Dax sat at the table in his office, waiting for Rhys and Jalen to arrive. He still had no idea what he had walked in on, or if the two were a couple. Things had gotten out of hand since the day he and Aura had reconciled. Dax had stumbled on unbelievable things from Aura being a beast shifter to hunters at war with her people. Then, there was Rhys’ amazing magic and Jalen’s news of Aura’s disappearance. He wondered if Aura was okay since she had been in the hunters’ custody for two whole days. Jalen, Rhys, and Dax had been out searching hunter hideouts, looking for where Aura might be held. With no luck and process of elimination, they had concluded that Aura must be held at Grim Guild’s guild house. Dax only had five days left before Queen Galadriel, the elf queen arrived. He needed Aura back before the royal visit.

Dax had made Roland his second in command to handle the preparation for the queen’s royal visit, so he could find Aura. Roland had managed to distribute Aura and Jalen’s herbal solution to the rest of the plague victims in the village as well as beginning to send it off to the surrounding villages in the area. Jalen had prepared a few more batches of the herbal solution for the surrounding villages to keep from feeling helpless. Dax began to wonder if he would get Aura back in time for the royal visit. Things were so chaotic and uncertain than Dax’s head began to spin thinking about it. Why did Aura have to disappear?

A knock on the door rescued Dax from his thoughts. “Come in,” Dax responded to the welcomed intrusion.

“Captain Dax,” Roland called out as he opened the door to the messy office. Roland could see Dax stressing over everything. Papers and maps were scattered across the room, and food trays from the past two days were stacked on a small table by the door. The whole village was slowly returning to normal for the royal, and Dax was stuck since he learned Aura had disappeared. Roland had never seen a man, so distraught over a woman’s disappearance. He felt bad for his friend and captain. All he could do was help Dax manage the village and prepare for the royal visit. Many of the villagers had been inquiring about their mysterious herbalist who helped the village heal. Rumors had surfaced that a wild woman swung into town and secretly made medicine at night only to leave each morning before the sun rose. Some thought she was an angel sent by God while others believe she was born from nature and heard their pleas for help. Where did such ridiculous rumors come from? Roland had no idea, but he was sure Aura had become some type of mythical legend for the villagers.

“What is it, Roland?” Dax looked up from the disarray of reports in front of him. Dax’s bright blue eyes were dim, dark circles settled under his eyes and his face was expressionless.

“Most of the shops have reopened though the inventory is low for most of them, and only fifty or so villagers are still in recovery from the plague,” Roland reported. The village was slowly coming back to life.

Dax nodded in approval of Roland’s report. “Let’s do what we can to build inventory in the shops. Have everyone pitch in to make things, work the land or go hunt. It will take a community to truly bring the village back from destruction. Keep a tight patrol around the village. The last thing we need is a surprise attack from bandits, animals, or worse, monsters.”

Roland grinned at Dax’s ideas. Even if Dax was struggling to do his job, he didn’t give or quit his responsibilities. Roland truly admired his friend and captain. “Yes, sir. Consider it done.” Roland turned to leave as the door to the office began to open. He watched as the elf herbalist and dwarf guild master made their way into the room. They too appeared tired and worn from their work. Roland knew they were all looking for Aura. The wild woman stole his friend’s heart and cured a plague with her herbs. He wished he could help Dax find her. Dax was clearly head over heels after only two months of knowing her. It was a love story of fairy tales, but he feared his friend would never get the fairytale ending. Why was life treating Aura’s friends so cruelly? Was God bored? Roland had no answers, but he trusted their creator would make everything right somehow. He left the crew to plan as he returned to his duty of tidying up this little village.

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“There was no sign of her to the north, but we did free another group of beast shifters. My sister is escorting them to the port as we speak.” Jalen tried to sound upbeat. Every hideout that they checked out, Rhys, Ivy, and he had found large groups of beast shifters, orcs, and an assortment of tormented slaves. They had rescued them all in search of Aura. He was surprised that he had heard nothing from the clan or his Alpha although they had sent Ivy to help Jalen stabilize the area surrounding the Village of Lilies and find Aura, the exiled Huntress.

Personally, Jalen was proud of Aura for deciding to leave the clan. Aura had been an amazing Huntress, but she didn’t thrive. Aura had earned the name of the Silent Silver because she has killed around thirty-three corrupted, brutal, high-ranked men and women. One of her victims was a human prince. All her victims were greeted by a silver wolf just before they died. Other times she was as brutal as the other wolf hunters. Her life as a spy and assassin didn’t fit her warm and caring personality. Jalen was pulled back to Dax’s boring mapping conversation by a nudge from Rhys when Dax suddenly stopped talking. “Aura would probably kick my ass right about now for taking so long to get her.” Jalen joked. He hated tense moments like this.

“Well, if we take much longer to bring my girl, I will kick you both where the sun doesn’t shine.” Rhys gritted her teeth. She had been forced to listen to Jalen's annoying jokes all day, and she decided it was time to retaliate.

“Rhys, I think you need to get laid or drink some beer. You have done nothing but whine all day.” Jalen grinned at the seething Rhys across from him.

“Why you-”

“Enough,” Dax urged, stopping Rhys in her tracks. “We leave tonight for the Grim Guild. Take the afternoon to prepare or sleep. We are coming back with Aura tonight.” He said and marched out of the room leaving Rhys and Jalen stunned. “Oh and get your romantic shit straight. We don’t need you both distracted tonight.” Dax called out, making Rhys and Jalen blush as they stare at the door.

“Romantic shit?” Jalen cleared his throat nervously. “Do you know what he meant by that?”

“Either you are denser than I thought or you are acting like a dumb brute.” Rhys scoffed at Jalen. “He’s right though. We have been acting like naughty kids, throwing tantrums.”

“Maybe you have, but I have been my normally delightful self, Ms. Rhys,” Jalen said sarcastically.

Rhys walked around the table, coming face to face with a grinning Jalen. “Want to play games, brute? Fine. Let’s play.” She said smugly as leaped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and locking her arms around his neck.

Jalen shifted while trying to catch his balance. His arms immediately wrapped around Rhys’ waist, supporting her. He looked into her eyes, and he could see her honest vulnerability and hopes reflecting back at him. Despite what she had said, this wasn’t a game for either of them. Jalen had a mate once, and it ended in shambles. He was hesitant to start anything again, especially since they couldn’t be a normal couple.

“Quit thinking so hard, brute. I know this can’t be anything serious in the real world, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have our own private moments, okay?” Rhys whispered to him. Jalen just nodded before fusing his lips to hers. Jalen was amazed at Rhys. She understood him. Maybe, there was still a chance for him to get away from this rock and a hard place. Then again, maybe Rhys wanted his hard place…

She pulled away, giving him the sweetest wanting look. “Use your super speed to get us back to my cottage. We only have the afternoon.” Her sly smile lit up her face. Jalen smashed his lips onto her once more. Rhys licked his lips requesting entrance to his mouth, and he knew she was wanting his hard place. Jalen let their tongues dance together as his hands gently rubbed up and down her back while pulling her closer to him. Rhys’ hand tangled deep into his soft long hair, and she did even realize they had moved until she saw her cottage door close behind Jalen. They parted breathy and hot as Jalen carried her into her room.

“Last time I will ask. Rhys, are you sure about this?” Jalen asks.

“Yes, you little brute.” She grins enclosing the space with a peck on the lips. “We will talk about the details later. For now, show me your wonderful body once more, you sexy little brute.”

Jalen chuckled and obliged her demands. “Yes, ma’am.”