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“You can’t go. Erik wants you to stay safe,” he said.
“I have to go,” I snapped. The power I’d just gotten buzzed under my skin and Jaylyn seemed to notice. “You can go with me or get out of my way.”
“I can’t let you go,” he said simply. “If something happens to you, Erik will never forgive me.”
“If something happens to him, I’ll never forgive you,” I said,
“Ivy, please don’t make me betray him,” he said, and I felt a small bit of pity in my chest. Jaylyn loved his brother and took what he said to heart. He really thought the best thing to do was to keep me safe and here.
“Jaylyn, you know the only thing that’s going to be able to stop my father is me. Erik is strong, but he’s taking on too much alone. Let me help him,” I said. “Let me help my mate.”
Jaylyn sighed. “Fine, but I’m going with you.”
I nodded. “Something’s wrong. We have to go now.” I didn’t wait for him to say anything else. I just knew something was wrong. Something more than my father causing a problem, but I couldn’t place it.
I just knew.

***

The moment I got to the hall, I could feel the magick. It was old and not from anyone I knew, even my father. My eyes roamed the area, and I took a sharp breath when I saw someone I didn’t want to. My mother. She laid there, her throat torn open, and something in me broke.
“This isn’t something you can do on your own,” a voice said from behind me. “He wants you.”
I slowly turned and looked at him. “This is your fault.”
He glanced at the area where my mom’s body lay. “I didn’t know he would come. I didn’t know he’d kill her.”
“You don’t care, do you?” I felt the anger raise in my voice. The newfound power taking over me.
“I can’t afford to. Power demands control, and right now you don’t have any. You feel it too, don’t you?” My father said. He glanced at Jaylyn and back at me.
“You can’t have her,” Jaylyn said. “She’s part of our pack now, and you are nothing but someone to kill.”
He smiled. “You talk like your brother, but you misunderstand,” he said. “I want to help.”
“Help with the problem you caused?” I snickered and shook my head.
“He’s not something you can beat on your own,” my father said. “And he has your mate.”
I shrugged. “I’m willing to try.”
“There’s something you don’t know,” he started. “The vampires are looking for someone like you. They have been for some time. Someone who can read the book.”
“You’re talking about the Arcana?” I remembered something about it from a book I read before I knew what I was. “They think I can read it?”
“They think you can become it and give them the answer to their problem.” He glanced at Jaylyn who looked at clueless as I felt. “The Arcana isn’t just a book. It can tell a witch, wolf, hybrid, the future. It holds more power than anything in this world.”
“And they want control over that power, but so do you,” I said. I wanted to believe that wasn’t the truth, but that would be stupid and hopeful. I’d been that long enough. It was time to see things for what they were.
He’s telling the truth. The voice startled me. I glanced at Jaylyn who was watching me with his brows furrowed.
“I admit that was the goal, but you are also my daughter,” he said. “I thought with your power in my hands, I could control the outcome and what happens to you, but with Wes involved, that’s not going to happen.”
“Wes?” I watched him as I pushed.
“He’s the lover of the first evil, or who the first evil is inside anyway,” Skyler stepped closer. “They will take you if we don’t work together.”
“Why should I trust you?” I said.
“Trust your wolf. She’ll know the truth,” he said, keeping his eyes on me.
“I don’t know how to ask her anything.”
“The bond will be new, but it’s there. Just think about your wolf and she’ll appear in your mind,” Jaylyn said. “Then ask her.”
I nodded and closed my eyes. This was not the best place to be having a conversation with the wolf inside me. Especially since I’d never talked to her before and had no idea if this was truly what was happening.
You have a hard time trusting yourself, don’t you? The voice caught me off guard at first.
Are you my wolf?
I am, but I’m simply a part of you. A piece of what makes you, you.
How do I trust him? I said in my mind.
He may be selfish, as most warlocks are, but he does want you to live. He will help you drive Wes away.
I took a breath. Who is this Wes?
He’s old. Very old and has the essence of the first. She turned him. She made him.
How can we beat him?
You can’t, but you can convince him it’s not you. You would know where the book is. Do you feel it?
No, I answered simply. There was no feeling of anything but Erik. I only feel him, my mate.
You will have to trust me.
I trust you.

Erik

I knew I couldn’t fight him. He was too old and too powerful, but my wolf was fighting against me to try. He wanted to keep Ivy safe and to get this vampire out of here. I did too, but I honestly had no idea how.
“Your mate has the power of the moon,” he said. “She can do more than any wolf.”
“I don’t care,” I spat.
He glanced at me and shook his head. “I always hated the wolf part of that magick. The mating and then dealing with the guardian.”
“I’m not her guardian. I don’t tell her what to do,” I said.
He poked around the hall, looking at the various items we had laid out. The map with the movements of the vampires and us. Our plans. “The pair of you haven’t found the book yet, but she will know where it is. It’s in her blood.”
“Why is this damn book so important?”
“It has the power to move through time. To follow the wolves’ future and ours. They made it that way,” he said, his voice dripping with disdain. “Once Ami became the evil they feared.”
“That’s all well and nice, but what does that have to do with Ivy?” I was stuck here as his pawn, I might as well get him to talk.
“She’s the key to finding the next person to carry this evil and free Ami. Free my love,” he said, finally looking back to me. “Love can change a person. Make them a monster. Your father knows what I mean.” He took a step toward me. “He razed an entire pack to nothing over your mother’s death.”
“That’s not the same,” I snapped, but it was. When my mother died, my father became the monster the other packs bowed to. He became the pack leader whom no one would question. “I’m not him.”
“You say that, but every time I talk about taking your mate, that look in your eyes says otherwise.” He cocked his head. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, but will do what I must.”
“A vampire that won’t hurt, kill, doubt it,” I said, and he nodded.
“Like I said, I’ll do what I must.” He cocked his head and looked at the door. “Your witch is here.”
I watched Ivy come in with her father beside her and Jaylyn on the other side. I gave hi a look, and felt my wolf clawing under my skin. She’d made a deal with him of some kind. “Ivy, what are you doing with him?”
“It’s okay, Erik,” she said, but I could feel something else. Her wolf. It was awake. I waited for her to make the first move, but if either of these men made a move to hurt her, I’d rip them apart.

Ivy

The first thing I noticed in the hall was the feeling. It was the strongest magick I’d ever felt. While I noticed it to some degree degree, it was stronger now that I was looking this old ass vampire in the face.
“Now I can find the book and end all this,” the vampire Wes said while he watched me for a moment. Then his eyes moved to my father. “So, you’re her father, I presume.”
“She’s not the one you’re looking for,” he said.
I shook my head. He was going to further piss off this guy and make everything worse. “I don’t know where your book is. I should know if I’m the one it’s calling to, right?” I shifted my gaze to Jaylyn standing just a few feet away. He was slowly making his way towards Erik.
He shrugged. “So the legends say, but maybe they’re wrong.” He took a step towards me, and my father stepped between us.
“Like I said, she’s not the one you’re looking for,” he repeated. “She has a lot of power, yes, but she’s not connected to your book.”
“And you know this how?”
“I know where the book is,” he said, and I stared at him in disbelief. All this time he was acting like he didn’t know anything about why the vampires wanted me in the first place.
“You know where the Arcana is?”
“The warlocks have it. It’s in New York,” he said. “The one who has it now is waiting for the woman you’re looking for.”
“They’re going to give it to her?” Wes glanced at me.
“Not her,” my father clarified. “There’s another witch.”
Wes studied me for a moment. “Why should I believe a warlock?”
“Ask your vampire pals. I’ve been working with them this entire time,” he said. “My daughter’s not part of that bargain.”
He glanced at me and back to my father. “You know I could kill her and you before you could even raise a finger.”
“But if you did, how would you be able to verify what I said?” My father stayed in front of me, but this felt more like he was claiming my power than him actually protecting me because he gave a shit.
Wes looked back at Erik and then at me. “If this is a lie, I know where to find your daughter, and I won’t hesitate to rip this whole place and everyone in it to shreds.”
I pushed my father to the side and stepped closer to him. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“You will be before the end,” he said, and his hand moved to my cheek, gently touching it. I forced myself to stay still, even though my insides were twisting with fear.
“I can see why he loves you. You’re strong and brave.” Before I could say anything else, he was gone.
Erik hurried to me and pushed my father back. “This doesn’t change anything. You’re not welcome here.”
My father smirked and shrugged. “Maybe not, but it looks like you owe me.”
“I don’t owe you anything,” Erik snapped. “Get out of here before I let my wolf loose and it rips your heart out.”
My father smiled wider and looked at me. “I expect you to need me in the future. This fight isn’t over. It’s just going to get worse.”

Erik

As soon as Skyler was gone, I pulled Ivy to me. “Are you okay?” I looked her over while I spoke. “Neither of them hurt you, did they?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “My wolf helped me.”
“I feel her. When did that happen?”
“Just before I came to save you,” she said with a smile. “Are you okay?”
“A few bumps and bruises, but nothing that won’t heal,” I said. Then I thought about what happened with her mother. “Ivy, your mother…”
She dropped her eyes. “I know.”
“I’m so sorry. I tried to save her, but he was too strong for me, even. Any other vampire…”
“I know. That was why I let my father help. Fighting him would have just killed us all,” she said, but her eyes were filling with tears. “I didn’t want anyone else to die because of me.”
I pulled her into my arms and just held her. “No one has. We all love you and want to protect you.” I wrapped my arms around her, letting her feel through this new bond how much I loved her. After everything, fighting the mate bond, and dealing with the vampires, we both were finally admitting not just our love for each other, but our love for the pack.

Ivy

I stayed there, letting him hold me for a good while. It felt nice to have someone that was there for me and wanted me to feel cared for, finally. Not that my mother didn’t, but this love was different.
“The pack will take care of your mother, and when you’re ready, we’ll do the ceremony,” Erik said.
“I don’t want to think about what happened,” I said, letting the tears come to my eyes. My mom and I had our differences, but I loved her, and she was the one person I had counted on all these years.
“I know. We’ll help you,” Erik said, glancing at Jaylyn who nodded and left the hall. He picked me up and carried me out of the door, being careful not to let me see my mother again, not like that.
He carried me back to our bedroom and laid me down where I cried some more until I couldn’t any longer and fell asleep.

***

When I woke, Erik was still in the room, sitting on his bed working on something on his computer. He looked over at me and smiled. “How are you doing?”
“I don’t know,” I answered simply. “I don’t want to go back to that house.”
“You don’t have to right now,” he said. “Jaylyn is taking care of the legal stuff. “Just take care of you and grieve. I’ve got you.”
That in itself made me almost cry again, but he put his hand on mine and gave me a squeeze. He’d lost his own mother in a horrible attack he never talked about. He knew exactly how I was feeling.
“We shouldn’t wait too long to do the ceremony,” I said. “The pack needs a united front.”
“Ceremony or not, we are united,” he said. “They can wait.”

***

Three months Later

The gardens were in full bloom, with flowers spilling over onto the sidewalks and yards, and everything was decorated in blues and silver. The pack colors looked amazing draped over the buildings as I walked toward the center of town. He’d spent days getting everything ready. Making sure it was perfect for this day.
Our day.
The backyard of his and, I guess, my home was filled with people I recognized from our own pack or Axls. Nakia sat next to her father, watching everything with a smile on her face. Whether it was forced or not remained a mystery, but the way she kept glancing at Jaylyn made me raise an eyebrow. Maybe he didn’t have far to look for his own mate.
“Are you ready for this?” Erik asked as soon as I got to the front where the pack priest stood.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said. So much had changed, and maybe it was more for the better than I ever would have admitted. I found my mate and my place in a pack I never thought I’d fit into.
“Whatever happens after this, we will face together,” Erik said and pulled me to him. “Always and forever.”

The End For Now…

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