Alright I'm SO sorry for how long you all have had to wait!!!! I wish I could explain, but then that would, in itself, become a novel.

QOTD: If you could meet Larson from this book, what would you say to him?

AOTD: FUCK YOU BITCH

It's a slow day, snow falling lightly from the blue sky. I'm staring out of the window, gnawing on my sweater that I'd bought that day with Danica. Damon was downstairs, arguing with Aron about Nora. 

The trees slightly sway right and left hundreds of yards away from the clearing. I wondered where Nora hid away, coming to my rescue so often.

She'd consumed my thoughts the past week. Damon refuses to let me out for a run out of fear that I'll see her again or I'll experience something like her mark, which I wasn't sure I could survive that pain again.

I'd been cooped up in Damon's study, trying to find anything I could about my history. I'd been searching for anything I could on witches, but I couldn't find anything. I was much too tired to even pick up another book. 

So far, I've gathered that witches exist in packs like us, but it's referred to as a coven. There are different types of magic, as Aron had touched on a while ago. A witch's magic is strongest when they're toddlers because they experience so many raw emotions that they don't understand. Take away a toy from a toddler, and expect your room to explode in flames. 

They're given their Type when they turn thirteen so they have time to practice it and perfect it within a life time - another scary thing in their world. They could live over 200 years, something I didn't understand. Why couldn't our race live to be that long? However it could also be considered a curse.

A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. 

"May I come in?" It was Danica's voice. 

"Yes," I called. On cue, she opened the door and walked in with apprehension written on her face.

"Is everything okay?" I asked her, feeling nervous by her unsure demeanor.  She came to my side and sat on the bed next to me.

"We've discovered more about the witch. We have a specialist in the pack who knows more about witches than we do, including Aron. She's young, only late twenties and her magic is different. She doesn't seem to have a set type like most witches."

I frowned, marred with confusion. "I thought that was impossible," I muttered, staring into Danica's ice blue eyes. She bit her lip.

"So did we. But we found another mark east of the river where you made it out of Sunscorch pack."

"What? Why-"

"We don't know. She's all over the map. One second she's deep in our territory, and the next she's at a boundary 45 miles east," she said, rubbing her temples. 

Stunned, I forced myself to think about if there was anything else I read about in the books, sadly none came to my mind.

"Wait, who found the mark? What was it?" I asked. I remembered the sheering pain in my head that night when I'd stepped back into the zone she'd used her magic at.

"A girl in our pack, Isabella. She's okay, just shaken up. The mark is the strangest part of this whole thing," She explained. My heart froze for a second. Isabella, why did that sound so familiar? 

"What's with the mark?" I asked.

"Well, before, when she did that thing you explained to the wolf, you experienced the same thing when you were in the midst of the mark. But when Isabella stepped in it, she forgot who she was, where we were," She explained, shaking her head. She stared at her fingers.

"But she could just be forgetful right? Or-"

"No I was there. She looked so lost and confused. She was a blank slate - even forgot her Alpha," She explained to me, as if replaying the memory in her head.

I frowned. "Could this mean that she used some type of magic similar to the mark?" I felt myself grow weary the more I thought about the situation. Was it hot in here?

"That's what we can gather right now, it's all we have," She said with a shrug. My head was starting to hurt. I put my hand to my head, and recognized the beads of sweat forming at my hairline.

"Hey, hey are you okay?" She asked me.

"Yeah, I'm okay, I just need water I think," I told her while closing my eyes.

She put the back of her hand to my forehead.

"Shit, you're burning up. Stay here, I'm going to get you some medicine and I'll grab Alpha Damon," She said.

"Wait I'm fine really-" But she already started to prepare a pillow behind my head and pull the covers over me. I started to laugh as she did this, and then I started to cry. I don't know why. The tears just started to come out.

"Um-"

"I don't know!" I screamed, raising my hands into the air, flopping them onto the bed. What am I, an emotional wreck all the sudden? What is happening to me?

"I"m just gonna," She began walking to the door, "grab Damon," And she closed the door with a funny look on her face.

I reached my hands up to my face, and felt sweaty and hot. The tears mixed with my sweat. My face felt warm, but I felt cold within a matter of seconds. Am I getting sick? What is this?

Suddenly, Damon threw the door open and was at my side immediately. Well, that didn't take long.

"What's wrong? Did something happen? Are you sick?" He kept asking me questions but gave me no time to answer.

I opened my mouth to speak but he shoved a thermometer through my lips. I widened my eyes in surprise.

Annoyed, I took it out. "I don't know, I just started feeling cruddy," I told him. His eyes were as blue as the sky, and gazed at me with intensity. He pressed his palm to my forehead and retracted his hand on instinct.

He stared at me then his hand.

"You're burning up, and no offense but you're really sweaty,"  He said, wiping his hand on his sweater. My cheeks felt a new burn - embarrassment. Because who wants their love interest to look at them and tell them they are sweaty? Not me!

"Are you crying?" He then asked. "I think so. I don't know why," I replied, wiping my eyes. He studied me for a bit before taking off his shoes and crawling over me. He hesitated when he hovered over my body and smirked like how he always did. I couldn't breathe when he was this close. His eyes were locked on my neck, and I suddenly remembered my mark I was given.

He seemed satisfied and laid next to me with a smile on his face.

"Won't you get sick too?"

"If you're sick, I'm sick. See, we're a package deal, Rena." I giggled as he spoke, but felt my body weaken noticeably.

"What's wrong with me?" I croaked, wiping my eyes again.

"I don't know," He said, eyes lowering as if disappointed in his own answer, "I know marking can have side effects, but these are too extreme. One second you're fine, and the next, you're sick? Doesn't make sense, but I'll do everything in my power to figure out what's going on, I promise," He said, grasping my hand. I smiled at him, and said nothing.

A few minutes passed, and I was beginning to feel sleepy, until Damon stirred uncomfortably. I looked at him, and I could see his eyes somewhere else.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Danica hasn't come back. In fact, it's . . . silent. I can't hear anyone."

"Hear anyone? What do you mean?" I asked him, turning my head on the pillow.

He sat up, lifting himself with one brawny arm. "I'm connected to the minds of my pack, and no one is talking or updating me like usual. Something is wrong."

As he said this, the phone rang, nearly giving me a damn near heart attack. He left my side, much to my dismay, and went to grab the phone. I shouldn't snoop, but...

As he picked it up, he hesitated and I heightened my hearing - something Danica taught me.

"Hello?"

The line didn't have a reply until all of the sudden, an eerie voice sent my skin crawling.

"I warned you, Damon Baine." And the line went dead. I forced myself up, using a lot of my strength.

Damon held the phone in his hand, and then crushed it. It felt to a crumble at his feet in a horrible sound that followed. 

"Damon?" I whispered, feeling a pit form in my stomach.

"Stay here," He told me, keeping his back to me. 

"What's going on?"

But he didn't answer. Instead, he ran to the door and left me in his room, soaking in both sweat and confusion. Terror seeped through my being. That was Larson on the other line.

Something was happening.

-

Damon

I snarled, forcing my paws faster through the snow. My pack was in danger, yet why hadn't they warned me? I had received nothing from the boarder patrol. It was so empty, something wasn't right. I knew it.

I hopped over a small creek, and when I landed on the other side, I caught traces of some of my packmates. They'd been here. The scent wasn't too faint. I leaned down and brought my nose to the snow. The cold, wet, whiteness tickled my snout. 15 minutes, they were here 15 minutes ago. I lifted my head and let out a wild, raw howl. It only demanded they tell me where they were, not that they needed to report to me.

Within moments, another howl sounded off in the distance. I growled, and bounded off in that direction. It was a war cry, a cry for help.

Rena

I watched Damon scurry out of the house, not hesitating to shift into his wolf without taking his clothes off. Whatever was happening, was urgent. I couldn't just sit here! I don't care how sick I was getting, all this training was about to pay off! It had to. I was ready - minus this fever. I would persevere, I'd been through worse! I could do this! I was going to do this.

I walked away from the window and ran to the bags on the floor that I'd strewn there since I went shopping. I grabbed my winter boots and a vest as well as a hair tie.

I was going to help. I wasn't going to be meek. Everything was different now. I'm not that same girl from Sunscorch pack. If I don't do this, help fight along side Damon, then I would only regress to what I once was. I refused to be the broken little girl, too scared to stand up for herself.

I was once an ember, a small, dying ember in a house of ice and snow. The cold shut out my spark, and it was reduced to a near nothing. But I was going to change. I will rise from the ashes, and this time, the only one able to stop my progress was me. No one could get in my way, from here on out.

I ran down the stairs, putting my hair up in a pony tail. I paused by a window, glancing to see outside. Snow began to fall from the sky, and the clouds above were gathering. 

A storm was brewing.

I got a heavy feeling in my chest, like being in this house was wrong. I had to be out there, it was my place. I ran down the stairs, skipping the last couple, and dashed outside. 

Though exhausted, I pumped my arms and forced my feet to move under me. The snow slowed me down considerably, but I wouldn't shift unless I knew I needed to. I was halfway through the clearing when I caught the smell of something funky. I paused.

"The witch," I mumbled. This scent wasn't werewolf, but witch. I knew it. It was spicy and almost had a suffocating feel to it. I looked into the forest. I would soon find out who Nora was. Was she a friend, or a foe?

I picked up my pace and entered the forest with haste. Damon's scent was fresh, for he didn't bother to cover it up. I smiled to myself and followed his scent like how I'd been trained to. I was partly excited for being able to use what I've been taught, but I'm scared for what it will lead me to. 

Then a thought hit me as I ran. What if this is a trap? What if we're all being led into a trap? The witch could be doing this, luring me in. 

I stopped running when I noticed a cloaked figure in the woods, far ahead of me. I stopped in my tracks, panting to catch my breath. Was she here? The figure had disappeared. I dug my nails into my palms, and carried on with caution. 

Someone was here, I was sure of it. However, I almost felt crazy because I couldn't catch their scent. For now, my main concern was getting to Damon. I had to stay focused. I continued to weave and meander through the white forest, catching snowflakes in my hair and on my clothes.

I then stopped to listen. I could've sworn... I strained my hearing harder, concentrating as much as I could to quiet myself and my surroundings. I closed my eyes, taking myself away from this world. It was there, just barely, the sound of snarls and barks, howls and chaos. 

I then dove farther into the woods to find the source of noise. As it grew louder, I hopped over a creek and when I landed on the other side, I knew I was close.  A bunch of white covered thickets blocked my way, but I forced myself through and there I was, in the middle of a battlefield.

Large wolves whirled past me, snarling and running into one another. I froze, and the world came to a slow. The sight reminded me too much of my mother, and that horrible fight. I watched a wolf on the ground, with a huge brown one above it, snarling and biting at its neck. It was slow motion, his jaws opening, revealing his sharp teeth. The wrinkles on his snout were brought by gums and the ferocity in his eyes as he ripped the smaller wolf to shreds.

Suddenly, it looked up at me. Those eyes screamed war cries towards me. Tawnya.

Her ears lifted into the air immediately. I snapped into reality, and forced my bones to glide into place as fast as possible. My shift, though not perfect, was incredibly faster and smoother, as well as less painful as before. In a matter of seconds I was in my white wolf, and right as I stood on four paws, I was knocked to the side. 

My head hit the ground with force and snow covered my back as the she wolf hovered over me and snapped at my neck. With luck, I managed to just barely move my head in the right time. With little to no time to think, I bit her forepaw, causing her to yelp like a pup. I used this moment to scratch her underbelly with my hindlegs. I twisted myself to get out from under her, but her teeth scraped down my back.

I let out a wild snarl of pain as fire scorched through me. Because of my wild frenzy filled with panic, I just barely escaped her jaws. I turned to see her stalking towards me, her teeth were bared and she was growling at me with her ears splayed backwards. I too growled at her. However, an enormous wolf had tackled her from the side and the two went flying.

Aron! His large grey intimidated the size of Tawnya as they rolled around on the snow, snapping at each other and missing each time. My eyes scanned the brawl of wolves for Damon, and there I found him, helping a packmate fight off two smaller wolves. I recognized them, as younger kids from Sunscorch. They were only 13 or 14, what were they doing here? Fighting older and experienced werewolves was...well, just wrong! 

The skirmish continued, and I was just standing here. From the corner of my eyes, I saw a huge, white wolf in the hidden forests, blending in with the snow, as I can. His yellowed eyes were pinned on a large black wolf, my Alpha, Damon. Damon's wolf was just as impressive, enormous, ferocious, and unforgiving. He bat a smaller wolf off of himself, his back turned to Larson. 

As Larson crept from out of the woods, I darted towards them. Damon had protected me, it was time for me to protect him. Larson smelt me before I got to him, for he held a defensive stance and glared at me, waiting. I felt my stomach drop, and my pace slow. My heart filled with dread at our situation.

Brother and sister, never to get along. Would our stories end with one of us dead?

Larson growled which caught Damon's attention. As I neared them, Damon hopped onto Larson's back, but it didn't do much. As he did this, I saw a mass amount of small, juvenile wolves appear from the East, Sunscorch territory. There was no way we could win this battle, for he'd just called in recruitments. These wolves were young, and not ready to fight but here they were, teeth bared.

Then it hit me. We were going to die. They were going to kill us. Damon and Larson tussled furthermore, Damon at a loss for he was vulnerable on his back. I snarled, and put myself into the action. Larson was about to go for his neck, but I jumped, paws out and brought us both tumbling. The two white wolves wrestled about in the snow. He was strong - much stronger than me. But I had more of a reason to fight. 

His jaws clamped onto my shoulder and I let out what is equivalent to a blood curdling scream. But then, Damon is there and I see him use his incredible strength. His teeth lock onto Larson's hind leg, and he throws him over his head. His white body flies in the air and lands with a painful thud. Damon is growling and snarling, but comes to my sides, nuzzling into my neck really quick, before running into the other direction.

I'm still not relieved as I watch more and more wolves stalk from out of the trees. We'll die, this fight will have been for nothing.

Just when I believe that everything is about to end, the earth below us starts to rumble, and many wolves lose their balance. We've all stopped, Larson with his packmates and Damon gathering Shadowdawn. We all become a unit, huddling near one another, as Larson does with his miniature army.  

I smell that scent again, the spice followed by suffocation. Out from behind Shadowdawn wolves, a woman with a cloak on, has her hands splayed in front of her and she's chanting something under her breath. Damon bares his teeth, walking in front of his pack as if to protect us, but she passes us and stands in front of me and Damon.

The Earth continues to rumble, but it's harder now and we're struggling to stay up. It's utter madness! Any longer and we'll be so dizzy we can't move.

"Sunscorch will not cross this boundary!" She shouts in a thick accent. It's her, the witch!

Larson snarled and shook his head, running at her full force across from us. I run next to Nora, but she only holds her palm out and he falls into the snow like a sack of potatoes. He's snarling and digging his paws into his head. She's doing what she did to Zacariah! 

He squirms and I feel uncomfortable watching him suffer. She stops after a second, and he's laying in a heap, tongue lolled onto the snow, eyes wide with confusion and fear.

The wolves from Sunscorch start to back away after watching their fallen leader become subdued by a witch. Tawnya runs to his side, licking his cheek until he comes to again. 

Nora shouts something foreign, before a sudden chasm begins to form as a result of the shaking and rumbling. The ground cracks, and snow begins to fall through. The clearing has been separated by a fissure, and I don't dare see how deep it is. The wolves, all of us, are staring at her like we've just seen the gates of Hell open.

"Let this be a warning!" She shouts once more, and a fire flickers on a tree behind Larson's pack. The fire spreads and a tree falls over. The pack scatters in a scared frenzy, leaving only a few with Larson and Tawnya. His eyes glare at me through Nora, but Tawnya has her heated gaze fixed on the witch. 

I don't have to speak to them to understand that they won't hesitate to kill us the next time they meet us. This will be for blood. 

Larson lets out a snarl before begrudgingly turning his back and walking away, his mate following suit but not before letting out an angry bark. They've soon disappeared behind the trees, leaving the remaining wolves of Shadowdawn. Luckily, we've all made it out alive.

Nora turns to us, and lifts her black hood. Her eyes are harsh, and intimidating. Her purple lipstick is present as she smiles, and lifts a dark eyebrow.

"I hope you now understand that I am not your enemy, Shadowdawn pack. Perhaps we can talk should you shift into humans," She says to the group. They all look at one another, but I'm fixed on her. She reeks of nostalgia.

She then locks eyes with me.

"Serena."

Damon turns his black head to stare at me, confusion and near anger in his blue eyes. I ignore him, though I know I'll have to explain myself soon. I frown, in my head at least.

Damon growls, and sends the pack back to their homes, but not alone. Nora is staring into the trees where Larson skulked back to. I walk up to Damon, and press myself against him. He's still unhappy with me, which disheartens me.

"I am no threat to you, I only wish to help," Nora says, keeping her back to us. Damon does nothing, instead, he leaves me and walks into the woods towards the house. I do the same, and Nora follows silently at my side while I give Damon some space.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner, Serena. I have matters of my own that called to my attention." I can't say much, I'm an animal for Gods sakes. Couldn't she just wait till we got home?

"I didn't mean to scare you, or cause trouble. But I knew that if I told you more of who I was, and revealed myself to your mate earlier, he'd see me as a threat. Though with unfortunate circumstances, I needed to prove that I'm an ally," She explained, keeping her pace beside me. I kept walking, and began to feel exhausted again. 

My head hurts, and the sign of sickness comes to me again and I feel woozy. 

We finally make to the house, with no more words from Nora. Damon appears out of nowhere, a man. But to my surprise, he's totally naked! He's just standing there in his handsome glory. His abs are gleaming, but I'm disgruntled at the fact he's bleeding, and that Nora is here. I want to growl at him. I went to tackle him to the ground and mate right here. I have so many conflicting emotions about this. Whatever I do, I make sure to keep my eyes above his waist.

He then reaches down and grabs a pair of sweatpants. As he puts them on, his eyes are hard and stern, and he looks like a stranger. 

He keeps his eyes on Nora, and when he's done changing, gives me a look. I growl lightly in my throat, upset by his display of his body to someone other than me. 

"Alpha Baine," Nora says, nodding at him with a smile.

"That was my father. I'm Alpha Damon to you. But just who are you?"

As he asks, he looks at me as though I know the answer. I want to yell at him, pound his head with my fists and shake him like a rag doll! He's making me so angry! The house is past the clearing where we are, but I also want to stay to know what they talk about.

"First, I must apologize for sneaking onto your territory."

"For which times?" He challenged. I growl at how rude he is, but he gives me such an icy look that I can't move or make sound. Instead, I pick my paws up and run to the house. I've left them behind, and as I hop onto the porch, I look back at them, and they're arguing it seems. It also seems Damon is still shirtless. That jerk knew what he was doing!  

+

I'd shifted upstairs, and put on a warm pair of clothes, feeling frozen but hot at the same time. I wiped my forehead and noticed sweat forming again. God I feel disgusting!

I ran down the stairs after I heard Damon and Nora walk in.

Nora still had her black, mysterious cloak on, and when her eyes met mine, she smiled.

Damon looked paralyzed in thought. He wouldn't look at me, because he was so deep in thought.

"What's going on?"

"Come into the kitchen," Nora said with nonchalance, walking past Damon like she lived here. I gulped nervously, not sure how to be around Damon right now.

"You lied to me," he said as I walked down the stairs.

"I know, but I didn't know much. I just knew her name, and that she wanted to help, like I proposed she did when we were all talking," I explained, standing next to him. His eyes wouldn't meet mine.

"You didn't tell me. You also didn't mention when she saved you that second time. You didn't tell me-"

"I didn't want you to worry about me-"

"Like when you ran to fight today? Although you were sick? You tell me you don't want me to worry then you do this stupid things that can get you killed." His jaw hardens. My heart fills with dread again, knowing I've put us in this position.

"I've been training, I wanted to help. I can't sit by like sheep anymore. I'm a wolf now. A real, full bred wolf. A possible Luna even..." I said, staring at my hands, a smile forming on my lips.

"Yeah, I thought so too. I know you're new to this whole thing," he says, narrowing his eyes at me, "but mates don't lie or hide things from each other. Especially a Luna and Alpha mate. They lead by example, Serena. They show the pack the way, they're there for guidance. You're reckless, and you put yourself in danger. You need to understand that." 

Tears welled in my eyes. He was so upset with me, so disappointed in me. I thought I was being brave, being strong by running to help them. Did I not help? Was I just . . . another burden here? He rubbed a hand through his hair, clearly uncomfortable.

"I'm...sorry. I just...wanted to help." I bit my lip because my voice starts to weaken. He sighed and looked down.

"And...and if helping is frowned upon, then I don't want to stay here and keep getting in your way."

"Rena-"

He reached for my arm but I moved back.

 know I can be reckless, okay, I know that!" I turned my voice into a strong whisper. "But  today, I was strong. I was able fight for myself. I was proud of myself. And I still am. I'm still happy with my progress. I understand I put myself in danger, but that's what being a leader is. I'll put myself at risk, just to save this pack, Damon. If that's reckless, so be it.  And if you don't think you can handle that, then force me out. You know by now I won't stay where I'm not wanted." My fists were balled up and I was crying again.

His eyes were wide as he watched a tear fall down my face. He wiped it, but I kept my head from him.

"Serena," He mumbled.

"Nora's waiting." I told him and wiped my face with my sleeve. I left him there, and walked into the kitchen where Nora sat on the counter, legs crossed.

 I NEED FEEDBACK!!! COMMENT IN BELOW!!!!!!!!!

Guys really I'm sorry for making you wait so long, but please understand I'm trying my best to get back to writing again. 

I really hope you liked this chapter

QOTD: If you met Larson from this book, what would you say to him? (answer in comments!!) also vote! :D

AH I'M SOOO SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG MY LIFE HAS BEEN SO BUSY PLEASE UNDERSTAND!!!! But I'm not ready to give up on this book!!! 

I NEED FEEDBACK