After lots of deliberation among Grayson, Axel, Cole, and some of the head pack warriors, everyone has agreed to let another coven member onto pack lands. I wasn't in the room for the discussion, but by the sour looks on the warrior's faces when they left the meeting room, they were not comfortable or happy with the situation. But, what their Alpha says is final, so they at least pretend to be okay with the order.

I do understand where they're coming from- all of their interactions with coven members have been unpleasant. However, they don't know Eli like I do. They don't know about all of the ways he has tried to protect me since he made that one decision to harm me for the coven. In the case of Elle, I trust her because Eli trusts her. Hopefully we can get to know each other more in the coming weeks before the coven plans to come for me.

I still don't have any details on when the magic-wielders will try to kill me, which is not a great feeling. The unknown creeps in the back of my mind, haunting me with each breath I take. Of course I fear for my own life, but what really upsets me is the idea of those that I care about risking their lives for me. Grayson is bringing in his pack members to protect me- this includes Cooper, Axel, Cole, and Madeline. I've learned to care for them all immensely, and I get sick to my stomach just thinking of them getting hurt while protecting me.

It's frustrating being the only human surrounded by supernaturals. My boyfriend is a werewolf. My friend is a warlock. I'll always be the weak link.

I'm just grateful that Eli and Elle have agreed to help me. Since the meeting just ended, Eli is now texting Elle that she can portal into the pack house directly. I can feel Grayson's uneasiness through our bond. I intertwine our hands and give him a small smile. He squeezes my hand as we wait in the living room which has been cleared of all non-essential pack members.

Grayson is over-preparing for Elle's arrival. There are ten pack guards in the room besides us and Eli, all to "ensure my safety." Does he honestly expect one witch to portal in and kill everyone? A witch who has already agreed to help me?

I internally roll my eyes at the precautions, but I don't say anything because I know he only acts like this because he cares. The room is silent as we wait for the beginnings of a portal to appear.

"I just texted her. She should be here any second," Eli says, his voice breaking through the tense silence. Grayson's hand tightens ever-so-slightly on mine, the only outward sign of his growing anxiety. Otherwise, he looks like a stone statue- pursed lips, strong jawline, impressive posture- unmoving. The pack warriors adjust their stance. Eli's words bring the reality of the situation to the forefront of their minds.

We wait one minute, then two, then a third. By the fourth minute, the tension in the room becomes stifling. I have a feeling that Elle should have been here by now. The fact that she has yet to make an appearance puts pressure on Eli, who looks all-too worried that he will be beaten to a pulp once again.

Grayson clears his throat after the fifth minute passes, his eyes swirling between black and silver.

"Where is she? You told me she would portal to you, yet she hasn't graced us with her presence yet." There's a clear warning in his tone- find her or else you're in trouble. Eli immediately dials her number. The faint sound of ringing pierces the air, everyone waiting for Elle to answer. But she doesn't.

Eli looks up frantically. He knows he's surrounded and weak. "Look, I told her to portal straight to me like you asked. She'll probably be here any second-"

Eli stops talking when Grayson grabs the front of his shirt and brings him eye level. I hover closely, making sure Grayson doesn't do anything too rash.

"I warned you of the consequences if you try to mess with me."

Eli struggles in the air, then he looks to me to defend him. I'm about to ask Grayson to relax when the door from the kitchen crashes open. It swings open and the knob busts a hole in the adjacent wall.

There stands Elle in her usual unique style- a neon orange top, a black leather jacket, combat boots. She also wears more jewelry than I own- multiple chain necklaces layered over one another and too many rings to count. In one hand she holds a half-eaten chocolate pop-tart.

She looks at the hole in the wall she created and mutters an unapologetic oops with a mouth full of food. She's not the most graceful eater, most of the crumbs falling to the floor. I faintly remember the pop-tarts belonging to Cooper- he won't be too happy about her eating them.

Grayson still holds Eli in his grip as he looks at the very causal witch who just strolled into the room.

"Hey, let go of my brother." Her tone is light, but I can see the fire behind her eyes- the power. Grayson ever so slowly lets go of Eli's t-shirt. Eli straightens out the wrinkles that are the size of Gray's fist, then he walks- well, more like limps- over to Elle.

He still looks very injured. He can stand now, but he looks to be in a lot of pain. Elle's eyes harden with one glance at him.

"Fucking hell." Her hands instinctively emit blue magic as she draws on her power. Her eyes also shine a brilliant blue- a warning to her enemies to prepare for an upcoming fight. "You said coven members fucked up your face, not that they almost killed you. I would have insisted I heal you sooner if I knew-"

"I know. I didn't want you getting in between me and her." Based off of the knowing looks the twins shared with one another, it is very clear that they both know without explanation exactly who this her is. I really want to be in the loop, but I know it's not my place to ask in front of many pack members. I'll ask in a more private setting.

Elle looks over Eli's injuries as she ushers him over to the nearest couch. He slumps down into the cushions as he sighs in relief.

"Who followed the order?" Her voice is low as she begins using her power on Eli, her hands glowing blue with healing magic. Her eyes remain only on the specific area she's fixing, but she still waits for answers.

"It was Grant, Skyla, and Heath." Defeat. That's all I hear from Eli. These people weren't strangers to him. I didn't take Eli for a person who has many friends, but maybe he grew up with them? Maybe they were friends with Elle?

The witch in question only nods slowly as she finished healing her brother. By the time she's done, sweat falls from her brows. She sinks into the seat next to Eli as she takes deep breaths to recover.

"Shit that took a lot out of me. You were all kinds of fucked up, brother." She pats him on the arm and he chuckles, a sound of genuine delight that I rarely see from him anymore. She drops her casual facade for a moment. "They'll get what's coming to them. You have my word."

Eli nods, then stands up and brings Elle with her. They walk up to me and Grayson. Elle looks me up and down, studying me closely. The feel of her gaze doesn't remind me of that of an enemy, more of an unwanted advance.

"I forgot how hot you were. We did have fun at that club though, didn't we?" She wears that same smirk that Eli constantly graces me with, but it somehow feels five times more uncomfortable than when he does it. Maybe because she makes it so blatantly obvious that she's hitting on me while I know that Eli is always joking.

"The three of us, grinding on each other among all of those sweaty bodies. That dress." She licks her lips, and I feel and hear Grayson's growl penetrate the air. His grip tightens on my waist as he glares daggers at the oblivious witch who just keep talking.

"That was fun. Well, before the vampire attack we staged."

And then Grayson moves into action.

Four pack members come to stand directly in front of me as a layer of protection while Grayson, Axel, and a few other wolves I don't know the names of advance on the two magic-wielders. Three wolves go for each coven member, cornering them against the far wall.

"Grayson, stop!" I groan as I attempt- and fail- to move around the walls of muscle that have blocked me from the ensuing fight. I peek in between two guard's arms and see Eli and Elle being held in place by three wolves each. Although they possess magic, there's no way they can fight off all of them without being killed.

Instead of basking in fear, Elle releases a loud cackle. "I thought that's how you would react." She shares a smug smile with Eli, who only shakes his head. "And that's why this 'partnership' would never work."

Grayson stands stock-still, then slowly motions for the guards to drop Eli and Elle. They both shove the guards off of them, annoyed at the man-handling. My heart still races even though a physical altercation was avoided. I shove guards out of the way and stand next to Grayson who sends a disapproving glance my way at my proximity to the twins. Tough noogies.

"Listen," Elle says as she crosses her arms and shifts her weight on one leg. "I'm grateful you allowed me onto your pack lands to fix my brother. However, I didn't come here to get thrown around every time I say one thing that you don't like about your little girlfriend. That's not the way I make alliances. My brother here has grown a conscience, but I haven't."

Eli turns frantically to Elle, surprised by her words. I don't think he was expecting his sister to deny helping me. Elle is my only chance at surviving all of this, and her refusal to tell us what she knows would be akin to signing my death sentence. I breathe a little heavier now, trying to think of a way to save myself.

Grayson is already fuming. He looks as if he will explode any second now. He obviously understands that if Elle doesn't agree to help, he may have to make her cooperate- and I would not be okay with that. There has to be a way to convince her that helping us is in her best interest.

"Elle," Eli begs. "You said you would help if-"

"No, Eli. Did you see how they all turned on us? Like that-" She snaps her fingers aggressively. She shakes her head and looks him in the eyes. "It will always be us versus them."

"Really?" I say, stepping forward. She looks at me, surprised that I'm speaking up. Yeah, well I'm not the same soft-spoken girl she met a month ago. I actually know about the supernatural world and I'm not afraid to speak my mind when I know I'm right. Grayson tries to hold me back, but I only push his hands away and step right up to Elle. She's 5 or 6 inches taller than me, but I don't let the height difference intimidate me or stop me.

"If I recall correctly, it was your coven that almost killed Eli. If I recall correctly, it was me who took Eli to the hospital before he died of infection for not knowing how to take care of his injuries. This pack took him in and gave him fluids, and you were god-knows-where while your brother needed you." All my anger for the situation comes pouring out. My anger towards their awful coven that abuses its members, my anger towards Elle for refusing to have a heart, my anger towards Grayson for being so strict when it comes to Eli. The emotions all come pouring out of my soul.

"It's not an 'us versus them' situation. The lines have been drawn already, Elle. Right now, it's 'what is right versus what is wrong.' I know you and your coven don't follow any sort of morals. I know you say you don't have a conscience, but you have a heart. You have a brain. Don't let your coven get away with hurting innocent people."

I can see the walls beginning to crumble in her mind, the very same walls Eli had built to keep out emotions from others. They can try to convince themselves that they don't care about how others feel, but I know it's just an act. Deep down, it's human nature to care. I can see the beginnings of that care. I know she can feel- just like Eli learned, she will too.

"They made you hurt me," I whisper. A silent tear drops, and I let it be seen. I don't try to wipe it away or ignore the deep sadness I feel. I let the "emotionless" witch feel my pain. "They hurt Eli. Don't let them get away with it. Help me."

Silence follows my little speech. Nobody moves. Nobody speaks. We all just soak in the words and pray that Elle will change her mind and help save me. She's my only hope. She looks me in the eyes and something in her breaks. With a clenched jaw, she gives me a stiff nod. Eli hugs her and she immediately shoves him off.

"Jeez, when did you get so huggy?" She tries to hide her smile but it's quite obvious that she's glad for the affection.

Grayson smiles in relief and hugs my body close to his. He breathes in my scent. His fingers play with the ends of my hair even after I turn back around to Elle.

"Thank you," Grayson says, clear emotion in his voice.

She points a ring-clad finger at Gray's face, and in any other situation I can imagine her losing said finger for the gesture, but he's so blinded with relief that he doesn't seem to care.

"I'll help you guys, but you can't come at us like that anymore. It's creepy and pathetic." She crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. "And we both could have easily blasted this whole room up if we were really threatened."

"Not exactly the way to instill trust," Gray squints at Elle. He seems over the whole relief stage and back to clear annoyance at the two.

"I gotta keep you mutts on your toes," she grins, and Grayson sends a low warning growl through the room.

Elle ignores him and sits on the couch. She motions for everyone else to sit down as she makes the room her own. She sprawls out on the couch, taking up the entirety of it and only leaving enough space for Eli to have half a cushion on the end. I end up sitting on the couch across from hers with Grayson on one side and Cole on the other. Gray sends most of the pack guards away, choosing to keep his Beta, Gamma, and three trusted pack guards. Luckily it's not Thing 1.

"Alright, here's what I know. As of last night, the plan was to wait for when Thea would be alone and most vulnerable. Someone could easily take her any time of the day, but they want to do it when they know they'll have time before anyone from the pack reports back to you."

The only sign that Grayson is processing the information is a stiff nod. His eyes are slightly dilated, but he's keeping calm considering Elle's talking about my future kidnapping.

"Thea has a shift on Thursday evening at Java. The plan was to take her as soon as she goes into the back storage room to put her belongings in her locker. That way, any pack guard would wait about ten minutes or so until they think to check on her."

My breath stalls just thinking of this possibility. It's Sunday, which means that four days from today the coven planned to kidnap me and probably kill me. They also know about my work schedule and the details of my job. They've really thought this through. I begin to panic just thinking of the horrible possibilities. What the vampire did was terrifying. Eli's spell was horrific. What else could they possibly do?

Grayson's hand rubs up and down my back in a soothing manner. He leans in so his mouth is inches away from my ear as he whispers soothing words to me. Axel continues to ask details about the plan, but I'm not even paying attention to the conversation. The only thing my brain will focus on is fear.

This is real. The threat of the coven isn't just imagined. It's not just Grayson being overly cautious or an idea Eli came up with based off of his suspicions. It's really happening.

Grayson continues to comfort me, and I eventually calm down enough to lean into his side and close my eyes. The supernaturals in the room continue talking about strategy, and I choose to trust them.

I trust them with my life. That's the only option I have left.