Alpha Talia's POV

A week had passed since the mating ceremony. Hugo's body was severely impacted during the hybrid transformation, making him feel equally weak and strong. He required ample rest for the hybrid form to take control, so we spent much of our time in bed. Under Frieda's advice, Hugo was instructed to take a break but he burned energy through sex as if he's never heard of resting. So much so that even the sight of him now makes my legs quiver.

However, once he's asleep, I'd sneak out of the bedroom to complete a mission I've been working on since the mating ritual. It was perhaps the longest week of my life since I didn't enjoy tiptoeing around Hugo and keeping secrets from him. But because it took a lot of effort on my part to be so covert, I was confident that he was unaware of my plans.

My biggest worry was that he would notice my absence and would eventually compel me to confess what I had been up to. Knowing him, though, I was certain that he wouldn't overuse his persuasive abilities if he sensed I wasn't ready to reveal them.

Now that my complete hybrid form has restored, I didn't have to recharge my mana as frequently. My powers were strong and powerful like never before. Therefore, moving furniture out of the mansion without Hugo noticing wasn't too challenging. It was my suggestion to re-purpose the materials embedded in the mansion to rebuild the Shaw residence back in Falcon Valley. As a result, we have been silently and gradually shifting the majority of the interior and exterior of the mansion, along with the several guest rooms, to Shaw's residence. Using those materials, and the vision from Hugo's memories, I managed to rebuild his home in to something he and I would love.

I walked from the master bed room to the spell room where Frieda and Rhea waited for my arrival. Except for a large stack of books that sat next to Rhea, the spell room had been totally cleared out.

"Luna, are you sure you don't want to keep these books?" Rhea questioned as I approached her.

"You can keep them." I gestured.

Books, regardless of whether they once belonged to a monster or not, should never be destroyed. Since Rhea cherished reading, I was certain that she would enjoy mother's collection of historical books about the supernatural. I turned my gaze to the empty space, and my attention was quickly drawn to the floating book that remained on its post. Maybe some books are meant to be destroyed, I thought to myself.

"Well, we're heading off now." Frieda stated and I nodded. She cast a spell, teleporting her and Rhea to the Shaw Residence along with the books.

I peered at the spell room again. Despite the resentment I held against mother, my rage had somehow subsided. Using my powers, I destroyed the spell book as it crumbled into tiny pieces. However once I completed the spell, the JD that was etched into the marble floor began to illuminate. I gave it a long moment of contemplation before employing my powers to reveal what was beneath. They were ripped pages from the floating book; each of her hexes that had a catch, and next to them was a spell page that was used to create hybrids. I didn't waste any time in destroying those pages as well. Now there will be nothing of her that will be spoken about in generations to come. Jana Doherty is dead and will continue to be so in every aspect.

All mother wanted was to teach me a lesson. She did, in fact, teach me one in a certain sense. I was able to confront my old traumas and emerge resilient and powerful. I gained the confidence to accept who I actually am. I realized that I wasn't a monster driven by rage. I met friends I could trust with my life and a mate who taught me to concentrate on the positive things in life rather than the negative.

Mother could no longer take anything away from me. I wouldn't grant her that power, even if she was gone. With that, all I wished to do was to close the chapter of the heat curse that mother had cast. Deep down I wanted to thank her for it. I felt happier and stronger and eager to begin my new life with Hugo. Casting a small fireball I let the spell room light up in flames before exiting the room.

Standing outside the master bed room, I used a powerful spell to relocate the room back to the Shaw Residence. When the room appeared in its rightful place, the house was finally complete. I entered the room cautiously, fearing that I might have woken up Hugo. But to my surprise, he was remained sound sleeping despite having one hand cuffed to the bed post's shackles. I gazed at his face, in awe and pride of how far he has come.

From a beta in handcuffs to a Hybrid Alpha in handcuffs. The thought made me almost chuckle. My hands gently touched his face. Knowing that I get to spend my entire life with Little Claws made me feel grateful. There was something about him that made me yearn for him. His mark on my neck started to tingle just as my fingers came in contact with his lips. Every touch was more intense than it had been. I snuggled next to him for a while until he stretched one of his arms in the air and yawned loudly.

"Did you sleep well, my love?" I asked, giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"I feel great today. Much more energetic" he mumbled, still closing his eyes. I could feel the exhaustion emanating from his aura.

"Sure, I believe you" I murmured in a sarcastic tone. He eventually opened his eyes and grabbed hold of me.

"How can I function when you're this comfortable to be around?" he muttered pulling me close to his body and burying his face in my neck, savoring my scent. I lingered in his arms, relishing the comfort and security he provided.

"You do know what I think we should do today?" I murmured quietly.

"I think I know a couple of things we could do" He smirked. He leaned in to give me a kiss, and I didn't think twice to reciprocate. Noticing that this was how our sex-capades typically began, I slowed down and drew away from him.

"I think we should go out today. Maybe you'll feel better getting some sunlight. Walk or run around the woods. And maybe visit Falcon Valley too" I suggested. I didn't believe what I suggested to him was technically a lie. It was a white lie at best. But I couldn't wait to see his face once he realizes that he is in fact in Falcon Valley. After a brief moment of reflection, Hugo sighed

"Sure, but I must say becoming a Hybrid so far feels like the worst hangover ever" Hugo complained. I desperately wanted to relieve his suffering, but there wasn't much I could do. Although Hugo wasn't in any physical pain, his body occasionally grew frail. I thought back to Damien's remarks about the struggles he faced prior to the transition. Perhaps Hugo was experiencing the same thing.

"It'll be fine. You just have to rest. We went through a lot in such a small amount of time. I feel great though" I muttered with a smirk to taunt him.

"That's probably because you're true-blood. Meanwhile, I feel sick enough to feel nauseous but not sick enough to hurl my guts out" Hugo chuckled.

"Well that's what you get for chugging an entire bottle of the concoction mix. I would say I told you so. But I think the transition is taking care of it for me" I smirked again. Hugo stared at me before rolling his eyes.

"Don't make me shove something in that pretty little mouth of yours that likes to make jokes" He stated, taking his palms and lightly rubbing them between my legs over my silky robe.

"Don't make me sit and suffocate that sly little mouth of yours that likes to make threats" I placed my palms on his crotch and gently squeezed them.

"Damn, my mate is so naughty. I love it" Hugo chuckled before leaning in to kiss me.

"Get freshened up and come out for breakfast. I have something to show you" I mumbled while biting my lip to stifle my smile. He took a few minutes to get ready, and when he finally opened the door and stepped outside, his face displayed total confusion.

"Did you guys redecorate . ." His words trailed off as he recognized the stairway and other aspects of the residence. Maybe it was nostalgia or the familiarity but at first he was at a loss for words.

"Welcome to our home." I stated gleefully running towards him.

"How did you . . when did you . ." Hugo stammered his words, unable to grasp. He took a few steps forward while softly resting his palms on the stairway handrails. A tear slipped his eye, but he kept his cool.

"Well, it took us a week to do this. And I know how much you wanted to move back to Falcon Valley. So we decided to move into the Shaw Residence. I hope you like what we've done with the place" I stated. This undoubtedly marked a significant turning point for him and our pack. Falcon Valley was where we first met, so it only made sense that our future would also begin here.

"Like? I love it . . it's exactly how I imagined." Hugo was still in shock. He gave me a passionate kiss as I held him in my arms. Hugo did his best to contain his tears throughout the lengthy tour of the home that we took. The only room that remained empty was the new spell chamber. This time, it would be constructed as how I saw fit. It goes without saying that it would include a sizable bathtub with my initials TS engraved into the marble floors.

Hugo slowed his progress as he approached the porch. The look on his face transformed as he noticed the concealed bubble up ahead. He observed the bubble intently as we all stood on the front porch. I gently walked up to him and touched his shoulder.

"Hugo . . ." I murmured.

"For how long?" He quietly asked, his voice trembled.

"We're safer this way, Hugo" I replied.

Hugo whirled around and turned towards his pack. He briefly glanced at Frieda and Rhea before reverting to me. I felt devastated by the look of helplessness on his face. Hybrids aren't ready to be introduced into this world yet. Since the very beginning, hybrids have been vilified and seen negatively. So much so that the historic gruesome murders of the hybrids had me concerned for the safety of our pack. That is the reason I requested Frieda to keep the Shaw Residence hidden. So that we would be safe but still be able to roam about the city, keeping it safe.

"Aren't we all hostages at this point?" Hugo's words interrupted my thoughts. "How long must we stay hidden under this concealed bubble?" he continued.

"Hugo, if every pack is aware that there are hybrids among them, our lives would be in danger." I tried to reason.

"So what? So what if every pack knew that hybrids are back? Our world is not the same as before. I refuse to believe that we should hide for the rest of our lives just because we're scared of what might happen. What about the future of this pack? What about the future of our pups? Do you plan of keeping them hostage here as well?" Hugo stated.

The atmosphere fell silent. Despite his valid argument, I found it difficult to imagine we could simply roam around the city unnoticed without suffering severe repercussions.

"It's not that simple, Hugo." I muttered.

"But what if it is, Tal?" He reasoned.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked. He took a deep breath before turning towards Frieda.

"I want you to locate every pack residing in Falcon Valley and nearby cities. Send them a spelled invitation to the Shaw Residence. And make sure they aren't just a full pack, I want every wolf to know that they are welcome even the lone wolves and the rogues. I also want the invitation to have my scent in it. So that whoever decides to come, is fully aware that a hybrid has invited them to his den" He spoke firmly.

"But what if they arrive and retaliate?" Frieda questioned. Hugo shifted his attention to me as he turned to face me. He gently grasped my hand, as if he was seeking my approval.

"Well, we'll have to wait and see what happens. All I know is that our lives here as a pack shouldn't start with cowering behind a bubble. Real freedom is to be able to run into the woods, leaving our presence, being able to howl so loud that every pack knows about our existence. I want that for us, and I want that for our pups" He stated.

I offered him a glance before nodding quietly while my heart ran wild with emotions. He clearly set forth his vision for our future. Hugo's unique approaches to situations always astounded me. He always managed to have solutions that stemmed optimism, whereas I focused on the negative. There was little I could do to change his mind, though. So I made the decision to put my faith in his judgment and not to be concerned about the unknowns, just like the last ritual ceremony. Because if we focused on the uncertainty, life wouldn't be worth living.

After all, what made life exciting was the suspense and the unknown. And all that remained for us to do now was to watch how the other packs responded to discovering that hybrids existed among them.