*****Erika''s POV*****


    I knocked on Jace''s room door and heard his voice from the inside before pushing the door open to walk in.


    He was lying on the bed, looking exhausted as if he had run a marathon.


    I raised a questioning brow at him, "Why are you sweating so much? What did


    you do, Jace?” I know I sound like a mother, but Jace was my top priority now. I just can''t let any harm befall him.


    He shed me a smile with difficulty, before he replied, "I had a bath, and damn! I got exhausted."


    I blinked, how could he get exhausted after having a bath?


    "Are you alright?" I asked again, taking a step closer to him and making sure he was really alright. Jace nodded his head, but I knew it was a lie.


    "Jace tell me the truth" I sat by his side, running a hand by the side of his face. He breathed in and out, his breaths were ragged.


    "The truth is, I fell over in the bathtub and hurt my sides... it''s bleeding again." At those words, my eyes widened and I cursed loudly.


    "Why didn''t you ask for help?!" I yelled as I sprinted to the other side of his room to get the first aid kit. I knew Jace never liked to bother anyone with his health, but


    he had to understand that we''re family and we take care of each other.


    I returned to the bedside where hey and ordered, “please lie on your side, I need to help you out with this."


    He obliged andy on his side. I gasp the moment I saw the side of his shirt soaked with blood.


    "Oh no!" I began to slowly lift the shirt as he winced.


    "You''re exaggerating the stain." he chuckled, but I pped his waist and earned a groan from him.


    "Sorry." I stared at the gaping wound on the side of his stomach and felt my insides churn.


    "How did the doctor even ept your discharge with such an injury on you?!" I yelled as I swallowed the lump in my throat and began to dress the injury.


    "It doesn''t hurt much." Jace sighed and I gave him a side eye.


    "Shit that''s huge!" Cindy yelled in my head as I continued to wipe the blood.


    Why couldn''t his wolf just heal him already?


    "Why aren''t you healing?" I asked him, unable to bear it any longer. He smiled and shrugged.


    "I was stabbed with a silver de and the bullets too were silver." He replied and I sighed.


    They really wanted him dead.


    After I had finished cleaning off the blood, I set everything aside and rang the bell I had installed in his room for any services he needed. A maid came running in.


    "Clear this." I gestured to the items I had used for the sanitary and she nodded before taking them off. Each time I saw a maid, I would unfortunately be reminded of Melisse.


    A sigh left my lips as I went into Jace''s bathroom to wash off my hands and return. "Help me with another dress shirt."


    I walked up to his wardrobe to fetch a new clean dress shirt for him.


    "Give him some privacy." Cindy said to me as I kept staring at Jace while he put on the shirt.


    A snort was my reply.


    "All done." He announced and I sat back down. "Alright let''s get to the reason I came here." I said and he got serious.


    "Do you have any information you need to tell me about your abduction? Like who those peoplez are and what they wanted?” I asked immediately, watching Jace''s face for a satisfying response. Surely he should have found out about these people and maybe even their leader. Jace was smarter than I was and he must have seen something.


    After a while of silence from him, he shook his head.


    "Unfortunately, I don''t know who they are or what they wanted." He replied,


    making my face fall in disappointment.


    He didn''t know them still?


    Were they that difficult to find out?


    The little hope I had was crushed in an instant as I watched his face. I sighed


    heavily, I guess these people wouldn''t be as easy as I thought.


    “It''s fine, just take a rest.” I said and he nodded. I stood up to leave, but before I could get to the door, Jace called out to me.


    "Rika, wait" she called and I stopped, immediately turning expectantly.


    "I remember the identity of who I think was the leader." Hope shone in my eyes as


    I dashed back to sit beside his bed.


    He smiled at me, seeing my curiosity.


    "You look so worked up, Rika." He said extending a hand to pat my hair.


    I rolled my eyes and urged him to tell me the truth.


    "Just tell me already!"


    He chuckled and sighed.


    "When I was beaten by the men,"


    My heart squeezed at those words, they had beaten him, that exins why he was bloodied when we found him.


    "Before I lost consciousness, I fell to the floor and heard one of the men say something about the boss being a she." He said and ran hand through his hair.


    "A she?" I asked in surprise, a frown making its way to my face.


    A woman was responsible for all these?


    "Are you sure about that?" I asked to confirm and he nodded.


    "But how sure are you that you weren''t hearing things then?" I asked and he


    shook his head.


    “I wasn''t hearing things and


    moreover, she spoke to me wher was half conscious, but it was


    through a phone and her voice didn''t


    sound real. I guess her voice was


    auto tuned."


    All this information felt so overwhelming. I extended a hand to ask him to pause


    for a while.


    "A woman is behind all these?!" I


    yelled out, feeling my entire body go still at the fact that one woman was


    trying to control the destiny


    of


    everyone in Fangoria.


    "Yes, a woman is the master minder." He repeated with a sigh as well. I blinked


    again and again.


    "But.....but who is this woman?"