"What do you mean I'm shifting?" Mara asked. Her heart was beating wildly and she was scared out of her mind. Mara stared down at the claws protruding from the ends of her fingers and looked at her face in the mirror, the slight distortion from the large teeth making their home in her mouth. 

"I can't be shifting, that's impossible."

Through the mirror, Mara saw Marx move, standing behind her. He rested one hand on her shoulder and the other gently grabbed one of hers. Mara clenched her fists the claws digging into her skin as she tried to hide them. She wasn't sure why she was hiding them from Marx she knew he wouldn't care.

"The bond must have triggered the wolf in you." Marx murmured looking at her talons. 

Mara recalled the feeling she had; something felt like it had tried breaking through and by the end, she thought she could have felt it get free. 

Was that my wolf? Mara wondered to herself. She couldn't believe she was already considering it to be her wolf. 

"Why do I only have these? Why didn't I fully shift then?"

"Well, a person only shifts if they have half werewolf in them, once you get below that, there isn't enough to trigger the shifts. I have never heard of this happening, but it looks like you're only partially shifting." Marx said as he lifted Mara's hand closer, examining it. 

"Am I going to be stuck like this, like Feray?" Mara squeaked. 

"You shouldn't be. Feray and other Nightshades get in their state by being in their wolf form for too long. When they become more animal then human it leaves a mark."

"Well how do I get rid of it?" 

"You have to want it to go away." Marx said, trying to keep voice even and calm for Mara. 

"Believe me, I want it to go away!" Mara shouted, her tears nearly returning. This was not what she had in mind when she agreed to start the bond. 

Marx rubbed his hands up and down Mara's arms trying to comfort her. 

"When you do your magic you have to visualize it right? Like what you did to make the cuts."

Mara nodded slightly taking deep breaths, listening to Marx's words, focusing on his voice.

"It's like that. You need to calm yourself down and will it to go away. See them go away in your mind." Marx brought her hands up and holding them in front of both, palm to palm. 

Mara took another deep, calming breath feeling Marx behind her, letting his calm wash over her. She cleared her mind and focused on the claws and teeth, visualizing them going back into her skin. 

She opened her eyes when she felt the weird sensation. The talons were retracting back into her skin, but there was no pain this time, just the gentle gliding as the disappeared. Mara let out a harsh, silent chuckle as she stared at her plain hands with dried, crusted blood on her fingers. 

Mara felt Marx leave her side and walk across the room. When he came back he had a cloth that had been soaked in water. He sat her back down and gently started to wipe the blood off her hands as Mara shook slightly. She was afraid. 

"So how do those work?" Mara asked quietly. 

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think you can access them whenever you wish."

This time Mara didn't make the laugh silent, it sounded like a harsh barking noise. "Why would I want to use those again? I think that experience was enough."

"The first transformation is always painful." Marx said as he remembered his first shift when he was a kid. The way he felt all of his bones shift and crack, forcing into the right position. The claws and teeth that forced their way out. His parents could only stand by and watch, nothing could be done for a person shifting except words of comfort, and even those aren't heard while going through something like that. 

"After the first time it becomes more natural, like when they went back in. When they retracted was it painful?" He asked as he finished wiping her hands clean.

Mara shook her head no, her gaze absentmindedly locked on to her fingers. She never realized how much she had forsaken her normalcy until she had claws and fangs. 

"It should be like that from now on." Marx said as he stood from the ground and walked the couple feet to his bed. He held his arms open as an invitation for Mara to join him. 

Mara went next to him, and they lay down close to each other. Mara snuggled up with her back to him, their bodies fitting perfectly together. Thoughts about shifting and werewolves and witches clouded Mara's thoughts, and although she didn't want to admit it, the new ability would probably come in handy against Zander. 

"You don't think I'm a freak do you?" Mara's voice came out barely above a whisper, and she kept her face forwards, not looking back at Marx. 

"Why in the world would you ask something like that?" Marx gaped. 

Mara's shoulder rose in a shrug. She knew any sane person would think she was, heck, even she thought she was a freak. He had said himself that things like witches getting claws didn't happen, and she was tired of being referred to as unique. That word was normally reserved for someone who thought and acted in their own way; not some girl who had abnormally great powers and could half shift into a wolf, defying all logic that existed in a world of magic. 

Mara could feel the intensity coming from Marx though; she knew that he didn't think she was a freak. She could feel the tenderness of which he regarded her from the way he touched her and spoke to her, as well as what she felt through the bond. 

Marx's arms wrapped protectively around her and Mara pressed herself closer to him. As her adrenaline started to drop back down, her lids got heavier until she drifted off into a sleep. The first restful, dreamless sleep she had since before she left the school the year before. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emmett flung the door to the room open, spotting Marx and Mara still fast asleep. 

"Mara." Emmett said, trying to pull her out of sleep, but she didn't even sir. 

"Mara!" He shouted louder, startling her awake

She sat upright and Marx started to blink awake, seeing his roommate standing in the doorway. 

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry, Emme-"

"No, that's fine, that's not why I'm here. The High Council is here and they have been looking for you. Torlak dropped by your room." Emmett stopped there, his face turning bright red. If Torlak had stopped by her room, that meant he knew she hadn't been there, and that Emmett had been. She hoped that he hadn't freaked out about it. She knew he probably would, but not right then and there, what father wouldn't freak out if they found a boy in his daughters room early in the morning?

Mara quickly hopped up from the bed, she only paused for a moment realizing she was in the same clothes from the day before. At least no one here saw me yesterday. She thought as she quickly made her way to the door, turning back to look at Marx once more. 

"Um. We'll talk later?" She asked, biting her lip. 

Marx nodded with a smile and watched her run out of the room and it looked as if Emmett sniffed the air around her as she passed him. When she was part way down the hall she thought she could hear Emmett talking to Marx. 

"Did you two?" Mara bit her lip harder as she ran, entering the stairway. She wondered if hearing was another wolf ability she had received from the whole ordeal, or if Emmett's words were just a figment of her self-conscious imagination.

Mara thought about stopping by her room to change, but she decided to keep the Council waiting any longer wouldn't be a good idea, not when they had already been waiting. Especially not when they made an impromptu trip to see her at the school, that usually meant something serious was going on. 

Mara remembered the note she had gotten yesterday, she had put it back in her bag after showing it to Marx. He had distracted her from it with information about the mate bond, and from then on it hadn't crossed her mind again, until the moment she walked into the meeting room. 

"Mara." Torlak greeted her with a solemn expression. She nodded and took her place next to him. Coincidentally it was also next to Makortax. The werewolf king's nose wrinkled as she sat down, and he looked at her with horror. 

Mara cringed away from him afraid of what he could smell. No one else appeared to recognize anything, but she could see Makortax's body go nearly statue still. He had been so stunned by whatever it was, that he didn't even try to jump in when Lillian delivered her statement to the Council. 

"As you were all made aware of yesterday, the Nightshades are in their final stages. If we want to have any chance at stopping them, we must act immediately." 

While Mara was listening to Lillian, she couldn't help but wonder why they had called the meeting only for those on the Council. She thought the others who would be fighting with them had a right to sit in and get the information as well. 

"The witches have received their basic training, and along with the magic they have plus the rest of our army, I believe we will fare well."

She believes we will fare well? Mara wanted to ask the question out loud, but she knew it would be a bad idea. To speak out against Lillian during a meeting would surely sit wrong with everyone, even Torlak would have something to say about it. So she kept her mouth shut, but she couldn't stop thinking about all the people she had gotten to join them. Now she felt like she was getting ready to hand them over to be slaughtered, like they would be shoved out on the front line before the experienced fighters like cannon fodder. 

"We have come to the decision that we leave today. We are giving three hours to gather supplies and to be ready. We have been given the location of the Nightshades meetings and according to the contact, they should be having one again tonight."

"So theoretically they should all be in the same place at the same time." It sounded more like a question than a statement, even to Mara's ears. 

"Correct." Lillian nodded. "So, you will have three hours we will meet back here and the witches will transport us to the location in the Nightshade territory." 

Lillian said nothing else, and they assumed the meeting was over. They only had three hours until they would set out into Zander's territory. Mara looked at the time seeing that classes were just beginning. Marx and the others would just be getting into classes.

If she didn't wait to tell them goodbye, then she wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of Marx following her, but she also knew she shouldn't leave them without saying nothing. What kind of friend would she be if she left without saying a word to Trixle? And if she were to leave Marx without any notice, what would happen if she never returned?

She found the thought hard to bear. No, she needed to make sure she told them before she left, but she also knew she couldn't let them go with her. Zander was her cross to bear and hers alone, she couldn't let them go out and fight for her. 

 Mara went back up to her room to change and get ready to leave. She found Sasha laying down, curled into a small ball, lifting her head only when Mara walked through the door. 

Mara sat down next to her cat, stretching, Sasha walked over and lay down in Mara's lap. 

"I have to leave today." Mara said quietly as she rubbed behind Sasha's ear, something she used to do all the time. 

Sasha's loud purring stopped and her bright eyes looked up at Mara. "Zander?"

Mara nodded as her hand traveled down the length of Sasha's back. 

"Are you worried?" Sasha asked her.

"A bit. I don't really know what to expect out there." Mara said, but she had been slightly taken aback. This conversation was already completely different than most she had with Sasha, a softer one had replaced her snarky manner. "He has had a year to come up with whatever plan he has, we only learned about it a month ago. Even then, we knew very little about it."

Sasha's eyes closed in thought, and the soft purring sound returned. 

"At least you will have the werewolves and fae girl by your side." Sasha said referring to Mara's friends. 

"No, that isn't happening."

"What do you mean? They always help you, all you need to do is ask." Sasha looked at Mara as if she were crazy. How could she not think to have them go with? 

"I know, but they can't go."

"They went out after you last time." The cat interjected. 

"And Marx and Emmett still have the scars to prove it. I can't ask them to go out on the line again."

"What are you scared of?" 

"What am I scared of? I'm scared of my friends getting hurt, I'm scared that Marx would be so focused on protecting me that he wouldn't be able to watch his own back, I'm scared that if they go out there they may not come back." Mara nearly shouted at Sasha. 

"But there's a chance you may not come back." Sasha said sounding deadly serious. It was a thought that had crossed her mind, especially lately, that she would fail. It had come to her mind more often when she was with Marx. She didn't know what would happen to him if she died out there where he couldn't have helped her. 

"I know that, but that's the risk I took when I joined the Council. This is my fault anyways, if it weren't for me Zander wouldn't be that monster."

"What, you're going to blame the fact that you have magical powers and went to a school for what happened to him? You are naive if that is what you believe." Sasha retorted.

"If I hadn't come here then he wouldn't have had to teach me anything, he wouldn't have known I existed and he wouldn't have felt threatened about my powers. He most likely would have graduated and become the witch on the High Council."

"Do you really think that would have been better? The Nightshade inside wouldn't have been triggered, but there still would have been an unstable witch on the Council."

"And you think I'm stable?" Mara scoffed.

"You are worlds better than he ever could have been." 

Mara smiled slightly, just the littlest of tugs at the corner of her mouth as she scratched under Sasha's chin. She picked the cat up and sat her on the bed, getting up and making her way to the closet. Mara pulled out a set of clothes and started to get ready as she talked to her cat more. 

"What's your plan?" Sasha asked. 

"I don't have one."

"How can you go out there without a plan?" Sasha nearly hissed at her. 

"I prefer to be flexible. I don't want to go out there with a set idea only to have it flipped upside down by something I didn't account for." Mara said as she pulled on her jeans and white tank top, sipping a jacket over the top to protect against the chilling air. 

Sasha grumbled at her. She knew that to be prepared for anything was a good idea, but she felt Mara was going about it all wrong. 

"Besides." Mara shrugged, "I have a few more weapons in the artillery now."

Sasha cocked her head to the side, unsure of what Mara meant. 

Mara held her hands out letting the claws come to the surface. As Marx had told her the night before, it didn't hurt; they just smoothly slid out from beneath her skin. Sasha stared at her with wide eyes; she didn't know what to say. 

"How did that happen?" 

Mara looked down at her hands, letting the claws disappear again. "Well, Marx and I think it was after we started the mate bond."

Sasha gaped at Mara. "You did what? I hope you realize you have set yourself up for back lash."

"What do you mean?"

"The Tremontes haven't been fond of the Crowlands for year, since Urissa's time in fact. I was surprised when the Tremonte boy got along so well with you, even more so when I found out you two were mates. I never dreamed that you would actually go forward with the bond though." Sasha said as she paced the bed. 

"What's wrong between the Tremontes and the Crowlands?"

"Love." Sasha said simply. "Makortax Sr. the first of the line had fallen for Urissa, and she for him, but she wasn't exactly capable of love. In the end, Makortax had been burned, left to pick up the pieces of a broken heart."

A look of disgust crept onto Mara's face. "So Urissa was involved with the first Makortax? If I have werewolf in me then did they have-"

"No! No they did not have a child together. Her daughter was the one who had an affair with a werewolf, having a child with both wolf and witch blood. Those hybrids are strong."

Mara sighed with relief knowing that she wasn't related to Marx. 

"Is that why Makortax is dead set against Marx and I?" Mara wondered aloud. 

"That very well could be his concerns. If everyone is relating you to Urissa, he could see the same threat you may pose to his son. Makortax did not take the rejection of his dearest Urissa well, he had kept himself locked up, only appearing in front of his people when necessary and even then he always appeared disheveled and out of it."

Mara frowned as she pulled on her black boots and laced them up. "He can't judge me based on something someone else did in the past." Mara snapped. 

"It appears that quite a few people have judged you based on who you are related to." Sasha pointed out. 

Mara remembered how her teachers last year had agreed to give her an exam to test out of all beginning classes, and how the Council had put their eyes on her based on her name. That name was also the reason the Ladies of the Night had first shown interest in her. Sasha was right; people had been judging her because of who she was related to.

"Your aunt and her mother all faced the same judgment. Each time they learned there was a Crowland among them, everyone became star struck. Of course they each had incredible powers like Urissa, but your aunt managed to keep them quiet for the most part. Only displaying the full extent of them when absolutely necessary." 

For some reason Mara took comfort in knowing she hadn't been the only one to feel the weight of others' expectations. 

Mara decided it was about time she be judged based on her own actions and not those of someone who was long gone. Mara walked over to her desk and searched for a hair tie, buried deep in one of the drawers when Mara thought she would never use them again. When she finally found one, she used the brush to pull back her hair and tie it into a ponytail. 

Mara stared at the scar on her neck, no longer thinking of it as something to embarrassed about, but something to wear proudly, a battle scar. It was a mark that showed she had survived once already and she planned to do it again. 

She turned back to Sasha and kissed the top of her cat's head before standing back up.

"This isn't goodbye." Mara warned.

"I will see you later, Mara." 

"See you later, Sasha."

Mara made her way down to the lunch hall where her friends would just be sitting down. As she walked through the large cafeteria thought it was almost laughable about how ignorant everyone was. They were all laughing and talking to their friends, there was even a table of girls who looked like they were fighting over something insignificant. None of them knew what her group was about to go out and do for them. 

Marx noticed her first, and when he stared, the other two turned to look in her direction as well. They all appeared to know what was going on and it looked like Trixle was getting ready to object. 

"Before any of you say anything, I have to go in five minutes." Mara said hoping she could keep them from arguing, though she knew it was pointless.

"We're going with you." Trixle said. 

"Trix, you can't." 

"What do you mean we can't?" She shouted. "We can and we will."

"You don't have permission to leave, and no one is going to give it to you. You know security has stepped it up since last year." Mara warned her. 

Trixle crossed her arms as she glowered at Mara. 

"How can you possibly make us stay here?" 

"Because I'm keeping you all safe. Right Marx?" She asked, turning to face him. 

Marx nodded his head once. He didn't look happy about any of it either, but at least he was listening to her. 

"I should be back in just a couple days if everything goes well."

"Yeah, and if it doesn't then you won't be back at all." Trixle snapped. 

Mara flinched at her friend’s words, but she knew it was true. As much as she wanted to reassure them that everything would be fine, she couldn't. And that was exactly why Mara couldn't let them go out there, nothing was certain. Mara knew Trixle's harshness was her way of trying not to cry and she didn't blame her, but she also didn't want that to be the last thing she heard from Trixle before she left. 

Mara grabbed her friend and pulled her in for a hug, squeezing her tightly. 

"I'm going to miss you Trix." Mara whispered. 

"I'll miss you too. You better come back to us." 

Mara half laughed as she let Trixle go. "I will do my best."

Mara went around the table to Marx and wrapped her arms around his neck, looking deep into his eyes. 

My white wolf. Marx's words whispered across her mind. Mara smiled slightly and rested her head against his chest. 

Marx ran his hand through her hair before lifting her face up to meet his. Marx's lips brushed hers lightly, just the lightest of kisses. Mara stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his hard and urgent, as if she were trying to remember everything about them.

Marx leaned his head down and cupped her face in his hands. Mara let out a soft noise as he bit her lip, she couldn't hear the rumble, but she felt it through his chest and it raised the hairs on the back of her neck. Mara broke the kiss and she realized everyone was staring at them. 

A blush crept into her cheeks as she looked back into his eyes. 

"I'll see you later." She whispered. 

Marx nodded, reluctantly letting go of her hand as she walked off and out of the lunch hall. 

Mara made her way out to meet the rest of the Council, seeing the entire room packed with everyone who was going with them. She took a deep breath as she walked into the room, the last to arrive. Within minutes they would be gone.

***********

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