Carmen and I walk around St. Michael's Cathedral, heading off toward the back, where we reluctantly follow the silver sedan. When Sloan parks, Oswald jumps out, readjusts his suit's cuffs, and waits for us by a small garden bed.

"He's up to something," Carmen whispers.

"Be cautious," I murmur and we walk shoulder to shoulder as we walk down the side of the church, "Let's stop here," I grab Carmen's hand when we're twenty or so feet from Onyx in human form – which I still did not trust. He tries not to smirk at our weary approach, "We're serious," I tell him, "Nuns."

Oswald tilts his head, raising a brow – saying nothing.

"He thinks we're a joke," Carmen starts to growl, showing off her fangs, "And Sloan's just laughing from the car."

I can see Sloan with the window rolled down, black sun glasses on, as he just chews on something and drinks blood from a fresh cup. Glancing into the car I can see blood splattered all over everything... as if someone's just been murdered.

"It always looks like this," Sloan shakes his head as he notices my worried stare into the dashboard, "Relax."

I look back to Priest Oswald.

"As a Queen," I tell him, "And pregnant," I remind him, "I demand my children grow up in a mortal world. You know you want that too for our pups."

"Aunty Carmen," Carmen adds, "Is backing this up."

"I'm listening," Oswald talks so softly and patiently. Oh, he's in character now, "So you want to be a pregnant nun?"

I didn't think of that.

I open my mouth and then shut it, narrowing my eyes, "Look – I think we need to talk about the mortal half of you... why can't you..." I finally see his jaw clench, as irritation starts to show. I have to choose my words very carefully, "Let's go somewhere private, shall we?"

He agrees with a small nod, and turns to start walking.

Sloan groans and rolls up the window, turning off the engine.

"I'll go to Sloan," Carmen whispers in my ear, "You go with Onyx."

"Thanks," I approach Oswald, walking closer until I'm just behind him, but not beside him.

He's walking through the garden, along a path toward the gothic inn; the Glow Worm.

However, before he reaches that, he twists around and heads back toward the church. Indecision written all over his face. Hmm.

I follow his suspicious path, his confliction is obvious.

"Why are you just walking around in circles," I ask Onyx cautiously, worried for his sanity.

He stops his pacing to suddenly look back at me, holding out an innocent hand – fingers wanting to thread through mine.

I start to raise my hand, but then curl my fingers into my palm and hold my hand behind my back.

He couldn't trick me that easy.

"What did I do?" Oswald asks me, his brows furrowed.

"You –"

"To make you so disobedient overnight," he whispers that so quietly, the growl hits my ears and I take a step back. I was wrong. He is still angry. Not worried at all. He can barely contain his rage and need to fuck me. Bloody Monster.

"Don't talk to me like that anymore," I growl back at him, raising my chin, meeting his eye with my own self-contained fury.

"You feel safe in the daylight, don't you, little slut," Oswald turns to me entirely now, a challenge in his eyes as he whispers this at me.

"Oh, fuck you. No, it's not about the daylight. It's that I want to be with you, in the daylight, that is the difference... you have a life you've barely even explored, explore it with me – consider it," I tell Onyx straight, finally giving him the plan. I know he will resist. I know he will hate this. But, it wasn't totally terrible either. To just consider his mortal half a little more seriously. When I look back for Carmen – I can't see her anywhere, "Shit. Where the hell did he take her –?"

"Look at me, Silvia," Oswald grabs my attention, "Don't worry about the slut-pup."

He is calm all of a sudden.

Bad, bad sign.

Now I have to pull out the big guns.

"We're not having sex with any of you until you hear out our demands, it's called meeting us half way," I say what I've been too scared to say until now, but I am confident I can resist his allure. I was stronger than my sexual desires... I think... it was just a different type of hellish desire with Onyx, it was insanely overwhelming like a chain.

But I could still tug on a chain.

"Oh, really?" Oswald is beyond amused, trying not to laugh in my face, because he is not taking me seriously. Not even a little bit.

Oh, fuck me.

I see it now, in his red eyes full of disdain – this arrogance is not worthy of a Lycan King, it's ignorance of his partner. Of mortals. Of women. Of me.

It's pretty simple what's happening. He is underestimating me in every single way. I can feel the condescension toward me, and this isn't a sexy kind of domination. This was downright bullshit. He simply didn't believe in me because he chose not to.

For the first time with Onyx, I truly and entirely lose my patience. Something inside me snaps.

"Then it's goodbye then," I tell him coldly and turn on my heel, walking toward the sidewalk instead, "Carmen!" I hope she can hear me – wherever she is –

"Hey, I'm right here," she calls out, and I see her power walking toward me, wiping her lips clean of a blood stain. When I look down the way she had just come, I see Sloan in the shadows of the Cathedral's wall, nursing a bleeding crotch, "I bit his dick," Carmen sighs, and I don't need to explain myself either, "Let's go," she locks her arm in mine, flips her finger at Onyx and we walk off together.

When I look over my shoulder, Oswald is just staring after us, suddenly confused and anxious.

Damn he had cute puppy eyes sometimes.

But that wasn't my problem. He was realising now, while we were taking a stand.

That yeah, we were being dead serious.

He just worked that out? Fucking hell.

I look back at him in disbelief, and his sad eyes suddenly turn evil.

"You have no one out there," Oswald warns me, "You've got no friends in this city."

"Ignore him," I tell that to myself, and to Carmen.

"Taxi!" Carmen pulls out of my hold to grab a hold of one of the cab drivers waiting by the wedding, "Come, come!" she urges me to hurry, and I agree – getting away in a car was a much better idea than walking away. The driver is happy for us to slip into the back, while Carmen pats him on the shoulder, requesting, "Take us to the airport. And turn on some music really loud, please."

When she sits back, she looks mischievous.

"What the hell, Carmen? The airport?" I ask quietly shocked.

"We're going somewhere far away," she suggests, "Don't worry, I have a vampire's allure – we'll go anywhere and get anything we want, Sloan shouldn't have taught it to me. We just have to avoid being detected by vampire hunters."

"Okay? But, I don't know where we should fly to – somewhere scenic I guess? For a holiday? "

"I was thinking another big city but..." Carmen knocks her hand on the window, "...big cities are where the paranormal trouble is at... so..."

"Should we go to the wilderness?" I suggest, "And just... disappear?"

Carmen turns to me with a sly smile, "Do you like camping, Silvia?"

"What if we run into a creepy cult hiding out in the middle of nowhere? That's where all the crazies hide," I frown, until I realise the irony.

We were both technically insane according to the law.

"I have a place in mind – I used to date a guy in high school who took me to his parents ski lodge, on the Wilder Mountains. We don't have to leave the country. We can just go there. No one will find us. We'll break in, it'll be our hideaway," Carmen redirects the taxi driver to drive us into the mountains, while I take out my phone and check the weather.

"We'll have to hide all the mirrors and stop any reflections," I say, "Lycans can use them like portals."

"Easy, we'll draw the curtains and smash the mirrors," Carmen speaks while texting.

"What are you texting?" I wonder.

"I'm saying... if you don't behave, we're leaving the country, wink wink, they don't have to know what we're really doing," Carmen sends off a barrage of threatening messages.

I look over to see the messages she is typing.

Dearest Sloan. No pu$$y. No a$$. not free anymore. Sugar Ancient Daddy. I want a mansion in MY name. NO MORE FREE P$$Y. Love, Carmen. P.S> Silvia says Onyx is a stinky old ugly dog, and she wants a fresh new man – hahahahHAAHAHAHA –

"Don't say that," I try to snatch the phone from her.

"NO," she squeals and moves into the corner of the car, smacking the send button, "He deserves it, Silvia!" she pockets her phone, "He deserves it so bad. It's obviously a joke anyway."

I want to be mad, however...

"Can you drive a bit faster??" I beg the driver, looking out the windows and behind.

"They're way behind, don't worry," Carmen waves her hand about. I think she's right, I can't see their silver car anyway. I sink back into the seat. "See? Everything is okay," Carmen kicks up her legs across my lap, staring at my dress, "...oh..."

"What?" I put my hands on my stomach.

"You're starting to show," Carmen says sweetly, "Little puppies."

"It's so weird... but yeah... Lycan puppies," I whisper, wondering if that is a part of the strength flowing through me. And the clear vision. Pregnancy hormones, "Pretty sure they will be born human, though... I hope."

"Mortal born," Carmen nods.

"Yes," I hold my belly and I think of their future.

I never thought about giving birth until now.

Onyx had been distracting me so much with all our sex. Even the pack.

But even now, half a day with fresh air and a few harsh realities were setting in. If I didn't run away, my pups would be given to Phantasy to be raised in hell. I had to get away from the demon energies, to protect my babies. It wasn't just about me anymore.

"I'm right there with you," Carmen says, "I know what you're thinking."

"Can you read my mind?"

"No, but I can read you because we think the same," she shrugs, "Oop – I got a message back," she pulls out her phone and reads.

"Rude?" I guess.

"No, he just says sorry," Carmen shows me the single word.

Sorry.

It sends a shiver right through me.

That is worse than direct insults – because it's a loaded word.

"Sorry could mean anything with demons," I remind her.

Carmen agrees.

"I've been practising some simple witchcraft," she tells me, out of the blue, "I'll make sure they can't find us."

"Sloan really hooked you up to the bad shit, didn't he?"

"I pretended to be stupid for dick, to make sure I got the information I needed – to get revenge," Carmen points to her neck, tracing the scar, "I'm not stupid, Silvia... I'm just cunning. I love his dick yeah, but he hasn't been using me, I've been using him."

"I love you," I murmur, fiddling with the green sequence of my dress, "They're going to find us eventually..."

"When they do. They'll pay for being so mean to us," Carmen promises, "We need to make a statement."

And I think she already had too many ideas on how, her eyes are swirling with ideas.

"So what magic have you been practicing anyway?" I wonder.

"Voodoo," Carmen bites her lip, "Just wait – oh, they'll regret everything, Silvia."

"You're scarier than I thought," I laugh nervously.

Carmen puts her finger to her lips playfully, "I'm also insane, remember?"

"Y-yeah," I laugh, still sunken into my seat, "Oh, gee... this is going to be... interesting..." I am a little worried, I won't lie.

I was excited to escape for a bit. Freedom.

Into the wilderness.

It's just... being hunted down by Onyx didn't sound like the best holiday, rather a probable nightmare.

"Stop stressing," Carmen tries to perk me up as I frown, "If worse comes to worse, we'll buy guns."

Oh, God.

Help us.