"Okay, let me begin with your friend Josh as you were a bit too harsh on the guy. He didn't betray you. Lucinda followed him and told us where you were."

"I'll kill the bitch."

He shrugs "If you do Josh will be very upset that you've murdered his mate."

I roll my eyes and push my hair back out of my face "If Lucinda were his mate he would've thrown a fit when I snapped her neck."

He shakes his head "He found out they were mates the last time we went to get Lucinda to join the League. She had absolutely refused until Josh walked into the room, then she accepted without a second thought. He didn't flip out because first of all you didn't actually kill her and two, he's loyal to the Ember pack. That's something that we couldn't break. We had no idea where he was going but we knew that if we threatened his life she would do anything to protect him, including betraying him."

Shit. She's not a coward after all... neither is josh. I grunt as I try to fight off the foreign feeling in my gut at the moment.

"It's guilt." Says Lucius "I know because that's what I feel right now. I hate it. I never apologize or feel bad about anything. That's what made me a good Second. Emerson was the cruelest person alive and he molded me in his image. I never cared about anything or anyone. We slaughtered everything in our path. Entire families murdered without a shred of remorse. All of that changed when I laid eyes on her. She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. Her eyes were so blue I felt like I was drowning in them and when I resurfaced I saw the world for what it truly was, magic. That's how you know you've found your mate. When it consumes you and all you can see or feel or hear is them. They are a part of you and the thought of losing them is incomprehensible. Do you feel that when you look at me?"

I look into his shining green eyes and my wolf howls in pain. My eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "No. I don't. At least not that strongly."

He nods "Because it's not real."

Now I'm really confused "What are you talking about?"

"You aren't my mate Alora. Asha is my true and only mate. I used a spell from Rose's grimoire to tweak the prophecy." He explains.

My mind explodes as little pieces fall together. My wolf howls agonizingly again and I now understand why. She feels betrayed and violated. She knew something never felt quite right. Lucius ruined everything. He messed with her other half, she thought she'd found it and now he's ripped it away from her.

I stand up as anger flashes through my body. He jumps to his feet and holds his hand up in caution as he sees fire swirl in my eyes. "Cool down will you? Save that energy for tonight. You'll need it. I'm sorry okay? I just needed to come up with a different plan. I was desperate. Rose gave up. She stopped trying to save her sister and decided to destroy the Kynda for good. What did you expect me to do when my soulmate is on the other side? I did what I thought I had to do to save her. I just didn't think about the spell working both ways. I actually do care about you but it's different for me. I've felt the pull of the real mate bond before so I know how to keep my wolf from falling for it. I'm truly very sorry for the pain I've caused your wolf. But if you help me get my mate back I will release you from this spell and bring peace to your wolf."

"Release me from the spell." I spit out while trying to drown out my wolf's cries.

"Promise to help me and I will." He counters.

"I can't very well help anyone with a crippled wolf now can I? Lift the spell so I can concentrate on getting your damn mate out."

"I can get rid of that jealousy too. Just swear to help me and it's all gone." He says while grabbing the grimoire and looking at me.

"Release me from the spell and I swear I will get her out." I say through gritted teeth.

He nods in satisfaction and tosses me the grimoire. I catch it and look at him expectantly "Well? Go on, open it." He says with a nod.

"Um. Rose is the only one that can open this, it's spelled shut." I clarify.

"So?" He shrugs "You've been in her head haven't you? If you dig deep enough you can reach for the spell she used to seal it and unlock it."

"I don't have any magic Lucius."

"I know. That's why you'll use this." He says while tossing me a chain with the Umbridge crest. "It belonged to every high priestess of the Nightshadow Coven. It was passed down to Rose. It's a talisman, therefore it has all the Umbridge magic in the world, all you need is the spell."

"This is how you did the spell isn't it? How you trapped Rose in that cave and cast the spell."

He does a slow clap "Bravo. How does the hunter call you? Sherlock?"

My eyes narrow as something else clicks into place "You're the reason my grandfather is in the Kynda."

"Pardon?"

"You heard me. He and my father found the cave but their memories were wiped. My father woke up disoriented and alone with no memory of what happened to my grandfather. My guess is that you used the talisman to trap him in there but since my father doesn't have the gene you couldn't trap him."

"We really should start calling you Sherlock. Wow." He says, pride shining in his eyes "Yes. I used it to trap him in there, it seemed like the perfect fallback plan. If this plan fell apart and you refused to help me get Asha out, I knew you would go get your grandfather."

I look at him in disgust and pull the talisman close to my chest. "I can't wait to get rid of this fake ass bond."

He grins and motions for me to proceed. "Just close your eyes and go into her mind, sort through her memories until you find the spell."

Staring at him distrustfully he groans and goes to stand on the other side of the room "I won't hurt you. I promise."

Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and try to remember the feeling of swimming in her head. Tightening my hold on the talisman I focus on Rose and feel a slight shift in my mind.

Everything is dark. There is no sense of direction. No up or down. Just vast never ending darkness.

I walk for what seems like forever before I reach a blood red door, shining brightly amongst the darkness. Turning the knob I open the door and soul piercing screams echo all around. Gut wrenching and painful sobs, so loud I had to cover my ears. Quickly closing the door, I lock it and back away. Suddenly I am surrounded by doors. Each a different color.

I wonder...

I walk towards the black door and open it. Immediately I feel empty and alone. No joy and no love. Just neverending pain and torment. Forcing myself to move, I close the door and shake off the lingering feeling of hopelessness.

Opening door after door I search for the spell. Each door slamming me with Rose's deepest emotions, disorienting me. Where the hell am I supposed to find this damn spell?

'Who's there?'

I hear Rose say and I halt immediately. Looking around, all I see is the darkness.

'Is someone here? Please... if there's anyone here... please help me'

Confused I follow the sound of the voice and notice how it sounds different. The further away I walk from the doors the closer I get to the voice. When I finally reach it, it's not at all what I was expecting to see. A little girl in a cage. Face smeared with what looked like coal, black hair tied in a loose braid and frightened blue eyes. This girl screamed innocence but none of this surprised me more than the fact that this was Rose. She was a small child no older than nine, but it was definitely her.

'Rose?'

'Please help me. She's locked me away.'

'Who has?'

'Rose did. She let the bad in.' She answers.

I kneel down in front of the cage and grab the bars 'Honey aren't you Rose?'

'I am Rose's purity. She locked me away when she began to dabble in dark magic. It's been so cold and dark in here. I am so scared. Please help me.'

'Okay sweetie, I'll get you out of here. But I need you to help me too, I need a favor.'

She nods eagerly and I let out a small smile at her innocence. Grabbing the bars I use all my strength to pry them apart enough for her small body to wiggle out. She immediately hugs me and thanks me. I smile and hug her back while feeling a sense of warmth wash over me. The moment I feel that, a shift happens and the darkness vanishes and is replaced by the sun. The entire mind space morphs into a beautiful field with clear blue skies and fresh grass. I look around and smile. Rose smiles back but it quickly disappears once the clear sky is replaced with dark clouds. A loud clap booms in the sky as it begins to thunder and rain.

'She's coming. Hurry we have to get you out of here before she realizes what you've done!' She urges while grabbing my hand and pulling me towards a shimmering white door.

'Wait.' I say while pulling to a stop 'I came here looking for a spell to open your grimoire. It's been spelled shut.'

She pauses to think for a moment before she grins widely 'That's easy! The spell is Aperta Sesamae.'

I look at her for a moment and squint my eyes 'That sounds suspiciously like "open sesame" to me. Are you sure that is the spell?'

She grins wildly and nods in excitement 'I promise that's the spell. We knew no one would guess something so trivial. Now come on we have to get you out of here before she realizes there's someone else in here.'

The moment the words leave her mouth the ground begins to quake and lightning begins to aggressively strike all around us. Little Rose screams in terror as she sees Big Rose appear on the other side of the field. She was dressed in all black and a black fog surrounded her as she walked towards us.

'You have to get out of here now! She knows you're in her mindspace. She will go to find you in the real world. You must go. Hurry!' She screams as she opens the white door and shoves me through it. The last thing I see is a dark fog grab her as she screams loudly.

"Alora!" I hear Lucius shout as he shakes my shoulders. "Hey, Are you okay?" He asks concern lacing his tone as his hands roam my face. My breathing is erratic and I realize I'm sweating.

"Yeah." I gasp "I'm okay. But we have to hurry, Rose knows I was in her mind and she'll track us down." I push him away and put the grimoire on the desk. Placing the talisman on top and hovering my hands above it as I say the spell 'Aperta Sesamae.' Thanking little Rose I quickly shift through the pages. Numerous spells were written all over the place, too many to sort through quickly. Lucius comes to stand behind me, placing one arm around my waist while using the other to flip through the pages until he finds the right one. He looks at the spell and memorizes it quickly while grabbing the talisman and turning me to face him, our chests pressed against each other.

"I know that we aren't true mates but I know that I'd be the luckiest man on Earth if I were. By lifting this spell you'll be able to find your true mate. This spell has cloaked you, and once it's gone your wolf will be able to find her other half. I'm sorry I did this to you, truly." He says, sincerity glowing in his gorgeous green eyes. He caresses my face and brings his lips down to meet mine. As angry as I am, I return the kiss because my wolf yearns for the connection. He pulls away and closes his eyes while he chants the spell.

I close my eyes and feel an energy slither up my body from my toes all the way to my head and shoot out from my chest. My eyes open to see that both Lucius and I had a blue light coming from our chests. It mingled in between us before shooting up into the sky.

I gasp out and my wolf purrs in my mind happily. Lucius gives me a look and nods. I breathe out in relief and hug him. "Thank you Lucius."

"No problem." He whispers as he pulls back to give me a sweet kiss on the cheek. I am happy to say that I feel nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

~A/N~

Does anyone else kind of like Lucius??

No? Just me? Okay😥