It came indeed to that. Mila was laying in Erik's arms listening to the birds outside, while the crips rays of sun entered the window of the cabin on that cold April morning. The guy that kidnapped her five months ago was now one of the people she cared most about in the world. 

Happiness. Happiness was such a foreign feeling for her, yet there she was with her strange interspecies affair. It didn't feel at all unnatural. Then again she didn't have many normal, healthy relationships in her life to compare it to. 

Despite all the things that had happened the night before, despite all the danger they were likely still in, everything seemed so peaceful in that brief moment. She was humming a song and caressing Erik's back, tracing all the scars he didn't heal. Mila had her own history with memories on skin, and knew not to be invasive though she was dying to know the story behind each of them. They managed indeed to sleep together in the most chaste way and it had been wonderful.

Suddenly, an earth-shattering scream pierced the air and the cabin started to shake. Erik was awake in an instant shielding Mila from the pieces falling from the ceiling.

"What is happening?" she asked, fearing that Kiril was going to storm in any minute.

"Dahiru. He must be very upset. I hope nothing happened to Samira and the baby."

It took less than minutes until the door of the room was ripped open and Dahiru appeared with eyes bright as the sun and bloody fangs.

"She is gone! How on earth did he do that!? She is gone!! I am going to kill him. I don't care who else I have to kill but I will. This means war!"

"Samira?! How do you know it was him?" asked Mila.

Dahiru threw a piece of silk cloth on the bed. It had the same color as Samira's nightgown. In bloody letters, it said 'Shiveluch', as an answer to Mila's questions.

"What does that mean? Did she write it? With blood?!"

"It's a volcano, in the Asian part of Russia. He wants us to meet there most probably. He made her write it. With blood," answered Erik.

"And I am going to break his fingers one by one for it," thundered Dahiru. His beautiful face was contorted in anger. 

"Why there?" asked Mila. 

"The relics can only be molten together by a mage in the pits of a volcano. I and Samira are the only known Lycans to have mage blood."

"Oh. Shit." Kiril could obviously not make Erik do that, so he took the only other option that happened to be also a brilliant bargaining chip. 

"You coming, Erik?" hissed Dahiru and slammed the door shut. Erik sighed from the depths of his chest. 

"He came and just took one of the best-guarded persons in here that was sleeping beside her Alpha husband?" said Mila, envisioning how fucked they were.

"Unlikely. He must have compelled her somehow."

"He can do that? Why does he not just bend everyone's will then?"

"This kind of magic takes sacrifices. Kiril is strong, but not that strong. Not yet at least," whispered Erik more to himself. 

He grabbed Mila's face and pressed his forehead to hers.

"The situation just became more complicated. I don't know what will happen, but I know we have to stop him and get Samira back. It will be a full-blown war. I have to take care of some things before we leave. Do you trust me?"

"Hmm yes... Meanwhile," answered Mila and smiled a bit. 

"I am glad. Get dressed, I will be back in ten minutes." Then he leaned over to kiss her on the lips somehow fearful but full of longing.

Mila grabbed his hand before he could stand up and leave and kissed him back deeply and passionately, pressing her body against his and running her fingers through his hair.

The realization of what she had done struck her only when, as a reaction, he pressed her against the mattress with shining eyes and claws ripping the t-shirt she slept in apart.

"I want this so bad! It will be the first thing we'd be doing when I come back if I survive, and the only one for at least several hours," he said breathing against her mouth.

It took him again several minutes to retract his claws and compose himself.

"Get dressed and do not open up to anybody. I will be right back." Then he went away leaving Mila alone with her thoughts.

She dressed in jeans, the thickest sweatshirt she could find, and boots. It was not going to be a nice trip and, why kid herself,  there were good chances to be her last. 
Erik was expecting to die, which made her understand how serious the situation was. At least nobody would cry for her, except for Dasha. Sadly, the only other persons that seemed to care about her were there with her and likely going to die too.

She didn't have time to finish her thoughts because Erik came back with Michael and Angel.

He took again her face in his hands and looked her in the eyes.

"You are going back to Scotland with Michael and Angel and you will stay hidden. If I survive, I will come to find you and we can continue where we left off. If I die, stay off the radar till September. After that, if the charm is dissolved, they will accompany you to London. There will be a place prepared for you and an account with enough money for you to live on while you finish med school. I would love to think that you will remember me in kindness once in a while and that you forgive me for the harm I caused you even unwillingly..." said Erik, his voice almost breaking.

Taking a deep breath, he continued.

"If the effect of the spell did not disappear, you will have to live in a very dangerous world. Michael will become Alpha of the European continent after I die, but I am not sure what world you would be living in. What I will say now will sound crazy, but I want you to be Michael's Luna. Like that, he can protect you. He always will. I hope from the bottom of my heart it will not come to that but regardless of what happens, I don't want you to be harmed. Ok?"

"No. Not okay. That is insane. If you die I don't care if I die too. I want to come with you. What is this nonsense of going to London or being Michael's Luna? I never could and neither could he. Take me with you! I beg you. If we die, we die together," said Mila crying.

"No. I have to fight, actually fighting not what you saw so far. You will distract me and more people would die. Mila, please understand this is not only about you and me it's about a lot of people's lives. Regardless of what happens, I want to give you the best chance to stay alive and I can and will disregard your opinion. Now leave and take this," he said, pressing the box with Kiril's relic into her arms.

"What is this?"

"Leverage."

"No. No. No. Under no fucking circumstances," screamed Mila while tears and snot ran down her face.

There were a lot of conflicting feelings painted all over Erik's face. 

"Go, please."

"No. Why do you do this?! I don't want to leave you!" screamed Mila. 

"Because ... I... Mila, you have to. I promise you I will come back to you. I am sorry," he said and his eyes sparkled.

That was the last thing Mila saw. When she woke up she was on a plane, a small plane flown by Michael.

Angel was sitting by her side. His expression was tense but he smiled when he saw she had woken up.

"Where are we?"

"On the way to Scotland, almost there," answered Angel.

"Where is Erik?" Mila remembered the answer as soon as she said the words. "What did he do to me?"

"He made you... sleep. You didn't want to do what you were told. He had to," said Angel.

His face was still deadly serious. He was looking out the small, round plane window, rarely blinking and slowly sighing.

"Why are you not angry? He literally said I should marry your boyfriend," asked Mila frowning.

"My living, unharmed boyfriend, that he compelled to walk away from a fight where he needed to be so that you and he wouldn't die. And he sent me away too because he didn't want Michael to be without me because he knows how much it hurts. Grow up, Mila. If letting Michael sleep with you once is the price I have to pay so that he doesn't die, I am doing it in a heartbeat.
You do know everyone else is likely dead if Kiril gets his way?" said Angel wiping a solitary tear away.

The jolly, witty Angel was crying. They were indeed contemplating the end of the world as they knew it.

After they landed and walked for two hours to reach the house in the woods. Angel cooked dinner and they ate in silence.

"What did he tell you, Michael?" asked Mila eying his stern face.  

"That I should bring you here and guard you with my life. He sent his best soldier away to save you. You better make it worth it. My place is not here; you better make it not be in vain," answered an almost hostile, grim-looking Michael.

"I didn't want to do that either," said Mila irritated by his attitude.

It was safe and warm, Angel's food was as good as ever but it still tasted like ashes to her. She went to bed and cried herself to sleep. There was a time when she wished Erik died so she would be free. It seemed like her wish was likely to be fulfilled and it couldn't feel more awful.

Falling asleep between sobs, she dreamed of a black wolf that was bleeding on the white snow on mountain slopes. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she started crying. Her soul was aching. The feeling was so strong and nauseating that it made her vomit on the sheets.

Angel came in unannounced.

"Let me clean this up, okay?" He said in a smooth voice. "What happened?"

Mila couldn't stop sobbing.

"I saw him dying and I don't know if it's only a dream or if I was in Kiril's mind again and it is true."

Angel sat down on the floor and looked out the window at the breaking dawn.

"You know... I really hoped for this to happen, that you would fall in love with him, and that we can all be happy. Now it happened but nobody is happy. He didn't die. I hope. If he died his mark would go dark, you would know..."

Instinctively Mila lifted her vomit-stained t-shirt. The mark was still red.

Angel punched the floor and the wood splintered.

"Is there something else?" asked Mila surprised by that outburst. 

"Yes. Alejandra, my sister, wrote me a message. They left for Russia, the whole pack, and Amaru dragged her along. I hoped he would try to protect her but he forced her to go with him. She is his mate, damn it, and she is fragile and hates fighting. See, I understand why Erik hates the mate bond. Your mate can be a horrible person, and you are still linked to them for life. I know he hurts her even if she is trying to deny it.
I hate him so much. Not only for what he did to me but most of all for what he is doing to her. He is blaming her for not conceiving a child or that the kid might turn out like me if they would have one... Prick. I know it is wrong but I just want him to die."

"Understandable," said Mila and let her head lean on his shoulder. 

"Now I wish I could go to Kamchatka too."

"I'll shower and make us breakfast today," said Mila standing up in silence.

Nobody was very keen on eating that day either, or the next, or the day after that. Mila kept having those panic attacks and was looking at the mark on her abdomen every day obsessively.

"I think you have to see a doctor, Milena. You are not well," said Michael from behind her.

"It's fine. I am just stressed."

"No, you look pale and keep crying out in your sleep, you barely eat and turn paler day by day. I was commanded to keep you alive, so we will see a doctor tomorrow."

"Fine. I am taking a walk now," answered Mila annoyed. It was not a doctor that she needed, but she had to admit that some antidepressant would be good when she looked down at her almost permanently shaking hands. 

She walked into the woods and started running towards the lake. Michael was likely going to follow her but she hoped he would keep the distance.

Distracted by too many gloomy thoughts, she bumped into someone. So much for keeping the distance. But when she opened her eyes, the acknowledgment that it was not Michael struck her. The man was much shorter, had tanned skin, and black hair. He was handsome, even if a scar was marking his right cheek.

The shape of the scar was making Mila uneasy. It looked like claw marks, so it was very likely for him to be a wolf.

"Muñequita. Te estaba buscando. Diosa a todo poderosa, ueles incredible, y eres hasta bonita./ Little doll. I was searching for you. Almighty Goddess you smell incredible, and you are even pretty."

"I don't understand, sir. How can I help you? My boyfriend will be here any minute."

"Will he now? Ah como odio el idioma de los gringos./ Ah how I hate this language," said the man, with a prominent accent. His long dark hair danced in the wind.

"You are Amaru?" guessed Mila.

"And you are a clever one. I see someone told you about me."

"Michael!" screamed Mila into the woods.

"Ay, Erik te mando aqui con su pareja de marincones? Donde esta Angelito?/ Ah Erik sent you here with his favorite fagot couple. Where is Angelito?" said Amaru, pressing Mila against a tree and playing with a strand of her hair.

"I don't speak Spanish, sucker!" said Mila and slapped him across the face.

For a split second, he was surprised and Mila took advantage of it and run. She kept running and screaming for Michael. He was supposed to be there and guard her. Where was he? A few minutes later she understood why he didn't come.

Michael was in his beast form surrounded by five other wolves. He howled and Angel came along but also did four others.

The two of them didn't have any chance to win. As good of a fighter, as Michael was, there was also Amaru who was an alpha and had that magic alphas have.

"Te extrañe, compadre,/ I missed you, brother-in-law," said Amaru, while piercing Angel's shoulder with a knife, making him howl in pain.

"Don't hurt him, please," said Mila. 

"What do I get if I don't hurt him? How did Kiril call you? Little doe?" answered Amaru, moving behind Mila and grabbing her hair.

"What do you want?"

"You. And Kiril's ax. Where is it?"

"With Erik," lied Mila.

"No. Kiril saw it here. With you. Take me to it or I kill them both."

Angel shifted back to his human format and screamed.

"Don't. He will kill us anyway."

"No, Angelito. We will have some fun first, after that, I will kill you. I have waited quite some years for that, hijo de puta. Nobody does me dirty and comes away with that. You are a disgrace to your family."

"You are the disgrace, big alpha male incapable of protecting his mate, that beats women and sixteen-year-old boys. Espero que Erik te mate, y si Erik muere espero que Kiril los va a matar a todos despues que se vuelve rey por ser idiotas sin lealdad y sin cerebro./  I hope Erik kills you, and if Erik dies I hope Kiril will kill you all after he becomes king for being idiots without loyalty or brains."

Whatever Angel said to him, it earned him a lot of bites and hits.

"Let Mila go."

"No. Not before we have some fun. I have not encountered something so exquisite before. Too bad your sense are twisted and you cannot understand."

"You are a moron. Even if Erik dies, Kiril most certainly wants her for himself. He would not want you to spoil his war prize, and you know he is not known to be merciful. The first thing that he will do when he holds the sword is to wet it with your blood, cabron."

"Asi? Pues que se aguante. I am not his servant. Let's go, princess."