Chapter 3

Biel

Hunting the woman of the prophecy had almost turned out to be mission impossible.

We didn't know who she was or what magical powers she had, so we couldn't find her trail. So when the temple gave us clues on how to catch a stripper who was related to her, I didn't hesitate to come up with a plan.

I created an intelligence operation with elite guards in the small town of Valkir, the capital of Valter, one of the 3 common areas of Kagolen, the continent where we lived. Once we found the club where the stripper worked, it was a matter of investigating her movements until she finally met the woman of the prophecy.

It was a good move on my part, and when the prophecy woman was apprehended, I declared the operation a success. The woman was already hours into her processing; all was going well until one of the operation's guards approached me with a serious expression.

“What's going on, Jackson?” I asked him immediately.

"When the unknown female attempted to flee, I entered her apartment to comply with the screening protocol we do with all the fugitives we are looking for. I noticed right away that she wanted to burn a sheet of paper, but I was able to save the sheet of paper in time, and upon reviewing it, I knew I had to give it to you. I didn't come earlier because I was sent on a raid on a bar.”

Jackson's words made me frown.

He stretched the sheet of paper across the table, and what I saw completely surprised me.

It was a charcoal portrait of four men, and one of those men was me.

“Was there anything else among that woman's things?”

“Just a sketchbook of landscapes, animals, and flowers,” Jackson said. “There's nothing to explain why she would make a portrait of you, Captain.”

I nodded and clasped my hands.

I took a good look at the portraits and frowned when I recognized one of the other men portrayed. He was Drago Terranova, a millennial dragon who served as an advisor to his clan. He was a very serious man who didn't speak unless necessary, so I didn't imagine how he could relate to this woman.

“I need you to look into whether Drago Terranova has left his territory in the last few years.”

Jackson nodded and walked out of my office.

I had a bad feeling.

I put the drawing in a folder and went to the lab where the soulmates test was being processed.

My blood had been processed, but there had never been a match to anyone. I was one of the few supernatural beings who had not had the joy of finding his soulmate and that had finally motivated me to become captain of the guardians. However, I did not know some parameters of the test, and I wanted to know if they had the information of the type of power that the woman of the prophecy had.

If the unknown woman was part of the prophecy, it was possible that she was some kind of clairvoyant.

“Hello, Biel,” said Lu, one of the elves who were scientists in the temple lab. “What are you doing here?”

“I need a favor,” I said, and Lu folded her arms.

“Whenever I think you come for me, but you end up wanting something,” Lu said with a smile. “What is it?”

“Do you have the information on the last blood sample processed?”

Lu walked over to his computer, so I sat down next to her.

“What do you need?” asked Lu with the database open.

“I want to know who the unknown woman is and what kind of power she has, if possible, the classification of her power. Does the soulmates test say that?” I asked with a frown, and Lu nodded, laughing.

“Yes, all that the soulmates test says so,” Lu said and typed something; suddenly a window popped up on the screen. “The mystery woman's name is Nadine Gabrielle Griffin; she has no stated powers due to the fact that she was reported missing when she was 8 years old, and her powers are still inconclusive. Her mother is Nadia Griffin, a hybrid werewolf woman with super strength and air elemental magic. Nadia's blood was processed for the soulmates test, but she had no matches. She is one of the few women who was not mated, so her daughter is not the child of her mate.”

That information caught my attention.

“The mystery woman didn't do the soulmates test?” I asked, and Lu shook his head.

“No, the woman's blood is being processed right now; her result will be in by tomorrow.”

“Do you know where we can find her mother?”

Lu searched for information and frowned when he saw a black headband.

“The woman was murdered in her home 13 years ago; there are no culprits related to the case. Since that day, Nadine has been declared missing.”

“Thanks for helping me, Lu.”

She nodded, and I left.

Some of the information didn't surprise me.

It was obvious that Nadine had avoided the soulmates test on purpose, and seeing the portraits, a suspicion formed in my head, so I asked about her, and my men told me she was with High Priest Lion in the interrogation room. I went straight there to face her.

As I entered, I was nearly struck dumb when I saw the woman for the first time.

I had seen her portrait, but I had not come across her.

Nadine was a goddess. She had snow-white skin, with hair blacker than mine, gray eyes that looked frightening, and red lips that disarmed me. It was worth every ounce of my self-control to face her, so I used anger and ignored what the high priest said. I only looked at her as I stamped the drawing on the table.

“One of my men found this in your dwelling and prevented this paper from being burned, so I want an exact explanation as to why you have a portrait of me,” I said briskly.

Nadine's response was to sit up straight and ignore the question.

I looked at the High Priest Lion and then walked out of there with my heart racing.

When I got to my office, Jackson was waiting for me there, and I looked at him with surprise.

“Drago hasn't left his mountain in decades,” Jackson said.

There was no way Drago was linked to Nadine.

“Thank you.”

“I know who the other men in the drawing are,” Jackson said, and my eyebrows rose. “A few years ago, a wolf took the guardian test, but he didn't advance because he was injured. His name is Connor Devereux. He's an Alpha now.”

“Are you sure it's him?” I asked doubtfully.

“The portrait looks just like his face, and I was one of the guardians who guided him through the entrance exams. The other man is a vampire and trade delegate of a vampire clan neighboring mine; let's just say he's not someone to be underestimated. He's the most powerful vampire I know.”

“What's his name?”

“Aris Cohen,” Jackson said, and my eyebrows rose again.

“Is he the vampire of legend?” I asked mockingly.

“He's as old as Drago Volterra, so I wouldn't be surprised if he really is the vampire of legend.”

After that, I investigated the men in the portrait myself and realized that we shared only one thing: none of us had a match in the soulmates test. It was obvious where all this was going.

In the early morning, I felt the magic of the temple call; I looked at my wrist, and the mates' mark was there, so I took a deep breath before that same magic transported me to the lab report room. I materialized at the same moment the other men materialized.

We all looked into each other's eyes.

Lu walked in and looked at me with a smirk.

“Good morning, welcome to the temple laboratory of the Equilibrium Order,” Lu said. “You have been summoned because the soulmates test has yielded an extraordinary match for all of you.”

“What do you mean?” the younger man asked curiously.

“You are one of the few group matches the blood test has yielded in centuries,” Lu said firmly. “You are all mates of the same woman.”

“Impossible,” the younger man said.

I looked at Drago, and his expression was indecipherable.

“Now I understand that my taste in orgies wasn't just entertainment,” the red-haired man said humorously, and the younger man grunted in annoyance at his comment.

I ignored them and sat down; that made everyone sit down too, and minutes later Nadine walked in.

Their response to seeing her was felt in the air.

The red-haired man smiled, and I saw his fangs, so I could deduce that it was Aris the vampire, and the young brown-haired man was Connor, the wolf; he had a scowl on his face. Drago was a blank slate; however, something about his look was different.

“Welcome, Nadine Griffin,” Lu said. “I want to present you with your test results along with your mates.”

She showed no surprise, so I let my annoyance out.

Nadine knew who we were to her, and she never sought us out; she didn't care, and that was enough to make my anger rise up with a vengeance. I could care less about being captain of the guardians; if she hadn't cared about me, she wasn't going to care about me.

“You're mates group central, Nadine,” Lu said. “The soulmates test doesn't lie and pulls out an exact match of what everyone needs. They are Aris Cohen, Connor Devereux, Drago Volterra, and—”

“Biel,” Nadine said, and my skin crawled.

“Yes, it's Biel Tello,” Luz said, and everyone immediately saw me.

It was obvious that my name was recognized by what I could do; however, when I saw the fear on Nadine's face, I knew that knowing who I was had really upset her.

“Nadine, your testing was accurate; however, your powers were inconclusive,” Lu said, and I saw Nadine squeeze his hand. “Maybe now that you have your mates, you'll bond with them—”

“I'm never going to bond with any of them,” Nadine said immediately in a defensive tone of voice that rattled my nerves. “I don't owe anyone anything, and I don't believe in the soulmates test. I don't need a man with me to reveal my power.”

Connor growled, as did Drago, and Aris got serious, but I just laughed at her.

That made her look at me.

“Don't be a liar,” I told Nadine with a smile. “You'd better tell us what you are and not waste our time with your brattishness.”

For the first time I saw fire in Nadine's eyes, and I had to restrain myself.

At that moment, I knew she was going to be the ruin of me.