Alpha Talia's POV

Hugo sprawled over my body, panting and sweating after our intense love making session. As my lungs worked to re-infuse my body with much-needed oxygen, I felt drowsy but in a pleasant way. Ultimately, the day of the full moon has arrived, and despite our best efforts, we haven't been able to unlock his Alpha gene.

I took a glance at the spell-bound rope that had been fastened to him an hour earlier that was now shredded into pieces. He growled in resentment as I teased him while he was bound. He was able to extricate himself from the spell-bound rope that was binding him confirming that he was becoming stronger every day. With little to no time left, however, I feared that he might not be able to properly embrace the Alpha gene his father had bestowed on him in time for the ritual.

"I can't believe you broke through my spell" I whispered, still trying to regain my breath. I clamped my legs together tightly as I sensed his warm fluid dripping between them.

"I can't believe you tortured me" He chuckled as he responded. His fingers nibbled my nipples as he turned to confront me. "Don't you ever deny me access to your body like that again!"

"It was an experiment. I figured since we've been training nonstop, we should try a different method of unlocking the Alpha gene. Do you feel any different than before?" I asked, in a hopeful tone.

"I feel much stronger. I feel like my older self, but I think it's still going to take some time" He muttered quietly. Although I could feel his disappointment, I didn't want to let it mar the very last day before the pandemonium commenced. If anything, I wanted today to be a day where we didn't actually worry about the ritual at all.

"Is there something you would like to do today, little claws?" I pulled him closer to me and laid my head on his chest.

"You" I could feel him smirking as he uttered the words.

"Other than what we've been doing for the past five days" I mumbled as I rolled my eyes. He took a big breath and placed his hands securely around my body.

"I want us to go on a date. I don't even know which city the mansion teleported us to. We've been confined within this mansion for too long. I want to see the city, go on walks, eat ice cream, you know. . couple stuff" His reply brought a huge smile to my face. It was indeed a wonderful idea. Given the gravity of the situation, a change of scenery would be beneficial to the both of us.

"That's a wonderful idea. There's still a couple of hours left for full moon and we'll be back before then. Let's go on a date, little claws" I replied, placing a small kiss on his cheek.

"Wait" He paused, raising himself up from the bed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"What if the Shadow Pack gets wind of our whereabouts?" He asked, with a concerned expression on his face. I looked at his face and bit my lip in an effort to contain my laughter.

"Ah, I forgot to tell you. Actually no, at the time I deliberately didn't tell you this because I was selfish and didn't want to give you a reason to leave the mansion again. When Frieda teleported Izz. . 'that woman', she also made her forget that she ever followed you here in the first place. So as far as the Shadow Pack knows, you left her on the day of the mating ceremony and vanished" I smirked.

"So Izzy won't remember you seizing her by the neck and threatening her life and the lives of her entire pack?" Hugo questioned.

"Unfortunately no. Frieda thinks it's better if no one knows that the beast everyone is hunting is a female. Not at least until the ritual is over with. I could take on a thousand Alpha's at once, but do I really need that added onto my plate? Not really" I stated.

After a little period of silence, Hugo chuckled slightly. "Bold of you to assume, I was planning to leave you after being a runaway groom"

"Bold of you to assume, I'd let you. You are my favourite hostage after all" I smirked while glancing at the handcuffs that were still attached to the bed post.

"You do know that the word has spread across cities that I'm the only one who escaped the beast and every Alpha is hunting me down, right? I couldn't leave the mansion even if I wanted to" Hugo stated. My thoughts kept going back to the day I had persuaded Frieda to let him escape the mansion for his protection. But having him close to me made me feel as though I wasn't done being grateful for his presence in my life. I was grateful every single day for it.

"I let you go once and it was the hardest decision I had to make. I don't want to live through that again" I replied.

"Then let's mask ourselves and head out to the city and celebrate the fact that I ain't going anywhere" Hugo responded instantaneously.

I felt happiness permeating every cell in my body as we prepared for our date. With a quick motion of my hand, I teleported us to the streets of Thornhelm. As life in Thornhelm City slows down to a steadier cadence, I breathed in the air felt fresh, almost pleasant and fragrant.

It seemed extraordinary to be able to move around among the humans with our masked scents. For once, I started to forget about the adversities of the ritual and started to genuinely appreciate how simple human existence truly is. We walked around the park while others walked their dogs, pushed their young children in strollers, and enjoyed the live music being performed by street musicians.

Hugo's hand never left mine as he whisked me away to the hotdog stand for a snack. As his gaze met mine, no words needed to be uttered to know that this man loved me with everything he's got.

After a while, we halted our trek and sat down on a park bench. Hugo flashed me a tiny smile, but I could sense that his mind was somewhere else.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked softly, tucking his hair behind his ear.

"I miss Falcon Valley. I miss home. I wish you could have seen it when it was standing still. But the place is burnt to the ground" He whispered. His eyes started to tear up, but he made an effort to remain composed.

I grinned at him and clasped his hand in mine. I found it funny that he sometimes forgets I'm a Hybrid and that all he has to do is ask. As I scanned the entire park, I concealed ourselves and instantly teleported us to the location he had in mind.

"You couldn't have given me a heads-up before doing that?" He mumbled as his body jolted back into reality, letting out a small gasp.

"You wished, I granted" I replied.

We were standing in front of what I could only guess as the Shaw's Residence front porch. Everything else had been completely destroyed by fire. Because of the absence of people and the mist, the entire area felt eerie. The air was chilly, as I watched Hugo move toward the garden area where flowers still remained in bloom among the scorched grass.

"This was my mom's favourite plant. Hibiscus. I'm amazed that the flowers haven't wilted after so long" His voice broke as he attempted to hold back his tears. "And this porch, had a small swing at the left corner that I helped my father build as a kid. It was our first project together" He chuckled softly.

I followed him inside as he entered the porch after climbing the rickety wooden steps. His eyes welled up with every gaze, yet he could not suppress the smile on his face.

"There's something I want to show you. I don't know if you enter my imagination but this is what I envision in our future" He stated, extending his hand towards me.

"If I can enter your dreams, what makes you think I can't enter your imagination, little claws?" I put my hand in his and winked. We both closed our eyes as I called forth the magic within me. My eyes suddenly shone brightly, allowing me to see what he was visualizing in his mind.

"Two young boys racing around the hallway brandishing wooden swords while being oblivious of their unleashed supernatural abilities." Hugo muttered as the vision came to life. The lads were playing with each other in full battle mode while giggling. Hugo's palm tightened up against mine as he continued to describe his imagination.

Then his vision carried us into the kitchen, where a fictional Hugo was flipping pancakes but they were dropping all over the floor. "While I'm attempting to make pancakes the way you do, but failing miserably." Hugo chuckled.

The vision enhanced and the colors appeared stronger as we moved further into the residence. I could picture the house as it once stood before. I watched as the bedroom door opened and I watched a fictional me in a white gown with a huge belly.

"And there you are, pregnant with our third pup. We're hoping it's a girl this time" I chuckled at Hugo's remarks. As we zoomed out of the imagination I sensed my magic mana depleting. He gazed at me with so much love in his eyes, and a tear fell down my cheeks.

"When I see my future, I see it with you Talia" He whispered, giving me a small kiss on the forehead. "So Alpha or not, I hope you can give me the chance to make this future a reality by letting me join in the ritual"

Since what he had showed me, was the most romantic thing I had ever witnessed, I wasn't able to speak; instead, I nodded in approval. I knew we had to head back since the full moon would appear in less than an hour. And I was aware that utilizing my powers would result in a reprimand from Frieda, but I didn't care. After letting my mana charge, I reached for Hugo's hand. However, Hugo intervened as I was about to teleport both of us back to the mansion.

"Could you give me ten minutes by myself? Just head back and I'll come afterwards" He cast a quick glance towards the gravestone plaques in the backyard, and I understood I had to give him some privacy. I waited to employ my enhanced hearing to inspect the perimeter first as I examined the empty space. He was masked and cloaked, he should be safe. But I did feel uneasy leaving him alone.

"I'll time your teleportation to ten minutes. In ten minutes whether you're ready or not, you'll automatically be teleported back to the mansion, okay? Be safe" He nodded after I kissed him on the lips.

I then swept my hand into the air and instantly teleported back to the mansion's front door. I felt weaker than before since I had expended a lot of my powers. But before I could gather myself, I was startled by the unusual change in the atmosphere. Barging through the doors, I entered the mansion to witness Frieda seated at the table, skimming through the floating book as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Tal, what's wrong?" Frieda immediately rose up from her seat as she saw my disconcerted expression.

"There's someone here" I whispered as a strong scent overtook my nostrils leading its way towards the oval door. My crimson eyes glowed kicking in my most delicate senses. As the seconds passed by, the breathing became more laboured.

"There's no one here. I've been sitting here all day. If someone passed me by, I'd know" Frieda reasoned.

"I can hear its heart beating and I can smell it" I hissed and proceeded to move toward the oval door as if I were being drawn by a magnet. The hallway was filled with the laughter of mother's spirit. I quickly turned the knob to enter my mother's spell room.

As our gazes locked on a muscular figure facing the other direction, Frieda let out a slight scream.

"Who are you?!" I demanded, expanding my claws. As the figure slowly turned around, my crimson eyes began to glow in anticipation. I stepped back in astonishment as our eyes locked. Like a shard in my gut, shock jolted throughout my body to witness the ghost of a man whose death I've mourned countless of times.

"Ryan . . . "As his name left my lips, I felt my heart drop.

Ryan smiled at me slyly as his eyes glowed a familiar crimson red, uttering the words I dreaded which reverberated throughout the spell room.

"Hello, Mate"