Song: chill 2 am playlist by sunsetdreams

I groaned as the pounding within my head intensified. Memories of pouring blood and death filled my mind. My link with Mother and Father sharpened the freshest wave of attacks for me.

Gamma Fray was so much weaker and paler than I last saw her. As the only White Witch helping to protect our Pack, I knew the weight on her shoulders was a great one. However, I had no idea she'd look so skeletal with the meekest green eyes I'd ever seen in my life.

It'd only been a week since our victory and the attacks were steadily rising. Flora's Pack recently lost their Luna and Sky's were scarce with their Healers. Leo's Pack was faring better since his Hybrid siblings had allies helping to protect their home. No one knew how Reign's Pack was doing considering he only talked of the Two Lovers. But it was safe to assume that their defenses were weakening too.

Today was October 1, 2120 and we were no closer to finding and uniting the Two Lovers.

The pressure was back. Only this time I felt its weight tenfold.

"Relax." Leo's fingers ran up the sides of my arms with a feather-like touch. His soft grip rubbed mindless patterns over my skin as he pulled me against his warm chest. Our naked skin pressed against each other and I groaned at the intimate contact. "What is it this time?"

"My Pack had another attack," I replied. Leo's fingers drifted towards my temples, dulling the ache with soothing circles. He pressed a small kiss to the back of my neck while I sunk deeper into his embrace.

"Mine had one yesterday," he mumbled into my flushed skin. "Marcus let Zev out, though. So the loss wasn't too bad."

Leo's youngest brother, Zev, turned out to be half Shapeshifter. He could copy other peoples faces and hold it for as long as he wanted. What used to terrify people when he was a kid turned out to be very beneficial for Leo's Pack right now. Zev copied the Dark Witches and Warlocks invading his Pack. Then, he tricked his enemies into falling for his mirage before killing them.

It was a genius battle strategy and I admired him for his wit.

"That's good." Leo placed gentle kisses across my shoulders. It didn't take long for the added stress of my parents' memories to fade away under the influence of his kind embrace.

I turned my head to the side, intercepting his incoming kiss in a sweet dance of unspoken love. My heart fluttered at the quiet intimacy of being in my Mate's arms. I loved the way his hand came down to softly hold my chin and keep me in place.

A sudden knock at the door caused Leo to growl, a bitter frown overcoming the lax posture of his petal-like lips. The vibrations from his deep rumblings of annoyance made me chuckle quietly.

"Yes, we're still reading. No, we haven't gotten closer to figuring out the Two Lovers," his irritated voice quipped. A line appeared between his eyebrows and I poked at it while he glared daggers at the door. A half smile graced his pretty lips as his eyes flitted to me for a split second before saying, "We're not hungry either. Thanks for checking in Flora but we're good."

"I know damn well you two aren't reading anymore," Flora teased. I could just imagine her red lipped smirk plastered over her doll-like face. "We have plans anyway so you're gonna have to chill with the sexy time, Alpha. Venus, hurry up so we can go! It's already 2 pm."

"What's she talking about?" Leo's warm gaze met mine, his arm tightening around my waist in the process.

"I was talking to Flora yesterday about Sky and we wanna take her out," I replied. "She's been different ever since we destroyed the ring and it's not like we can have her holed up in her room forever. We're in the endgame right now and we need all hands on deck."

"What makes you think she'll even agree to leave her room?" Leo asked. "Or leave the cottage for that matter? She tolerates Flora but it's not like the rest of us are on her list of people she can stand to be around."

"Because beyond her feral attitude is someone with a heart." I played with the ends of his dark hair as I tried to get him to see things from my perspective. "Do you remember what happened between me and you at the hotel?"

"I'd have to get amnesia to forget what happened then," he smirked.

"Oh, quit it." I wiggled out of his strong arms and turned away to get dressed. A heated blush captured my cheeks as his deep laugh filled the light atmosphere of our room. "Anyway, afterwards, you know when you had to go and take that cold shower?"

This time it was my turn to laugh evilly. A dark blush claimed both his cheeks and the tips of his ears while I forced myself into a stupid bra.

"That's what I thought," I mumbled. Tucking one of Leo's grey shirts into my ripped jeans, I tossed a blanket over his lap before settling on top of him. His large hands grazed my hips as I wrapped my arms around his neck with a smirk of my own. "Sky helped me cover up the scent from our arousal so the other's wouldn't know what happened. She didn't tell anyone either. I know she can be wild. After all, it's in her nature with the whole curse on her Pack thing. But underneath all that there's something more to her."

There had to be. I couldn't believe that that one moment of kindness she showed me all those weeks ago was it. In my heart, I knew that there had to be more to her than pent up anger and unresolved issues.

"Plus, Flora and I were thinking about the warnings the Moon Goddess gave us. Pride's claimed by the first star and he had the drowning nightmare. Flora and I think that was due to the rift of being a Hybrid," I continued. "He conquered his warning by uniting Fergus and Catherine. The second star tried to take my generosity when I almost killed that pregnant Witch. Seeing you, continuing to be with you, gave me a reason not to allow myself to fall into that."

One of Leo's genuine smiles graced me with its beauty, crinkling the corners of his eyes. I rubbed my thumb over his bottom lip and pressed a quick kiss to the tip of his nose. "Jack's dead so we don't have to worry about the third star. Flora's fourth star claim doesn't matter right now since she seems to be handling herself well. Sky's warning, though. I think this is her moment to overcome."

"Isolation," Leo said. "I remember the dream. I was running around, screaming in a crowd of people, but no one saw me. It was like being forgotten while everyone around me was still breathing."

Exactly.

"The fifth star calls to you," I recited. "He will try to push you into isolation but you must never relinquish your hold on camaraderie. The Damned."

Sky.

"It's not like we've had much camaraderie lately." Leo sighed, drawing his bottom lip between his teeth. "Not with her at least. Damn it. We pushed her aside, didn't we?"

"We did," I agreed. The bitter taste of regret filled my mouth as I took in the sight of Leo's scrunched up face. I could tell by the slight ticking of his clenched jaw that he held as much regret as I did. "Not that it's an excuse but we do have a lot on our plates right now. Things slip through the cracks sometimes. It happens."

Unfortunately for us, one of those "things" happened to be Sky. We were reacting to her outbursts but we weren't doing enough to actually deal with them. Therein laid one of our many issues.

"What's the plan then?"

"Well, we were thinking we could take her out somewhere. Maybe get a drink or something," I replied. "This cottage, these prophecies, they're suffocating her. It could be helpful to take her somewhere that isn't heavy with all this talk of lovers and stars."

And if I was being honest, I could do with a break from it too. I used to enjoy reading in my spare time before this journey began. Now? I could burn an entire library down without feeling an ounce of remorse. I genuinely never wanted to see another book after this quest was over.

Whatever stories our pups wanted to be read during bed time would be Leo's responsibility to bear alone. I was going to be nowhere in that mix.

"She doesn't like coffee. I remember that from the first time I met her." Leo hummed, puckering his mouth like a puffer fish as he thought aloud. "Hot tea's a no go too. Um, does Flora have any idea where to take her?"

"Nope." Meaning I had to go and do something I really didn't wanna do. I had to put aside my lingering chagrin and go ask the moody glasses wearer camping out in the library for answers. "But I'm gonna figure it out and we'll be back later."

Leo grabbed my waist when I tried to move, making me straddle him once more. He used the sunflower scrunchie wrapped around his wrist to put my hair into a low ponytail. Satisfied with his quick work, Leo gently tugged the ends of my hair with a strained smile. "You'll be safe, yeah?"

"Yes, I'll be safe." I pressed a chaste kiss to the corner of his lips, ignoring the loud singing of our joined hearts. "I have my strength back and my Luna gift is more than ready to go if I need to use it. I can take care of us if anything comes up."

Plus, Flora and Sky could more than hold their own in a fight. We would be fine.

And cautious.

"I know you can take care of yourself. But if something comes up, you mind link Pride and I'll be there in no time. Ok?" Leo's warm eyes filled with anticipation. Squeezing my hips for emphasis, he placed a sweet kiss over my beating heart and sighed. "Blue Eyes?"

"I'll do that," I promised. My heart didn't want to leave his embrace but I knew I had to go now. "I'll see you later."

We kissed one last time before I scrambled out of his lap and headed towards the library. I couldn't afford to look back and return his burning gaze. I knew that the second I did we'd be back in bed, succumbing to the Mate bond before either of us could blink.

I threw the library door open with a huff, finding it more chaotic than when I last saw it. There were no more books on the shelves because they were strewn all over the place. Reign's dark hair was disheveled as he stepped out from behind a column of stacked books.

The bleary eyed Beta sported a dark tank top and black shorts that accentuated his toned body. A few scars, both old and new, littered his golden skin. The crack in his glasses were still there after refusing to allow Pride to fix them. They slid down his nose as he waved a piece of paper at me wildly.

"I've narrowed it down to about 24 lovers. All of whom have been influenced by magick or Werewolves," Reign laughed. His blood shot eyes were blown wide as he traced the twines of yarn lining the walls. "None of them are in Salem since Catherine and Fergus were the only interracial couple here. So we have to leave. On the upside, I have a top three that seem the most promising thanks to the Pridesong diaries."

Reign plucked a small black book out from a nearby column. His carelessness caused it to topple over, hitting him in the process. He didn't even react. Reign just tossed the book at me with a sleep deprived glare living beneath his brown eyes.

"Pridesong family was pretty sick back in the day. Best not let Pride see that or he'll really regret being a part of this family," Reign smirked. The darkness lining his swollen eyes made me shudder. Flora brought him meals and that was the extent of his contact with any of us. Clearly, he was going through it too.

I took a deep breath and put the book down on the coffee table.

Alright.

One deranged sibling at a time.

"That's great that you have a list. We can go over it tonight when we come back," I said. "Right now, I need to know whatever you know about Sky. Things she likes to do for fun, her favorite food or drink. Anything would be helpful right now."

Reign's quiet chuckling stopped as he glanced at me with a confused expression. "Come again?"

"Oh come on," I sighed. "I know you guys don't get along but there has to be something you know about her. Isn't there anything she likes the most?"

Reign pressed his lips together, peering at me with scrutinizing eyes. Whatever trace of exhaustion that was once there was gone now.

"I think," he folded and pocketed his list, "you're overestimating how much we actually know about each other."

Gee, and I wondered who's fault was that?

"How about when you guys were growing up-"

"We didn't grow up together," Reign said. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he held my steady stare with a new fire burning in his eyes. "Different Packs, remember?"

"Yeah, I know." I breathed through my nose, calming my rising nerves. I wasn't here to antagonize him. Nor was I here to be antagonized. I needed to keep a level head and get Reign to speak to me. "But, surely Sky spent some time with you and your father growing up."

His eyes quickly narrowed at the mention of their shared father and I knew I'd struck a nerve.

"Look, this is important," I continued. "We need to get her out of here so she doesn't fall deeper into the prophecy, ok? The better she feels, the more likely she is to not murder you. And maybe, just maybe, we can finish the last task quicker without you two going at it every two seconds."

Silence. Roughly five minutes of silence and blank staring passed before Reign scoffed. Shaking his head with contempt filling his sullen face, the Beta muttered, "Smoothies. Juice. She'll drink anything fruity and she likes oatmeal cookies. That's all I know."

"Thank you!" I grinned widely, a bubble of excitement building within my anxiety ridden stomach. "Thank you, Reign."

"Mhm." Reign turned back to his books, motioning for me to leave. The sting of being dismissed wasn't even felt as I bounced out of there with a new pep in my step.

"Hey!" I called out to Pride. My future Gamma held a loaded pastrami sandwich halfway to his open mouth.

"Don't tell Flora I'm eating her food," he said. He then took a big chomp out of the stuffed sandwich, dropping bits of lettuce and tomato onto the kitchen floor.

"I don't care about that," I laughed. "Did Flora tell you we're taking Sky out?"

"Mhm."

Mind link me if you need me.

I will.

"Anyway, when we're gone, I need you to get Reign to sleep for a few hours." Clearly the dude more than needed it. When we all got back tonight, we'd discuss the pairs Reign found and plan out the best course of action for the last trial. In order to do that, I needed everyone to be in a good mood and not sleep deprived.

"Put him to sleep?" Pride repeated. "With what? My lovely voice? I don't do lullabies, Venus."

"That's not what I..." I pinched the bridge of my nose, breathing through the air of stupidity enveloping me. "I mean, put him to sleep."

I raised an eyebrow, hoping he'd get the hint.

"You want me to hit him? I'm down," Pride smiled. Mustard lined his lips as he quickly devoured the last of the sandwich. Crumbs dusted his balled up fist. I slapped his chest with every fiber of disappointment I had within me.

"Use your magick!"

"See, that's not as fun," Pride whined. His bright eyes begged me but I shook my head no, rejecting his childish offer. I wanted to hit Reign too. But that could wait until after our journey was through and we no longer needed his brain.

"Pride."

"Fine." Pride grumbled under his breath as he headed towards the library with an extra lightness to his step. "Take all the fun out of it, why don't you?"

I rolled my eyes and left for Sky's room. When I got there the door was ajar with a single ray of sunlight peeking through her tightly drawn curtains. I pushed it open to find Flora wrapping Sky's slender frame in an oversized cardigan.

"Ready?"

Flora looked at me with a small smile. "Ready."

"So, have you told Leo yet?"

"No," I replied. Flora and I waited by the counter, watching as the curvy Fae woman blended our order of mango smoothies. It'd taken us a while to find a place in Salem that wasn't run by Witches or Warlocks. But, after forty minutes of driving, we were lucky enough to stumble upon a juice bar.

Using my gift I could feel that they meant us no ill will. For now, I deemed this place a safe environment.

"Why not?"

"I'm taking your advice." I accepted our order of oatmeal cookies from the other Fae woman with a quiet word of thanks. "I'm trying to figure out a way that I can tell Leo without freaking him out but I'm coming up blank. Every scenario I imagine ends up with him pulling away leaving us back where we started."

The guilt was eating me alive and I hated it. But the honest truth was that the fear of losing Leo overpowered all other emotions I harbored. I was too scared to tell him about our past and I didn't know how to get past it.

"It's been a week, Venus." Flora's serious expression shifted to one of appreciation and accepted our smoothies. "Don't draw it out too long. Remember, secrets and stupid decisions destroyed your previous lives. Don't let it happen this time too."

"I won't," I muttered. Pushing my own problems away, I sat across from Sky with Flora beside me. "Here you go. One mango smoothie and three oatmeal cookies."

Sky's grey doe eyes lit up when I pushed the treat's towards her. For the first time in a long time the corners of her wide lips quirked up into a small smile. It was a good sign but I was still worried about her.

Sky was unnaturally pale in every noticeable way. Pale pink lips, washed out golden skin, and her eyes weren't as dark as I remembered. The fair blonde of her pixie cut hair wasn't doing her any favors either. She looked sick.

The ring, this prophecy, Reign, and whatever else had taken its toll on her greatly.

"How'd you know I like smoothies and oatmeal cookies?" Sky munched on her cookies with an apprehensive expression covering her gaunt face. The small scar above her right eye twitched as her gaze darted between Flora and I.

"Lucky guess," I lied.

The last thing I wanted to do was give her any false hope by letting her know Reign was the one that said something. I didn't know her full story but I could fathom enough to put the pieces together. False hope was a monster that Sky didn't need to fight right now. I wasn't going to be the one to make her do so either.

I didn't know her. We weren't close nor were we friends. But I wanted to help her. I wanted to protect her.

Maybe it was because of the second star. Maybe it was because of the fact that I was a future Luna. Maybe it was because I was a little wiser now then I was before. Or perhaps it was all three.

Either way, I wanted to help her feel better. Not just for the prophecy, but for herself too.

"I don't feel like talking," Sky said. "So if that's what this outing is for then you guys might as well take me back. I don't wanna talk. Not about the ring, or Reign, or anything about what I've done. I don't want to talk."

She held her walls steady as I watched her through new eyes. Whether they realized it or not, the half siblings were a lot more like each other than they thought. Besides the small button nose they shared, their personalities were strikingly similar.

Neither of them were keen on getting close to others. Both of them were reserved. They didn't like talking about what was really bothering them. Honestly, there was only one thing separating them in personality.

The way they handled obstacles.

Sky relied on anger whereas Reign withdrew into his cold façade.

"That's ok," I replied casually. Sipping from my mango smoothie, I watched as rain poured down in a light mist. My gaze followed a pair of racing raindrops trickling down the clear glass window. "We don't have to talk at all. We can just sit here if you like. Flora and I just thought you could do with some time away, that's all. Whether you speak or not is up to you."

Sky nodded, keeping her vacant stare focused on slowly eating her cookies. When I met Flora's gaze she smiled softly before drinking from her smoothie. I knew this wouldn't be the most riveting evening of my life. But this was the right thing to do for Sky.

She didn't need our words. She needed our presence. Calm, quiet, and zero judging.

So, that's what we gave her.

The quiet crawled by as minutes turned into hours. The afternoon sun slipped away until darkness and moonlight permeated our peaceful atmosphere. We ordered more food and drinks when it was time. The Fae owners were kind enough to bake us fresher goods since we stayed for so long.

Sky smiled at that.

The rain came down harder, singing beautiful symphonies that soothed my jumbled mind. None of us talked the whole time we sat there. We just watched the raindrops race in pairs of twos and threes. Silently betting on which droplet would win.

Sky smiled at that too and the silence continued.

I knew we were being watched the second we left.

The rain was coming down heavily. By the time Sky was ready to leave it was almost 8 pm and the street lights were flickering. Sky's shoulder bumped against mine as she cleared her throat. Her face was blank, completely void of all emotions. However, it was the alertness lighting up her brighter eyes that let me know I wasn't being paranoid.

"I can feel it too," she mumbled. "Someone's watching us."

"Mhm," Flora hummed. Flicking her hair over her shoulder, Flora discreetly peeked behind us. Looping her arm through mine, Flora shook her head once more, playing an act of nonchalance. "I saw their shadow for a second before it disappeared. Maybe a glamour?"

"Maybe," I said. I continued her act of silliness and laughed airily. Taking Sky's elbow in hand, I drew her closer as we crossed the street to the parked car.

"What's the plan?" Sky asked.

I was going to take a page from Catherine's book. That was the plan.

Channeling all of my power within me, I felt my power thrum with excitement as it steadily built. The ball of silver swirled within my chest as it pressed against my ribcage like a dove yearning to be free. The longer I held it back, the tighter the feeling grew. Using a sliver of my gift, I wrapped the girls in a thin shield before releasing the coiled power.

A blast of silver emerged from my body, stunning the person hot on our heels. A feminine yelp filled the air as the three of us quickly rounded on the dazed woman. Sky gripped the back of her neck, forcing the woman's face upwards with a feral snarl. I raised my hand, claws ready to go but gasped once I saw who it was.

Green eyes, small nose, freckles, wide lips, and long red hair. The only thing that distinguished her from being her daughter's clone were the lines of age she had.

"Gwendolyn?"

It was Pride's grandmother. The woman that granted us safety with her cottage and allowed us to take the artifacts from the library. However, she was also the White Witch that didn't want anything to do with my friend because he was a Hybrid.

My claws grew longer as I growled, "Why are you following us?"

"To warn you," she hissed. Her green eyes blazed with a passion as Sky forced her to remain on her knees. "You need to leave! All of you need to go now. Leave the cottage, leave Salem, and don't come back."

"Why?"

"The change was felt," Gwendolyn pointed at her chest, "by all of us. Dark, White, Hybrid, it doesn't matter. It wasn't a shift that we could ignore. You've caused a lot of confusion, Venus. People are questioning their loyalties now."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Yes!" Gwendolyn shifted but froze when Flora growled at her menacingly. Irritation flickered within her green eyes but she never used her magick on us. I knew she could take us all out if she wanted to. Pride mentioned that she was the second most powerful person in their family. But for some reason, she was holding back right now.

"Why?"

"You've upset her." Worry lined her enchanting features as she pierced me with the most haunting stare I'd ever felt in my life. "She was to remain in hiding until she was fully recuperated. But after your double victory she's refusing to wait any longer. She'll come for your Mate, Venus. It doesn't matter that he's at that cottage I've deemed off limits. My word means nothing to her now-"

At the mention of Leo I lunged forward and snatched her throat.

"Who?" I snapped. "Who's coming for him tonight?"

Gwendolyn gasped as my grip tightened.

"Who?!"

"Rowena," she choked out. "Rowena will come for him before the night is through so you can't sacrifice him!"

Shock filled my body as I stumbled away from her gasping body. Memories of killing Rowena when she attacked my Pack filled my mind. I remembered ripping her body apart with my kin. We burned her body parts after the carnage was over.

There was no way she was still alive.

And yet, I knew in my heart that Gwendolyn was telling the truth. I could see it in her eyes.

Someway, somehow, Rowena was still alive.

And she was coming for revenge tonight.

🌙

Vote and/or Comment if you enjoyed this part!

🌙

QOTD: What are your thoughts on Reign and Sky now that more of their characters are being revealed? Do you think Venus will be able to tell Leo about their past life? What are your thoughts about Gwendolyn's warning? Do you think the girls will be able to reach the cottage before Rowena and her followers?