Axton POV

"It's good to see you too, sis," Michael smiles at her, almost beggingly as if asking her for forgiveness.

They just stare at each other, as if they are speaking without using words. When Aurora finally does break the silence, she only asks one question, "How are you here?"

"It's a long story, Aurora," Michael speaks hesitantly.

"You died," Aurora looks almost broken as Xander moves behind her and takes her into his arms. He gives Michael a disapproving look at making his mate upset, "I saw you die."

He smirks a little bit, "I can same the same thing about you."

Xander growls at Michael as he says that. I don't understand what either one of them are talking about and honestly, I don't care right now. All I want is to find Ellie.

Breaking their intense stare down, "Michael, if you help Aurora with the spell, will it work? Can you find her?"

They both look at each other once more before both Aurora and Michael nod their heads.

"We can do it," Michael answers but Aurora doesn't give him a look of gratitude. It's more of one of pure shock and awe.

"Michael, are you sure? You know what the cost is," Aurora states, obviously weary of her brother doing the spell.

"What cost?" Walker asks, "Isn't it just the same spell you just try?"

Michael shakes his head, "Not exactly. It's similar but will come at a much higher cost."

"I don't care what the cost is. Whatever it is I will pay it," I tell them, "Just find my mate."

Aurora gives me a sad look, "The cost isn't yours to bear. You won't be the one paying it."

"I will be. As it should be," Michael states. Aurora looks like she wants to argue with him, but he doesn't give her the chance, "Everything that has happened is my fault. I will pay the price to fix it."

"Michael, no," Jade starts, but Michael just shakes his head at her.

"I broke my promise to you," he tells her, "I may have had good intentions, but that doesn't make up for the fact that I hurt you. You need to let me do this."

Jade hesitates before finally giving in to him. Moving out of Xander's arms, Aurora and Michael move to stand next to the map. She reaches her hand out to his, "Are you ready? There will be no going back."

Michael just nods his head as he places his hand in hers. They both start to mumble as the rain and wind pick up again outside. The lights in the room grow brighter as the sound of electricity fills the air. The dirt on the map begins to move again as everything grows louder and louder.

As the mumbling gets louder, the lights in the room explode all at once.

Then silence.

"Is it done?" I ask as Xander and Jade rush over to their mates who are now lying on the ground.

Aurora nods her head and she hands me the map off the desk, "It's done. The green light on the map is Cortez. When he moves, the light will follow him."

"Thank you," I tell her.

She smiles softly at me as she leans into Xander for support in standing upright. The spell must have taken all her energy from her.

"Michael! Michael, open your eyes!" Jade screams, making every head turn to look at them. Michael is still on the floor, unmoving, "Michael! Come on, open your eyes," Jade begs.

Aurora moves over to her as Xander keeps her steady, "He's going to be alright."

Jade looks up at her for a second to acknowledge her words before focusing back on Michael, "Why isn't he waking up?"

Aurora gives her a sad look, "The spell was draining on both of us, but because he paid the price the spell required, he will need time to heal. Now that he is human, it will be slower."

Jade's eyes snap up to hers as Aurora says that. We all just look at her in surprise.

"What do you mean now that he is human?" Reid asks.

"The price of the spell, in order to get around the witches, is his magic. All of it," Aurora says as she watches her brother, moving to sit onto the floor next to his head.

"He's not a warlock anymore?" Jade asks.

He gave up his magic for his mate's forgiveness, the shocked thought runs through my head.

We would give up even more for ours, Knox says quietly back to me.

"He will always be a warlock, but he no longer has a connection to magic," Aurora answers her, "He is subsequently as human as any mortal. I'm sorry, Jade. I thought he would have told you the price."

Jade just shakes her head no as she strokes the side of his face.

"He loves you, the way any mate would," Aurora smiles at her as Xander kisses Aurora's cheek before standing up and motioning us to leave them in peace.

I clutch the map tighter as we head out into the hall.

"Do we have what we need to get to Ellie?" Xander asks as he closes the door.

I look down at the green dot in the middle of rogue territory to the north. For the first time in the last couple of hours, I finally feel hope.

"Let's go get my mate back."

*****

The second we cross into rogue territory, I can feel it. From the looks on my warriors faces, they can feel it too. I don't know what it is, but I can feel that we don't belong here as my wolf scratches in the back of my mind.

Pushing the uneasiness aside, I focus on feeling out for Ellie. I can feel screaming pain in my thigh and paw as pain spreads through my body. She is being tortured.

She's alive. She's alive, I keep telling myself. I push past the pain and focus on the connection staying tethered as we move through the trees in silence.

The man who took her won't be for much longer though, Knox growls out. I immediately agree with him as we glance at the map again. The green dot is right in front of us.

Eyes sharp. You see any wolf that is not in our pack, kill them. No one will be left alive, I order the warriors.

Yes Alpha, They all reply immediately as they nod their heads.

We move forward slowly as a soft glow of lights bounce off an entrance to a bunker ahead of us. Crouching down lower into the brush I look over to Walker. He gives me a slight nod before taking a third of the warriors to the right as Reid takes another third to the left.

We wait for the wolves to take position as the rest of my pack surround them. I am not taking anything for chance, Move fast and quiet. We don't want to give up the element of surprise, Reid says in the pack link.

I am about to give the order to attack when one of the warriors behind me yelps out. Turning quickly, I see rogues start to run past the trees we just came through. They led us into a trap, Behind us. Take them all. Reid, Walker, take the bunker.

Wolves charge into my warriors as I run straight into a reddish-brown wolf. Pushing my wolf weight into the collision, I throw the wolf into a tree to my left and I hear the crack of his bones breaking on impact.

I let Knox take over completely as we rip into every rogue in sight. I am not leaving these trees until every rogue out here is dead. No more surprises.

I feel the wolf's neck snap between my teeth as I toss his body to the ground, Alpha, we've cleared the bunker. Get Ellie. We can take it from here, Walker states.

I look back to him and nod. As I head for the door, I see Reid to my right as three wolves jump on top of him.

Letting out a growl, I change directions immediately and charge straight two of the wolves as Reid throws the third one off his back. I snap my teeth at the first one as the second tries to reach my neck. He is too slow as I twist my head so to drag my claws into his side.

I look over to Reid as he finishes the third one and jumps onto the first one again, killing him. He nods to me in thanks, Go get El.

Giving him a nod again, I look around the field as my men kill the last of the rogues. Letting out another growl, I shift back before pulling the door open and entering the bunker.

The walls are musty as I move down the corridors checking every room I come across. I try to focus on Ellie's scent, but I can't smell anything over the rust covering the walls and doors.

I am about to go down a hall on my right when I hear a scream as the pain I can feel from Ellie intensifies. I growl and charge towards the noise before bursting through the door at the end of the hall.

Sitting, tied to a chair, is my beautiful mate. Blood and dirt is soaked in her clothes as her eyes connect to mine. I found her.

"Ellie," I say as I move further into the room. I cup her face in my hand as I use the other to untie the chain around her wrist.

"Axton," her voice is barely above a whisper like she had been screaming for hours.

"It's okay, baby. I'm here," I tell her as I move to her other wrist.

"No," her eyes widens in shock, "Behind you."

Turning around, I feel the knife go into my side before I even see him standing there. I look straight into the eyes of the man who helped raise me, who had helped me lead the pack when I lost my parents, who has always been there for me, "Rolfe."

He just smiles at me as he twists the knife further into my side.

"Surprise."