------------------------------

Ethan

--------------------------------

"Ethan that's not her. You just heard her. You know that whatever that is–is an imposter. Link her, link her now."

I looked up at Eli and shook my head, sobs tumbling out of my mouth while my head pounded and body ached. My eyes looked back at the body on the ground and the blood on my hands; dark hair splayed on the floor.

She smelled like her. She smelled like her but it wasn't her. It wasn't but there was still doubt in my mind because whoever this was, whatever this was, looked exactly like her. Same dark hair, same stormy eyes, same pale skin that looked like moonlight, and same full lips that I wanted to claim over and over again.

She even had a mark on her neck–my mark.

She smelled just like her, but there was something off. I rubbed my face while my head pounded some more, the silver made everything feel like a hundred pounds amongst other things they pumped in my veins. My eyelids were heavy and my skin itched from my own blood dried around the wounds they had opened and re-opened.

I thought they took her too. They had us in these other cells before. They had us in cells around a pit where we fought and fought and fought countless rogues–both wolves and vampires to her amusement. Alphas who betrayed us came to watch, that bastard Cole Clawfoot was even here, along with her–Aurelia.

They sat in their swanky boxes, watching us fight even though they had drugged us and put us at a disadvantage. One rogue wolf bit Levi's finger off and another ripped a chunk out of Ajax's hair.

They had Jaxon and I chained together; two silver cuffs on one of our wrists with a chain that connected us when we fought. Needless to say, the skin is practically gone, but Jaxon and I did kill a hell of a lot of rogues until we felt like robots. Until it became almost mechanical. Until when I heard movement or noise I would just start to attack it, even noise that I would make just from moving around.

Until she got bored of watching us or watching Issach and Levi and Ajax try to save each other when they would stumble or fall because the drugs were too much. They loved their drugs.

The drugs that made me see two of everything, that made everything heavy, everything painful–at one point I wanted to saw my own hands off because it felt like silver was wrapping itself around my bones. They made everything seem like a monster, like there was a darkness infecting everything around me.

Then they brought them.

Our mates.

They took us to new cells and across from us, in other cells were our mates–except for Levi, they had brought Lucas for him. They had been tortured and beaten badly as well.

They drug Charlotte to a chair and stripped her down to her underwear then tied her down to the chair before they injected her with something that made her skin ripple as a blood-curdling scream came out of her mouth.

I roared at them and threatened them with every threat I I could think of; I tried to brake out of the cell while they lifted her legs up and started to cut away little strips of skin off the back of her thighs–the little scars that were there, they took them as trophies. They kept going, cutting off her scars until I was begging them to stop while she went in and our of consciousness as pained moans and groans and screams came out of her mouth.

Then they took her.

They took her and Eli showed up. I blinked, completed shattered by the state of what we were in when Eli walked to me.

"It's not real, brother," he told me.

I shook my head and looked back at the chair. "What?"

"She's not her, you need to put that out of your mind because that is not her," Eli stated more firmly, his eyes boring into mine.

"She–how?" I croaked out.

"It's an imposter, your brain is fried, bro," Eli rushed out. "It's the drugs and a very good imposter. You need to listen to me," he pleaded when the door opened and they tossed her in.

My wolf and I eyed her, then looked back at Eli who stood up and walked over to where she was laying. "It's not her brother, I can smell that even if your drugged up brain can't."

"Ethan?" she croaked out. I slowly walked over to her then knelt down, stormy eyes that looked exactly look Charlotte's staring back at me. My wolf and I were confused; our brain was so groggy, so tired. "I saw her, she talked to me."

"Who?"

"Aurelia," she said while she pushed herself up, her skin bleeding so much it almost looked pink rather than pale. "She–she offered me a deal."

"A deal?" I asked as Hadrian's words rang through my brain, 'Don't make deals with snakes.' I remembered her memory of it–her dream of him saying that.

She nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks. "She said she would let us go. She said we could go home."

"How?" I asked incredulously.

"She wants–" she paused as her voice cracked. "She wants a baby. She said if we gave her one that we could leave and go home. She sa–"

"No," I growled out, my beast and I horrified at the notion–repulsed. "There is no way in hell that we are even going to consider that."

"Ethan she promised," she pleaded. "She's going to kill us–" her voice croaked again as more tears fell. "I can't lose you. I don't want to die. Please? It's almost here, I can feel it coming."

"What? What's almost here?" I asked as my head pounded again, the drugs like a hammer to my brain.

"My heat, it's almost here," she rushed out. "We could–and then it would be like a sign of good faith to her. Our ticket home."

I sat back as bile crept up my throat. She was serious. Eli knelt down beside me and looked at her in disgust before he looked at me. "Brother, you need to really look. There is no way in hell that your mate would even consider this. That and she is not scared of death brother, you know that Charlotte would gladly walk with you."

She would. We both would. Neither of us wanted to die, but if Aurelia threatened to kill us then I knew Charlotte would just call her bluff. She would call her bluff and slit her own throat before she let that devil have a child of ours.

She moved closer to me and straddled me; my skin started to crawl. Her skin was closer and the scent reeking off of it was a good imitation, but the more my beast and I smelled, the more we realized that it was just a fake. A very good fake.

I was horrified. I was horrified and disgusted with myself for falling for it. For ever thinking that she was her. Jesus, how the hell did they do that?

Charlotte smelled like the sun shining, she smelled like rain falling, she smelled like life. She was like a breath of life constantly energizing me and this imposter–she was dull. The more I smelled the more I realized how dull her scent smelled, almost stagnant.

"So she just is going to let us go? I just knock you up and we go?" I asked with a snarl in my voice. I pushed her back as she leaned closer to kiss me, my head pushing back into the wall to get away from her.

"Yes baby," she cooed out. "We can go home to our pack. We can go back to how things were; we can even make pancakes for dinner, you know how I love them."

I snarled at her. "Charlotte doesn't like pancakes, she likes blobs."

"Blobs?" the imposter asked curiously with a slight grimace. Wrong answer.

I growled furiously at her; before I could blink my hand was holding her spine in her throat. I let out a ragged breath then ripped it out and pushed her body back with my feet that pushed me further into a corner while I tossed the spine away in my hand like it was a bomb.

She was dead.

She was dead and I knew it wasn't her but at the same time what if it was the drugs? What if it was her and this was the drugs? But she didn't like blobs–she didn't even know what those were and Charlotte loved blobs. Charlotte loved blobs and she would never offer a child up like that–especially a child of ours.

God, my brain was so foggy that trying to keep it in this world, not in a world between asleep and awake, felt like running a marathon in a pool of molasses.

Eli knelt next to me and shielded me from the view of the corpse. "Ethan you did the right thing. It wasn't her. You need to link her. You need to try. I promise you brother that it wasn't her."

"How are you here?" I breathed out while my bloody hands shook as I waited for the bond to break because my wolf and I–we were sure but there was a seed of doubt. What if we did kill her? What if we just killed Charlotte? What if that's what she wanted–she's not below that.

"Lucas taught me how to ghost when he was here," Eli said nonchalantly. "Now try to link her."

I nodded and let out a ragged breath while I focused on the link that had gone silent within the throbbing bond. I focused and reached and pulled until I felt something. I felt something and felt a sliver of hope fill me. "Charlotte..." I stirred and my wolf cocked his head while we waited. "Sunshine?"

"Ethan!? she called out, drawing a long relieved breath from my mouth. Her voice was cracking and desperate as she rushed out,"Oh my God, Ethan?! Baby where are you? Are you ok? Did they hurt you?"

"It's ok, Eli is here," I croaked out, choking back a sob because I was so happy that I didn't actually kill her.

"What?!" She quickly replied. "Ethan?! Ethan say something? Where are you?!"

Then there were three cracks. Three cracks that distracted me. One witch looked down at the body. "Well, I guess that was fun while it lasted," she mused boredly.

There was a roar down the hall and I found my wolf scratching as a red flag went up. There was another, pained and gargled, and I was trying to stand up but I slipped in my own blood and fell down hard on my ass as the witches moved closer to me.

There was another roar, angry and furious. I recognized it as Levi as the sight of some witches dragging what looked like the Lucas imposter without a head out of his cell caught my eye while the witches came closer. I snarled at them and tried to take a swipe at them but my limbs were too groggy and slow.

There was a prick on my neck before I knew what was happening, a prick and I thought I was dying. It felt like knives cutting my veins open and eating my skin from inside out. I roared out as other roars echoed around me–they had to be doing this to the others or something similar.

I roared and my mind felt like it was going to explode. Whatever link I had with her was gone; all I felt was torment. It was like ever cell in my body was screaming out for help–begging to die. I was sure I was going to die. This had to be what death felt like.

I laid on the ground clutching my head as my beast roared out in agony in the back of my mind, so I didn't hear or see the witches coming back. They pulled me over to the center of the cell and cuffed my hands in leather cuffs lined with silver, silver that made me roar out some more.

I thrashed and tried to get away, but one hit me with a stream of magic that sent me back into the concrete wall. The back of my head hit the wall, causing me to see stars while pained moans came out of my mouth from the drugs scratching a the inside of my skin–this had to be more than silver.

They clicked something, and the next thing I knew my hands were raising over my head while blackness clouded my vision. It clouded my vision until I heard hissing and slithering.

"Since you like vampires so much, we thought we would bring you some friends," one with leaning on the bars of my cell snickered out while the other two pulled something out of a black velvet pouch before they cracked out.

Two green snakes with black eyes looked at me like I was their next meal and I felt my blood run cold. "Eli!" I called out as the witches cackled before they cracked away.

Eli knelt next to me and eyed then snakes as they slithered up. "They aren't poisonous, I can smell that much. This won't be fun, though."

"Great," I groaned while they started to slide over my legs that were like giant weights right now. "Can't you do something?" I pleaded.

He sighed and shook his head. "No, I can't. I'm sorry Ethan. I'm just a ghost, I can't even touch them."

I tried to shake them off, but they just hissed at me and bared their fangs. I snarled at them but it did nothing. They just continued to my chest where they each eyed an area of skin, sinking their fangs in and latching on–drinking slowly while they purred against me.

I roared out as the pain felt like ice freezing my skin off. "Brother you have to stay calm," Eli said with wide eyes.

"Get these goddamn things off of me!" I roared.

There was another crack. "They like alpha blood," a watch said as she walked over to me, something clinking in her hand.

"What's your name?" I asked.

She eyed me with silver hair pulled into a bun. "Melody, why?"

"Need to remember so I can add you to my list," I said on the edge of a labored breath.

"List?"

"List of people I am going to skin alive after this," I bit out.

Her eyes widened before her magic crackled around this. Quickly, she whipped a collar out, leather with silver inside, and wrapped it around my neck. I tried to bite her but she backhanded me with a hang wearing tons of rings.

She secured it on me as the silver started to burn away at my skin and waved. "Have a nice time boys," she said as the snakes purred some more while they drank my blood.

I roared again, trying to shake them off but any movement meant that the cuffs and the collar would rub against me and burn my skin. Eventually, I just settled to laying there while the little bastards with needle-like fangs sucked away at me.

"Ethan?!" Jaxon called out.

"Ya?!" I strained to call back.

"They collar you?!"

"Yup," I replied, my breath more labored than before.

"Did they–they weren't real," Jaxon called back, his voice cracking at the end.

"I know!" I called back while the snakes coiled the rest of themselves in my lap while they drank. "Well, just make yourselves at him you little bastards."

One lifted up to hiss at me but I just snarled at him before he sunk his fangs into a new spot. I groaned while another growl sounded out from down the hall. "Who has snakes?!" Ajax called out.

"Me!" I called back.

"Got one on my damn thigh!" Levi snarled out.

"Fantastic," another voice called out, Issach. Issach Quickfoot that had also been kidnapped.

"What do they even want?!" Ajax called out. "What's the goddamn point?!"

"Doesn't matter," Levi growled out. "I'm killing every one of these bastards!"

Eli walked around and sat in front of me. "Mom's worried."

"Well no shit Eli," I rasped out. "How's Evangeline? Is she there?"

He smiled and nodded. "She's better," he sighed out. "Mom and dad were not excited to see her, she had so much time still left, but it's what she wanted and we don't blame her. I think she's started to understand things more. Liam is good, he's a good wolf. Luca and Lydia have been looking after him too."

"Is there any ghost shit you can do to get us out?" I asked.

He shook his head. "You know if I could I would."

"I know," I sighed out. "What do we do Eli? What do they want?"

"You're all alphas from direct lines, that's not a coincidence."

"The portal is gone, we destroyed the tree," I said.

He nodded. "I know, but dad thinks there could be another. He's been trying to find Hadrian, but he's hard to catch. Hadrian's been trying to find Hale who has more of less gotten out of somewhere that he should not have."

"Hadrian?" I breathed out. "Hadrian King? Charlotte's dad?"

Eli nodded. "Dude he is scary as hell too. Make's uncle Levi and Dad look almost cute at times."

"I can agree with you there," I replied. "I thought no one knew where he was?"

"They didn't, he found us," Eli said. "I guess after the mess at Jaxon's rock that he decided to come out of hiding. He's been trying to stop Hale with his pack, but we need to band together. There's a lot of shit going on over here."

"What about Charlotte? Is she ok?"

"She's fine, I think?" Eli said. "I can ask Eve, she's been keeping a closer eye on them since Lucas walked back."

"So they didn't take her?"

"No, Ethan, " he replied.

"Did they take any of them?"

"I don't think so," Eli said again. "I think it's just you guys."

I let out a sigh of relief because the one thing I didn't want was her being in this hell. She didn't need to be in this hell. This was worse than hell.

"So, do you know anything that could help–" I paused to snarl while the snakes bit in a little harder as they sucked the blood out of my best. "Get us out?"

Eli sighed. "No, but I can try. Just stay strong and try not to fall for any more of her games. I'll be back. Ok?"

"Ok," I breathed out as my vision swirled.

Eli smiled before he stood up. "I'm not ready to see you on the other side yet brother. Don't die, alright?"

"Just get me the hell out of here Eli," I croaked out.

"I'll see what I can do," he said with a sad smile before he was gone.

I leaned my head back, my vision swirling as sounds of tormented cries filled the air. My vision swirled until I dipped into a pool of darkness. Darkness, that seemed to rock me back and forth between utter dismay and a slow burning fire that ate away at my skin like acidic teeth.

Soon there was a tap on my cheek. There was a tap that got a little more firm until cold water was thrown on me. I shook my head and blinked hard a few times, my heart still working too hard to pump my blood laced with a river of silver through my body–every pump just doing more damage.

"Well, now come on, wake up we need to chat sweet Ethan."

I blinked again and my vision cleared up. The snakes had moved. One was still on my chest and another at the top of my thigh. I snarled at them before I looked up, the collar rubbing my neck, to see Aurelia sitting in a metal chair wearing a bright yellow business like dress with a black snake draped around her neck.

I held her gaze, green eyes that matched her snake's, until she smiled softly. "Well, how have you been?"

I snarled at her, growling lowly so my chest vibrated which I immediately regretted–the snake on my chest just latched on harder causing me to hiss. She frowned before she snapped her fingers, causing the snakes the release me and slither over to her feet where they coiled up and looked like they were going to sleep. "I think they've had enough to drink."

"What the hell do you want?" I forced out.

"To chat with you of course," she said very matter of factly. "We have hardly gotten to know each other and well, we are family. You are mated and married to my cousin."

"You are no family of ours," I bit out.

She pouted. "Now I will forgive you for that, you don't understand. It's not your fault, really I don't blame you."

"Then why all this bullshit," I snarled out. "What the hell do you want from us?!"

She laughed to herself. "Oh sweet Ethan, that is a conversation that my cousin and I will have."

"You stay away from her!"

"Oh you didn't like my little trick did you?" she asked cheekily. I ground my teeth, refusing to answer as her snake nuzzled her cheek. "Fun little trick. I do feel bad about the rogues we had to use to do it. I would have kept my word. If she would have, well, you know–I would have let her go free."

"Why don't you come closer and I'll show you a nice trick too," I hissed out.

She just laughed and waved me off. "Oh sweet Ethan I can see why she loves you, you do have a great sense of humor. Don't worry Charlotte is fine. I don't wish to harm my cousin, I really don't like that I have to do this to you but you two have left me with little choices."

"Choices? You have none!" I growled out. "We destroyed the tree. Why don't you just take your damn snakes and, I don't know? Die?"

She rolled her eyes. "So dramatic," she teased. "Ethan, sweet Ethan," she sighed out. "You may have destroyed that tree, but that is not the only one. If it was I would have invaded your lovely pack a while ago."

"So why didn't you? You could have, why didn't you?"

"Well, how about I start at the beginning? I do want you to understand. I don't want us to be enemies. Honestly, as my cousin's mate, I see you more of a friend and an ally than anything else. Our line is about to rise above the ashes and I intend for Charlotte to join me, with you of course."

"She's going to kill you," I told her, a soft smile on my face because that would by far the most satisfying thing in the world right now–to watch Charlotte rip her head with strawberry red hair off.

"She and I just need to talk," Aurelia assured me. "Now, let me start at the beginning. Once upon a time–"

"You have to be kidding me?" I croaked out.

"This is my story, now shut it," she hissed out as her snake laid its head in her lap where she began to lovingly stroke it. "Anyways, Once upon a time there was a with of Aleah's line and a wolf of Hagan's line, you know this story I am sure. It's part of Charlotte's. My father and his twin, Hadrian, were the wolves of Hagan's line and my mother was the witch.

"My mother was living with Cyrus Clawfoot–Cole's father. Not many people knew about her, for obvious reasons. My father was in Siberia, trying to continue the work of the cause and also trying to stay hidden, also for obvious reasons. Eventually, Cyrus, Emmett, and Jeremiah tracked him down. They have always been at the core of it, always protecting us. Anyways long story short, the lines crossed for the first time since the Trojan War and the next thing you know my brother and I were born–my brother inheriting the wolf from my father and I the magic and cursed blood from my mother–yes that's right, cursed blood.

"I figured out how to replicate the spell, it's a spell that's been passed down to witches in our line throughout the years. It's so amazing how far one drop of blood will go.

"Anyways, we always had to run. My parents didn't want to keep putting Cyrus's pack in danger, so we moved. We moved so much I don't remember a time when I wasn't packing my bags.

"But it was alright, my parents continued to work with the others to build up the cause. We recruited more, and we started to make strategic moves. The treaty, well, I was young but I remember how horrified my parents were–my father was furious. They worked so hard to stop it but they were disorganized and trusted the wrong people–vampires who said they didn't want the treaty. All lies, they were just filthy moles–"

"I know the feeling," I drawled out.

Aurelia just rolled her eyes. "Anyways, as you know the treaty went through and the rebel movement went more or less to shit. We tried to lay low for a long time until my father felt it was time to try again. He reached out to his brother, he was always trying to find Hadrian and bring him home, but Hadrian wanted nothing to do with it–that is until one day he did find him.

"We found his mate, Willa. Such a lovely thing, looked just like Charlotte minus the eyes–" I cut her off with a snarl which just made her sigh. "He came one day. He came and my father tried to talk to him but well, I am sure you know that Hadrian killed him," she bit out. "When he did all hell broke loose. Alex caught onto our trail, and the next thing I knew vampires were drinking my mother dry in our kitchen.

"It was just me and my brother then. We swore vengeance, not just our parents but our whole line–for weres alike. It's been a long time coming, but it's worked. I told the others–Jeremiah and Emmett, that we had to be patient this time. This time, we couldn't rush.

"I knew I couldn't just bring my father back or bring Hagan back to make things right again, we needed an army–we needed to show the world that we could do this the right way. So we started to make a case for ourselves, which your little beta female caught onto, and we started to build a hard power–the rogues.

"Taking out your pack was so we could regain control in the region, Thomas was just a cute little pawn. Although I was furious at my brother for killing all those women and children."

"Were you furious about murdering my family too? Feeling guilty?" I bit out.

"I do actually," she mused. "It had to happen, but I do feel a tad guilty about that. You know, when you and Charlotte started to make some moves, well it speeded things up. Thomas I could care less about, but Emmett and Jeremiah–Jaxon," she said a little louder. "Really tossed a wrench into things, and well Emmett was just frustrating. I honestly was getting annoyed, he really just wanted his pack back."

"So what?" I huffed out. "You still do not have control over the region, my mate will never bare her neck to you."

"Well, considering I have you alphas here, I think I technically do and I think she will. She loves you, sweet Ethan, I think she will make a lovely deal with me."

I snarled at her before I let out a series of labored pants. "So, if we're such friends then why don't you just let us out?"

She chuckled as she stood up. "I still need you and I need your mate to understand, I want you to work with me not against me. Think of how much better that would be for all of us?"

"Understand what?" I spat out.

"Who she is," she breathed out with a slight smile. "The last King wolf, but don't worry Ethan I'll take these snakes with me. They've had enough to drink from you and besides, I need you to look nice for our party."

I started to growl at her before she walked off, tossing something down as the two vampire-like snakes slithered around her feet, and vanished into thin air. I let out a ragged breath and leaned my head back, trying to adjust it so the collar didn't burn the already raw flesh.

"I hate that bitch!" Ajax called out.

"Dibs on killing her!" Jaxon echoed.

"She's mine Jaxon!" Levi bit out.

"Well," Issach coughed out. "You better get in line!"

"She wanted my son," Ajax croaked out. "She–"

"She's a monster," I called back before my vision swirled again, exhaust tugging at me until I fell back into a pit of darkness.

My head was pounding and my limbs were sore. There was shaking. There was shaking, clanking, clinking, and clawing. At one point it felt like my flesh was being ripped off by the fangs of snakes, at least that's what it looked like when they were lashing it at me.

It was the vibrations that woke me up. Vibrations that shook the goddamn collar and cuffs, burning me until my eyes blinked open; we were in a new room, a club of some sort.

I was in a new cell, bars like a jail cell that were shiny in front of me and a dim light over me. I looked around and saw dancers stepping out of the boxes and the rest of our lucky group being tossed in. Levi was tossed in next to me, and Jaxon the box after him.

It smelled like rogues. I could smell them and hear cheering around me. Looking over, I saw a few people–people who looked like staff, leaning over a rail with drinks in their hands and laughing over something. There were roars and growls–fights.

I blinked hard and prayed that we weren't being thrown in again. My beast groaned in the back of my mind, he felt so weak–almost hopeless. All we could do was to hope that she was alright and safe.

We laid in the cells until what looked like bouncers came to us; I bit into one's shoulder and crushed the bone before he injected me with something else that felt like leeches latching onto the inside of my skin. I groaned as my skin grew hot and the sweat started to burn my skin that was burned raw; the next thing I knew I was being pulled up. Pulled up high while my feet struggled to stand–I could only stand on my toes, but barely.

They closed the door then left me–left me while I tried to keep myself standing so the strain of the cuffs wouldn't pull any more skin off. A deadly dance that I felt like wouldn't end–at one point I heard laughing then I felt the sting and the burn of silver at my sides. I snapped out at the assholes, the part goers that prodded at me like I was a circus animal. My beast eyed them, burned their faces into my brain so the next time we saw them we could kill them very very slowly.

"Like the party?"

I looked over to see Aurelia walking up with ripped black jeans and a loose gray t-shirt. "Fantastic," I bit out.

She pouted and shifted her weight to one hip. "Oh now, sweet Ethan no need to be a party pooper. It will be quite fun."

"I'm sure," I replied sardonically.

She waved me off. "Oh trust me, my lovely cousin will be here soon. Behave and I'll let you see her."

"Why don't you go shove one of those snakes up your ass?" I snarled out.

Her eyes widened before she smirked. "I should take offense but I don't. I would probably say the same in your position. Anyways, I brought friends to keep you company," she said as she reached into a bag and pulled out the two green snakes from earlier.

I sighed and eyed them as they slithered over to me. One quickly slid up my leg and wrapped myself around my thigh before it latched not the skin. I growled out until the other one made it to my neck. I held my breath as it rubbed its head against my skin, grimacing before it slithered down to my chest and latched on right below my right pectoral.

"Have fun, sweet Ethan," she said with a sly wave.

"Well brother, I have good news and bad news," Eli said before he walked around to lean on the bars in front of me. "Which do you want first.

I hissed as the snake sucked a little harder. "You pick."

"Alright, good news is Charlotte is coming here. She's safe, she's fine–really pissed off to say the least," he told me before he let out a long sigh. "Bad news, this place we're in–this club, is sitting on top of a few hundred rogue vampires in the basement, and crawling with witches, wolves, and their human pets.

"From what I overheard, she sent Charlotte, Talia, Andrea, Blair, and Lucas an invitation. She wants to make a deal about the portal, that's all I could hear. I am going to go see if I can't 'ghost,' some more, I have no idea how Lucas was so good at this," he finished before he gave me a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry brother. Just hold on, alright? If it makes you feel better, dad has amazing plans for her after she dies."

I choked out a laugh and nodded a little. "It does. Go, don't worry about me. Apparently, I have two new friends."

"Just hold on," Eli said as I blinked, and he was gone.

"Ethan!" Levi called out.

"Yes?!"

"You got snakes?!"

"I got two," I replied.

Levi snarled while two new party goes started to poke at me, I tried to move out of the way but I kept slipping. "I'm skinning every snake I see after I get the hell out of here."

The party goers poked some more, getting me a few times before the snakes hissed violently at them–startling them and causing them to run away. I eyed them with a curious brow as they slithered to new spots. "Territorial are we?"

They hissed then bit down again, drawing a deep grunt from me as they began to drink. Soon another witch came I and injected me with something. I asked what my drink of the night was and she said, 'Oh some wolfsbane, cocaine, a little of this, a dash of molly, you know–a nice cocktail.'

She injected me and I was floating in a sea. My heart was racing my skin perspiring, and my limbs felt like rusted parts grinding against each other. I was trying to hold on, I was so desperately trying to hold on for her. My mind felt like melted ice cream, everything was a sea of colors and blurs.

I wanted her–I wanted to be with her again, but not in this place. If I could I would keep her as far away from here as possible.

Hours passed of more poking, prodding, snakes, and other torment passed until I felt it. I felt her. I felt her coming–her scent running to me like a breath of fresh air amongst the scent of blood, drugs, snakes, dirt, rogues, and sex.

Blinking, I looked up and I thought I was dreaming. Stormy eyes locked with mine–mine that were hazy. I could barely make her out but I could see her eyes.

"Sunshine?"