Arlen's POV
"This is now three times that Luca Lombardo has escaped our hands!! THERE WILL NOT BE A FOURTH, OR THE THREE OF YOU ARE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH ME PERSONALLY!! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!!!" I bellowed at the Starr brothers who were standing in front of me with their heads down. Conner Mathews, one of their contracted hands, looked like he was about to p**s himself.
"If I may speak, King Arlen?" Conner whispered so softly I barely heard him. I nodded in agreement.

"Sir, we have run surveillance and stings like this many times, so much I could do it in my sleep. If Luca Lombardo was watching us we would have sensed him!" Conner told me.
I put my head in my hands in frustration. "They have a woman who is a fortune-teller on their side. How many times have we been over this!!"
"What we sensed with Luca was no human fortune-teller! It was a witch-demon, King Arlen! I swear it!" Aiden was adamant about what he had observed. But from a supernatural standpoint, it was impossible. There have been many stories of witches and demons trying to mate, and both parties end up maiming or even killing each other.
"Perhaps they have teamed up with a demon?" I speculated.
"This was a hybrid, I'm certain of it. After Luca grabbed Marshall, I picked up only three scents and energies within the trail they left." Aiden firmly said. And as much as I hated to admit it, I trusted Aiden's judgment. This is exactly why I hired him years ago for this line of work.
"So either they got rid of Sheri Hunter once and for all, or they made her into one of them. But that would mean...." Realization hit me.

"A change like that would've killed her if Sheri is half-demon!" Anthony told us.
I grabbed my cell phone to call Amos Rainwater. "Amos, we have a situation here." I broke down everything that had happened in New Orleans, and he told me he would catch the next flight out.
"I'm sorry, Amos, to take you away from your family like this."
"Honestly, Arlen, I need a reprieve. I'll send Gemma and the kids to a safe spot as a precaution, however."

"Congratulations, by the way! How did the delivery go?" After a pregnancy full of complications, Gemma gave birth to a baby girl just a month ago. Amos had sent me a picture of the new baby but with everything going on, I hadn't had a chance to even call him.
"It got scary at the end. Gemma hemorrhaged, and they had to do an emergency c-section. But they got it under control. Thankfully, they didn't have to do a hysterectomy." Amos told me.
"How's Gemma overall?"
"Grateful to be alive. You know what happened to her mother." I had been a king for a few years when Gemma's mother and baby sister died from a uterine malformation Gemma's mother had.
"I'm sure it had to be terrifying." I empathized.
"It was. But the important thing is she and our baby are fine and healthy. I'll see you in a few hours." Amos got off the phone and I turned to the three in my office.
"If he can get a demon here to explain this to us, that will help us get started figuring out how to stop her." I told them.
"King Arlen, we were discussing something when you were on the phone just now. What if Luca figuring out our every single move isn't just luck?" Anthony asked.
"The first time Jason led him right to our doorstep, the second time we went to him." I nonchalantly said.
"Right, but how could Sheri Hunter have known about our plans? Brynn said that Sheri was bluffing about even knowing who Marshall is! What if her fortune-telling abilities are just luck and not a true ability?" Anthony told us.
"That would mean we have a mole here in the kingdom. But what explains how Brynn knows the things she does?" I countered.
"Her Romani side from her father. Gypsies are well known for their gifts of discernment and anticipation of events and steps. King Arlen, we didn't sense anything until Luca was grabbed last night. I'd have discerned it sooner. Therefore, I'm leaning towards there being a mole here." Aiden told me.
"So we know that Ezra kept the fact he is of Romani lineage hidden from Sheri during their entire marriage. What if Sheri was always half-demon, but kept that hidden from Ezra and masked it as a fortune-telling ability!?" Anthony's theory was interesting. I got my phone out to text Rafael to send Ezra to us. He came into our office a few minutes later.
"Ezra, Luca Lombardo has once again eluded capture. We believe your wife is with him. I sensed something about her the other night that I hope you can give us some insight about. This fortune-telling ability she has. Exactly what has it entailed?" Aiden asked him.
"It's been a curse to our family. Sheri's made a lot of financial mistakes with it, mistakes I've barely been able to keep from putting us on the streets. The only major things Sheri has been able to predict with accuracy are a bad storm in our town, stock market instability, and our son's death. Which she did absolutely nothing to stop!" Ezra snarled out.
"Storms and stock market fluctuations are nothing really extraordinary. Often they're lucky guesses. As far as the weather goes, anyone with Internet access can make predictions. How did she say she predicted Jordan's death?" I asked curiously.
"She told me months later that three days before he died, that she dreamed he had died in a crash with a woman in the car." Ezra answered bitterly.
"It was after he died though. Would Sheri have had a reason to say something like that to you?" Ezra looked down in despair.
"I was drunk and went off on her about him. She was furious with me." Ezra said in realization.
"So it is safe to say that maybe her fortune predictions have been sheer coincidence and her gift is really something else, or nothing at all." Anthony said.
"But I would have sensed if Sheri was something else! Right?!" Ezra frantically said.
"What Aiden sensed the other night in New Orleans was possibly a witch-demon. Since the only two people that have had any association with your wife in my kingdom are you and your daughter..."
"You want to do a DNA test on Stefanie and figure out if she has supernatural blood in her." Ezra whispered in shock.
"That would clear this up the quickest."
Stefanie and Eli were taking a walk in the forest when we found them. She agreed to the testing and within a couple of hours, we had an answer and met Dr. Byers in his office to discuss it.
"Stefanie, you are indeed one quarter demon and three quarters human. Obviously, you are half Romani." Dr. Byers confirmed.
"You mean to tell me that my mother hid that from me when I was turned into a witch?!? Christ...she could've killed me!" Stefanie shouted.
"Was acquiring your witch powers painful when you had them?" I asked her.
"Looking back, no. It was just your typical spell transfer." Stefanie told me.
"Then your demon blood is too minimal to be able to have demon power." I assured her.
Stefanie sat down with Eli taking her hands. "What else has my mother hidden from me?" She whispered, tears running down her face.
As hard as it was to feel sympathy for the woman, I couldn't help it. Since her arrival last week, Stefanie and her father have been comparing notes and learning just how much Sheri Hunter manipulated both of them.
"King Arlen, Amos has just arrived." Anthony informed me. A guard brought Amos into my office, where I filled Amos in on what we learned.
"You need me to summon Balthazar and figure out what he may know about Sheri?" Amos asked me.
"Yes." I confirmed. Amos closed his eyes and the Prince of Demons was in my office in a couple of seconds. Stefanie and Eli gasped and stepped back.
"No need to be afraid, Balthazar has no use for you underlings!" He laughed at them.
"I'll cut right to the chase. We learned that my Queen's grandmother is half demon. We are afraid that the grandmother may have become a witch-demon." I told him, watching Balthazar carefully to try and discern any deception from him. Fortunately, he was just as shocked as we all were.
"Impossible! That can't happen, she should be dead!" Balthazar huffed.
"I was a witch and am her daughter. I just found out hours ago I am one quarter demon." Stefanie affirmed to him.
"And that's why you are still alive! That amount is nothing! King Arlen, it is literally impossible for witches and demons to mate. The powers between both are much too strong and they will kill each other! That is why Lucifer and the Wiccan Goddess have an oath between the two of them to never mate a demon and witch together!" Balthazar explained.
"But can it be done if the person is a half demon and is not a true witch? Like if the half-demon was granted witch powers?" Aiden interjected. Balthazar scratched his chin deep in thought.
"Perhaps. What is the woman's name again?"
"Sheri Hunter." I told Balthazar.
"Is that her married name?" Damn it!
"Yes, my name is Ezra Hunter. Her ex-husband." Ezra told him. Balthazar grinned at him in excitement and sniffed the air.
"Romani! Ahhh, Balthazar loves your kind!!" He clapped his hands in excitement. Ezra looked at Balthazar like he had lost his marbles.
"What is your ex-wife's birth name?" Balthazar asked.
"It's so bizarre that I always thought it was fake. Her name is Sheri Sosri." Balthazar's entire face was a question mark.
"It most certainly is fake. I have no demons in my world or this one with that particular surname." Everyone groaned in frustration.
"Sheri lied to me about being a fortune-teller, and she kept the fact that she's a half-demon from me for forty years. So I can't be surprised she would lie about this!" Ezra huffed.
"Wait a minute. Did you say fortune-teller?" Balthazar looked at us with his eyebrows raised. He immediately started to laugh.
"There was a demon who thought he could see the future named Domico. An odd duck that one, and he was so off base it was pitiful. Anyway, that demon married some human and had two kids with her. I never caught the daughter's name, but the son's name is Lorenzo."
F**K!!! I stormed out to the cottage I had offered Lorenzo to stay in with everyone behind me. But he was long gone.
"Who is Lorenzo!" Anthony asked me.
"The man in charge of the delivery service I have used for many years. His name is Lorenzo Rossi!" I snarled at him.
"That is the surname of the demon family I was talking about!" Balthazar confirmed.
"Sosri...it's an anagram for Rossi!" Aiden shouted. I frantically ran in search of Brynn. Thankfully, she was with George and Rafael on the training field working on her abilities. I grabbed her and pulled her close.
"Brynn, if Lorenzo calls or tries to contact you, tell me right away! He's dangerous!"
"What are you talking about?! Lorenzo wouldn't hurt me! And why is a demon with you!" Brynn shouted.
"Lorenzo has been lying to you and to all of us! He's a mole, Brynn! He's been giving the Lombardos information!!" I begged her to understand.
"You're wrong! Lorenzo's one of the good ones..."
Balthazar stepped forward and leaned towards Brynn's face, making her step back in fear. "You need to listen to your mate if you want him and your kingdom to remain intact!!"