Kane wrapped his fingers around the hot cup of coffee in his hands. He glanced down at it, unsure if he really needed the caffeine. He had been up since three in the morning, alternating between staring at the ceiling above and his sleeping boyfriend. His blood was a mixture of excitement and anxiety, and adding caffeine into the mix wasn't exactly going to help. However, Kane couldn't resist and took a sip.

He stared at the time on his phone. Fifteen minutes until they were leaving. He was so close that he could almost feel it. He imagined the bond changing, shifting from Nora to Mason. He thought about the way he would feel, to finally feel connected to Mason in a way that he hadn't ever felt before. He thought of the painting Mason had given him, of the bond between them, thick and tangible. He wanted that more than he wanted anything.

Then his thoughts shifted to Nora. He thought of the day after they had first met, when she told him about daydreaming about meeting her mate. She could have that. The perfect meeting, the perfect love. It was what she had always dreamt of, and now, with her real mate, it would all come true. He smiled for her, and he had assumed the bond would have hated the idea of her with another man, but it didn't seem to mind. His head wasn't rushed with the feeling of jealousy he was used to, instead he just felt it at the edges of his mind, easily pushed back. He hoped that was a good sign. The bond might have known that it was close to its end. Perhaps, it was just as excited to be fixed as they were. He liked to hope that was true.

He heard the glass door open behind him and Mason walked out onto the deck. His hair was wet from the shower. Kane took a moment to stare at him, the sunlight hitting the lightness of his hair and the way his grey eyes seemed to shine.

"I've been trying to find you for ten minutes," Mason said with a sigh. "This house is way too big."

Kane smiled over at him. "It really is a maze, isn't it?"

Mason nodded. He took the seat next to Kane at the wooden outdoor table. "I wanted to find you, because I wanted to talk to you before we left."

Kane placed his coffee down on the table. He turned to Mason. "Talk about what?"

Mason reached for his hand. "I just want us to talk about what happens today, if uh," his expression grew grim. He blinked a couple of times. "If it turns out that-"

Kane shook his head quickly. "Mason."

"Yeah?"

"That's not going to happen," he told him. Kane couldn't let himself think, even for a moment, that the witch doctor wasn't going to right her wrong. He squeezed Mason's hand. "It's going to be fine."

Mason looked out at the massive garden past the porch for a few moments before turning back to Kane with a torn expression. He bit at the edge of his lip before adding, "I believe that too, it's just that we need to have some kind of a plan or understanding in case it can't be fixed."

"I don't want to think like that," Kane told him.

Mason started to speak, but was interrupted when the glass door opened. Kane turned to see Eve standing in the doorway. "Good morning, my favourite unmated mates!" she said with a bright smile. She practically skipped towards the table, sitting down next to Mason. "Do you need anything for today?"

"I think we are good, thank you," Kane told her.

"Okay, just let me know if you do," Eve replied. She quickly glanced back at the house before turning back to them. "Now, was it just me or did you guys see Owen and Nora eyeing each other all through dinner last night?"

Mason's eyes widened. "You noticed too!"

Eve smiled. "Yes!"

"How did they even meet?" Kane asked.

Eve took another quick glance towards the house before continuing. "Well, Owen told me while we were making dinner that he was reading in the garden and she came over and they got to talking. He said that she was, quote on quote, a really nice girl."

Mason's jaw dropped. "That is so cute! I mean, they seemed to be in their own little world all dinner."

"And after dinner," Eve added.

"What do you mean?" Kane asked. "I thought we all went back to our rooms after dinner."

"I came down to get a glass of water and they were on the couch, talking," Eve explained. "They were so held up in conversation they didn't even notice me walking right past them."

"You don't think they are mates, do you?" Mason asked with a lifted eyebrow.

Eve shrugged. "I don't know, but wouldn't it be just magical if they were?"

Kane smiled to himself. He hoped that they were really mates.

The glass door opened and Owen stuck his head out. "Are you two ready to go?" he asked. "Nora and I are ready to hit the road."

Mason stood. "Yes we are ready," he said.

Kane quickly gulped down the rest of his coffee. "See you soon," he told Eve before he followed Mason through the house.

"Have fun!" Eve called out behind them.

Kane jumped into the back of the SUV. He saw that Nora was in the front seat, her eyes on her phone. Mason was sitting next to him, nervously tapping his fingers against his knee.

"I'm sorry I was abrupt back there," Kane whispered to him.

Mason nodded slightly. He reached over and placed his hand on Kane's knee. "I get it. It's okay."

Mason seemed to understand where he had been coming from, but Kane still felt bad. He didn't mean to dismiss Mason's concerns, but he just couldn't think like that. He couldn't have a contingency plan because that meant that there was a chance their bond couldn't be fixed, and that was a reality that Kane just wasn't prepared to face.

"Adam's been messaging me," Nora said suddenly from the front seat.

Kane internally groaned. He hadn't forgotten about the Adam situation, but his mind had put it on the backburner. "What's he saying?" Kane asked.

"He wants to know how you are," Nora said slowly. "He's worried about you."

Kane sighed. He wasn't worried about me when he was lying to my face. "Tell him that I'll be fine."

Nora turned in her chair and lent towards the backseats. "He's your best friend, Kane. I know he did a messed up thing, but he is really worried about you."

Kane wanted to forgive Adam. He really did. He just couldn't stop the angry feelings from bubbling to the surface when he thought about Adam betraying him. "I just need more time, Nora."

"Okay," Nora said, "but can I tell him that you're alright and you'll talk to him when we get home?"

Kane thought about it for a few moments before nodding.

Owen slid into the driver's seat. Kane took a deep breath. This was it. He starred out the window as they drove through the town, his knee warm under Mason's hand.

The thirty minutes of driving seemed to be endless. Kane starred at the trees as they flew past. His eyes were searching, on the look out of the rogues that had attacked them only the day before. He hoped that they were long gone by now, but he couldn't be sure. He watched through the trees for any sign of movement, but all that he saw were a few deer. His window was down, but the fast air moving past the car made it hard to pick up any scents.

Finally, they made it to a gate protecting a long dirt driveway, surrounded by a thick line of trees. The gate was made of black metal, bent in an intricate pattern of flowers and thorns. At first glance, it seemed to be a normal gate, but as Kane continued to watch it, the edges seemed to be moving in the breeze, the metal twisting and turning ever so slightly.

"is it just me or is that gate moving?" Kane asked Owen, trying to keep the panic from his voice. He wasn't akin to magic, not in the way that Owen would be.

Owen nodded. "It's guarded by magic, for protection," he said flippantly, as if this wasn't just downright crazy.

Kane had to blink a few times as he starred at the gate, trying to get used to the idea of magic being a real thing in front of him. He almost laughed, he was a werewolf for god's sake, and yet he was still shaken by witch doctors being real.

"How do we get past?" Nora asked.

Owen undid his seatbelt. "I'll show you," he said. He got out of the car and slowly walked up to the gate, hands in the air.

Kane watched as he slowly approached the gate before resting one hand on it. Kane's eyes were wide and he hoped that the gate wouldn't decide to gobble Owen whole. After a few moments, the gate opened slowly, revealing the dirt road ahead.

Owen got back into the car.

"How did you do that?" Mason asked.

"It gauges intention and decides on who it lets in. If your intentions are good then it will open for you. It protects her from the rogues wandering inside and lets her clients in. She sells her potions and all kinds of things to wolves who need it."

"To know all that you must know this woman well, then?" Nora concluded.

Owen shrugged. "My mother comes here to get things for the town, I usually come with her. She seems to have taken a liking to me, which is why I am driving you here not Eve."

"She's not a fan of Eve?" Kane asked.

"Not really. Eve's personality doesn't match well with everyone's."

Kane hoped that Owens presence would further persuade Rita to help. 

Owen drove them down the driveway. Kane wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't the house that greeted them at the end of the road. It was a massive wooden cabin, two stories high, with huge windows that overlooked a garden that spanned the whole yard. To the side was a green house, filled to the brim with plants of all colours.

Owen parked the car and they all got out. Kane admired the flowers growing in the garden and his eyes were drawn to the yellow roses which sat prominently in the middle of the garden. He wanted to go over and grab one, but he was sure that would be starting off on the wrong foot with a woman whose help he desperately needed. He felt Mason's hand in his and he felt a wave of confidence overcome him. He squeezed Mason's hand.

Owen led them to the front door, which opened for him just as he was about to knock. There was no one standing on the other side.

"Come in," a woman's voice said.

Kane glanced at Mason, sharing a worried look.

"It's okay," Owen told them. He ushered them inside.

The inside of the house was immaculate. They walked right into a living room with a huge fireplace. The features were surprisingly modern. Bottles and containers lined the shelves which surrounded the room, filled with objects and plants that Kane had never seen before.

"Hello?" Nora called out.

Suddenly, a woman walked into the room. She embraced Owen. "Owen, my dear, it's wonderful to see you," Rita looked around at the other three with a slightly apprehensive expression. "and you've brought guests."

"I have, yes."

Kane looked her over. When Kane had imagined a witch, he had thought of an old woman with greying hair. Instead, a woman who looked to be mid-forties was standing before them, in a sundress with a flower tucked into the top of the bun that sat high on her head. Her gaze was shifting between the three of them, her head slightly tilted.

"These children are not from your pack, Owen."

"No they are out of towners," Owen told her. "They have come to speak with you, if that's okay?"

Rita seemed to think about that for a moment. "Yes. You four wait in the greenhouse. I shall meet you out there in a moment." With that, she left the room.

They followed Owen out to the green house. In the centre held a group of long chairs faced in a circle with a small table in the middle. The others took a seat, but Kane walked around the greenhouse first, enchanted by the plants and flowers he had never laid eyes on before. He found a flower that almost looked like a sunflower, but its petals were striped with blue and green. He wanted to touch it, but with all this magic around, he wasn't sure what was safe to touch.

"Come sit down," Owen told him.

Kane followed his advice. He sat between Nora and Mason. He could feel the excitement and anticipation radiating off of Nora as he got close to her.

"Sorry, she's a bit particular about her plants," Owen said, sending him a sympathetic expression.

"It's really happening," Nora told him, excitement dripping from her words.

"I know," Kane said. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally."

Rita entered the green house with a pot of tea and five teacups all balanced on top of each other. It was only when Kane looked closer that he noticed that the edges of the cups weren't even touching, but were hovering above each other. Rita handed them each a cup and poured in the tea.

"Jasmine tea, I grow it myself," Rita told them as she filled Kane's cup.

"Thank you," Kane said. He held the warm cup in his hands.

"Now," Rita said, taking a seat. "What have you three come in search of?"

Nora and Mason both looked to him. Kane placed his tea on the table. "It's a bit of a long story, but you-"

"Your bond isn't right," Rita said suddenly, a realisation filling her face. "That is why you are here."

"Yes," Kane agreed, taken aback. "Yes. It is."

"How did you know?" Nora asked.

"I can feel it. The bond is there, but it's very," Rita seemed to search for the right words, "conflicted and weak."

Nora nodded. "Yes. It is."

Kane spoke up. "Do you know who we are?"

Rita looked at him quizzically. "I have not laid eyes on your faces before, if that is what you are asking."

"You haven't met us, no," Kane agreed, "but you have met my mother. Scarlett Moore, from the Burlington pack. Almost eighteen years ago."

Rita starred at him for a few moments before she smiled. "You're the child who was going to save your pack," she said, "yes, yes, I should have realised right away." Rita's smile stopped in its tracks as she realised something. "You are here for problem with the bond that I changed."

"Yes," Kane told her. "It's not right."

Rita sighed. "I can feel it from here."

"The bond is broken," Nora added. "From the first moment we met, the bond hasn't wanted us to be together. We get sick whenever we are too close."

Rita suddenly looked at Mason with a funny expression on her face. "You and the boy, you have a connection. I can feel it."

"We believe that I am his real mate," Mason revealed.

"Yes," Rita agreed, "you may be very right about that."

"You can tell?" Kane asked. "You said you could feel it. Does that mean our connection is still there, that it can be saved."

"Well," Rita said, "the connection is definitely still there, but if it can be saved is another question entirely, I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?" Nora asked.

Rita ignored the question. "I didn't think that it was possible, for a connection to stay even when the mate bond was gone. I've never seen anything like it."

"Did you make a mistake when you changed the bonds?" Owen asked.

Rita shook her head. "No. No. I wouldn't have done that. I've changed a couple of bonds in my days, and they all turned out fine. In this case especially, the children were mere infants. Unborn children cannot retain a mate bond, especially not one designed for seventeen years in their future."

"I think we have proven that's wrong," Nora said quietly. "I'm sorry, and I don't mean any disrespect, but obviously they," she pointed between Kane and Mason, "have a bond so strong that it held on all this time."

"I'm sorry," Rita said as she stood. She walked around the table and slowly sat down next to Nora. She took her hand between her own. "You poor child. What I have put you all through is unspeakable. I can feel your pain."

"Please tell me that you can fix it," Nora said, her voice almost a whisper.

Rita reached for Kane's hand next. He allowed her to take it between her own. "I am sorry for what I have done. Please apologise to your mother. Now, tell me, did this bond save your pack?"

Kane glanced at Nora, unsure if she knew of the help her pack had been to his own. "Yes, somewhat. The Maysville pack has been keeping us afloat, and once we were to have a mate ceremony they were going to support us even further."

Nora nodded alone as he spoke, so Kane decided she must have been aware of the exchange.

"Good," Rita mumbled. "That was the way it was supposed to be. At least the reason for this spell hasn't gone to waste."

"We aren't going to have a mate ceremony," Kane told her. "We want to be switched back. That's why we came to see you."

Rita blinked at him. "You are prepared to let your pack suffer?"

That took Kane's breath right out of his lungs. He tried to answer but words wouldn't form. He didn't even know what to say if he could. He didn't want his pack to suffer, but he had to believe that there was another way to keep the pack afloat.

"We just want the bond fixed," Nora interjected. "Please tell us that there is a way."

Rita stood suddenly, a hardened look crossing her face. "I won't help you."

"You have to!" Kane said, finding his words.

Mason stood. He walked up to Rita. "You made this mistake. It is your responsibility to fix it. There must be a way to fix it."

"There is a way," Rita said, her eyes floating down to Nora.

Something changed about Rita's expression that sent a chill down Kane's spine.

"What is it?" Nora asked, fear growing in her eyes.

"For the bond to be broken, my darling, you have to break it, it's as simple and horribly complicated as that."

"The only way to break a bond is through death," Kane told her, absurdity in his words. "How does that help us?"

Nora's eyes widened. "Someone has to die."

"Yes," Rita agreed. "One of you has to die."