The next time I regained consciousness, we were inside the same cabin that I had last seen. My head was on Fenris's lap. Lycans arguing about everything that had happened surrounded us. Fenris lightly held an ice pack to my forehead, unaware I was awake. The arguments and loud voices increased the headache raging within me.

Everything seemed so blurry that I could barely tell who was in the distance. All I saw were shapes and colors at most.

"This is not what we had planned! How does a thing like this even happen?! Where is Ryker?! Why is he still not here?!" A silver hair Lycan, seemly on the elder side of the spectrum, screamed at another smaller wolf.

The poor boy seemed to be the outlet for his rage.

"He is almost here, sir. Some things needed to be taken care of at the capital." The one getting yelled at responded, trying to appease the angered elder.

"I do not care. He should be here already! I mean that abomination made it here! Why not him?!?" The elder pointed at me.

I tried to keep my eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. Although part of me wanted to break out laughing upon being called that. Even though I had just saved their lives, I was still an atrocity.

'Ungrateful.'

'Enemy.'

The whispers arose within me. Though, my protector would not stay silent.

"Do not call her that. She has a name. And I do not think she counts..." Fenris tried to defend me, knowing full well I did not get here by normal means.

After all, the night before I had gotten to a closed-off area. However, instead of getting the elder grounded on the situation, the older Lycan turned his rage at Fenris.

"You! You are supposed to control her!" The Lycan elder changed his tune towards Fenris, who growled in response.

Ben tried to intercept, but instead of letting his brother take the lead like he usually did. Fenris did not back down. He wanted to fight back.

"She is a living thing with free will. I cannot control her choices, no matter how irresponsible they are. Just be grateful she saved us. Instead of scorning us for everything we have done to her." Fenris snapped back.

The elder was having none of it.

"You are a disgrace to this family. Even if you are my grandson! Did you not see her lose control of her own power?! She is your charge! I bet you she has something to do with this! All witches..." Fenris's grandfather went off the rails only to be interrupted by Ben.

"Evan, look, Lilith obviously has nothing to do with this. You were not here when she saved us from those corpses!" The older brother intercepted.

Another Lycan from the group in the room jumped into the fray.

"She killed some of us!" the other one argued.

Ben just snapped back at him. All tensions were up in the air.

"Only the ones that were going rabid. If it was anything like what happened the night of the explosions, then she did them a favor!" Ben confronted the other Lycan, who quickly backed down.

It was almost as if testosterone had filled the air. Having enough, Shade jumped off my belly and into the fight, knowing full well I was awake, unlike everyone else.

"You mortals seem to be so dumb. Honestly, it makes me wonder how all of you are still alive. I really wonder why Lily cares for you idiots. If it were up to me, I would just have let you rot." Shade began snickering.

Amelia, who was also in the room, stood up to her. Although she was tiny, so she seemed like a normal cat. Not like the previous form from before.

"What does a monster like you know!" Amelia snarled at Shade, who did not even flinch at the hostility.

Instead, my familiar chuckled at her feeble attempt to intimidate her.

"Monster, you say. Maybe I should behave like one and eat that dumb face of yours." Shade hissed at her.

Fenris stepped into the argument to quell them both. The last thing we needed was more infighting, although Shade wanted blood. For the longest time, she had to sit there, not being able to be heard by anyone but me.

"Enough." Fenris tried to stop it all before it went out of control.

Shade just seemed to get more flared up by his attempt to quiet her. Although she knew what the intentions behind his words were, she was going to push forward. No longer would she be silently watching as they insulted us.

"No, not enough, little wolf. All these years I have been silent, but no longer. You, mortals, need a good crashing back into this world. Lily has saved you twice now! Do you even know why my fellows did not shred into you right as she lost control? Do you even know why only the children were left alone back then?!? Because she held them back!" She hissed, angered by their assessment of me.

She would not stop there, though.

"Pathetic fools. If it were up to me, I would have loved to see some of your heads roll. Maybe then the world might be better off. But no, Lily fights back at every turn! What a fucking ungrateful bunch, you morons turned out to be." Shade huffed, angered by their very existence.

I knew all she felt was because of me, but I could not help but love her more because of it. She cared for me to the point of wanting to obliterate some of their faces off the face of the planet, but even so, she was mine. My little Shade.

"Why is this monster here?!?" Another Lycan other than Amelia growled.

Ben sighed, picking Shade up from the floor before one wolf kicked her, turning this into another bloodshed. It was almost as he picked up a plushy from the floor. We could hear purrs coming from her the moment she was in his hands. She really liked Ben, unlike most of the others. He was always her favorite Lycan other than Fenris. Though she loved to bully him while we were in the room alone.

"She is her familiar. Be grateful she only looks like a kitten now." Ben informed.

Shade stuck her tongue out at them.

"Which means where Lily goes, I follow dumbass." Shade countered back, snickering again.

It only sent the confronting Lycans over the edge.

"I will not tolerate the disrespect!" Evan growled, reaching towards where Shade was.

The motion caused Ben to take a few steps back from his grandfather. The older brother knew it was a horrible idea to confront the beast in his hands. But it was just what Shade wanted. All she needed was a reason to let chaos erupt. It was enough. I...

"Enough! Touch Shade and she will end you." I warned, slowly sitting up.

Shade hopped off Ben and onto my lap. Such a little troublemaker she turned out to be. Well, she always had been, but now she had a voice to speak with.

"Lily! I was just breaking the ice for you." She announced happily.

I pinched her cheek in response.

‘More like building a mountain that I have to climb over.’

I sighed, turning towards the elder Lycan, who glared at me.

"You should show manners to that familiar of yours!" Evan tried to defend his kin.

I ignored him. My head was pounding, and their argument just made it worse. Worried, Fenris pulled me towards him, almost as if to assess my current condition. At least my nose had stopped bleeding.

"How long have I been out?" I asked, trying to figure out who was in the room with me.

Everything was still a blur. However, Fenris's touch was something that I knew even if I lost my eyesight.

"Five hours," Ben informed me.

Fenris grabbed a cloth and handed it to me. The fabric was refreshing to my skin as it cooled anywhere it touched. I placed it on my neck while he touched my forehead to check my temperature. He was always caring, my darling wolf.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, reaching for my ears to verify them too.

Thankfully, they had also stopped bleeding. But all I could care about was how he was safe and in front of me.

"Like I got run over by a pack of Lycans." I joked, trying to lighten the air.

Fenris shook his head, tugging my ear, slightly annoyed at my awful choice of words.

"Oi... You should be grateful, that is all you feel. Oh, and do not use any magic we have not found your other inhibitors." Fenris said, gazing at the injury on my forehead.

It was the one I had gotten from Melody. I had a lot to tell him, but not in front of the crowd we were in. For a moment, I stayed silent, collecting my thoughts through all the whispers that were invading my mind.

'Make him yours!'

Mostly what they kept bombarding me with. I only had the neck inhibitor that was found nearby where I collapsed. Someone had fixed the collar while I slept.

"I do not want them," I announced, upsetting everyone in the room.

"What?" Basically, everyone in the room muttered, stunned by what I had said.

"I will keep myself in check from now on," I reassured the group.

It was not what they wanted to hear, though. Amelia stepped forward and grabbed me by my dress, pulling me up to her height.

"Impossible. You will just go insane!" She snapped at me in fear as her amber orbs glossed a bit.

I grabbed onto her hands while Fenris tried to stand up, only to fall right back where he was. He was exhausted like me. If she let me go, I would probably stumble onto the floor. However, I was in no mood to back down. Especially to her attempt to intimidate me into submission, even if she was Fenris's sister. I was tired of being controlled.

"Let her go," Fenris growled, not being able to do much otherwise.

My wolf was still recovering. Ben came over to us. What she said resonated within me.

'Go insane... I am already crazy.'

Maybe Shade had the right idea before.

"If I do, then Fenris will keep me stable as he did before. Isn't that why you made me his charge? Why he made me utterly addicted to him? To the point, I cannot live without him." I smirked.

Everyone in the room was in utter silence upon hearing my words. Though it was not long until Amelia’s face showed pure revulsion. She was not the only one who did not know. Ben seemed stunned, too. I glanced over to Fenris, who was caught off guard by what had come out of me.

The old Lilith would have never dared to face down Amelia, but that girl was also not strong enough to fight for what she wanted. She was useless. A part of me that had to die if I wanted to live in this world with Fenris. No more guilt, no more pain. I would reach for what was mine and claim it.

"What?!?" Amelia rasped.

Her tone triggered Ben to grab onto her shoulder, snapping out of his surprise. There was a more pressing matter to the older brother. Shade had climbed onto my shoulder and stared down at an unsuspecting Amelia. The poor wolf’s eyes were glued on me. She was blissfully unaware of the danger that stared at her.

One move… and…

"Let Lilith go." Ben echoed Fenris's words.

He hoped to reach his sister before she did something she would regret. Shade was ready to launch at the instance Amelia tried to hurt me. But it was not my desire to harm her. After all, even if she was horrible with me, she was still Fenris's elder sister and she loved him.

"Fenris... is mine to have." I boldly declared.

There was no going back anymore. My words triggered Amelia to snarl at me, her eyes full of hate. To her, all the alarm bells were ringing. Luckily, she was not stupid enough to harm me. However, yelling and insulting me was another ball game.

"Lily..." Fenris mumbled my name, not knowing what to say on the spur of the moment.

I had rocked his world in more ways than one with my sudden words, but there was no stopping me anymore.

"You are crazy if you think I will let you have my little brother! I knew it was a mistake to let them make you his charge! You perversion of a being!" She growled, letting me go.

I fell back onto the bench behind me. All I could do was laugh at her as Ben held her back. My wolf seemed to be short on words though. When he left me, I was quietly holding everything in. The Lilith in front of him was one he could barely recognize. Everything I had experienced to this point had made me like this.

It felt like it had been ages since this all began. Everything was changing and I was different. I was finally blooming into what I was meant to be. It took Fenris to leave my side for a bit for me to realize what I had to become. The soul cairn was correct. The whispers were mostly right, even if vicious.

"You have just noticed that? I have always been crazy! I just decided to take what I want for once! Instead of letting you people dictate what I can and can’t have!" I chided at them.

Shade sat on my lap and snickered. She always enjoyed the chaos.

"You are a perversion! An abomination! You should have been thrown into a dungeon! One where we would never allow the light to shine on you!" Amelia continued to assault me with insults.

I continued to shrug them off. Her words could not harm me any longer.

"If that would of happen, then you mortals would have been doomed. You are lucky Lily has something to live for." Shade stepped in, only to receive the same treatment sent her away.

"And you should have been destroyed!" Amelia snarled at Shade, who just hissed in return.

Someone had poisoned this poor wolf against me. And I could tell it came from the elders themselves. From the way Evan gazed at me, I knew he hated me. I was lucky Ben had a powerful mind to guide Fenris through the madness. Though part of me pitied Amelia. If her heart was not full of poison, maybe…

That was when someone more interesting came into the scene. Thanks to Shade, I could tell right away from his voice outside the door.

"Hey... Ryker aren't I right?" I snickered, glancing towards the opening door.

He had been there for quite a bit. Probably heard most of the yelling since he did not possess super hearing.

"So, you sensed me." He sighed, entering the room.

I smirked at him. His expression was too serious, like always. I for once did not care about what others thought of me. Make yourself heard, Tobias had said.

'So be it, I will yell until everyone hears me! If it means saving Fenris and his world. I will do anything. Even if I am wicked. Even if I am hated and feared.'

Fate never meant me to be the quiet girl I desired. No, I was much more.

"Yes. I have plenty of questions for you." I grabbed onto Shade, who seemed to enjoy where I was taking things.

"It seems your power has done a number on you." Ryker assessed.

I chuckled, unable to hold myself. If it were just my power, and maybe it was, everything would be more simple. It would all depend on what they said and how they would respond. I hoped I was delusional.

"That was so funny. It has not gone into my head. It just opened my eyes to a lot of bullshit that has been spewing into my life. And into the life of many others, I bet." I began trailing my hand down Shade’s back.

She purred in return for my touch. The little cat was loving this. Especially the fact I was not backing down. I would not hide anymore.

"And what might that be?" Ryker asked, not quite knowing what I was going for.

"Well, for one, the world you are trying to hide from everyone... Is not called the nether realm but the soul..." I began.

Ryker's eyes widen, quickly cutting me off. There was no way he would allow me to finish my thought.

"Silence. Do not speak of that here." He quipped.

I snickered, realizing only the council and high-ranking members knew about it. They would leave others in oblivion. Even most of the Lycan elders seemed confused about what I was about to say. But from Ryker's expression, Tobias was right. It was a world sought after by every race. It caused many wars. Maybe it was all the wars, for all I knew. And in a time of peace, it would be bad if it came out.

Even the mad Lycan was right. The world was fragile.

'Oh, dear Alijah... Will I be able to prove you wrong? Well, not with these fools…'

"Oh? Then maybe I should turn my question towards the feisty little grandpa over there." I turned my gaze towards Evan, who seemed to be annoyed by what I had called him.

He seemed unfazed by Ryker's demeanor, probably knew of the realm, too. At this time, I did not know he was part of the council. Though, it was pathetic how they tried to deny me. It seemed I was not that insane after all.

"What did you call me?!?" He shouted at me.

I shrugged in response. These people were never my friends, nor did I care for them to be. They did not have to like me. They never did.

"Grandpa, is that not what you are?" I asked, tilting my head.

Shade snickered, amused by his reaction.

'Good, rail them up. They will not realize when they slip.' Shade encouraged, wagging her tail, knowing what I had planned.

"You insolent child!" Evan stepped towards me, almost as if he wanted to intimidate me.

A stupid gesture. He was but a mere pup compared to my real enemy. No... Alijah was more than any of these fools. And to stop him, I would have to use every ounce of my wit.

‘Delay… was it even possible? No… I had to stop him.’

"I do not care how you see me. What I care about is if you know about the red-eye Lycan named Alijah. And why the hell is he stuck in a time prison?" I questioned, triggering a change in his face that I could have never expected.

From anger, it went to shock, then to one of bewilderment. That alone was an answer, but what he said next placed the nail on the coffin.

"How do you know of him?!?! It is supposed to be a Lycan secret!" He countered.

I burst out laughing.

‘Unbelievable.’

These people were not worthy to be alive.

"Lilith, what are you talking about?" Fenris asked, baffled by everything that was going on.

It seemed they also kept him in the dark, like most others. Probably until he took the Lycan chair that had been empty all these years. Maybe a little crazy was just fine. But leaving him in the dark was something I would not allow any longer. Especially since I knew it was true. I had seen Alijah with my own eyes.

"That legend of the red-eye Lycan that went mad. The one you think is just a myth. Is a fucking real psychopath that will come back to this world in less than a year!" I announced.

Evan stood forward to intervene.

"What?!? That is impossible!" He tried to shut me down.

I couldn't care less what he wanted anymore.

"Oh... yet it is going to happen under your fucking leadership. While I am being hunted by fucking dead gods! Maybe I deserve a bit of happiness, don't you think so?" I snickered, peeking towards Fenris, who was overwhelmed by the entire event.

He reminded me of when I first encountered the information myself, but slowly I was solving the puzzle. It all pointed towards the council, hiding more than what they should have. The leaders of the races had used the same incantation of the fall. To erase the soul cairn from everyone's mind. Probably happened after Lilith opened the gate for the first time.

All while the Lycans tried to hide their dirty past.

"I think so!" Shade reassured me.

I scuffled her head. Even though I was putting on a strong front, my body felt like it was going to crumble if anyone touched me again. However, I could not back down. Not anymore. All these liars deserved nothing more than to be brought into the truth. Amelia and Ben, along with every Lycan that was not an elder, seemed extremely perplexed by everything I had said.

"Ah... It seems I am not as insane as you think! I mean, maybe fewer voices in my head might make me a bit less spontaneous. But I think I have made my point." I rested my case.

None of them knew how to respond to me anymore. This was perfect. I only had one warning left for them.

"I also want a meeting with the council. And if you will not give it to me. I might just hunt down every one of them," I added.

It caused Ryker to sigh in response to my request. There was no denying me any longer, though. This confirmed my earlier assessment of the whole situation we found ourselves in. And if I followed the whispers along. They seemed to be quieter than usual.

"Fine... I will get you a meeting. Just do not say anymore." Ryker said, releasing another sigh from his tired lips.

He was not as surprised as the others, though. It seemed he always expected this day to come, although he wished it happened later.

"I think it is overdue. Oh... And remember, Fenris is mine to have." I declared, yanking an unsuspecting wolf into a kiss.

His warm lips on me were reassuring after everything I had said. One I yearned, even if it pushed me over the edge.

"You little…!" Amelia almost launched at me.

Shade shifted forms, stopping her in her tracks, though. My little vicious kitty stood firmly between her and us.

"I want to see you try, wolf," Shade warned.

Fenris pulled away from me, slightly licking his lips. Mystified by me and what I had just done.

"You are just... Throwing every plan I made into oblivion." He whispered, not being able to hold himself back from kissing me again.

His bold action upset his sister even more. Ben coughed and glanced away from us. Even though the older brother did not know for sure, he had always suspected Fenris's feelings for me. While mine, well, I never hid them. I could not keep myself off my beloved wolf. Especially after hearing that he loved me the prior night.

Even though I did not know what plans Fenris had, I did not regret making them crash and burn. Even if life would be harder, I wanted him. I needed him. He was the only one keeping me in the light. Separating for air, Fenris wiped my lip with his thumb, chuckling a bit. There were a million things I wanted to say to him, but all I could say was...

"Fuck the plans. I cannot hold myself back anymore. Especially after what you told me last night." I murmured, getting a bit closer to Fenris.

Hoping he would be the only one who heard as the others discussed their course of action, while also arguing. However, instead of saying that sentence to me once again, he seemed confused by what I meant.

"I told you something?" Fenris asked, tilting his head.

I felt only disappointed that he did not remember telling me he loved me.

‘Ah well... at least I know.’

Even if it was when he was out of control, I was in a part of his heart. Reaching to his ear, I tugged on it. My response to his words caused him to grab onto my hand and gently nibble on it.

"It is fine I can wait until you tell me again." I simpered, enjoying his affection.

Everything became blurry again. Were there always two Fenris? Unable to keep up anymore, I fell onto his chest again. He held me in his embrace.

"Ah... You were pushing yourself the whole time, weren't you?" Fenris gently scolded, holding me tenderly.

I gripped onto his shirt.

"Sorry..." I trailed off, closing my eyes.

Slowly drifting into a slumber where I knew only peace.