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In the morning I wake up early and find myself curious about Hope's physical and mental state, slightly feeling nauseous from the curse. But I push through and throw on some clothes, walking downstairs towards stern and loud voices.

I could recognise Alfie's voice from a mile away, then Nella's, then Kassian's. My feet walk towards the living room as I push open the door uninvited. They all stop to look at me and for a second Alfie looked relieved seeing me.

"Hi," I breathe out as I look around to all three of them.

"Hey," Nella speaks first.

"Nella was talking about going to see your uncle?" Alfie steps closer to me, his eyes wide.

I nod. "Is Hope okay?"

"She's sleeping, she just needs time to recover."

My throat swallows and I continue to nod back at him. "If we want to get this thing rolling then we should take a trip to see my uncle, he hates my mother with a passion and I know they know a lot about her powers. His wife is a powerful witch and I believe that they can help us or at least give us some information that we could use."

"Okay," Alfie nods once. "How long will it take to get there?"

I shrug my shoulders gently. "Ten hours maybe," I tell them.

My eyes flick over to Kassian's who was watching me intently, his arms folded across his chest tightly as he looks down to me.

"Well Nella said Mace will be happy to drive and take you guys," Alfie breathes out sharply. "Today, right?"

Nella nods back. "Yeah, he's ready to go whenever." She says to him.

"Are you going with them?" Alfie directs towards Kassian who flicks his eyes between all of us.

"Do you want me to go?" He replies boldly.

"They might respect us more if you come, as the Alpha." Alfie admits and Nella nods along.

"Fine," he says and my heart clenches for a moment.

"Hope needs the rest and I don't want to leave her side," Alfie steps closer to us. "I'm grateful that you guys are doing this for us, thank you."

"Cleo too," Nella adds in. "I'll let Mace know and we can go in twenty minutes?"

"Okay," I nod once before removing myself from the living room and up to my bedroom to pack away some clothes for the trip.

Knowing that I'd see my uncle but would my dad be there? After how he knew how powerful my mother's powers are, then continued to say my curse was changing me. How naïve could he be?

Of course it was changing me.

He gave up so easily.

But somewhere deep down inside me, I knew I could control the curse better than I ever have, maybe because my body has become numb to the pain and suffering. Instead it's just coping, trying to drag me along before my wolf becomes depressed forever and turns on herself.

By the time I had thrown a few pieces of clothing into a spare bag that Nella had lent me, I found myself waiting downstairs by the front door. Soon Mace and Nella join before Mace takes us towards his large black jeep and allowing us to throw our stuff into the boot.

Without warning Kassian's loud footsteps turn my attention towards him as he throws a map up into the air, just in time for me to catch. His dark eyes look down to mine before he shoves a thick permanent marker in my direction.

"Best you circle where we are going," he grumbles out before shrugging off a bag that was sitting on his shoulder. "Cause if we get lost, it's on you. And I won't hesitate to leave you behind."

My eyes roll painfully towards him. "Sometimes your ego needs dropping down a notch or two," I grumble towards him.

Nella turns towards us dramatically, leaning her hand onto the side of the car. "For the sake of the car journey, please no bickering between you guys. I physically cannot deal with it for ten hours."

Mace snorts to himself as he opens the driver door and slides in. "I'm getting in the front," Kassian declares.

"Whatever," Nella puffs out before I climb into the back with her.

My hands pull apart the map and roam my eyes over the paper, looking up high in the mountains until I recognise the name, Farlowville. Quickly pulling the marker lid away from the pen and drawing a circle around the place.

I lean forward and drop it down onto Kassian's lap, turning to glare over at me.

"Found it," I say sarcastically before settling back into the seat and putting on my belt.

Soon Mace drives away from the house and down the road. Kassian uses the map and his phone to find the best route, knowing how long it would actually take.

An hour or so into the journey Nella had spent most of the time talking to me about Arlo, how much she was going to miss him but the pack would definitely look after him.

Then she leans over the middle of the car to touch the radio station. "I hate this fucking song," she grumbles out as she presses buttons on Mace's dash.

Kassian grunts and attempts to move but ends up shoving into her side as Mace drives round a sharp bend. "Ugh Kass can you move out the way? I'm trying to fix the music." Nella groans.

"Shut the fuck up Nella," Kassian says aggressively.

Nella retreats back to her seat after the music changes to a better station, scowling across at him.

Mace leans over to push Kassian's shoulder. "Don't talk to her like that man." He says seriously.

"Yeah Kassian." She huffs out. "I was just trying to save all of our eardrums."

"Oh sorry." He says blunt and sarcastically. "Nella, please will you shut up."

"You're such a fucking ass Kassian," she grumbles out before throwing her arms across her chest and looking out the window. "God forbid when you find your mate, she's not going to want to have anything to do with you."

"I beg to differ," Kassian replies quickly.

Nella snorts so harshly that I thought she swallowed her brain. "That's if you ever find her, you're getting on now." She says, trying her hardest to get under his skin.

Kassian's jaw clenches as he looks out at the road ahead, his eyebrows pulled down into a tight frown. "I will find her." He grounds out.

"Do you know what the likelihood of meeting your mate after turning twenty five is? It's pretty much impossible." Nella says sourly and Mace turns to look over his shoulder at her, giving a look that screamed 'stop it'.

"Got better luck than Cleo," he mumbles to himself and my eyes narrow towards him.

"I wasn't even in your stupid conversation," I spit out angrily. "But fuck you, once we take down my mother I'll find my mate and you'll still be here, alone."

"Alright," Mace declares loudly, clearly feeling the tension in the car. "Let's change the subject before someone flips this car and kills us all."

I shuffle back into my seat and look through the window. Only nine more fucking hours to go and I was already regretting this choice.

. . .

"Urm..." Mace's voice snaps me back into the car.

Crackling my eyes open and sitting up in my seat, not even realising that I had been asleep for how many hours. My eyes look up at the large castle that we could see from a few mountain tops away.

"I think this might be it," Mace says as he peeks his head lower than the windscreen.

Nella grumbles something inaudible from beside me and I grab onto her arm, informing her that we were finally here.

It doesn't take us long to reach the outside of the castle, it looked like something out of a horror movie and deep down I was praying that I got the right place. Otherwise we might all be rotating on top of a fire like a hog roast in a couple of minutes.

A huge sign that said Farlowville, I knew that name for sure. This had to be the right place.

"Cleo," Nella drags out my name as we approach the castle. "Please tell me that this is where we are meant to be?"

"I believe so," I reply.

Kassian snorts. "You believe so." He mumbles under his breath in disbelief.

"Do you ever just annoy yourself?" I respond sourly, Kassian looks over his shoulder at me.

Mace cuts the engine and eventually I pop the car door open and step out, slowly making my way up to the castle. Looking up at how grand it was, my eyes almost couldn't believe it.

"Stop right there," a guard with a shotgun stands on the lower balcony of the castle and points the gun towards me.

My hands raise instantly and I stare back at him. "I'm here to see Ludo," I call out loud enough for him to hear, not even caring that a gun was currently being pointed at my head.

"Why are you here to see Ludo?" He shouts back in confusion.

"He's my uncle," I say and wait for him to slowly lower the gun, another guard joining him. "My name is Cleo, ask him about me. My father Nick is his brother."

The guards whisper to one another before one disappears away from view, my arms beginning to ache from holding them at an awkward angle.

"Can I lower my arms now?" I call out but the guard flexes his gun at me once again. I huff out a breath and shrug. "Fine. Don't mind my numb fucking arms."

After a few moments the two large front doors swing open with such force, glancing towards the people who burst through the wooden doors.

"Lower your guns!" Echoes past my ears.

My eyes latching onto my uncles as he proceeds to me, his thick brown eyebrows pulled down into a concerned glance as he notices me.

"Cleo?" He calls out and I take one step forward. "What are you doing here?"

His wrinkled eyes and dropped expression stops directly in front of me as he takes one glance at the car behind me. "We need your help," I tell him straight. "We need your help in taking down my mother once and for all, she's cursed me. She's cursed a friend of mine and it is going to kill her if we don't take down Pandora."

Ludo stares back at me, his lips parting. "Your father told me because he's here."

My eyes blink back at him, I knew he would he. He had nowhere else to go before my mother found him and banished him also.

"Right," I mumble out as I look up at him, throwing my arms across my chest. "I'm guessing he also told you that he abandoned me when I needed him the most?"

Ludo shakes his head sincerely. "He shouldn't have left you Cleo but he knows how venomous and aggressive Pandora's powers can be, of course it scared him."

"Not enough to make you run away from your only daughter," I stand my ground, anger protruding through my voice.

"I know Cleo," he nods towards me. "He shouldn't have done that."

"But anyway, I'm not here for him. To see him, I don't care. We just need some help, some information on how to get to Pandora and how to take her down before she does something worse to this world." I mumble out to him, feeling my facial expression tighten.

Ludo looks over his shoulder at the car. "Who are they?"

"Let's just say they took in a very angry rogue wolf and now are happy to help me and a member of their pack." I say boldly, Ludo's eyebrow curves towards me. "I know Diamond is a witch, a very successful one at that. I presumed you guys would know something about her."

Ludo nods back to me eventually. "Okay," he lowers his head for a second. "Grab your stuff and come in, I'm sure we can find a place for you guys to crash for the night. Then we can collect information tomorrow."

"I appreciate it," I grumble out, feeling the curse rise up in my throat at the praise. Attempting to push all my emotions away because I knew I was better, to get help I needed to be polite. Even if that tore my insides out.

. . .

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Hello my loves! I hope you enjoyed this chapter❤️

Oooooh they're gonna get some information on Pandora

Also let's just say this trip is gonna get a little interesting and a lotta spicy😈

Kassian and Cleo's tension is what I LIVE for hahaha

What do you think is gonna happen?

See you guys on the next one, love Sav x

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