Once they reached Bella's Place it caused Dalia's nose to go into overdrive in the back alley as she could smell familiar scents and blood.

"What do you think, Dalia? Was Lady Rya here?" Percy asked Dalia as they passed by the trash in the alley.

*Sniff! Sniff! Sniff!*

"Yeah, Alpha was here, and I can only smell that coward that escaped the labyrinth. The one with the hammer... I remember that stench anywhere," Dalia answered as she sniffed the air again.

Percy's face became angry recalling the man who tried to kill Lady Ryan and his Lord at the same time. "So, the fool didn't heed our warning."

Dalia was shocked by her mate's anger towards his enemies. She thought it was hot and sexy. But she knew this wasn't the time or place to flirt. So, she kept her mouth shut.

"Miss Nieren, you said Rya came out of the brothel?" Percy while looking at Nieren.

"Y-Yes sir!" Nieren answered as she pointed to the building known as Bella's Place.

Dalia looked back to Percy and saw his eyes were filled with controlled fury.

"We shall ask this Bella what she knows about the Black Roses' involvement. I would hate it if we need to get unpleasant." Percy growled.

Dalia saw Percy's wolf side coming out, a side of him that she loves, and she was ready to do anything to protect her mate.

"Leave it to me, Gamma. Alpha's is my friend and I'll find out what we need to know." Dalia said as her cheeks flushed red.

"No, Lady Dalia. We'll do this together." Percy smiled.

Nieren was watching the two of them working together. And couldn't help but be a little jealous.

'Wow? I never knew how loyal a human can be? These wolf-kin were lucky enough to find such a loyal mate. Could I find such a mate?' Nieren thought as she bit her lip.

"Miss Nieren. Thanks for telling us about Lady Rya. We'll take it from here." Percy said to the wood elf.

"Huh? But what if I want to stay and help you?" Nieren asked as she looked at Percy.

"But we have to post a request with the guild. We can't pay you if you join us now, Miss Nieren." Percy said.

"I don't care about getting paid for this. I've seen too many wood elves get collared in my life and I'm tired of doing nothing about it. Even if Rya is a dark elf. If she's helping you two than she must be good." Nieren said as she stared down Percy.

"She's more than a good person, Miss Nieren. She's saved our lives. I'd do anything to repay her. We all would." Percy said as he smiled at Dalia.

Nieren's heart fluttered as she felt a tingle run up her legs. She did like Percy and the way he treated Dalia.

"Plus, Beta would destroy half the world once he finds out about this." Dalia added.

"Haah... Yeah, he would. We'll need to see him after this." Percy nodded in agreement.

"Really? W-Who's Beta?" Nieren asked with a confused look on her face.

"Well, if you plan on joining us you might as well know. He's prince Quinus, next heir to the throne of Fiafyr."

'WHAT!? That's amazing!' Nieren thought as she remembered how cute the prince was when he carried Rya away to her room back at the inn.

"Yeah, he's my best friend and usually a calm guy but he's in love with Lady Rya and will do anything to get her back. So, let's talk with Bella and see what we can get out of her before we can make are next move." Percy said as he looked at Dalia as she started wagging her tail.

"Okay, then. Let's go see her!" Nieren replied as she walked towards the back door.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

***

Inside the brothel Bella was trying to help her injured employees that were trapped in a room.

"Bella! You're alive!?" A female voice called out.

"Yes. I don't know how we didn't get murdered by Jeremiah. It was a miracle." Bella said as she walked over to see some of her guards dead on the ground with their necks slit open.

"Haah... Did any of our bouncers survive?" One of the escorts asked.

"I don't think any of them did? How are we going to run the brothel with no protection?" Another escort asked.

"Tck! Who would want to work here after knowing that they can be killed for no reason?" A third one asked.

"Enough! We will survive like we always do. But we might need to move out of Ironside." The owner said as she continued to clean up the bodies.

"Why?" One of the escorts asked.

"The Kings Slayer has a powerful dark elf collared. And they're talking about the Prince of Fiafyr being in the city. We need to leave before it becomes a war zone." Bella said with worry in her eyes.

"What should we do?" Another one asked.

"We can't stay here-" Bella replied as she looked around the room and noticed three people she hadn't seen before. One was a wolf-kin, one was a wood elf and the last was a human ranger that had royal markings of the kingdom of Fiafyr on him.

"Are you Bella?" asked Percy.

"Yes. Why?" She asked, looking at the young man with a questioning look on her face.

"I'm Percy, retainer of the crown prince of Fiafry and I know Lady Rya has been kidnapped from here, by the Black Roses. What's your involvement with the mercenaries?" Percy asked with a serious look about him. Like he was ready to fight if need be.

Bella shook her head and looked at Percy, "He killed my guards and held the rest of my employees and myself hostage if I didn't help them capture the dark elf... If I knew that she would have done this to my business, I would have turned her away to begin with." Bella said with sadness in her eyes.

Percy, Dalia and Nieren noticed the dead bouncers laying on the ground.

"Do you know where they were going? Or what the black roses are doing now?" Percy asked.

"I heard one of them mention going to one of the abandoned mines by Mount Galfrei." an escort said, looking down.

"Mount Galfrei? Are you sure?" Percy asked.

The girl nodded her head, "Yea, there are a few abandoned mines there. I heard it from the guy that had a war hammer."

"He mentioned that they were heading to one of the mine shafts?" Percy asked, looking for confirmation.

"I think so. But I'm not sure." The girl said, shaking her head.

While Percy was talking to Bella and the girls Dalia was checking out a spot that was covered in broken wood and earth.

'There's a body down there.' Dalia thinks to herself as she sniffs around the area where Rya killed the Merc. 'But it looks like someone was buried.'

Dalia starts digging up the dirt to see who was down there.

It takes her a few minutes, but she finally discovers the body buried 5 feet in the ground.

She lifts the body out of the hole and looks at it. It was a human male that had a hole in his chest. There is nothing notable about him except that his attire was that of the Black Rose Mercenary Company.

Dalia looks up to Percy, "Gamma! I found a body! A human!" She says to Percy.

"Who is it? Is it one of those damn mercenaries?" Percy asks, looking back at Dalia.

"Yes, he is. But I don't know who he is."

"Let me see then," Percy said, walking over to the body that Dalia threw out of the hole and onto the hardwood floor.

'So Nieren was right about the Black Rose. I wonder?' Percy thought to himself.

He quickly checks the body making sure that he doesn't feel anything that might be dangerous before inspecting it.

"Yeah, he must have been killed by Lady Rya before getting captured." Percy said, looking at the body.

"They must have ordered Alpha to bury him." Dalia said, pointing to the broken pieces of wood and earth surrounding the body.

"Can you use his scent to find their hideout?" Percy asked Dalia.

"Of course, I can!" Dalia said, looking at the body of the merc and cut his head off, with her claws, then put it in a bag.

"Gah! Why did you cut his head off?" Nieren asked as she walked up to Percy and Dalia.

"So, I can keep a fresh scent on him as we go searching for their hideout." Dalia said, looking at Percy.

"Sure but why the head of all the things?" Nieren asked, confused.

"I get a little bit of everything. Skin, hair, saliva, blood and other things that give off scents. So, if the scent is over 24 hours old, I'll still be able to pick it up again and should be able to track them down." Dalia said as she looked at the headless corpse.

"You can do that? Well, should we go after them, then?" Nieren asked Dalia.

"We need to inform the prince before we can do anything. Do you wish to still join us Nieren? Things are about to get dangerous. Maybe you should stay here and wait for my return." Percy says looking at Nieren.

"No. I'm an adventurer. I am going with you even if this is unsanctioned work." She says looking at Percy.

"Alright then. Let's go." Percy said as he helped Dalia out of the hole. "Miss Bella, thanks you for your cooperation. And I'm sorry about our earlier hostilities towards you. I didn't know if you were working with the Black Roses."

Bella and the survivors nodded their heads to Percy.

The group of three leave the brothel and run to the baron's palace as fast as they can.