It rained heavily after Ophelia and I returned tonight. Silas and I moved into the nearest study room. I didn't want to be far from Ophelia. I wanted to be there when she woke up.

I sat in a pure white modern loveseat. Silas sat opposite of me. He looked like he had been running around without rest. His similar midnight hair was unkempt and dirty from lack of hygiene. There were bags around his eyes that showed he hasn't had a proper meal in a while. On top of that, I noticed large gashes on his forearms.

"Tell me what happened," I asked.

I got up from my spot and walked over to the drinking cabinet. From there, I picked a perfect aged blood wine before walking over to the wall table and grabbing a glass. I poured the wine for Silas before walking over to him. He took the cup with no arguments. I sat the wine bottle on the glass coffee table in front of us. Silas gulped the content down with one swig before leaning over to grab the wine bottle.

"It's just like how I told you. Freya is still fucking alive and breathing."

"Which tells me she's some kind of immortal. Is she another witch?"

"Fuck no. She's gone south and rolled in the dirt with fucking mutts."

"Werewolves?" My eyebrows furrowed.

Silas nodded while taking another swig out of his newly poured glass.

"I didn't believe it. I tracked Ophelia's family back to her hometown. I went to look at the local cemetery and I saw their parents' names, but I didn't see Ophelia's or Freya's. I found it weird, and I started asking around and talking to anybody that might have known them. After days of going door to door and searching the entire town, I came to learn that Freya disappeared four years after they took Ophelia to the coven."

The news came as a shock to me. The two sisters took opposite routes in life. Years of immortality and they don't know that the other was still alive.

I know I shouldn't hide this truth from Ophelia, but werewolves and vampires have always been at war with each other. The smell of mutts and their disgusting dog breath could fucking make my parents roll in their coffins.

If I don't tell Ophelia though, she'll get angry. I know because I've heard her talk about her family. She misses those days when she was a human.

"I know what you're thinking." Silas switched from his glass cup and drank from the wine bottle itself.

"I should tell her."

"You shouldn't tell her."

We both said it at the same time.

"Why the hell not?" I snarled.

Telling her would make things easier for her.

"Cause it fucking gets worse from here. Freya didn't just mate with a werewolf's mate. I have been tracking her since her disappearance. To my utter fucking surprise, my trace stopped in front of our enemy lines in North Dakota—Alpha Varik. I have one of our private agents sitting on the edge of territory to keep watch, but what are the odds of us getting attacked in North Dakota by werewolves and hearing that Freya is a mate of a werewolf? Could it be the pack that attacked us?"

I threaded my fingers through my hair and hissed in frustration.

"Yeah, I reacted the same way when I landed myself back in North Dakota a few days after Europe. I don't want to assume, but the facts are all there. There are only several packs in North Dakota and none of them are as near as Alpha Varik's pack."

Things just got more complicated. Alpha Varik was a known rebellious pack leader in our world. The mutt doesn't play by the laws, but for some reason, never gets caught for the things he does. Not getting all the information I needed, it would be best if I take Ophelia out of this situation and quickly head back to our homeland. It would be safer and if Silas's information holds all true, I have to agree that it wasn't a coincidence. If it wasn't a coincidence, I want Ophelia away from all this before I tell her what I have found out. I don't want her making rash decisions without thinking things through.

"I'll be thankful if Freya isn't from that pack," I admitted.

Just as I finished the sentence, I heard glass shatter down the hallway. I could hear the sound of unfamiliar footsteps rushing down the hallways. Silas and I fell silent and stood up from our seats.

Something was wrong.

I stalked to the door, with Silas following close behind me. The entire mansion was under attack. Humongous wolves tearing their way through the home. Lazarus's men were fighting them off.

Two wolves saw us. They lunged for us. I pushed Silas away from me. Just as the wolves landed on their paws, I jumped and wrapped one arm around its neck and snapped its neck. Silas did the same to the other.

Just as we finished with the two wolves, more attacked us. With an inhumane swiftness, Silas and I killed the four wolves. As many as we killed, more were running through the windows. The white marble floor was not bloodied from all the blood and bodies.

Animalistic war cries perforated through the entire mansion. The amount of werewolves piling through the windows, it was nonstop.

"Protect the King!" Silas roared.

Immediately, a group of soldiers surrounded me. The werewolves' precise attacks and decisions revealed I was their target. They tore their way through my men. The werewolves were relentless.

"You need to leave, Atlas."

"Not without Ophelia."

I turned around to head back to the bedroom, but Silas stopped me. He grabbed me by the arm.

"We do not have enough time. We won't win this battle."

"If you're asking me to leave my mate behind-"

"Your safety means everything to our kind. I must protect you."

"She's my mate! Your future queen!"

Silas's lips thinned. It wasn't a straightforward decision. He couldn't risk my safety, but he also knew how important Ophelia was to our kind. She is our future. I could see him giving in to my request. Before he could respond, the werewolves tore through our defenses.

Silas and I jumped into action. We killed and ripped hearts out until blood dripped down our body and stained our clothes. However, we could only go like this for so long before our internal power diminishes and we'll need to feed again. With just a handful of us, we would not beat the army of werewolves burling through the mansion.

Exhausted, I didn't make a wrong move and felt claws dug into my shoulders and dragged me ten yards from Silas. Silas looked at me while fighting desperately to get to me.

It was minutes, but it felt like forever.

Time seemed to slow down at that moment as my bedroom door ripped open.

Ophelia's gaze found me first. Immediately, she lifted her hand and light streamed from her palm. It wrapped itself around nearby werewolves like smoke. Her eyes glowed brightly as she closed her hands into fists. Instantly, the werewolves began writhing in pain on the ground. Whimpers and whines coming from the mutts as they fight against the restraints. She snapped her arms to her side and the whimpers and whines died immediately.

I didn't see it, but she pulled out a knife from behind her and threw it straight at me. It landed on the paw holding onto my shoulders. The werewolf yelped and pulled back. Ophelia ran towards me, and I saw another stream of bright light. It hit the werewolf, and it went flying back and hitting the wall.

I stood up and held onto my injured shoulder. It wasn't healing due to lack of feeding. She glanced at me and then looked behind me. Shoving me behind her back, she attacked another wolf with her power and slammed it onto the floor before twisting his neck.

"We need to get out of here," I told her.

Silas came running with a small team of men. In his hands, he held the luggage with the red crystal.

"Follow me. Lazarus has an emergency entrance."

Just as Silas finished, I heard Ophelia gasping. I turned to see what startled her and saw a small woman that looked like Ophelia except she was fuller and had wider hips. Her hair was as red as Ophelia's, though.

"Freya..." Ophelia whispered.

There were no emotions in Freya's eyes upon seeing her sister after centuries. It was as if Freya were meeting a stranger and not her blood sister for the first time.

"Freya, it's me."

I noticed the tall Alpha male next to Freya and knew it was Alpha Varik immediately. My men formed a barricade in front of me. I pushed Ophelia behind me.

She didn't understand what was going on. Confusion was written on her face as she tried to get in front of me.

"That's my sister."

"She's no longer your sister, Ophelia. She is Alpha Varik's mate. This pack's Luna."

Ophelia inhaled sharply. The amount of emotions that played across Ophelia's face hurt me in so many ways. I wanted her to be happy and teasing, as always.

"But how? You were supposed to live a normal life. Why would you choose this life?"

"Choose?" Freya laughed. She was as pretty as Ophelia, but she was nothing like Ophelia. "I didn't choose this life. This life chose me and I don't regret it. Right after you left, our parents became depressed. They forgot about me. All they could think about was their precious Ophelia. I lived a miserable life, and I wondered if it would've been better if I left instead of you. Then you would have seen how miserable our parents were."

"But it wasn't your fault-"

"Not according to our parents. They blamed me for you leaving. Mother never stopped crying. Father stopped looking at me like I was his little girl. It didn't take long before they couldn't look at me anymore, which was why I ran away. I lived on scraps and begged others for coins until I met my mate. He changed me and right after he mated me, I came back and I killed them. I killed them for making me miserable. I killed them for not loving me."

Ophelia stumbled backwards. I caught her in my arms before she fainted. Her eyelids were heavy, but she shook her head in denial. I cupped one side of her cheek, but she shoved my hand away.

"How could you... "

"I don't regret it and I'm glad you're still alive because now I will kill your mate to gain the information we need for our kind to survive and kill you, too. I want to hurt you. I want to destroy you. After all these years, I can let go of all that held me back."

"You're heartless, Freya! We've done so much for you. How could you kill our parents?"

"Parents? They did nothing for me other than birthing me. I resent them more than anything."

Ophelia cried out her pain. I felt a sudden surge of energy stemming from her body. A second later, a force I've never seen pushed me away from her. Everyone near her went flying back, and she went running forward. With one hand, she summoned the blade that was stuck inside a dead werewolf's body and into her palm. She spun it around and it went swinging towards Freya. I jumped back onto my feet.

"Ophelia!" I shouted.

Silas and two other men moved forward to grab and pull her back. She struggled against them. Pain written all over her face. She was furious, with her hair flying wildly around her.

Alpha Varik grabbed the handle of the blade before swinging it back towards Ophelia. With her other hand, she stopped the blade before it hit her. She stood in the middle, unafraid and heaving with anger.

"When Freya told me you were a witch, I didn't think you would be this powerful. While I can appreciate a rare talent, I have a more important matter to handle. My battle isn't with you, though. I am here for Atlas." He turned to me. "I need access to the facility, Atlas. Think wisely, or everyone you care about would die tonight."

"What makes you think I'll hand it over just like that?" I laughed darkly.

Alpha Varik's jaw ticked.

"Do you think I don't have more soldiers coming? You won't escape here alive."

"Quit the bullshit, Varik. You can't kill me."

Ophelia broke free and ran towards her sister. Silas shouted after her and it broke my attention as I watched my mate run right into enemy lines. Sneering, I ran inhumanely to her. I hoped to get to her in time.

One corner of Varik's lips lifted into a sinister grin. Before I could get to her, they had me in their hands. Varik stopped my mate. He grabbed her by the shoulders and flipped her flat on the marble floor. She groaned in pain. It happened so quickly. Silas and whatever was left, our men attacked. My eyes landed on Ophelia who whipped out her blade and stabbed him in the calf. Alpha Varik growled, but it was enough to give her time to escape from beneath his hold.

She spun and stood up. Just as I had a glimmer of hope, more wolves came burling into the mansion. I could hear more howls. There was no escaping.

Ophelia grabbed her sister's ankle and yanked her onto the floor. She straddled Freya and with one blade. She stabbed her sister repeatedly.

"How could you?" Ophelia screamed as she stabbed her sister over and over. Tears ran down her face. Knowing that her parents didn't live happily the way she had wanted hurt her more than anything. Her cursed fate was all for nothing.

Varik bellowed and grabbed Ophelia by the throat. He pulled up into the air and was about to snap her neck. I roared my fury, but the hold on me was too tight. Four wolves had me held down with their strength. Fear rippled through me like a tsunami. It ran through my veins and tensed up my muscles.

Ophelia gasped and struggled to breathe. Dropping the bloody blade, she clawed at Varik's hand.

"I'll kill you bitch," Varik thundered. His face contorted to half wolf, half human.

Silas came to my rescue when he knocked one werewolf off my body. I flipped the rest off me before I ran towards Varik. I jumped behind his back and wrapped my arms around his neck. I tightened as hard as I could and pulled. Varik's spare hand moved to my shoulder, and he dug into my shoulder wound. I roared in pain. Ophelia's eyes met mine, and all I saw were tears. They clouded her vision and ran down the side of her face. I roared louder and tightened my grip. Varik released Ophelia and tried to get me off of him. I pulled harder, and I heard his neck ripping as I dismembered him. He fell to the ground and I dropped to my knees. Weakened from the lack of feeding, I willed myself to gain any strength I had left.

Even with Varik dead, we would not get out of here alive. My men were dying. Silas was injured.

From the corner of my eyes, I see a werewolf lunging towards me. Ophelia shouted my name before a white light beamed across me and landed on the werewolf. She stood up onto her feet and slowly, more lights came out of her hands. They wrapped themselves around our enemies.

Slowly, she walked over to me, and I watched her kill them all with her light. The bright light illuminated the entire mansion. It touched every corner and ceiling of the place. I blinked and shield my eyes. Before I knew it, our enemies disintegrated into thin air.

A minute later, the light dimmed. When I was able to open my eyes, I looked at Ophelia just in time. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she collapsed in front of me. I caught her before she could hit the ground. Her lips turned pale, almost purple. Her sunken eyes had even more circles.

"Ophelia, what's wrong? Wake up. Don't fall asleep." I shook her.

Silas came running to my side. He touched her face and the side of her neck before he looked at me with panic, wide eyes and I've never felt such pain or panic in my life.

"We leave tonight," I ordered.

I needed to get out of this godforsaken land and head home, where I know she'll be safe. Then I'll figure out what to do next.