I had been out later than I had intended to. My mind was being freely occupied with images and thoughts of Phina. She was finally letting me in, letting me closer. I didn't want to be gone from her for long. She had what I could only imagine was the worst day of her life and I didn't want her to think I was blowing her off or not finding her as a priority.

If I didn't have others relying on me I wouldn't have left her, hell I would have changed a lot of the things I'd done. For one I wouldn't have lied to her.

I wouldn't of had to, but I guess I could blame Malacoda for that.

My snot sniffed along a tall sugar pine tree. Andy was long gone now but with the knowledge of the fact he was working with Philip his ties with Malacoda were far too close for my comfort. I wouldn't allow Phina to fall victim to that family like Ileana had. I would have to be long dead before they'd lay a hand on her.

I had caught on to a faint but familiar scent but it was dodgy, the scent on lingering just enough to sense but not enough to give me any information one what or who it was.

Paws crunched into the snow but I remained inhaling the scent on the bark of the sugar pine tree.

'Any luck?' Desmond pondered stepping right in my line of scent reading. My teeth bared without a second thought. The irritation and frustration was all too close to the surface my wolf jumping at any opportunity to be aggressive. 'Sheesh! Relax, it was just a question.'

Desmond's wolf backed away as I turned back to the scent trail.

'Someone was here.' He lowered his head and took a deep inhale. His eyes glowed a shade lighter and his jaw tightened.

'Is-is that Shadow Peak I smell?' My eyes snapped onto his. Desmond was always better at deciphering scents. He had a nose on him, I just wished he used it for this instead of sticking it in places it didn't belong. 'We are going to have big problems if Shadow Peak is coming this far out here. They aren't out here just-'

'I know.' I cut him off.

I knew what this could mean, I knew what this did mean. Malacoda wasn't dumb. He knew I was coming for Ileana, he knew that I had been trying to find Ileana, but things have changed. A lot has changed.

I had a mate that was just as defenseless as Ileana with an alpha obsessed with her for no reason. I never thought anything would ever tear me from my goal of freeing Ileana but I was wrong. Phina had changed that all in the blink of an eye.

'Do you think Malacoda would try and invade?'

'For what? He'd have to have a probable cause for attacking first or else the council will rid him of his title.' I reminded Desmond.

He had let out an exasperating huff, the puff of hot air flew in the icy atmosphere like steaming clouds. 'If he didn't lose it all this time with what he did to Ileana and our parents I don't think there's much stopping him from coming after us. He's probably gotten on to Ileana's plan, she could be dead by now Osiris.'

My teeth flashed in his face. How far he talking about Ileana like she was something of the past. We could still save her, we could still find her. Malacoda wouldn't kill the one thing that keep him sane, or at least as sane as an evil man could be. He was the closest thing to unhinged you could get before labeling him psychotic.

'Why would you say something like that?'

Desmond's ears flattened against his skull. 'I'm only trying to be realistic. Are you?'

I growled. Of course, I've thought about Ileana but I hadn't thought to imagine her dead body. Who does that?

I tried to take a deep breath, something my wolf was fighting me not to do. 'Desmond, if you're trying to start something don't. I have enough on my plate as it is. I need you on the same page as me, not working against me. You said it yourself Shadow Peak was out here and for what reason? You and I both don't fully know. Philip is actively trying to get his hands on Phina for a reason again we do not know. I think we should be focusing more on finding the answers to these two things than buttering about what mental gymnastics we are both doing to ourselves.'

Silence fell on us both.

I didn't have to look at Desmond to know he agree even if he wanted to dig another jab into my side about Ileana. I couldn't blame him though she was our sister and we knew only awful things were being done to her. It wasn't easy sitting back and waiting, but what else could we do in this moment. There was too much at stake.

I trotted along the scent marked boarder until I came across a nightmarish scent that made flashing images that were made of nightmares. About alert Desmond on the individual they brought it upon themselves to come creeping out of the snowy forest line.

Malacoda stepped out from his hiding place his chest out and proud his snot sneered into what I couldn't only describe as a mischievous smirk. What the hell was he doing all the way up here?

Desmond moved around me, he was only mere moments from pouncing on the vial vermin but I had noticed his back up still creeping behind the snow. He wasn't alone. Lunging in front of Desmond I stopped him before he went over the territory line. If he crossed it was over, there was no protecting him. I could try, I would try like hell but from the numbers I could smell in the air they out numbered us ten to one.

It wasn't worth it.

The only thing stopping Malacoda from attacking was this imaginary boarded that stood between us.

Malacoda shifted revealing his grown out pepper salt beard and hallow dark eyes. He picked at his teeth flicking a piece of something from it and onto the fresh snow. "Don't you hate it how venison gets stuck in your teeth?"

I didn't answer.

He flicked another piece this time toward me. It landed just shy of my feet. "I figured you'd understand. You probably eat nothing but venison traveling all the way up here for maybe I'm putting to much credit to your name Osiris. You and the little pipsqueak probably barely survived off of rabbits and squirrels." He looked around inquisitively. "Though, I hadn't seen a single one since I made my way up here." He crossed his arms narrowing his eyes as continued. "So, how do you survive up here?"

Again, I said nothing only barring my teeth telling him to hurry up. He obviously didn't wander up here by mistake. No one comes up these mountains by mistake not a pack wolf, that is.

Malacoda raised his hands in the air to show he wasn't a threat. "Fine, I know you are wondering why I'm here. Philip thought you'd be more inclined to listen to me, for what reason is beyond me but I owe my cousin a favor for... well you know."

"Cut the shit Malacoda, just to the fucking point." Desmond had shifted at some point. His fists clenched tightly by his sides the nails of his claws digging deep into his palm. I could smell the hint of blood as he sliced into his palms.

Malacoda rolled his eyes and smirked. "Boy, how time has changed you. I remember you being such a little boy. Now look at you, a full grown man with anger issues just like your father. I surprised your father never beat your mother with all that pent up anger." He chuckled.

Desmond moved to take a step but a quick growl held him in place.

"Anyways, I came to make a deal."

"What deal? The only deal worth making is you handing over Ileana and the kids."

Malacoda's eyes darkened a slight twitch in the corners of his mouth told me Desmond was pushing his luck.

"Well, we all know that's not on the table. I'm talking about the girl. S-Soro-phina? Whatever her name is hand her back over to Philip."

I shifted instantly at the mention of Phina. No one was taking her, she wasn't leaving to go anywhere she didn't want to especially not back to Philip. He'd torture her.

"What? Just like you handed Ileana back to our family? This isn't a deal Malacoda." My teeth grounded together.

Malacoda's nostrils flared before he took a precautionary breath. "The deal is you hand her back over to Philip and you get to stay pretending to be an alpha."

"Is that a threat?" Desmond growled.

"Take it as you wish I'm merely a messenger. The girl was never yours to begin with in fact she's a traitor to Dark Titan fleeing without permission."

"Your cousin had his hands around her throat I don't think she need permission to run away from a place that was dead set on tormenting her. Seraphina is staying and this was a waste of time." I seethed. The words feel hot on my tongue.

"She's a threat to society and she doesn't even know it." His words were clipped. The features on his face for a moment told me he revealed more than he had meant to. It baffles me.

Desmond and I turned to one another. 'Seraphina is many things but she's not a threat.' I nodded in agreement. Seraphina was naïve, innocent, and many other things but a threat wasn't one of them.

I trained my eyes back on the hellish man. What I wouldn't do to snap his neck right now. The urge to do so was tingling at my finger tips. "Tell Philip that if he wants Seraphina that he'll have to come here himself."

I didn't stick around to listen to whatever conniving joke or sarcastic remark Malacoda wanted to make the only thing I heard him say before shifting and heading him was, "Your mate will regret this choice you made without her. It won't be you who loses."

>>•

There was too much on my mind when I arrived back at the cabin. It was nearly midnight, the moon high above the sky lite up the snow as I made my way inside.

Lucky was putting away dishes as I scanned each room for her. She was in every room it appeared, her scent basking ever room in honey. Then I found her bouncy curly hair cascading off the arm of the sofa.

I nodded my head at Lucky before going into the living room. She was fast asleep curled up under an old knitted blanket. Her one arm was tucked under her head the other just barely peeked beneath the blanket but it was clutching something.

I moved closer stretching my arm out a trailing my finger against the back of her hand. She shuffled in her sleep rolling over and letting go of the book.

I squinted to get a better look before I fixed my eyes on the empty spot on the shelf. She was looking through the only album I was able to grab before escaping with Desmond.

It felt like it had all happened just yesterday when I had thrown Desmond's crying and shaking body over my shoulder. The sight of my parents mulled to death was still freshly etched into my brain. The image would forever haunt me. At least I was able to save Des from it.

The sound of a thud broke me out of the daze. The photo album had slide off the couch as Phina stretched.

She groaned as she wearily opened her eyes. "Osiris?" She slide up to sit. Phina rubbed her eyes as she looked around the room for something. "What time is it?"

Her voice was an instant comfort that I had longed to feel again. It felt safe.

'But can you keep her safe?' My wolf grunted. He was everything but relaxed since Malacoda arrived. Pushing him to the back of my head I slumped down in the adjacent chair. Exhaustion had finally won over me.

"It's a little past midnight." I replied pinching the bridge of my nose and look over at her. I was sure she could see the exhaustion.

"Is everything alright? Are you okay?" She asked.

God, how do I answer that question? I wasn't about to tell her that the one person I hated most in the world had just casually reappeared. I wasn't about to share the fact that she didn't just have Philip demanding she go back to Dark Titan but Malacoda as well.

Phina had enough on her plate as it was. She had just discovered that her so called best friend had done to her years ago. "I should be asking you that. I'm sorry for leaving you right after-" I couldn't bring myself to say it, too scared it'd upset her to remind her of what he'd done.

Instead, I offered her my hand, much to my surprise, she took no time in taking it. The buzzing electric feeling rippled up my arm.

Phina, gave me a small smile as she bent down to grab the photo album. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone through your stuff." She fumbled with the album nervously dropping it again and letting go of my hand. "Y-you were cute when you were little. This one was the only one I found, were there other vacations you took when you were younger?"

The memories flooded back to the top and with it all of the tucked away emotions I had fought off with them. "Yea, many."

Her smile dropped. "That was insensitive of me."

"No, no, not at all. I-" I paused for a moment. What was the best way to say I need to talk more about this because it's been driving my crazy for years? "I haven't spoken that much about my parents to anyone. Think about my what life was like when I was a child makes me feel like it was some sort of awful fairytale."

"You can't say that." She flipped through a couple pages of the album before settling on a single family photo. I was running after a frisbee my sister had thrown, the disk just out of my reach as I stiff armed Desmond into the backed sandy beach. It was a photo from our last family vacation.

All of our smiles were all so blind to the fact that in less than a month it was all going to change. Ileana would be turning seventeen two weeks after this photo and Malacoda was dead set on ruining anyone that got in the way of his "life style" and control.

"You all look so happy. Is that Ileana?" She asked looking at the much younger version of Ileana. Her long raven black hair was loss and wild like it always was. It was a quality our mother always had being a part of nature and being half witch.

My mother was a rarity they used to say. Half witch and half Werewolf, the viability was almost always none, but she was the only one of her siblings to live. None of my brothers or sister were able to do magic but our mother was able to. She taught herself.

I nodded my head. "Yea, that's Ileana. She... she was crazy when she was younger. I can't remember a time she wasn't getting herself in trouble." Phina giggled and I literally felt butterflies. It made me laugh a little as I reminisced. " Iliy was outspoken, unapologetic, bold and confident. She was everything every alpha would have wanted in a Luna."

Phina frowned bitting her bottom lip as she did so. "What Malacoda did to her, though I don't know everything, is wrong. And I'm sorry."

I moved to sit next to her. There was a need to be closer. I didn't know if it was because I felt vulnerable about all the fast thoughts or the fact that there was threat of me losing her, but I just wanted to feel her touch however innocent. She was quick to make room for me.

"Don't apologize for that man. He's the stuff that nightmares are made of." I told her look at the fireplace across from me.

Timid soft fingers cradled my jaw. They pulled my face to the side until I locked eyes with her. The eyes I could get lost in for ages. "I'm not apologizing for him, I'm apologizing for never asking before. You've been through so much an here I was labeling you as some sort of monster. You sacrifice so much for everyone else."

She began to pull away but I was quick to hold her hand to my face. I didn't want her to pull away, not this soon.

"Fuck it." She whispered.

Phina didn't continue to try and pull away instead leaning in connecting our lips for the first time. My eyes shut but I still felt like explosive fireworks were igniting behind my lids. Her tongue danced across my upper lip and I greedily opened my mouth. She slide across my lap until she was straddling me, her hands were getting lost in my hair pulling me closer.

I kept my hands on the outside of her clothes. I didn't want to scare her away and instead let her set the pace and let her guide me how far she wanted to go. I was just happy to have her, or as much as she would allow me to have.

Enjoying the feeling of her I was lost in the plans of her body, the curve of her hips, the smell of her scent, the curls of her hairs between my fingers, it was all bliss. Then the door opened.

"For fucks sake, get a damn room!" Desmond shouted shutting the door and running up the stairs.

All good things come to an end and I was going to kill Desmond.