.

She continued to stare at me but gave me the smallest of nods at my words. I froze, uncertain whether she was good or bad. Something about her had my hairs stand on end but another part inside of me told me she was good.

"What are you doing out here?"

I was startled by her voice, her eyes narrowed, and her pupils dilated. Her dark appearance was the complete opposite of her angel-like tone. She sounded so sweet.

"I-I'm trying to get h-help."

She hummed and cast her eyes along my body. "You have no proper clothes. And you are bleeding rather badly. Your healing is on par with a human."

I grimaced, the wound in my torso and the ache in my jaw was obvious enough already to me without her need to point it out.

I grew agitated. "That's because you made a potion to stop my wolf."

She smirked at me. "Yes, I did, but you haven't taken it."

My eyes widened and I took a step backwards when she began to walk toward me. I staggered, my chest aching with every inhale. I stopped when I felt a humming behind me, and I looked to see a large shimmering wall.

A magic wall?

"Ah, you see the wall too... How interesting..."

"Please let me go. We don't deserve this."

She frowned slightly, a look of guilt flashing through her features. "That is true. Although I am happy to see you alive."

Her expression made her words sound like they had a double meaning and I found myself staring into her eyes again. The dark orbs met mine and I found my own glazing over, a sudden haze overcoming my senses.

When she spoke next, I was snapped out of it and fell to my knees, gasping.

"How is my mother?"

"What?" I winced in pain.

"She resides underneath your nose. I'm seeing a lot of silverware."

I shook my head and panted, the pain in my chest and the loss of blood was making me feel weak. I tried to remember who she was talking about, but my faint mind couldn't comprehend any memory. I think I was brewing a concussion.

"I'm glad she's okay. When you see her again, Luna, please tell her I'm sorry and I will see her one day." She sighed.

I winced when her hand came out to touch my shoulder. I hissed in pain as she helped me stand and wobbled on my feet.

"I-I don't..."

She smiled sadly. "We all have secrets, Nova. I can help you, as a repayment of the past. I have done many bad things and there are a few I do regret the most. I hope in helping you I can pay off some of my debt."

She was speaking as though we knew each other but I have never seen her before in my life. She chuckled when I stared at her confused but stroked my jaw gently.

"I'm sorry they hurt you, Luna." She sighed. "I will allow you through the border and you shall be safe. But I have to go, or I will be in trouble. The border is a secure spell, no one can enter or exit without me."

"You will?" I breathed.

Her hands suddenly cupped my head and I winced as shooting fire scorched my skull. I tried to pull my head away, but she had me stuck between her hands. I screeched in pain as my head pounded but as soon as she let go, it stopped.

"That will help you for at least an hour. It is all I can do. Find help, run and don't come back if you know what is best for you." She warned.

I held my hand to my head in confusion; my mind had lost the concussed haze. I no longer felt drowsy, the pain in my skull has died down. I glanced down at my stomach and chest to see the wounds still open, but they had stopped bleeding.

I looked at her surprised. "Thank you."

Her hand reached for my shoulder and I couldn't help the flinch when her cold fingers touched my skin. She chuckled but began to push me backwards. I felt the magic's pull and looked at her in surprise. I braced myself for the painful impact that may come with touching the shimmer, but it never came. When I reopened my eyes, I saw that I was stood the other side of it. A brief fluttering sound filled my ears and I saw Raven still standing through a doorway in the wall. She looked so torn. My gut clenched in sympathy for her.

"Come with me," I whispered. "I can see you are hurt."

She blinked in surprise. "I cannot, I have too many debts to pay and people to protect. One day I will get away from here. You are too kind for this world Luna, an absurd opposite of your mate. You have been kind to me and kind to my mother and I thank you."

I frowned, thinking perhaps her mother she mentioned was something to do with someone she had to protect. Was she forced to live here with those barbaric men?

Her head snapped to the left and she inhaled slowly. "You must go. They're nearby. I have covered your scent the past two hundred yards, you should be safe."

"Thank you, Raven."

"It was nice to see you again, Celimene." She smiled before closing the portal.

I blinked in surprise. She knew my wolf name. How did she figure that out? Was she more than a witch? Did I need to look more into what a witch can do?

The image of an older woman in the kitchen flashed in my mind and I realised that despite the age difference, they did look similar.

The cleaner in the pack must've been her mother. They both knew my name without even asking, and this time I didn't have Cel to show for it. That means... Phoenix has a witch living in his home and it explains the weird feeling she gave off. Was she in hiding? Or did Phoenix know of her?

I shook my head out of my daze and cast a last look at the shimmering border. I quickly turned to find something sharp I could use to mark some trees whilst I ran. I found a chunky stick and began to grind it down on a nearby small boulder. Once it was sharp enough to carve a mark into a tree, I deemed it good enough.

I turned from the area and began to run. I wasn't sure where I was going but my instinct told me where to go. Every time I took a turn, I marked a tree with my initial. I felt like Puss in Boots, which made me smile, but if I was to help those girls, I needed to do it.

If I was thinking smart, it would lead me in the right direction when I came to help everyone. But also thinking; if she gave me an hour of freedom from pain then I either needed to hurry or it meant pack land was close.

I would check for the time of day, but my watch had been taken and I only noticed when I woke the first day. So, I had no idea what I was doing or where to go. I was so thirsty and hungry, but I knew that to survive I needed to go. And so, I ran.

I had spent all of the day and night Nova went missing running in the forest along the border. We dowsed the fire which took a few hours before they were clear. In its wake was nothing but ashes and smoke, the greenery destroyed.

All I could think about is how upset Nova would be when she saw it. How the devastating fire consumed every living thing. She would worry about the animals nearby, and the way the trees felt as they burned. Her face would scrunch up; her eyebrows knitting together and her lips forming into a pout. They always did when she was sad.

I had run the pack border about eight times, even adventured into no man's land as far as I could go. I found no trace of any of them as if they were never there. There was a residue of what I guessed to be the girl's watches in the cremated bushes; the kidnappers had been smart to burn them. I came across no rogue wolves or wildlife either but decided that it was because Ares was livid and scaring them away.

The sunrise that day had me howling for the moon to come, to bring Nova back. I didn't want the new day to come without her here.

When I came back from the forest, I made my way to my office to make some phone calls. I had to be smart; I couldn't run into the unknown blindly. I was stopped by a particular and familiar green-eyed man. We stared at each other, my back tensing with unused anger. I was so wound up and his arrogant face was not helping me. But to intentionally harm a Lycan was frowned upon; punishment if it was a life-threatening injury.

I wasn't sure how I would rest until she was found.

"She's gone, isn't she?" Pollux frowned.

I growled at him, Ares still in a lot of control. "Nothing to do with you, Lycan."

He rolled his eyes at me and leaned away from my office door. I barged past him, opening my door and storming inside. I couldn't break anything in here. Charlie would have my head on a stake if I did... again.

The door shut softly, and I looked up to see Pollux had entered. He casually strolled into the room before sitting on one of the chairs. He eyed the bookcases and file cabinets in faux wonder.

I grumbled, making his eyes turn to me. "What are you doing in here?"

He smirked. "I can help."

"You can? Well, you have one minute to explain before I kick you from my lands for wasting my time."

"Don't like me much then? Considering my species is the reason you're very much alive and healthy." He mused.

I grunted, holding back my retort. He was right of course; I had just chosen to forget. After the war against the rogues and vampires, he had been the one to save my mother. When my father was murdered, she had fallen. If it wasn't for Pollux appearing and getting help, she would've died right then. For an 8-year-old boy, he was brilliantly agile and brave on the battlefield.

"I'm sorry she passed." He spoke, knowing where my mind had gone too.

I shrugged. "I had her for a goodbye. She withered away, so I'm not sure what I would've preferred. How she died slowly from her injuries as her heart broke or her dying instantly in the hands of an enemy."

He sighed. "She was a kind woman."

My chest ached with pain.

"What are you doing here anyway? Lycans don't usually hunt down their mates." I frowned, changing the subject.

I didn't like to talk about my mother's end of life.

He shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "I'm not looking for a mate, but of course, you already knew that."

I nodded and he continued.

"I'm... scouting." He shrugged. "As you already know the past few years females have been taken from their packs, usually in groups. I've been travelling in hopes to find out a linking cause. So far women that have been taken are all different kinds. They aren't discriminating on age, colour, mated or not. Just female wolves. They arrive undetected, with no scent and leave just the same but leave a fire in their path."

"What does this mean?" I mumbled.

"It means they have a witch. And if I'm correct, I believe I know who."

******

Hope you liked it 😆 I love reading all your comments, this book is coming on so well.

What is something sentimental that reminds you of someone you love?

Example~ my dad used to always sing to me, and he was in a band & sang solo too. Every time I hear one of the songs he'd sing it makes me feel all mushy inside

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