When Michael came to, the night sky was the first thing he saw through blurred vision as he laid on his back in the snow. Pain still lingered in his head, though what he felt was more of a dull ache that radiated throughout his trembling body.

The pain of Aria's attack had been horrendous, but nothing in comparison to the anguish he felt when Ellette had been ripped from his hands.

He had to find her.

He pushed himself to a seated position, hung his head low and blinked repeatedly until his eyes were able to see clearly. Once they had, his gaze settled on his hand—the one he had held Ellette's with—and instantly remembered his vow to not let go.

But he had.

He balled that hand into a fist then reached behind him with the other to retrieve the dagger from the waistband of his trousers, but it was gone.

His heart sank.

He scanned the snow around him in hopes it had just fallen during the encounter with Aria, but he found nothing, which meant either Aria or Zanna had taken it.

But what use would Aria have for the dagger? He did not know much about witchcraft and the requirements of using dark magic other than wolf blood, but surely, being the most powerful witch in the North meant she had plenty of dark objects at her disposal.

Unless... Unless none of them compared to a dagger that had been locked away in darkness for a century, and powerful enough to thwart every witch's attempt to retrieve it because it had been guarded and protected by Fae light.

Aria's words to Ellette popped into Michelle's head. 'Then you must know what I intend to do with all that power.'

He pounded his fists into the snow on either side of him. He was willing to bet his life that Aria intended to do more than just syphon the Fae light from the Woodlands. She was going to open the door and go after the Fae.

Michael pushed himself to his feet and took only a few steps before he was forced back down to the ground. On his hands and knees, he first felt the pain in his feet, then as it travelled up his legs towards his back, then stretched its way to his arms and fingers. It was the familiar pain of every bone in his body breaking.

He was going to shift.

Glancing up at the night sky, he watched the full moon emerge from behind a cluster of clouds.

He tore his eyes from the moon as he felt the prick of his fangs begin to protrude from his gums. Blood trickled down the sides of his mouth and dropped onto the snow beneath him.

"No!" Michael growled, commanding his wolf to step down. "Not yet. Right now, she needs me more than she needs you. Please..."

He needed more time. Just a little bit more time.

His wolf only reacted by digging its claws deep inside of Michael, tearing him apart from within as it climbed faster towards the surface. The harder he tried to force it back into its cage, the more excruciating the pain became. And when his body gave out, sending him to the ground and the left side of his face buried in the cold, bloody snow, he realized it was a battle he was not going to win.

Perhaps his father had been right—he was not strong enough to prevent a shift.

The only way to end his suffering would be to give in and let his wolf out. And he wanted to. It was his nature to do so. But if he did, he knew the fate he was trying to prevent would most likely come to pass. Because one howl was all it would take to bring the pack to the Woodlands and protect their future Alpha at all costs.

Paralyzed by the pain, and feeling himself slowly being dragged into the darkness, he used the last bit of strength he had to plead to his wolf. "Please."

Please, help me save her.

Just then, the trees surrounding the cabin began to rustle, pulling Michael's attention towards them. He knew in an instant it was Ellette's spell—the one meant to lead him out of the Woodlands and back home.

His eyes burned with tears as realization washed over him. Despite everything, his little fairy was still trying to protect him.

He shut his eyes tightly and thought of her. Every bone that broke, he imagined her healing touch instead. The pain he replaced with the warmth of her light. He filled himself with his love for her and her love for him until his wolf went silent.

When Michael opened his eyes again, the trees were still rustling.

His father had told him to think of something more painful to combat the pain of delaying a shift, but, for Michael, using the power of love had been more effective. And it was that power he used to rise to his feet, wipe the blood from his mouth and head off to save his mate.

* * *

The gentle hum had called out to Michael like a siren's song, and although it was comforting to know its presence meant he was on the right path, he had not needed it to find his way to the magical gold door.

Between the two large oak trees with their backs turned, Aria and Zanna stood in front of it, but what prevented him from releasing a sigh of relief upon seeing it still closed was seeing Ellette's unconscious body lying face up and being suspended in the air.

He pushed past the trees and moved towards her.

It took only a few steps to alert them of his arrival. They turned in unison to face him, but his attention remained solely on Ellette.

"Ah," Aria spoke, "just in time to watch the show. Though, I must say, I was hoping for the wolf and not the boy."

Michael ignored her and continued towards his mate, picking up speed the closer he got. But once he was within arm's reach, he felt himself be yanked backwards, and before he knew it, he was laid out on his back about twenty feet away, the wind completely knocked out of him.

Once he was able to breathe properly, he sat up and sought out Aria. She held one hand up, palm facing him while the other held the dagger. His eyes shifted to Zanna, who was already looking at him. However, when their eyes met, she turned her back to him and walked over to Ellette.

He returned his gaze to Aria and tried to stand, but was forced back down to his knees. "Why are you doing this? If it is the Woodlands you want, then take it. Just let her go."

She tossed her head back and laughed. "You think the Woodlands is my ultimate goal? 'Tis only a stepping stone, just like your fairy and all the fairies before her. Just like your brother." She gasped and placed her hand over her mouth, but the smirk on her lips could not be hidden.

Michael balled his hands into fists. He already knew the hand Aria had in Gabriel's death, and finally hearing the witch admit it only made him hate her that much more. "You killed my brother and countless fairies—"

"The fairies I will admit to. Extracting Fae light was trickier than I thought, and every dark object used was destroyed in the process because they were not powerful enough to withstand such magic. But I did not kill your brother. Only bled him with every extraction attempt, and fed him Fae blood to replenish. I was just."

"You call that just? You used him to get the Wolves to start a war against the Fae, and for what? To take what does not belong to you?"

"To become the ultimate predators!" She yelled. "To restore the power that had been unjustly taken from us. After our ancestors fell from grace as one, they eventually became divided. Those of us who turned from the light, and those of us who continued to embrace and follow it. Witches and Fae, both different, yet both damned all the same. But because we turned to darkness, we were cut off from magic as punishment, barely able to produce the most basic of spells. We cannot access dark magic without wolf blood, and once accessed we cannot contain it without an anchor.

"This is the world in which we witches are forced to live. Dependent on others to have strength. Second to the Fae despite us all being cut from the same cloth. The Fae, who fell just as we fell, and were damned just as we were damned! After tonight, that will be no more."

She looked down at the dagger, ran a finger over the blade towards the tip. "Witches will answer to nobody. Rely on nobody. And power will be ours and ours alone." She turned her back to him and walked up to Ellette. "As a thank you for delivering this dagger and your fairy to me, I shall let you watch as I take her light from her." She lifted the dagger in the air.

"Wait!" Michael yelled. "You know she is dying, which means the light in her is dying with her and cannot be of much use, right? Take it from me instead. Half of her light is within me. Take it from me, test your theory out on me."

She scoffed. "A wolf able to harbour Fae light? Impossible. You are lying."

"He is not." Zanna spoke for the first time, drawing all eyes towards her, but her eyes were focused on him. "Because extracting it could kill him, the fairy chose not to and is dying because of it."

"My child, you failed to tell me that."

"Then let me earn your forgiveness. Her light is unlike most. 'Tis touched by darkness and simply needs a host to survive, meaning—"

"If he dies, it will not die with him." Aria concluded.

Zanna moved to stand in front of her and held out her hand. Aria only smiled and placed the dagger in Zanna's hand.

All Michael could think about while his best friend walked towards him was that if he was about to die, he was glad it was going to be her rather than Aria who killed him.

When Zanna reached him, she lowered to her knees in front of him, placed her left hand on his right shoulder and looked into his eyes.

"Do not let her die. Promise me, Zanna—"

"Forgive me, Michael," she cut him off, then plunged the dagger into his stomach. Barely above a whisper, she began reciting a spell, and, more than pain, he immediately felt every bit of warmth inside of him being drained, leaving behind nothing but coldness, despair, and darkness.

Ellette's light was leaving him and seeking refuge in the dagger.

Vision blurred and body going limp, he fell forward but was caught by Zanna's embrace.

"Remember why I told you to keep the dagger." She whispered into his ear. Before he could even process what she said or try and understand what she meant, she pulled away and looked at Aria. "It will not be long."

"Marvellous!"

After watching Zanna stand up and walk over to join Aria's side, Michael stared down at the dagger and watched as he bled out onto the snow. He heard footsteps approaching and looked up when Aria stood over him.

She lowered to her haunches and placed a cold hand on his cheek. "All I have to do is wait for your demise and I will finally have everything my ancestors fought for. Do be quick about it, and on your way to the beyond, find comfort in knowing your fairy, your family, and the Fae will soon join you—"

The ground suddenly began to shake, and a cold and harsh wind whirled around them. Both of their attention was immediately pulled towards Zanna, who stood facing the now opening gold door with both her hands up.

She was opening it? But...why?

Aria shot up. "What are you doing? It is not time yet."

Remember why I told you to keep the dagger.

Zanna's words echoed in his mind until he remembered back to the night he last saw her in his chambers.

'...'tis also still a weapon and one you may need.'

Michael grabbed hold of the dagger's hilt and painfully pulled it out. With all the strength he had left, he rose to his feet and plunged the dagger into Aria's back.

Her piercing screams echoed throughout the Woodlands as bolts of light—Ellette's light—shot out from her body. She whirled around to face him, blood dripping from her ears, her eyes and her mouth. She was only able to take a single step before a blood curdling scream escaped her and a bolt of light expelled out of her and shot straight up towards the sky before coming back down and striking her where she stood. She was dead before her charred body hit the ground.

The force from the strike had blown Michael back onto the ground. Despite his ringing ears, he could faintly hear his name being called. He searched for Zanna and found her by a waking Ellette's side.

"Michael! We do not have much time!"

Behind them, the gold door was closing—Aria's death had filled the death requirement.

He had only minutes to get Ellette through.

He pushed himself to his hands and knees, crawled over to Aria's charred body and pulled out the dagger. He then tried to stand, but his damned legs gave out and he was back on his knees, his head heavy, his vision going in and out.

But he could not die yet. Not now. He needed to save her. He promised to save her.

"Michael!"

Ellette's voice calling out his name made him lift his head. It was blurry, but he was able to see her rush over and throw herself down in front of him.

"Little fairy," he smiled. He raised his free hand and cupped her cheek, and forced the dagger into her hands with the other. "Now that you are whole once more, you must go."

"No!" She cried. "Let me heal you first. I can heal you."

He pulled her in and kissed her. One last time, so he would not leave behind any regrets. "I love you," he whispered against her lips. Now, go!"

"No—"

"Zanna, take her!"

Zanna rushed over and grabbed Ellette, who only screamed his name and reached out for him as she was pulled away and towards the door.

As his blood continued to spill onto the snow and life drained from him, he fell onto his side. But, still, he fought, bargaining with death to wait until he watched Ellette cross over before it claimed him.

Well, death granted him his wish.

And as he watched Ellette leave this world, he uttered the very words Kora had last uttered to Raphael. "Live well, live long, live happily, and find solace in knowing wherever I may go, from there I will love you well, love you long, love you happily for all of eternity."