I've never seen Leon so angry, not even when we argued. And all his rage is directed at my brother.

In a panic, I turn back to my brother and see his shocked face. Leon took us all by surprise. Leon's men, including Jack, are here with us now.

Witches' and wizards' powers are feeble against pack werewolves, especially an Alpha like Leon. Even as the next chief of my coven, there's a limit to how much of my power I can use against him.

Which means, my brother and his men don't stand a chance.

This is why Philip used rogues to fight against the pack wolves, and never faced them on the battlefield himself.

I whisper the only thing that comes to my mind to Philip: "Leave!" Although, I'm sure Leon and his men heard me just fine.

Philip snaps out of his shock and looks at me with hurt. "You're just like our mother, working with those werewolves. How could you be on their side against your own brother?"

"I'm not on anyone's side!" I tell him, feeling hurt by his accusation.

Philip points his finger at Leon while still looking at me. "He rejected you, his own mate, because you're a witch. Remember how you cried in my arms when you were little, asking why he did that?"

My eyes tear up. "Philip, please. I'm not taking anyone's side here. All I want is for you to be safe. I don't care about anything else!"

Philip's gaze becomes kinder. "Alright, then. Find me," he says before vanishing right before my eyes. He did so right on time, too, because by that moment Leon had reached right behind me.

Leon turns me around by my arm. "What the hell, Cassandra? How could you let him go?"

"If my brother is going to be detained it'll be by me and my coven."

"Your brother hurt werewolves. He attacked my pack. You think I can just let him go?"

My only response is to look down in shame.

————

One slap against my face in front of everyone.

Let's say my mother is furious at the moment.

"How could you, Cassandra? Why did you do that?!"

I don't answer her and, just as I did with Leon, I keep my gaze down.

"Is this how I raised you? How can you ever lead this coven responsibly when you let your emotions cloud your judgment like this?"

I stay silent.

Frustrated, my mother turns to her two vice witches. She orders them to send a group of elders around our territory to make sure Philip is not on our grounds and to find out how he managed to cross our barrier.

To be honest, crossing our coven's barrier is not that difficult. Because we're one of the most influential covens, nobody dares to trespass into our land. So, we never bothered to put up a serious barrier. It should've been a piece of cake for Philip to cross it considering how many times I'd done that myself sneakily.

My mother turns her attention to Leon. After profusely apologizing to him for my actions, she says, "Leon, I know you and your pack had already gone through a lot of trouble because of all this, but I hope I can still ask you a favor."

"Of course. Anything, Ms. Winston," he says to my mother.

"Please allow my daughter to stay in your pack till we catch Philip."

My eyes widen in shock. "Mom you c–"

Her bristle gaze stops me from speaking. She turns back to Leon.

"Of course, Ms. Winston. Cassandra and her friends were a huge help to us. It's the least we could do," Leon says. For a brief moment, he glances at me. Even though his expression doesn't change, that gesture makes me feel like he's mocking me.

————

I carry my (yet again) packed bag downstairs. Usually, Nara is the one who does that but I'd sent Nara and Jenny on an important errand. They will join me at Red Peak after two days. Luckily, my mother at least agreed to let Nara and Jenny stay with me in the packhouse.

Once I'm downstairs, Jack takes away my bag. My coven elders are there, along with my mother, to see me off. She hugs me but I don't hug her back in anger.

I'm angry not only because no one will be able to find Philip except me, but I also don't want to go back to Red Peak after everything that happened there. One second me and Leon kissed, the next second we were like mortal enemies. Staying at Red Peak is not good for my heart.

After reluctantly mumbling a small bye to my mother, I walk outside.

I open the door to the car's backseat where my luggage is perched up. Jack shuts the door from my hand and says, "At the front, Cassie."

I glare at him briefly for ordering me like this but do as he says and climb up to the shotgun seat. Jack leaves the car to instruct some of his men.

While I wait for him, I update Nara and Jenny over chat. By the time I'd sent them the message, the driver's side door opens. Even before I could see the face of the person who had just climbed in, I can tell he's not Jack.

"Where's Jack?" I ask Leon.

"He'll be behind us in his car," Leon says, casually.

"This is your car? I don't want to d–"

Leons starts the car and drives us away from my home.

In order to ignore the mixture of emotions swirling between us in the air, I take out my earphones and listen to music.

————

It's a long drive to Red Peak so we make quite a few pitstops.

We decide to eat lunch at a diner behind a gas station.

After lunch, I stretch my back near the car while the guys are in a small general store on the other side of the gas station to grab some snacks and drinks for the travel.

I look at the other way and see Leon talking to one of the employees at the gas station.

I slowly move towards the driver seat and peek through the window at the steering wheel. Like I thought, Leon didn't leave his car key in the ignition.

But I don't need a car key. I can start the engine without it. I know just the right spell to do the trick. But will I be able to outdrive a group of werewolves? That's the question of the moment.

"Don't even think about it," Leon answers the unvoiced question in my mind.

I look away from the car innocently, not paying attention to him as if I didn't hear him.

He comes and stands at my front. "Why did you let Philip go?" he asks.

I sigh. "He's my brother, Leon. And you might've killed him."

"And he might've killed me. He'd already tried to hurt me and my pack. And you still choose his side?"

What's with men and their sides?

"I'm his family," I tell Leon. "I'm always on his side."

"Then what am I to you?"

I snort at him and don't reply.

"Between me and Philip, if one of us has to die, who would you choose?"

"Not my brother," I instantly say with a smug smile.

He smirks and brings his face near my ear, and whispers, "I don't mind dying if it makes you smile at me."

The smugness vanishes from my face. In an instant, he had brought my walls down, just when I was thinking I'm getting better at hating him.

I look at him and he continues to wear a slight smile – a gentle smile, that drowns me in guilt.

Then I do something I'd never thought I'd do in a million years. I grab him by his shirt and pull him closer, bringing his lips over mine.

For a moment, Leon stays surprised but as soon as that surprise starts to wear off and it feels like he's about to kiss me back, I pull back.

Quickly, I walk towards Jack's car and shout at Jack who had just come out of the general store with a bag full of snacks, "I'm riding with you."