have thought about the consequences of pissing off a Moreau... or a woman, in general," he grimaced. "But think of it this way- your rather overprotective brother-" Lucien's growl interrupted him. "Oh, come on, we are all family here- not like we don't all know what you are like with Anna and Riley, Luc." I really wasn't sure how Connor was still grinning when he already had a pissed-off me on his back and now he was also on track to piss off his Alpha too.

"So, as I was saying, your overprotective brother was not very happy when I shared the news with him yesterday. There was definitely something along the lines of "Thank the goddess that it's not Callum... wait, did you say Macalister? As in Rafe Macalister? Fuck."

I had to admit that Connor's impression of my brother was pretty realistic, which mellowed my anger a bit. What the hell, by the way- what would have been wrong with Callum? And what was Lucien's issue with Rafe? I mean, I knew what my problems with the wolf shifter were but why wouldn't my brother approve of him? Did that mean that he liked Aiden though? Damn it, I was getting carried away here.

"But then he had the time to think about it and he realised that his beautiful sister will have two strong, protective Alpha males to take care of her. So in a way, I did you a favour as now he is all happy and calm," Connor defended himself.

He did have a point there- Lucien was taking the news remarkably well. I would have partially expected him to threaten Aiden or give him a lecture about not breaking my heart.

I sighed. "Fine, fine- you get to live... for now." Connor looked genuinely relieved and I smiled at the realisation that he clearly feared me. One more man who won't dare to underestimate me. "And anyway, it's not like we are mated. Once we solve the more pressing issues, I will see whether I might decide to ask the Moon and/or the Sun Goddess to break the bonds."

Boy, I should have known that I would get that reaction- 3 shell-shocked faces were staring at me.

"You will consider what?" My brother was obviously having issues with the idea. "Do you know what that would mean? Not only for you but also for them."

"Oh, for crying out loud, Lucien- shouldn't you be the one to be happy at the prospects of not having guys to worry about with regards to your sister?"

He thought about it for a second before he answered, "Actually, I would much rather keep Aiden and Rafe than have you go through with what you are considering." The concern was evident on his face and in his voice. To be frank, the little that Aiden had told me about the process did sound quite bad. I didn't say that I was going to do it - I only said that I would see what I was going to do.

"Can everyone, goddesses and all, stop interfering with my life?" I was exasperated again. Couldn't at least someone let me have a say in all of this? It was my life after all. Admittedly, someone did put my wishes above everything else and that was Aiden. All the more reasons why I was looking forward to spending time together during our date. "And anyway- we have bigger problems. Like an evil half-demon wanting to destroy the shifter world and who also happens to be involved in the murder of our parents together with none other than Angus Macalister."

I swear, with every new thing that I mentioned, I was discovering new variations of shocked faces for Lucian, Anna and Connor. "Yeah, I thought so too. It's probably best if we go somewhere private to talk.