It was well past midnight by the time they had returned to the mansion, but Alexandra was anything but groggy.

Every cell in her body was awake-- charged by the anger and desperation radiating from her very soul. Her body was tense, ready to move should the need call for it.

Alexandra knew that she was being anxious, but she was the mother of a dying child. Who wouldn't be anxious and mad and fearful and hopeless, when your child's next breath wasn't even certain?

If only she had contacted the Oracle when the first attack had occurred, then they could've avoided all of this. But she had been stubborn, believing that once Adeline turned eighteen, that the discovery of her mate would push back her wolf.

She had never been so wrong in her entire life.

It was her fault that Adeline was dying; just like it had been her fault when Eli had died.

Pushing open the van door, Alexandra stepped out into the darkness, the stars and Moon practically sneering down at her in disgust.

Not waiting for the other's to follow her, she took off towards the heavy front doors, her feet moving swiftly across the grass and up to the paved pathway that led up to the doors.

Dillon was right beside her in an instant, his glazed eyes also trained on the mansion doors.

She immediately recognized the glassy look that had settled over his irises; he was communicating with a pack member, probably telling them that their alphas had arrived, and that they were heading straight to their daughter.

Alexandra was thankful that her mate had taken care of that; she did not feel like talking to a pack member at the moment, or anyone for that matter. All she wanted, all she needed, was to see her daughter... smell her scent, hear her heartbeat to remind herself that they were both still alive.

Throwing open the doors to the mansion, she stormed past the entryway, through the large gathering room, and straight towards the hall that fed into the left wing-- where the infirmary was.

Where Adeline was.

Many wolves were asleep at this time of the night, but the wolves that had stayed up, probably trying to get some extra work done that couldn't get completed during the day, were smart enough to stay out of their alphas' way.

'They're not sure if she's going to survive the night.' Alexandra heard the words that Kara had said; there was no way that she could ever forget them.

They would always be ingrained in her soul, reminding her of the terrible, horrific mistake that she had been stupid enough to make... for the second time.

As she practically sprinted to her daughter's private room, her throat began to burn again, closing in on itself.

She couldn't breathe, even as her lungs sucked in oxygen in mighty pants, she couldn't seem to catch her breath.

What if she is dead? A little voice asked in the back of her mind.

'No.' She snarled to herself. 'She isn't dead. I would feel it.'

Alexandra rounded a sharp corner, tears welling up in her eyes.

They're not sure if she's going to survive the night.

They're not sure if she's going to survive the night.

She had been trying to hold it all in, since the moment that Adeline had lunged at her best friend, but, as the days dragged on, she was finding it harder and harder to keep from screaming out in pain and anger, to stop the tears from flooding her face. She never allowed herself to cry, because she knew that it wasn't her fault... at least not directly. But this was entirely her fault.

She had failed as a parent, letting her pride and unwillingness to accept that there was something wrong, take control.

And now, because of her mistakes, Adeline was laying on her death's bed; the certain future that Alexandra had imagined for her, was not so certain anymore.

Immediately recognizing the dim windows and the heavy metal door that opened into the infirmary, the Luna met the door with flat hands, her mate following right after her.

It swung open violently, slamming into the wall with such a strong force, that it made the ground beneath her shudder.

It hadn't even crossed her mind that she shouldn't have used so much force, the place where her hands had connected with the metal had left two large indentions, but the only thing on her mind was her daughter.

Alexandra and Dillon pasted the front desk, not even glancing at the healers and doctors that were gathered behind it.

Alexandra's whole world stopped as she pushed open the door to her pup's hospital room.

Many different scents wafted up into her nose, many belonging to anxious and frantic healers and doctors, that had no doubt, worked to revive her daughter.

But, beneath all of the smells of emotions and sweat, the fragile, weak scent of something warm pushed through, followed by the gentle beat of a young heart.

"She's... alive." Alexandra breathed, the weight that had settled over her chest was lessening with every beat of her pup's heart.

The salty scent of tears flooded her nose as she walked over to Adeline's prone form.

Turning her head away from her daughter for a second, her eyes connected with the glassy eyes of her mate.

Silent, hot tears were rolling down his cheeks, trailing along his jaw. His chest trembled with the sobs that he was trying to compress, but she could feel his pain through their bond.

Just like her own heart, Dillon's heart clenched in his chest, as if it were being forced into a compression device, the pain rising up to his throat.

But he clenched his jaw, his eyes growing in intensity as he stared at her. His shoulders were pulled back, his broad back ramrod straight.

As if that was all he could do to keep from shifting into his wolf, racing to the damned witch's coven, and tearing her apart, limb from limb.

Alexandra understood the feeling; she was fighting against it also.

Slipping her hand into her mate's much larger one, she squeezed it.

As she turned back to her daughter, her eyes trailing over Adeline's thin and wasted body, she finally allowed the tears that had flooded her tired soul, to escape.

When Dillon squeezed her hand back in reassurance, the tears raced out faster, streaking down her cheeks in great streams of emotion.

She never liked crying, if anything, she thought that she was too strong to give in to that type of emotion, but just then, as she stared down at her pup, her little girl, she realized that crying didn't make a person weak.

Crying confirmed that they were indeed alive.

And, in that moment, she wasn't ashamed to cry.

Finnian wanted to sleep. Every cell in his body wanted to sleep, to escape to a place where it was peaceful and kind, where he was wanted, but, for the first time in his life, his wolf and brain agreed that sleep wasn't needed.

If he had been under any other circumstance, he probably would've snorted, but right now, as he crept closer to the infirmary, he didn't have a single ounce of humor in his body.

His skin itched with the need to... to do something that he couldn't exactly place a finger on; but he knew that the feeling revolved around the little female that was laying in that hospital bed.

Even from where he was standing, he could smell the scent of tears emitting from Adeline's room. And, every now and then, he could hear them talking to each other and their unconscious daughter, telling her how much they loved her, and that they were sorry.

So, so sorry.

Sorry that they had waited this long to get her help; that they had failed her.

Finnian was conflicted. He was angry at them... no, that wasn't the right word; he was enraged that they had waited this long to get her help. He didn't understand what had been going through their minds when they decided that they shouldn't contact Sasha. Had they even noticed how depressed their daughter was? How she beat herself up over something that she had no power over?

But, he did understand why they might've waited. From what the Oracle had told him, and from what he had gathered from the alpha pair, he came to the conclusion that they had been waiting for her eighteenth birthday... the day that a mate-bond could form to, hopefully, push back her wolf.

They had been utterly hopeless.

Hopeless, but forced to retain as much hope as possible, not only for the pack and their daughter, but themselves.

'See, smell, touch,' His wolf ushered, pushing his need to protect his mate onto its human half.

Pushing against the need ingrained in his very own DNA, he shook his head, and turned away.

'No. Not now.' He told his wolf.

The animal let out a growl, but didn't push the subject any further, as if sensing the danger that was lurking in their mate's room.

Finnian wasn't stupid.

He knew that if he were to, indeed, step into her room, her parents would've attacked him.

Especially her father.

As silent as a shadow, Finnian stalked down the hall, pushing himself further and further away from that blue-eyed female, and her father that wouldn't mind tearing him apart.

In fact, Finnian was fairly certain that the alpha would've enjoyed it... immensely.

????

It was almost dawn when Desmond had awaken.

But it wasn't by his own free will, no, he had woken up, because of a haunting, sorrow-filled sound that caused the hair on his arms to rise.

He recognized the sound immediately. One of his own kind had made that sound.

A howl.

It was haunting and deep, practically a single, endless verse aimed at the Moon high, high above.

A song of pain, hopelessness, and anger.

It was a feral, feral sound.

Flipping back the covers to the bed that he and Sasha were sharing, he padded to the large window that overlooked the endless forest beyond.

By the time he had reached the window, the howl had died down, but his mind had completely dropped everything about the howl.

There, taped against the outside of the window, hung an envelope, the white paper nearly glowing in the dim, early morning light.

Looking back over his shoulder at Sasha, making sure that she was still safe and asleep, he let out a growl.

Unlocking the locks on the window, he easily slid the window up, a wave of chilly air sweeping in past him.

The envelope was still warm against his fingertips, as if it had just been put there.

Quickly ripping the envelope from the window, he pushed down on the window, then relocked it once it had completely shut.

Sniffing the air, trying to scent anything of magic, he concluded that it was harmless.

It just smelled of metal, paper, and ink.

Glancing back at his mate, he saw that she was still well asleep. She was laying on her stomach, the sheets resting just over her waist.

Sliding a finger under the lip of the envelope, he then reached in, and pulled out a piece of paper that was neatly folded.

His breath left his lungs as he read:

Dear Sasha,

Ingredients for Repealing Potion (Because I Highly Recommend It):

1. Three Shards of a Mirror

2. Blank, Shredded Paper (Does Not Matter How Many Sheets of Paper)

3. 4 Leaves Belonging to Any Type of Tree

4. A Gallon of Creek Water

5. Fistful of Dirt

6. Fresh Blood Of Any Creature, And of Any Amount

7. Urine of Any Creature

Brew All of These Ingredients For Two to Three days, or Until the Smell Makes Your Eyes Water. Only Stir Brew Twice a Day, Once During the Sun's Reign, and Once During the Moon's Reign.

P.S. When you Leave to End the Witch, You Must Bring Adeline With You. I Failed to Mention that, to Break the Curse, You Must Kill the Welder Within Two-Hundred Feet of the Host.

I Sincerely Apologize For That Little Piece of Forgotten Information. I Swear, It Will Never Occur Again.

I Wish You All the Best Of Luck.

I'll Be Watching.

-RZ

Desmond's eyes widened as he went over the letter, again and again and again.

But, as he went to toss the envelope in one of the trashcans next to the bed, he felt a little lump in one of its creased corners.

Metal.

Pulling the lump out, he held it in his hand, staring down at the necklace.

The little moon hung between his fingers, swirling in the still air.