''Theo!! Theo!!.... Theo, man can you hear me?''

The four of us are standing outside the cell with Theo frozen in place, his was gaze stuck on the forest, particularly the spot Sebastian disappeared to.

''What should we do Athena? We now know that it's him, '' Mila asked.

''Theo, Theo snap out of it!'' I shouted but he didn't respond.

''You need to make a decision Athena,'' Charles whispered. I nod and took a deep breath.

''We are not following him right now. Charles alert the betas, I'm speaking to the alpha's. We're calling a meeting right now! I don't care how late it is. Mila go to Aiden and bring out all the poison he has prepared including the wolfs-bane.''

''On it Athena, but what about him?'' Charles gestured to Theo who was still in shock. ''I'll deal with it, you guys go.''

They both go in different directions and I turn to Theo.

''Theo...hey, come on, you need to snap out of it babe. We have to fight back now, come on Theo please,'' I whisper but he still didn't respond, I tried a few more times but  still failed.

''Okay that's it!!'' I  swing my left hand, slapping him hard on the face. He fell to the ground clutching his cheek.

''Athena, what the hell!!''

''Ahhh finally! Do you know how long I've been trying to snap you out of it?''

''Where is he? Where is that son of a bitch??'' Theo shouts and starts walking towards the forest, but I grab his arm. ''He is long gone Theo.''

''And you guys were doing what?! We should have followed him and killed him then and there.''

''Theo, I can't believe I'm saying this but, you need to calm down babe. Just killing Sebastian won't end this, we have the witches and rogues to deal with too. For now, we have called a meeting with all the pack alpha's. After everything that happened tonight, one thing is for sure, A war is coming, with Sebastian leading the enemy side.''

''How was I so blind to this, how did I believe he changed? I'm such an idiot,'' He shook his head.

''You are not an idiot Theo, you are a strong powerful alpha and he is your cousin brother. You didn't do anything wrong, he did and now he will pay for it and we will do it together okay?''

''Okay love, and thank you for snapping me out of it.'' 

 I smile and kiss him softly on the lips, ''Always.''

''Hey you guys, good to see you're still not frozen in shock Theo,'' Charles starts, ''The meeting is in place but not here. We are meeting at Shadow pack since Ashton and Olivia are already there, something about Olivia's best friend coming back and all.''

''Okay, let's all head there now, '' Theo says and the four of us head towards Shadow. ''I've alerted Noah and Ray, they will man the borders.''

We are at Shadow packs dining hall, waiting for Ethan and Axel to arrive. Since they are furthest from Shadow it's understandable for them to come late.

''Why have you gathered us here so late in the night Athena?'' Benjamin asks in his gruff voice.

''We have something very important to tell you all, just waiting for Crimson pack to arrive,'' Theo answered him.

''This better be good Theo,'' Ashton spoke up from the corner he was huddled in.

''Ohh trust me Ashton, you'll love it.'' I look around the room and notice a girl standing next to Sean, she was definitely older than him and had ginger colored hair with bright green eyes. She notices me staring and smiles.

''Athena!! Come let me introduce you to my bestest friend in the world,'' Olivia comes and pushes me towards the ginger. 

''Olivia, are you drunk?''

''Maybe...maybe not,'' she slurred and faltered in her steps. 

''Okay, come on, you need to sit,'' I  I push her towards a chair. 

''No, no, no...you need to meet my friend, I'm sure you will love her. She can be our new wine buddy,'' she whispered the last part like it was a secret.

''I'll meet her some other time, for now we have other matters to attend to, '' I tell her and she pouts like a small child then gestures the ginger to come closer. 

''Athena, this is Michelle, Benjamin's eldest. Michelle this is Athena, the alpha female,'' Olivia whispered again.

''Hi, nice to meet you,'' I extended my hand and whispered too . 

''Nice to meet you too, ''she shook it, ''but why are we whispering?''

''Hahahahah gotcha!!'' Olivia laughed out loud and everyone turned to look at the three of us.

 ''uhh Ashton, I believe you have work to do,'' I tell him and gesture towards his mate. He comes and picks Olivia up bridal style. I hear him grumbling something about how she can't keep her alcohol down.

''So how do you know Olivia? ''I ask Michelle.

''college,'' she replies. Huh, not much of a talker is she?

Soon we were joined by Ethan, Axel and Nadia who looked completely out of breath. ''Okay, so now that everybody is here, Theo, Athena why don't you tell us why?'' Benjamin announces and everyone turns their gazes to us.

I signal Theo to talk and he starts, ''We know who the blue eyed wolf is, '' he announces and I hear gasps from around the room. 

''Well boy go on, tell us then, who is it?''

''It's my cousin, Sebastian.''

''What!!! Theo are you sure? I mean he is your cousin. Your family.'' Ethan said.

''I know Ethan, but it is the truth, we just found out an hour ago,'' he replies and proceeds to tell everyone of our plan.

''Damn, you're were right. This is good, '' Ashton says, ''so what do we do now?''

''Aiden,'' Theo gestures and the younger Argent comes forward. ''Aiden here has been making various types of poisons using the blood-root and wolfs-bane, we all knew that a war was coming, so I suggest we all gear up, because the timeline has just moved up. Sebastian disappeared into the forest as soon as we saw him. We now know that the rogues and the witches work for him, and Caleb too for that matter. We have to be prepared people.''

Everyone starts whispering and talking, I notice Nadia giving a strange look to Ethan who in turn had his eyes set on Michelle. ''Oh god no, now is really not the time,'' I whispered to myself.

''Well now that it's out in the open that one of their own betrayed them, do we all agree to stand and fight by Crescent packs' side?'' Ashton announces and both Ethan and Benjamin shout a 'Yes we do.'

''Since we are all gathered here, I guess now would be the perfect opportunity to announce that in two months' time my son Sean will be taking up the Alpha position,'' Benjamin declares and pats Sean's back. We all go and congratulate him.

''I have an announcement to make too, '' Sean says, ''As the future alpha of Shadow pack I take this opportunity to announce my beta, Taylor Marshall, would you please join me here.''

The small crowd parts and a girl walks up to stand next to him.

''Your beta is a girl?'' Ashton asks and all the females present turned to glare at him. ''That is not what I meant, sorry.''

''Yes my beta will be a female, and this is all thanks to Athena who convinced the council that it is okay to have a female lead you, and more than okay for her to have power. So here is to equality among male and females!!'' he shouts and we all cheer. I give him a nod of encouragement and he smiles in response raising his glass to me.

Soon Ashton, Olivia and few others leave to prepare themselves for the upcoming battle. The rest of us are staying back when Axel suddenly shouts.

 ''Ethan come on bro, we should leave too,'' 

I look at the both of them inquisitively and notice a playful smile on Axel's face.

''What's going on there?'' Theo asks me.

 ''I have no idea,'' I reply, when Nadia walks up to us smiling ear to ear. ''What's gotten you so happy?''

''Well seems like our alpha finally found his mate and Axel there is messing with him,'' she replies.

''Ethan found his mate, who is it?'' Theo asks looking around.

''Michelle Reed,'' Nadia and I reply in unison. 

''How did you know? He only told Axel about it.''

''I saw the way they were looking at each other earlier,'' I reply and she mouthed an ohhh.

''But there seems to be a problem. Michelle just returned two weeks ago and she doesn't want to leave her family yet.''

''Now that's a problem, a very big problem. What does Ethan have to say about it?'' Theo asked his sister.

''As you can see, he is not happy about leaving her here, but I guess they are coming to some sort of agreement,'' she replies and gestures towards the pair who seem to be in a heated discussion.

''Well love, we should get going too, after all I have a backstabbing cousin to kill,'' Theo growls and I look him wide eyed.

''Theo Argent, I have never been more attracted to you than right now,'' I whisper and he shudders under my touch.

''Then why are we still here love?''

A smirk plays on my lips as I raise an eyebrow at him, ''why are we still here indeed.''

''So uhhh we should be going now, we have things to do...uhh I mean prepare,'' I say hastily.

Theo and I leave the hall with Charles and Mila on our heels. ''Wait up guys, what's the hurry?'' Charles calls but we don't reply.

''What's up with those two?'' he asks Mila. 

''Beats me.''

As soon as we got home, Theo pushes me against the wall. ''What is it you were saying about being attracted to me love?'' he growls lowly in my ear. I grab him by the shirt and kiss him hard. We make our way to the sofa and he laid me down. 

''Wait...wait...wait...,'' I call out and he stops midway. ''Should we be doing this? I mean we are at the brink of a war and...it's not weird, is it?''

''Weird is you stopping me mid-way love, this may be the last time we get to do this before Sebastian comes with his army. So how about we forget about it all and just enjoy tonight, okay?'' he says and kisses my nose. 

''Okay,'' I reply and pull him to me.

I woke up the next morning in my bed stark naked. The images from last night flashed in my mind and a blush creeps up.

''How did we even get to the room?'' I ask myself as I grab my robe and put it on. 

''Wouldn't you like to know love?'' Theo says in his husky voice from the bed.

''You know what, I actually don't want to know,'' I reply and head to the shower and then walk to my closet to get ready. I put on my stretchy black jeans, a black lace bralette and put on a nude crop top. Once Theo gets ready we both walk down for breakfast and are joined by Mila and Charles.

''We cannot just sit and wait you know, who knows what he could be doing right now? We should at least try to track him down,'' Charles said as he munched on his waffles.

''Yeah you're right but where do we even look for him? I mean, we could have gone to the witches' cave but he ran in a totally different direction. Who knows from where he will attack?'' I wonder out loud.

''But that's just it you guys, what if he did that to mislead us. What if he purposely ran in the opposite direction and circled back to the witch graveyard. Our first instinct was to run after him and I am a hundred sure he thought that too, that's why he went the other way,'' Theo muses.

''But we didn't. We didn't go after him and chose to tell the others first, so that sort of put a dent in whatever he had planned. Who knows what would have happened if we had followed him, '' I conclude.

''That's precisely the point. The only downside is that now we have no idea where he is,'' Charles says.

''Except one place, He needs the witches by his side and the witches channel their power from the graveyard so that is where they will all be,'' Theo concludes and his eyes widen in realization.

''that's where they are, the witches' graveyard.''

''So what do we do now, take the fight to them?'' I question him. 

''Yes love, that's exactly what we will do.''

As soon as we are done with breakfast we started  mind linking Ethan and the others. We agreed that we will all be meeting at Crimson pack, since it is closer to the caves.

Theo calls for Noah and Ray and briefs them on the pack security. ''If worse comes to worse gather the women and children and take them to the bunkers, only you know the location to it Ray. The security should be tight at the borders Noah, no rogue should pass it.''

''Yes Alpha,'' they both bow in respect and leave. Hazel and Cathy come up running to me. ''We are coming with you Athena,'' Hazel says. 

''No you're not, you both cannot come.''

''Athena please, we are your friends, we can't let you walk in a fight like that,'' Cathy tried to reason with me.

''And I can't let you walk into a fight like that too. I have already lost one friend to this war I cannot afford to lose anymore. Besides we will need warriors here Hazel, the rogues can attack anytime. Tell you what, why don't you go prepare the female guard, if things start to go downhill I will call for you, okay?''

She hesitated at first but then agreed. ''Take care Athena and please don't die out there,'' Cathy says and the three of us hug each other. 

''I'm not making any promises,'' I reply and walk up to Theo.

''Ready to go love?'' he asks.

 I release the breath I was holding and reply, ''ready.''

We are met with Mom, dad, Ethan, Nadia and Axel as soon as we get to Crimson. I hug my parents and see mom trying to hold back her tears.

''I never thought that Sebastian would do something like this,'' she cries, ''you all make sure he pays for it, okay kids?''

''Yes mom, now stop worrying too much.'' Ethan tells her and kisses her on the forehead, ''We will be back before you know it'.''

 We start walking towards the caves and I notice my father coming with us too.

''Dad, you're coming with us, why? You should stay here with mom.'

''Are out of your mind princess, you think I will let my kids walk into a war alone? Now come on we've got a bastard to put down,'' he pushes me forward. 

I exchange worried looks with Ethan. ''I tried to get him to stay, but you know dad, '' he shrugged. 

We are met with Benjamin and Ashton half way who have come prepared for the war. ''We've got our men on standby all over the place, they are just one call away,'' Sean says and I could see the excitement on his face over being involved in a fight.

''Calm your horses down son, this is not a game we are playing. We are going into battle, this is real, people will die so tune that excitement down a notch,'' Benjamin scolds him.

We reached the caves and decided to hide behind the boulders to see if there was any activity, and sure enough we catch sight of the two witches standing over a fire and chanting loudly in Latin, but there was no sign of Sebastian or the rogues.

The fire suddenly increases as the witches poured blood into it, lighting up the area brighter than it already was. It is now afternoon but it seems like evening as the skies get darker.

''Holy shit!! Don't tell me they can control the weather too!'' Aiden whisper shouts from behind us.

''Looks like it,'' someone replies.

''Ohhhh yes.... they can do that and much much more, little Argent,'' A smooth voice calls from inside the cave as Sebastian walks out with his hands wide open, ''come out, come out wherever you are,'' he calls out in a sinister voice.

Aiden tries to stand up, but Theo pulled him down, ''You're not going anywhere.  Stay here!'' he scolds him.

''You do realize that I can hear all of your heartbeats, don't you? So why don't you all come out from your hiding places and if not, then one of my witches will gladly make you!'' Sebastian sneers.

''No body move,'' Benjamin warns.

''Very well then, don't say I didn't warn you. Celeste my lovely, why don't you show our friends the consequences of not doing what I want them to do.''

I hear a grunt of pain from behind me and turn to find Aiden levitating off the ground.

 'Oh goddess, Aiden, get down,'' Nadia yells.

''I can't,'' he grunts, ''it's the witches, they are controlling me.''

We all see Aiden floating towards Sebastian. Once he reached him, the witches released their hold on him and he fell to the ground at Sebastian's feet.

Sebastian picks up Aiden by the throat, his feet dangling on the ground. ''You will pay the price with your life because your dear friends didn't listen to me,'' he hisses and puts pressure on his neck. I couldn't take it anymore and made myself visible.

''Sebastian, Stop!!'' I shout and walk towards him, ''Please stop. Let him go.''

He lands his gaze on me and a smile makes its way on his face. ''Well darling, how can I say no to you,'' he smirked and let's go of Aiden who falls to the ground gasping for air. I rush to help him up.

''I knew you couldn't stay away Athena,'' Sebastian says and moves closer to me.

''Why are you doing this Sebastian?'' I ask him as I take a step backwards. 

''Isn't it obvious Athena, I want to be Alpha. That chair, that position is mine, mine, not his but mine!!'' he  shouts in my face.

''There is a better way to do this Sebastian, please.''

''Ohh but darling there isn't, the only way for me to be Alpha is for Theo to die, besides that's not the only reason I want him dead,'' he comes closer to me and grabs me by the shoulders. 

''What are you doing Sebastian, let me go!''

''You sick bastard let go of her!!!'' Theo shouts and comes out from his hiding place, but Selene blasts him with a spell and he falls backwards. 

''Theo!!!!!!!!'' I scream and try to run to him but Sebastian's grip on me is too tight.

''Theo!!'' I shout again, and this time I elbow Sebastian in the ribs and make a run for it. I'm just a few more steps away from my mate when I hit an invisible barrier. What in the world! I turn the other way and once again bang into the barrier.

''You can't escape it darling, look around you,'' Sebastian walks up to me with his hands behind his back. I look down and see that I'm standing in between a circle of salt. Damn these witches to hell!

''Let me out Sebastian,'' I growl at him.

''Not until you behave darling.''

''Okay fine, fine, just...just please tell me he is okay, please.'' 

He is about to answer me when I hear a groan as Theo gets up and immediately rushes to me but he hits the barrier and is unable to get in as he too bounces back.

''Wrong move cousin,'' Sebastian chuckles.

''Now that I have you where I want darling, let's talk,'' and with that he walks in to the circle.

***

Thoughts?

how bad is evil Sebastian? Why do you think he wants to 'talk' to Athena??

Next chapter is the war and it's the last chapter!!!

-Jessica.S