Jackson was sitting outside Ophelia's old shack in the werewolf encampments while whittling a tree branch with a knife. After a moment, Ophelia came out with a broom in her hand and joined him, "Please tell me they're not leaving broomsticks on our doorsteps because of that stupid jumping the broom tradition that people used to do out here a century ago."

"If I told you it wasn't, I'd be lying," Jackson commented as he began to laugh.

Ophelia playfully rolled her eyes as she waved the broom in the air before dropping it on the floor without a care in the world, "I honestly would've been fine with anything else." She remarked, causing Jackson to laugh at her horrified look.

"It's just a tradition!" He told her and Ophelia awkwardly placed her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

"I can see that now," She replied, beginning the laugh.

After a moment, they began to sit in awkward silence for a moment before Ophelia decided to change the subject. She cleared her throat, pointing to the tree branch in his hands, "So..." She trailed off awkwardly, "What are you working on?"

Jackson stood up and moved onto the porch, where he walked toward a sheet-covered mound in the corner, "Oh! After you and Hayley started to hang around here a bit more and decided to start living here, I started on this for Hayley's little girl. Now that she's alive," He paused, pulling off the sheet to reveal a half-finished baby crib made out of wood with a crescent moon carved into the headboard underneath it, "I figured it was time to finish it."

"Why would you do that?" She asked him quietly.

"Well, I'm not the only one around here to realize that you and Hayley are kind of a package deal," He replied, chuckling lightly, "I knew for a fact if you were going to be living here, so would Hayley. And this would be a great thing for her daughter."

Ophelia stared at the nursery in amazement, and after a moment, she smiled at him, feeling astonished that he would do such a thing. Jackson cleared his throat, "Something else..." He trailed off, "I'm getting word from a few packs outside of Louisiana? They wanna be here for the wedding! They want in on the Unification ritual!"

"Doesn't that only work if they recognize you as their Alpha?" She asked him confused.

Jackson nodded his head in confirmation, "Your power becomes their power."

"You really think their Alphas will step down and bow to you?" Ophelia asked him in disbelief.

Jackson nodded his head in response, "They're coming here today to do just that." He paused, realizing that Ophelia seemed a bit overwhelmed, "They want what you have, Ophelia. I mean, we all do. I mean, a couple of weeks after the wedding, you are gonna have one hell of an army to protect Hope."

Ophelia couldn't help but smile at Jackson.

_____

Meanwhile later, Jackson was outside of Ophelia and Hayley's old shack, where he was wrestling and playing with a handful of young children. They were all pulling on his arms and legs to try to get him to fall over as Jackson laughed happily.

After talking with Hayley, the two girls returned outside. They both went their separate ways and Ophelia found Jackson playing and started laughing as well as she watched them continue to wrestle

Soon after, most of the children rushed over to the lake, but one young girl, Daisy, stayed behind and kept tugging on Jackson's arm to try to knock him over. He picked her up and swings her around, but when they saw Ophelia, he just laughed and placed her down, patting her gently on the head before she ran off to join the others.

Ophelia laughed once more, beginning to walk over to Jackson, "I can't say that I don't love a little bit of competition," She commented jokingly.

Jackson couldn't help but laugh at Ophelia's comment, "Unfortunately for Daisy, I am a one-woman kind of guy."

"Well, that's great to hear," Ophelia smiled at Jackson, "I can't say the same for the last werewolf I dated three centuries ago. He was a bit of a manwhore," She paused, allowing them both to laugh, "The meeting's taking place at Mary's."

Jackson nodded his head in response when Ophelia suddenly caught a familiar scent nearby. She looked around for a moment before locking eyes on Hayley, who seemed to be sensing the same exact thing. Ophelia let out a large sigh, turning her attention back to Jackson, "Actually, you go ahead! I'll be there soon."

Jackson smiled at her and squeezed her hand affectionately before he left for Mary's cabin. Once he was gone, both Hayley and Ophelia walked up to each other before vamp-speeding over to a wooded area nearby, where they found Marcel.

Ophelia used her magic to cause Marcel to be thrown backward, catching him off-guard as he quickly stood back up, "Whoa!" He said as he turned to see Ophelia and Hayley staring blankly at him and nervously place up his hands to show that he was not a threat, "Wait! I'm not here to hurt you!"

"Well, stalking us is a very funny way of showing it," Hayley sneered at him, "You're lucky we're all friends, or Ophelia would have just killed you."

"Okay, remember our friendship when I tell you both why I'm here," Marcel reminded her, "Finn sent me to get your blood. Well, the blood of one of you. He said it didn't matter which one."

"Why would Finn want our blood?" Ophelia asked Marcel confused.

"I assume he needs it for a locator spell.." Marcel trailed off as Ophelia's eyes widened in realization, "To find Hayley's daughter."

Hayley was stunned and horrified as she gaped at him for a moment before speaking, "No," She paused, looking around anxiously to make sure no one was listening, "How does he know?"

"He put two and two together," Marcel informed her.

Ophelia clenched her jaw, clearly angered "Where's Finn now?"

"I don't know," He told her, "He said he'd tell me where to meet him later. But listen--I gotta give him something. He's killing one of my guys every hour until he gets it."

Hayley let out a deep sigh, "I need to call Klaus." She said before she and Ophelia walked away, leaving Marcel looking anxious and scared.

____

Outside Mary's cabin, the werewolf elder had gathered all of the Alphas of the packs intending to join the Crescents and had set up the ingredients for the ritual to bind them to Jackson and Ophelia's pack. She waved a smudge-stick of sage over a bowl before turning to Jackson and the other Alphas, "Wolves are bonded by what is most important to us. The earth of our territory. The blood of our packs."

As Mary walked toward the Alphas, Ophelia and Hayley snuck over to Jackson to talk to him, "We have a problem." Hayley informed Jackson.

"What's wrong?" Jackson asked the two women confused.

Ophelia sighed, glancing around, "Too many ears." She paused, looking over at the Alphas, who were each pouring a handful of grain into the bowl to symbolize merging their packs, "But, we need some of your blood," Jackson frowned, giving her a confused look, "It's...it's a stall. I'll explain later, I promise."

Jackson nodded his head in understanding and looked over at Mary and the Alphas, "Well, your timing's perfect."

The Alphas each took a blade and sliced open their palms to bleed into the bowl in turn, "Mixing these elements, we irrevocably bind ourselves to one another, creating a new Crescent pack," Mary explained to the large group of Alphas, "I ask each one of you--do you renounce your Alpha status?"

The Alphas all knelt in front of Jackson. Mary brought the blade and the bowl over to Jackson. He sliced his own palm to bleed into the bowl. Mary left with the bowl, and Ophelia looked up at Jackson.

_____

Later on, Ophelia and Hayley were talking with Marcel, who was holding a vial of Jackson's blood, in her old shack, "Klaus said it was all just a plan to keep us distracted," Hayley informed Marcel worriedly, "He's going after her, I have to get there."

Marcel was quick to stop Hayley, "Whoa, wait!" He quickly told her, "You said so yourself, it's six hours away. Finn's already there."

"I can't just stand here and do nothing, Marcel!" Hayley argued in protest.

"You listen to me," Marcel demanded and both girls stopped where they were, "There is no way that Elijah is gonna let anything happen to your baby girl today! So, go help Jackson and Ophelia build the army that'll help keep her safe tomorrow."

Hayley sighed anxiously, but seemed to know he was right. After a moment, she at him in agreement before leaving with Ophelia to go find Jackson.

____

Outside Mary's cabin, she had a sheet of parchment titled "Pledge of Fealty," which the Alphas of the other packs signed as part of the ritual to induct them into the Crescent Wolf Clan. Mary crushed herbs into a paste, which she smeared onto the bottom of the treaty, "After the anointing of the Alphas, will be the final seal of our--" She stopped talking and gaped as Gia and the rest of the vampires swarm around Jackson and the Alphas, looking hungry and weakened.

When Jackson looked up and noticed them, he watched as Gia's eye-veins started to pop out in hunger. Suddenly, all the vampires started to attack the Alphas, and Jackson rushed toward them to try to break it up, "Gia, you don't have to do this!"

Gia had a guilty look on her face as she turned to him, "I'm sorry, but I do." She said before she vamped-out and started to feed on one of the Alphas, while another vampire rushed toward Jackson. Jackson picked up a piece of wood to stake the vampire, but Hayley stopped him from killing him as she tried to break them up.

"No!" She shouted as Marcel intervened and broke the neck of the vampire trying to attack Jackson. He turned to Hayley and Jackson as Ophelia walked over, "We just need to keep them at bay until Finn's spell is broken."

"It's a hell of a spell!" Jackson commented.

Ophelia turned to Jackson, Marcel, and Hayley, "Get the Alphas to the cabin. I'll hold them off." She demanded.

"Be careful," Jackson warned her before doing as he was told.

He and Hayley led the Alphas to Mary's cabin as Marcel turned to Hayley and Ophelia, "Try and keep my guys alive," He warned her.

"Got it," Ophelia replied, lifting her hands up as she began to perform a pain infliction spell on all of the vampires at once, causing them all to scream in pain.

She used her magic to force them all onto their knees before snapping their necks.

All of a sudden, Gia rushed over to her and held her in a headlock. Ophelia leaned forward, throwing Gia to the ground.

Just as Gia was about to attack her once more, the younger vampire fainted before she could do anything, and Marcel just barely caught her before she hit the ground. As they glanced around, they realized that even the vampires that hadn't got their necks snapped had now dropped unconscious. Ophelia, Hayley, and Marcel shared a glance with each other, looking confused, "They broke the spell."

____

Meanwhile later, Marcel was carrying the unconscious bodies of the vampires outside in the yard while Ophelia and Hayley stood together close by and watched. After a moment, Jackson returned from Mary's cabin, "Ophelia? Hayley?" he called out concerned.

As soon as Hayley heard his voice, Ophelia immediately turned to face him. Ophelia rushed over to Jackson, hugging him tightly as she breathed a sigh of relief. Jackson smiled slightly, rubbing her back soothingly.

After a moment, they pulled away from each other and Jackson turned to Hayley, "How is she?" He asked Hayley, referring to Hope.

"Hope will be alright," Hayley assured him, "Elijah will protect her, I know it."

Jackson nodded his head in understanding and Ophelia let out a sigh, "But Jack, this stuff, these attacks, they're going to keep happening. And each time, it's going to get even worse. We need to get married as soon as possible. You understand that, right?" She told him and Jackson nodded again, but remained silent.