Crescent moon, coast is clear / Spring breaks loose, but so does fear

"Don't make me ask you again, Adelina." The temptation was getting bigger and harder to resist. I could almost taste the sweet, vigorous power. "He's extremely important to me, and if you don't tell me what you did and how to undo them, I've no problem erasing your memory." I leaned forward and added, "Even better, I'll make you forget that you're a witch, so you have no power to retrieve your memory."

The smug look on her face was entirely gone the moment I mentioned erasing her memory. That was what she had left. Her identity. With her involvement in Alana's ploy and killing Walker's baby — possibly an heir — she was done for and she knew it.

Logic prevailed as she swallowed convulsively before finally giving me the answer. "I did use some magic to mask his human identity and tweaked his wolf. But since I was not using dark magic, in order to do that, I have to preserve a balance in this universe."

"What does that even mean?" I was getting impatient. The closer I was to Adelina, the louder the yearning to absorb her power and suck her dry.

"I've had to make an antipode." Adelina moved her gaze to Ryker, who was now standing rigidly by the door. Her eyes were pleasing. She knew I was on the edge and only Ryker could save her. "Everything in this universe has to have its counter match. Positive and negative. Good and evil. So when I made Eros Adler the way he is right now, I had to make an antidote for it, something to neutralize it."

"How do I cure him — turn him back to the way he is?" I subtly took a step back, pulling my power with me, although I still had some of them holding her wrist and kept her palms curled. Just a bit of power, not enough to actually do any harm.

"I put one hex on Eros Adler and another on his friend, Sebastianos Accardi Junior," explained Adelina. "If you wish to cure Eros, you need to take the hex out of him. It's currently buried inside his chest. Nevertheless, if you carry out that plan and he somehow survives, then you must place it on someone else. Another wolf."

"Why on Earth would I want to do that?!" I took a deep breath, knowing that this couldn't be it. There were more things that Adelina wasn't telling me. "What happened if I didn't put it on someone else? What about Seb? What would happen to him?"

"If you don't plant it on someone, it will vanish and when it is gone, the other one inside Sebastianos's body can't be in this world alone. It would cause an imbalance. Nature simply won't have it." She tilted her head to one side. "So he will die with it."

I didn't buy any of this crap. Adelina could be lying for all I knew. She'd done nothing that would earn my trust so far. "There must be another way."

She tried to move her hand but stopped when she couldn't. "There is a way that will save them both, but it will be painful for both of them. Maybe worse than dying."

My hands clasped on Adelina's arms. "Tell me." My hold tightened, and I knew it would only need a small push before I harmed her.

"You have to reunite the two of them. When they're in proximity, they'll neutralize one another and you can destroy them without hurting the hosts." Adelina tried to break free from my hold and failed. She let out a small moan, grimacing at the pain that I was inflicting on her.

"Why did you do this?" My nails were digging into Adelina's flesh. "Why?"

"I am just doing Alana a favor. Nothing more." She shrugged. "If you realize your friend is missing, you'll go look for him and leave Alpha Ryker alone."

Fuck. I'd be damned if something happened to Eros. I was the cause of his pain. He'd become like this because of me. Because Alana wanted to get rid of me.

Ryker moved from his position. His tall and lean body was looming over me, but his silver eyes were fixed on Adelina. "Wait, did you say Sebastianos Accardi?"

"Junior," corrected Adelina with a smile.

"Oh, bloody hell! As if that's gonna make it any better!" He ran his fingers through his hair, then shook his head. His gaze moved to me. "Sebastianos Accardi is The Erebus' third in command. After your dad was removed from his position, their Alpha trusted only two people: his new Beta and Seb. Sebastianos Jr. must be his son."

"He was that guy," I shook my head, trying to remember what Sebastianos looked like, "the guy that Eros called 'Young Seb' when we last visited them."

"Southern wolves allowed Northern wolves into their territory?" Adelina laughed. "I don't think so. You must be dreaming, girl. These two packs don't mix. There is a reason why one is in the North while the other is in the South. Both are apart from each other. That's why I put it on Sebastianos. There would be no chance for him to meet your pal Eros. Being the Sebastianos' son, he'll never leave the territory. Eros, your friend, is in a place where you'd never be able to find him," she said, looking at me.

"Not quite. I met him a few days ago. So much for your clever plan, huh?!" I stretched my hand, summoning my energy and, at the same time, pulling Adelina so that she was pushed back against the wall.

"What are you going to do to her?" asked Ryker curiously as he stepped closer and stood by my side.

"Nothing harmful." After making sure that the red smokes were holding her hands, locking them like a chain against the wall so they would not be able to move, I twirled my wrist and brought my hand to Adelina's temple until those red smokes made contact with her skin and went into her head. "Is everything you told me the truth?"

I wasn't exactly sure how I had done it with Miles, but I used my will this time, forcing the power to make Adelina tell me the truth. Through gritted teeth, she answered, "Yes."

"Are you hiding something else?"

Again the answer was, "Yes."

"Tell me," I ordered her.

Blood began to stream from her eyes down her cheek. "I can't. I have placed a curse upon myself. I can never speak of it to anyone unless they already know."

The sight was revolting, and her answer left me unsatisfied. "Does it have anything to do with Eros?"

"No."

"What about Ryker?" I asked again.

Her answer remained the same. "No."

I hesitated for a moment. "Alana?"

"No."

"It is of no use then." I pulled my power out of her and released her hold.

Adelina slumped to the floor. She gazed down at her shaky hands and her body started to tremble, almost as hard as her hands. She lifted her head and met my eyes. "I thought you'd kill me."

"You're not worth killing for." I curled my palms into balls of fists and then opened them, blasting red smoke all over the place. It would destroy any harmful object that Adelina had in her cabin, including the recipe for the potion she had been very proud of, the potion for abortion as well as the ingredients needed for it. With one final touch, I wiped her memory of everything about the so-called special potion, except for its existence. From Adelina's character, I inferred that she wouldn't tell anyone about the potion's ingredients, especially since she was so proud of it. Well, that would teach her the lesson.

"No!" she screamed in full terror. "What did you do? How come I can't remember how to make it? How come I can not remember what I need to brew it?"

Without paying attention to her, I turned to Ryker and offered him my hand. It was about damn time for the female heroine not being the damsel in distress and actually being, well, the heroine. Alpha Ryker took my hand and gave me a gentle squeeze. Together, we walked out of Adelina's cabin.

While we were on our way back home inside Ryker's car, he turned to me when the car stopped at a traffic light. "I've bad news for you."

My eyebrows lifted up. "What is it?"

"The Erebus hates us and their Alpha, Leonidas Aglieri. Well, he hates my brother after he called him a terrorist once." Ryker let out a deep sigh.

"From what I heard from Eros, he is the son of a well-known mafioso or something." I vaguely remembered Eros telling me that his Alpha was a dangerous man, that his pack was a mafia werewolf pack. "The Little Gentleman."

"Yes," Ryker replied, appearing surprised. "I'm pretty sure he hates me too, Xy. Even though we've met once or twice a year for meetings. We have a mutual understanding, but no common ground. I think we never will be. Not unless he stopped doing his illegal things." The light turned green, and he went back to keep his eyes on the road.

"Ry, you can't change people," I said, patting his shoulder gently. "Anyway, it's not really bad news for me. I can talk to him."

Ryker narrowly missed hitting the car on our right. He cast a short glance in my direction. "You, what?"

"Let's not go home yet. We should head to the South." I knew this was bold and crazy, but I was once their Beta's daughter. Alpha Leonidas went to great lengths to send Eros to protect me and keep my dad company. It was unlikely that he would do anything harmful to me, especially if I let him know that I could bring his current Beta son back.

The car veered to the side of the road. With one hand on the steering wheel, Ryker turned to me. He was on the verge of speaking, but then opted not to and closed his mouth. When he finally reopened his mouth, all he asked was, "Are you sure?"

No, not really. "Yes."

He took a sharp breath, then turned back to the road and made a U-turn, heading towards the South. As I looked at my hands, I moved my fingers and saw the red smoke begin to form. I was hoping that if things literally went south, I would have the power to defend myself, and more importantly, I could get us both out of there alive.

It had taken over two hours to go from East to South. By the time we had arrived there, it was already dark. The full moon briefly appeared behind the dark clouds as I gazed at the night sky. This may not be the best time for a visit. Perhaps I should have waited until tomorrow. Yet the second the car stopped and I got out of the car, I knew I would not let any second go to waste if I could save Eros as soon as possible.

Ryker moved to stand beside me, his hand caught hold of mine. "They're not my pack members, but I can smell them. Some of them are doing perimeter runs."

"Should we go in?" As far as I could see, there were only trees and bushes.

"No." Ryker shook his head and tightened his hold. "Their policy for intruders is different from that of The Ethereal's."

I gulped down. It was clear to me, without Ryker's explanation, that in here, intruders would be punished with death. "So what do we do?"

"We wait," answered Ryker with a small sigh. "We wait until one of them catches our scents and greets us."

"Or eat us, you mean?" I swallowed again. Hard.

Ryker's lack of response was even more anxiety-inducing. I repeatedly convinced myself that I possessed magical red smoke that could throw people flying.

I was unaware I was saying it out loud until Ryker turned to me, a smirk playing on his lips. "I'm pretty sure your magical red smokes can do more than throw people flying."

As I was about to respond, a massive wolf leaped from the nearby bushes and landed on the ground just a few feet away from us. Ryker studied the wolf with narrowed eyes, trying to anticipate its next move. "Never thought I would see you again, Evan. Remember what I said if I ever catch you alone?"

"He's not alone," said a deep male voice behind the giant wolf. "If we kill you now, not even your Russian warlord can find your remains, Alpha Ryker." 

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Dear Gentle Readers, is anyone curious about what secret Adelina has kept so hard that she even put a curse on herself? Catch you in the next chapter! It's time for both Alphas to meet! Northern and Southern wolves in one room!