Nolan did, indeed, thoroughly worship me for the remainder of the afternoon. When the time came for him to depart, we both had trouble saying goodbye.

Dylan, Raegan, Zephora, and a handful of Gemini witches were gathered around the SUV, while Nolan and I embraced each other a few paces away. Even though we'd spent the last several hours in a tangle of skin, it felt like any space between our bodies was far too much. Nolan seemed to share my sentiment, holding me close against his chest as if this might have been the last moment had together...

"Charlie," he whispered my name against my hair, his lips pressed to the top of my head. "I'll be seeing you soon, my love."

I forced myself to smile, even as tears threatened to spill over the corners of my eyes. "I wish I could go with you."

We'd had that discussion several times already. But Nolan and Zephora were steadfast in their belief that Angelina and I should remain at the packhouse for safety. We, after all, were far too precious to expose while the hybrids still posed a threat. I was prepared to continue the debate, but Nolan had begged me to stay inside the enchanted pack house. Just for a few more hours.

Begrudgingly, I agreed. For my mate's sake, more than my own. Nolan claimed he wouldn't be able to focus if he thought that I might be at risk.

"I know," Nolan murmured, his large hands rubbing down the expanse of my back. "But it'll just be a few hours."

I sighed, nodding despite the fact that my head was pressed against his firm chest. I took a deep breath before finally peeling myself away from my mate. "Alright, you're going to make everyone late."

"I love you, Charlotte," Nolan repeated for what might have been the hundredth time that afternoon. The words sounded just as sweet as the first time he'd said it.

Warmth swelled in my chest, but emotion threatened to clog my throat. I simply nodded again, gesturing toward the waiting group by the SUV. My eyes landed on Raegan and Dylan, who were leaning against the black vehicle's rear.

"You two take care of him," I instructed, trying my best to smile at my Beta and Delta.

Dylan smirked and saluted, while Raegan responded with a dutiful, "With my life. See you soon, Charles."

Nolan turned back toward me, and I knew that he wanted one last goodbye, but I couldn't stand the thought of it. A final goodbye felt too real. It felt like we were preparing for something. So, instead, I held my mate's gaze and smiled, although the corners of my lips twitched helplessly. "See you soon, okay?"

Nolan blinked, his chest expanding once. Something like pain lanced through me at the sight, but he quickly nodded. "Okay."

We both turned– Nolan toward the SUV and me toward the packhouse, where Angelia was waiting on the porch. She'd already said her goodbyes to her mother and coven sisters.

I reached the cocoa-skinned witch and sighed, turning to watch my mate, pack members, and the witches pile into the SUV. "Something doesn't feel right about this."

"I know," Angelina agreed, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Is there anything we can do?" I asked, my chest tightening at the sound of the SUV's engine starting.

The vehicle slowly moved into motion, and my fingers balled into fists as the wheels slowly carried Nolan further and further away from me.

Angelina released a long breath. "I'll do some research in the grimoires, but I'm not sure if I'll find anything. Our spell books don't contain much on dark magic."

"It's worth a shot," I replied, my fingernails digging into my palms with enough force to draw blood. The SUV turned down a road that slowly disappeared into the woods, and, soon, the vehicle was out of sight.

"Alright, I'll get started," Angelina said, turning away from the porch to enter the packhouse. She paused in the doorway. "Keep me company?"

"Sure," I agreed, following the young witch into my home.

Angelina and I spent the next three hours pouring over a pile of spellbooks that her mother had brought with them to the packhouse. We were laying across the queen-sized bed that occupied her temporary bedroom in the house, surrounded by half-a-dozen monstrous books. Every second that passed since the sun disappeared behind the horizon caused my heart to beat louder in my chest.

Angelina flipped through page after page, handing me the discarded books so that I could look over them and ensure that she hadn't missed anything. My eyes were scanning a chapter on spells that could transform a person into an animal or object of their choosing when Angeina sat up a bit straighter.

I glanced in her direction, aware that her eyes were flickering back and forth at an impossibly fast rate as she absorbed the information on the page.

"Charlie," Angelina began, my name barely a whisper on her lips. "I-I think I found something."

The whites of her eyes expanded in the slightest, and I felt my heart drop into my stomach. I pushed my spellbook on transformation magic to the side and moved closer to her. "What is it?"

"I- I'm not entirely sure," she whispered, her eyebrows scrunching together as she deciphered the information on the page.

I pushed in closer to her until my own eyes could see what was scrawled across the old pages.

Blood Sacrifice

When performing a ritual that requires the blood of a being or creature, the magnitude of the spell determines the amount of blood necessary.

A small spell requires a small sacrifice. And a large spell requires a large sacrifice.

The most impactive spells will require the highest-form of blood sacrifice.

I frowned, re-reading the words again and again as if that might somehow change what they said. "The highest-form of blood sacrifice?" I echoed the last sentence, slowly shaking my head. "I-I don't understand..."

Angelina's chest was rising and falling at a rapid pace now, and I was painfully aware of the way her fingers trembled as they supported the weight of the grimoire in her hands. "Yes, you do understand. We both do."

I took a shaky breath. "No, it has to be wrong. We don't even know the exact spell that your mother is performing–"

"Death, Charlie!" Angelina snapped, slamming the book shut as she shouted. "The highest-sacrifice is death. Completely draining someone's blood!"

Hearing Angelina say the words out loud, I wanted to vomit. It felt like someone had punched a hole in my chest, and now my entire being was slowly slipping into the void that it left. I wanted to scream.

Somehow, I managed to take a deep breath. "W-we d-don't know th-that... Your mother m-might only need to take a f-few liters from each person."

Angelina stood from the bed, holding her head between her hands as if she couldn't quite comprehend this newfound information. As if she didn't quite know how to cope with the idea of the ultimate sacrifice. "No. My mother won't risk failure. She'll drain every last drop of blood to rid the world of the hybrids. She'll drain the vampire, and then Nolan, and then herself."

My heart stopped beating in my chest. "N-no. Nolan won't let her do it. Nolan wouldn't leave me."

"Don't you get it?" Angelina laughed, and the sound was startlingly cold. "Your mate has already agreed to die. Why else would she have asked him to meet with her in private. She wanted to ensure that Nolan would be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. They lied to us!"

Angelina was crying, pacing back and forth as the situation washed over us like the shadow of death itself. I, on the other hand, couldn't move. Nausea rose in my throat as I suddenly understood why Zephora had demanded that Angelina and I stay at the packhouse. She'd known that we would never allow the sacrifice to happen. Angelina would have stopped it to save her mother, and I would have stopped it to save Nolan...

But was Angelina right? Did Nolan know about Zephora's plan all along?

I wanted to believe that he would have told me, but... He'd refused to delve into detail about his private meeting with Zephora. At the time, I thought he'd just wanted to be intimate, but now I realize that he wanted to distract himself. And when I told him that I didn't want protection, he'd seemed relieved.

Nolan was relieved that, even when he was gone, I might have a child to remember him by. His child. His heir.

My stomach seized as full, unrelenting realization descended upon me. Somehow, I managed to keep myself from becoming sick, but tears were now flowing freely down my cheeks. I stood shakily from the bed, stumbling toward my friend who's cheeks were wet with salty tears.

"Angelina, w-we have to get to the f-faultline," I gasped. "We have to stop this!"

She shook her head, wiping at a stream of liquid beneath her nose with the back of her hand. "W-we'd be too late. They're gonna do the spell as soon as midnight hits– maybe even earlier if they know we are trying to stop it from happening."

A quick glance at the alarm clock on Angelina's dresser told me that it was only 8:24 PM. We still had time, if we drove fast enough.

"Then we won't tell them!" I insisted, tugging roughly on Angelina's arm to force her into following me down the stairs. To force her to take action with me. "P-please. I c-can't lose him. I need your help t-to find the f-fault line."

She struggled to catch her breath, sniffling in an attempt to stifle the sobs that had been wracking her entire body. She couldn't have already given up. I needed her help to save Nolan. I wouldn't reach the faultline without her.

Finally, Angelina dipped her chin and gave a barely discernible nod. Relief swept through my body as she finally offered her help. "I-I think I can take us there. But we'll need to be fast."