It took me nearly an hour to comb out all of the tangles in Lilith's hair. Her hair had been straight and sleek by the time I had finished. It had taken all I had to not sit there and run my fingers through it. I had never really been around someone who had such straight hair. I had managed to stop myself from doing that and then had asked her if she had wanted me to put it up. She had been rather forcefully adamant that she wanted it down. I had immediately dropped the subject, it was her hair and I would abide by her rules. Then she had suddenly cowered and begged me to not put her into the dark.

It had been hard for me not to react to that, to not rage against the male who had caused her to react so negatively against stating her own wants. I had done my best though, keeping that rage hidden from her as I gently assured her that it was okay, that her stating her own boundaries would never make me do that to her. I would never punish a female for telling me no, for telling me she didn't want to do what I wished.

Once I had gotten her to calm down and assured that I wouldn't harm her because she simply said she wanted her hair down, we headed for the dining hall. It was packed with people, pictures of Amelia hung on the walls and sat on the tables. It was hard to see her smiling face and know that she was gone. It was like a sharp sword through my chest at the reminder of what had been lost to give me Lilith. There was a heavy guilt to that for me, that Amelia was taken to give me a second mate. It didn't matter that I was Lilith's blessing and she was not mine. Amelia was still gone and I still had Lilith by my side, the reason she was there was not important.

I kept my eyes on Lilith as she moved around the tables, making sure she was staying put. She had already wandered off out of my view once so I more than believed Ambris when she said that Lilith had that tendency. She was humming, I could tell she was even from my spot near the wall. She was also arranging the food trays but I figured if the tasked helped her relax then it was a good thing for her to do. I wanted her to be a relaxed as possible, the last thing she needed was to be stressed. The atmosphere was already sombre and a bit tense so I didn't want her to be overly affected by it.

I could see the pack looking between the two of us as they seemed to flow around her, never straying into her orbit. It was like she seemed to physically repel them, like they couldn't get close to her. I didn't like seeing it, seeing that wariness they had to her, like they were almost scared of her. She needed to be accepted by them in a way that wasn't through the fear they had of what she could do or what she saw through the veil or was told by Mene.

She shuffled to another table, gently shifting Amelia's pictures before once again starting on the food trays. She was swimming in my clothes. The hoodie's sleeves were rolled up and the hoodie itself was hanging more than halfway down her thighs. The sweatpants' hems were rolled up as well. She was also barefoot as she walked around.

I took my eyes off of her for a moment as I looked around, Shey and Luka weren't in the hall. Gamgam, Lace, Mari, and the rest of their family had taken them to the study to allow them time to grieve with their family before they would allow the pack to join them. It was easier to let out grief when family was there to show you support. It settled the wolves to have the family close, it helped them grieve through the loss they felt and the humans would follow. After the wolves were settled, then the pack would be allowed in to grieve over the lost future.

I turned back to Lilith, she was still humming and arranging the food trays. Her hair slid over her shoulders to sway in front of her face and my fingers itched to run through it. I shook the thought out of my head as quickly as it appeared. There was no need for that right now. Ezekiel, how are things going? I sent it to my brother Beta and I received images of Luka and Shey sitting on one of the couches, Gamgam sat between them, stroking their hair as Jace, Davin, Maricella, Lace, Azrael, and the others sat around them. Muted conversation followed the images and I pressed my lips together, swallowing hard. Thank you, brother. I closed the connection, keeping my eyes on Lilith as I did so.

She was still arranging things on tables and the pack was still avoiding her. There was childish screeches and giggles as a door banged open. I looked towards the dining hall door, as did everyone else besides Lilith, and I watched as young children of the pack ran through the hall. They laughed and played, as if the sombreness didn't really affect them much. I didn't blame them, children didn't understand death the way adults did. They had new friends around so they wanted to play. I could see Heidi running around with Nina, Lace and Azrael's eldest daughter, then there was Jackson, Maricella and Bennett's son, and who I believed to be Fern, a little girl from Oblitus.

The rest of the others in the hall watched the kids with small smiles. I found myself smiling as well. It was nice to see such life in a memorial about death. It reminded us that time moves on and happiness after such a loss was possible. In my watching of the children laughing and playing among the table and chairs, I caught sight of Jovan and his female moving straight for me.

I stood up a bit straighter, unable to help myself. Jovan was an Elder councilman for the Hunters and he had quite a lot of pull within them. It didn't help that I had been running wild and that meant I had technically been an illegal rogue for a majority of the time. Illegal rogues, if caught were usually jailed. I knew I was safe, I had a pack and a ranked position so the chances of that happening to me were tiny but it didn't stop how I felt.

He came closer and gave me a rather half-hearted smile. "Hello, Beta Micheal." I nodded to him in acknowledgement and he gestured to his female as she moved closer. "This is my mate, Margret."

"Pleased to meet you, Margret. Beta Micheal Davis." I gave her a nod as well before I extended my hand towards her.

"Pleasure, Beta Davis." She gave my hand a short shake before giving it a warm squeeze.

"Just Micheal is alright." I dropped her hand and I looked over her shoulder slightly, catching sight of Lilith as she brushed the strands of her hair from her face. Assured that she was alright and still where I could see her I turned back to the councilman and his mate. "I am sorry you had to visit the territory under these circumstances, Councilman Edwards." I didn't like the fact that anyone had visited the pack underneath the circumstances that had occurred. A death was bad enough but the death of a child... that was its own sort of monster to deal with.

"I am too, Micheal. Amelia was a bright little female. Margret and I will miss her greatly." He cleared his throat and Margret grasped his shoulder in comfort.

"She really was a sweet little girl." Margret gave a rather sad smile at that and I nodded slowly.

"She will be missed." By so many. She was called a vessel but she was so much more than that. It seemed to wrong to reduce her to that, to take away everything she was to make her a mere vessel for Mene's power. She was a brilliant soul that had touched the lives of so many.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but who is that strange little female rearranging the food trays?" Margret glanced at me and I knew she was trying to gauge my reaction to her words. I knew it must have gone around that Lilith was connected to me. I wasn't surprised by the suddenness of the question either. In fact I had been expecting it from someone from the moment I had walked into the dining hall with Lilith by my side.

"Her name is Lilith. Don't ask for a last name because I don't have one and I doubt asking her will give you the response you want." I glanced between Jovan and Margret, watching as they looked at each other, seemingly having a conversation between themselves. I needed to tread carefully because i didn't know how the Hunters of the Hunter Council would react to the situation. That and I didn't know what type of tools Adam would utilize to get Lilith back. When she had left she carried his heir with her. I knew any alpha would want their female back in that case, even if it was just for the heir. "I was given to Lilith as a blessing from Mene to make up for her previous mate. He abused her greatly and the trauma of it has affected her mind." I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling slightly defensive.

Margret placed her hand on her chest with a small tsk as she looked towards Lilith. "The poor thing." She clucked her tongue lightly before she glanced at me once more. "And for the talk of curses?" She raised an eyebrow slightly at that and I had to tamp down my sudden urge to rumble out a growl at her in protection of Lilith's condition.

"Mene took a deep interest in her. She sees and hears things beyond our imagining." I said it as carefully as I could so my wolf wouldn't continue to take offence with the female's questioning of Lilith's ability to see and hear what Mene chose to show her. It was a gift from the goddess but my wolf was also aware of how people would be willing to use or hurt those who were that different. I knew Margret wouldn't hurt Lilith but my wolf wasn't feeling especially rational at the moment.

"I can only imagine what happened to her to cause that." Jovan said it softly and I gave a slow nod.

"It is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. The Old Ways need to be eradicated." My lip curled up at the thought of them and I and my wolf were only soothed by the fact that Mene had effectively cast them to the darkness. They would fall at the hands of the goddess they had turned their backs on. I found it fitting, a sort of poetic justice for them to be killed by the goddess they had denied.

"I cannot comment due to my place as an Elder Councilman but any pack that abuses their pack members based on tradition needs to be tried and dismantled." Jovan gave a low bow of his head, meeting my gaze with a stony one of his own. I knew that would be the only definitive agreement I would get out of the councilman. He had to stay neutral on topics about destroying packs, such was the politics of Hunters.

Margret took Jovan's hand in her own, kissing the back of it softly. "Love, I think Luka and Shey are coming in. We should go and offer our condolences."

He gave a small nod at her words before bowing his head at me. "Beta Micheal."

"Councilman Edwards." I returned the small head bow and watched as the two walked towards the door where a small crowd was gathering. I scanned the room, looking for Lilith and relaxed when I saw that she had moved closer to me in her working. She was currently arranging flowers on one of the memorial tables. I had no clue where she had gotten them but I wasn't about to ask.

I was thankful that she hadn't wandered off in that small time I had been speaking to Jovan. I didn't doubt that it would be easy for her to slip away if I wasn't careful enough with watching her. I didn't feel overly comfortable taking my eyes off of her now with Luka and Shey coming in. The dining hall would be chaotic and it would be too easy to lose her in it.

I kept my eyes on her as I slowly moved off the wall and too several steps down it, getting closer to her as I did so. I leaned back against the wall and I watched as her shoulders hunched forward and she tensed. She started to slowly tremble before her head came up and she seemed to scan the room before her eyes landed on me. That fractured gaze stayed trained on me, the black and blue swirling together as her gaze became more intent and her eyes narrowed a fraction.

I watched as the black seemed to shift and swirl to cover more of her eyes and her lips slowly curled up, showing me teeth. I shifted my feet and leaned against the wall, tucking my hands into my jean pockets as I allowed my posture to soften for her. I hoped that there was enough of her wolf in there that the animal would understand the gesture. I was making myself non-threatening, softening my form, keeping my chest open and my gaze lazy to show the feral wold inside of her that I wasn't an immediate threat. I watched as that black slowly faded, her lips falling back to normal as she slowly stopped trembling. Within a few moments, her muscles relaxed and she went back to arranging the flowers on the table.

A movement at the corner of my eye caught my attention and I slowly looked over to where Luka stood at the end of the hall, most of the pack around him. Ezekiel leaned against his legs as if offering his support. Luka wiped at his face almost halfheartedly. "I can't-" His voice cracked as he let out a shuddering breath, pinching his nose between his fingers as he slowly breathed in and out as his shoulders shuddered. My chest ached for him in a way that I didn't wish for anyone else to feel. It was an intimate pain that only happened when you had your future torn from your grasp and your arms.

I could feel the sympathy of the pack pushing into the air, I could feel their want to reach out and touch him. Even the usually somber Ezekiel lifted his head with a whine, licking the inside of Luka's arm as he nudged him gently. I spotted Shey standing off to the side of him, Gamgam holding her close as she pressed her face into the old shifter's shoulder, her own shoulders shaking.

"Amelia was a bright star in our skies, she shone nearly as bright as the moon some days." Luka's voice was thick with tears and he stared at the floor before looking over at Shey, pain and grief carving harsh lines into his face. "When we had her, we knew that we were simply borrowing her from our goddess but that doesn't make this loss any less cutting." He gave a heavy inhale and looked at the pack, his eyes red and watery. "She was my little girl and I loved her so much but we couldn't keep her. What Mene takes, she takes and you can't have it back." Luka's gaze found it's way to me and I wanted to hunch underneath it, to hide away from that painful gaze because I knew the reason he felt that pain was because of me, was because of Lilith.

"But Mene can give as well. And she has. Amelia's death wasn't empty." At the words my heart sunk into my stomach and I felt sick. "Lilith, the female who spoke of curses, is a new member of our pack because of what Mene chose to do. A trade for Amelia." I swallowed hard and I had to drop my gaze from Luka's, unable to hold my head up underneath the guilt that I felt.

The sound of the heavy hall door closing with a slam made nearly everyone jump, including me. My gaze snapped to the door and Ambris stood in her white robe, staring at the pack. "I hate to interrupt but it seems I have great timing." She seemed to flow through the room as the pack parted to let her through. "You have it wrong, Alphas of Fortis." Her voice seemed to nearly boom out of her as she moved towards Luka who has now stood in front of Shey as if attempting to protect her from what the Head Priestess would say.

"Why are you here?" Luka's voice was bordering on savage, his hands curled into fists and he leaned towards her his frame stiff with aggression. Ezekiel fed off of him, like I knew he would, as he bared his teeth and gave a heavy rumbling from Luka's side.

Ambris stood stall underneath his gaze, tilting her chin up. "Mene has sent me here to deliver a message and I will be gone once it has been heard." She slowly looked around as if unbothered by the aggressive Alpha that stood in front of her. "Amelia was not taken for Lilith or for Micheal." I nearly did a double take at that, unsure of if I had heard her correctly.

Luka seemed to deflate a bit at that, his aggression fading to confusion. "What?" Even Shey seemed to react to that, she lifted her face from Gamgam's shoulders, shifting to look at Ambris.

"Mene took all of the moonborns, not just Amelia. Our female vessel was taken to grant Lilith Micheal's care and protection." She gestured to us and I felt a strange sort of sombre relief at her words. I was saddened that there was indeed a child who had been traded for Lilith but it had not been Amelia and that was a heavy weight that slid off my shoulders. "Your female on the other hand." She slowly turned to face Luka and her posture straightened. "Shey Abigail, you must stand before me as well. Mene said this was for you both." Her voice was clipped and there was a power threaded through it that made even me balk. I watched as Ezekiel seemed to shift uneasily, his aggressive stance from earlier gone as he nearly tucked his tail.

Shey stumbled towards Luka and he grasped her, pulling her close as he looked at Ambris with a well hidden terror. I did not blame him. Any news they had gotten from the Head Priestess had not been good and any news from Mene had been just as worse. Wherever Mene went, death followed. Shey couldn't even seem to lift her head to look at the priestess, as if the grief was simply too heavy on her to allow even that.

"Your female was special. Mene has told me such. She had told me to tell you that she did not take your Amelia for something small and insignificant. She did not take her to give your Beta a second female or to give Lilith a compassionate protector." Her voice grew less harsh and I shifted on my feet, watching the interaction carefully. I jumped slightly as Lilith grasped my hand, pressing herself close to my side, her head resting against my arm. "She was not taken to give hope to one but to give hope to all." There was a heavy silence that fell and I looked back towards Luka and Shey. "Amelia's sacrificed has changed our world, Alphas." Ambris moved closer to them, reaching out she grasped Shey's chin in her hand and lifted it, forcing her to look up.

"Your daughter was taken to give this world, our world, love." She let her hand drop but Shey kept her gaze on the priestess as she turned to Luka. "She was taken to give those that have been rejected by those they have claimed, those that have who they claimed taken away, a second chance to do it again. Amelia has given them love." Ambris turned to face the pack. "Liberate me, et irritum faciet vinculum. Free me and break the bond." The words seemed to boom out of her on a wave of power. I felt it slam against my chest like a concussive force from a bomb blast. It seemed to sear through me, ending at a faint tearing from the mating scar on my palm, as if something residual had been torn away from me.

There was heavy sound of snapping and shifting bones and once I caught my breath I looked towards the front of the hall. Ezekiel was coughing and heaving on the hall floor, his fur forced to shift to skin. Shey and Luka were staring between him and Ambris with disbelief. The priestess gave a small smirk. "Oh yes, Alphas, this is the beginning of a new age. Your daughter has ended a millennia of heartache and despair. Those like your Beta Ezekiel, can find another to love." Ambris tilted her head up, looking satisfied with herself. "Your daughter's sacrifice will be felt by every single shifter until the sun sets for the last time on our world. Amelia's Blessing is being written into our history and her name will never be forgotten and neither will yours." My mouth wanted to drop open. I felt stunned and nearly incapacitated by what the Head Priestess was saying. There had never been such a change in our species in living memory. Mene never interfered like that. Never.

"I hope this eases your grief, knowing you birthed our world's greatest blessing." Ambris slowly bowed her her head at Luka and Shey before she turned and walked back towards the main door. The pack parted for her like they had before but it was so silent all you could hear was the slight slide of Ambris' feet against the floor and the swish of her robes. She slipped out the door and it closed with a faint click, leaving that eerie silence in her wake.

My heart thudded hard in my chest but it was Ezekiel that pulled my into action. He was my brother in bond and I needed to ensure he was okay. I let Lilith's hand go and pushed my way through the pack to get to him. Shey and Luka were still staring towards the door that Ambris had left through when I got to Ezekiel's side. "Brother, are you okay?" I said the words rather harshly as I sent him images of seeking injuries. I grasped his arm and shoulder as he sat up and he shook his head as if trying to clear it. "Brother!" I gave him a small shake and he blinked as he looked at me, as if confused he was seeing me. I didn't blame him, being forced out of the dark was disorientating him.

"What happened?" Luke crouched beside me, reaching out and grasping Ezekiel's chin as if looking him over as well. "What was that?" I could smell his confusion and Ezekiel remained silent but shook off our hands as he clenched and unclenched his hands, staring at them intently. He opened his mouth before he frowned and closed it again. He repeated the motions of opening and closing his hands as he stared at them.

He looked between Luka and I before opening his hand, showing us his dirty palm. The jagged scar, that had always been an angry red with black veins reaching out from it that sometimes went up his arm, was slowly receding. The black veins were moving back towards the angry red scar as the redness seemed to dissipate. "Gone." Hos voice rasped the word out and he stared at the mark as if it could give him the answer he was seeking.

I stared at the scar intently, confusion wrapping me up so tightly I couldn't think. "What?" I was dumbfounded and I couldn't even gather my thoughts to try and understand or work it out.

"He has a choice now. So he doesn't need the pain to drive him back to her." Lilith's voice was soft and she moved closer before she crouched close to Ezekiel, her face a little too close to his for me or my wolf to be comfortable. She reached up and brushed her fingertips down the scar on his face gently. I felt my stomach twist unpleasantly with an ugly jealousy and possessiveness as I watched the nearly tender action. "You are free, mate-brother. You do not need the pain because your choice is what guides you now, not her." Lilith smiled at him and it was such an achingly sweet smile that it made my chest twinge in a strange way.

She turned her gaze to Luka and reached out to him, touching his cheek with a small smile. "Mene will let her wait. You will see her again, Alpha." Lilith looked up to where Shey stood on trembling legs near us. "You both will." With that Shey collapsed into a heap of tearful sobs, reaching for Luka as he stared at her as if not truly seeing what was in front of him.

"Free." Ezekiel rasped it out as he open and closed his hands again. I glanced at him, he opened his hand to stare intently at his palm as the last of the black from the veins disappeared and the scar faded to a pale pink. "I'm free."