Chapter 37

Leo's POV

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Nothing has ever really prepared me to see her, but there has been a lifetime on longing to find her.

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She looks at me and I can see a lot of emotions cross her face and I can't move. I just stare at her. I've thought of what I would say a million times but now I'm just tongue tied and this is not the situation I thought I would be in.

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"It's you...it's really you?" I stumble on my words.

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She nods and my heart is thudding out of my chest, but a confusing mix of emotions swirl together, and the one that bubbles to the top surprises me. I hate myself for feeling it and I never expected it.

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Anger.

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"You left me, you gave me up. I was alone." I say without thinking.

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"I was protecting you. I needed to make sure you stayed alive. I have never stopped loving you from the moment I had you." She reaches out to me and the part of me that is angry get's replaced by the part of me that has longed for my mother my entire life.

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"Shit, you're going to need to put the reunion on hold," Stefan interrupts us and looks panicked.

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Lucas’ POV

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I know something is very, very wrong. “Eric's coming back.” He says.

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“I thought you said you could buy us some time!” I whisper angrily.

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"I thought he would take longer," He paces for a moment and then turns to me. “I have a plan, do you trust me?” he asks and I scoff.

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“You don’t have a choice, Lucas. If Eric sees you, you’re dead. He has the witch with him, you’re no match for both of them.”

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Stefan roughly ambushes Leo and starts locking him back into the chains.

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“No, no, please! Don’t do this!” Leo shouts and tries to fight him off, but the kid is exhausted and Stefan overpowers him. I see the terror in Leo’s eyes build and I rush over to them and push Stefan off of him.

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“For fuck’s sake, Stefan, he’s just a kid!! Take it easy!”

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“You need to trust me,” Stefan angrily whispers, “it’s our only chance. I swear on my son, I can buy us all more time.”

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I don’t want to trust Stefan, but he’s right, and I’m hoping that he is the man I once knew before Eric turned him into the asshole he’s been recently.

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“I’m sorry, Leo,” I take his other hand, lift it, and wrap the iron cuff around his wrist. He stares at me in disbelief, he swallows hard, grits his teeth, and takes a deep breath.

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“Lucas, you need to get out of here. Please, promise me! I - I can’t lose you too,” he tries to put on a brave face. It takes everything I have to click the lock around his wrist, and he flinches when he hears it. He grabs my hand in his and pleads with me. “You have your family to take care of, Sammi and Teddy, they need their dad, Lucas. Get out while you still can!”

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“You are my family, Leo, and I’m not leaving you,” I tell him but he continues to ask me to listen.

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“Please, I can’t bear to lose another person. Lucas you can’t,” Stefan cut’s Leo off.

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“Leo, you need to pretend you’re still under the spell. Can you do that?” Stefan asks, but Leo’s emotions are getting the better of him.

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“They’re coming,” Aria waves at me and then ducks back into the cell. I quickly pull Leo close to me and whisper into his ear, being careful not to let Stefan hear me.

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“I’m sorry Leo, but this needs to be done. Gideon, you need to come forward. Take control of Leo, and shut him out completely.”

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“NO!” Leo shouts but I ignore him.

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“Gideon, they don’t know who you are yet or what you’re capable of, we need to use that to our advantage and you need to protect Leo from what’s coming.”

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“I don’t want that!” Leo says as Stefan pushes me into the back of the cell.

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“Hide over there, deep into the corner, they won’t see you,”

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Reluctantly I back away while Leo begs me to leave. It rips at my heart seeing him so frightened, but just before Eric returns I notice a flash in Leo’s eyes and his demeanor shifts ever so slightly. He looks at me and nods, and I know with the spell broken Gideon has taken control.

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“Stefan!” I hear Eric shout as he enters the cell, and I mind link Roman letting him know what’s happening.

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“That was quick,” Stefan says smugly.

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“We need to take care of him, now. The witch detected that someone is here, one of her kind, she can feel her. We need to finish this before it’s too late.”

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I watch as Eric pulls out a dagger and approaches Leo, who ducks into the corner while Aria screams and grabs onto Eric’s arm.

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“Get OFF ME!” He pushes her to the ground and it takes everything within me to remain quiet. “You’re next my dear wife, after I rid the world of this unwanted little shit.”

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He stalks closer to Leo and I get more and more nervous waiting for Stefan’s big plan. A million thoughts fly through my head and if Stefan is betraying Leo, I will kill him, even at the expense of my own life.

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“Rogue,” Stefan says loudly.

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"What?" Eric turns and cocks his head.

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“Eric, Leo is a rogue.” I point out.

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The witch tilts her head and looks at Stefan through squinted eyes.

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“So what?” Eric spits back and approaches Leo again.

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“He isn’t an Alpha. He isn’t at full power. Technically, he isn't anything. If you want to take the power he has, he needs to be an Alpha.” Stefan walks slowly around Eric and entwines his hand in Leo’s hair and pulls his head up to look at them.

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“What are you saying,” Eric asks, annoyed.

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“You know what I’m saying. You need to bring him back to our pack lands. He needs to be one of us, he needs to take his position as Alpha before you kill him. If you don’t, you’ll just be as you are now.”

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Holy Shit, he’s going to convince Eric to make him Alpha, and King. How stupid is Eric? My wolf asks in my head and I honestly can’t believe that he’s falling for it.

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“Witch, is this true?” Eric asks and she shrugs.

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“I’m not one of you, I don’t know your stupid dog rules,” she says and she is very annoyed with the situation. I haven’t figured out how she plays into all of this, but she wants Leo dead as much as Eric does.

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"Why hasn't he shifted?" Eric asks and Aria and she shakes her head. "When will he shift?"

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The witch walks towards Leo and she puts her hand on him and smiles.

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"He's been blocked from shifting. I sense the spell on him, he can't shift until he turns eighteen." She smiles and Eric laughs.

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"Perfect. When does the boy turn eighteen?” Eric asks Aria and she shakes her head, not wanting to answer. “TELL ME, WHEN!?” He walks to Leo takes the knife and slashes him across his chest, just deep enough to cause him to bleed. "He can't heal himself if he can't shift, tell me!" He says as he makes another slash across his body.

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Aria quickly jumps in front of Leo and shouts at Eric, “Saturday! Please, Eric, he’s your nephew, your flesh and blood!”

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“Can you create a portal back to our lands?” Eric asks and the witch smiles.

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“Childsplay,” she says and she mumbles a few words and the dark black hole I saw in the forest appears again.

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“We will hold the ceremony tomorrow before he shifts. I want him secured every second from here on out. Understood?” He yells at Stefan and he shrugs.

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“Is that necessary? He’s still trapped in his dreams, seems like he’ll do whatever you tell him to.” Stefan says as he unlocks Leo’s arms and then refastens them behind his back.”

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“Don’t question me. Just do it.” Eric snaps.

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“What about the girl?” Stefan asks, and I nearly forgot that Reece is somewhere in this house.

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“Leave her, I’ll come back and get her when this bullshit is over.” Eric reaches down and drags Luna Aria to her feet. “Let’s go wifey. Unfortunately, you need to be part of this ceremony to make it complete.”

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I watch as Eric grips Leo’s arm tight and drags him through the portal where they disappear into the darkness and Aria follows. The witch waves at Stefan, letting him know it’s his turn and he looks hesitant but enters. The witch is the last one to go and I mind link Roman.

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They are going to put him through the Alpha ceremony tomorrow evening. The witch has created a portal back to their pack lands. I’m going with them. I won’t leave Leo alone. Get Reece, she’s in the house somewhere. ~Lucas

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Are you insane? Leo isn’t alone, Stefan is with him. What if you’re spotted? It’s too dangerous Lucas. ~Roman

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I wait a few more seconds and I can see the door starting to get smaller and smaller and I make a split decision.

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I’m going, Roman. I made a promise to him. You better haul ass to get to us. Oh, and Aria lied to Eric, she told him his birthday is Saturday, but it's actually tomorrow, he will shift as he is made Alpha.

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Roman’s POV

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“Shit! SHIT!” I spin around and start barreling back up the marble staircase, calculating what we need to do next, but I’m so angry with Lucas. What is he thinking? I’ve known him my entire life and he has always been the spontaneous one and was always the one who got us in trouble, but this isn’t a schoolyard prank, he’s risking his life.

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Lucas is strong, and he’s smart. Trust him. We need to focus on getting to their territory. Jax, my wolf, centers me so that we can concentrate with a level head.

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“Alpha Jonathan,” I call for him and he immediately comes to my side. “Jonathan I need you to be calm, okay? But, you need to know that Eric kidnapped Reece. He brought her here, and she is somewhere in this house.” His big blue eyes fly open and I can feel his heartbeat start to race.

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“I’ll kill him. If he harmed a hair on my sister’s head, I will kill him myself!”

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“Jonathan, you need to keep your head clear. Okay? Eli, can you and Hunter go with Jonathan? Search the house and remember, there are still guards, most likely on the second floor.” The three of them dart up the stairs and Odette, Gia, and I pause for a moment.

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“How fast can we get to Eric’s lands?” Odette asks and I rub the back of my neck in frustration.

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“A day, if we had all transportation lined up right now. We planned to leave tomorrow. It will take a few hours to shift everything.” Gia answers.

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“We don’t have a day. They will have the ceremony tomorrow and plan to kill him immediately after.”

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“Isn’t it Leo’s birthday tomorrow, he’s going to shift,” Odette says and we all know this situation is a powder keg waiting for a spark.

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“The child has never shifted?” Gia asks and we both confirm that he hasn’t. “Well, that’s going to be quite something, and his wolf is the son of the Moon Goddess?” and we both confirm that his wolf indeed is.

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“You need to get his mate to him. She can make this process far less painful for him.”

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“Absolutely under no circumstances is my daughter going anywhere near Eric,” I refuse to let her go.

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“You may not have a choice, Roman,” Odette says but I shut the conversation down.

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“Alpha Roman, may I suggest something?” Izzy comes out from the shadows, she looks pale and I am sure she must still be sick.

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“Of course Izzy.”

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“I can create a portal. They already know I’m here, so the disturbance won’t come as a surprise. The witch sensed it. I could feel her too.”

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I think about this but I don’t want to jeopardize Leo or Lucas’ lives.

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“Can you create the portal back to our pack house? If we leave now, we can get to Eric by mid-afternoon and not risk them knowing we are coming. We will need to go in full force. I had hoped to have more time to plan, but this is it.”

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Izzy stands back and after she mumbles foreign words under her breath a bright opening appears.

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“Go straight to the pack house. Don’t talk to anyone, understood?” My warriors nod and they enter. I then see Jonathan descend the stairs, his sister gripping onto him and Eli and Hunter right behind them.

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“Any trouble?” I ask Eli and he smiles.

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“Not anymore,” he says, and Hunter smirks.

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“Are you okay?” I ask Reece, who launches herself at me and wraps her arms around me.

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“You saved him. I will forever be in your debt for saving my little brother. I can never repay you.” She says and Jonathan takes a knee before me.

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“You have our loyalty forever, Alpha Roman.”

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“Come, it’s time to get out of this horrific place,” Odette says and she walks through the portal, and Eli and Hunter follow. It takes only a minute or two and we are all back at our pack house and as the sun just starts to rise, we make our way to the board room to make preparations.

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It’s time to end Eric’s reign of terror once and for all, and I pray that Leo and Lucas hold on until we get there.