Unknown POV The sound of arguing brings me to my senses. I don't know how long I have been in the void between this world of the living and the realm of the dead, but it feels like an eternity. I stretch my arms lazily to my sides and yawn loudly. The dark tendrils of the void lap at my skin. They are like slimy tentacles determined to suck what is left of my mortality from my fading body. They tease me with their hushed voices. "Do you think we should tell her?" The tendrils laugh. "Tell me what," I groan. I am growing tired of the constant bickering of the tendrils. "There is an opening," a tendril hisses. "An opening between this realm and the living." My eyes fly open, and I sit up. I pace the cabin floor that mirrors one in the earthly domain. I try to understand what the tendrils mean. Reaching out with my magic, I look for any holes that might lead me back to the world, but after spending decades in the void, my magic is not what it used to be. I lower my

Ella POV Standing outside the Wolf's Den, it is like I have been transported back in time. I cannot believe this building is still standing after all these years. It looks just as sketchy as it did several decades ago. The same crudely painted wolf howling at the moon is hung above the doorway, only it seems like it has been touched up a little over the years. The neon letters of the sign have been replaced, and they all burn brightly. Instead of different colored siding covering the sides of the building, it has all been painted black. As we walk through the doorway, the smell of stale cigarettes and marijuana hits my senses. I wrinkle my nose in disgust. Osiris looks over at me and begins to laugh. "This place even smells the same," I say as I pretend to gag. "What do you know about the Wolf's Den?" Osiris raises an eyebrow at me curiously. "I used to work here," I laugh. "Back when I was nothing more than a rogue werewolf hiding from my life." Osiris's eyes widen as

Osiris POV The cold stare of the witch's blue eyes stops me in my tracks, and I realize what a mistake I have made. Willow is on her knees at the witch's feet. Tears are streaming down her face. I have seen Willow shed a tear here and there, but I have never seen her actually cry. The blonde witch is holding Willow by her hair. She is wearing nothing but a potato sack for clothing. I can see every inch of her body through the thin material. Willow's arms and shoulders are covered in the same strange symbols that line her spine. But that is not the only thing that is different about her. The blonde witch tilts Willow's head to the side, exposing her neck. At first, I don't know what I am looking at, and then it dawns on me. Her mate mark is missing. Heavy sobs wreck Willow's chest. She refuses to look up at me. "I am sorry," she stutters. "I couldn't..." Willow is sobbing so hard she isn't able to finish her sentence. A guttural growl erupts from my chest as I look

Willow POV Grabbing Osiris by the arm, I walk past my birth mother, not sparing her a second look. This isn't the homecoming I expected between the two of us. I expected to feel something different than anger when I finally met her. But anger and resentment are what I feel at the moment. I don't want some heartfelt reunion. Osiris pauses at the tower door, looking back at my grandmother and the three sisters. "Are you coming?" He asks them curiously. "We will meet you back at the cottage," Petra says. "We need to do a little bit of house cleaning before we leave." Osiris cocks his head in confusion as he looks at the four witches. "House cleaning?" "We are going to burn this place to the ground," my grandmother says with a smile. She already has balls of flames in the palms of her hands, ready to set the tower ablaze. "This place is the source of some of their power," my birth mother chimes in. "It will weaken their abilities." "What about us?" I say quietly. "We

Osiris POV A headache is pulsating at the back of my skull as the doctor tells me the damage that Willow sustained to her neck when I tried to remark her. I know I should be listening to what he has to say, but the only thing I can hear is the steady beep of the machines coming from her room. To me, those are the only sounds that matter because they are the only indication that she is still alive. My eyes wander past the doctor to the room filled with Willow's family. Her adopted father, mother, and grandmother are all surrounding her. They are all wearing identical faces of worry, and it is all my fault. I couldn't have known what would happen when I tried to remark her, but I should have known we got away too easily. I should have known that the witches had something more sinister in store. Guilt fills my brain as I think about what I have done. My mate is fighting for her life because I was determined to make her mine again. "Alpha?" The doctor interrupts my thoughts.