The sounds all blur together. Maybe my mind is on overload, or maybe I'm just too devastated with grief to distinguish between Elle's screams and the growls emanating from behind the forcefield. Axel and Grayson continue beating on the shield, using their strength to push past the magic to get to their mates. They make no progress- Elina is too strong.

She just showed her true power as she held the shield while she killed Eli. Right in front of me and his twin sister. The more I think about it, the more anger I feel. This woman has taken my sister, threatened my life, and now murdered her son- my friend.

I stare down into his lifeless brown eyes- no shine of mischief or friendship remains. I place a shaky hand on his cheek as tears cloud my vision. I know he's gone, but I can't help but shake his shoulders and say his name. I don't try to stop the tears.

Elle and Elina are screaming at each other while bright blue magic swirls between the two witches. My focus isn't on them at the moment, but on my friend's body that lay in front of me. I press two fingers to his eyelids and lower them so he looks as if he's sleeping- it's much easier to manage like that. Cooper only holds my hand like Grayson would have done if he could get to me.

I don't know how I'm going to get close to her, but I know that plan A of a quick rescue is ruined. I can grieve later, but right now I need to pull my shit together and get to Elina for the backup plan the pack and I created.

Elina is currently distracted by Elle who is screaming a plethora of vulgar terms as she attacks her mother with everything she has.

"You fucking bitch! You killed my brother, your fucking son!" Elle continues to mutter spells which Elina seems to easily deflect with her own magic. She seems unstoppable right now.

"It had to be done! He was never going to be loyal to this coven. I did you a favor," Elina says.

This only makes Elle more furious, and she screams as she thrusts her hands out and a wave of powerful magic streams out. It manages to knock Elina back a few steps. I can see the start of some sweat forming on her forehead. She's weakening.

Elle looks completely out of her mind with sorrow. Her blonde hair is whipping back and forth from the strong magical currents while her face is streaked with tears and mascara. The anger within her is almost given a physical form.

Cooper's hand around my wrist brings me back to the present. With his pale face and bloody abdomen, he still needs medical attention. Eli died trying to save him, and I'm not going to let his sacrifice go to waste. Still, Cooper seems to be the one trying to save me.

"We need to get you out of here before their attention switches to you," he pants. He grunts in pain from the slight movement he made while trying to sit up.

"We need to get us out of here, Cooper. I'm not leaving you behind."

"I'm too heavy for you to carry, and Axel and Grayson are still trapped, and there's no way I can even walk-"

"Cooper? Listen to me very carefully," I say. "I'm not leaving without you. So we try to go now, or we stay here together."

I don't listen to his response because I bend down and use all of my strength- which isn't much- to lift Cooper off of the ground. He groans and gasps in pain, and I feel terrible that he's in so much discomfort but there's no other way for me to save Gray and Axel with him here. Cooper needs to be at a safe distance for me to carry out the plan.

Cooper leans heavily on me, and we fall to the side a bit before I can right us. We make it down the hall before his weight is too much for me and we collapse to the ground. I cushion his fall a bit, but I know that he won't be able to get up again. Crimson stains the floor at our feet.

"Hey!" I yell in his face as I notice he's losing consciousness. He groggily flutters his eyes until he focuses on me. "I'm going to go save our mates, but you can't die on me. You can't die on Axel, okay? Focus on him. Stay awake, stay alive, for him. I love you."

I hug him and release him quickly.

"Wait! Thea, you can't go back there, it's suicide!" Cooper mumbles but I know there would normally be a lot more power behind the words.

I pull the syringe Grayson gave me out of my pocket. Cooper only shakes his head.

"That was only for emergencies! If you couldn't get away. You can run now!"

I give him a smile that doesn't reach my eyes and I back away from him. He screams after me, but I sneak towards the other side of the hallway where the witches are fighting. I may not be as strong as a werewolf or as sinister as a witch, but I'm loyal to a fault. There is no chance that I'm leaving Grayson and Axel trapped by wards for Elina to torture.

I peek around the corner and am immediately blinded by a blue light show. Through the haze I can see Grayson and Axel pounding on the wards. Grayson's eyes widen when he sees me. His eyes scream "Run!" but I slowly sneak through the hallway until I find Elina's back facing me. I wait for a break in their magic for me to make my move.

The syringe Grayson gave me was intended as a last resort. He didn't want me to be defenseless against Elina, but he wasn't sure if the injection would be enough to tame her. She could very easily kill me if the injection wasn't strong enough- hence the last resort comment.

From what I understand, Madeline- Cole's mate- had friends from another witch coven who gave her this drug. It temporarily weakens a witch's magical connection, therefore cutting off all magic for a certain period of time. Apparently, this is the drug that covens use on powerful warlocks or witches that are coming into their powers and struggle controlling their magic- or for out of control magic-wielders.

Apparently, this drug is extremely rare and difficult to find. Grayson gave it to me if Elina or Elle were somehow able to corner me and he or another pack member couldn't be there to protect me. At the time, it seemed ridiculous that things could come to that, yet here we are.

I know Grayson would rather I leave him and Axel behind the wards, but I can't leave them defenseless. Once the witches stop fighting, all of their power and attention will fall on them. They could be hurt or worse. Also, the only way that I have a chance at saving Cooper is by getting the wards down so they can contact the pack doctors. Hopefully they'll make it in time. I can't lose another friend today.

Elle's intensifying magic breaks me from my thoughts.

"I hate you!" Elle screams at her murderous mother.

"You'll thank me soon when your new powers come in," Elina yells back as she shields herself against her daughter's attacks.

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means," Elina replies, "that when a witch or a warlock has a twin, and that twin dies, they gain their power. Magical twins are so very rare- they're almost unheard of, actually. Most magic-wielding parents with twins would choose the stronger baby and kill the other one. All of the most powerful witches and warlocks were twins- like me."

"Wait... So, you're telling me that I had an aunt or an uncle that was killed? How fucked up is that?!"

I can't say I disagree with that. That's... barbaric.

"Our family has always been different- stronger. It can be difficult to decipher at birth which child will grow to be more powerful and more in control of their magic. My parents raised me and my twin brother until we turned 18- then I decided that I wanted the power to myself. How do you think I became such a powerful coven leader?"

Elina's confession seems to shock everyone in the room. I didn't know that twin's powers would transfer to the other when they died. It explains why Elina is so powerful. If Elle was already extremely strong before, then with Eli's powers...

"Ahhh!" Elle screams out in pain, grasping at her head as she falls to her knees. Her eyes are clamped shut as she groans and cries out.

"Yes, yes! Let it happen! Accept your power!"

I'm horrified as I witness what's happening. Right before my eyes, a blue mist-like magic releases from Eli's body. Like a snake, it slithers and crawls over to Elle's form and enters every possible pore- through her mouth, nose, ears, and even her eyes.

She writhes on the floor, screaming for it to end, for everything to stop. I can't watch this anymore. Now is the time to strike.

While Elina is mesmerized by her daughter's incoming magic, I run as quickly as I can- straight for Elina. She doesn't even see me coming. I jam the syringe into her neck and push down on the needle. Every last drop drains into her system. She screams in agony as full blown rage overtakes her. When she sees it's me, she can't contain her fury.

"What the hell did you just give me, you human bitch?"

I back up from her and quickly turn to run, but then I remember Cooper. He's sitting outside in the hallway. If I run, Elina will have to chase me- right past where Cooper is laying. He's defenseless and hurt right now. I could never put him in harm's way like that. All I have to do is hope, pray that the drug begins working before she kills me.

I stop running and turn to face Elina head-on. Grayson begins screaming at me to run like hell, to escape while I can. I exchange a glance with him and shake my head. I look to Axel in his wolf form, growling and uncontrollable, and I know that he wouldn't be able to live without Cooper. They're marked and mated. I look back to Grayson and he widens his eyes as he understands.

"No, no, Thea! Fucking run! He would want you to run!"

I face Elina once again, ignoring Grayson's plea. I may not have been strong in the past, but I can be strong right now. I can wear Elina out until she loses enough control of her magic so she can't keep the wards up. Then Grayson and Axel can do as they please with her.

"I gave you some really rare magical drug," I say to Elina. Then I do something very un-Thea-like - I give her the biggest smile I can manage- pearly whites and all. Hanging around the werewolves seems to have rubbed off on me.

Elina thrusts magic into me and I'm flying through the air until I hit the opposite wall. This feels oddly familiar. I receive flashbacks from when the vampire attacked me all those months ago at Velvet Elixir. Being slammed into a wall wasn't pleasant then and it definitely isn't now.

The breath is knocked out of me as my back hits the wall. I fall on my knees and then weakly land on my stomach and forearms. A piercing pain stems from my midsection- where her magic hit me the hardest. I quickly realize that the blow didn't contain the same type of power behind it as the blow for Cooper. I'm not even bleeding- just badly bruised, most likely.

Elina squints her eyes at me, skeptical of how I'm still breathing, maybe. She takes a step towards me before her knee locks and she almost falls over.

That's when I see it. The ward keeping Axel and Grayson locked up has some cracks forming. They slowly crawl up the sides of the forcefield, which the two werewolves begin beating with a new vigor. Grayson's eyes are black as he growls out some words that I can't comprehend because of the large canines in his mouth. He looks very close to shifting as he glares at Elina with so much hatred.

Elina takes a breath and focuses, then the ward begins to fix itself- slowly. I smile to myself when it hits me- Elina can't hold up the forcefield and attack me. It's either one or the other. Her magic is fading, and too much magical energy spent on me will break her concentration enough. I just need to drain her energy enough so that Grayson and Axel can break free. Then Cooper can have a chance.

It hurts to move and take a full breath, but I manage to wheeze out a snarky comment.

"Is that the best you've got?"

Elina's brown eyes turn blue as her magic heats up again with her fury. She steps over to my slumped form and kicks my in the face- hard. My head is spinning and a ringing noise sounds in my ears. I think I spit out some blood.

By this point, all I can focus on is Elina. I can't hear anything over the ringing noise, but I can see Elina eyeing the door to escape. She's obviously figured out that she's running out of time and magic. She makes a run for the door. I don't let her get far.

With all of the energy I have left, I grab her ankle and pull her down. When I hear her groan, I know I've injured her a little. She kicks out at me, her sharp heels scratching at my arms and shoulders, but I refuse to let go. With a frustrated scream, she uses a bit of magic that forcefully removes my grip from her ankle.

She stands quickly to her feet, peering at my battered body as if I'm dirt on the bottom of her Louis Vuitton shoes. With a strength I wasn't aware witches could have, her hands wrap around my throat. She squeezes. I gasp for air.

The panic sets in- the panic one experiences when they know they're about to die. Gray and Axel are still stuck behind the forcefield, I imagine. Cooper is dying in the other room. Evie is trapped in some random room in this house. My only hope is that after I'm gone, the pack takes care of my family. I hope Cooper survives. I hope my family grieves my death and moves on. I hope Gray doesn't blame himself.

All of these thoughts flash through my mind in seconds. However, if I'm going to die, I'm going to die fighting.

I kick and knee Elina with everything I have. She curses at me and presses down harder on my windpipe but I don't give up. I can practically feel how blue my face is, yet I don't stop. But, my kicks lessen in their intensity. They lose any and all power and speed.

Right before I'm about to lose consciousness, purple light shimmers in my face. Why did Elina use her magic on me? She was almost done killing me without it.

Suddenly I can breathe again. I gasp for air and cough incessantly. My hand immediately goes for my throat. I can't see properly- black spots are in the way. When I gain a bit of breath back, I turn my head slightly and see... Am I seeing this right?

Elina is floating in the air, and in front of her stands... It looks like Elle, but it also doesn't. Her features are still the same- the same platinum blonde hair, the same slightly upturned nose, the same clothes. Her aura has changed. She feels powerful- unstoppable, actually. And her eyes. Her eyes are glowing bright purple. I've never seen magic like that before- well, it's not like I've seen a lot of magic. I didn't know that magic could be purple- I've only seen blue.

"You don't get to kill her, Mother." She spits out the word Mother as if it's the nastiest thing she's ever had to say. "The only person dying today is you. Painfully. Slowly."

Elina's screams resonate through the room. I muster up the energy to look at Grayson. The ward is cracking. Two wolves peer back at me instead of the one- Gray must have lost control and shifted while I was struggling to breathe. The more they claw and rip and ram into the ward, the more it cracks. It looks extremely close to breaking.

Another burst of purple magic. Another scream. I watch as Elina tries and fails to block Elle's attacks. Then, Elle backs up and grips her temples again.

"My head!"

"Yeah. It's hard to control your powers when you first gain them," Elina grins, blood smearing her teeth. Her dress also looks torn and about ready to fall apart. "Good luck with that."

With a flash of blue light, Elina disappears. She portaled away.

"NOOOOO!" Elle screams, purple light shining from her eyes.

I jump when I feel hands on my back and arms but instantly calm when I feel the tingles spreading through my body. Grayson is here.

"Baby, where are you hurt?"

His gentle voice calms me significantly. He carefully picks me up, cringing when I let out soft hissing sounds.

I look back to where Axel was standing only moments before, but he's gone.

"Where did-"

"He's with Cooper," he immediately answers.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Cooper's tough. He's been through a lot in his past. Axel mindlinked the pack doctor, so hopefully he can make it here in time. Elina's ward blocked our mindlink as well so we couldn't even call for backup."

I only half pay attention to what he's saying. I stare at his blue-gray eyes, his full lips, his high cheekbones. I study his face that I thought I would never see again. His soft features harden and he tucks me in further to his naked chest. Right, he shifted.

I soon realize why he stiffened- Elle is standing in front of us with eyes swirling with magic- purple magic.

Grayson completely covers my body with his. I don't have energy to move much at all.

"Please. Please, don't hurt her. She's everything to me. I'll do anything you ask of me as long as she's safe." Grayson begging for my life breaks my heart. He knows that his power is no match for Elle's. I shake my head, but even that hurts.

"Eli wouldn't want me to hurt her." Elle's voice is hoarse from screaming. She looks so vulnerable yet so powerful at the same time. Her makeup streaked and teary face combined with the rigidity of her body creates a confusing contrast.

Elle slowly walks over to Eli, his body lies still on the marble floor. A tear drops from her eye right onto Eli's shirt. She places her hands on his chest as she releases purple magic. She whispers some words, but nothing happens. She leans her head on his chest and sobs.

Grayson and I say nothing, but I definitely cry. I know that Elle isn't exactly the good guy here, but she didn't deserve to lose her brother. She loved him dearly and never expected him to get caught in the crossfire.

The pounding of footsteps cover the sound of Elle's crying. I turn to see five pack members storm into the room. Three aim their attention on Elle who deceivingly looks weak.

"Don't touch her," Grayson orders. The pack members immediately stop moving.

Elle looks up and stares at the werewolves in the room, oblivious to their arrival until Grayson commanded they stop moving. She only glares at them, then at Grayson.

"I very badly want to kill you and every single person in your pack for playing a part in my brother's death." The pack members stiffen but obediently don't make a move to attack her. "If Eli didn't grow a fucking conscience and decide to save the human, and then that fucking dog, none of this would have happened."

She takes a deep breathe through her nose, then quickly releases it. She looks at Eli's face and blinks away her tears.

"I'm going to kill her for what she did to you," she whispers. Her eyes shift to Grayson. "I hate humans. I hate werewolves even more. But I hate my mother the most. I won't kill you all because Eli wouldn't want me to. I'm going after my mother, but if any of you tries to follow me for any reason, I won't hesitate to kill you. She's mine to kill."

Elle then moves her eyes to mine. I can practically feel her pain. She's suffering the loss of her brother and the betrayal of her mother. I give her the most sympathetic look I can muster up in the amount of pain I'm in. The black spots take over my vision once again, and I know I'm on the verge of losing consciousness.

Elle places her hands on Eli's chest and portals out of the room, taking Eli's body with her. With the twins' exit, my mind deems the environment safe. My eyes flutter closed.

"Stay with me, Thea. Don't pass out on me! Doctor!"