Emma's pov

　　"Are you sure it's Milena Golden from the Lone Mountain Pack?" Matthew asks Gaya for the fifth time, and the young cook nods her head.

　　"Yes, Alpha Matthew. Milena Golden, omega of my former wolf pack, I'm sure of it," Gaya confirms with a firmer voice.

　　"Emma, come with me. Let's input the information into the database and then cross-reference it with the image bank," Matthew orders, his voice growing deeper as he assumes more of his alpha role. "Gaya, if I need more information, I'll call for you, understood?"

　　Gaya nods and, along with Thalia, moves away from Matthew's presence, leaving me alone with him. My heart races in my chest; I grip the pendant necklace tightly in my hand, so tight that my nails pierce the skin on my palm.

　　"Shall we go to my office?" Matthew suggests in a calmer tone, extending his arm forward to indicate the way.

　　I swallow hard and nod, beginning the walk back to the main house of the pack. I make an effort to keep my thoughts focused solely on the investigation.

　　"Have you ever heard of this Milena Golden, by any chance?" Matthew asks as we walk slowly to the office. The house is quiet; Charlotte must have gone to school after breakfast. I notice some employees passing from one room to another, bowing to Matthew as they pass us.

　　"No, never. That's why this photograph is so strange," I reply, intrigued.

　　"But are you sure this necklace belongs to Ava?" Matthew deduces uncertainly.

　　"Yes. Her father, Alpha Tim Davis, gave it to her for her fifteenth birthday. He had the chain and pendant made; it's something completely unique to Ava. You can't find it in a jewelry store," I explain thoughtfully. I look more closely at the necklace in my hand, remembering that Ava's initials were also engraved on the back of the pendant. I turn the object, and there they are.

　　"Here, look... it has Ava's initials. A.D.," I move closer to Matthew's body to show him the initials on the pendant. Matthew's scent hits me like a wave; his breath brushes my ear, and his hand touches my waist, bringing me even closer to him. My face rests on his shoulder while his chin rests on the top of my head. This proximity causes a rush of euphoria, a flutter in my heart.

　　I can't think about how long we stayed like this, close, feeling Matthew's warm body against mine.

　　"It... it really is Ava's necklace," Matthew murmurs in my ear in response. His words from the previous night flood back into me, how he said I was delicious, and how I moaned his name over and over.

　　I abruptly pull away from our bodies' closeness. I can't focus on this; I can't dwell on how wonderful last night was. "Yes, I have no doubt that this necklace belongs to Ava! I really want to know who Milena Golden is," I speak hurriedly, resuming the walk to Matthew's office.

　　The place is still too minimalist for my taste, but I don't want to provoke unnecessary confrontations about it. Alpha Matthew passes by me and sits in front of the computer. I pull the other chair in front of him and place it next to him, leaving a few inches of space so that our bodies don't touch. I don't know what I would do if we got close again. I look around, my mind thinking about what positions would be possible for us to have sex in this empty, lifeless, and dull office.

　　"One," Matthew replies, and I startle at the response.

　　"What?" I ask, surprised. Just one position? Seriously?

　　However, that's not what Matthew is talking about; his eyes are focused on the computer screen, and his forehead is furrowed, showing the small wrinkle that forms when he's like this. "A Milena Golden popped up in the database," Matthew replies and points to the screen.

　　I look at the information in front of me. Interesting.

　　"A woman fifty-five years old. Omega of the Lone Mountain Pack," I recite the information aloud and notice Matthew's eyes on me, his body reclining in the office chair, his elbow resting on the table while his fingers touch his chin. He's scrutinizing me; I can feel his eyes sweeping over my body. "Is there something on my face by any chance?" I ask brusquely, making Matthew blink and refocus his attention on the screen.

　　"Not on your face... but on your neck," he replies with a mischievous tone, and I swallow hard again. "Milena Golden seems to have nothing special on the surface," Matthew smoothly changes the subject, his eyes running over the data found.

　　For several hours, we analyze forums about Ava's case and try to find new connections between my best friend and Milena Golden until something catches my attention. "There, what's this here?" I point to the computer screen; it's a photograph from Ava's college.

　　Matthew enlarges the photograph, and we can see it in more detail. It's a picture from six months ago, when Ava had just finished her semester finals and there was going to be a party to celebrate. In the photograph, Ava is happily hugging another girl. Ava was blonde, with blue eyes like her brother Michael; Ava's hair was always wavy and full, and a charming smile always graced her lips, as it does in the photograph.

　　"Do you know the girl next to Ava?" Matthew asks thoughtfully, and I continue to analyze the photo, trying to recall any memory of her with Ava.

　　"I can't remember her, unfortunately. I know Ava had many friendships; she was always very sociable. But her life on the college campus was different within the pack; I knew the friends she had in our pack, but outside?" I shake my head.

　　"I'll input it into the image bank and see what the data brings us," Matthew declares as he begins to delve further into the young woman next to Ava.

　　I'm amazed at his investigative skills on the computer. The information-gathering programs are only accessed by him; I had only stayed on internet forums. It didn't take long for Matthew to discover who the girl in the photo with Ava was.

　　"It seems she's Emily Golden, daughter of omega Milena Golden," Matthew displays a photograph of the young woman with her mother, Milena Golden, on the screen. "It also seems that Milena Golden has strong connections with your Alpha Tim Davis," Matthew continues reading the information on the screen, his voice now more intrigued, even he himself is more interested in the investigation.

　　"What connections could an omega from an isolated wolf pack have with the alpha of the Moonshadow Pack?" I inquire curiously.

　　Matthew scratches the back of his head, he always does that when he's pensive, as if it were a nervous tic. An adorable habit.

　　"Well, some files are encrypted, bank accounts, addresses. But from what's visible, it's as if they have some sort of partnership or something. I need to decrypt the other files to be sure," Matthew replies seriously.