My mother was a figure, ruthless on the battlefield and the perfect idea of power.

I'm not sure how I could ever stand to see her again.

"Calm yourself, Alexander," Farren warned, rolling her eyes from my passenger seat. "No need to break the steering wheel, what did it ever do to you?"

I sent her a quick glance. "Please, Farren, I didn't berate you when Mother... insulted your mate."

Her eyes darkened. "True. Sorry."

I didn't respond, focusing on the road as it took us back out of the forest and back into my pack. My wolf was simmering underneath my skin, growling, ready to attack.

"It was awful," Myra whispered. "What she said. She went straight for the jugular and left no survivors."

Farren rolled her eyes, "She's always been a racist hag. Half the issue is that she just can't handle losing her position and the fact that her ickle wickle Alexander has a new woman in his life."

"Farren." I growled, "Please, I'm on the edge enough as it is."

Her arms went up in surrender. "I'm sorry, that was my last comment, I promise."

I was tapping my finger anxiously against the leather of the steering wheel. There was a stirring feeling in my chest, racking me with anxiousness. The look that flashed over Cassandra's face...

I wasn't an idiot. I knew that my three months were, essentially, finished. I also knew that my mate was an artful liar. Just how much of these months had been a lie to trick me? Or had something shifted, and those actions she put out were true. It was difficult to tell. I had convinced myself on multiple occasions that I had done it. That my mate had seen me for myself and decided that I was the one for her. The slope of her nose, the curve of her brows. Every single detail of her goddess-like face caused me to tremble each time I saw her.

The fear that was suffocating me was the reality that we would turn up home and Cassandra would be gone. Or from that, I'll wake up the next morning alone, having her disappear into the night.

My brows were set so deep, an ache was starting to form. I tried to relax, tried to intense, and each attempt was futile. It was like every single muscle in my body had seized up, torturing me. How could I let my mother say such things to my mate, my luna? It was no secret that I was weaker, more willing in my emotions since I had met Cassandra. I knew that it was for the better. There was a time that, mother or not, I would have ripped out her throat for even a whisper of such words. Instead, I just let her say them, and then didn't even have the decency to leave the house with my mate afterwards.

Slowly, we pulled into the driveway of the house, parking it neatly against the other cars that lay there. The door was already wide open, allowing me to just walk straight in. I threw the keys against the wall, allowing them to fall straight against the wooden bench.

I could hear the tv, a distant echo through the slabs of the wall. That's where I headed first. The screen was brightly lit up, some unrecognisable show playing. Harmony and Ti were nestled together on the couch, whispering and giggling about, assumingly, whatever was happening in that episode.

"Hey," I called out, catching their attention immediately, "Is Cassandra home?"

Both girls looked at each other and then at me.

"Ugh, no? Wasn't she with you?" Ti asked, confused. My heart dropped in my chest

Harmony snapped her fingers, "Yea, how did the meeting go?"

I gulped, biting the side of my cheek. "Not well. I'll talk to you about it later, so she's not here?"

Ti shrugged, "I mean, there is a chance that she slipped by us. But I think you already know that she isn't in the building. I mean, you can feel her presence from a mile away, one would think that you could figure out if you were in the same building or not."

I hung my head with a breath, "I- I know. I was just hoping... Is Cora here? Maybe wherever she is, Cassandra is too."

Harmony furrowed her brows, "Cora and Harvey went out, he got called out by his coach and she offered to take him. They probably left hours ago though."

Ti was still, completely normal in her behaviour. But her eyes, darting from a pale grey, hazel-brown and a dark blue.

My face hardened, "Ti, can I talk with you for a sec/"

A wave of realisation, "Of course."

She removed herself from the couch, Harmony catching my eye, almost immediately catching on to what I was thinking.

Tatiana knew something, something she didn't want to tell us.

I walked into the hallway, Tatiana following me carefully, her shoulders pushed back with a confident air around her.

"Ti," I said quietly. "Please, tell me what you know."

She clicked her tongue, "I don't know what you're talking about."

I stood taller. "You're magic is a virtue, but it gave you away. I'm asking you, not as an Alpha who is willingly letting you stay in his pack, but as the mate of one of your closest friends. I need to know where she is I- I need to know that she is safe."

Ti tilted her head before sighing. "You don't understand,"

"On the contrary, I'll understand better than anyone." I paused. "I'm sure Cassandra discussed with you, when she first arrived, I offered her a deal. Three months in my pack, three months with me. If still, she didn't want to stay, she could leave. Those three months have, essentially, timed up."

She raised an eyebrow, "So? I don't see how that's relevant. What you want to know if is your mother has triggered Cassandra onto an angry rampant, because it's quite obvious that whatever happened went bad, or if she's taking that moment as an advantage to leave you. Here is my question, if she was planning to leave permanently, would I still be here? Would Cora still be here? No. If she's made the decision that she doesn't want to be your mate and needs to go, I would be with her, no matter how close I've gotten to both you and your pack mates. Does that answer your question?"

I ran a hand over my forehead. "I don't think you understand-"

"You're right, I don't understand" She combatted. "The feeling of a soulmate is something that I'll never understand. Assumingly, If I was in your position, I would feel just as anxious and worried as you. I understand that, but try and think rationally."

I placed my hand on the wall, feeling weak. "I love her."

Ti's eyes softened. "I know, which is why with whatever she's doing you need to trust her."

Of course. With my life.

Fog started clouding over my head, my knees buckling as I sunk to the ground.

"Xander? Xander are you ok?" Ti called out, her voice barely even registering.

I had never felt anything like this before, completely catching me off guard. My body was fine, yet my mind was the thing that was faltering. It was almost otherworldly, as if it wasn't my body at all. I placed my hand over my mouth before I made a move to stand, "I think I'm going to be sick,"

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I finished heaving up my guys, looking away and moving my body entirely from the yellow-orange liquid that now lay puddled in my corner.

I placed my hands on the metal prison bars, trying to bring myself some support. It was a blur, from the office down to here, I had no idea how it happened. I was trying to keep some sort of idea of the time, I knew I hadn't been down here for long, half an hour at the most.

I remembered the guards hands on my wrist, the clear liquid that they had poured down my throat that had sent my stomach-churning. The light scrapes on my knees that I knew were only the beginning.

I was familiar with these dungeons. The quiet, secluded areas that cut you off from society completely. It was a game, meant to mess with your mind and cause you to go crazy from the inside out.

I leaned forward, resting my head against the cold metal, feeling a quick moment of relief before the metal itself began to burn up.

I still had my consciousness, I was still awake, my thoughts were still my own. Most likely, whatever that liquid was, it was there to weaken me.

I gripped onto the bars and pulled myself up, standing up straight. My clothes were different too, instead of the casual, tidy outfit I had chosen to meet Alexander's parents had been changed into long, calico grey pants that covered my legs and feet completely and a loose, grey singlet that not only hung off my body completely but was designed specifically to show off the angry, flaring tattoo that flamed on my chest.

I could hear footsteps, and I recognized them immediately.

Master Skotus.

His arms tucked behind his back as his face grinned wildly. "Nightstalker. I thought I should come down and see you privately, discuss somethings without the presence of the other Leaders."

I leaned against the bars a little more. "Make it quick, I'm busy down here in my cell."

Another smirk. "Well, I'm pleased to know that you're keeping yourself occupied." His eyes flashed yellow, "Now tell me, how long have you been foregoing the injections?"

"Three months," I answered truthfully. I could see no legitimate reason to lie at that moment. "They were destroyed the moment I was admitted to the pack hospital."

He nodded. "For a moment, let's put all this funny business behind us, we can get back to it in a moment. I want you to tell me, how did you ensure that the Bloodlust leaders wouldn't kill you on sight? I have to know."

Classic.

I sighed, "I beat them to it. Stabbed myself, feigned it as if it were someone else, collapsed on the floor, set off the alarms and passed out just as the Alpha came storming into the room. I had to be admitted to hospital, and then I took it from there."

A break in his character as a rare smile pushed through. "Perfect. You always did know how to follow orders perfectly."

I hummed in agreement. "I never had a choice but to follow orders. You made sure of it, all of you did."

His face hardened. "We did what we had to do. No matter the level of your talent Nightstalker, you are just another pawn in this war. I hope you realise that we are in the perfect moment to take back control. Werewolves have never been weaker, what, with the Bloouslust pack missing his Alpha and the community in shambles due to the outcome of the Games - well done on that by the way -, every single one of them are ants beneath our feet."

"What are you saying?" I breathed,

Master Skotus leaned so close that his face was only millimetres away from mine. "It means that the time has never been better to strike an attack, to make our move. And we'll need you there with us.

I glared harshly. "Never. Never again will I follow your orders."

He smiled sinisterly. "Darling Nightstalker, you don't have a choice! You've never had a choice. Now is no different. In fact, it's never been more important for us to have control."

"You can try and put that injection back in me," I seethed. "But it won't work. I went through withdrawal, It's been three months and I've never been stronger. Even if you did do it and it affected me, I would still have control. You would have created yourselves a double agent."

A long, taloned finger came out and scraped itself over my cheek, the edge of the nail creating a thin, red line. "Oh please, we have something much better than that planned for you."

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