VINDICATIO pushed himself up from the couch, a loud grunt resounded seconds later as he stepped heavily on Chaska's back, waking him from his slumber on the plush, living room rug. He proceeded to storm through the kitchen over to the slider door that led to the balcony, a light breeze causing Syretia's hair to sway in his wake.

Syretia's eyes widened at his sudden presence. 

Vindicatio wrenched the slider door open and demanded Talise and Moki back inside. He picked Salvatore —who was still strapped on the lounge chair— up into an awkward standing position before leaning the chair back against the janky railing. The rod iron let out a horrendous noise as it shifted on the concrete it had once been tightly secured to.

Vindicatio lowered himself and grabbed the bottom of the chair lifting it slightly causing Salvatore to slide further over the railing.

"Enough of this childish game, Vindicatio," he calmly bit out, staring into his son's eyes that mirrored his own. "You've already got me playing hostage," Salvatore stated drolly. Vindicatio let out a growl as he flung the chair back onto the balcony, Salvatore's head bobbing around in response to the sudden action.

"You've got quite the temper," Salvatore commented. "Why did you leave? We could be working together."

"We have different motives, mine has nothing to do with power. I left because I had to find my mate." 

"Which one of the four werewolves is your mate?"

"None," he stated flatly, "my mate is the human you terrorized last night."

Salvatore burst out into a laugh, "a lycan mated to a weak human, come on. She'll never be able to provide you with kids, you know that right? Our bloodline will end here. There will be no more lycans in our family."

"As far as family is concerned, the people inside are proving to be more family than you are and I haven't even known them for more than a few days."

"Don't be ridiculous, get out of here while you can Vindicatio. Before you fuck everything up, I can help you get to Italy, I have a jet that we could take. We could be out of here this evening. A human mate isn't good for our kind, they kill off our beast. You'll begin to suppress your true nature, you'll become more human and once that happens there's no going back."

That thought scared Vindicatio, he wasn't used to this human body enough to want to be in it day in and day out. He needed to be in his other forms, being free and following his instincts. He glanced inside to see Syretia sitting at the kitchen table, her back facing the sliding door. 

"I could turn her," Vindicatio countered. "Afterall it was you who told me, that true mates matter the most."

"It was because they matter most that I was destroyed by your mother. I told you that so that you wouldn't be taken down and overtaken by her," Salvatore ground out, frustrated. "If you keep this human around you'll be met with nothing but pain and restriction. They don't understand that the wild calls out for us, that it's our beast's form that we enjoy residing in the most. Even if you turned her she'd be weak, turned lycans are disgraces to our kinds and that's probably why your mother never turned Vincenzo. She might have the power that comes with being a Queen but in the eyes of Lycans she'd be judged by the ones that hold the most authority. Lycans strive to be paired with other lycans, anything less is void."

"Why is mother with a werewolf then?" Vindicatio threw his hands up in the air.

"The Lycan Council members were all taken, the next best bet was a king," Salvatore spat out in hatred. "A king's status means more than being lycan in today's age which is why I want to become king. I want to take that crown from Vincenzo's fat head and I'm going to banish Analyn to the Arctic, she'll have no power, no followers, no Vincenzo. She'll die of a broken heart, she'll feel as destroyed as I did the night she trapped our son inside a vessel and threw my feelings away like trash. She's a selfish woman so I've learned to be even more selfish. The moment I brought you back I started to destroy her. I didn't bring you back to bond with you, I brought you back because I knew the one thing that would destroy Analyn the most would be seeing the son whose life she destroyed." 

It was that moment Vindicatio agreed to take on Salvatore's offer of taking his jet to Italy. He had to get to the court and take on his revenge before Salvatore got the chance to take over. Like Salvatore said, he needed to be selfish. He'd take the crown before Salvatore could even think of touching it. 

At dusk, the group climbed into Syretia's '97 Jeep Cherokee.

"Do you have a bigger..." Moki began trying to find the word, he had never been in one of these metal, moving boxes.

"Car? No." Syretia stated, "now buckle up and keep Salvatore down, the last thing I need is a ticket for having someone riding the 'way-back' and for Odessa not being in a proper seat." Chaska shoved Salvatore's head down that head been poking over the back seat. Salvatore had been crammed into the back with the minimal luggage that was comprised of both Syretia and Vindicatio's clothing that was also being put to use by the four other shifters in the car. Talise, Moki, and Chaska were crammed in the back seat with Odessa lying on their laps, their arms were secured over her so she wouldn't go flying if Syretia hit the brakes suddenly. Even though she really wanted to send her flying. Syretia let out a sigh as she felt a hand run through her ash blonde hair, twisting the tendril slightly as it slid between his fingers.

"Now is not the time, Vindicatio," he pulled his hand away and rested his forearm on the console with a huff. "Where are we headed exactly?" Vindicatio didn't give any details, just that they all needed to be packed and in the car by the evening. The air was tense and uncomfortable in the car, Syretia was just glad that she was distracted with the responsibility of driving.

"The airport, I have a jet there," Salvatore boasted from the back. Everyone rolled their eyes and it seemed as those Salvatore could sense it as he carried on, "just because I was banished from the Royal Court doesn't mean that I lost everything. I'm still filthy rich. And soon I'll be even richer."

"You're not helping your case at all," Vindicatio stated, his gaze remained forward but occasionally it would flicker over to Syretia as he watched her drive.

Upon arriving at the airport Salvatore directed Syretia to drive the private strip where his jet would be. She followed his instructions apprehensively, upon parking the car everyone began to spill out. 

Syretia sat in the driver's seat staring straight ahead trying to gather her thoughts. She was there, at the airport. About to board a private jet belonging to a scary and untrustworthy man; a monster, with others just like him but not as formidable, as evil. About to go to Italy for a reason that was still unknown as far as she was concerned. It all felt so... unreal. But it was the reality; her reality.

"Holy shit," she cursed under her breath, before repeating the phrase. "Holy shit." She felt her chest constrict as she gripped the steering wheel tightly, she started blinking fast as she looked upward trying to calm herself.

She heard the back door pop open and Salvatore getting pulled out along with the minuscule amount of luggage. What was she even doing here besides playing Chauffeur? What role did she play in this? What role was she going to play?

There was tapping on the glass of the window next to her head, she tore her gaze from the beams casted by the headlights. Vindicatio stood at the other side, his head cocked slightly, trying to figure her out.

She pushed in the button for her headlights and pulled her keys from the ignition. She gripped on the door handle before pulling it, making the door crack open. She took a deep breath. She didn't feel completely safe with these strangers, but Vindicatio made her feel a little more at ease.

Was he enough? Was him being by her side in a whole other country completely foreign to myself and probably himself after being gone for so long enough to keep her feeling safe and comfortable? Was he going to keep her grounded if she panicked? She wished the answer was a hundred percent yes, but she was unsure and not convinced. She needed people she was undeniably comfortable around. If she was going to board that plane she needed the person that made her feel her strongest.

Her family. She needed Welma.

"I need Welma," She stated firmly, the moment her shoe clad feet met with the slightly wet asphalt.

"Why do you need that crazy old bat?" Vindicatio asked, immediately reminding her of Ettore.

"Because I don't feel safe," she whispered the last word, taking her eyes off of him the moment she saw hurt flash through his eyes. She felt his warm hand grip onto hers.

"You don't feel safe around me?"

"Not safe enough, not yet," Syretia kept her gaze on his chest, she couldn't bear to look into his eyes.

"Call her." He stated before walking to the others, his want hand slipping from her grasp. She pulled her phone from her pocket and went immediately to Welma's contact.

"Syretia? What's wrong? It's late," Welma's warm, familiar voice seeped into her ear.

"I need you here," I said instantly, "I need you Welma, but I can't be selfish. I don't know what's going to happen or where this is going to lead to. And I can't risk you getting hurt just because I need you..."

"Syretia calm down, honey! What's going on?" She asked, bewildered.

"So much has happened in these past few days! Vindicatio is hellbent on going to Italy. We're accompanied by an evil man that is a..." she paused trying to find the right word, "lycan just like him. And then these strange shifters showed up randomly, and are calling Vindicatio their leader and following him like sheep. Everything is happening so fast, Welma. I'm scared. I don't know if I can handle all this. Hell, I don't even know why I'm coming along."

"Where are you right now, Syretia?"

"At the Quillayute Airport, just outside of Forks, everyone else has boarded the jet. It's about a forty minute drive from Bonaloo."

"Make them wait. I'm on my way."

About thirty minutes later a silver pickup truck sped into view. Welma emerged from the passenger seat adorned in her usual poncho and khaki pants, her wild white hair blowing behind her as she ran as fast as a seventy-year-old werewolf could. Syretia met her halfway, burying her face in Welma's hair as she rubbed Syretia's back. Welma smelt like freshly baked snickerdoodles, a signature grandmotherly scent. There was a second door slamming and the LED headlights illuminated a tall man with dark hair and piercing eyes.

"Darrin," his name escaped her lips, she hadn't been expecting him.

"I may not be able to go along with you but Darrin was more than happy to oblige," Welma stayed as they stepped apart.

"I don't want to take you away from your daughter," Syretia spoke up, remembering that Darrin had a young daughter that Welma had brought up once or twice before. She was touched by the fact that Darrin was so willing to help me when he didn't even know what was to come very shortly. But she didn't want him to lose valuable time with his child.

"Kara will be fine, she's playing with her cousins and being spoiled by Solomon. I don't plan on being in Italy long anyway," he stated. She looked down to see a duffle bag gripped in his left hand. "I treasure our friendship, Syretia, even if it's new. Plus, mom's going to be worried about you every waking moment. I'll be around to report back. So let's board that jet and fly to Italy and keep the others in check and do whatever is needed of us in whatever is to come."

"You should be a motivational speaker, Darrin." He simply rolls his eyes and walks over to the jet, head held high and posture pin straight.

"Thank you Welma, just you being here now has comforted my nerves so much."

"No problem at all, dear. You're family to me, I'd drop anything and everything for you," she smiled as she pulled Syretia in for one last hug, whispering into her ear. "Don't let the big wolves intimidate you, you're stronger than you think. You have a lot to offer even if you don't think so right now."

They pulled apart from their hug and Welma ushered her along, Syretia met Darrin at the bottom of the stairs before taking the lead. She halted in the middle of the steps and looked back at Welma as she climbed back into the pickup truck. She really did give her strength.

She straightened herself and quickly ascended the rest of the steps, Darrin at her heels.

Here goes nothing... she released a breath.