Chapter 46.1

Wren's Point Of View

The entire Greengrove forest was in ruins. The explosion had burned through the woods we were in and had almost reached the cabin not too far from where we were. Azalea had done this.

I glanced around, and everyone was slowly healing back on, and my eyes slowly drifted back to Asher. He was still rooted at the spot where the explosion had happened. Where we all saw the portal close up, and that son of a fucking bitch left with Ci.

I walked up slowly to him, with Stef by his side, and right opposite him was the phoenix. Niko Adams.

To be quite frank, I didn't see that coming. I guess we all didn't. Who could have known the phoenix Asher had told us about—who had once saved Cirilla— would be one of her closest friends? Well, it did make sense now. And as much as I knew, every one of us had questions, now wasn't the best time to entertain them.

"I can't track her. I can only feel her when she's close, and well, she isn't," Niko was saying, the early morning breeze having a little play with his tousled golden hair.

My silent gaze fell sharply on Asher as he growled, digging his claws into the earth's soil. His eyes were still a mixture of black and green. Even though he had taken control back from his demon right after the explosion, Azalea was still fighting back.

The angry look in Asher's gaze only intensified as he pulled away from the trembling ground. He backed away from us, groaning and growling furiously which caused a ripple through the entire forest. Everyone's worried gaze was on him. Stefan wanted to approach him but I stopped him.

He needed this. To let it all out, and then we figure out a way to find Cirilla and get her back.

"She's gone, and with him, she's in fucking danger," Was all that left his lips as he stood.

"We need to work together, and find her!" Niko began but was interrupted by a sudden, unexpected voice.

"Find who?" A chilled voice echoed through the half-burnt forest.

Our heads snapped toward the woods where a figure just shifted into his human form emitting a strong aura. He came with company.

My eyes furrowed, for a second, I thought I was imagining things.

"Theo?" Niko and I called in unison with shock evident in our voices and with a mutter of a few chants from Kayla, the haze vanished immediately.

"Niko?" His dark amber eyes took us all in one glance. His gaze held shock and confusion as well. "Wren? Stef?" He called, before moving past me to where Asher was. "Asher?"

"What are you guys doing here?" Enzo asked, almost as surprised as he was.

"We could ask you the same thing. How did you know we were here?" Dorian questioned back.

Theo's gaze scanned through our faces. "We didn't. We came here for a different reason," His gaze finally looked around the bloody mess we were in the middle of. "What happened here?" His deep voice echoed again, staring directly at Asher.

*****

Asher's Point Of View

Fuck!

I felt something dark and painful begin to pump in my veins and all I could think of was Cirilla being in danger with that fucking bastard.

The demon inside me began to break free again. I could feel it. It's rage mixed with the guilt inside of me.

I groaned, trying hard to contain it but I couldn't, and without much of a warning, I released a loud growl. And I didn't stop until every emotion that suffocated my bones was set free.

I turned around, "She's gone, and with him, she's in fucking danger," I mindlinked every fucking warrior in the pack, giving them the order to sweep through Oregon to find her. I had no idea where that portal was leading, but the thought of Mason being right beside her scared me.

"We need to work together, and find her!" I turned to Niko, about to speak when I got a whiff of familiar scents.

Impossible. What were they doing here?

Before I saw them, I heard a familiar deep voice that blended into the fading darkness. "Find who?"

My dark eyes found Theo's surprised gaze as he stepped out from the woods, and behind him was half of the Elite team of warriors from the Crescent Moon Pack.

His gaze rested on Niko and his eyes grew larger.

"Theo," Niko called. They knew each other.

"Niko?" He scanned around. "Wren, Stef—" Then his eyes finally stopped on me. "Asher?" Theo moved closer, while Kayla got rid of the haze that covered us all.

Daryl, Kayla, and Malia went inside the cabin not far from where we were while Enzo motioned closer. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We could ask you the same. How did you know we were here?" Dorian said.

"We didn't. We came here for a different reason," Theo's gaze fell back on me.

My brows creased as a worried nerve struck. "Did something happen?"

"It's a long story, Ash. We tried reaching you but no luck. We've found my sister. She has been here in Oregon all this time,"

His words momentarily sent me into shock. "What?" I moved forward. "How did you…"

"We felt her magic today. Something must have happened, I don't know. Benjamin did some spells and it led us right here," He stopped. "What happened here, and if you had no idea about her, what are you all doing here?"

I felt every fiber of my being skilled at his words.

"Theo," Kayla came out from the cabin at speed. "She isn't here,"

Theo's face turned almost pale. "The locator spell—"

Kayla stopped in front of us. "I did again, and it came out different. She isn't here,"

"Where is she?" Enzo asked.

Kayla sighed. "I don't know. It came out blank again. I swear she was here. I can feel her magic but she's gone, like she just vanished,"

Theo moved around the sea of bodies that were scattered around from the large clearing from the cabin to where we were. "What were they doing here?" His eyes widened. He was talking about the witches in blue cloaks.

I stepped forward. "Do you know them?"

"They are the French quarter witches. They've been on a mission for months to find the princess, I guess they finally did. But what happened to them?" Malia uttered, and just then, Theo pulled away from a dead witch's body.

"Fuck!" He cursed under his breath with his eyes up ahead. He started moving and stopped abruptly in front of Jasmine's body.

"Isn't that—" Enzo drawled.

Stefan shot quicker. "Wait, do you know her?"

"Yeah, I do. That's the fucking bitch who stole my sister," Theo's haw clenched in fury.

"Holy shit!" Dorian gasped in shock. "That's Ciri's mum,"

Theo's words caused every air to escape from my lungs. I took a few steps backward as Dorian's words weighed on my chest. From the shock on the others' faces, I could tell they were all thinking the same thing.

This couldn't be. It just couldn't be that all this time she was actually— I couldn't even bring myself to complete the words.

'That's why she felt so fucking different,' Ryker was in a state of shock as well. Everything made fucking sense now. Jasmine was always on the run with Cirilla because she was hiding from Cirilla's true parents. She was the lost princess. A fucking tribrid.

"Talk to me, Asher," I snapped out of my thoughts, hearing Theo's voice. "Explain to me what's going on here?"

"We were trying to find someone and it led us here," Stefan finally said.

"Who?"

Lyra glanced at me. "Cirilla. She's our friend and well, also Asher's—"

Theo's amber gaze shifted again to me and I could just tell what he was thinking. "This friend, is she part of your pack?" He asked slowly, never taking his eyes off me.

I shook my head, hiding my emotions. "No,"

"She's human—" Kayla began, but I shook my head again.

"We thought she was. But it turns out she isn't. She's something else. Something far more special than I had thought. And Dorian is right. That woman…" I pointed at Jasmine. "She's supposed to be Cirilla's fucking mum,"

I could feel Theo's body tense as everything I said began to sink in.

Something deep within my chest tautened, my emotions began spiraling, and several whispers of thoughts consumed my mind, all causing a deep tremble in my bones as a thought chimed louder than the others.

I jerked back, my legs losing their strength, and a heavy feeling of disbelief weighed in my chest. Just as if a big puzzle had been finally assembled, a breathless whisper hushed from my lips, and my eyes shot up at Theo. He was staring back, mirroring the same wordless feeling.

"It can't be," Those were his words and not mine, but they almost left my lips and as the early morning air settled on us all, it also carried this new truth around. No one could dare utter it because it was unbelievable, and the stern reality of this truth would only mean that all this time, the one person we've been desperately scouring the earth for, was right beside me, and I didn't even realize it.

Theo's deep amber eyes darkened with an emotion he hid too well. "This is…"

"I didn't know," I paused, a sick feeling of guilt, rage, and frustration eating off the shell of my heart. "She's in danger, Theo. Your sister is in fucking danger, and we have to find her,"