As soon as Caliste told me the steps to the fated spell that would bring an end to the hybrids' reign of terror, she returned to the afterlife, promising to watch over us from beyond. I rushed into the bedroom to wake Nolan, who originally thought that I was waking him for a round of sleepy lovemaking. The mood immediately shifted when I revealed the real reason.

Nolan hadn't wasted a second. He instantly mind linked with Raegan and Dylan, ordering them to gather the alphas and Zyphora in the packhouse. We'd dressed before heading to the packhouse ten minutes later. The sun still hadn't risen by the time my mate and I crossed the threshold into the packhouse and rushed toward the conference room. Fortunately, no one else in the pack seemed to be awake yet after a night spent celebrating and drinking.

Nolan came to a stop seconds before pushing open the heavy conference room doors. He turned to face me for what felt like the first time since I'd told him about my conversation with Caliste. Guilt swam in his piercing blue eyes. "Charlie? How are you feeling?"

I shrugged, my fingers gripping the sleeves of the oversized sweatshirt that I'd thrown over my head while getting dressed in the cottage. Nolan's fresh mating mark was just visible above the sweatshirt's collar. "Well, I wish that the First Gemini witch had better timing," I admitted, one corner of my lips curling in a smile.

Nolan huffed a small laugh. "This isn't how you wanted the night after our Mating Ceremony to go?"

His joke caused my smile to grow, and I moved closer to wrap my arms around his waist. He draped his arms over my shoulders, and we stared down at each other. I giggled. "I mean, she could have at least let us sleep in!"

My dark-haired mate pulled me closer, leaning down to press his lips against mine for one long second. When I broke the kiss to take a breath, his lips moved to my ear. "Last night was the best night of my life, Charlotte. When we've dealt with this mess, I plan on holding you hostage in our bed for many sunrises."

The low rumble in Nolan's voice made my toes curl, and I couldn't help from shivering at the prospect of returning to that cottage and...

"Careful," Nolan warned, a lupine smirk growing on his lips. "Or I'll need to take you into my office before we're able to enter that conference room."

I shivered again, half-exhilarated by the sinful promise lacing my mate's words. Nolan's pupils had expanded, and I knew that he wouldn't hesitate to follow through with his delicious threat. The thought made an all-too-familiar liquid heat begin to gather between my thighs again, and I stood on my toes to greedily steal another kiss.

This time, when our lips began to devour one another's, Nolan pushed into my mind via our mindlink. But, instead of his voice filling my mind, a startlingly vivid image filled my thoughts instead.

We were in his office, and I was perched on the edge of his desk. Papers and ink-filled fountain pens were strewn across the office floor, but we hardly noticed. My leggings were at my ankles, and Nolan's black jeans were bunched at his knees. We were connected, my legs drawn up around his torso as he thrust into me, relentless...

I gasped, my knees nearly going weak at the image that he'd conjured in my mind. I forced my eyes open, and the image dissipated as I blinked up at Nolan, who was smirking down at me now. He'd used the mindlink to show me exactly what he would do to me if we escaped into his office now.

Before I could order him to fulfill his dangerous promise, another male voice–Dylan's– entered my head. Nolan's eyes flashed, and I knew that he could hear it too. Are you two coming in, or should we all go back to bed for another half-hour?

Heat swarmed my cheeks as I instinctively took a step back from my mate. Nolan rolled his eyes, his features a careful mask of good humor and annoyance. In any other circumstance, he might've told Dylan to mind his own damn business. But the Black Lupis Delta was right. There were more important things to be doing, now.

I readjusted my sweatshirt, which Nolan had been in the process of fumbling with to press his palm against my breast, and combed my hair back behind my ears. "He's right," I mumbled to Nolan, who was readjusting his own pants.

"I know," Nolan grumbled, but he placed a hand on the door knob anyway. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I replied, bracing myself as Nolan pushed open the heavy conference room doors.

Everyone– Alpha Niklaus, Alpha Kayan, my father, Dominic, Raegan, Dylan, Zephora, and a few other witches– were already waiting around the conference room table.

"Took you long enough," Dylan taunted from across the room. He was the only one brave enough to mention our delay, but the entire room undoubtedly knew what Nolan and I had been about to do just doors away.

I forced my chin to remain high, even as my eyes snagged on my father's. He immediately looked away, his cheeks paling. Moon Goddess, above. At that moment, I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole.

Nolan's hand on the small of my back steadied me, and I forced a smile onto my lips as I met the gazes of others in the room.

Angelina winked at me, a smirk playing on her beautiful features as she took a seat between her mother and Dylan. Alpha Kayan offered his congratulations as we passed, nodding his head in respect to me despite the fact that I cut off his daughter's fingers mere weeks ago... I made a mental note to ask him how Savannah was recovering– I knew she'd been shipped back to the Broken Valley Pack after Sehan was killed.

Alpha Niklaus kept his eyes stonily ahead, and then we passed Dominic. The Rogue Alpha offered me the smallest smile. A smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. I shifted my sweatshirt to slightly cover the fresh mark on my neck...

Finally, Nolan and I reached the leather-padded chair at the head of the table. He pulled the chair back, allowing me to take a seat while he remained standing beside me. When I was situated, he cleared his throat. "Thank you all for coming at such short notice."

Zephora snorted, a smirk curling on her lips. "You're the only one who was truly interrupted, Alpha. Tell us why you've interrupted your first night as true mates."

I folded my hands, placing them neatly atop the table. I leveled my gaze at the coven leader, who, in a few decades, would be nearly identical to Caliste. "The First Witch of the Gemini Coven came to me early this morning. Caliste."

As soon as I said the ancient witch's name, Zephora's smile fell, and seriousness fell over the witches gathered in the room. "You saw my grandmother?" Zephora whispered.

I nodded. "She told me how to end the hybrids. She told me the spell..."

Alpha Niklaus groaned. "You've been talking to ghosts again, Luna?"

I glared at the Alpha of the Celestial Walkers, and Nolan stiffened beside me. My mate's hand curled into a fist, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the edge of the table he leaned against. But it was my father who spoke up, "Watch yourself, Niklaus. Or no one will stop Nolan from tearing you apart, this time."

Alpha Niklaus frowned, but my father's warning was enough to silence him.

Angelina ignored the men at the table, her eyes remaining attentive to only me. She shook her head, disbelief cloaking her features. "But how did my great-grandmother know about the spell?"

I released a long breath. So she and Zephora did not know the grave mistake that their ancestor made... The mistake that had doomed the lives of so many, including their own sisters that were killed during the battle protecting the Black Lupis pack house.

"I'll explain everything to you. Everything that Caliste told me," I promised, but slowly turned my attention to the others sitting around the table. "But only if you swear not to ask any questions until the end."

At first, no one responded. Then, Dominic nodded, placing his hand atop the table with a solid thud. "Alright, we swear it."

I nodded to the Rogue Alpha, my friend, before beginning. As promised, I told them everything. Beginning with Caliste's role in creating the hybrids and ending with the sacred spell itself. The key to repairing the fabric of natural life that had been destroyed with her original black magic.

Angelina's throat bobbed as she absorbed all of what I said. Her mother stared blankly ahead, brows stitched together in concentration. Finally, Zephora drummed her fingers on the mahogany table. "So, the spell requires the blood of an Alpha, the blood of a vampire, and the blood of a witch?""

I took a deep breath. "Yes. And a Gemini witch must be the one to complete the spell. She told me that part was crucial."

"That's fine," Raegan noted, gesturing toward the mother-daughter witch duo that sat at the table. "We have no shortage of Gemini witches. Or Alphas. We should be more concerned about our ability to acquire the blood of a vampire."

Dylan chuckled. "Something tells me that no vampire will be very eager to offer up his vein."

Dominic grumbled, standing up from his place at the table. "Leave the vampire to me. I know the whereabouts of a vampire den in the city. But the rest of you get the other portions of the spell prepared."

"I agree," Zephora said, her eyes flickering between me and Nolan. A muscle in her jaw tensed, and she turned back to Dominic. "We'll need to perform the spell at a magical faultline– a portion of the earth that has magic ingrained in the very cracks of its foundation. My witches and I will need all of the help we can get."

"Alright," Dominic sighed. "Where's the nearest magical faultline? We'll meet there tonight."

"There's one just over two hours away. I'll send you the coordinates," Zephora stood from the table as well. This time, she shot a tense smile at the men sitting around the table. "Now which one of you Alphas wants to be part of the fun?"

Nolan crossed his arms against his broad chest, nodding once. "I'll do it."

My eyes expanded and I stared at my mate. I shouldn't have been surprised that he volunteered himself, but my chest still tightened at the thought of him giving his blood for the sake of a magical spell...

As if he could sense my unease, Nolan smiled down at me and placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing three times. "It's the least I can do after everything that the others have done for me."

I nodded, even as my throat tightened. Zephora's brown eyes fell to where I sat, and something like pity swam in her gaze. I cocked my head to the side, attempting to read further into the sadness behind her eyes, but she turned away and addressed the room once more. "We'll need protection. A few guards should do the trick."

Raegan and Dylan stepped forward at that, undoubtedly eager to do whatever they could to help. Zephora continued, "Angelina and Charlotte will remain here, at the packhouse."

My eyebrows furrowed at the witch's assertion. "What? No, I want to come!"

"No Luna," Zephora demanded, her voice relentlessly firm. "You and my daughter must stay here. It won't be safe for you elsewhere until we know that the hybrid threat ceases to exist."

It was my turn to stand from the table. It was my intention to continue arguing– to fight until Zephora allowed me to accompany the group that would be traveling to the magical faultline, but she lifted a palm to silence me. "You're hardly capable of protecting yourself, much less a group of witches performing a complicated spell. You would only distract us. Stay with my daughter."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Angelina shook her head. A silent warning for me to stand down. Defeated, I sat down once more.

Dominic hit the fleshy part of his fist against the table once more. "So we have a plan, then? Meet at the faultline at sunset this evening?"

The individuals seated around the conference table murmured their agreement. Everyone except for me, but Zephora nodded and gestured toward the door anyways. "Good. Those of you who won't be joining us this evening, please begin collecting supplies. Those that are traveling to the faultline, please stay a few moments longer. We have matters to discuss."