I pulled into a motel parking lot and parked the old truck in front of it. The building looked about as run down as my truck and I sighed heavily, pressing my forehead against the steering wheel. I was exhausted and emotionally drained. Lara had told me to drive east until the sun started to set. Surprisingly as the sun started down the horizon a sign for the motel had appeared. I hadn't questioned it and had taken the exit.

My life had suddenly spiralled out of control. I had Madeline taken from me, I had been banished from my pack, my home was gone, and my life as I knew it was simply over. I lifted my head up and leaned against the cracked leather seat. No matter how long I sat there I knew that it wouldn't fix my situation. I needed to keep pushing forward but I felt so lost. I had been focused on Madeline since she had come into my life, she had been my only purpose for years that without her I felt unsure of what to do.

I inhaled deeply and grabbed the duffel bag, pushing the door open. I hesitated for a brief moment before stepping outside and heading towards the main office. The door's paint was chipping and the blinds were yellowed and drooping. I pushed open the door slowly, a dusty bell hanging above the door, announcing my entrance.

A grey haired mundane with a stained tank top grunted at me as he shook out his newspaper and set it down on the desk in front of him. "Thirty-five a night or a hundred for the week. We ain't got wifi and gettin' a room with air conditionin' will cost ya another twenty dollars." He scowled at me before clearing his throat with a phlegmy sound that made me want to curl my lip up. My wolf sneezed against the smoky, moldy, and dusty scent of the room.

"I don't need air conditioning." The days weren't too warm and I could deal with what ever stuffy warmth there was. I was running low on funds. "Do they have showers?" I shifted the duffel bag in my hand and headed towards the desk. An over-flowing ash tray sat on the desk next to an old rotary phone.

The male sneered slightly, showing off his yellowed and crooked teeth before he pulled out a cigarette. "A workin' one will cost ya an extra ten dollars." He put the cigarette between his lips and gave a small grunt. "Whatcha thinkin' ya want?" He lit the smoke, taking a huge drag, blowing the acrid smoke out. I wrinkled my nose and pulled my only fifty from my pocket and tossed it onto the counter. I didn't want to spent the extra ten dollars but I needed a shower.

"I'll take a room with a shower." At the words he took the fifty and pulled out a beat up looking cash box and tossed out five dollars in change. I picked it up, shoving it into my pocket.

He jerked his head towards a large board with dangling keys. "Alright. Take key number sixteen." He looked me up and down. "I hope ya ain't lookin' to cause me trouble now. Big fucker ya are." He took another drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke in my direction. My wolf gave a low growl that I fought against rumbling my own chest. Mundanes did not need to become concerned with my presence.

I shook my head as I walked towards the board, snagging the right key from the full board. "No trouble." I glanced at the mundane male and he gave a sharp nod.

"Good. Keep it that way." He leaned back in his chair as he picked up his newspaper once more. I left the office, more than glad to get away from the acrid smelling smoke. Both my wolf and I did not appreciate it with our sensitive noses. I looked at the run down building, noting the numbers on the bottom floor stopping at ten. I glanced at the rickety staircase that lead to the second floor. It didn't look like it would hold my weight but I didn't have much of an option with mundanes around.

I slowly started up the stairs, wincing at the creaky groans it let out as I moved up it. I didn't like the look of the walkway balcony anymore than the stairs but I once again moved across it slowly. I shifted the duffel bag in my grip as I finally stopped in front of room sixteen. My wolf and I did not like the rather rickety feeling of the walkway. I attempted to unlock the door to my room but the lock stuck.

I bared my teeth, jiggling it in the lock in an attempt to get it to work properly. After a few moments the door clicked open and I pushed it inwards. The interior of the room was dim and smelled musty. My wolf didn't like it but even he had to agree that it was better that the acrid smell of cigarette smoke from the main office. I closed the door before I dropped the duffel bag on the obnoxiously coloured bed.

I slumped on the edge of the bed with a heavy exhale. I had no clue what I was going to do. I rubbed at my face before I pulled the duffel bag closer, unzipping it before looking through the contents. Lara had packed me quite a few clothes, which I was thankful for. I heard the crinkling of paper and dug through, trying to find it. A wrinkled envelope sat between several of my shirts. I picked it up, raising an eyebrow at the thickness of it. I opened it up and I nearly choked at the stack of paper bills that sat in it. I shook the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper that was tucked between them. Lara's handwriting sprawled across it.

You won't use it for the motel.

The words were rather cryptic and I set the note down as I pulled the money from the envelope. I was surprised, Lara had sent me with what looked to be nearly a thousand dollars. I tucked the money back into the envelope along with the note.

"You won't need that." At the voice I jumped off the bed and snarled, the sound warning off the trespasser. The male who had been with Sorrel leaned against the wall, looking me up and down.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I didn't want anything to do with the male. What Lara said or not, the jealousy was still there. My wolf seemed just as welcoming as I did with him. His hackles were raised down to his tail at the presence.

I bared my teeth at him and he gave me a wide grin in return. "I thought I would extend a helping hand." He made a sweeping gesture with his hand as he said it.

I gave a deep growl at the words. "I don't need any help." Not from him. I knew it was petty of me but jealousy was its own kind of beast. It was hard to control once ignited.

He made a slight face. "Your stubbornness is irritatingly familiar but it doesn't matter. I've already done it." He waved his hand flippantly before pushing off the wall and moving towards the worn looking chair near the desk. He sat down, ignoring the sound the chair made as he did so. "I suggest you put those teeth away, boy." He settled further into the chair with a completely relaxed air.

"Don't call me boy." I spat the words out. I was too tense and agitated to deal with his insults. My wolf and I wanted him gone.

"I'm nearly two hundred years old, to me you are a boy." He grinned at me again. "Perks of being an half-godling. You have seniority over everyone else." He seemed rather pleased with that fact and I couldn't help how I bristled against it. Everything about him set my teeth on edge.

"Why are you here?" I resisted the urge to start pacing like my wolf wanted. That would show off my agitation more than I already was.

"Eager to get rid of me?" He raised an eyebrow, looking far too amused at my expense.

"Yes." I ground the words out from between my teeth. I just wanted him gone and away. The bond didn't like him and neither did I.

"Too bad. I'm going to sit here until I feel like my curiosity is satisfied." He leaned back into the chair, looking like he was settling in.

"About what?" I wanted him gone and if he told me what he wanted to know then I could make sure he was gone quickly. Despite my wolf's agitation and anger he wasn't willing to fight the male. Something about him warned us off that action. It was as if something was whispering in our ears that it was foolish.

"You." He pointed at me before resting his elbows on his knees, steepling his fingers. "You see, Sorrel and I have a very close relationship. She is my Zoi and her happiness comes above all for me." He narrowed his dark eyes at me and I fought the urge to step back. I wasn't a weak male, I wasn't, but the other male was just... off. I didn't trust him and I didn't like how he was looking at me. "You two now share a bond. One that she is more than likely vehemently denying but it still exists." I resisted the urge to rub at my chest at the words. I didn't need to be reminded of that

He tilted his head before he lazily gestured to the bed. "Sit. This will take longer than you might think." I didn't move and he rolled his eyes. "I won't hurt you. Irritate you quite a bit but not hurt." When I continued my refusal of moving he let out an irritated sound. "Fine. My name is Mordecai Vail. I am my coven's leader, similar to your own Alphas." He stretched his legs out in front of him as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I am a vampire. Nothing like what mundanes believe us to be. It is true we cannot go into sunlight and require blood but we do not have fangs, nor do we, mater forbid, sparkle." He made a disgusted face at that and I was lost for a moment before he turned his attention back to me. "You do not want to attempt to get into a fight with me because I will hurt you, badly. You have no chance in beating me." He gave me a grin that showed off rows upon rows of sharply pointed teeth that had my wolf and I nearly balking. That was abnormal and we didn't like the threat it implied.

"Now that the very basics about myself are covered, lets talk about you." He pointed at me once more. "Arlo Dean Briston, you are twenty nine years old. Before your brother died, you were Delta to your pack. You spent your time in the old family cabin raising Madeline in secret because your brother, Nexus, would have killed her for her Alpha's claim. Wanting to add anything?" He stared at me and I narrowed my eyes at him. I didn't know how he knew what he did and I didn't like that someone I had never met before knew so much about me and Madeline. He raised an eyebrow. "No? Alright then."

He settled further into the chair. "You are the one who saved Madeline's life the day Magdalene died. You have been trying your hardest to give up the Old Ways and-"

"Have." The words came out before I realized it had even wanted to escape. The vampire looked at me with curiosity. "I have given up the Old Ways." And I would never go back to them as long as I lived. I had burned that bridge when I crossed it, I had laughed at the flames as I did so. The Old Ways had been nothing but cruel to the ones I loved and I wouldn't cater to them.

"Are you sure?" He titled his head as he looked at me. I felt like I was being studied intently, as if he had me underneath a magnifying glass just to see how I ticked.

"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't." I felt a bit defensive with the question. I was done with the Old Ways. My eyes had been opened to the horrors they had and I couldn't go back into them.

He gave a small incline of his head in acknowledgement. "Fair enough." He crossed his arms against his chest again. "All in all you seem like a worthy enough male. There is just one more thing." His eyes narrowed in on me once again. "You loved Maggie."

I stiffened at his declaration. "I will not be made to feel guilty for that." My feelings for Maggie had been true and sweet. I had loved that little female and I wouldn't regret my feelings. I regretted how my feelings had come to hurt her but never the feelings themselves.

"I am not saying the act of loving her is wrong. Love is a pure thing." He looked me up and down in a gesture that had me wanting to move out of his view. "My issue is that you were in love with Sorrel's twin. A deep love that brought Maggie across the vastness of the universe to create a trail for Sorrel to find you." He shifted his arms over his chest as he looked at me. "You were in love with her twin but have a bond to her. It is merely curious for me." He tilted his head once more.

"Will you love her for her, or for the face you once knew?" If I had thought Lara was deliberately confusing, he was just as much so.

I knew I had some issues with catching onto things but I was tired and exhausted and I didn't want to deal with riddles and obscure language. "What?"

The male rolled his eyes and let out a sigh as if irritated I had asked. "If you decide that you want to be with Sorrel, make sure you are doing it because you want her and not a copy of Maggie." That made it quite a bit clearer but I didn't understand why he was telling me that.

"I'm pretty sure she hates me." The bond twisted and rolled inside me. It didn't like the words, it didn't like the truth they had. I certainly didn't but I understood why she did.

I watched as he smirked, shrugging slightly. "Probably. My Zoi is stubborn like that." He looked almost pleased and proud of that fact and I was less than amused.

"Stubborn." Maggie had rarely talked about her twin and I had imagined her to be very similar to Maggie herself. Stubborn was definitely not on that list.

"Yes. I was actually surprised she didn't kill you. She really likes to hold grudges and she had her eyes set on you." His smirk seemed to deepen at that and I didn't want to be reminded of that fact. I didn't particularly like people wanting to kill me, my wolf bared his teeth as well.

"Good to know." I ground my teeth together as I said it. That was all I needed to hear about her was that she liked to hold grudges. Everything was setting me up to fail with the bond within me.

"Oh it is." He gave a slow nod. "That is why I am here." He gestured to himself, his smirk turning into a grin.

I couldn't help the scoff that I let out. "Oh?" I crossed my arms over my chest as I stared at him. I doubted he was actually there to help me do anything in regards to the bond Sorrel and I had. If he truly had a familial bond to her like Lara had said, then I was more than sure he would continually side with her.

"Well I would be if I get an answer to my question..." He gave me an expectant look as he gestured to me as if coaxing a response from me.

"What question was that again?" I wasn't aware he had asked me one or even phrased something to sound like a question. I was too tired to even try and decipher what he wanted.

"Are you wanting to be with Sorrel because of her, or because she looks like Maggie?" He tilted his head, steepling his fingers once more. His dark eyes were intense on me as he stared at me intently.

I blinked at him. "Maggie is dead." I hated how blunt the words came out but I couldn't help it.

He raised an eyebrow. "I am aware."

"I am aware as well. I have been aware of this since the day she passed." Her loss was acute to me, I never once had forgotten she was gone. It had grown easier to bear as time went on but it still hurt at moments.

"Why are you reiterating yourself?" He looked slightly irritated at it and I stared at him hard.

"Because I am not stupid enough to pine for something that will never come back." I had made my peace with Maggie's death. I had said my goodbyes. Yes there were moments I missed her but when someone you loved died, it was normal for there to be lingering sadness, to continue to miss them on occasion. "I loved Maggie. I did but Maggie was never mine. She did not bear my mark and never would." I had hated that fact at first. I had wished I could have been her male, that I could have saved her from what she had to endure. I had realized that was foolish to even think upon.

"I see." He gave a slow nod, his expression turning slightly thoughtful. "What if Sorrel wants nothing to do with you?" I felt a pang in my chest as the bond seized slightly.

It took me a second to reply, my mind was trying to figure out how to respond while ignoring the feeling of the bond's complete denial of the possibility of his question. "I would accept that but I want to be a part of Madeline's life." Even the bond couldn't deny Maddy came first for everything. Sorrel could hate me all she wanted as long as I was able to see my little girl. "I raised her from an infant. She is my daughter. I won't give that up." She was my little ladybug, the one good thing I had in my life.

"For anything?"

"For anything." There was nothing in my world that was more important than her. "I will fight every day to be in her life." From sun up to sun down I would fight for my little girl, to be with her as she grew up and discovered the world around her.

He gave a slow nod to my words. "Good." He looked at me for a few moments before narrowing his eyes just a fraction. "You are an interesting male." I raised an eyebrow at his choice of words. His narrowed eyes turned to a frown. "You grew up in a culture that dictated a specific order to your world. Something that is, at times, reprehensible to those around you. Those stuck within it never leave, content to stay with how things are within their packs."

He slowly pointed at me, he looked sightly confused and I could tell it wasn't an expression he used often. "Somehow, against all odds, you managed to escape the cycle to give a little girl a start in life that will be her foundation for helping to change the world she lives in." He titled his head and I let my arms drop from my chest. I felt a sharp burn in my chest at his words. I had done my best to give Maddy the best possible chance in life, to grow to be the Alpha I knew she could be. "You left everything behind, your friends, your pack, your family, to give her the best possible chance to be what she was born to be. You risked death for her. Why?" He seemed utterly confused by it, by my reasoning for it.

"I made a promise to Maggie on the day she died to save her child and I made a promise to my daughter that I would never let her be limited, to never let her feel like less." My eyes burned slightly. One would have thought I was used to tears but that was never the case. Madeline had come to mean more to me than Maggie ever did. "If I am never allowed to see her again... Tell Sorrel to never let Madeline feel smaller than she is, to feel inadequate because of tradition, to never let her feel like her voice isn't strong enough to command an army." I never wanted to give up on her but if I was forced to I wanted her to remember that she was an Alpha, that she was strong and fierce, and never less because of her gender.

"Tell Madeline yourself." The confused expression had disappeared and he once again relaxed, a small smirk on his face, He seemed unbelievably arrogant. "That is why I am here. You are still needed in Madeline's life. As you have no chance of getting into Veritas alone, I am here to help you with that." He pushed himself out of the chair. "As my Zoi, Sorrel's happiness comes first in most cases, however sometimes she gets too stubborn to see where her happiness can come from."

I threw him a look that spoke of my growing irritation. "Hate doesn't mean happiness." Whatever thing he was attempting to do, I knew would fail miserably and I wanted to refuse any and all hope that tried to bloom in me. Hate took a long time to fade and if he was telling the truth about Sorrel being stubborn and liking to hold grudges, it would take years to get her out of hate. If one could even manage to do that.

"No it doesn't but Madeline's happiness will bring Sorrel happiness. As grumpy little girls make for a terrible time." He shook his head slowly, his expression turning to something like somberness. "Madeline has a role to play in her lifetime and that role still includes you. I might not follow my spirit aunt Mene but I am willing to help her out. Especially if her plan is to destroy the ways that caused Sorrel so much sorrow." The Old Ways. I wanted to deny that, to deny Madeline's involvement. I didn't want her to be exposed to such terrible ways but I also knew I couldn't protect her from the world forever. Fate was fate and Mene always had a plan.

His slightly somber expression quickly faded back to that cocky smirking look. "Grab your bag. We need to leave." He grinned at me and I blinked slowly.

"Pardon?" I was positive I hadn't heard him properly, that he had misspoken.

"Get your shit, we are leaving to the coven." At the words I stared at him hard. He wanted me to go to the coven as in more vampires lingering around. While they didn't send off any heavy warning signs in my brain or in my wolf's instincts, we didn't particularly like or trust them. We didn't understand them so the wariness was natural. It was something we didn't know. "Stop giving me that look. You honestly don't want to sleep here. Those sheets probably haven't been washed in months, if not years." He made a disgusted face as he glanced at the obnoxiously coloured bed spread. I hadn't wanted to think of that when I had come in but now he had brought it straight to the forefront of my mind.

"Get a move on. We need to leave, the night is coming and I feel peckish." He snapped his teeth together and a low growl rumbled from my chest. He threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Not going to get toothy with you, boy." He looked at me with stark amusement before looking me over, raising an eyebrow as he did so. "Not saying I haven't had males but you just aren't my type." I recoiled from the implication to the words. I had been raised that same sex relationships were abhorrent and unnatural.

"Are you going to become a bigot for me?" There was a sharp gleam to his dark eyes that had me swallowing my words of disgust and shaking my head. The look faded once more into a smug smirk. "Good. Now grab your bag and let's go." I looked around, my eyes falling to where I had tossed the truck keys.

"My truck-"

"Is a piece of shit. Just leave it." He waved his hand flippantly before striding towards the bed and picking up my bag. My wolf's hackles rose down his back to the tip of his tail. We were too confused to really play nice.

"What the hell is going on?" He wanted me to go with him to a coven but he hadn't explained to me why. I didn't want to deal with anymore surprises. I just wanted go to sleep and forget the mess my life had turned into in the past day.

"I am saving you from spending the night at a shitty motel and giving you the perfect way to get onto Veritas without dying." He rolled his eyes at me before he moved over to me and grabbed my bicep and with an unbelievable strength, drug me towards the darkest shadow of the room. "You aren't going to like this part but you'll have to deal." He threw a grin over his shoulder at me and drug me into the shadows.

It felt instantly wrong and strange. I wanted to struggle out of his grip, to escape the strange feeling encasing me before he pulled me to into a strange yard with the strange lighting of dusk colouring everything in dark blue. He let me go as I shuddered from the feelings of cobwebs sticking to my clothes and skin. I rubbed at myself, wanting to get rid of the feeling.

"Hey princess. One big suggestion. Never ask Sorrel about herself, always ask about Madeline." The vampire flashed his gleaming teeth at me as he seemed to meld back with the shadows. "This is round one, boy. Let's get it over with." I turned my head and could see the walkway that lead up towards a rather large house. I followed it, my heart beating in my chest hard. I could feel Madeline was close, I could feel that she was there stuck behind numerous walls but she was there.

I reached the door and knocked hard. Silence fell around me at the action and the door was yanked open. Sorrel looked at me in confusion before rage twisted her face and she snapped her teeth at me. "Get the fuck off my territory before I kill you." She slammed the door in my face with a resounding boom. I blinked at it, my shoulder slumping at my first defeat. I hadn't even been able to get a word out.

"Gear yourself up, wolf, this is just the beginning." The vampire's voice came from the dark before a hand grabbed my shoulder. "Be thankful she just slammed the door and didn't try to take a swipe at you with her claws." He sounded amused and I shook my head slowly, rubbing at my forehead. I wasn't used to rejection but I knew in order to see Madeline that I would need to buck up and never let the feelings coursing through me crush me underneath their weight.

"Day one." The first day, the first failure and who knew how many more to come. I narrowed my eyes at the door even as the vampire yanked me backwards. Conviction flooded my veins. Day one or day a thousand, I would do it every single day to simply be allowed to see my little girl, the little girl that changed my life and my heart.

For her... I would do absolutely anything.