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Theo and I laid next to each other, his arms creating a cage around my small frame. Despite having his supernatural abilities blocked, he still was able to provide a surplus of heat, warming my body from the unrelenting frigid temperatures. My head rested under the crook of his neck while my fingers fiddled with the zipper of Theo's unzipped coat.

Guilt started to build within me, knowing my time on the Outside was drawing near. I would be within the grasp of a witch soon, and then I would hopefully be able to convince her to come to the Borderlands with me. My time on the Outside would soon fade into a distant memory as I took my place back with my family.

Images of the doll still taunted me every hour, but I willed myself to push through. I could not succumb to the dark truth Pa might pay for my wrongdoings. I would not be able to continue on if the light at the end of the tunnel diminished.

Would I be able to assimilate back into the Borderlands with everything I experienced? With everything I now knew? Life certainly would not be the same. It could not be the same without Memphis and the uncertainty about Gracie and Si's whereabouts. I could only hope they were okay.

Gulping, I asked, "what's going to happen when we go back to your pack?"

I didn't know why I asked the question. Wouldn't the answer cause more pain than clarity? I couldn't help myself from wondering what Theo planned for the future – for our future – as selfish as it was.

"I was hoping it would become our pack," he said softly into my hair.

My breath hitched, and a part of me wanted to embrace his plans with open arms, but how could I lead him on like that? I would not be going back to his pack if things panned out with the witch.

"I-I-" I stuttered.

Theo interrupted my stuttering by saying, "shhh. I was hoping you would accept the position of Luna when we got back, but, Sage, I would wait an eternity for you."

My heart raced, my mind spinning. My body shook but not from the cold. Part of me wanted to say I would never accept – that I could never accept – but I no longer knew if that was entirely true. Theo's face swirled in my mind, and it didn't cause me to recoil back in fear. It didn't make me instantly label him a beast. It had been drilled in my head my entire life I should rather die than stand beside Theo, but what if these teachings had been wrong? The Council, after all, was proof that – at the very least – something was wrong in the Borderlands.

What happened to me? I wondered. Why was I thinking this way?

I tried to shake these thoughts out of my mind, but they wouldn't fade away. Theo would not fade away.

My heart fluttered. Would I be able to leave the Outside so easily? I knew it did not matter. My wants were not above the people of the Borderlands. I could not put my selfish desires above all the innocent people behind the Border, especially the refugees who ran away from the dangers of the Outside.

"You don't mean that, really?" I asked in a hushed tone. My shoulders relaxed into Theo at the realization Heath and Mina would not be able to hear us. With their impaired abilities, the distance between the two trees we rested in was far too great for them to hear a thing.

My words were hesitant as an attempt to convince myself Theo did not hold me in such high regard. Everything would be easier that way.

"Let me show you," his voice was low and hesitant before any trace of hesitance washed away with his bold confidence as his lips magnetized to mine.

His arms held me strong against his body, our lips falling in line with one another. This kiss was not like our last; no, this kiss held more intensity, more desperation. The wear and tear of the past couple of days were forgotten as we melted into each other. I nibbled on his lip, pulling him closer to me.

He rested my back against the steady branch, kissing me from above. We continued to kiss, never breaking away for too long. Our breath was hot in the cold atmosphere, labored pants surrounding us. It was like we were the only two people in the world.

After a short while, Theo's lips loomed over my exposed neck, planting a trail of kisses. My back arched as the delicate skin of his lips trailed my skin. In a husky voice, Theo asked, "may I?"

He wanted to mark me.

Did I want him to?

My thoughts were not clear, my voice disappearing into my throat. Is this what I wanted? It was what my body needed, as I squeezed my thighs tight. Without another word or thought, I nodded my head.

On cue, Theo elongated his incisors and plunged them into the side of my neck, his sharp teeth breaking through my skin. I could feel the slow trickle of blood slide down my neck. It was pure pain. A white, hot flash of intense pain radiated from my neck, traveling down my spine. My hand instinctively flew up to where Theo bit me. Theo held me close, comforting me as the pain turned to pleasure and the pleasure morphed to exhaustion as I blinked slowly to sleep.

Nightmares evaded my sleep these past couple of days from sheer exhaustion. But tonight must have been different. I heard screaming. There was screaming all around me, but I could not see anything; everything was black.

"Wake up!" Someone hollered as I slowly pried my eyes open.

"What the – oh shit!" A groggy voice exclaimed.

Theo and I looked at one another, confused as to why Mina and Heath were making such a commotion, but then it happened: an arrow – or what I could make out in the dim lighting – whizzed past our heads, barely missing by an inch.

I went stone cold as Theo shielded my body. With me in his grip, he quickly took hold of me and descaled the tree. Mina and Heath met us a couple feet away from our tree. I cautiously held onto my neck – it was still sore from being bitten.

I couldn't believe I succumbed to the power of the bond last night. Caught up in the passion of our many kisses, I agreed to let Theo mark me; it was like I was not in control of my body – the only option in my mind was to give in and allow Theo's mark to claim my body.

"What was that?" I asked, zipping up my coat as tight as it would allow.

"No," Mina's eyes widened. "What is that?"

She pointed toward my neck, and I blushed. My hair was not long enough to cover up the mark, so I shielded my body as I put the hood of my coat on even though I knew it was too late – she had seen my mark.

"Nothing," I smirked at her.

"Let me see," she trudged towards me, but Theo stopped her before she could get too close.

"We have bigger issues on our hands than what is on Sage's neck right now," Theo said as another arrow came flying by, hitting the tree beside us.

Without another word, we all went scrambling. Theo came along and swept me off my feet, carrying me bridal style. He did not want me to have my body displayed as an easy target, and he also did not want me to pull the group's pace down.

The crispy crunch of footsteps followed behind us, picking up in intensity the farther we got. An arrow nicked Mina's leg, and she toppled over, clutching the side of her calf. Blood stained the snow beside her. She, however, did not let her injury slow her down, as she kept walking forward, her pace still faster than mine on the best of days.

We wandered around for hours, getting further and further away from the path. No matter how far we got, every couple of minutes an arrow would remind us we were not alone on this mountain. It wasn't until the sun started to set that we determined we lost whoever had been hunting us down, with no arrow in sight.

"We need to find the path," Theo stopped walking as he put me down.

The snow – as we neared the top – started to thin out just barely. It was now promptly coming up to my waist, drenching my clothes. My stomach gurgled in a loud, haunting echo.

"We need food if we're going to make it any farther," Heath looked at me, his own stomach joining the chorus.

"We don't have any," Theo said bluntly. "We ate the last of it during the night."

"Do you think snow is nutritious enough to hold us over?" Heath questioned, looking truly caught up in his thoughts.

"It's just water," I told him, hiding my hands under my coat sleeves.

Heath sighed. "If it comes down to it, I'm giving you all permission to eat me first."

Mina almost choked while Theo looked at Heath in disgust. "You could have stayed in the car."

"Is it too late to go back to the car, now?" Heath threw up his hands.

"See, Heath, this is why Theo didn't choose you as Beta," Mina pulled something out of her backpack to wrap her leg up with. She hastily began mending her wound.

"Kick her out of the pack, Theo," Heath looked at Theo with hopeful eyes.

Theo blinked dully at Heath before saying, "we need to find the path before night sets in."

Mina looked to the sky. "It looks like we'll only have an hour before it's dark."

"We're doomed," Heath whined.

With that, Theo marched in the direction we came running from. We all followed him without any objection, not knowing if he had a plan. He was an Alpha, after all – even if his senses were not optimal – he still had his lifelong Alpha training instilled in him. Despite my hope for finding the path, it seemed like time was not on our side. Soon, late afternoon turned into night. We had managed to find a tree, but it would not be able to hold all four of us.

Heath helped me climb up, Mina right behind me after I got my footing. Heath was the last to follow us up the tree, while Theo insisted on staying at the base of the tree to stand watch. My body shook from the cold, not having Theo's body temperature to warm my frigid body up. My stomach was a never-ending pit of rustling. The only thing that subdued my hunger was sleep.

Naturally, after today's events, my body was on high alert, waking up at the tiniest of sounds only to find out it was the low whistling of the wind. I tried to turn on my side, frustrated from lack of sleep, but the branch holding me up let out an alarming crunch, my body freezing.

Once dawn came upon us, we sluggishly dismounted the tree, slow from sleep deprivation and lack of food. Theo did not look to be in a much better state, with dark circles under his eyes. His hair started to tangle, and I would not have been surprised if a bird decided to make Theo's hair a nest.

"One more night, my ass," Heath mumbled, his body also shaking from the cold.

Theo chose to ignore Heath before we continued the trek to find the carved-out path. Each step was becoming painstaking, my shoes rubbing uncomfortably into my heels.

I would never wear shoes again, I told myself, not caring that the shoes provided at least some protection from the surrounding snow.

Our pace drastically decreased over the last couple of days. We were all sluggish and tired, having lost sight of where we needed to go. We all put our trust in Theo to guide us back.

I didn't know how he did it, but after we spent half the day searching for the path, passing the spot Mina had been shot, we reached the path we abandoned earlier. We all shouted out, happy to find it.

With newfound motivation, we tried to pick up our speed, wanting to get to the top of the mountain as soon as we could and before we found ourselves facing danger once again. It was hard to keep walking on like everything was okay when my insides felt like I was beginning the early stages of a slow and painful death, but I did not want any help scaling the mountain – not when we were so close.

"Do you see that?" Heath pointed out excitedly.

I squinted, trying to determine if Heath was seeing things.

"It looks like the cabin," Theo's green eyes were squinting as well.

Without another word, we all ran to the small, limber-built cabin – hoping but not caring – if we had picked the right path