~~~Present day (Alora's POV)~~~

I gasp awake in Nick's arms. He looks down instantly and searches my face.

"Are you okay?" He asks as he pushes my hair back.

I take a deep breath to calm down my erratic heartbeat as well as shake away the disorienting feeling of being inside of Rose's memories. I turn my head to see her sitting down with her hands hovering over the pages of Hazel's grimoire while her lips slightly move, as if she's reading without actually looking at the pages.

"I don't understand." I say hoarsely before clearing my throat.

Rose's murmuring ceases and her white eyes land in the direction I am in. "You have seen all there is to know."

"Yes I understand that you need Lume blood to fully trap him. What I don't understand however, is what's going on with Lucius and Asha. There has to be some kind of mistake."

"Wait what?" Asks Nick as he rubs my back softly. "Who is Asha?"

Rose nods and closes the grimoire "That is a matter to discuss at a later time. In less than eight hours the blood moon will rise and you have seen the amount of energy it takes to pull this off. Tonight I will fulfill my duty and destroy the Kynda for good so that he will never escape ever again."

"No you can't." I protest while standing up and out of Nick's arms.

Rose quirks her brow "And why not?"

"Because my grandfather is in there and I need to get him out. But also because your sister is in there. You are not alone, you can still save her."

She shakes her head "I cannot risk Emerson making it back into this plane of existence. I will not have a repeat of our last encounter Alora."

"I understand that. Trust me. But we both have someone we love on the other side of that crystal." I say as I point at the jar that she has the Kynda stored in. "There has to be a way we can get them out and keep Emerson in."

She shakes her head and goes to speak but the ground begins to shake. Nick immediately wraps his arm around my waist to pull me back as a sharp icicle comes crashing to the ground where I had been.

Rose grunts in annoyance "He's banging at the entrance."

"Who is?" I ask as I look at the wall we previously walked through.

"Lucius. It seems he is quite vexed with you at the moment." Rose answers in a bored tone as she flips her wrists upwards and casts a spell that makes the entire room whirl and shake at an impossible speed. My body tingles unpleasantly and just as I'm about to hurl, the movement stops and a small smile graces her face.

The room is still the same but behind her are old dusty wooden stairs that were previously not there. She walks up the stairs confidently and Nick and I follow.

"It's like she's not even blind." Mutters Nick as he watches her in fascination.

"She has the gift of sight." I shrug.

We crouch our backs against the ceiling as the stairs come to an end and Rose unlocks the hatch of what I now realize is a trapdoor.

"Why are we in the Wolf Bay castle ruins?" Asks Nick in wonderment.

Rose gracefully walks down the dusty hall as she replies "This used to be Witches Cove. My home."

Nick and I follow her to the meeting room, or the Ritual Room back in her era. With a flick of her wrist the conference table and chairs vanish as she goes to stand in the center. I can almost see what she's picturing. The altar in the center, the gold cup filled with the blood of all the Covens, her sisters around her.

A feeling of devastating pain and loneliness washes over me and I know that she feels the loss of her family in the deepest part of her soul.

"I lost my sight that day." She says voice emotionless "but gained unlikely allies."

"What happened after Emerson took the Kynda? How did you end up underwater wrapped inside a lotus flower?" I ask as she turns to face us.

"I made a mistake. I began to dabble in black magic, it became too dangerous and I trusted Lucius with something important but he betrayed me. Used me then locked me away. Clementine warned me not to, but I was young and alone. He seemed like he genuinely cared about my sister and even though I didn't believe in the wolf culture or mates, I really thought we were on the same side. So we worked alongside each other for decades, trying and failing to get Asha out. One rainy night we thought we'd finally managed to do it, to open it just enough to get her out."

"What happened?" Asked Nick in a solemn voice to match her expression.

"We somehow rewired the prison world to take anyone in his bloodline. Wolf and hybrid alike. I worked tirelessly for five years after that and was able to take the wolves back out with the help of the Moon Goddesses powers but anyone with the hybrid gene remained trapped."

"But I came back." I countered.

"Luck." She rebutted. "I've no more time to waste with this monologue. Go on and rest, I need you at your best by nightfall."

I stared after her as she walked back down the trapdoor and locked herself in.

"L, can you tell me what the hell is happening?" Asked Nick as he looked at me in confusion.

I nodded and told him everything as we walked outside and along the shore, with our toes deep in the sand. Everything from riding her horse up to the castle, to the burst of blinding white light at the end. I told him of my trips to the prison world, to the Oasis, getting tortured by the hunters then rescued by the hybrids. I told him of everything I'd learned about the Kynda and my theories on how Witches Cove became Wolf Bay. I even told him about Lucius and Asha being mates.

"What the hell do you mean they were mates?" He shouts in outrage "Immortal or not, a wolf mates for life. There are no second chances."

I shrug and look at the sea as the waves crash sending gentle splashes across my bare feet. "I don't know what to think anymore Nick. I'm not even sure if it matters."

He grabs my shoulders and forces me to face him "Of course it matters. He's your mate, you have to fight for that."

"I thought you hated the idea of us being mates."

"I do." He sighs "but that doesn't mean that I don't want you to be happy. Every wolf needs their mate."

"I'm a freak among freaks, as Jesse would say. Maybe my sole purpose is to destroy the Kynda."

"L, stop its-"

"Hear me out." I interrupt as my thoughts rush out "What if the reason that I'm mated to him is to get Asha out? I'm the only person strong enough to do it. Maybe the Moon Goddess made some sort of deal with Rose to save her sister."

"Alora, you're not making any sense. Rose doesn't want to release her sister or anyone, she wants to destroy the Kynda forever. There is no ulterior motive to any of this, no deals, nothing okay? You're just stressed out you've been through hell and back in the last three days. You need to relax."

"He's not wrong princess."

Immediately we tense for attack and Jesse raises his hands up in surrender.

"What the hell are you doing here? How did you even get in?" I ask as my shoulders relax.

"Hey this place keeps the vampires out. I'm human, remember?" He says sarcastically.

"What do you want Jesse?" I sigh and cross my arms across my chest.

"I like the dress. Very 1800's" he remarks.

"1600's." I correct.

"Whatever. Red is definitely your color. But enough of all that. I'm here to remind you to be careful tonight."

"Well thank you hunter. I wouldn't have done so otherwise. My hero." I say with an eye roll.

"I'm trying to remind you of the warning you sassy bitch."

"I remember." I say quickly but Nick catches the slight shift in my tone.

"What warning?" He asks and Jesse answers.

"The blood moon will ascend and that shall be the beginning of the end. Evil will escape, make no mistake. He will leave destruction in his wake. In 1,300 moons from now, The Flame shall rise. She will save us from our collective demise. Should she stray from fate, she will fall at the hands of her mate."

"How would she stray from fate?" He asks but Jesse shrugs.

"Why do you care?" I question as I stare him down "I thought your whole plan was to get Rose to help you kill me and all the hybrids."

"Believe it or not Sherlock I kind of like you. Just be careful and make sure the bastard stays in hell." He says to me before tossing me a leatherbound journal. I look down at its withered appearance in awe and run my fingers along the cover. A pentacle with a crescent moon etched into the center. The Umbridge crest.

"What is this?" I ask as I try to open the metal clasp binding it shut.

"This is the notebook I told you about a while back, the one your father was trying to find. Rose's journal, or grimoire, whatever the witches call it."

"Why are you giving it to me? What about your villainous plan to partake in the genocide of my kind?" I retort while still attempting to force it open, nearly grunting with effort.

He shoves his hands in his pockets, blue eyes shining with sincerity. "I can see that even you know you don't belong in this world. I've seen the kind of leader you are and know that you will do whatever it takes to make sure your pack is safe. No matter the cost."

I furrow my eyebrows at his choice of words and nodded "Okay. That still doesn't explain what you want me to do with this."

"If you can get it to open, it may just solve everything."

"Rose will open it." Nick said as he placed his hand at the small of my back.

Jesse shook his head quickly and hunched over slightly while looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping even though we're the only ones here. "This journal is extremely dangerous. Especially in the hands of Rose. She must never get her hands on it."

"What the hell are you talking about hunter, she is the owner." Nick countered and Jesse put a finger up to silence him.

"Quite down dog. Why do you think she was trapped underwater in a freezing cave for the last two centuries? She lost her mind the same day she lost her sight. Whatever you do, keep that journal as far from her as possible. I've got to go. I have an empire to rebuild."

"Wait!" I whisper as I grab his arm and he turns around "How am I supposed to open this? Only an Umbridge can."

He shrugs and pulls away from my grasp. "Figure it out Sherlock, and fast because you only have eight hours before hell breaks loose. Literally. And I will be as far away as possible from this supernatural war."

"You warm my heart Jesse." I retort and he smirks, giving me one last nod before walking off.

Nick huffs out in exasperation and runs a hand down his face "Can't we just catch a break?"

"Sorry Chambers, the day's not over yet." I sigh as I take one last look at the calming water.

"So, where to now Alpha Lume?"

"Well right now I've got to get this journal opened but there is something very important that I need you to do." I say as I stare into his milk chocolate eyes.

"Name it." He says without hesitation, beta power emanating proudly around him.

"I need you to call an alpha meeting with any packs that are left. It's time to cash in on those favors now. Nine out of thirteen packs were eliminated, let's hope that number hasn't risen in the last three days. We'll need numbers in case this thing goes south."

"Count on it." He nods fiercely.

I give him one last look before dismissing him. Watching as he bursts into his gorgeous grey wolf and sprints away. Once he's out of sight I glance down at the grimoire in my hands and wonder why Rose was parted with it.