Alexandra's hand tighten its hold on her mate's hand. Words and voices swarmed around her head like bees, but instead of peaceful hive dwellers, these words were on the attack. They swarmed through her ears and around her head, stinging at her tear ducts and tormenting her wolf.

'Calm down, Alexandra.' She heard Dillon's voice through their bond, but instead of calmness, the Luna grew angrier. How could she calm down when she just learned that her daughter was cursed?

'Alex-' Dillon started but was silenced by the utter rage coming from the she-wolf.

'ME calm down?!' Alexandra roared. 'How the hell am I supposed to calm down when my daughter is strapped down to a damn bed, injected with wolfsbane, and now, after everything, after three DAMN YEARS, I learn that she has been cursed this entire time?!' Alexandra was fuming. No, that wasn't the right word. She was pissed. 'No, I am not going to calm down, not until this curse is lifted and my daughter is better.'

Before Dillon could respond, she closed down her side of the bond. When Alexandra got especially mad, she would close down her half of the mind link, but after everything had cooled down, she would re-open it. Alexandra didn't like closing the link, and she knew that Dillon didn't like it either, but she needed some sort of privacy, whether it be her mind or her body. Dillon respected that and gave her her space, and for that, Alexandra was forever grateful.

"How?" Alexandra asked; her voice was deep with the presence of her wolf. She felt Dillon wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side as her body shuddered with the next to shift.

"Calm. Down." Dillon whispered into her ear, his words were gentle and tender, but there was a rising strictness in his tone. He wasn't afraid to give her an Alpha Command.

Alexandra's cheeks expanded, then deflated as she let out a heavy breath.

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest, but-" Sasha started, but was cut off by a snarl.

"Aren't you an all-powerful Oracle?" The Luna challenged. "Shouldn't you know?"

The Oracle's eyes flashed dangerously as her mate snarled. Desmond was extremely protective and possessive of his little Oracle, and Alexandra could understand why knowing his history. Sasha and her mate had a difficult start to their relationship, but when Alexandra was for sure that it would become too much, the pair pulled through.

"Disrespect will get you nowhere, wolf." Sasha snapped, her gold eyes glaring at Alexandra. "You interrupt me again, I will force your shift, get a shaver, and shave you like one of those poodle dogs everyone seems to love."

Alexandra's wolf pulled back in shock. The little Oracle had fire in her belly.... and guts. Not many talked back to Alexandra, but this little human replied with force and aggression. Alexandra was sure that if Sasha had been born a wolf, she would've been one hell of an Alpha. Alexandra almost smiled as her wolf retreated slightly; it may have withdrawn, but it was still watching through Alexandra's eyes with interest. Her wolf was taken aback by the Oracle; it wasn't used to being put in its place. No wonder Desmond had a hard time protecting his mate, she's a little spitfire. She thought

"What I thought," the Oracle growled. "As I was saying, I am not sure how or why Adeline has the curse, but there are some ancient books that mention curses and what-not. I'll just need to get them from my pack library in California."

????

Sasha shook her head. She knew that waiting for the books to be shipped to her, was too risky. The ancient books were sacred and valuable, and too many creatures would love to have one in their possession. Sasha wasn't scared of them being taken -- the books were written in Latin -- but she was scared of them landing in the wrong hands. Powerful beings would have no problem interpreting the text, and then they could use the information to do their dirty work. Magic, used by the wrong person, could be disastrous.

That isn't possible. I have to find something else. Someone else. Sasha thought as she looked at Adeline's parents. It was obvious they loved her very much and would do anything for her; for a moment, Sasha's heart squeezed in her chest. Growing up, she would've sacrificed anything, walked away from anyone, to have parents like that.

'I love you.' Desmond's voice was a caress in her mind. His strong, large hand slipped into hers and squeezed reassuringly. 'We have each other, and when we have pups, we will be the best damn parents ever.'

Sasha smiled gently. Desmond had been wanting pups for months now, but she wasn't sure. The chances of her getting pregnant were slim. Canises had a hard time conceiving, but Sasha was also terrified of motherhood. Would she be just like her own mother? Would she be so emotionless and uncaring, that her children would rebel, just like she had? Or would she parent like her father had? Would she resort to threats and beatings to discipline her kids?

"Is there any other way?" Alexandra asked, pulling Sasha from her pathetic thoughts. The Luna's eyes were glowing with the presence of her wolf, and she trembled with the urge to shift. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to release her.

Sasha took in a deep breath, preparing herself. "There are a few beings I can contact that might know of the curse lineage. But as of now, everything is still up in the air." Sasha's eyes slid away from the she-wolf and landed on the unconscious girl. Sasha was shocked by the speed of the herb; Adeline had been injected no more than ten minutes ago, and now she was out cold. The girl looked completely different now though. Adeline's face was calm, serene even, and the worry lines in her forehead had relaxed, making her look younger.... making her look her age.

"What can we do?" Adeline's father asked, his voice deep and firm. Sasha stared at the girl for a moment longer before meeting the Alpha's eyes.

"I need to figure out what type of curse this is, then, once I find that out, we can discuss from there." Sasha's voice was confident and assertive, but deep down, she was scared and nervous. She didn't know how she was going to do this. How was this even going to work? How in God's name was she going to contact those Beings? How was she going to help Adeline?

'We'll figure out a way,' Desmond cooed. 'We always do.'

Sasha looked at her mate from out of the corner of her eye. They'd only been married a year, but she still found him as attractive as the first time she saw him. Desmond flashed her a half smile as her thoughts registered in his mind; she loved that smile.

"How long should this take?" Alexandra asked. Sasha's brows drew together in thought. That was a good question - a question she didn't have an answer to.

"I need to contact several individuals, so it could take.... Two days, maybe three?"

The Alpha pair growled. Sasha understood their need to cure their daughter, but she didn't understand why they waited so long to contact her. Maybe, if they had contacted her after the first attack, Adeline could be better. Maybe Adeline could've been happy and healthy.... Maybe she could've been normal.

"Why is it going to take so long?" Dillon asked, his voice rough with the appearance of his wolf. The room seemed to drop a few degrees as Dillon released his dominance. Sasha's wolves growled. Since Sasha wasn't a wolf, she didn't feel the full effects of Dillon's dominance, but she could still experience some of it. She could feel the breath escaping her lungs and the ache in her neck; Dillon expected submission.... no, he demanded it.

Sasha placed a hand on Desmond's shoulder, then placed her other hand on Finnians'. "Dillon, control your wolf," Sasha ordered, pushing some of the ancient magic hidden within her, out towards the irritated Alpha. Dillon's reaction almost caused Sasha to laugh. As if her demand was an off switch, Dillon reigned in his dominance, his trembling stopped, and his growling stopped. Sasha rolled her eyes. Werewolves were so irritable and so.... dogish.

"Are you in control? Or do I need to go get you a bone from the Petco to make it all better?" Sasha asked. She could tell that Dillon wanted to start growling again, but instead, he cleared his throat. Good choice old man. Sasha thought with a silent chuckle.

Lord, I love Werewolves.

"Who do you need to contact anyways?" This time, it was Finnian. Sasha's lips pulled up into a mischievous smirk as everyone listened in.

"I think it's time we pay the Djinn of Wisdom a visit." She heard her wolves let out a groan.

Alexandra spoke up next. "And if he doesn't work?" The Luna's voice was cautious and skeptical. Sasha had the feeling that Alexandra never met the Djinn. You're gonna wish you had never met him. She thought. The Djinn of Wisdom was an interesting male. His ego was the size of the castle he lived in, selfishness made his head big, and his greed often made him choose wrong over right. Sasha had only met him once, but Djinns never forgot. He'd definitely remember her.

"He'll cooperate."