Chapter 13

It was the next day and Maria had gotten no sleep. She kept thinking over and over about last night's events. She got dressed into her leather jacket and jeans and put on a red shirt. Maria went down the hallway and noticed Elenor standing alone and looking outside at the children in their wolf forms and having fun. "You wouldn't believe we were going to war, would you?" Maria said to Elenor. She spun around to face Maria. For a while, they both just stared at each other until Elenor finally asked, "What do you want? I know you wouldn't want to have a nice friendly conversation." "Very good. I need you to tell Sara to meet me in the interrogation room downstairs. It's the one next to Callum's room." Elenor looked like she wanted to protest, but nodded her head and left to find Sara. Maria walked down the stairs and hid behind the door to the interrogation room, waiting for Sara to come. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. She began to think of the consequences of what she was about to do. Although, she didn't care. She knew it had to be done and she knew she had to be the one to do it. Suddenly, the door swung open and Sara stepped inside with a confused look. Before she had time to think, Maria hit her round the back of the head and knocked her out. She tied her to a chair and locked the door so no one could get in or out. Staring at her reflection in the window, Maria took a deep breath and said to herself, "Let the games begin." Back upstairs, Yasmine and a few other pack members were looking for Sara. Enzo was walking by with Riley and noticed the concern on their faces. Freya wasn't far behind them and also saw what was going on. "What's wrong, Yasmine?" asked Freya with concern laced in her voice. "I can't find Sara anywhere. It's like she just disappeared. Do you guys have any idea where she is?" "She is in the interrogation room with Maria." Everyone turned to look at Elenor and looked at each other. "Now that you mention it, they have been down there for a while." Freya runs towards the steps and the others follow. All the way down, you could hear Freya's shouting Maria's name with concern, anger and worry in her voice. When they reached the door, they could see through the glass Maria with a knife in one hand and a gun on the table! Freya started to bang on the glass and shout, "Maria, stop this. This isn't you." Maria tilted her head to the side and said (without making eye contact), "Your wrong. People are full of surprises. Just like Sara over here." "I don't know what she has done, but we can talk about this. Just put the knife down and stop this." Maria chuckled and gently scraped the knife along Sara's arm and up to her elbow. A small whimper escaped Sara's mouth and she quickly closed her eyes. "No, you're going to listen to what I have to say and Sara here is going to face the consequence. Sara made a deal with Salice. She wanted to help her win this war by giving her information about our plans to defeat her." Everyone looked shocked. Nobody saw this coming. Enzo looked at Sara through the window to see if she would deny it, but all she did was look to the ground and shed a few tears. Enzo shock his head and clenched his fists up. "The real kicker is she did it all because she was jealous. Jealous that me and Enzo were getting closer and trusting one another." Maria leaned near Sara's ear and whispered, "You are just a power hungry whore!" "I know she has done bad things, but you can't kill her. After everything she has done, she is still my mate. Please, Maria." Riley tried to open the door again, but she had no luck. Walking over to the glass window, she placed her hands on the glass and said, "You are not this person Maria. Please don't do this for all our sakes." "I'm doing this for all you sakes." Maria put the knife down and picked up the gun. She walked closer to Sara and placed the gun against her right temple. "Any last words?" asked Maria in an evil way. Sara looked at Maria and shouted, "Go to hell." Maria frowned and tilted her head at Sara while chuckling, "Is that the best you've got?" Screams and shouting could be heard from the other room as they were all pounding on the glass and shouting for Maria to stop. The screams and shouts were all silenced by the sound of a gunshot. Sara's head fell forward and blood dripped from the side of her head. Maria walked outside the room and looked at everyone's faces. Tears were falling and Riley was scrunched up in a ball while Enzo just stood staring at Sara's lifeless body. "What have you done?" questioned Yasmine. "I did what was needed to be done." Replied Maria. Riley got up to her feet and walked over to Maria. Riley slapped Maria in the face and darkness filled Maria's heart and her eyes turned red. "YOU'RE A MONSTER. I WISH I HAD NEVER MET YOU." Shouted Riley. Maria raised her head and said, "We need to leave for the ball in a few minutes so I suggest you get ready. I wouldn't wait for me either. I have something I have to do before going there. Now leave before I can't stop myself from hurting you." Maria stormed out of the room and left the others to drown in their grief.

Riley was standing outside wearing a light pink Bardot Off Shoulder Frill Midi dress with her hair in a fishtail plat. Her hands were sweaty and she was pacing up and down the grass. The door swung open and out stepped both Brian and Enzo in a tuxedo and smart shoes. Their hair was styled into a quiff. None of them spoke a word to each other, but just got into the car. Enzo was about to sit inside until her saw Maria making a call to someone. He tried to listen to what she was saying, but couldn't hear anything. "Hurry up." Enzo snapped out of his thoughts and got into the car. The engine started up and they left the pack house. Maria was making a phone call to an old friend and it went something like this. "Listen, I know I haven't called you in some time, but I need a favour and you owe me. I'll see you soon and before you ask, I am not sure when that will be. Now, I have to leave, but I will talk to you soon." Maria looked around her before going inside to get dressed. When she was ready, she left and walked to a garage outside of the woods. She unlocked the garage door and inside was her motorbike and McLaren 720S car. She got inside the car and drove towards the coven house at full speed. Over with Enzo, Briana and Riley, the car was still silent and tense. "Are we just going to ignore what just happened? Maria killed Sara, she was one of us and we have done nothing about it. It doesn't matter whether she was a traitor or not, Maria just killed her in front of us and acted like it was nothing." Stated Riley. "I don't know what is going on with Maria, but that wasn't her." Said Brian. Enzo just looked out at the road and took deep breathes. "Are you okay, mate? You haven't said anything this whole ride." "I'm fine. I just need to talk to Maria and just find out the truth and why she did it." After another half hour, the three of them all arrived at the coven house. They stepped out of the car and looked at the magnificent house standing in front of them. Flowers were all around the bottom of the mansion and the windows glistened in the sunlight. People were walking inside through the wooden doors and inside. The three of them followed and when they were inside, they were astonished at what they saw. Everything was clean and sparkling. Two stairways were at each side of the room, leading to a door into another room. They all went inside and saw tables with drinks, three giant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a giant space to dance and talk. At the front of the room, there was a stage with a microphone and speakers blasting out relaxing music. Everything was perfect.

The three of them had got their drinks and were talking about what they were going to do. "Before we make any plans, we need to wait for Maria. After all, she is the person that was able to get us in here. Where is she anyway?" asked Brian. "The devil just arrived. Look." They all looked at the entrance and saw Maria walking through the door way. Her hair was in a braided crown and her dress matched her hair colour and it fell across the floor gracefully and elegantly. Maria walked over to one of the tables and started drinking a few shots of alcohol. The music changed into something more relaxing and everyone started to dance. "May I have this dance?" asked Brian while holding out his hand for Riley. She nodded and held his hand as they walked onto the dance floor. Taking a deep breath, Enzo walked over to Maria and asked, "May I have this dance with you?" "I don't know how to dance." Enzo began to chuckle and replied, "Neither do I so we can fail together." A small grin spread across Maria's face for a split second before it disappeared. Maria took his hand and they made their way to the dance floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck and Enzo placed his hands around her waist. Their bodies moved in sink and they moved to the rhythm of the song. Enzo looked over his shoulder every few minutes to make sure Riley was okay. She looked happy and Enzo was glad that she finally had a smile on her face. "I'm sure Riley will be okay. You don't need to keep checking on her all the time." Enzo looked back at Maria and asked, "I'm sure she will, but she's my little sister. I have to make sure she is okay, but the bigger question is, are you?" Maria scrunched her eyebrows together and frowned in confusion at Enzo. "I'm not quite sure I know what you mean. I'm fine." "Are you though? Ever since we came back from the fighting pit, you've changed. You've became colder. First, you kill someone for the sport of it. Then, you lose control over your powers, which frightened us all. Now, you just go and killed Sara." Maria rolled her eyes and responded, "I had no choice to kill Sara. If I let her live she would have kept finding out information about out plans and would have told Salice and it doesn't matter if she would have said she wouldn't do it: we both know she would. She would have put everyone at risk just because of your selfish reasons to keep her alive. Do you want that?" Enzo looked away like her knew he was defeated. "That's what I thought. Now that she is dead, no one is put in any danger. If you're looking for an apology, then you're not going to get one because I am not sorry I did it." Enzo looked back at Maria and a hint of anger sparkled in his eyes. "I just need to know what your motives are because it seems like the only thing you are after is revenge, when revenge and justice are not the same thing." "To me they are. If you are questioning if the only reason I am helping you get your father back is to use your pack in this war then you are wrong. I never forced you to help me. Do you still want to help me?" Enzo didn't answer. Instead, he just looked at the floor like he was thinking of an answer to say. "I just don't think you are any different or better than Salice. You might be worse." Blurted Enzo. Once he said it, you could tell he immediately regretted it. "Wait that's not what I –"Before he could even finish his sentence, Maria removed her hands from his neck and left him alone on the dance floor as she walked over to get another drink. The music stopped and everyone grabbed their glasses from the table and held it up as a man walked out and onto the stage. He was quite old as his skin was a little bit wrinkly and his hair was short and grey. He was a tall person and by the way he stood and spoke, everyone knew he was the boss and person in charge. "I just want to say thank you to everyone that has come today in this time of need. We all know that Salice is trying to recruit people to join her, but we must not give in to her lies and evil. We must stay strong and help each other. I have also heard that someone is trying to fight against Salice. I am not sure of her name." When he said that, he looked directly at Maria and winked at her. She grinned and held up her glass higher, showing she was thankful he kept her secret from the others. Then, he began to continue, "This person is trying to help us all and is trying to rid us of this evil. We must defeat Salice if we want a good and better world for our children and coven. Thank you and have a good night." He raised his glass and everyone did the same as they began to take a sip. The man left the stage and people began to chatter. "What's the plan?" asked Brian, looking at Maria. "When we get in there, you let me do the talking unless you get asked a question directly. I would let you do some of it, but I doubt you have ever made a deal with the leader of the Emerald coven or any coven before." Enzo and Brian nodded their heads while Riley just ignored her and looked at her nails. "Maria. What a pleasant surprise." Turning around, Maria saw the man from the stage holding his hand out. She shook his hand and said, "Edward, it is lovely to see you. May we talk about business somewhere more private?" Edward nodded and led them to another room which seemed like his office. Two other men were in the room with him and Maria smiled to herself in amusement, knowing they were only there to protect him from her. "Well, what is it that you want to talk to me about? I doubt you came all this way just so you can dance in my home." "We came here to ask you to join us and help us defeat Salice. We know you hate Salice and want to rid her of this world just as much as us. If you help us, then we will defeat her and everyone will be safe and live a happy life once again." Edward didn't say anything; he just looked at his men like he was searching for an answer or something to say. Then, he looked at Maria in the eye and asked, "If I help you, my people could die. How can you promise me that that won't happen?" Maria shook her head in disagreement and responded, "People from both sides will die, but if you don't help us and Salice wins, then more people will die. I can make sure lots of people on our side don't die, but you will have to give me something."

"I respect your honesty. What is it that I will have to give you?" "Your power source. The object that every coven has. If you give me that, then I can defeat Salice once and for all." Riley was startled when Maria said she wanted the object as she forgot about it. She was so busy and occupied with everything else that she had completely forgotten about the objects to create the secret weapon to kill Salice. Edward looked a little shocked that Maria knew about the objects, but quickly hid his emotion. Slightly nodding his head, Edward said, "What I am about to give you is very special and you must handle it carefully," he reached into one of his draws and pulled out a diamond necklace that glowed blue, "This is called Spirit Caller. It brings spirits back from the dead for a certain amount of time. It has never been used before, but can only be used twice. Me and my coven will help you. Just ... just promise me we will win this war." He moved his hand out with the necklace gently resting in the palm of his hand. Maria reached out and gripped it in her hands before saying, "Thank you and I promise you we will win." She placed it around her neck and the necklace glowed brighter than anything anyone had seen. A smile spread across Edwards face as he stood up. He shook hands with everyone in the room before telling Maria to stay behind so they can have a private chat. Maria nodded at the others to leave and it was just her and Edward left. He walked over to the window and looked out before saying, "I've heard rumours about you lately. Maria Rivers, the girl who survived Salice, the alpha with no pack, the best fighting pit warrior and the darkness to our light is going to meet the oldest vampire alive. Is it true?" Maria sighed and nodded. Turning around with a concerned expression, he asked, "Why? You have your army. Why would you want to go see him?"                            "I need a favour from him and he's the only one that can help." "You do understand no one has come out of there alive, right? It's dangerous." Maria looked down at the floor and chuckled before looking up again. "Let's just say we are old friends and he's about to make a deal with the devil." Edward smiled and they both left the room. Maria walked over to the others and ushered them to leave the ball. When they were walking, Maria could hear Edward telling everyone about what they were going to do in 4 days. When they all got outside, Enzo asked, "What did he want to talk to you about?" Maria shook her head and replied, "Nothing important. We must leave now. We have more things to discuss when we get back to the pack house."                                  "Like what?" asked Enzo, but he didn't get an answer. By that time, Maria was already in her car and starting the engine. "Hurry up." She shouted from inside the car. The three of them got in the other car and started to drive with Maria closely following.

After around an hour of driving, they all arrive back at the pack house. They all step out of their cars and walk inside the pack house to get changed. On her way inside, Maria saw a part of grass being burnt which she assumed was Sara's body. She looked away and walked in side to get changed into her usual outfit. Then, she walked into the dining room and sat at the table, listening while Enzo explained what happened at the Emerald coven house to the rest of the important members. "Now we have enough men to get my husband back and to defeat Salice." "No we do not. I have seen Salice fight before and we need more than a few packs and a coven to do those things. We need the vampires on our side too." An eruption of chatter filled the room as people disagreed with the idea. No wolf or witch liked vampires. They always thought that they were evil and an abomination to the world for their ways of living. For example, how they drink blood to survive. Maria rolled her eyes and hit her fist against the table, making everyone go quiet. "This is not up for debate. It will happen with or without you." Everyone looked away from Maria and some muttered while others remained silent. Maria stood up and walked out of the room. "Does she really think that the vampires will help us? Some have already sided with Salice." Stated Brian. Yasmine nodded and responded with, "I agree with you. We already have everything we need to get my husband back and no vampire will ever help witches and werewolves." "I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Freya as they all looked at her confused, "Maria can be very persuasive and always gets what she wants no matter the cost. If Maria wants to get vampires on her side, then she will. The thing I don't understand is why she wants that to happen." Freya stood up and walked out of the door to find Maria who was looking out into the forest like she was trying to find something. "What's happening to you?" asked Freya as she walked closer to her. "You kill Sara who was the future alpha's mate and now you want to get the vampires to help us. You know we can defeat Salice with the army we have, so why do you want the vampires?" "You wouldn't understand, but in good time you will. You just have to trust me." Freya scoffed and said, "Trust you? How can I trust someone when I don't even recognise who they have become?" Maria was about to say something when Elenor walked over and asked, "Can I have a moment with Maria alone please?" Freya walked off without saying anything and left Elenor and Maria to talk. "What do you want Elenor?" "While you and the others were away, I did a little bit of research about curses. You do understand what will happen when you kill Salice, right?" Maria stepped closer to Elenor and quietly said, "Keep your voice down and yes of course I know."      "It takes a lot of bravery to do what you are going to do. After all this time, I thought you were a cold hearted person that cared about no one but herself, but you are actually protecting us all." "I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Are you feeling alright?" chuckled Maria. Elenor rolled her eyes and before walking away said, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Maria nodded in appreciation and walked back inside after Elenor. When she got inside, she could hear arguing from inside and went to see what was happening. Yasmine and Riley were shouting at each other while the others were trying to calm them both down. "What's going on?" Why is everyone shouting?" They turn to look at her and Riley snaps, "Because of you. Ever since we met you, the only thing you have brought into our lives were destruction and heart ache. You're a monster!" Maria's eyes change and glow red as she walked towards Riley saying, "Where is this coming from? The only thing I have done is try to help."                           "Help? You're the reason why my dad was taken by Salice, you are the reason why our pack is in a war and you're the reason why Sara is dead. Everything is your fault. If I'm being honest, you are way worse than Salice." Everyone shouts Riley's name in shock at what she and said, but that didn't stop the anger and darkness taking over Maria. She walked over to Riley and gripped her throat tightly while lifting her off the floor. "Never compare me to Salice again. You haven't seen what she has done to people or what she is going to do." Her voice was deep and demanding like an alpha's. Chris pulled her off Riley as she gasped for air. He wrapped his arms around Maria and whispered in her ear, "Please calm down Maria. Your going to be okay." Yasmine rushed over to Riley and pulled her into a tight and warm embrace. She looked over at Maria and shouted, "Get out of my house NOW!" Maria stormed out of the room and went to her room to pack her things. Then, she left and didn't look back.

Maria walked through the forest and over to her cave. Soon, she heard footsteps behind her and grabbed her knife that was in her pocket. She turned around and saw Chris climbing up the mountain. A sigh of relief left her body, although she was confused as to why he was there. "What are you doing here? You should be back at the pack house." Chris walked closer and sat by the fire that was making the whole mountain light up. "Well, I don't want to be near any of them, especially Freya and Riley." "What! Why have you fell out with Freya?" Chris didn't say anything, but his face said it all. Maria instantly knew it was because Freya would have agreed with Riley and Freya about kicking her out of the house. Sighing, Maria sat next to Chris and said, "You can't fall out with her because of me. She was doing what she thought was right, just like the rest of them." Chris faced Maria and said, "She should know that you had no choice and that you didn't do it for fun. I just don't know how she doesn't understand."            "You know she won't understand that. In her eyes, that is something that an evil person would do no matter the reason: that is how she was brought up. She wouldn't understand the things that we have both done because we had to do it. I'm sure you haven't told her every bad thing you've done in your 135 years." Chris huffed in defeat and agreement while wrapping his arms around Maria's shoulder, pulling her closer to his chest. Maria and Chris always understood every bad thing they had done while Freya didn't. The saw each other like a big brother and a little sister and they had a bond like no other. They both just stared into the fire, watching the wood burn and the sparks fly into the night sky. "Who you going to use the Spirit Caller on?" "My pack. It would be nice to see my pack again and they are all good fighters, especially when they want revenge." Chris laughed and replied with, "Oh, yes. I remember the stories about your pack. The stories of how no Italian pack would strike against you. Your pack was a force to be reckoned with. You're the very example of those stories." Maria smiled and nodded her head. "What do we do now?" Chris asked. Maria pulled away from Chris's embrace and faced him. "We need to see the vampires. If we can get them to help us then we can defeat Salice and do the first part of the plan." "Let's do that then, but what's the first part?" Maria stood up and reminded, "We are going to get the vampires to help get the alphas back before Salice can do the ritual. Come on." Maria waved her hands and a red light went around Chris and Maria in a dome shape. A gust a wind went around them and Maria's eyes turned a dark red. "What was that for?" questioned Chris. "That was a cloaking spell. That's so no one including Freya or Salice can find us. Come on." They both climbed down the mountain and through the forest. They walked over to Chris's garage, which had lots of cars and motorbikes through generations. They both picked a motorbike and got on. "Lead the way." Chris said. They both set off and drove to the vampire's hideout which was around 100 miles away.

A few miles away from the Red Moon pack house, Salice was in one of her hideouts, staring down at Mark. He had blood all over his face and chained to a wall. Other alpha's from different packs were chained to the wall to, but couldn't help anyone. "I can tell you're a strong one. It will be even better when I take your heightened strength away from you." Laughed Salice. Rafaello walked into the room and Salice stood up, showing she had the power over him. "I have bad news for you." Salice rolled her eyes and said, "Go on."                                         "There are rumours that Maria has been getting more people to join her. She has covens, packs and soon to have vampires on her side." Salice rolled her hands up into a fist and tightened her grip until her fingers went purple. "What news do you have about the girl? Sara is it?" "From what I've heard, Maria killed her and made some of the Red Moon pack watch. She must have found out about our plans." Mark's mouth opened wide at how Maria could have no mercy on his pack. He started to worry about Enzo and he would be dealing with it as the pack is in his hands. "I knew we couldn't trust a stupid little girl like her to help. She was filled with jealousy that she didn't see what was going on. Where is Maria now?" Rafaello shook his head and replied, "Last we saw of her was her leaving the pack house and a man following after her. It's like she just disappeared into thin air." "Find her and tell the others to get ready for battle. She could strike at any minute." Nodding, Rafaello left the room and Salice boiled up with rage. "If you want to play dirty, Maria. So be it."