I had never met a Cardinal in person. Their contact with the public was limited, staying in the capital city of Selene unless there was a pressing matter to attend. Not only was it safer for them, but Selene was the home of lunar magic—the core of the Moon's power. Without it, the Dark Realm would eat itself alive. 

Magic to balance magic. Power to regulate order. 

The House was responsible for keeping peace and balance in the Realm. The districts like Erepo were instated by the earliest Umbran rulers of the House. It established separation in a world where, at times, the only mutual factor amongst individuals was their worship of the Moon. Later, Wolves were enlisted as protectors, enforcers. It became our duty to the Moon to protect every Umbran that walked the Dark, supernatural or not. Thus, territories were created to encompass each and every district in the Realm—all except Selene and the Deep. Only Umbran Witches were trusted enough to oversee what lied within them. 

If I had any fears regarding Ares, they were twice as powerful when it came to Cardinal Etna. She may not have been Cardinal Locke, the leader of the House of Umbra, but she was more than capable of roasting me in the exact place I sat on the floor. Not to mention, she appeared to be a bit of a loose cannon with her lack of hesitation to light me up. I would take a staring contest with fives Areses than one Cardinal Etna. 

"Are you going to take it?" the Cardinal asked, her hand still in my face. With hesitance, I reached out. I wasn't entirely able to force down the wince as I imagined just how painful it would be if I lost my hand to third-degree burns. Nonetheless, Cardinal Etna pulled me up from the floor without charring me. 

Standing next to the Witch, I realized we were nearly the same height. She was tall, despite the relation to humans. However, I amounted a few inches to the crimson-red heels she wore to match the hooded cloak draped over her. The only dark skin I was able to see was that of her hands and face. 

"Thanks," I mumbled as I tried to ground my feet. The sudden travel by thin air made my legs tingly. Perhaps, it was just the anxiety. 

Cardinal Etna peered around me, surveying whatever stood behind. 

"I suspect you're the babysitter?" She asked. Ares visibly winced at her side. It was supposed to be condescending. I'll assume you're the one who was supposed to make sure our paths didn't cross? Yeah, something like that. 

"A guard," Ander corrected. I hadn't even realized he was poofed into here, too. 

"Yeah, the babysitter," the Cardinal concluded before pointing toward the doors. "You're off duty. I'm sure you have better things to be doing right now." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

 Ander did not hesitate and left the office, leaving me with the hot-headed Alpha and hot-handed Cardinal. 

"So," Cardinal Etna began. Her arms crossed, and the fabric of her cloak pushed up to reveal a layer of fine, diamond bracelets, "how long has this been going on?" She motioned between Ares and I. 

"Tuesday," Ares said. Had it been Tuesday that he sauntered across the Delphian border and wreaked havoc on innocent people? Huh, could not recall. 

The Witch eyed me, her gaze lingering on my right arm. The forearm, specifically, where my Delphian pack mark had contorted into the poisonous image of Vici's. If I could have rubbed it away in the shower that morning, I would have. 

"Then, she was a Delphian Wolf, I assume?" 

"Yes," I said, my chest tightening at the past tense. I expected the Cardinal to look up at me and laugh. Maybe even make a snide comment about the unfortunate turn of events, but any amusement had been wiped from her face. 

Her stormy eyes softened as she said, "Well, whether or not it was in anyone's best interest, welcome to High Vici, Claude."

My heart sank at the confirmation. Not only was her apologetic tone offputting, but so was Ares' dramatic eye roll. He really did not have a single ounce of compassion in that entire monstrous body. 

"Actually," I started, which caught Ares' attention. His gaze hardened, already anticipating my next move. 

"Claude," he warned, but I ignored it. 

"I would like to go back home."

"No," Ares asserted, an animalistic growl festering in his throat. 

Cardinal Etna frowned. "Unfortunately, I can't allow that."

"What? Why?" I whined, not missing the way Ares' eyes narrowed as if debating whether or not to land himself a battery charge. 

"I don't have that kind of power." My heart sank further into my gut. 

"Mates reject one another all the time." My reasoning was weak, but I hoped5 that, by some lunar miracle, the Cardinal would take pity on me. 

Cardinal Etna shook her head. "This is a far different set of circumstances." 

Of course, a Cardinal would not defy a bond destined by the Moon. Especially a recognized one. 

It's easy to let mate bonds slip when there isn't proof of a true mate, but there I stood like an idiot in front of one of the Realm's most powerful enforcers of the Moon's divinity. Proof. 

Undeniable fucking proof. 

I snuck a glance at Ares who had failed to make a comment. He was grinning at me, his sharp canines glinting in the light. The money I would have paid to knock one of them out. 

The circumstances were horrible. Ares had made a very public declination of the heavily broadcasted marriage. No doubt, upsetting many members of the Wolfdom and important players in the Dark Realm—and probably relieving more than a few. Nevertheless, the Realm, Wolf or not, was waiting to hear what the Alpha of Vici was going to do next. We were all treading dangerous waters now that tensions would be high throughout the Wolfdom. 

Moon could only save him from the hands of the House after embarrassing them with his little stunt. 

"What I can't wrap my head around is why you thought the mating with Kota would disappear just because you wanted it to," Cardinal Etna chided at Ares. His grin faltered as the two leaders looked at one another. 

"Because you like me, Etty." To some degree, I believed it. Maybe not romantically,—or maybe romantically—but the Cardinal did not even flinch at the nickname. There had to be some sort of comfortable familiarity there. 

"I like when you comply with the House's orders."

"I am complying," Ares said sweetly. The embers in his eyes seemed to twinkle in the same way that his canines had. "If you're going to be pissy with anyone over this situation, I recommend the Moon." 

The Cardinal's face sank into a glare. "I'm sure Locke would love to hear it."

As if the mention of Cardinal Locke was some sort of secret code-word, they both looked at one another and, then, to me. There was no way, that I was aware of, for a Witch and Wolf to communicate using mindspeech, so all of the unspoken conversation was done through watchful eyes and acute expressions. 

"She doesn't need to know." About Claude. The missing context was practically lit up in neon lights above Ares' head as he said it. 

"I have to report this back. Ares, you know the rules," Cardinal Etna said. She lacked any sort of empathy for the male. Probably a side effect of the nicknames. "If we don't acknowledge the girl, then the marriage with Kota still stands." 

"That's fine," I interjected, praying with every fiber of my being that the Cardinal really was more interested in the auspicious mating. Apparently, not because, when she turned to look back at me, the darkness rolling into her eyes told me to shut the fuck up. 

"No, it's not," was her response. 

"Well, can't you give it a week?" Ares bartered. 

Etna's arms crossed. Her neck craned so that her head was right in Ares' business, staring into his gaze like the barrel of a golden gun. "You're asking me to lie?"

"I'm asking you to wait a week."

I wasn't sure what exactly a week would accomplish, but it gave me an extra seven days to figure something out. Seven days for my dumbass Delta boy-toy to come and save the day. Seven days for Sabina to bust in, finger-guns blazing, and rescue me. Seven days for Ares to realize just how much I did not want a single damned thing to do with him. It was something. 

Cardinal Etna sighed, her eyes rolling. "I'll give you a week, Dog." I exhaled a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding as she fixed the hood of her cloak. "But, I'll warn you, the response of an angry woman is much worse than a grieving one."

"Oh, this is Kota we're talking about," Ares joked, clearly very dismissive of the Cardinal's warning. 

"Yes," she eyed Ares with her brows raised, "that's why I said it." His brows furrowed together as he watched her take leave towards the set of doors. "It was nice to meet you, Claude," she called out, not bothering to even look back at me. 

"You, too." It was all I could muster up enough fake hospitality to say. Though, I'm sure she saw right through it.  

"Goodbye, Etna," Ares taunted. The sickly sweet smile found its way to his tanned face, once again. 

With her hand on the handles of each door, Cardinal Etna paused. Her shoulders raised slightly as if inhaling enough air to last her for the next several minutes. Her head turned, eyes beaming directly into Ares'. 

"Oh, I have a feeling I won't be gone for very long."

_________

A shorter chapter for sure, but I really just thought the flow of it was best on its own. Anyway, the point of this author's note is to simply say:

A. Thank you! Your support on this book is so appreciated. Votes, comments, and even just the reads. Thanks, guys. 

B. The concepts of this book are all so very new. I am super aware. It is truly an original, high-fantasy take on the Werewolf genre. Therefore, if there is ever something that doesn't make sense, please make sure to comment on it. Either, I will fix it in existing chapters or further explanations will be made later on when it is more necessary. 

Happy New Year's Eve. 

December 31, 2020.