Adalind made it to her office with only a few minutes to spare to prep for her first meeting of the day. She hadn't planned to, but she made a detour to her favorite little boutique coffee shop on the way in. She sipped at her chai latte, the usually two sweet beverage helping to ease the tension her earlier conversation with her mother brought on. Something about the warmth of spices in it settled her.

Getting to her office she set down her briefcase and unbuttoned her jacket before taking her seat and gathering the documents she would need for her first meeting. She tried to shake her mother's words from her head as she reviewed the paperwork, but she couldn't. She could never seem to please the woman. Too pretty but not pretty enough. To intelligent but not cunning enough. Powerful but not powerful enough and she was never willing to go the extra mile to cut someone down to get what she wanted.

Catherine wanted all the benefits but never the work it took to get them. Its where they clashed the most. Adalind didn't mind working for the things she wanted. In fact, she thrived on it. Something about accomplishing a goal and reaping the rewards of it was exhilarating to her. But the one goal she always wanted to reach but could never grasp was her mothers acceptance. Catherine didn't see the benefits of hard work and always looked for the easy way of things. If there was no man for her to sleep with or person to spell or bewitch to get what she wanted, then she took to bullying, manipulating and control someone into getting it for her, mainly her daughter.

Adalind's childhood consisted of being groomed to be no more than a trophy wife or mistress for a man with deep pockets and possibly only months left to live. Catherine made sure her daughter had the finest clothes, ones that, as she grew, showed off her shapely figure, the shiniest of jewels because if you wanted to attract money you had to look like you came from money and that she went to the finest schools because no man wanted an idiot but don't flaunt it either.

That last one seemed to have backfired on her though. Since Adalind used her opportunities given to her to gain knowledge and not wealth. Where her mother encouraged her to flirt with the business tycoon's easily cajoled son and entice the mayor's spoiled and rich nephew Adalind instead studied hard, hung mostly with the smart kids, and graduated at the top of her class with honors. Not to say she didn't have fun with the boys in school, but it was never for the reasons her mother wanted her too.

Still, all she wanted, for even a moment in her life, was for her mother to feel proud of her for all her accomplishments. She wanted her mother to see her as more then a tool or weapon at her disposal. So, it saddened her greatly when she never received the praise she so craved from her, not even when she was promoted 3 years in a row at her first and only job, and now she was a junior partner in one of the most powerful law firms, not only in Portland but in the Wesen community as well.

It took until yesterday for her to stop wanting that acknowledgement from her mother. She wasn't sure what happened but on that drive home, it just clicked. She realized that she was tired of trying, tired of desiring something she knew she was never going to get. Not without giving in and being who her mother wanted her to be. She was finally ready to accept that she would just have to be proud of herself and that would have to be enough.

"Adalind, you're 8:30 is here." the receptionist buzzed in to say.

"Send them in, thank you." she replied before standing and walking over to the door.

"Mr. Fengrer, how are you this morning?" Adalind greeted the elderly Pfichttreue. He was coming in to finalize his will and estate plans for his eventual departure. He was heading into his 80s and knew he did not have long for this world, having been sick for the last few months. He had made his money through investments and had a very healthy portfolio and a money-hungry family all clambering for it.

"I'm doing as well as can be expected, my dear. Thank you for meeting with me today. I fear that soon I will be gone, and I want to make sure that my son and his twin can't get their hands on my money. As ruthless as they are they would leave my sweet Cindy destitute." He said, speaking of his youngest daughter who he had late in life and was the product of his second wife who preceded him in death only a year ago.

"It's my pleasure. Please have a seat let's finalize the details and I will make sure its iron clad." She said closing the door.

"Thank you." he said sitting in front of her desk. Adalind fiddled with the camcorder she had set up for this meeting. Mr. Fengrer wanted his will not only in writing but on tape. Adalind thought it was a smart idea to have video evidence. She had met the man's sons, and she was not a fan. She had a feeling that they would not take this well.

The meeting lasted all of an hour, with the majority of the will already having been prepped weeks ago. Today was just to record the video, dot the I's and cross the t's, so to speak. Mr. Fengrer left with a smile on his aged face and a lot less tension in his shoulders, knowing that he accomplished what he had come to do.

After he left Adalind finished up her part and packaged everything to send to the courthouse and have notarized and make everything official. She was just sealing the box when a knock sounded on her door.

"Come in Richey, I'm just finishing. Make sure this goes to the right dept, please and make sure they expedite it." she said, just as the door opened. The scent of Armani stilling her hands. She looked up as Sean Renard entered, closing the door behind him.

"Hello Adalind." He greeted with a charming smile, making himself comfortable on the loveseat in her office. She wanted to be surprised to see him, but she wasn't. She had a feeling this was her mother's doing.

"Sean, what can I do for you?" she asked, folding her hands together on top of her desk. She kept a professional tone with him, not wanting him to think he still had a chance to get to her. his smile dimmed before brightening.

"I thought that we should talk."

"What do we have to talk about?"

"I spoke with Catherine this morning."

Losing professionalism, Adalind snorted relaxing back in her chair.

"She didn't waste anytime running to you to tattle on me. Did she call you or were you in the garage again?" she asked, a small smirk on her face.

'She's just worried Adalind. She feels you have lost sight of what we are doing all this for."

"I'm sure she's worried, but not about me. More like she's worried about losing her chance to finally live like the queen she believes she is."

"can you really blame her for wanting to finally have the things she wants. She has worked so hard-."

"Worked? My mother doesn't work for anything. Unless you mean the work she does to manipulate me into doing her bidding, no matter what danger it puts me in. Or maybe you mean her work in the bedroom. She is old, I'm sure she has a lot of tricks and moves at her disposal to keep a man like you satisfied." She said, arching a perfectly manicured brow in his direction. At least he has the decency to look abashed, she thought, though she was sure it was just an act.

"Look, I am sorry I let things go that far with her. I got caught up in… the moment. But we have broken things off. We both realized it was unfair to you to carry on in such a way. Especially with the way I feel about you." he said, layering on the sweet and caring tone. Adalind huffed a laugh, her head tossed back.

"Let's be honest here Sean. The only feelings you have towards me is that of a puppeteer to a puppet, a ringmaster to an attraction. You liked having control over me, having me at your disposal willing to do whatever you wanted in order to keep your affection. Affection that I never really had but you want me to believe I do." She stated in a no-nonsense tone.

Sean looked at her in surprise. He never really thought she would put that together. he had been sure he had her hook line and sinker and that this little rebellion of hers was a product of being face to face with the Grimm in the same room. He was sure that it had spooked her enough that she considered backing off. But he had been sure that all he needed to do was show up and feed her more promises, more half truths to get back on her good side. he had been wrong.

"Let's get one thing straight. I am not as stupid or naïve as you and my mother seem to think. I will admit that at first I fell for your act of actually giving a damn about me. But I will not be your patsy anymore. You want someone who will follow you like a dog on a leash, find another girl, sleep with her, and make her all the promises you made to me. You're a handsome man, I'm sure there are a line of women willing to do your bidding." She shrugged.

"I understand you may be a little hurt after finding out about me and Catherine, but-."

"I'm not hurt, a bit annoyed at myself for not seeing it sooner but not hurt at all. You both are free to see and sleep with whoever you want. I'm just no longer willing to play Lady Marion to your Robin Hood. You becoming king is no longer my priority or my problem. I wish you luck in doing so but you are barking up the wrong tree if you think I will continue to help you."

"Alright Adalind." He said, standing and straightening his jacket. "If that's the way you want it. But consider this. Helping me would be a hell of a lot better then whatever the Royals would do if they ever got their hands on that key. A Hexenbiest of your skill and power would not do well under there thumb."

Adalind considered him as he gave a parting smile before opening the door and leaving.

*GRIMM*

Nick took one last look back as he and Hank left James Monroe's, Monroe as he said he preferred to be called, house. It had been an odd experience all around. The static electricity made an appearance again which caused the older man to woge unintentionally. That in itself could have caused a problem but Nick subtly put his mind at ease. Introducing himself as a cop and just there to ask some questions on the missing girl.

Monroe tensed on instinct, hundreds of years of history flooding his mind when he recognized him as a Grimm, but Nick's words along with a feeling of familiarity that fill him, made him relax. It still didn't stop him from keeping a wary eye on the Grimm, watching his every step. He wasn't happy that a Grimm knew where he lived and even though his guard was up he still felt he wasn't in any danger from the man. After serving everyone a cup of coffee he sat with the two detectives giving them the same information he had given the other officers but when asked if there had been anyone else close by that he noticed he thought for a minute and mentioned that it was only the postman that trailed behind her not to long after she has passed his home.

For some reason, Nick had a gut instinct to look into that. A postman walking the street delivering mail shouldn't have been at all suspicious, but Nick couldn't shake the feeling that it was important all the same.

Monroe stood in the doorway watching as the two detectives got into their car and drove off, only feeling comfortable closing and locking his door when they were far enough away that he could no longer see the car.

"Was he acting strange to you?" Hank had asked as they drove away, turning onto another street.

"Kind of. I didn't get anything sinister or anything from him, I don't think he's involved. But he seemed to be a bit tense as well." Nick didn't mention that the man had changed into a wolf like creature of some kind. It was the third one he had seen, and he didn't think he could play it off as stress or emotional distress, not like the previous night.

"Yeah, he tensed up right after shaking hands."

"I know. that static thing happened again. Maybe it threw him off guard or something. I don't know."

"How often has that happened so far?"

"Just four times so far. It started last night when I was at the hospital. A doctor had come in and I touched her hand and there it was. Then again last night when I went to bed while I was holding Juliette."

"Then me today and Monroe a few minutes ago. And you think it's your fabric softener?"

"I honestly don't know but it's getting annoying." Nick sighed, scratching his eyebrow.

"Has there been anything else strange going on that might explain it."

"What, like I'm the product of a mad scientist experimenting on me at some point in the last 24 hours? No, nothing." Nick snorted. "Though, I do keep getting these strange feelings after it happens."

"What kind of strange feelings?"

"It's hard to explain, really. With the doctor it felt like I knew her from somewhere but that whole situation was already strange to begin with. With you and Monroe it just felt comforting… not really the right sentiment but I just felt like I could trust you implicitly."

"Hmmm… and Juliette?"

"That I'm still trying to figure out."

"Not the same comforting, trusting feeling then."

"No. not at all. maybe it is just the stress of everything that has been happening. I'm not going to worry about it right now and just hope it dies down."

"Probably will but maybe keep an eye on it for a while, just in case. As cops we learn to trust our guts. If you're feeling some kind of way about things then maybe don't completely write it off."

"Yeah, you're right. I'll keep note of it at least. I'm still hoping it dies down but at the same time I don't want to be caught off guard because I didn't pay attention to signs and warnings." Nick sighed.

"What did you think about what Monroe said?" Hank asked switching topics. Nick appreciated that. he would do as he said but he still didn't want to think about it right now.

"I think we should look into the postman?" Nick said, tapping a finger against the window thinking it over.

"The postman? Why?"

"I don't know. I just have this feeling."

"You and your feelings. They just rule you today, don't they?" Hank chuckled shaking his head.

"Seems like it." Nick agreed with an easy grin.

They drove the rest of the way back to the precinct in silence, both thinking about their own thing. Hank about more leads to look into for the missing girl and Nick his strange instincts that were taking over and the fact that all his aunt had told him seemed to be true. He vowed to himself to go through those books a bit tonight after work.

The rest of the day was just as slow as they continued to go over the facts of the case, getting increasingly frustrated with the lack of information. By 3 pm Hank was ready to stop for the day and Nick took the opportunity to head to the hospital for a visit with his aunt. She still wasn't awake, they were still keeping her sedated, so he really didn't need to be there. it was disheartening to look at his aunt in that state, but he wasn't ready to go home. Really he wasn't ready to face Juliette and his strange feelings all of a sudden.

When visiting hours were over and he waved goodbye to the officer standing guard he could no longer put off going home. He took the longer route home still feeling that unease weigh on him. By the time he pulled up in front of his house he just thought to get it over with, go inside, give her a chaste kiss and head straight to bed with the excuse that work had been more stressful than usual. It wasn't really a lie, but it wasn't the full truth either.

His plans changed as he looked at the trailer still parked in his driveway. Instead of heading inside the house he headed for the trailer, going in and closing it tight, locking it behind him. he wasn't sure where to start as he looked around, turning on the light. The bed still unmade from before. weapons hung as they had last night, really nothing had changed from yesterday to today except that Nick was a bit more alert to look at it. again, he opened drawers, and looked in cabinets. He picked up tiny bottles and tried, in vain, to read the labels before giving up on it all together. Finally, he took a seat at the small desk that was stacked with old, dilapidated books.

He gingerly picked up one, surprised by the weight of it as he set it down in front of him. cracking it open to a random page, he ran his fingers over the page with a picture of what the name said was a Blutbad, it was similar to what he watched Monroe turn into. Flipping a couple of pages, he read up on the description of what a Blutbad was, feeling more amazed by what he was reading.

He flipped a few more pages looking at other pictures and other descriptions, wondering exactly what language most of this book was in, until he stopped at a whole new picture and description. He froze, staring.

"Hexenbiest, a witch-like creature that somewhat resembles a demon/goblin. They work at the behest of royalty. Identifiable from a dark birthmark under their tongues in both human and morphed forms." Nick read quietly to himself. "among the most powerful of wesen due to their many powerful abilities."

His mind went back to yesterday morning, in front of the jewelry shop when he saw the pretty blonde change forms. "hexenbeist," he said again, tracing the drawing. He was completely sure this is what the blonde had changed into the previous morning. Just as he was sure that the 'doctor' in the hospital was the same blonde, which he also dreamed about last night.

"This is seriously starting to creep me out." he sighed to himself. The ring of his cellphone pulled his focus away from the picture and he answered already knowing what it was going to be about. Both he and Hank were on call tonight, so he was sure they had just caught a case.

"Burkhardt." He answered, already closing the book, and heading for the door.

"got a murder. Texting you the address now. 2 dead and 1 injured. Already called in Hank." Sgt. Wu said over the line.

"On the way." Nick told him, hanging up. he took one last look back before shutting off the lights and closing and locking the door.