Castle tried his best to avoid the werewolf subject every time it was brought up. Even the boys teased him about not thinking about it the first he did when they found out about the homeless guys's chant.

"You starting to lose your game, Castle," Esposito had mocked while Ryan had shivered at the thought of werewolves.

Castle had just laughed it off, saying he'd not found it relevant and had been surprised Beckett, of all people, had come up with the theory. She'd immediately bit back saying how it wasn't a theory, there was no way she believed it true for one second. Once again he'd felt that sting in his heart and he'd even excused himself, saying he needed to go to the bathroom. While in the stall he tried to control the sudden need of air, tried take long, deep breaths. If it hadn't been for the knowledge of how filthy the stall walls were he would've leant his forehead on it. He put his hands over his face and tried to wipe away the small pain in his chest. She wasn't rejecting him. She was simply not one of the people believing in supernatural beings, and he already knew that. So, why did it hurt?! A sudden knock had him jumping and he felt his body freeze.

"Castle? Are you alright?" her voice sounded through the room with the stalls.

She was standing outside the small room with stalls, knowing she couldn't go inside the men's bathroom in case there would be one standing with his pants down. Castle quickly flushed and walked out of the stall to wash his hands, taking a quick glance in the mirror before going to the door. Opening it he immediately met her, seeing her hazels filled with a worry, hearing her heart beat a bit faster the second her eyes met his.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he questioned, his eyebrows furrowed in a try to look surprised.

"You-you know we were only messing with you... right?" her eyes were so filled with regret he almost looked away at the way his heart was slightly breaking at the thought of her thinking she caused him pain. Almost. But he held his gaze, knowing that if he broke it she would most definitely think he wasn't fine.

"I know, I just really needed to pee," he pointed his thumb towards the bathroom behind him and she bit her lower lip. Those pink lips he'd dreamt of kissing one time too many.

"You sure?"

How could one woman be so adorable and so maddening at the same time? "I'm sure."

He could sense she didn't believe him but to his relief she did let it go, for now. And they set their steps back to her desk where the boys were filling out the murder board with what they knew.

"Did you talk to Marco and Julie?" Castle asked the duo once he stood in front of the board, looking at all the things they'd scrabbled down.

"Yeah, hella weird ones," Esposito said with a wrinkled forehead.

"How do you know them again?" Ryan asked with the same wrinkle.

He couldn't exactly tell them the truth, so he shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, I don't really know them, I was at a party once and Marco was there, we came to talking and since we both had daughters that's one of the topics we shared. I remember them because of the way he talked, how mysterious he sounded." He tried to explain and thanks to his occupation the detectives simply nodded and took it as a reasonable explanation. After all, that's the kind of things he usually did anyway.

The hair in his nape suddenly raised and he immediately froze in his whole body. With the next breath he inhaled he knew exactly who it was and he hoped the fear in his eyes weren't visible to his partner as he looked back to see the two wolfs walk into the bullpen.

"Richard Castle, what a surprise," Marco said, his voice as dark as one could be, when he approached them.

Castle gulped and faked a smile. "Marco! I had no idea the guys invited you here."

"We didn't, what are you doing here Mr. Trent? I thought you said you didn't have anything to add," Esposito said and Castle had to stop himself from telling the detective to be careful.

"I don't, we just wanted to see how the investigation's going. Hannah was one of us." The wolf glanced to Castle with bright green eyes and he bit his tongue. "And I gotta say, it's a nice surprise to see one of us is on the case too."

Castle immediately felt the looks of his detectives turn to him, especially one pair of hazels he would rather not look at him while he was lying. "Yeah, it's always sad when a great story-teller dies."

"Story-teller?" Ryan asked and to Castle's relief he could see a glimpse of amusement flicker in Marco's greens.

"Yeah, just like Ricky here, Hannah was telling stories in her own way." The man looked to Beckett and smiled sweetly, which had Castle's blood starting to boil. "Would it be okay if I spoke to your partner in private, detective?"

Castle met her asking gaze but after he nodded slightly she shrugged her shoulders, saying 'sure, why not'. Castle immediately set off and led Marco and his daughter, who had been completely quiet during the whole ordeal, into the break room, where he immediately shut the door and the blinds. He didn't need anyone spying on them.

"What do you think the deal is?" He heard Esposito asking through the door.

"I have no idea," his partner answered and he gave out a sigh before he turned to the wolf.

"Thanks for playing along," he muttered and Marco nodded, stern.

"What happened to my Hannah?" Julie asked, her voice strong yet filled with grief.

Castle raked his hand through his hair. So, that's why they were here. "I don't know. We're trying to figure it out. But I need to know, was one of you there?" he asked and the man shook his head while his daughter's eyes started filling with water.

"I got there too late," she whispered and Marco laid a comforting arm around her shoulders. "I could feel it, just as real as if it had been me. I could feel her being ripped away from me," her voice trembled, her tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry for your loss, I had no idea you were actual soulmates," Castle apologized, eyes looking down at the ground.

The room was filled with silence for a minute, the only small sound was the sobs of Julie, before Castle decided he should probably take the opportunity to see what the wolves knew about their deceased.

"Do you know if Hannah had any enemies? Or someone who suspected her being..." he knew he closed the door but he still glanced back before he added, "one of us?"

Julie shook her head as her father started rubbing his hand up and down her arm in comfort. "No, I mean, of course we had people not exactly liking the two of us being together but... other than that I'm pretty sure she didn't have any enemies. And if someone knew about us... I don't know."

Castle hummed, "Well, if you come up with anything, or see anything strange, call me." Marco looked up at him and he felt his heart skip a beat. "I mean, if you want to. But it would be better if you call me instead of going here, otherwise my partner will get more suspicious than she already is." He tried to explain and the wolf nodded.

"Sure, and you give us a heads up on who's behind this."

Castle gulped, he couldn't do that. "That's no..."

"Just do it," Marco growled and Castle jerked back a bit, shutting his mouth.

It didn't take long before the two went out of the break room and Castle stayed behind in order to calm his raising heart. If he told them who the killer was before they arrested him, who knew what they would do to him?! And it wasn't like Castle could get his partner to just let the case go once the murderer can't be found. Or worse, found dead. He went to the espresso machine and started making coffee, trying to calm down as he thought about what options he had.

"Castle?"

He jumped at her voice and cursed under his breath when he spilled coffee all over his hand.

"You okay, Castle?" Beckett asked with worry evident as she walked up to him with fast steps.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said as he shook his hand and walked to the sink, soothing his hand with cooling water. "Just trying to make coffee for you." He glanced at her to give her a small smile, which he could see did nothing to sooth her worry.

In fact, she surprised him by gently grabbing his sore hand to take a look at it. Her touch had his skin frizzling with electricity and before it got to the point where he would tell her everything, he pulled away. Even though it hurt. He went back to making coffee, feeling her eyes watching his every move. How was he supposed to get out of this? While he made the coffee he had a reason not to meet her eyes but once it was done, he had to look up and see those hazels staring back at him with mixed worry and confusion.

"You know you can tell me anything, right? We're partners," she said and he handed her the coffee mug.

Not this. "Of course! I'm just tired, I have a writer's block that just... keeps reminding itself," he waved his hand to try and get her to let it go.

She narrowed her eyes on him but just like before she nodded, didn't push him, and he felt both relief... and grief. Maybe if she'd pushed him he would've just told her. Maybe. Without any more words they went back to her desk to try and come up with their next move in the case.

"Marco?! Marco came to the precinct?! With Julie?!"

His daughter's reaction turned out just like he'd expected. Her eyes were wide and started to look between him and the door, as if she was halfway expecting the wolves to barge in at any moment.

"Yeah, apparently Hannah Lorenz and Julie wasn't just lovers, they were also soulmates," Castle explained and watched his daughter's eyes widen with a new kind of surprise.

"Oh... I didn't know werewolves could have soulmates of the same sex..." she started but then shrugged. "Then again, it is the soul we're connected to, not the sex. It actually makes more sense now, I never figured Marco for being the accepting one."

Castle nodded, he neither. "Anyway, the fact that they came to the precinct made Beckett even more suspicious of how I knew Hannah," he groaned with annoyance.

He felt his daughter peek at that, her eyes watching him with the same glimpse she'd given him only a day earlier.

"Then. Maybe. You. Should. Tell. Her," she said with a meaningful gaze and a small pause within each word to make it more demanding.

He groaned even more. "No, Alexis, I can't. Besides, I just need to get through this case and then everything can go back to normal."

The redhead rolled her eyes, a gesture he was assuming she'd picked up from the detective. "What are you so damn afraid of, dad? She's your soulmate."

What if she rejected him? He shook his head. "Even if she's my soulmate, she's still Beckett." He sighed. "You see, just because our souls know we should be together it doesn't always mean we'll end up together. It's a personality thing too, you know." He saw she was beginning to open her mouth and so he held up his hand, already knowing he had an example. "Take gram for example, she knew your grandfather was her soulmate. Yet, he left after their first and only magical night." He could see the hope in her eyes falling a bit. "I'm not saying me and Beckett won't get together in the end, or that you won't find your soulmate and be together with him or her for the rest of your life, I'm just saying I can't risk it. I wouldn't be able to live without her," he shrugged his shoulders as if he'd given up. "It would kill me."

Alexis was silent for a few minutes, her eyes filled with a small fear and sadness. Now she understood. She finally understood her father's reluctance to telling the detective about them, and her being his soulmate. When they broke the silence again, it was Alexis who parted her lips after shaking her head.

"So, what do we do about Marco and Julie?"

Castle shrugged his shoulders. "I have no clue. I mean, I know he's kind of in charge of all werewolves here in New York but I'm not sure I can just hand the killer off to him. If I do, and he kills them, Beckett will come after him, and there's no way I can stop her..."

"And if she does, he might kill her too," Alexis voiced the fear he couldn't stop thinking about. "But, what if you can make Marco not kill the person behind it?" He looked up at that, a question evident in his eyes. "I mean, what if you can ask him to just mess the kid up, make him believe in werewolves and live the rest of his life in jail fearing a werewolf will come after him during one of the full moons?"

"That's actually not a bad idea," Castle started thinking. Maybe that's how he would get away with this.

"I can come with you, maybe that way you will get a chance to actually suggest it," she offered and he immediately shook his head.

"Out of the question, you're not going anywhere close to them."

The only thing fearing him more than Marco killing Beckett was Marco getting his hands on his daughter. The wolf was probably not really as bad as he was painted up to be, but Castle wasn't going to take his chances. The wolf had been around for a long, long, time and there were a lot of stories surrounding him. The kind of stories that wolves told their youngsters to make sure they wouldn't do anything stupid that could reveal them to humanity. It was already bad enough that people had gotten a myth about them in the first place, they didn't need them to start thinking it was somewhat true and start hunting them.

"Fine, but if you disappear, I will come after you. I'm not gonna be an orphan," she growled the last sentence.

He had to choke the chuckle wanting to slip his lips. "You wouldn't be. You still got your mother."

She snorted. "Yeah, I'd rather live on my own than live with her. I love her but she stresses the shit out of me with her shopping and manicures." The way his daughter imitated her mother pulled the laugh out of him.

Yeah, he'd make sure she wouldn't need to live with her crazy mother.

A/N: Thank you all so much for all your reviews and comments! I really hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story as much as you seemed to enjoy the first chapter. Love you all! Until next time, xxxx