My head was pressed against Matteo's bare chest, his steady heartbeat pounding softly against my ear as he dozed off underneath me. His arm was wrapped around my torso and my leg, draped across his body.

We were intertwined physically but in another sense all together, emotionally. I meant it when I'd said that I felt the bond, or felt something pulling me to him and us. This feeling of complete bliss in a situation of utter chaos and hopelessness was what it was all about.

Definitely worth all the fuss.

My eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness of the small room and I was able to peer up at Matteo without fear of being caught ogling.

Honestly, if someone two months ago were to come up to me and tell me that my cherry would be popped by the dark alpha from Malice Pack while we were imprisoned in my not-dead, evil vampire mother's lair...I would have thought they were positively mental.

But, I mean, having the sexual intercourse while we were prisoners and more importantly perhaps, right after I've learned of my impending death is kind of mental.

When Amias found out about Matteo and I, which he undoubtably would, I'm sure he would lose his mind as well.

Oh f:cking sh:t.

I flew up out of the bed, Matteo's arm that had been slung across my body was rapidly pushed off of me. He woke with a start, staring quizzically up at me with a tired look strung across his features.

It tugged at the more emotional side of me for a split second, even big and bad alphas like Matteo needed rest and right then , I could tell the past days were taxing on him.

But this was about Amias, Fran and Devin...Where the hell were they? Were they alright? Were they alive?

I hated to admit it but they definitely slipped my mind after the rapid procession of events that had just taken place. And despite the fact that I wanted nothing more to lay forever in Matteo's arms like this, my friends needed me just as I had needed them.

"Matteo, we have to get to them, we have to help." I exclaimed, twining my hands through my hair. What kind of friend was I? I'd completely left them to fend for themselves.

A lousy one, that was for sure.

Matteo was expressionless for a moment as if mulling over our shared neglect when suddenly his eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "Jesus, Olive, your neck."

My hand flew to the juncture of skin where I was certain there would be the grisly wound of the mark baring down on my skin but there was nothing.

Matteo sat up from the bed and carefully, as if I was made of the finest glass, cupped my neck in his hand as he drew me closer for a better look.

He shook his head, clearly as bewildered as I was and leaned back away from me. His keen eyes raked over my face, searching for something I wasn't sure of, I slowly pulled the sheet around my body all to aware of his prying stare to which he rolled his eyes.

"It's not like I haven't seen it before now, Olive." Matteo chided me softly but I wasn't having it, I held the fabric closer to me.

"This is serious, your handiwork has suddenly disappeared in a matter of hours, Teo. That isn't worrying you in the slightest?" What the hell did this mean?

Matteo rolled his eyes again and pushed out of the bed, not concerned in the slightest about his current lack of clothing. He folded his arms and held himself in a relaxed, contrapposto manner before me, I was ashamed that I couldn't keep my eyes off of him.

Not enough to get me to look away but enough to bring a warmth to my cheeks but that was beside the point.

"Obviously." Matteo quickly agreed with me, he ran his hand across his stubbled jaw before springing into action or more accurately springing into me.

His naked body collided with mine but I was able to easily push him off of me before he could pin me back into the bed, "Is sex really all you can think about in a time like this? That is just si..."

Matteo's face was spread into the largest of smiles, he was beaming over at me and it was unnerving enough to shut me up.

I scrunched my nose up, "Why are you doing that, it's weird. You can stop anytime now."

This time Matteo's fist was suddenly swinging towards me, more specifically my face. Instead of flinching and cowering which were my usual go to's, my body reacted before I had anytime to process it all myself. I met his hand in mid air and caught Matteo's balled fist with mine and I held him dead in his tracks.

Complete shock was a good way of explaining both of our reactions, I immediately dropped his hand and scooted away and off of the bed from Matteo.

"It can't be." I murmured.

Matteo was nodding with that same stupid grin, "You're right, it can't be but it is."

I shook my head and clung to the thin fabric like it was a lifeline as slowly I began to understand Matteo's bizarre behavior.

Rapid healing.

Unnatural strength.

Heightened reflexes.

My body was accepting the shift.

I was becoming a werewolf, for reals this time.

But I had vampire blood in my system? A werewolf bite was toxic to me not transformative.

My hands tangled through my hair for a spit second before I felt my sheet begin to slip, instantly I dropped my hands and clutched the spread. "How? What does this mean? I don't understand."

Matteo was hunched over, retrieving our clothes off of the floor. He tossed mine on top of the bed in front of me while he happily threw his own pants on quickly.

He rushed over to my side, clutching my face between his two hands, "It means you are fighting this, your body isn't giving in." Matteo pressed his lips against mine, I could feel him smiling.

Matteo broke away, leaving me breathless and with shaky knees. He tugged his shirt over his head, his face popping out with tousled hair and that same stupid grin. "Amias was right, doing it actually worked."

I furrowed my brow, confused for a split second but then I remembered the advice Amias had given us. We'd completed the mating process, we'd done the very thing Amias predicted would assist with me tapping into my werewolf side.

"So...I'm not dying?" I asked slowly and I saw the hint of a wince cracking Matteo's happy facade but he recovered easily.

He picked up my shirt from the bed where he'd left it for me and brought it all the way to my arms, I tentatively reached out and took it from him. I hung on ever second of silence between us, waiting to hear whether or not he believed if I was going to make it.

Matteo let out a soft sigh and tucked a particularly unruly strand of hair behind my ear, "Wolves are strong and so are you." He looked down at the small space between us before wrapping his arm around my waist and bringing our bodies snug together.

He pressed his forehead against mine and closed his eyes, "Your wolf can fight this, we just have to access it, we have to get you to complete your transition. You're not going anywhere anytime at all, not if there is anything I can do about it, Olive."

If I wasn't so tired and dehydrated and completely cried out, I probably would have busted into tears. I settled for throwing my arms around Matteo, clinging to his frame with all that I had in me.

It was strange, I could feel the whispers of a difference inside of me. There was some foreign feeling within, it felt hazy and out of focus but it was there. A warmth, a presence, a chance.

The door to our bedroom-cell-thing flew open out of nowhere and light suddenly streamed into the room blinding me. I jumped out of sheer fright and the sheet fell to the floor.

"You've got to be kidding me." A familiar voice rang out.

I immediately scurried to retrieve the sheet but Matteo was quick to catch it for me and replace it into my hands. With his other hand, he held it in front of his eyes in an attempt to see through the burning light.

Three blurry figures stepped into the small room and approached us, Matteo instinctively moved in front of me but I had the growing suspicion that it wasn't needed.

"We've been out here busting our asses trying to break out and save you two, while all of this time you've both have been doing your own kind of busting."

Amias.

He finally stepped further into the room and out of the blinding light and I was able to see his face. Amias was smiling, visibly irritated but smiling nonetheless. "And for the record, Olive," He tilted his head in the direction of the flimsy sheet covering my body, "You've got a nice bod but I am way too gay to be seeing aaaalllll of that."

With that, his iced exterior immediately melted away and I rushed forwards past Matteo and flung my arms around him.

Matteo made his way around us and greeted Devin with a curt nod and Fran an awkward pat on her shoulder, they got the picture though. That was about as grateful as Matteo would be around other people, we all understood that at this point, myself especially.

Amias pulled away, holding me at an arms distance, looking me over. "How are you, are you alright? Feeling any different, anything at all?"

I shook my head and nodded quickly after, trying to keep up with his rapid fire questions, I was just as excited and relieved to be standing in front of him as he was to me. Fran and Devin approached and both made moves to greet me but Matteo stepped back by my side and placed an arm around my waist.

My entire body felt at peace the moment his skin met mine, it was new and amazing. "Her mark is gone, it healed right after we..." He trailed off with a guilty shrug of his shoulders.

Amias raised an eyebrow and glance over at the messy bed in the center of the room, dramatically shuddering at the sight. I rolled my eyes and pressed my face against Matteo's chest, my cheeks flaming.

"There's so much I have to explain, I'm a vampire hybrid and Lysander is my mom and I thought I was dying but then my wolf is coming back and I am strong now and--"

Devin glanced behind him nervously before interrupting my rambling, "This is awesome and all but we don't have a lot of time here. Lysander's people could be on us any second now."

He was right of course.

Everything had a time and a place.

For instance, now was the time I needed to shut up and put some damn clothes on so we could get the hell out of this place and as far away from Lysander as possible.

Matteo jerked his head towards the door and everyone almost instantly filed out of the room, except for Matteo of course. He stood guard by the entrance to the room, waiting for me to change.

I turned away from him, to which I heard a soft scoff from behind me but I didn't care. I quickly tossed my clothes on and was walking out the door with Matteo in seconds.

He took my hand in his as we slinked along the walls of the enormous hallways, there was a happiness about him that I'd never seen before.

With the appearance of my wolf, it meant the return of his own.

I hadn't even thought about that.

This was very good news for Matteo indeed.

We rounded a corner and suddenly we were back in the large front room we were originally brought into.

Devin and Fran turned to face us, "This is it."

I let out a sigh of relief and took off with the rest of the group, pounding across the marbled floor towards freedom.

Devin, Fran, Amias and Matteo were all through the door and standing in the sunshine when a voice from behind me sent me skidding to a stop just inches away from the exit.

"Olive?"

My entire body froze up.

There was no way.

I pivoted on my heel and I collapsed to the floor.

"Daddy?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

next update 5.7k votes!

2k+ words for this chapter aka it is L I T

the gang is all back together :') what tf is gonna happen next?

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