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" and he knows where you live, death's got a warrant for you "

_____

I don't know how far I make it, just how the breeze slides through my face as I run and the pounding of my heart can be heard over my footfalls and I don't look back.

I can't look back.

There is the thumping of something, someone, following behind me in the same pathway I am running from and the feeling of cold dread swirls inside me as I pump my legs to go faster, feel the last spike of adrenalin pull me through to veer off in another direction in hopes of throwing them off trail.

And then, I'm falling.

Something grabs me from the side where we both go tumbling down into the bush, I begin to scream out only to have another hand clamp around my mouth, their body pressing atop of me keeping me flat down against the ground.

When I open my eyes I see a face I've never seen before, he's got an expression of utter panic all over him and he shakes his head at me in what seems like desperation. He keeps mouthing something and I blink trying to zone in on it before I realise he's mouthing the word quiet over and over. 

For whatever reason, I do. My tense body sinks into the ground and he sinks further atop of me with utter relief and proceeds to dip his head down to my shoulder staying completely still. I don't know what we are waiting for until a rustle and footsteps approach the area.

"You can't hide, Cassandra." Richmond drawls and I begin to tense up alongside the guy atop of me. "Not forever at least. You're trapped and you know it."

The footsteps creep closer towards the bush that we've sunk in and I pray to anything above that we are hidden enough that he cannot see us, that the wind is strong enough that he doesn't hear our staggered breathing nor smell our scent.

There's a long drawn out pause that has me holding my breath.

"You'll come out of your hiding place sometime, my dear. When you try your next move I'll be there waiting because you cannot escape." Theres a deranged chuckle that pulls at the fear in my chest before the footsteps recede and begin to to fade further away.

We still don't move, not for a long while until he suddenly does, rolling off of me and onto the ground beside me.

I let out a large deep sigh finally feeling as if I am able to breathe properly and feel everything in me relax, seeping into the ground as the tension flows outwards.

"I apologise for grabbing you like that." His voice has an accented tilt to it, and blue eyes turn towards me as he pulls himself into a seating position and runs his hand though the curls atop his head tugging on them, "you were- and then he was- I didn't mean to get that up close and personal but you-"

"It's okay." I smile reassuringly, "thank you for saving me."

"I didn't-"

"I would of kept running and he would of caught up eventually." I point out, and he nods along in agreement instead of rebutting. "Why though?"

"Why what?" He blinks at me.

"Why did you save me?" I ask quietly, moving gently into a seated position and only slightly wincing at the pull against my taut muscles and bruised body.

"You smell like him." He whispers out pained.

"Who?"

"My- my mate." He chokes out, "it's not possible."

"It could be." I gently respond.

"He's supposed to be- to be dead."

My lips purse as I calculate his response, trying to understand how I could possibly smell like his mate and how he sounds so sure of it. The only possible contact I've had of anyone was Nolan in the morning and then...my head snaps up, eyes wide looking at the man before me much more clearly.

"What's your mates name?" I demand.

He looks at me cautiously. "Jack. His names Jack Desmond."

A delighted laugh escapes my lips before I can hold it back and my body surges forward one hand grabbing onto his shoulder and the other cupping his cheek as I tilt his head around a little to assess him as if he isn't real.

"You're here- you're- but how... when did you meet? How did you meet if you've been trapped in here for- Jack's alive."

"He's alive?" And there's such cautious hope in his tone that it breaks my heart into two.

"Yeah," I breathe out, "Jacks alive. I was just with him before all of this-" I wave around, "and we just- he's my brother." I close my eyes tightly that little piece of vital information having escaped me for a moment up until now. "I just found out he is my brother. Step-brother. Maybe, I don't know who our mothers are, never mind that- sorry. He is well and truly alive."

Since the last time I saw him, I think but I don't bother to say it out loud. Who know's what could of changed since now and then considering the image of Lucas' slumped body plays on reply in my mind-

"Are you okay?" Jacks mate - for goddess sake I couldn't believe - stares at me with deep concern.

"It's been a long day." I simply say, pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes and sighing loudly still feeling quite out of breath, "I never got your name."

"Oh, it's Henrik." He replies back with an adorably shy smile, "I- I don't know who you are either."

"Cassandra Williams. I'm human. I think." I frown, fading off for a second as I wonder the implications of my father being bitten to become a werewolf but my uncle being a werewolf and...quite frankly trying to figure it out gave me a headache.

"You think?" He amusedly replies.

So, I spend the next few moments speedily going through the tragedy of my childhood and family background. Catching him up on the last few weeks of discovering this Hexer Pack which meant my father was Alpha Hex which meant Raymond Fleur was- but...

"It's all so confusing." I groan out falling backwards onto my back in exhaustion.

"I bet." He muses before his ears are pricking up and he looks around, "we should get moving. We shouldn't stay in one place for too long."

"Yeah, yeah of course." I agree, both of us making a move to stand up.

Before we fully begin to make a move though, Henrik pauses turning to stare at me. 

"Is he really alive?" He asks once again in awed disbelief.

"Yeah- yes Jack's alive." I respond, eyes watering at their own accord as I can't imagine being told your mate is alive after believing him to be dead all these years.

My mind tortuously flickers to Nolan, my chest hurting at the mere thought of him. The way we had left things, upset with one another and our last conversation echoes in my mind. It all seemed so trivial and insignificant now, like being told I'm Queen was nothing compared to the last hour of information that had unfolded right in front of me.

I shake my head to rid of my thoughts, hurt creeping into my mind as I suddenly realise just how much I wanted Nolan right now. 

But he isn't here, so I trudge on following behind Henrik.

____

"It's not going to work." Henrik sadly says, watching me bang my fists against the barrier in complete frustration.

"What do we do now?"

"We need to find Sheila."

"Who?" I turn with raised eyebrows, the hand pressed against the transparent wall ripples but otherwise stays completely solid not allowing anybody to walk through.

"The witch. She can break the barrier or create a leeway to let you through."

"Let us through," I correct before, "where do we find her?"

"I'm not sure." He winces, looking down dejectedly, "I've only managed to hear bits and pieces. She is somewhere in the woods, away from everyone where only Hex knows."

"So in other words we'll never find her." I respond, thinking of the acres of land amongst us that would have to be searched to find her. I wrack my brain for a moment trying to think of a solution, anything to help us at this stage.

"It's not impossible but it will just take time." He murmurs and then, "I'm really sorry."

"No," I immediately reply shaking my head, "it's okay. It's not your fault besides, I think I know where we can start looking. There's a tree in the preserve called The Elder, it's known as a power source for all supernatural. There has to be one of those around here and that's where Sheila is getting her energy from."

"How do you know all of that?"

"A lot, and I mean a lot, of research." I chuckle, shaking my head and thinking back to all the nights and days of reading whilst everyone was out hunting for any sign of the Hex Pack. "So, if the book I was reading is correct the sources say that The Elder's main sustenance is water and the roots travel as deep and far to the closest source possible."

"So the tree needs to be next to a large body of constantly streaming water." He more so states than questions.

"Exactly, so either a lake or pond needs to be nearby the tree. We should begin searching there."

"Okay," he nods, "if we start walking I can focus on hearing any signs of trickling water."

We begin walking once again, tracking through the forest with a certain level of unease and mindfulness of the noise we made on our way. As much as I appreciated Henrik, I realise just how much I was depending on him to listen out for any incoming danger whilst also for any signs of water. It made me feel useless in a way I disliked being.

As the afternoon wears on, the sun beginning to dip far below the trees and the cool air simmering around us I begin to grow more uncomfortable.

Uncomfortable because my chest felt heavy, like something was pressing down on it and constricting any movement. Almost like a sack of flour or even a brick was weighing it down and then there was my heart, it almost felt like it was pulling, tugging in a way that I knew was definitely not normal.

I raise my hand to massage my chest, frowning at the odd feeling.

"Are you okay?" Henrik asks, stopping in his path to look at me properly.

I nod my head, waving him off. "Yeah, keep walking."

He continues and I follow.

The feeling doesn't ease yet it doesn't increase either.

There's another feeling bubbling alongside it now. I move forward and gasp at the stricken rage and terror that is washing over me. For a moment my mind blanks out and all I can do is feel and its coming from a source, my mind connecting to a string that is being pulled forcibly.

"Cassandra?" Henrik stops again, concern lingering longer now.

"Sorry." I gasp out, hand grasping at my chest. "Just something weird is going on-"

Another emotion, it pounds this time like heavy footfalls and I let it consume me for a moment, letting it tug and pool around my chest and heart. It screams worry, concern and something akin to relief when I put pressure on the feeling. I close my eyes momentarily and its like all my senses switch over - calm calm calm I push towards the stem of the feeling.

I breathe deeply and strongly, opening my eyes back up and blinking at Henrik in a daze.

Henrik gapes at me. "Your-"

"What? What's wrong?"

"Your eyes are glowing." I blink, startled by his words.

"What?"

"I've never- they were gold." Henrik stands stunned.

"Yeah?" I breathe out.

"Your mate is calling out to you." He says knowingly, gently as if the words don't tilt my world on an axis whilst simultaneously catching it on fire.

"Yeah." This time my voice shakes.

"We should sit down for a bit, have a bit of a rest perhaps?" He suggests, reaching for me in an aborted movement because he clearly thinks better of it. He instead shuffles awkwardly to a fallen tree trunk to perch on it.

I follow stiltedly, my mind racing in a million ways that answers close to none of the questions on my mind.

After processing for a minute that's when I turn to Henrik, fingers clasping onto my knees placing pressure to keep me tied to my body, rooting my frazzled mind back down. "I felt emotions..."

"They were probably his," he confirms my thoughts, "he was probably trying to gain a feel of how you are doing. Whether you are in pain most likely. It's interesting I've never known a human to have a werewolf as a mate."

"Humans can be mates with werewolves." I nonchalantly comment, "how do I send my emotions back to him?"

"You already did. Your eyes glowing was in response to whatever feeling you were pressing back."

"Calm." I murmur to myself.

"And they would of felt that response." He assures.

"I wasn't aware mates could communicate like this to each other."

"Over time, yeah. The closer you are with your mate and the more time grows between the two of you the more in tune you become with one another. How long have you both been mates?"

"Not long." I respond, but it's an understatement.

Could we even be categorised as mates? I hadn't accepted him yet but with the way he had managed to communicate to me that had to mean on some level I had accepted the bond? Or perhaps that was just because of how long we truely have been in each others pockets for. Maybe the bond had been growing and festering all along and all I simply had to do was acknowledge it.

I already knew deep down however, there was never really a question on whether I would accept Nolan as my mate.

"I have a mate." I breathlessly announce, my eyes widening as I say the words out loud for the first time. Henrik nods confusedly at me, possibly wondering why I had stated it in such a strange tone.

But it was true.

I had a mate.

The Alpha King Nolan was my mate.

And I feel it - something snap and bind and twist before it slots perfectly inside me, clicking into its place as the warmth that follows spreads and spreads. It feels like the sun has shone on me, warming up my insides turning it into melted butter.

The air suddenly becomes crisper, my lungs expanding in freshly new vigour.

And then.

There is a howl, vibrating from miles away but it echos throughout the whole of the forest, rings around and buries within every crevice of the preserve.

It is deep, prominent and powerful.

Two seconds later there's a rumble of howls that follow after it as a response.

My mouth curves up in a smile unconsciously, my shoulders sag momentarily in relief at the familiarity of the howl. The howls of the Royalty Pack afterwards. It brings me a moment of comfort because I know exactly who it is and welcome the tug on my heart as it warms to the source.

An announcement, Andrew had called the howl back then, back on the first day I had arrived to the Kingdom with no idea what was to come.

And this announcement seems clearer than them all; this means war.

_____

In theory, the lake had been a good idea but once realising just how long the lake spanned across the land, well, it was getting late and there had been no sign of any tree even resembling The Elder. Not to my knowledge at least, I was going by the books, Henrik claimed there was a specific scent to witchcraft that he could track and yet we walk along the riverbank exhaustion running through our bones.

"Maybe we should call it a night," I gently say.

Henrik sighs beside me, nodding his head in concession and doing one more general sweep of the new area we had wandered in. The moon was well above our heads now, howls every hour would rumble in a far distance and with each hour they seemed more pained than the last.

I take a seat by the lake, on an old looking tree stump, eyes lazily looking around as well. My side had progressively gotten sorer but I refused to speak up about it, ignoring the throb that was beginning to grow sharper.

Now was not the time for injuries anyway.

"This doesn't make any sense."

"What doesn't?" I ask, my elbows pressing into my knees and using the palm of my hands to keep my head up.

"We are in a dome, the lake should be cutting off some time soon and we have been tracking it for quite a while."

"You don't smell any magic?"

"No." He dejectedly responds, shoulders slumping downwards.

"That's okay." I assure, "we'll relax for a bit, get some energy back and the continue on. It has to end some time."

"It's more the how it will end that has me concerned." He grumbles, sitting down on the ground by the tree stump I am perched on, head lulling upwards to blink at me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Don't think I didn't notice how you were favouring one side."

"I'm fine," I insist, "one of the wolves got a swipe at me but it's fine."

With a raised eyebrow that seems sceptical, he stares for a moment but I don't crack easily.

So, he nods.

"I'll keep first look out - you sleep first."

I nod, pushing myself down to the ground gently and leaning up against him, head now resting against his shoulder.

When I shut my eyes, I pretend as if I don't know Henrik won't be waking me up for his turn to sleep.

_____

There's darkness. A lot of darkness surrounding me.

I spin around, looking but not seeing anything and this must be a dream because I don't see anything but my hands and they're shaking and tremors are running through me as I try to figure out what exactly is happening.

"We don't have a lot of time."

My head snaps upwards, my mouth agape as I see a woman appear in front of me where she shimmers and almost seems translucent in the dark. Her state is saddening; sunken facial features, a scarily thin body and everything about her screams exhaustion and pain.

"Sheila?" I cautiously call out and the woman's face contorts into a grimace of a smile.

"Your majesty," she responds, my eyes widening at the title.

"How..."

"We don't have a lot of time." She repeats.

"What do you need me to do?" I straighten, falling serious.

"I'm going to drop the barrier for ten minutes," she explains, "it will allow you time to escape and for your Pack to infiltrate this land. You need to kill him."

"Sheila..." I breathe out, "I can't-"

"It is the only way. If he is not killed he will prevail."

"How did he- how did he become this strong?" I stutter out perturbed.

"Black magic." She hisses, eyes going dark in aggravation. "He is not in his right state of mind. Darkness has taken hold within him, his heart has become one of stone and his mind filled with evil that has stretched far beyond what any of us can imagine. He needs to be stopped."

"But to kill..." I trail off, looking away for a moment and battling the conflicting morals in my mind.

"Your King will do it. You just say the order."

"If you drop the barrier...then Richmond will come running. I may not have enough time to get to Nolan."

"Your Mate is nearby patrolling the border. All you need to do is walk along, stop by the wall when you see him, press your palm against it and it will drop. That is when your time begins."

"Why can't you just drop the barrier altogether?"

With her head downcast, her voice strains when she speaks. "He cast some sort of spell that has me bound to him, if I drop the barrier I will die. I have tried..."

"Don't." I immediately respond, "we will find another way to free you. There has to be something, anything else, that will help you."

"He needs to be stopped."

Killed.

I grimace. "I know. I will."

Then the black surrounding

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