I was sitting in the dining room of the Alpha. The Alpha who killed my father. Steam rising from the mug and warming my face. My entire body felt numb, foreign to me. 

"Cynthia?" Neal's voice was like a soft caress against me. His hand lightly brushed over the back of mine. I could barely even feel his touch. 

My eyes focused on him. 

"Can you tell me what's on your mind?" For once he didn't have everything locked down tight and I could feel the frustration coming off him. 

Not having that same communication level he was able to maintain with all other traditional members of the pack was hard on him. I wondered if he had always felt that way or if it was a new development. 

I ran a thumb along the rim of the mug, back and forth. Finding the words felt impossible. How was I supposed to explain what I had seen? I had gotten the fast forward version of his father's life; my mother begging him and those cold eyes staring back at her. I felt sick. 

The sound of angry shouting filtered from another room in the house. The low, growling boom of his father's voice growing louder. His mother shouting for him to go back. 

A red-hot fire grew inside me as his voice drew nearer. My teeth clenched and as he rounded the corner to come into the kitchen, that angry voice booming in Neal's direction, I threw my hand out, the magic inside seeping out in force. 

The mug of tea and everything else on the table flew to the ground as I threw out a shield with little regard to anything around. 

Neal's father ran into the shield with force. 

"You witch! What do you think you are doing using your magic in my house like this against me."

"You're lucky I'm not testing my ability to smash you with it, right now," I growled at him. 

"Cynthia!" Neal grabbed my outstretched hand. 

"No!" I snapped my head to stare at Neal, not once breaking my concentration on the shield. "Do not try to stop me, right now Neal. You have no idea what I saw. He didn't just kill my father because of some stupid pack rules. He killed him out of jealousy! He could have changed the rules, but he refused. He was angry that my mother chose my father over him and sentenced him to death."

Neal turned to look at his father.

"You know that's not true, son." His father shook his head trying to dismiss me. "She's clearly hysterical."

I pushed with the shield, and Cal slipped back a foot. He growled at me; teeth barred. His fangs starting to slip out. 

Neal stepped in front of me, my outstretched arm over his shoulder. He placed a hand on each side of my face. He pulled my focus to him, looking into my eyes. 

"I can't imagine what you're going through right now. I understand you're hurt. I understand wanting him dead and gone, but we cannot do that."

"He deserves it." I wanted to sound sure, but Neal was having that effect on me. That whole I can make everything else melt away feeling. It was making it increasingly difficult to hold onto that anger. 

"He does," Neal nodded in agreement, "But if we are going to war, we are going to need all the hands we can get."

My arm was starting to shake. I still felt weak from the mind dive I had done on his father. I sighed and dropped the shield. 

Neal's father stumbled forward a couple steps. 

"Do not say a single word," Neal said to his father, not breaking eye contact with me. "It would be best if you left to gather the milites to prepare."

I knew he could feel my exhaustion. He put his hands on my sides, keeping me standing. 

I pressed my forehead against Neal's chest, letting his strength hold me up, the smell of him washing over me. Every inhale I relaxed a little more. 

"Mother," Neal raised his voice. "Start preparing those who cannot fight. We need to ensure they are safe when the battle begins."

His mother left without a word, and we were standing in the middle of the kitchen alone. 

I began to shake, and tears fell from my eyes, soaking into Neal's shirt.

Neal wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight as if he were willing the strength back into me. 

If only it were that easy. 

"Hey, it's going to be okay," he said, kissing the side of my head.

"How is any of this going to be okay? I wanted to kill him."

"Believe me, you're not the first to want to kill my father, Cynthia."

"But I could have been the first to succeed. If you weren't here, and if I wasn't so drained..."

"There are quite a few ifs in there." He squeezed me again. 

I pulled back enough to look up at him. "If I'm this week after doing a mind dive and holding a shield, how am I going to be any use in this war? I'll be out of gas before we even begin."

"I have an idea on that actually."

I raised a brow at him. 

"The Merging ceremony is more than just a ceremony. It entwines the two souls, making them both stronger. It might be enough to boost your power."

"But what if it doesn't work because I'm not a werewolf?"

"You may not shift, but you're still half werewolf. It will work."

His brow furrowed slightly, and I reached up, smoothing a thumb over it. "What is it?"

"The ceremony is traditionally performed under the full moon."

I remembered his parents saying the ceremony with Ophelia would take place under the next full moon. It was coming soon. 

"But Ophelia and her father would be expecting that. You think they will come before then."

"I would."

I pressed my lips together. "Maybe this was all a mistake. Maybe you should have stuck with your family's plan-"

"No. Don't even think that."

"Think about it, Neal. This decision has completely ruined your family and doomed the pack in one fell swoop. We didn't think this through at all."

Neal cupped my chin firmly. "I do not regret a single choice I have made. My father is the one who made the choice to damage this family. He apparently has a habit of making ruinous decisions. And as far as dooming this pack, I believe we made a decision that will ultimately save it."

"Are you sure?"

"I have never been surer about anything in my life." He tipped my chin up and pressed his lips to mine. "I will have someone look into the Merging ceremony to verify if the full moon is necessary or just customary."

Neal grabbed the phone and started punching in numbers as he walked out of the room. 

I started to pick up everything that had flown off the table with my outburst earlier. The mug had shattered into pieces. 

I grabbed a rag and started to soak up the liquid all over the floor before using the cloth to begin picking up the shattered pieces. 

I looked at the broken ceramic and set the rag down. I still felt weak, but I wondered if there was another use for the shield ability. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on my hand, summoning that warmth from inside, and focused on creating a shield around just my hand. 

I picked up the pieces with my bare hand on by one, throwing them into the trash. Not a single one scratched or stabbed me. It was as if I had manifested an armor around my hand. I moved my fingers, turning my hand to look at the palm and the back of it. It just looked like my hand, but there was a slight shimmering halo around it. 

Neal came back into the kitchen. "It looks like the full moon is ceremonial and not required. We should be able to perform the Merging ceremony at any time."

I dropped the shield from my hand and stood up, feeling a little off balance. 

"We can have everything set up and ready to go tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" My eyes widened. I couldn't believe how fast everything was happening. My head started to spin. 

I took a seat in one of the chairs. 

"We need to make sure our pack is as strong as we can be before the Red Pine pack gets here. Our only hope is that it takes them at least a couple days to organize. I know this is happening quickly, but we can't afford to take things any slower."

He was right, but that didn't stop my mind from whirring. We had only just recently decided we wanted to make a go of us. Now we were talking about pledging our souls to each other for the rest of our lives in the next twenty-eight hours or so in order to prepare for battle. I was still a novice Mentalist with weak abilities, and we weren't even positive this ceremony would help matters in that respect. 

Neal knelt down in front of me, grabbing my face and staring right into my eyes. "Cynthia, I love you and I am willing to burn everything to the ground to be with you and keep you safe. Whether you're in this fight or on the sidelines, I do not care, but I will go to war for you."

My breath was caught in my chest and my heart was pounding. "I love you too," I whispered. "Let's do this."

**********

And there we have it! Another chapter in the books. There is no turning back now! The battle grows ever closer. Please hit that star if you liked the chapter, and drop a comment :)