Before the Minister could reply, the door swung open again as Alrik popped his head with a concerned expression on his face.

"There was an attack at my pack at dawn, and three of my warriors were killed. Apparently, Malcolm was trying to break Ester and Bartholomew out of prison," he said, glancing at his phone as it beeped again, "My commander ended up knocking both of them out again so we will have to wait a bit before we get any more information."

My heart was slowly dropping to a pit in my stomach. 

Three warriors were killed. Three men or women were not making it back to their families today, and it was all because of Malcolm. Who knew how many more would be killed if Malcolm continued like this?

The Minister nodded, "If you have to take care of other things now, Alpha Alrik, you may go. Jaslynn and I will fill you in on what we discuss later."

I heard the door shut behind me, and I raised my head to stare at the Minister again, "Do you understand why I want to go by myself?"

"Jaslynn, going by yourself isn't going to stop Malcolm," he explained, pouring himself a glass of whiskey before offering me a glass. I shook my head, "It's not about stopping Malcolm. It's about preventing the deaths of all the innocent people."

"Precisely my point, he won't stop his killing sprees if you're not around."

"Minister, if Malcolm gets his hands on the book, the first person he is coming after is me."

"I don't follow, Jaslynn. That doesn't explain why you want to go by yourself. It sounds like you're trying to make yourself a sacrificial lamb, which I will never allow."

I sighed, "What are our options? We can't just send anyone to go destroy the book. It's between me and Alrik because the two of us cannot go together. Malcolm has already started targeting his pack and he will probably start attacking the coven when he's ready. Seeing as we are both leaders, one of us has to stay back to protect our people, and if one of us goes, there is a high chance that we will not survive if we do not find a solution to the rogue dragons."

The Minister was silent.

"Minister, we both knew for the longest time that Malcolm would come back," I said quietly, using his silence as confirmation that I should continue, "That was why I trained Meredith to take over the Imperium Coven if anything ever happened to me. I've been ready for this, but Alrik...I don't think so. Plus, there are so many more people that depend on him than they depend on me. Isn't that why he's known as the king?"

He exhaled loudly and threw the glass of whiskey back like it was shot.

 "I see your point," he conceded, "But there is one issue you haven't thought of."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Which is?"

"That mark on your neck," he said, gesturing to my neck with his glass. My hand immediately flew up to feel the indents in my skin.

"Let's say you do go," he stood from his chair and walked around, "Moon Goddes forbid, you are killed. What does that mean for Alrik? Do you know the significance of that mark?"

I swallowed hard, "If I'm killed, he'll be in a worse condition than Reece."

"Exactly, and from what Alrik has told us, his commander hasn't recovered completely even after knowing her mate is still out there. That is how much damage a wolf faces after losing their mate, and since Alrik marked you, who knows the extent of the trauma he'll face?"

"Isn't it vice versa? Wouldn't I feel the same pain if he died?"

"You would," he agreed, "But my point is, if something happened to you, Alrik would be incapable of leading his pack in his mourning."

"So either way, we're screwed."

"Not the terminology I would use, but in a way, yes."

I groaned and rubbed my hands over my face. The mark was starting to seem more like a curse than a blessing.

"Let us not make any hasty decisions right now," the Minister said, taking my hand right now, "Promise me you won't do anything until I give you the green light."

I sighed and nodded my head, "I promise, Minister."

I was torn on what to do. It would have been a lot simpler if I wasn't marked, but because I was, there was so much more to take into account.

My only hope was that if I did go, Alrik would be able to handle it.

***

I returned to my room after the Minister told me we would discuss it again in the morning. Helene was throwing a party for Dario's return, so Alrik and I had to attend since we were here, and hopefully, the atmosphere would take my mind off things.

I pulled my laptop out of my duffel bag and logged into Skype. Much to my relief, the one person I wanted to talk to at the moment was online. I clicked the 'call' button and laid my head on my arm with my eyes closed as the call waited to connect.

"Damn bitch, I thought you were dead."

My eyes fluttered open and landed on the glaring redhead.

Hearing her voice and seeing her annoying face after so many days did the trick, and before I could comprehend what was happening, I burst into tears.

"Jaslynn!" Meredith exclaimed in surprise, a worried look replacing her glare, "What's wrong?"

I wiped the wetness from my eyes and shook my head with a small, shaky laugh, "I just– I miss you so much. Everything has been such a mess."

"What happened? Tell me everything. Did Alpha Alrik do anything? Did you find Uncle Amos' mother?"

I sniffled and cleared my throat before I proceeded to explain the events of everything that had happened since I left. Meredith's facial expressions ranged from excitement to surprise to disgust before it finally settled on murderous.

"And now I don't know what to do, Mer," I said, wiping my eyes again as another set of hot tears flowed down my cheeks, "I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place."

She exhaled deeply, "Well, if you want to go, I won't stop you. I know that once you set your mind to something, you always go through with it. But you have a lot to consider. Like do you really think Alrik will let you go if you tell him?"

"We don't have a choice. Someone has to go. I rather it be me than Alrik because he can hold down the fort here with his pack and all," I sighed, "It's too complicated. The mark makes this harder than it should be."

She snorted, "Ester really helped Malcolm out with that one."

"She really did," I muttered, glancing at the clock, "Mer, I've got to go now, but I'll keep you updated on what happens."

She gave me a soft smile, "Whatever you choose to do, you're still my unicorn. You know I love you, right?"

"And you're still my polar bear," I said, smiling for the first time, "I love you, Mer. I'll talk to you soon."

She waved and cut the call, leaving me to sigh in frustration.

Now to face a bunch of people I don't want to talk to. 

***

"Jaslynn!" Dario grinned when he saw me, "You look beautiful."

I smiled half-heartedly as he kissed my on the cheek, "Thanks, Dario. You look pretty good yourself."

His smile disappeared, and he leaned forward so no one would overhear us, "My father told me a little about what was going on. How are you doing?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," I muttered, scanning my surroundings for Alrik, "It's just too much to think about right now."

He nodded in understanding, "I can tell. Both you and Alpha Alrik look very irritated by the situation."

I frowned, "He's here?"

"Um," Dario's eyes darted to a spot behind my head, "He's storming towards us. It looks like he's about to murder the two of us."

I spun on my heel just as Alrik stopped right before me. His gray eyes were dark and furious, and I almost felt the urge to look away as he glared down at me.

"Excuse us, Dario. I need to talk with my mate."

He grabbed my arm and pulled me away, dragging me up the stairs to the quiet hallways.

"Alrik, I'm not sure what the Minister told you, but–"

"He told me everything," he hissed, turning around and releasing me from his grip, "How dare you try to go behind my back?"

"Go behind your back? I didn't even do anything yet, and I was going to tell you!"

"Yet?" He asked through gritted teeth, his glare intensifying.

I sighed, "That came out wrong. Look Alrik, I need to go. Your pack needs you. I will never forgive myself if something happens to you and all your pack members are left without a leader."

"My pack needs me, but what about me? I need you," he snapped, "Your coven needs you."

"The coven will be fine without me–"

"Are you even listening? I need you," He bellowed, pinning me against the wall, "I'm not fine without you. You can't expect me to let you leave when our relationship is just starting."

"What are we supposed to do then, Alrik? Wait till Malcolm grabs the book and opens the portal? Then, we'll both be dead and there won't be any relationship to work on."

He was silent, but I could read the struggle in his stormy irises. As various thoughts began to dawn on him, the realization appeared in his eyes in the form of lightening– each flash an understanding of our situation.

"We can't be selfish, Alrik," I whispered, trying to let him see that this wasn't easy for me either, "We're leaders. Do you realize thousands of people expect us to take care of them? This is a situation that we're going to have to put before our relationship. We have to prepare ourselves for any outcome."

His jaw clenched, and I knew he was in silent agreement.

But instead of answering me, he bent down and crushed his lips against mine. I immediately put my arms around his neck and kissed him back as he let me feel how angry he was.

It was a slow-burning kiss. The flames of our desire and misery were overtaking us, and we had no choice but to give in and let it scorch our mind and hearts.

All that would be left were the ashes of our hopes. 

A heart-breaking, yet fulfilling moment that would be etched in us forever like a bittersweet scar.

***

The sunlight landed on my face at the worst possible angle. 

I turned onto my other side and reached for Alrik, who was the perfect source of heat under these cold blankets.

But all I felt was the sheets.

My eyes snapped open, and I sat up, looking around the room for any sign of him.

I was still wearing his shirt, but the rest of his stuff was gone.

My heart started pounding erratically as my mind caught up to what I was looking at.

He was gone.