Not edited.

Christian's POV

There were a lot of things that I kept to myself. A little from everyone.. But I told Lana almost everything, and I was at the edge of to start guilt crawling through me.. I almost slipped about Adam, and one mention of his name could make her completely involved in that same chaos that was hunting all of us for years. Yes, she was partly involved because of her father, but that didn't promise her death like the simple mention of Adam did..

Now, Amelia came and after trying to keep her out of it as well, she knew what was going on.. I was thankful to Lana that was honest with me and that she didn't call Amelia, but at the same time, Amelia was the one that took down Adam and she deserved to know every detail of my plan, no matter how dangerous. Besides, maybe with her help it would be easier to find him.

"And now," I finished, "the last track of the necklace we have is at Morpher's house." I heard footsteps as Lana walked in, still holding her phone and sat down on one of the armchairs.

"No, it's definitely not at there. If my father really had it, he was smart enough to keep it away.." She said, leaning backwards and releasing a sharp breath. Amelia sat across from me and listened.

She kept quiet for a while till she heard the full story then leaned forward on her knees and looked at me. "That necklace was made for me. Which means that it's connected with my blood only. It's what will help us find it." Her voice was clear and confident, but blood spells required a lot of energy and Calliope could possess that much.

"Calliope doesn't have that kind of power." I told her, still having no hope that it could actually work, but Amelia was determined to do it.

She sat up. "I do." I glanced at Lana the same second Amelia said it, and she looked back at me. I knew Lana was new to this, but she had good ideas before, and perhaps I was looking for an answer, but she didn't have it either.

"Uh, don't you need to like, get power from someone.." I heard Lana's voice as she sat up as well, before Calliope corrected her.

"Channel someone,"

"Right. Don't you need to channel someone?" Amelia glanced at her, and nodding her head just continued rounding the table.

She cleared her throat slightly. "Yes. I can't do this with Calliope, she doesn't do the same kind of magic." I was about to offer myself, but Lana was faster than me..

"Then channel me. If this has anything to do with my family, there are good chances that it's connected to the Vesnetsovs as well." I was about to interrupt her, because she was starting to connect everything with the answers she needed about the Vesnetsovs,

"Lana, no,-"

"No, I'm doing it." Amelia glanced at me for a second, but before I could shake my head no, Lana continued. "I'm a werewolf, there's no one more connected to the moon than me. You'll have the power." She told Amelia, and I don't think there was anyone that could change her mind at that point. But Amelia did powerful magic. It couldn't kill her, but it could exhaust her to the core, and I don't think she could take giving up that much energy in minutes. It was supernatural force and she didn't even understand it, yet she volunteered.

Calliope went to get some more candles, and I on the other hand was left to handle both Amelia and Lana. It was never an option, even though Lana refused to listen to me. I was not letting her do it. I mean, I did need her, and I couldn't let her die.. Yes, it was possible. Amelia was going through the spell book as I walked towards Lana, and took her by the elbow. She was surprised, but quick to join me a few steps outside the room.

"You're not doing it." I told her, trying to be as quiet as possible, even though everyone could hear if they wanted to. However, she just rolled her eyes at me, and moved her hand away.

I heard her release a slow annoyed breath, before she looked back at me. "You won't change my mind, Christian. And don't worry, I won't make you carry me again if something happens to my leg."

Really? That's what she chose to talk about? "No, Lana-," I started off, looking on the side just to make sure it stays just between the two of us. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into." Her eyes were wide and filled with this certainty that I've never seen before. It was fascinating how much braveness she showed, but at the same time, she didn't consider that it could get her killed on day.

Her voice muted in my head, and I seemed a bit lost for a second. But when she yanked her hand away from me she made me snap out of it. "Oh, it's safe for you to do it, huh? Save the stories for yourself, Christian." She was really starting to jump on my last nerve. She didn't listen. She just refused to fucking listen.

I took a small step backwards, ran a hand through my hair in order to somewhat get away from the heat that was boiling underneath my skin, and placed my hands on my hips. I looked away in order to keep myself from distractions such as her. Perhaps, it was easier to be angry at her, rather than get attached to her, because she knew how to make you do that pretty damn quick. "Look," I heard her start off after a few seconds as she took a small step towards me. "I'm not doing this because I only want you to find that damn necklace. I'm doing this because if my father decided to give everything to the Vesnetsovs, then what if he gave the necklace too?"

"It's the same damn story for me, Lana! I don't give a fuck who has the necklace. I want it in my hands. And both your family and the Vesnetsovs are my enemies." I snapped at her, knowing that she was only changing the subject, when she wasn't even aware what she was getting herself into. "And the last damn thing I need right now is for you to get yourself killed."

She stared at me for a few seconds with a straight face, before I heard her say. "I don't need you permission." And with that, she walked pass me, bumping her shoulder in my arm, and went back in the room. That day, I found out that no, Lana wasn't someone that could be controlled. If she had something on her mind, she was doing it. If she had a motive, she was doing it. And this time, admit it or not, we had the same motives. Family.

~

Lana's POV

It was another one of those voodoo things.. See, I never had real contact with witches. My father did.. But I was his only daughter. He kept me out of whatever was unnecessary. Clionas were something else, but it still required a lot of energy and force for them to do their magic. The difference, I learned,is that clionas had power from some source. A natural element. Witches used their own energy mostly. So that's what made clionas a bit stronger.

Now, the thing was, yes I wanted to help Christian.. But the whole point of this hunt was my father. Everything was spinning around my family.. And that made me more connected than anyone else. Yes, I was on a runaway, but I knew things that the others didn't.. And one of those things was the contract, whatever it was about, that my father made with Alexander Vesnetsov, The Alpha of the Vesnetsov pack, and also, apparently my future husband.

Of course, the whole point of me running away was to keep my family from toxic people like that. I knew how to read people and Alexander was definitely not clean. I mean, he did have a motive. My father offered him that motive. Power. The Vesnetsovs were already a large pack, and connecting it with ours and ruling was a pretty good motive to me. And you see, he could use that power however he wanted. Destroy us, particularly my father.. Me, and the rest of my family.. Then no one would be there to stand in his way of ruling however he wanted.

It surprised me when I heard my father has done that because I still didn't know what kind of plans he had.. What if he was threatened? I mean, it was definitely not him to give up our whole family like that.. And when it came to a small object, a magic necklace, why wouldn't he give that to Alexander as well, in trust or not, when he was already ready to give up a whole pack? Of course he would.. Then no one would be after him. They would be after Alexander. Maybe he was just trying to get rid of the responsibilities.

Whatever it was, I just wanted to know.. I wanted to get a closer look to the whole connection my father had with the Vesnetsovs. And these people were offering me exactly that. I was helping Christian but at the same time helping myself. Once again, I was connected to the same things as him.. It's funny in how different worlds we lived in. Both of us.. We were like a contrast, a complete opposite, yet at the end of the day we were either working together, or connected in the strangest way possible. Either way, we were in it together.

"Okay, so how does this work?" I asked Amelia as she was lighting the candles. She was kneeling beside the table and after a few seconds of concentration she responded.

"First, kneel beside me." I glanced at Christian; his arms firmly crossed against his chest, and the second our eyes met, he just looked away. I knew he didn't agree to this, but he could not tell me what to do.. This was connected to me maybe even more than it was to him. I was curious to know if my father actually trusted Alexander to give him an object like that, or did he still have it.. Whatever it was, it was not Christian word that was going to stop me.

I listened to Amelia and after a few seconds I knelt beside her. The couch was behind me so there was not much space. On the little coffee table in front of us, there were a lot of candles lighted in a half circle around a map. I didn't recognize the map, probably because the names of the places were in Latin.. I think. Before I could ask what was supposed to happen next, Amelia took a small pocket knife that was placed beside her and simply cut the center of her palm, down her wrist.

I looked on the side.. I had no problem when it came to blood, but I swear my muscles cringed a little with just the thought of how much it must burn. She didn't even flinch. I guess that was the perk of being a cliona or a vampire.. Werewolves were cursed with the moon, and only given strength and a quicker healing. Besides, my father only thought us about the meaning of our own, our family, and no different way how to use those gifts in our advantage. Perhaps that's why I was lost at moments like that.

With clenching her fist, she let a pretty nice amount of blood just drop down on the map "Now, all you have to do is give me your hand, and relax. It won't hurt." She reached her other hand towards me, and keeping quiet I let her take it. "Remember, if you let go, the energy will cut and the connection will be lost. We have one try." I nodded my head, and looked down on the map.

A few seconds passed while everyone let that silence drawn in. I glanced back at Amelia and her eyes were already closed before she started saying those few words, repeating them a few times. "Sigalis Intransium Namia Exum Solvos," I looked down at the map, and the little drops of blood slowly shook, before they stated moving.

She was right. I didn't feel a thing, but there was something.. Some kind of force, almost causing slight tremors underneath my skin. My eyes closed and I don't think I intended it. It was that feeling.. Like something was sucking out each piece of energy in my body. It almost felt as if I was floating, and her voice in my ears muted. "Sigalis Intransium Namia Exum Solvos,"

But there was this burn on the hand she was holding.. Slowly but surely turning into pain.. It's like she was cutting me with a knife, but at the same time, she was only holding my hand. Something wasn't right and my self-consciousness made me stay still for a few moments, almost as if I was lost in my own thought.. Like I was a part of that spell as much as her. But that pain from my palm only got stronger, and the burn I felt from my hand seemed like it had awakened me. Snapped me out of whatever frenzy subconsciousness I was losing myself in.

Her voice in my ears cleared. I heard myself hiss slightly, but before I could even attempt to move my hand she stopped and let me go. I had opened my eyes, but it took me a few seconds till I realized that I was back to some reality. I glanced up at Christian and he seemed so tensed, he was already a few steps towards me.

"It's done." I heard Amelia's voice and looked down at the map. There was a red trail and a larger dark red dot at a certain place. It was the weirdest thing I had experienced. I didn't wish to feel anything similar to that ever again. I could still feel the tingles underneath my skin. So slowly, I sat up but there was this sudden dizziness in my head, I thought the room span for a second. I felt lightheaded, and it's insane how a magic spell could do that.

It felt like it took me a few minutes to round a small coffee table, and when I felt like I had succeeded, I felt that weakness over my legs again. I didn't even realize that Christian was beside me, I just felt him suddenly holding me in place. "Careful," I knew he had a pretty good grip around my forearm, but every inch of my body felt almost numb. He held me in place for a second or two, before I saw him take one of my hands and turn my palm. "What is this? Did you need Lana's blood for this?" I looked up at him just to see this serious expression on his eyes, furrowed brows, before he looked back at Amelia.

I realized that in fact that what I felt during the spell, but Amelia didn't even get close to my hand with the knife. I mean, that was the hand I was holding her with. "No." She was quick to answer as she stood up.

"Then why is she cut?" There was that same coldness, that sharpness in his voice, and I knew Christian didn't care, but he needed me unharmed. He thought I knew more, and I knew he needed every little source for information he could get. But we found the necklace now. I don't understand what the concern and buzz was all about.

Amelia glanced at both her palms and her right one was stained with my blood. It didn't hurt anymore, it just burned a little, but was it possible for me to get a magic cut? "What do you mean she's cut?" Calliope's voice interrupted my thoughts as she walked towards me and Christian. She looked at my hand, before looking back at Amelia. Then she just glanced at me, and took a few steps towards the armchair.

"What?" Amelia insisted on Calliope, wanting to know what she was thinking. She seemed pretty lost in her own thoughts, starting from the way she slowly walked, to the fact that she took a good hold of her head. Lets just say that it looked like she was extremely concerned. "Calliope, why is she cut at the same place I am?" Was that supposed to mean something? Witches were supposed to know their stuff, and this.. This was supposed to be familiar to them, right?

Calliope looked up from her hands, before leaning back on the chair. "There must be a mistake," She said, exhaling a soft breath. "I mean, you did the spell right, but you probably did it a different way." I glanced at Amelia the same time she glanced at me. We both knew very well that what happened before and during the spell. I mean, I knew very little, but I was sure she didn't even get close to my hand with a knife. Besides we were cut on the same hand. Left. Was that supposed to mean something?

Silence fell over a few seconds and all of us seemed to look towards Calliope for answers. "You did the spell pretty quickly.. And energy like that," She stopped, almost like she was still processing it herself. "As quick as that.. It can only be channeled by a blood link." Right. So the necklace was connected to Amelia's blood.. What did it have to do with me?

"What do you mean?" I heard Christian ask, but she didn't seem so sure to continued. Either way, she did..

"I mean, signs like that," She gestured towards my hand, the one that was cut at the exact same place Amelia was. "It shows that they're linked. By blood." I looked down at my hand, and I was starting to get those bad butterflies in my stomach.. That anxiety kicked in so fast, that I had trouble processing her words. "It's common for blood relatives."

***

Well..... New mysteries guys! I was not joking when I said that things from the first book might be answered in this one. And the action is just starting! Comment your thoughts guys and don't forget to vote!

Are Mia and Lana relatives? There's a long way to this book, but things might get a little complicated. Also, Dimi will come back as a regular soon too!

This book will be focused more on Christian, which includes Lana as well, so don't be surprised if Amelia and Dimitri have less dedicated chapters.. Their story is in the first book, but I can promise that, like I said, a lot of things will develop around them as well! Soon :D

Kisses, :*