"Hi," smirking I lay down at the end of my bed. The room darkening as my phone is the only source of light.

Staring at the girl that I have to keep refusing to see. This is the closest I can be.

"Sebastian," she sighs as she pulls her blankets to her chin laying in bed. I can see a small smile on her face. "What're you doing?"

"Talking to you."

Vera rolls her eyes before her smile grows. "You're all sweaty, what have you been doing?" She persists.

In reality I got done with training and I just had to call her as soon as I could. If she saw how torn up my middle was right now, I wonder how she would react.

But for now, I just have to say, "I just went for a run. I wanted to talk to you before I showered."

A blush suddenly takes her cheeks and I feel my heart bursting. I want to see that blush in person, I want to be the person who makes her blush.

She must've been thinking the same thing because suddenly she says, "Can I see you?"

Staying away from her is killing me. But she doesn't know I'm doing this for her safety, and everyone else's.

I don't want to risk Bahee getting a read on her, or her being here for an attack, or me being away. Nothing is in our favor right now, but she doesn't know that.

"Vera," I sigh rubbing my eyes.

She sighs as well. Whispering, "I know." I watch as she compiles her thoughts, bitting her cheek in the process. "I just don't understand. We've been talking nonstop for weeks, I just thought you'd want to."

"I want to," I tell her quickly. Though when I see her eyes widen slightly I realize I might've said it too fast. "Just-" I smile slightly shaking my head. "Just a little longer and then I'm not going to leave your side. You're going to be sick of me."

She smiles before covering her mouth to try and hide it from me. But I saw it, and that image is going to be forever etched in my head. "Well in that case, maybe we should keep it on the phone."

I scoff making her snicker, "If I can recall you're the one who wanted to see me."

Then she laughed, it was the contagious kind. I instantly started laughing with her. It was something I knew I would never get over. How when she was happy, she would just light up and her being would radiate.

But now, now she seems lifeless.

I flinch as Bahee leans down tilting her head to the side as she lays down motionless on the ground. "See, shes still breathing Sebastian. You should be thanking me for my generosity."

Blinking, a tear falls quickly before I continue to listen to her heart beat.

She cant die, not here, not now.

When the door suddenly opens, I know that for sure.

"My my, look what we have here," Bahee chuckles. "Good to see you, good to know you're well."

Jumping I feel a hand land on my shoulder, looking up Willa gives me a once over with wide eyes. Though when I realize I stopped listening to Vera's heart I look away and back to her. "Please," I whisper.

Her hand slowly leaves me after. Bahee laughing to what he believes is a pathetic display. "Go on with it, you know what you're here to do."

"And after-" Willa starts. Her voice quivering with how scared she is right now. I know she would be, I don't think I could ever apologize enough for bringing her back into this. But this is the last resort, the last play in the game. "After your going to leave and let everyone be. Right?"

"We'll see how considerate I'm feeling," he smiles resting his chin on his palm.

With my eyes set on Vera, Willa suddenly kneels down besides her. Slightly, I pull on my restraints in an attempt to get closer.

The noise I made only makes Willa glance back to me for a second, nodding, before slowly placing her hands on Vera's middle.

"That's it," Bahee whispers.

Before long, I watch as a soft light blooms under her hands. She scrunches her face with concentration as this would be the second person she's healing today.

It must not be easy.

But I know she can do it.

So when the glowing stops and her eyes slowly roll back in her head before collapsing, I know she's done just that.

She did what I linked her to do.

Bahee laughs clapping his hands together joyously before standing. "Sebastian! I should've came to you earlier, you get shit done."

I smile slightly when I hear Vera's heart beat start to grow stronger and to a regular rate.

My eyes graze over to Willa, who lays on the ground now. Though I look away and to Bahee as he crouches down to her. "What're you doing now?" I ask him, making sure the malice doesn't leave my tone.

"I'm taking her back with me. This time she won't get to escape though, we didn't get to use her as leverage last time. She left too soon," he pouts before picking her up. I grumble watching him do so, but I know I can't do anything about it.

Suddenly, his foot slings towards my face sending me to the ground. My head bouncing off it in the process. Blinking I look up to him, seeing Willa flung over his shoulder.

I try to get up, but instead he just rests his foot on my head pushing it to the ground with so much force I swear I hear my skull cracking.

I groan feeling my shoulders strain from being pulled back from my restraints. "If you or anyone follows us, guarantee your mate will be dead."

Coughing I clench my eyes feeling blood run down my forehead. I barely look up in time to see Willa looking at me. My eyes narrow to her, nodding ever so slightly before she raises her arms jabbing her elbows into Bahee's back with such force I swear I heard it crack.

He staggers back, as she frees herself from his hold and coming to me in a hurry. "It worked," she says quickly undoing the clasps around my wrists.

This whole time Bahee thought I was desperate enough to link Willa with no context. To not form a plan, to not warn her about the possibilities.

Everything banked on her having enough energy after healing, that was the gamble.

Before hand when I linked her, I caught her off guard saying Vera was here. "I have a plan." I reassured her before she started jumping to conclusions. "But it all counts on if you can stay conscious after you heal her."

"I've already healed Koda today, but if I concentrate enough I think I can pull it off."

Bahee is so dazed with craze over victory, he's acting so carelessly. He's not planning anything out. That's why everything has seemed so easy.

He's not in his usually mindset.

He's desperate.

"After you heal her, act like you're passed out and ride with it. Let him take you. When you think it's time, strike. We haven't sparred this much for nothing. We were preparing for this day." Taking a second to listen to Vera's heart, she has enough time for Willa to get here. Keeping up my cluelessness, lost puppy dog facade should be enough to convince Bahee that I have no ulterior motives.

"Okay, but then what?" She asks with a strain in her voice. She's scared.

"We tell the others, they'll stay far enough away where Bahee can't get their scents. But when he's down, and that'll be your job, they'll come."

"Sebastian," she says already starting to lose confidence.

I almost shake my head and make an angered emotion, but I keep it together so I don't give anything away. "Willa, stop letting your fear of the past stop you now. I trained you, I know what your capable of. You must be close now, don't hold yourself back."

Smiling up to Willa now, I know she did it.

She looks panicked, but she's under control.

"You bitch!" Bahee yells. She jumps turning around before she can undo the second clasp. I struggle against the restraint as she stands up, her body becoming even more rigid than before. I watch as Bahee scambles back up to his feet, and I want to get in front of her and protect her. Though before the thought even has time to surface into my mind, I watch her leg fly across my vision making a hard impact to the side of Bahee's skull.

My eyes go wide as he gets sent to the floor once again, the sound of this skull rattling still echoing in my mind. "Shit," I breathe looking as he struggles to come back to his senses.

Willa is scared, terrified even with this position that I put her in. But she's still fighting, and strong as ever. This whole time we were afraid that she lost her spark, but in reality it's just been hidden. Only resurfacing for a second before it hides again.

If only she could get over this block in her head.

If only she could find herself again.

With my eyes flicking up to Willa, her own wide as she turns back to me reaching for other restraint. "I don't know if I can do this," she tells me full of worry.

Once the cuff is off my wrist I roll it, shaking out the pain. The skin being rubbed raw by my constant tugging.

I shake my head as she glances back to Bahee, realizing that he's starting to come back to consciousness. "Don't say that," I reach grabbing her hand. She trembles in my grasp making me frown. "Like I said, I trained you, I know what you're capable of. If I didn't believe that you could beat him, then I wouldn't of made this plan."

I let out a breath seeing Bahee make it to his hands and knees, taking that as my cue to get Vera out of here.

Squeezing Willa's hand, I then stand to my feet. I stumble my steps slightly, feeling weak from all the energy I've already spent. Though I quickly make it over to Vera, tearing the cloth that bound her wrists. "Your strong Willa, stronger then any person I've ever met," I yell to her over my shoulder. "Your the only one that can do this."

Scooping Vera in my arms, I shudder feeling the bond radiate all the way to my toes and back.

When I turn around, I see a look on Willa's face that I haven't in a long time. Her eyes trained on Bahee as he finally makes it back to his two feet.

She takes a deep breath before he eyes flicker to me momentarily. Her eyes finally looking confident as she sends me a firm nod.

I smirk, leaving the shed before the scene unfolded in front of me.

Judging by her expression, Bahee won't be leaving here alive.