"Do not link him." I sucked in a deep breath while the fire worked through me; my mother was rubbing Eve's back while Cora held me to her. "I'm sorry Charlotte, you know you can't."

I sucked in another breath. Wolves from inside the portal were handing baskets of moonstones to wolves on this side, on the side of the living–depending what your definition of living is.

I looked down as my skin finished materializing, a tingle running over it while the fire around my mark flared as my soul felt like it was being welded back together. The bond was being restored. It was like a healing water washing over me and putting the pieces of my fractured soul back together. It was like when he first bit me; like when he first marked me. I felt like our bond was waking up, shaking its fur out, and howling out in joy.

After we crossed the portal, which Susie found in another moonflower patch that was hidden, we were met by Cora's father, Micah, Cora, Jake, and fifty very confused warriors. It was a little tense at first, Cora and Jake more or less were stunned and her father thought we were some kind of demons coming over.

Eventually, Cora helped us calm her father down and explain to him what was happening; which was perfect timing because two more alphas, Zane and Quincy, showed up. I guess word travels fast around on the mountains, especially when you open up a portal to the other side of the moon.

More or less, after some growing, snarling, and talking the alphas all agreed to help. They agreed to help and said if we were able to rid the mountain of Xander, that they would bare their necks to my father and help him rid the rest of the packs of Aurelia and Hale. It also helped that both Zane and Quincy were distant cousins of ours–their families had run out here a long time ago to hide.

After, my father sent them to find a few rogues that were ill due to mate loss. It took a while, but Jake was able to sneak with some warriors into a cave and fetch six rogues–carefully and strategically, that were broken because they had subsumed to the craze of losing their mate. A craze that I felt all too much and knew all too well–that is until now.

Until the exchange was made; the wolves crying with happiness as their mate's found them on the other side while we cried of happiness as my skin turned to flesh that didn't glow with moonlike. Happiness as my soul came back to life–the bond healing and putting itself back together.

My fingers were covered in blood. My blood. My blood from where my mark was; it was fresh, like he had just put it on me. I sucked in a breath and looked at Eve, Lizzie, and Susie. Eve was staring at her hands with watery eyes while Susie tried to calm Lizzie down as she touched her mark over and over again. Susie was slightly sobbing as well, clutching her heart with a smile on her face.

"Baby girl," my father murmured to me as I pulled away from Cora who was still leaking tears from her eyes. "You know you can't link him right now. You know why."

"I know," I replied while I wiped my cheeks. "I know. It's not like I can with this damn silver," I grumbled as the silver deep in the mountains started to give me a headache.

Cora helped me up while Jake walked over to Eve. "Come on Lun–"

"Eve is fine Jake." She smiled at him and stood then wiped her eyes of tears while warriors from our side took baskets from the people inside the portal and carried them out.

"Keep the stones coming!" my father called out.

Susie nodded and walked around while Caleb held a thumbs up with Chris from the other side. I waved at them, blinking back more tears because all morning I had cried as I said my goodbyes to them. Goodbyes that were necessary, my place was not there it was here. It was with him.

"Come on Char," Cora breathed out as she pulled me closer to her.

I smiled and rubbed my temples, the silver in the mountains starting to make the headache worse. Susie jogged to me and reached into a pouch she had crossed over her shoulder; she ripped at some green leaves them to me.

"Moonflower leaves, it will help."

Quickly I put them in my mouth while Susie chewed on some herself. She gave some to Lizzie, Eve, and my parents; the leaves somehow making the headache instantly vanish.

"Jake, how did you?"

"You get used to it," he answered. "They have things to help, but eventually I just got used to it. Leaves help?"

I nodded as we walked down a path towards the pack. "They do, thanks, Susie."

"I've got plenty for everyone," she replied with a smile. "Just chew on it like gum. It's kind of gummy already."

"Man Char, Ethan is going to be pissed," Jake breathed out.

"Levi too," Eve added grimly.

"It's for their own good," Susie added. "She's watching. We can't afford for her to catch on too quickly. Not at least until we have the rogues secure. Jake, right?"

"That's right," he replied with a polite nod. "She is watching them like a hawk."

"Those crates, we need somewhere safe for them."

"The ones with the cure?" Cora asked.

"Yes," Susie replied. "Somewhere cool where they won't be harmed."

"I know a place, I can have them start moving the crates there?"

"Perfect," Susie breathed out before she looked at her hands. Her eyes watering as she looked at her skin.

"So what is she up to now?" I asked. "I take it you have all tried to kill her?"

We turned a corner while Jake nodded bleakly. "We have but it's never worked. She's got plenty of protection; snakes on the borders, men with her, she's gotten stronger–she wears this necklace of bloodstones that Bernard thinks she's harnessing power from."

"She's what?!"

Susie looked livid as we all turned towards her. We turned another corner, the population of pack wolves growing as we neared the head of it.

Jake eyed her then nodded again. "They have a new plan–"

"Which is?" Lizzie asked.

Jake looked at me cautiously. "Well, God I'm sorry Char, but she kinda has a thing for Ethan–"

"What Jake means to say is she wanted to jump his bones like yesterday," Cora cut in. "The plan is for Ethan to string her along until he can get closer to her and kill her."

The ground shook as a raging growl tore out of my chest. Lizzie zipped to me while Eve tossed in a snarl. "What?!" I bit out.

"He's doing what he has to Char," Jake said, biting his lip in an apologetic tone.

"Dad!"

"No Charlotte, you have to wait."

"Come on just let me kill her."

"No honey," my father replied apologetically.

I growled again while my beast and I went through the mental list of exactly how we wanted to kill her. It was a very long list.

Lizzie rubbed my back while Cora fussed at Jake as we walked into the pack grounds. Lizzie who had a bone to pick with Aurelia as well for everything she had put Dominic through.

"So we need to handle the rogues," my father told Micah.

"Xander will be pissed," Micah breathed out as the other alphas murmured in agreement.

"Well too bad," my father replied while my mother walked with Eve.

"When do you want to go?" Zane asked.

"Now, how many men can you three spare?"

"About a hundred?" Quincy said, eying the two other alphas who nodded in agreement.

"We don't need that many, but it in half," my father replied.

"We should have done this so long ago," Micah said, his eyes looking down at the ground in front of him in thought.

"And why didn't you?" Susie asked.

"We would still have the caves of rogues. He has people hidden away, smaller caves hidden. That's our family and friends down there. Innocent people. We can't just sacrifice them. It was bad enough that one of them was blown up and all those people in it died," Micah replied, my heart twisting because that was a decision that we made. A decision that we thought was right. Was it right? Thinking back made my head hurt more than the silver; right and wrong were so hard to distinguish.

"That and she would still come up here," Zane added with a bit of a bitter bite in his voice.

"She still may," Micah said.

My father barked out a laugh. "Let her, I would love to see her face."

"I don't think she will," Quincy thought out loud. "She only sends a runner once a week. She never comes herself–she's only been up here once. We can keep that runner busy with messages, she will never notice."

Micah growled in approval. "She's gotten too comfy."

"So has Xander." Zane looked at a few warriors and barked out orders to them while people in the pack stopped and stared at us.

Micah looked around then looked back at my father. "We can settle you in later. I take it you want to go handle Xander now?"

"Preferably," my father replied.

"Well follow me then," Micah said as he turned to head down another path.

"This ought to be good," Jake said while Cora trotted up to her father.

"Dad, want me to bring the men?"

"No love, I assume they will be here quick. I can't imagine anyone would want to miss this," he chuckled out darkly. "I should have brought my popcorn."

"Where is this Zander?" my mother asked.

"He's holding a meeting today," Quincy answered. "It should be him and his captains. We're supposed to go–I guess we sort of are," he added with a sly smile.

Micah rubbed his hands together. "Cora sweetie, link your mother and tell her we're going to have some guests for a while."

"Already did dad," she replied before she slowed down to walk with me. "We've got plenty of space. One good thing about living up here."

"Cora and I did make one room a–"

"Oh my God no," she cut in. "Jake wanted to make a room so he could smoke all kinds of meat and things and he ended up smoking our whole house up and almost setting the thing on fire!"

"But we have smoked salmon now!"

"And our house only smells like smoked salmon!" Cora replied while I bit back a laugh.

Eve rolled her eyes. "Lander tried to do that once. Needless to say, they no longer have an outdoor smoke room."

I laughed as we continued around the rugged and jagged terrain. Terrain that Cora had to help me with a few times; Susie had to give us more leaves to chew on. We made our way to the other pack that was about two miles from Micah's. One of Micah's warriors along the way told us that they had finished unloading the baskets of stones and crates of the rogue cure, that I think I bottled like half of. We bottled and bottled and bottled those little things until I never wanted to look at a vile of it again.

The other pack looked at us curiously as our group walked in. Micah and the other northern alphas assured the other wolves that there was nothing wrong, we were just going to kill their alpha. Some of them laughed at us, thinking it was a joke. We just laughed back because it was definitely not a joke. My father was set on killing the man, especially once we saw the state of his pack.

The pack that had women collared up on poles by the dozens, dirty omegas running about carrying black stones with them, and warriors training all over the place. His pack was bigger than Micah's and had more resources. They had storages of grain, what looked like to be a few fresh water wells, and plenty of meat sheds where wolves were processing their latest kills.

There was a large hall that lay at the head of it. My father eyed it then looked at Micah. "This it?"

"Yes, that's the hall."

"Come on Willa," my father said as he took my mother's hand. Blood humming and crackling with every step that made the alphas around them look on with wide eyes.

"So dad, what do we do? Just walk in and kill them?" I asked as I jogged up behind my parents.

"That's about it sweetie," he replied as we jogged up the steps to the hall.

Two warriors stood outside guarding the doors. They eyed us suspiciously before one looked at Zane. "What is this?"

"I suggest you move our of the way," Quincy answered.

My father snarled at them, scattering them before he and my mother breezed passed them. Cora's brows raised in excitement as Jake held the door open for us. "After you ladies."

I jogged in after my parents and eyed the hall. Long beams running across the ceiling while a man and a woman sat at the end of it in two elevated chairs–thrones. My beast and I vomited inwardly, these wolves were disgusting. Filthy alphas and a Luna too preoccupied with catching her own reflection in the window to caring about the wolves that were gathered around them and trying to talk to them about their pack.

The alpha, Xander I assumed, stood up and looked on at our group. "What is this Micah?"

My father and mother started walking forward while I hung back with the rest of the group. Micah shrugged. "Some new friends."

The alpha snarled as he eyed my parents. "Who the hell are you?"

My father chuckled darkly as the wolves on the floor parted for them to walk through. "Your new alpha."

Xander snarled again then marched down to meet my mother while his Luna scattered up but he was too slow. My father shoved him back against his chair then quickly shot a clawed hand into his chest–ripping his heart out while my mother tossed the Luna out of her seat before she quickly ran down to her. The woman was screaming in horror while the room stood frozen in shock. My mother snarled at her then swatted her clawed hands away before she snapped her neck.

She wiped her hands then walked over to my father as Cora looked at me with a wide smile. "Your parents are so bad ass."

"We're not going to kill you, we're here to help you," my father said. "We can help the people in the caves, the rogues. We have a way, but we have to take us to them."

"You can–you can help-help them?" a woman stumbled out.

My mother nodded with a soft smile. "Yes, we can. You don't have to worry about Xander or her anymore, we can help you but you have to show us where they all are."

"My sons are in there!" a man called out.

"My mother!"

"My mate!"

"Well let's go then," my mother said with an encouraging smile. "How many caves are there?"

"Three!" someone called out.

"Alright, we split up into three groups. We need to move fast and keep this to ourselves or all will be lost again, does everyone understand?"

"Sir!" a man jogged up with dirty blonde hair tied back in a bun. He dipped his head respectfully, casting his eyes away from looking at my parents. "My name is Mick, I'm a warrior here, I can take you to the caves. My mate is there..."

"Mick," my father breathed out. "We have some men here too. Get as many of yours as you can. You come with me–Eve you're with me too. Willa, take Zane, Quincy, and some of the men with you. Charlotte, you take Micah, Lizzie, and your friends there. Split the warriors up. Susie?"

"I need some men to come back to Micah's pack and help up carry crates to the caves. They have the cure in them. We have to be very careful."

"I can!" a man called out before he jogged forward.

"Thank you?" my mother asked as the man stopped in front of her and dipped his head respectfully.

"Stiggs," he replied. "I'm a tracker here. I can get some of our trackers to come with you. I can help–my sister's down there."

"Alright, let's move then!" Micah barked out.

It was a bit of a chaotic mess after. We were trying to organize everyone, find the caves, and carry the cures there. Lizzie wanted to poof them all, but we didn't want to waste the moonstones.

Stiggs led Micah, Lizzie, Cora, Jake, and I along with about fifty warriors carrying crates to a cave entrance. I eyed the dark mouth of the cave and looked back at Stiggs. "How many did you say?"

"Around a hundred mam," he replied as he eyed the cave, a haunting look in his eyes.

"Alright give me a torch or a flashlight," I called out.

Jake ran forward with a battery powered lantern while Micah clicked on a flashlight. "What are you going to do Char?"

I took a flashlight right as the sound of roaring echoed in the air; startling the group and causing the warriors to look around them with eyes ready for an attack. I chuckled. "It's fine it's just my mother! Let's go!"

"Your mother?" Jake asked as we walked forward.

I nodded. "Yes–" I paused and turned to look over my shoulder. "Some of you stay out with those crates! We'll come back for you when you're ready! Actually, can someone bring me a few vials?"

"I got it!" Cora rushed out. She quickly opened the lid of a crate and pulled out a few vials with sparkling white liquid in them, then ran over to me with them in her hand.

I nodded to her. "Just hold onto them, ok?"

"Ok," she breathed out as we walked towards the cave.

The cave was cool and it sounded like water was running all around us. I pushed back a shiver and continued forward as the wolves around me looked around in mix of caution and fear.

I couldn't smell them. I couldn't smell them and at first, I was taken aback until Jake pointed out the ground–the floor of black rocks covering the floor that hid the scent of the rogues.

Those poor people.

Innocent people who has such a craze invoked upon them unwillingly. People who had their mate's ripped away from them–those people I hurt the worst for. I knew that pain. There were so many nights when it would be easy to dip into the sorrow of it all–into the pain of it all.

Mostly because the pain was one of the things that reminded me that the bond was still there–it was addicting. It was like I wanted to keep touching the hot stove just so it could remind me that it was hot. I had to know if it was hot or not.

I had to know that it didn't truly die, and even if it did. It wouldn't matter to me. I would still want Ethan. I would still love Ethan. I would mark him a hundred times over again.

Lizzie and I chewed on more leaves as we continued further down the caves. The headache got worse and Micah said it was because we were closer to the silver ores. We trailed a little further until Jake let out a shaky breath while he held his hand up.

He held a finger to his lips, barely illuminated by the light that even with our sight was hard to see through the thick darkness that seemed to wrap its fingers around us. Our group paused as he walked forward, his hand cautiously holding the battery lit lantern out to show us a ledge. A ledge where there was a sea of rogues sleeping at the bottom.

It was about a ten to fifteen-foot drop into a large cavern with about a hundred rogues resting in the dark. The smell of them was evident, even with all the rocks it would be hard to hide this any of them.

"What do we do?" Lizzie asked.

"Wake them up," I breathed back as I walked towards Jake. I picked up some stones off the ground then headed towards him. "Watch out Jake," I told him before I threw the stones into the pit.

They hit the ground and sounded like firecrackers going off and echoing around us as if they were explosions of some sort. Growls and sick snarls rumbled around us as eyes opened and looked at us. Sickly eyes looked back at us before the sea of them shifted, edging towards us.

Cora sucked in a breath while my beast and I eyed them as they eyed us hungrily. They hadn't been fed. They looked so hungry–starved. I saw bones on the floor, bodies of animals and men that were reduced to bones; my beast whined. She knew that this wasn't their fault. It wasn't their fault that they were kept prisoners here.

"Charlotte?!"

I didn't listen. The rogues started to slowly move but I walked quickly to the ledge, sucking in a deep breath before I let it pour out of me–a roar. A roar that reflected off of the walls and shook the stalagmites around us–dust falling down from the roof and the rocks under our feet shaking, trembling like my friends behind me were.

The rogues were all still; some on their knees some holding onto each other so they didn't fall as they looked on at me in a mix of horror and hope. Some of them had hope.

I sighed and waved Cora forward. "We are not going to hurt you! We have a cure for you! If you were given the blood, then this will help you! If not, then we can take you to your mates!"

They were quiet for a minute; eyes widened as their brains struggled to comprehend what was happening while Cora handed me a vial. "Some are very sick Charlotte."

"They may be too far gone, we take them to the portal if we can't do anything," I replied, my heart aching for those wolves.

One rogue wolf stepped up. He looked around then looked up at us. "I'll–try. I–they gave me blood. Please?"

"Ok," I said with a reassuring smile. I looked around and found some rope ladders rolled up and sitting on a corner. I walked over and handed it to Cora who looked at me curiously. "Toss it down."

Cora unraveled it while her father and Jake tied some of the ends to thick stalagmites sticking up out of the ground. I looked down and the man and nodded to him. "Come up! Can you climb?"

"Yes," he called back up from the base.

"Come on!" Cora called back.

The male carefully climbed up, slipping a few times on the shaky ladder while the other's curiously watched him, whispers echoing about as we pulled him up. His eyes were at one point brown I think, but they were so yellow now from his sickness.

I smiled at him and uncapped the vial. "Drink this."

His shaky hands took the vial from me. He looked at it then back at me. "Safe?"

"Yes, I promise," I quickly replied. "It will make you better. It takes time to work, but you will get better."

"Ok," he mumbled out before his bony hands that mirrored the rest of him lifted the vial to his lips where he tossed it back. He drank all the liquid in the vial, then let out a breath of relief before he wiped some loose drops off of his lips.

"How do you feel?" Cora asked.

"It tastes good, like water," he replied while he sat back.

"It will take some time," I told him. "It's about five minutes for you to feel anything and an hour for it to really kick in."

"What will you do with us?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Do we have to fight?"

I shook my head with a soft smile. "Not if you don't want to. What's your name?"

He sat back and looked at me. His bony fingers picking at his brittle hair that looked almost while his lips trembled. His eyes watered, the yellow in them starting to fade while he looked back at me with tears in his eyes. "Max, my name is Max. I can feel it–I know my name."

Cora's eyes were watering as she looked at me. "It really works."

"Yes." I wiped my eyes and smiled at Max. "We have plenty for the others. Can you help?"

"Yes–course," he rushed out, laughing a little as he touched his face as if he was touching it for the first time.

I nodded then stood up and looked at the crowd that was now looking in hope at us. "Alright, we have plenty to go around. Everyone will get one, but we must go one at a time. We are going to lower the other ladders. Please make line! Remember one at a time!

"This will only if you drank the blood. If you lost your mate, then please make a line in front of ladder Lizzie will man! We will take you to your mates!"

"Really?!"

"Yes! Now come on! Do you want to be stuck in a cave for the rest of your lives?!"

"No! I don't!" a woman called up while Micah and Lizzie lowed some more rope ladders.

The woman quickly climbed up, her hands shaking and her big blue eyes clouded with yellow as she looked up at us desperately. "Help me?"

"We will," I replied as I extend my hand to pull her up. "Did you drink the blood?"

"No, they took him from me then tossed me in here," she replied, her lips quivering.

I felt my heart twist before I rubbed my cheek against her's. "I'm sorry. We can take you to him, alright?"

"Alright," she replied with a smile as I helped her stand up.

"See that woman with the black hair, go to her and wait. We'll get everyone organized then take you."

"Thank you," she replied, her voice cracking.

I let out a shaky breath then looked down at the base of the ledge. "Well come on then!"

It took a few good hours to get everyone the cure and up out of the cavern they had been trapped in. Poor wolves. They were all so scared and sick; some of them were battling so hard to hold onto their mind, while other's had all but given up. Some were just lost. Those were the ones that were the hardest. We had to jump down into the cavern and detain them–keep them from hurting others or themselves.

All the wolves that were saved by the cure were escorted out and back to their packs, if they came from on up here. If they had not come from a pack–if they had been taken, then we worked with the other alphas that still seemed terrified of my father, to secure them a temporary place to stay. Many wolves in the mountains were taking them in. We thought about putting tents and lights in the caves, but that only horrified them and I didn't blame them. I wouldn't want to set foot inside a cave ever again if I were them.

We walked the rest, the ones who had their mate's ripped away from them back to the portal where Caleb, Daphne, Chris, and Margaret were there to help them. Wolves had finished taking baskets of the stones and were now taking baskets of flowers that we needed to quickly plant.

"Where can we grow these? We need a place where the soil is good and where they will get plenty of moonlight," Susie asked Cora while we watched as the rogue wolves walked across the portal and to their loved ones.

"I know a place. My sister and I used to play there, there's plenty of room," she replied as Jake helped a man, almost crippled with sickness, across the portal.

My father walked forward with my mother and Eve, both of them smiling as they eyed the rogue wolves that were finally meeting their mates again. "How did it go?"

"Good," I replied. "Micah and the others are trying to get the cured ones homes for now. Many are going back to their families, but there are a lot of humans dad–turned humans that have no place to go."

My father frowned as my mother rubbed his arm. "After this is over, we can work with the other packs to move them. There has to be room on the flatlands as well."

"Did you find a place for the plants?" my mother asked Susie.

She nodded and looked over at Cora. "I think that Cora has a place."

"Good," my father breathed out before he looked up at Caleb from across the portal. "After this is done, close it up! We'll bowl call you!"

"Perfect!" Caleb said with a jump.

"Tell Ethan and Evan hello for us!" Margaret called out as Evangeline waved to me with teary eyes.

"I will!" I called back before I waved to them again.

Evangeline had eventually come around; we spent my last few days together just laughing, crying, and eating way too much food that her mother baked. I swear her mother's goal in life was to feed everyone as many baked goods as possible. She and Liam were doing really well and she had become good friends with Lydia. She was happy. I was happy to see her happy. I think regardless of where they ended up, any of my loved ones, I just wanted to know that they were happy.

"Tell Andrea hello!"

I nodded then took my mother's hand before we walked away. I knew if I stood there any longer that I would start crying again. Lizzie took my arm as Cora walked up next to Susie. "I think Jake has it under control here. Do you want to go look at that spot?"

"Please," Susie said. "Lizzie?"

"Gardening? Sounds like retirement, let's go," Lizzie said while Eve rolled her eyes.

Eve walked over to me and slipped her arm in mine, her red hair in a messy fishtail braid that Lydia had done for her that morning before we crossed. She took a long breath of air, her free hand mindlessly touching her mark that was as fresh as mine. "How were the rogues in your cave?"

"Well, I guess good now," I replied. "It was awful Eve. They looked like they hadn't eaten for too long, very dehydrated, living in a mess–their own feces making up a lot of the floor."

"Us too," she replied as her beast whined. "I can't believe someone would treat people that way. Take people like that."

"They are deplorable," my father said. "I have stopped being surprised when it comes to them."

"What's next dad?"

"Well, let's try to help get all the new wolves squared away and then we can meet with everyone. I think Micah is a little shell shocked still."

"Well, we did just come back from the dead," I answered while my mother laughed.

"It's true dear," she added.

My father kissed her cheek then wrapped an arm around her, leading us all out and back to the pack. We helped Micah get the wolves into homes that didn't have families to go to. Eve and I also pitched a lot of tents for them as well–thick tents that Micah said were at times warmer than the cabins.

Quincy and Zane took some wolves as well. Quite a few of them had family back in their packs, but quite a few of the wolves were humans that had shifted then been turned rogue. They had no idea about our world or what the hell was going on with them.

I felt so horrible for them. I shuddered to think of what would happen if Levi had not helped me–if I had been left on my own. Families had stepped up to take them in and help them–help them understand how to work with their beast instead of fight it.

Cora's mother had made us dinner that night. Her mother was a lovely woman, much like Cora with short blonde hair and Hazel eyes–Frieda. Quincy and Zane came as well to join us, celebrating the liberating day.

We had eaten our bellies full of meat Cora's dad had smoked and drank wine that her mother had plenty of–when she showed us their wine cellar I knew that I immediately loved her mother.

"So Hadrian," Zane said as he swallowed down some roasted potatoes. "We need to talk about the rogues. It's going to be cramped right now, but there's more in those warehouses?"

"Yes," my father answered. "I was thinking after all this hell is over that we can work with the flatlands alphas, they may have room for them as well."

"That's a good idea," Quincy thought out loud. "It would be easier to move them there from the warehouses than to here."

"So what's the plan then Alpha King?" my father snapped his eyes up to look at Micah who just started chuckled as he wiped his mouth. "Well, you just took Xander's pack. Ours are all smaller, but the mountains were meant to be as one."

"You have our necks, Hadrian. Today my son came home to me, for that, I will never be able to thank you enough," Quincy added with a smile that made my heart swell.

My father sighed then gave him a tired smile. "Let's talk about those details later. We need to go over how we are preventing this from happening again, by more or less killing that woman and my little brother."

"So what's the plan?" Jake asked while I took a bite of roasted carrots on my plate.

"Well, we take our her hard power, her allies, we rally the vampires, and we rally the witches."

"The vampires?" Frieda asked.

"I know how many of you must feel," my mother said with a soft smile. "Many of them are very good, like Lizzie here. Her mate is a vampire and is the reason our daughter is here. He's our dear friend like many of them. They're are bad apples, but they're arguably bad apples in our kind as well–very bad apples."

"Agreed," Quincy added. "We trust you then. Lizzie here doesn't seem too bad."

"Not as long as you keep feeding her these potatoes," Lizzie said with a smirk that had the room laughing together.

"Do you need blood?" Frieda asked.

"Yes, but don't worry. I'll find some sheep or a deer," she replied before she put a whole fingerling potato in her mouth, causing Susie and I to both bite back laughs.

"So after that, then what?" Cora asked.

"Well she has this 'National Council' meeting coming up and I thought we should attend," my father answered simply.

"You just want to show up and kill her?" Cora raised her brows before she eyed her father whose hand had paused carrying the fork with meat on it to his mouth.

"No, I want to show up, kill her, and wipe out any pack or more like pack member that supports her."

"But how would we know?" Zane asked.

"The moon plants," Susie mused. "You can get moon plants are your local hardware store, not like ours of course, but we can enchant some seeds so they will grow into adult plants quickly. We can pass by the houses with moon plants growing in front of them, a sign that they are loyal to us."

"That's a good idea, Susie," my mother said with an excited smile. "Do we have seeds from ours?"

"Yes, but we need them so we can make sure we can continue growing stones."

"Right then, what of the other Alpha's?" Micah asked.

"We would rally the other alphas that support us, not the core ones at first," my father said. "She watches them very closely and we need her hard power gone before we can bring them to light. That and, well we could just kill her but like my daughter thought–I want to take everything she loves away then make her watch it burn.

"We can rally them and see if we can't move the warehouse rogues to them. The caves would be good, but the wolves are not for it and I don't blame them."

"We also need the runner that came to Xander's to keep bringing messages to her."

"I can handle them," Jake said. "She only sends one up a week. Really, she just relies on them because she trusted Xander to handle the rest. "

"What of their pack members? Any of them turning?" I asked.

"Their pack members are celebrating right now," Zane chuckled out. "The ones that have opposed it have already been handled. She won't know, that pack is more than happy that those creatures are gone."

"Perfect," Susie said with a sly smile. "So the meeting is in a week?"

"Yes, this Friday. She's already sent out invitations, they've been preparing for a while now," Jake answered.

"Perfect," my father breathed out as his eyes swirled, a storm with lightening ready to strike.

"So we can get the rogues in place, get the vampires and witches in place, then we?"

My father flickered his eyes to Jake. "We go to the core alphas. We can bring Levi and Ethan here first, for obvious reasons. We'll snag Dominic when we pay a visit to the vampires."

"How are you getting them here?" Zane asked.

"Moondust," Susie replied before she took a sip of wine. "Much like her vanishing dust but stronger. Much stronger. We can poof them. I have some dust but I need to make more so I'll need some extra hands."

"Consider it done," Micah replied with a nod. "So Hadrian, you get everyone in place, then what?"

"We march into the meeting, say hello, and kill her," my father answered before he took a bite of the steak on his plate.

"I love it," Zane chuckled out.

"She'll have all the packs there," my mother said. "Well, we can kill her or drag her here and toss her in the portal. We are planning on destroying that portal after, by the way."

"So let's do this," Micah pondered. "My men and I will see to the rogues in the caves that we have here and we can ensure that they are revived."

"Dad, I can go with Charlotte to the warehouses?"

"Me too," Lizzie added.

"Me three! I love a good party," Susie chimed in.

"Well let's just make it a family affair," my mother laughed out. "Jake dear, can you call those humans? Let's make some arrangements."

"Yes mam," Jake replied before he wiped his mouth.

"What of the non-core alphas?" Zane asked.

"Snatch them and bring them here. We can talk to them and that way they can help us with the warehouse rogues," my father said.

"When?" Micah asked.

"Can we tomorrow? Tomorrow night?"

"Let's snatch them in the morning then," Susie said.

"Right," my father said before he leaned back in his chair and looked at the other alphas. "Girls, I need to chat with them."

"I can take them to where they're staying?" Cora offered.

"That would be good sweetie, Hadrian, we have scotch?"

"Scotch is fine, thank you," my father breathed out with a soft smile.

Cora stood as my father leaned down to kiss my mother before he nuzzled her neck. I bid my goodnights to the other alphas before I walked to my parents and hugged them; Lizzie walked to me with Eve, taking my hand while we followed Cora and Susie out of the house.

We walked a ways through the pack by cabins and wolves that yipped happily at us as they saw us. My heart was filled with a warm joy, the mountains already felt better. It already felt more free.

We turned down a path until we got to a set of some simple cabins that were tucked into some of the trees, giving them privacy from the eyes of the pack. "Ok, Eve, Susie, and Lizzie–you're all here," Cora said as she pointed to a cabin that looked like it was built as a part of the mountain before she pointed to another cabin down a hill from it. "Charlotte, you and your parents are there. We had the bags you brought taken there."

"Thank you, I'm going to check on the plants if you don't mind," Susie breathed out as she looked around. "Chew on the leaves if you get a headache."

"Yes mom," Lizzie teased before she took Eve's hand. "Come on, let's see if that vodka actually made it."

Eve grimaced. "I hate vodka."

"You're about to love it!" Lizzie called back while Cora and I walked to the other cabin.

The cabin Cora had us in was simple, it was simple and I loved it. It reminded me of Levi's cabin in a way. The living room opened up into the kitchen; there was a fireplace in the living room and a gas-powered stove in the kitchen. Cora showed me the dry room in the basement where you could keep vegetables, jarred items, and smoked meats if you wanted. There was a small gas powered long refrigerator that laid on the floor there. Cora said they would bring us some meat so we could cook if we wanted–I just hoped I wouldn't have to be here long. I just hoped that I would be back in my own home soon.

"So, this is your room," Cora said as she opened a door. The room had a simple bed with a blue plaid comforter, a chest in front of the best, and a rocking chair in the corner. "But I think we should build a fire and have dessert."

I quickly turned and hugged her, letting out a long breath while I nuzzled her cheek. "Thank you."

"Thank you, do you realize how many people can go home to their families? How many families are together again?"

"Yes," I replied as I stepped back. "Well no, well–chocolate?"

Cora laughed then took my hand and pulled me into the living room where we quickly built up a fire and spread some blankets out. We dug around in the kitchen until finally Cora found a box of hot chocolate mix and a bottle of Bailey's. The two of us ended up on the floor, drinking our baileys and hot chocolate while the fire crackled on.

"So what was it like there?"

I shrugged. "I honestly, well, it's fading. Susie made us write everything down in journals so we wouldn't forget. It's like this weird dream."

"You wrote it down?"

I nodded. I wrote everything down religiously, we all did. The plan–the stones, it was all too important to let slip away. However, we all agreed after the mess was over that we would burn them. There was much about the other side that was a mystery because it was meant to be so.

"Yes, but just the necessities like things about the stones," I told her as she nodded into her hot chocolate.

"How does it feel? To be back?"

My fingers instantly went to my neck, causing my skin to shiver and heart to throb. "I hate that I can't go to him."

"I know. I'm so sorry," Cora replied before she gave my knee a squeeze while the fire crackled behind us.

"So what have I missed?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Well, after things went to shit and we came out of hiding, we got word that my father was up here. Ethan wouldn't let us go at first, and I get it. It was a wild goose chase, but then my father sent a messenger down and well, Jake and I came up here. We've been helping my father and the other's keep an eye on things from up here."

"Your father's a good man."

"He thought he was seeing a ghost when I came back," she said with a soft smile. "I never thought I would see him or my mother again."

"So what else?"

"Well, let me think–Oh, Lucas found his mate!"

"What?!"

Cora laughed while I struggled to not spill the liquid out of my mug. "Yup, found her the day we went underground. Jane–Jaxon's younger sister."

"No shit," I breathed out.

"Mhmm," she hummed out. "The moon's timing is impeccable."

"That's insane," I added as Cora's eyes grew wide before she covered her mouth. She started laughing. Laughing hard which made me wonder if I should go get some of the cure for her. "Uh, Cora?"

"It's your father!"

"What?! What about him?!"

"Oh my God this is quite the day," she laughed out.

"Cora!"

"He just made my father his beta."

My mug hit the ground and liquid went everywhere. Cora and I jumped up; she ran to the kitchen and grabbed a rag then tossed it to me. "God, sorry," I rushed out as I began to clean up my mess, my mind still trying to wrap around what had happened.

"It's fine, it's–well, we're really celebrating now!"

"How? This is his pack, I don't understand..."

"My father never really wanted to be an alpha, but there was no one," she explained while we dabbed away at the rest of the liquid on the floor. "Our pack's have always been small, scattered–almost a hodge podge.

"The rumor was that this is where anyone with King blood would come to hide, although anyone who claimed to have it–like my mother, was seen as a little crazy. She thought she was way down the line, barely any in her. Like I said, we thought she was crazy, but it makes sense. No one would look up here for anyone, not many can handle these mountains."

"Holy shit." I sat back as Cora picked up my mug. "We're like cousins?"

Cora laughed and started to make me a new drink. "I guess. I'm not sure in the line my mother landed, but Zane and Quincy always claimed to be too. My father thought they were crazy, but I guess not now."

"My father's the alpha of the mountains," I muttered more to myself.

"It's been quite the day." Cora walked to me and handed me another mug. "It's going to be fun day tomorrow. You're going to kidnap those alphas?"

"More or less ya," I replied. "The moon dust is tricky at first, but it's useful."

"Well here's to killing a witch, a wolf, and the moon dust."

I clinked my glass with hers and sighed. "Here's to the moon dust."