"Yup," Sasha said, popping the 'P'. "We're all so dead."

The note that Razbin had left was clenched in her fists, her golden eyes roving over the words written in ink.

She recited, "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." Sasha rolled her eyes. "I call bull on his "little piece of forgotten information". I mean, seriously! Isn't he the Djinn of Wisdom, an all-knowing, ancient creature? He couldn't have forgotten that."

Desmond just nodded his head; his eyes were trained on his mate, but he was also watching the window that he had found the letter taped to, as if, if he looked at it long and hard enough, the pompous djinn would suddenly appear.

The Western Beta was silent, his large arms crossed across his chest. His face was emotionless, but his dark eyes glowed hauntingly.

Sasha looked at Desmond, then Finnian, shooting them both a pointed look, "So... Who's going to go tell the alpha pair?"

No one stepped forward, one of the guards stationed by the door even dropped his eyes from Sasha's face, refusing to make eye contact with her.

She groaned, standing up from the chair that she had pulled from an office desk. Tossing the piece of paper down on the seat of her chair, she rose her arms over her head, stretching out her spine. A few cracks emitted from her back, but, once she was done, she looked at all of the males, one by one.

"I need to go alone." She said, her voice unwavering... stern. "They're on protective mode right now. If multiple males step into that room, I doubt that they'll take it well."

Low growls filled the room, all of them unwilling to let the sacred woman step into harms-way, especially without any of them there to protect her, should the need arise.

The alpha pair was unpredictable-- as were any parent of a dying child, but what made Alexandra and Dillon so deadly, was that they could shift into massive wolves.

Wolves that had no problem tearing a creature apart... limb by limb, until there was nothing more than a mound of intestines, blood, and gore beneath them.

'Think happy thoughts, Sasha,' She told herself. 'Happy thoughts. They are nothing more than Pomeranians puppies; massive, growly, hairy, deadly Pomeranians. That's not much of a difference, though... other than their size...' She grimaced.

Desmond let out a snort, but it was anything but humorous.

He had stood up with her, stepping up to her with his intense green eyes and clenched jaw, telling her that he was fighting against his wolf... against his own instincts.

She shook her head, "If you come with me, it'll be even more dangerous. Plus, they wouldn't hurt me... you, Travis, Finn, and the warriors would tan their hides." She offered him a gentle smile.

"I don't like it." Desmond ground out. Nods of agreement filled the room.

This time, he opened their mental-link. 'I will allow you to go, but I will be out in the hall, along with the other males. We will not step a foot in the room, but, we will be ready to attack should the alphas so much as breathe wrong. Do you understand?'

Sasha hoped that he could feel her gratitude and gratefulness through their bond.

He let out a harsh breath before dragging a hand down his face in exaggeration.

Sasha smiled gently, rising up on her tip-toes to place a kiss on his stubbly cheek.

Before he could change his mind, or any of the others' could, she spun on her heels, and left the suite, closing the entrance door quietly behind her.

She knew that Desmond and the other's were trailing after her, but she just held her head high, straightened her back, and walked towards the infirmary, not fully knowing what to expect.

How was the alpha pair going to react, knowing that they had to bring Adeline with them, to kill the witch?

She grimaced. Everyone already knew the answer to that dreaded, damned question.

No. They were not going to take it well.

'Lord,' Sasha muttered in her mind, 'have mercy on my poor, mortal soul.'

????

'Abort mission, abort mission.' Sasha cursed mentally, as the alphas' eyes snapped from their daughter, to the mortal, pathetic woman practically trembling before them.

The predator lurking in their soul, appeared in their eyes, causing a chill to ripple down her spine, and the hair on her arms to stand on end.

A silence filled the air, so thick and suffocating, that Sasha wasn't sure if it had been a good idea to be as blunt as she had just been.

In fact, as the alpha slowly stood to his feet, his eyes narrowed on her, she regretted not taking the softer, better approach.

The smarter approach.

But, instead, she had to be blunt, and precise. Coating her anxious words and feelings, with tones of sarcasm and indifference.

The alpha's words were calm... unhurried, but that didn't fool her. Dillon's piercing blue eyes burned into her, and long, sharp canines pressed down on his bottom lip.

His left eye twitched, ever so slightly.

A hint of aggression laced the syllables as he spoke, "What did you say?"

Sasha's tongue was heavy in her mouth, and, for the first time in a long, long while, she was lost for words. She had no idea what to say to them... any of them.

What could she say? She couldn't stand in their shoes-- she never experienced anything close to what they had experienced these past few years; and, hopefully, she never would. She hated people that tried to understand others' pain when they had never experienced anything even close to it, and she refused to be that person.

Sasha would rather say nothing at all and be labeled rude and unsympathetic, then pretend to know what they were going through.

Taking in a deep breath, she pulled back her shoulders, throwing a grin across her lips.

She was the most powerful Oracle in recent years, so she had to act like it.

"Like I just said the first time," she folded her arms over her chest. "Desmond found a letter written by Razbin, taped to our window. Apparently, his "advanced brain", forgot that, for the curse to actually break, Adeline needs to be within two hundred feet of the witch when you kill her, or else the curse wouldn't break... I think. He didn't state why she needed to be within a range for the curse to be broken, but I would trust his "advanced, goodie-too-shoes brain" over ours any day."

Dillon didn't give a reply, at least not a verbal one.

Low growls emitted from his chest, echoing throughout the private infirmary room. His large hands were fisted at his sides, and his jaw was clenched so tightly, that Sasha was worried that his teeth would crack under the pressure-- but, in his tortured, wrathful eyes, true, heart-wrenching emotions danced.

"Where's the note?" Alexandra whispered.

Before she could answer, Desmond spoke through their matelink, a reassuring caress against the emotions raging inside of her. 'I have the note. Tell them that I am coming in alone, and that I am harmless. It's to reassure their beasts', and their own instincts to protect their daughter.'

'Okay... I'll tell them. And, Desmond?'

Yes?'

'Thank you... for everything.'

His warm chuckle filled her head, and, immediately, it calmed the urges that were riding her hard. 'You're just saying that, because you need me to be the kind, reasonable talker; because you lack, as you sometimes say, "everyday people skills".'

Sasha would deny his words until the world was nothing more than dust floating among the stars.

Even though she hated to admit it, he was right.

Turning back to the alpha pair that was staring intently at her, she smiled gently. "My mate has the note, and will be coming in. He is harmless, and will be staying at my side at all times."

They curtly nodded their heads, but Sasha knew that it was taking a lot of energy to suppress their anxious wolves, to keep from shifting and tearing through the forest.

To kill the fool that had cursed their pup.

When Desmond slipped into the room, his long legs carrying him across the clean, white tiles, Sasha allowed herself to look at the unconscious, prone body.

The girl hardly into womanhood, the child controlled and played by a sadist. She was so young, so new to the world, yet she seemed so old, so frail, laying on that bed— the sheets dipping in the hollow of her emaciated stomach, clinging to every cleft and ridge of her bones.

As her mate spoke to the girl's parents in his calm, controlled voice of his, she grew sad.

She didn't blame the alphas, at least not fully, but what she just couldn't understand, was how could they have waited this long to get their pup, their child, help? How could they be so blind to her guilt and sadness and anger? How could they just sit back, and watch Adeline lose control and attack a pack member?

Did they have no brain?

No moral compass?

When Sasha's eyes shifted from the girl, and narrowed on Alexandra, she a flutter of red-hot emotion take shape, clinging to the ridges and grooves of her soul. Even with the downpour of memories, thoughts, and feelings, it hung on, anchoring itself deep with hooked, barbed claws.

????

Finnian had to get out of the Southern Mansion. He had to stretch his legs, to feel the burning sensation in his muscles as he raced through the endless forests, dodging trees and vegetation.

Sometimes, crashing through them.

He never liked getting injured, as with everyone else, but sometimes it was necessary, for both his health, and his wolf's.

Lunging over a fallen tree, Finnian's wild-form easily flew over it, his beast growling in satisfaction.

Finnian had been working out every day since he had arrived... and, it was beginning to show.

In the beginning, he was out-of-shape compared to the others-- yes, he had a toned and fit body, but his endurance had been lacking. Some days, when he was feeling especially tired, he'd be left in the dust by even the juvenile wolves. Sometimes, once he finally completed the run, his group would've already been on the core and upper body exercises.

By the end of the morning runs, he had been utterly exhausted, hardly making it through the post-workout, and stretches.

But now, he wasn't relying on adrenaline or his wolf to make it through the morning routines; instead, he was holding his own, keeping a steady, even pace during the dawn runs. He had been fast in his wolf form prior to the training, but now, his human side was beginning to improve... immensely.

But, much to his surprise, the work-outs had begun to transform into something so much more than a daily chore. If anything, he had grown to like doing the exercises... love doing them, even. They offered him an escape from the world that had treated him so poorly, so unfairly.

The hard earth beneath his paws lulled him into a peaceful, thoughtless trance. All he could feel was the wind trailing through his fur, the cool earth offering support to his heated paws, the shadows of the looming green giants, giving him shade as he pushed himself harder and harder.

But, this run didn't offer him such release. And he cursed the Moon for it, because it was her fault... all of it.

Because, as he was getting ready to train with the others after Sasha had spoken to the alpha pair, he had smelled her.

His nose had tingled at that faint, wonderful scent that had drifted in through the air vents. Finnian had been in the process of getting dressed when that damned scent had made itself known... her scent.

The whole world had stopped as the fragile, faint scent of lavender surrounded him, calling forth the wolf that lay within him.

Her birthday was looming, teasing his wolf with the thought of the mate-bond, and of, in turn, his mate.

Their beautiful, broken mate.

Finnian didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he was excited; he had been waiting and looking for his female ever since he was a boy, dreaming of the day when he could wrap her in his arms-- but, on the other hand, he was nervous, wary, angry... hell, he was even intimidated!

He was a young wolf, he had none of the experience that the older males had. Most males didn't find their mates until they were centuries upon centuries old, but he was only six decades old-- compared to others, he was a pup.

A pup that had been blessed with a mate, while all the others still waited, and waited, and waited.

Finnian wasn't a dumb wolf... he would never throw such a gift back in the Moon's face, but he just couldn't understand why She had chosen him for Adeline.

The poor female deserved a patient, experienced male that would protect and guard her at all costs while she healed. She deserved a male that had gentle hands and a saint's patience, because she wouldn't get better in a single night. No, it would take months upon months for her to heal physically, possibly even years, but the worst wounds were often invisible, hidden so deep inside the soul that they were nearly impossible to move on from.

Finnian skidded to a stop, his large chest rising and falling in mighty pants.

Forests surrounded him on all sides, trapping him... concealing him.

Memories flashed before his eyes as he looked around... desperation, confusion, rage, sorrow, and hopelessness flowed through him, just like they had that horrid, unforgettable day.

'The Moon does not make mistakes,' a familiar, warm voice had said to him, oh so long ago.

'So, when your time comes; do not fight it. You have the other half of her soul, and she possesses the other half of yours. Two are stronger than one.'

Finnian rolled those words around in his head as he sat back on his hunches.

Shaking his head, he let out a huff through his muzzle.

His mutter would be ashamed of him if she knew what was going through his mind.

In fact, she had still been around, she probably would've pinched his ear, giving it a nice, sharp tug.

Standing up once again, he turned around, facing the mansion that now held his fate in sickly, uncertain hands.

Yes, he was nervous and uncertain of what his future held, but he knew one thing.

Whatever the Moon threw at him, nothing would be able to pry him from the little female's side.

Yes, he needed space and time to think about everything, but at the end of the day, his fate had already been sealed.

Now, all he had to do was gain Adeline's affection, earn the respects of her father, and then everything else would fall into place.

But, above all of that, she had to heal.

She had to live.

She was going to survive; because any other alternative would destroy him.

Now, all he had to do, was rip the fool that had cursed his mate, his Addy, to shreds.