Scott watched the countdown on his phone.

Forty seconds.

Thirty seconds.

Twenty seconds.

Hunter could feel the tension from the angels as each second ticked away. The elder angel said not a second more, and Hunter knew she meant it.

Ten seconds- Hunter felt him.

Jacota's scent found his mates nostrils like he was standing right in front of him. The pleasant smell of the soap they shared and his organic toothpaste. The God's presence helped Hunter to release his breath, and his blood started pumping again. His mate was close, but was Bren with him too?

"Times up," Duke said and turned towards the window, expecting to see the angels colliding with the werewolves. The line that divided the two beings was still untouched, and someone stood in between it. "Jacota!" he spoke with relief. "He made it!"

"I told you he would," Hunter said and stepped into the garden, breathing in the humid air. His pack followed, and they pushed their way through the werewolves once again, moving to the front line.

"Please," Hunter heard his mate say. "Please let me have this chance. I can fix the tear. Panuleon will heal Bren's mate, and we will all be strong enough to mend it."

When Hunter approached him, he rested a comforting hand on Jacota's hip, wanting to hug him and kiss him, but now was not the time.

Jacota's fingers tingled. It wasn't because he craved his mate. Another God was extremely close. He turned his head when Sam stood next to him. The power from the Beta wolf was unmistakably the power of a God. He stared for long enough to make Sam shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Jacota forgot about Sam being Hunter's twin."Flora?" he asked.

Sam nodded.

"You knew?" Hunter asked his mate, forgetting the urgency of the angels.

"I had my suspicions."

"How?"

Sam and Jacota stared with expressions that made Hunter feel stupid.

"You say you can close the tear," Angelette said in her bold voice, silencing the boys. "Then do it. We don't have time to waste. Do it now!"

Jacota grabbed Hunter's hand and started pulling him back through the crowd of confused werewolves. "Sam, get William. You need his strength too."

The other Gods met Jacota with their mates. The werewolves formed a circle around them to watch. Jacota could feel their nerves as Bren, and a newly healed Clare stood with them too.

When Sam returned, he was covered in a thick layer of nerves. "Jacota," he whispered, "I don't know what I'm doing."

"Don't worry. You only need to stay calm. Let the power do the work for you, okay?"

Sam nodded as the Gods formed a more extended line, now that they included their mates.

"You got this," William said and stood on the end of the row, holding his mates hand. Sam's skin felt clammy against his palm. The human found it very hard to keep up with all the changes, but he was usually very observant and knew not to stress, it would only make his mate feel overwhelmed. "You can have a chat with Flora after all of this is over. She'll help you."

Sam nodded and took Hunter's hand. His felt just as sweaty. They were all nervous. Thousands of angels stood at the end of the field and in the forest ready to fight Jacota if their powers failed. Everyone willed them to succeed, but nobody knew if they would.

"Ready?" Jacota asked Bren, holding out his hand for the God of fire standing on his left.

"No." Bren stared at the sky. There was something deadly and cold about the tear that sucked the joy out of his entire body. He wanted it gone, and by doing so, he had to put his differences with Jacota aside. When his fingers touched the God of lightning's hand, an odd sense of motivation and encouragement rippled through him and the others.

"Ready?" Jacota yelled again for all the Gods and their mates to hear. Their families had pushed through the crowd and stood behind them, wanting to watch.

Flora stood with Duke and Madison, looking from Hunter and Sam, picking up their similarities and wondering if her powers didn't hide so deep, she might have known that Sam was her daughter's son too.

One by one, the Gods and their mates raised their united hands in the air, feeling the powers from Jacota seeping through them. William, being the only human, found it very strange to be fuelled by a supernatural force.

"Summon your powers!" he yelled as everyone closed their eyes. Sam didn't know how to do that. He hoped Flora's powers would know what to do.

William gasped when a hot buzz tingled his palm and the hand that gripped the handle of his walking stick burnt against the metal. He dropped it and wobbled into his werewolf. He tried to balance himself but his leg caved, and he started to fall to his knees.

Sam opened his eyes, just in time to see Kaiden steadying his mate. "Continue," the demon mumbled, knowing William's walking stick would be no use to him with so much power throwing off his balance.

Milokan beamed with pride. His soulmate came a long way in six thousand years. When they first met, Kaiden tried to kill the angel. Now he willingly helped others without being forced.

Sam closed his eyes again and the gold glow pulsed around their hands, flickering like the tear and hugging their skin.

The werewolves around them gasped and backed away, fearing the unknown.

The Gods and their mates breathed deeply, sharing their strengths and preparing to tackle the cracks in the sky. Sam wasn't familiar with the godly power. He felt swamped the moment it entered his body. Even Kaiden felt the power, and he wasn't a part of their group.

Jacota was first to open his eyes. The gold replaced his button browns, swirling around his pupils. "Breathe," he thought to Sam, feeling weakness in his friend. "Let it flow. You can do this."

Sam took a breath big enough to fill his lungs to their capacity. His hands shook in Hunter's and William's grip. He squeezed until his knuckles turned white and his fingers pulsed.

"Relax," Hunter murmured. Sam released his breath, fueling Jacota with enough power to emit the gold light from his chest. Everyone else opened their eyes and watched their powers combine into one big line of gold. It hit the tear, and a screech roared through the air, hurting any human who could see the black hole.

William cried out in pain and relied on Kaiden to keep him on his feet. He didn't let go of Sam's hand, even though he wanted to. The power hurt him like it was pulling at each muscle, prodding him with needles.

The angels watched in amazement as a gold rim formed around the tear and it stopped growing almost immediately. The cracks froze in place, but the noise of grinding metal intensified until Oliver and Corey dropped to the ground, covering their ears.

The tear started shrinking, dissolving in the sky as the cracks stitched back together, just like before.

"Is it working?" Panuleon yelled with his arms wrapped around Corey's head to block out some of the noise.

"I think so," Anthony yelled back, holding his wife close to his chest, praying that the Gods were strong enough. He felt a mixture of honour and terror. His son was a God; his other son was the guardian of a God. That didn't mean their lives were not in danger.

Those who wanted to help could only stare. Panuleon felt useless, so did Vinny. They were made for the war too, but maybe their purpose was for another time, another chaos.

"Keep going!" Jacota boomed and pushed harder against the gold light from his chest. Lightning bolts cracked all around them, the wind was fierce and howling, the rain had started to fall, and wildflowers popped up around their feet from Vale.

The werewolves in the field slowly fell to their knees, dropping like a tidal wave of bodies. The God's auras were so mighty; any werewolf had an overwhelming feeling to kneel with respect.

"I can't," William whispered when his head rolled back and rested on Kaiden's shoulder.

"You can. William, you can." Kaiden glanced at Milokan who urged him to keep talking. "Just because you're human doesn't make you any less able. You're just as strong."

William's sight blotched and struggled to focus. Blood dripped from his ears and breathing started to feel like a chore. "I-I can't. It hurts-"

"Then scream. Doesn't that help with pain?" Kaiden was out of his depth. Giving useful advice was not his area of expertise. "You're the mate of a God. Sam wouldn't need you if you were not useful."

Kaiden was right. William has been the only human in a family of the supernatural for thousands of years. Not many, but a few times he felt singled out and useless. Here he stood, among the Gods, saving heaven like it was always meant to be this way. He was physically weaker than most humans with a leg that couldn't hold his weight, but he was mentally stronger than most.

"We're all here for a reason," Kaiden continued, staring at Milokan from the corner of his eyes. "We're all here because we're worthy."

The demon tightened his grip when William shrieked at the top of his lungs. It was barely heard over the disgusting grinding of the closing tear.

The gold grew lighter and shimmered against the sun. Beautiful, dangerous, hypnotising.

Scott covered his heart and his mouth. His son's yell might be silenced by something more significant, but he heard it like William yelled directly into his ear. The emotion ripped the layers in his throat until he couldn't breathe and his eyes teared. William hasn't opened up to him in a while. His cry was telling Scott everything his son ever felt. Fear. Anger. Joy. Love. Despair. Sorrow, Grief. Happiness. Worry. All of his emotions in one noise, and it spoke a thousand words.

The tear shrank faster and faster until it was smaller than a two-story house. The cracks had almost disappeared, fading like healing scars.

Each God used the solidarity of the love they feel for their mate. Nobody crumbled like last time. Each God spoke to their mates in their heads, subconsciously sending soothing whispers of encouragement.

"Keep going Hunter, I can't do it without you," Jacota thought. His voice was calm even when he felt the exact opposite. "You're so strong!"

Being a werewolf and an Alpha, Hunter was fuelled by praise and encouragement to be great at something, especially if it made his mate proud.

Angelette took a few steps forward. Her eyes glowed with hope, and her wings stretched with excitement. She clasped her wrinkled hands together and widened her gaze. The tear continued to shrink. The elder angel had doubted Jacota's abilities, and for that, she felt one emotion that angels rarely feel. Guilt.

The elements mellowed when the tear dissolved to the size of a bedroom and sat in front of Jacota, flickering slower and pulsing with an agonising weakness.

"Come on," he muttered to himself and watched with golden eyes.

For those who were not Gods, the tear turned invisible, looking like nothing other than a shimmer in the air. It appeared like any normal tear to those who had seen one.

The couples held their loved ones. Scott held Veronica's hand, reaching for the comfort of his friends.

William stopped crying in agony and fell limp in Kaiden's arms, though he didn't faint. He felt a cooling sensation where the demon's arms wrapped around his chest. It cooled him to the very core and took away his pain.

The human looked up to the demon who scared him a little, wondering if it was Kaiden who gave him strength, or Sam who held his hand so tightly, his fingers had numbed.

Jacota's hands shook the most, and in one last burst of energy, the tear shrivelled into a little ball and exploded, leaving behind gold glitter that erupted from the black hole. It floated down to soak the God's skin, returning their powers.

Almost instantly, the sky was bright, the rain had gone, and the heat of the sun glared warmer than before. The werewolves around them started to cheer and clap. The Gods turned in surprise. Jacota put their lives in danger then saved them. He didn't think he deserved a round of applause.

Even the angels cheered and hugged each other with delight when their beloved gates returned to the sky. The only one to stand completely still in the crowd was Angelette. Her eyes fixed on Jacota, studying him.

"Our home has been saved!" A man with a crooked wing sang and tried to hug the elder angel, but stopped when a firm hand pressed against his chest.

"It's not over," Angelette spoke lowly. "We were never the betrayal." Her cold stare turned to the trees, and her vision travelled further than any eye ever could. She saw a woman standing on the hills with an army of hellhounds behind her. The smell of slaughter was heavy in the moist air. "There's no betrayal like the betrayal from one's own blood."