I took a deep breath as the guards let me into the prison. I tried to push away the uncomfortable feeling I got in here. I had only been here a handful of times, but I never desired to go.

Felix followed behind me dutifully, looking a little more tense than usual. Liam tried to force me to take both Azeron and Felix with me, but I put my foot down. That was total overkill. We only had a handful of criminals inside the prison, and there were ten times as many warriors in here to guard the place.

I was led down a few floors and finally to a corridor. This one had closed cells with open doors, similar to the ones that Gwen was held in. We marched to the end of the hall, where I was directed to the last cell on one side. I stood a few steps away from the door and looked inside. Vlad sat on the bed. He had a rubber ball in his hand that he was throwing at the opposite wall and catching again. He didn’t notice me at first.

I watched him for a few minutes, just throwing the ball and catching it over and over. His face looked sad and reserved like he was just waiting for some accepted fate.

“Ahem,” I cleared my throat softly. He caught the ball and turned his head. As he caught sight of me, his eyes widened, a little fear entering them.

“L-Luna,” he stuttered as he scrambled from the bed.

“Hello, Vlad,” I said. “How are you?”

He looked at me with absolute confusion. “Fine,” he said softly.

“Felix,” I said, turning to my forever shadow. “Can we move somewhere to sit and talk? I think it would be more comfortable for the both of us.” Felix shook his head, making me raise an eyebrow at him. With a suppressed sigh, he nodded. I let him link whoever while I turned back to Vlad.

“I was hoping we could talk,” I said.

“Why?” Vlad blurted out, then caught himself. “I’m sorry, Luna. I don’t mean any disrespect! I just don’t understand.”

I laughed lightly at him. “Because I think you deserve a conversation, and you might be able to help me.” A warrior came rushing toward us with a key to Vlad’s cell. There was also a pair of restraints in his hands.

As he unlocked the cell and moved to grab Vlad, I stopped him. “I don’t think that is necessary. I am sure Vlad will cooperate.” I looked between Felix and the warrior. Finally, Felix nodded but grabbed my arm to make me step back with him. Vlad was led out in front of us. We followed the warrior escorting him down the hall and down another floor toward interrogation rooms.

Thankfully, we were led into one of the less gruesome-looking ones. It had a large metal table with two chairs on one side and one on the other. The warrior sat Vlad in the single chair, so I settled across from him. I tried to remain relaxed, so he would feel comfortable even though I genuinely disliked being in this place. Felix remained standing behind me, and the warrior stationed himself at the door. Vlad looked around nervously at them.

“I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to make them leave with everything that has happened, but I hope they won’t make you too uncomfortable,” I said, bringing his attention to me.

“Am I in trouble?” he asked. “I mean more trouble….”

“No,” I said. “I thought you were owed a conversation.”

“Oh,” he said. “About what?”

“The events that led you here,” I told him. He nodded. “If you feel like you are up to it, I would actually like to hear about your mother.”NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“My mom?” he asked, a little shock registering in his face.

I nodded. “I get the feeling that you have never really had anyone to talk to about what happened. I know the basics, but if you wanted to talk about it, I would be happy to listen.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because I don’t think you are a bad kid, Vlad. I think some deplorable things happened to you, and you tried to handle the fallout all by yourself,” I explained.

“But why do you care so much? I was leading Warwick right to you and the Alpha….”

I offered him a small smile. “Why don’t you tell me about it all? Start wherever you like.”

Vlad started slowly and hesitantly but soon opened up about everything. He told me about witnessing his mother being killed because of his father’s work. He told me about losing his wolf when he woke up in the hospital and how scared he was. He even admitted how angry he had been at his father for what happened then moving them away from their home. He explained how he didn’t want to come to our pack, but everything was okay after he met Missy. He talked about how she made him forget everything else, and he felt like he could breathe around her. He talked about how stupid the other children in the pack their age were for ostracizing her.

I listened closely and attentively. It was clear that he had never told all of this to anyone. I was sure he was interrogated to some degree after Missy and I’s kidnapping, but it was clear he never felt like he could talk about a lot of this with anyone close to him. My heart ached for him a little bit; then, it also hurt for Abraham. They had been torn apart by such a terrible thing, and so much heartache could have been avoided or deterred if Vlad felt like he could talk to his father.

“When they took me to her cell, Luna, I just….” Vlad paused for a second. He clenched his fists that rested atop the table. “It was never supposed to be like that. And I never wanted you or your baby to get hurt. I didn’t even want Alpha to get hurt. I just had no choice… I thought she was my mate. I really did….”

I reached forward and put my hand on top of his. “I know,” I told him. “I believe you didn’t mean for any of this.”

“I thought out of everyone Alpha could handle him. He promised not to go near Missy or the other kids….” Vlad was almost pleading with his words like he just needed someone to believe him.

“The important thing is that you came clean before it was too late. Everyone is okay,” I told him.

“Except Beta Damien….” he whispered.

“We are still hopeful,” I said.

Vlad shook his head. “I know he is stronger than me, but he’s been asleep too long.”

“I don’t know if you know this about me, Vlad, but I don’t like to give up on people. I tend to be very forgiving and hopeful,” I said. He looked at me, confused. “While I don’t condone your actions, I don’t think you should pay for them with your life. Just like I don’t think Beta Damien is lost to us.” Vlad’s eyes grew wide.

“Are you saying….?” he asked.

I sighed. “I can’t make you any promises right now. Unfortunately, there are some tricky rules around all of this, and ultimately, your fate comes down to my mate. With a war going on, I can’t promise that decisions will be made any time soon.”

“Oh,” he said, deflating.

“But if you can help me with something, I think I may be able to arrange some things to make your stay here a little better,” I told him.

“You’ll bring Missy to see me?” he sat up excitedly.

“I can speak to her about it, but I have to leave that choice up to her. I may forgive you, but I cannot tell her to do the same. But I will talk to her. I would also like to get you some school work in the hopes that you will be leaving here and rejoining the pack,” I said.

“I guess that would give me something to do,” he said. “But what do you need from me?”

“I need the cellphone you used to communicate with Warwick,” I said.

MISSY

When Maddox called Liam later that night to tell him he would go on this little espionage mission, he asked Maddox to be ready the following night to leave. That gave me less than 24 hours with my mate before only Goddess knew when he would return.

We spent much of the night in bed, cuddling and holding eachother; Maddox was all soft touches and gentle k****s. It made me miss him already.

Our only interruption was Sean coming over and knocking on the door. He brought a big bag of food with him from Liam. I suspected it was an apology.

The next morning was filled with intimate time, satiating our wolves for the moment. Then we had to start packing and getting him ready to leave. As the minutes ticked by, my chest hurt more and more, knowing I would have to say goodbye soon. Maddox moved slower as we went too, so I knew he wasn’t excited to leave.

Finally, we grabbed his bag and headed to the packhouse so he could speak with Liam before heading out. We walked hand in hand at a glacial pace, only slightly putting off the inevitable. We were surprised to find Langston at the packhouse with Liam standing on the porch chatting.

“Maddox,” Liam greeted him. “I have some news.”

We joined them on the porch. “Oh yea?” he said. I gripped his hand tighter, a flicker of hope that he wouldn’t have to go.

“Langston is going to join you on this little journey,” Liam said with a smile. “You can worry less now, Missy.”

Maddox relaxed a bit, feeling better about having an Alpha with him, but I was still worried. “That’s great,” Maddox said.

“Should we get going then?” Langston asked.

“Yea,” Maddox said.

“Let’s give them a moment to say goodbye,” Liam said, grabbing Maddox’s bag. He and Langston went over to the small black car parked to the side of the drive. Maddox turned to me. He ran his finger lightly down my face.

“I am going to miss you,” he whispered.

“I am going to miss you more,” I argued quietly. He leaned his forehead against mine, and I closed my eyes, memorizing his scent and feel.

“Be safe while I’m gone, okay?” he said. I nodded against him. “It’ll be over before you know it. I will call when I can.”

A single tear escaped my eye. Maddox’s thumb wiped it away before he kissed me softly.

All too soon, he let go and pulled away from me. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too,” I said, my voice breaking a bit. He left me on the porch and headed over to the car with Langston; Liam came over and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. We watched them slide into the vehicle, Langston in the driver’s seat. They pulled out of the driveway and soon were out of sight.

“It’ll be okay,” Liam said, rubbing my arm. “They will be back.”

AZALEA

I sat outside Damien’s room in the clinic, watching Lily with him. Felix had left me back here to take a call, but I knew he would come back any time now. She was brushing his hair and lightly kissing his face. Her sweater hung loosely to her tall frame. Her skin was pale, and her usually shiny hair hung limply from a bun on her head. If this went on much longer, I wasn’t sure how she would fair.

I bit my l*p, desperately wishing I could get through to Damien. Every time I got close, I hit this wall. I could push and push and get nowhere. I needed to try something else, but the question was, what?

I closed my eyes, praying to the Moon Goddess to bring Damien back. He was too good of a man to let die like this.

When I opened my eyes, Lily was sitting back down, holding Damien’s hand in her lap. I decided to go in finally. Lily didn’t move a muscle as I entered.

“Hey,” I said softly.

“Hi,” she whispered.

“How is he?” I asked.

“The same,” she sighed.

“Do you want me to…” I trailed off. She nodded her head, an absent expression on her face.

She stood slowly, setting Damien’s hand on the bed beside him. I took her spot and grabbed his hand. I looked at Lily through the corner of my eye before taking a deep breath and closing them.

Just like every other time, I visualized my power and tried to push it toward Damien. Unsurprisingly I felt resistance. This wasn’t working; I couldn’t get to him. Something surrounded him that wouldn’t budge. Then I had an idea. What if I could wrap him in my power, my light? I couldn’t break through one point, but maybe I could get through by coming from everywhere.

I could usually only keep this up for a few minutes before I could feel it wear on me. I opened my eyes to check to see if Liam’s uncle had come by. No one appeared out the window, but Lily had a scared look on her face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I want to try something else,” I said hesitantly. “Don’t let anyone stop me, okay?”

Lily looked worried. “Lea, what are you doing?”

“Just trust me.” I had no clue if this would work, but I couldn’t do it lightly. I knew it would take everything if I could do it. But my gut told me this was the right thing to do.

I closed my eyes again, changing my focus. I concentrated on Damien. I tried to feel him and spread my power over him, blanketing him entirely. At first, it felt like he was pulled away from me, but I pushed harder. I went until I felt like I was completely circuiting him.

I poured everything I had at Damien, desperate to get closer to him, desperate to wake him up and bring him back to his family and mate.

Then something snapped. A valve was released. I could feel him. My power surged forward, and I felt him.

There was a scream, and I opened my eyes briefly to see Lily with her hands over her mouth. I couldn’t make out what she said before I felt myself fall away.