NIKOLAI

"So Mary is safe?" I ask Ambrose one more time, wanting confirmation that my mate will be fine if we wait another week before waging war against the werewolf kind.

"uhh...yeah," Ambrose replied hesitantly.

"If anything happens to my mate, I'll personally see to your execution," I growl out at Ambrose as I walk past him and into my office.

I scratched at my neck, where I would've been marked had the pain I felt from Ash biting Mary been mine. The phantom mark itched like a healing scab, which made me believe that Ambrose was telling the truth and that he was able to spell Mary. I pulled for my mate bond, wanting a sign from my bond or from my mate herself indicating that she was okay, anything to help me feel okay with abandoning her for the week, but the response was the as the one I was met with last night; nothingness, which was better than the heartwrenching effects of a mate who died but not as wonderful as the feeling of my mate's heart beating alongside my own.

"You look like you could use a distraction," Kade states, waltzing into my office.

"Get out." I hiss, grabbing the whiskey out of my cabinet and taking a swig of it, not bothering to pour myself a glass.

"Now, now, Nikolai. I let what you said pass yesterday, knowing it was said in a moment of passion, but that is no way to treat an old friend." Kade chastised me.

"I gave you what you wanted, Kade; I handed over my mate to the Alpha, served her to him like she was the main course; what more do you want from me?" I ask, taking another long gulp from the decanter.

"I didn't want Mary to be left, Nikolai," Kade responded, his eyes downcast and filled with remorse.

I huffed, not bothering to respond. We both know the truth; whether Kade wants to admit it to himself or not, that's on him.

"I have news," Kade responded, changing the subject and dropping a manilla folder onto my desk.

"What's this?" I ask, pushing the folder off to the side, not bothering to look at it.

"Hopefully, a gift for Mary when she returns," Kade replied cryptically.

"When did work become a gift?"

"It's not work. It's an investigation that's led to something big, or should I say someone; Someone I need your help tracking down while Ambrose and the council plan the attack on Ash."

"I'm not leaving the plan for attack up to the council."

"You'll want to leave after you've read the contents of that folder," Kade responds.

"Nothing will stop me from planning on how to rescue my mate and kill her kidnapper."

"Not even her sister?"

"What?" I ask, my eyes laced with confusion. "Anya is dead. You sent me pictures of her corpse and her makeshift burial plot."

"I sent you pictures of who I thought was Anya. I further investigated the wolves who'd killed Anya and imprisoned Mary. When you had me investigating them, I knew that Mary meant something to you. The further I looked into the wolves, the more things weren't adding up. Look over the contents of that folder, and then come find me if you want to help search for Anya." Kade replies, opening my office door as he heads out to leave, "I'll be heading out tonight. You can either come with me or sit by ideally and wait."

I start to growl a reply, but Kade enters the room quickly, leaving me with the bomb he's dropped and a manilla folder filled with evidence.

The first sheet of paper looks familiar. It's a copied picture of the decaying body Kade had sent me, along with the wolves' names linked to Anya's murder. Further down the page is a picture of the makeshift grave Kade had made for Anya with its coordinates written alongside the picture. It was the next sheet of paper, and each one after that had my eyebrows raised.

**AUTOPSY REPORT**

***Victim- Unknown female, between the ages of fifteen to seventeen. Species- Sprite, low magic, forest type.

The victim appears to have died casting a spell that used all of her mana. Her power sources were completely depleted. Only traces of magic were found throughout her, the wounds on her body, which were all made post-mortem.***

Kade had never told me that he'd had an autopsy done on Anya. Why would he, when her death was so clear cut? But this report proves that the body Kade found wasn't Anya. Anya was human; both Mary and the dragon seers had confirmed that fact.

I shuffle to the next page; it's a handwritten account of Kade's findings.

***"I located Anya's body. It's right where Mary stated it would be. The poor girl was mangled; she had no chance of survival. The wolves hadn't gone easy on her; they'd crushed her throat with their jaws and shredded her torso, making her unrecognizable. If it weren't for Mary's retelling of the events that had taken place that night, I wouldn't have been able to tell this body belonged to Anya."***

***I tracked down the wolves. The beta wolf wasn't amongst them any longer, but the wolf named Levi, who'd made the killing, was amongst them. I killed the other hunters quickly, leaving Levi last. I wanted to torture him. I wanted him to at least feel a small ounce of the horror he'd bestowed on that little girl. Knowing the vanity of werewolves, I asked Levi to describe in detail to me how he killed Anya. Levi swore up and down that he didn't kill Anya. He stated he broke her back, which caused her to pass out, but he left her there, living. Levi had planned on circling back and keeping Anya for himself as a pet. He was fixated on her red hair, and his wolf wanted a taste of her. The breaking of Anya's back coincides with the crunching noise, which Mary thought to be her sister's neck-breaking, followed by the silence; that she thought meant Anya had died. When I asked Levi what he saw when he went back to get Anya, he described the body that I'd found, except he mentioned that the body belonged to a young female sprite; he could smell the magic on the body. I took Levi with me to dig up Anya's grave. Afterward, I broke his back continually, making the break worse each time it began to heal. Finally, by the fiftieth break, I severed his spinal cord completely before burying him. I took the remains with me and had them looked over where the doctor confirmed they did, in fact, belong to a young female sprite***

I reread the paper over and over again. Kade hadn't shared any of this information with me. I had no idea he'd gone seeking justice himself. I'd always planned to bring the wolves in who'd hunted down my mate myself and let Mary have at them. I turned to the next page, captivated by Kade's findings.

***"K,***

***I think I've found the girl you're seeking. She has bright fiery red hair and appears to be human. The four brothers who rescued her won't let anyone near her. The girl appears to be in good health, from what I've seen. She's shy, and whenever she leaves their home, she always has one of the brothers accompanying her; she seems smitten by them. I haven't gotten a chance to speak with her to confirm if she's the girl you're searching for. The brothers don't call her by her given name; instead, they call her Kismet, their fated. I don't think she knows what they are insinuating, but she seems comfortable living with them. I'll let you know more as soon as I can.***

***-S"**

***"K,***

***It's been confirmed. This human girl is Anya, the one you've been searching for. The miller's daughter was caught entangled with the brother, Jed, and Kismet found them. She lost it. She marched straight into town and demanded someone help her out of the forest. I luckily happened to be right there, and I took Kismet to my home, where I learned that she'd been left injured in the woods with a broken back and no family. The brothers found her lying there and rescued her, leaving in place the body of their sister, Renee, who'd died earlier that same week, using a spell too strong for her magical capacity.***

***When I asked Kismet what she remembered of her past, she stated her name was Anya and that she had no one left. She was a nobody with nowhere to go. After conversing and having tea, Anya decided to return to the brothers' home; while Jed had lost her trust, she was still in smitten with the other three.***

***-S.***

I looked up from the paperwork, my heart racing. Anya was alive; Mary's little sister had survived the wolf attack. She's been alive this entire time, living with the sprites; the four brothers were the four sprite princes; Jed, Tobias, Thomas, and Jonah.

I raced out of my office and headed toward Kade's quarters.

*'How long, Kade. How long have you known that Anya was alive?* I asked, linking him.

*'I've had a hunch since before the wedding. I received that letter of confirmation late last night. I wanted to tell you immediately, but there was no reasoning with you'*

Kade and I met in the corridor outside his room.

"Anya might not come with us," Kade stated, looking directly at me. "She's made her own life now. She's happy with the princes, even if she doesn't know that they're her mates."

"I don't care if she comes back with us or not. I just want to know that she's alive and well. I want to see her with my own eyes before telling Mary that her little sister is still alive." I respond.

"Then let's go. Let's find the baby sister, save Mary, and reunite the family." Kade replied.

"There's only one issue." I respond, "We have a week before we can save Mary, and I cannot teleport us to the Sprite Village. I do not rule over the sprites."

"Wait, what?" Kade asked, a look of confusion on his face. "I thought you ruled over every being?"

"Every being except the sprites. Their magic is strong enough to shield them from the outside world. The only ones allowed in their villages are individuals who are invited in. The sprites didn't participate in the Great War because they were safe from danger. Their four princes are their rulers." I reply, watching the shock grow on Kade's face.

"Well, it's a good thing I have an inside man who will be willing to let us in, as long as we make a blood vow that we won't cause any intentional harm," Kade stated.

"What are we waiting for then?" I asked as Kade sent me a vision of an area outside the Sprite Lands, giving me the ability to teleport us there.