When Cameron and I went into the meeting room, I was shocked to see who was sitting at the table with other people I came to learn as the Protectors. Her whole body was away from me, and I could tell that her scent was different, but I knew that it was Clarice.

So, when she turned around to look at me with guilt-laden eyes, I was highly cautious. She flicked her eyes to the left, not looking me head on and bowing her neck in submission. "We need to talk," she said, and the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention. "Please."

I bit back a scoff and held back an eye roll. "What do you want, Clarice?" I asked coldly. I could feel my nails lengthening and digging into my palms. All I wanted to do was dig my claws into her pretty little neck and shake her head.

"To talk," she replied. "You can bring Cameron with you." She glanced at him but didn't look at him too long because I growled softly. She shifted in her seat, and I could tell that I made her nervous.

"You will have to do that later," Adele said, looking up from a map with Monroe and some geeky dude on either side of her. "Come, we need to discuss. If we find a couple of your sword pieces, we'll be able to save your pack quicker." She nodded to Clarice. "That is why she is here."

I couldn't help but scoff and roll my eyes. I did not believe Adele one bit that Clarice was here to help me rescue my pack. If she was supposed to be one of the "good guys," then why the hell did she treat me like shit for all of these years?

"She was under my command to do so," Adele said, catching my look. "She was under my order to look after you and make sure that she was acting like a total bitch to throw her father off balance."

I raised an eyebrow taking a couple of steps towards the table. My nails were still digging into my skin, so Cameron took hold of my hands, opened them up, and breathed on nail marks. I squeezed his hand in thanks because I knew that he had healed my wounds. "Throw her father off balance?" I asked. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that my dad works for Bane," Clarice said bitterly. She chuckled darkly, hurt, and anger evident in her eyes. "He wants to kill all of the Werewolves, and if there are some that have survived, then he wants to put them under his command."

My whole body stiffened when she said that. "He wants to use them as slaves and take over Maine?" I asked.

Clarice shook her head. "He doesn't want just to take over Maine," she said. "He wants to take over the world with Bane and have people live in fear."

"And, there is a 99.99999999% that he will succeed if we do not find the pieces of this sword," the geeky dude said. He looked up at me with silver eyes that almost looked white. He smiled at me, showing crooked teeth before looking back at the map. "It's nice to meet you, Shandhi," he said. "I really will have fun studying you."

"Thanks..?" I asked, looking at him weirdly. I grunted when someone patted me roughly on the back and turned my head to see the male that had chased me all those days ago. I think his name was Carter.

"Relax, he is harmless," he said. He looked at Malena, who looked like a love struck pup. "Isn't that right, Mally?"

"Un huh," she said, sighing in happiness. She stared at him with googly eyes, and I couldn't help but notice that Carter didn't notice how she was looking at him. However, I could tell that Monroe did, and he disapproved of her attractiveness to the other male.

"Malena," Monroe scowled, and she jumped and looked at him. "Enough. If you do not want to pay attention, then you may leave."

Malena opened her mouth to say something, but I quickly butted in, moving to the map and peering over the geek's shoulder.

"So, what am I supposed to do?" I asked. I smirked a little when I saw him tense up and back away from me, giving me some space.

"Do you have a necklace or something? I think your great-grandfather had taken it before we could get it," the geek said. He pushed his glasses up his nose and looked up at me before looking down, not looking at me for long. "Also, my name is Samuel Creevy. It's nice to meet you."

I blinked and smirked a small bit. "Scared?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I watched as his Adam's Apple bob, and I could tell that he was. I bit back a snort and reached under my clothing where the pendant laid. "Are you talking about this?" I asked, showing it to him.

Samuel looked at it, his eyes wide with shock. "It is beautiful," he whispered, reaching out to touch it. Golden light erupted from the necklace and shot Samuel back against some bookshelves, and the books toppled over him.

"You all right?" I asked, placing my hand on the necklace. I didn't follow as others went towards him, somehow knowing that the necklace had pushed him back.

"Peachy," Samuel groaned, stepping up.

"Didn't you read over the notes of other the Protectors?" Adele asked, still beside me. She raised an eyebrow, and the other male looked down and nodded, and she scowled. "Didn't it say that no one can touch the items except for the Shandhi and her true mate?"

"Sweet," Cameron muttered. "That means that Blake wouldn't be able to touch it." Disgust was evident in his tone, and I could tell that they would hate each other until the end of time.

Adele didn't say a word but scowled at Cameron. She turned to look at me and probably just noticed the satchel that I had on. "Why do you have a bag on you?" she asked.

"Satchel," I replied. I opened it and pulled out the book as well as the hilt. "I thought that we were going to need this." My fingers grazed across the notebook, and I couldn't help but miss my family. "I took it from my grandfather."

"And your great-grandfather took it from us," Samuel said, coming over to us. He scowled at the book in my hands and held his hand out. "Can we have it back?"

"How about...no."

"But, it is ours," Samuel replied. "Why will you not give it back to us?"

"Because... I am the Shandhi and need to know this information, duh," I replied. "And I gave up one of my notebooks for it as a trade off."

"She will be able to keep it, Samuel," Adele said. "It is hers, to begin with." She studied the hilt, not even trying to touch it. "And, I think that you have seven pieces of the sword left before we can make both swords."

I nodded my head. "I will help," I said. I stared into Adele's eyes, not blinking. "However, I need my pack to be with me."