I decided to stay the night in Jayden's room again. When my Mom finally came to the pack house, we stayed up late listening to her lecture the Alpha about the artifacts. There's so much that she knows about them. It's weird to think my mom spent a majority of her teen-hood in the library and traveling around to dig up information on these stupid things. Honestly, if she never did that then technically we wouldn't be in this position right now... But I won't be the one to say that out loud.

It got so late that Jayden and I started dozing off while she was teaching. Needless to say, the Alpha dismissed us and we went to bed.

Now I find myself wandering around Jayden's room looking for my clothes. When I woke up, Jayden was already gone and out of bed. I suppose I will have to go find him in the pack house somewhere. Guaranteed he is with his dad trying to figure out where Manus could be hiding. He was pretty pissed when I made him stay but I think he realizes now that it was for the best. I think he will be able to get more done here than out in the field anyway. This way he and his dad can call around and get information from all the search parties we have prying around and looking through every nook and cranny for Manus.

I find my shirt on the floor. I slip Jayden's black T off my body and toss my shirt over my head. It fits snug and I decide to leave Jayden's sweatpants on. Honestly they are pretty big on me, but they are too comfortable to take off. I think I might keep these for a while. I mean he has so many that he won't miss one of them. Right? I quickly grab my shoes and put them on.

I slip out of the room and decide the best place to start looking for Jayden would be the kitchen. The reason for this choice? Because I'm hungry, obviously.

I skip through the halls and make my way to the giant kitchen. There is nobody in here. Huh, that's odd. Usually the pack house has at least a few pack members in the kitchen.

Although not all pack members live here, actually most don't live in the pack house, the doors are always open for the pack and people tend to take advantage of that and come here often.

I open up the cabinets in search of something to eat. To my dismay, nothing really strikes my fancy. I end up grabbing a box of Honey Nut Cheerios. I also grab a bowl, spoon, and milk then sit down at the large abandoned table in the kitchen. I pour the cereal and milk and start eating.

"Sophia!" Lexi's high pitched voice exclaims from the doorway. I look up to see her walk in followed by Georgia. They seem to be in a hurry.

"Hey what's up?" I ask as I continue to devour my meal.

"Why they heck are you still here?" She asks quickly.

I have a sinking feeling I'm missing something. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't I be here?"

"Because we got intel on where Manus is. Jayden left about thirty minutes ago to meet up with the rest of the pack, I thought you would be with him so I went looking everywhere for you."

I drop my spoon in the bowl. Milk splashes onto the table and causes a small puddle. I turn to Lexi, completely rattled by the news. "Jayden left to go find Manus?"

"Yeah. I will be joining them too, I just need to go find my stupid brother considering he didn't leave yet either."

"I'm going as well," Georgia adds.

I look at her with frightened eyes, "you're going too? Do you really want to see him again?"

"If it means that he will be caught and sent away, then yes I want to be there. Will you come with me?" She asks.

Go with her? To see Manus? I don't know if I can do it, but if Georgia is willing to go, I should too.

I slowly and hesitantly nod my head. "Okay I will come with you guys."

"Thanks Sophia." Georgia says.

I stand, deciding I don't want to finish my cereal. At the mention of Manus and the fact that Jayden left without telling me, I lost my appetite. I clean my bowl and dishes then put away the box and milk. When I turn back around from cleaning up, just Georgia is left in the kitchen.

"Lexi went to go wake up her brother. She said she will meet us there. Are you ready to go?" Georgia asks as she walks toward me.

I feel my palms grow sweaty as nervous butterflies flow through my stomach, making me nauseous. I can't believe I'm about to do this. It took so long for us to get away from Manus and here we are running right back to him? Something feels weird about this but he does need to be captured. Plus, with that artifact, it is going to take the whole pack to take him down. I need to build my courage. If I am going to prove to the Alpha that I can make a good Luna someday, then I need to be strong. I can't neglect my duties to serve and help the pack. This is something I need to do.

"I'm ready."  I say, more confident than I thought I would have said it.

"Okay, come on."

We go out to the back yard and make our way to the woods. As we do, I decide to throw my hair up into a ponytail. I have a feeling this isn't going to be a short walk. Using the elastic on my wrist, I tie it around my hair on the back of my head, leaving a high ponytail.

We walk through the woods, crushing leaves bellow our feet. The smell of late fall resides around me. It has been surprisingly warm this fall, almost as if it's still summer time. Through the branches above, the sun peaks through and kisses my skin. I feel warm. I'm almost regretting wearing Jayden's sweatpants, I'm getting hotter than I thought I would.

My heart pounds with every step we take.

I can't believe I'm doing this. I honestly don't want to see Manus. I was even terrified to testify against him, but at least at that point he would have been restrained. Now he is loose. He has the capability to take down half the pack with brute force. With the help of that stupid artifact he is going to be unstoppable unless we can get most of the pack to help us out. That's why I'm going. As scared as I am, I want to do what I can to help this pack. Because helping this pack means I'm helping Jayden. Plus I'm worried about him. Worried that he will try something stupid with Manus.

There is no doubt in my mind that Jayden and his wolf will pull a reckless stunt. He is so pissed at Manus for everything that's happened. I need to stop him. He doesn't realize that he can't take Manus on his own, especially not with the artifact in his possession.

As we continue through the woods, I notice that everything seems familiar. Honestly, I know these woods. We are near the woods behind Will's mansion. I've only taken this route a few times but I know them. We must be taking a short cut to get to Manus's hiding spot.

'Sophia where the hell are you?' Lexi's annoyed voice booms through my head. I flinch at her tone. She seems pissed.

'Relax, Georgia and I are on our way to meet Manus and the rest of the pack. We will see you there soon.' I respond as I continue to follow Georgia.

'What? I told Georgia to wait for me. Who is taking you guys?' She asks.

'Uh Georgia is taking us.'

There is a pause.

'Lexi?' I ask. My heart pounds nervously, somethings wrong here.

'Georgia can't know about the location of Manus, because no one has told her where it is.'

My steps slow, 'then where is she taking me?'

'Sophia where are you? Turn around and come back to the pack house.' She says hurriedly in my mind.

I come to a stop as Georgia continues ahead. 'Near the woods behind Will's mansion. A little further than where we used to train.'

'Jesus Soph. That's the opposite of where we got the intel on where Manus is.'

"Sophia what are you doing?" Georgia asks, turning around to look at me. My heart stops.

"Um," I add, trying to stall, "just got a little tired. How much further away is the rest of the pack?"

"Not too much further. If we don't stop we will be there soon."

An eerie feeling washes over me. Now that I know the rest of the pack is on the other side of town, she must be lying. But why? Does she want to run away? Maybe she is more scared than I thought she was. She might want to get far away from Manus.

"You know, I think I changed my mind about going to capture Manus. I realized I'm too scared. Why don't we just go back to the pack house and wait for everyone to get back?" I suggest, hoping she will agree, and I can conclude that this action of her taking me out to the woods is a harmless one.

"But we are so close Soph. We can't turn back now. Are you tired or something? Here," she approaches me and opens up the bag she has been carrying. She pulls out a water bottle and hands it to me. "You must be tired."

I grab the water, trying to act normal. I know I need to get out of here. She is even trying to convince me to continue the trek.

"Thanks." I say and unscrew the cap. How should I get away? She's so small that she can't physically stop me. Right?

She looks off into the woods, "if we don't hurry we will miss all the action."

I sip the water. Then I cap it again. "Mind if I sit for a bit?" I ask, trying to procrastinate so I can figure out a plan to leave.

She sighs, "can we just go? The sooner we get there, the sooner this can all end."

I can't go any further with her. Something is definitely wrong. I need to get out of here. Screw the plan. I'm just going to leave.

"I'm sorry Georgia, I can't go anymore. I lost all desire. I'm going back to the pack house." I hand her the water and turn around.

My legs move quickly. I need to get out and fast.

Before I can go any further, she grabs my wrist aggressively. I'm stopped in place. I turn to look at her. Her eyes are dark, she looks angry. She holds my arm steady and strong, clearly not going to let me leave anytime soon.

"You can't go."

"Why not?" My voice cracks as I ask the question.

A deep voice booms through the woods, "Because otherwise she would be in a lot of trouble."

The hairs on the back of my neck stand at the sound of his voice. I never would have thought that he would be here. I look behind Georgia's head to find Manus standing beside a large tree. He leans on it casually. Even next to the giant tree he looks huge. I instinctively try to step away, but Georgia still has me in her death grip.

'Lexi, he's here. Manus is here.' I shout in my head.

Manus pushes off the tree. Taking large strides, he makes his way toward us. I shiver in disgust with every step he makes. My heart pounds sickeningly fast. I feel my stomach churning at the sight of him. I can't believe I thought I would be able to face him without feeling horrible like this.

'Lexi? Did you hear me, he's here?'

Nothing.

I try Jayden, 'Jayden, Manus isn't where you think he is. He is here with me, in the woods behind Will's mansion!'

Nothing.

What the heck is going on?

A deep throaty laugh is released from Manus. He looks at me with a smirk, "trying to communicate with your weak little mate?"

I growl angrily, "he is not weak."

Manus smirks, "he is weaker than me." He walks around me and Georgia, circling us like prey. "You won't be able to talk to them. You ingested a nice little concoction I put together. Luckily for me, you don't have a wolf in you that can sniff out the wolf's bane. That means I was able to give you enough to even stop you from shifting."

I frown. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Your good friend Georgia here did her job and got you to sip the water. It was infused with wolf's bane. I know you haven't been a werewolf long, so I assumed you wouldn't be able to detect its scent."

I turn to Georgia who looks at me skeptically. I squint my eyes angrily at her, "You helped him? Why Georgia? Why the hell are you working with him?"

She stares at me for a bit. She seems conflicted about something. After a few moments she finally sighs.

"I guess the gig is up." She laughs dryly. "So, it took this long for you to figure out whose side I'm on, huh? You're really not that smart, are you?"

I growl, "I tried to help you Georgia. We were in this together. You were being abused and I helped you back at Manus's."

She roles her eyes, "oh come on, you think I was actually being abused?"

My eyes grow confused. "But all your bruises..."

"You mean the ones that washed off after our first shower?" She laughs, "I can't believe you didn't notice that. They were fake, they were a prop to get you to trust me."

"But then you said you were being abused by his men."

She giggles, "I never actually said that. Sure I lead you to believe that's why I wasn't talking, but you came to that conclusion all on your own."

I turn to Manus, "but I even asked you to make your men stop abusing her. You seemed to believe it."

Georgia laughs, "that's because he did believe it." I turn back to her, "Manus doesn't only have a special place in his heart for you, you know. You aren't the only one he wants to protect."

Manus growls, "enough Georgia. Don't go getting any ideas that your that important to me just because of that."

That? What the hell does that mean?

"Oh you mean because you're my mate?" She spits at him angrily.

He growls and my mouth drops open. Hold on a second. Mate?!