You Rejected Me. Remember?

Celeste was on the verge of tears as she listened to what Miles had to say. It broke her heart to hear about what had become of her beloved kingdom.

“Is there anything we could do to save them?” Her voice quivered as she spoke. Fiddling on the hem of her shirt, she fought against the tears that stung her eyes.

“We must help them. What are we if we don’t reach out to help each other?” Cassy responded. Her forehead was knitted in a deep frown as she massaged her temple.

The Queen of wolves had rushed to the Dark Howl pack when she was informed of what was going on. And before they left the lycan kingdom, Elliot had instructed their army to be on standby, as they might have to declare war on the vampires who had forced themselves onto the throne.

Cassy, Elliot and the pack leaders gathered in the meeting room to discuss. Philip and Celeste too joined them. Amelia and Elijah also were asked to be there.

“What if Draven had killed them already?” She shuddered. Memories of her days of captivity flooded back to her.

“I hope we find them safe. Let’s hope for the best,” she turned so that she was facing Amelia and Elijah who were sitting on her right.

“So those vampires could be immune to the sun, right?” Cassy asked, arching her brow. Amelia gulped while Elijah nodded his head.

He too was remorseful for being part of it. Yet, what happened in the past couldn’t be undone and there was no way he would choose to ignore the damage it had caused.

“Right,” Cassy glanced at her husband. They were well informed about what had happened with Elijah and they too had accepted him since he was trying to reform.

“We should take them by surprise,” Elliot tapped on the table with his nails as he spoke.

“We shouldn’t wait and watch what damage Draven causes,” he added.

“Is there any way we could know the present condition of the vampire Kingdom?” Cassy asked, raising her eyebrow at Amelia.

“Without going there or calling them. There is no doubt that Draven and his men will try to cover up and portray a good image to us. I just want to know the truth,” she added.

Shifting in her seat, Amelia faced the Queen of the wolves.

“We can show something we have seen. I mean, we can show a memory to those to who we want to show it to. But we can’t show what we don’t know,” she humbly said.

“We can send a spy to the vampire kingdom though. It could be a little tricky, however. We must be extremely careful,” she added and sighed deeply.

“What do we have to do?” Cassy solemnly asked her.

“I will have to make the invisibility potion. Whoever drinks it will be invisible for twenty four hours. We can use it to spy on them for a whole day. But then, we must make sure that we come back before the effects wear off. If not,” she shook her head. “If they capture the spy, it’s certain death,” she mumbled.

“I’ll do it,” Elijah announced at once.

Amelia’s heart raced as she snapped her head towards him.

“What?”

She couldn’t prevent herself from gasping in shock. Frowning, she stared at her mate as her heart thudded frantically in her chest.

“Why do you say so?” Cassy asked him.

Shrugging his shoulders, “I think I am the best candidate for this. I was part of the problem that caused it. And I’ll be able to mind link the alpha, informing him of everything I see from time to time. I’ll be able to run long distances in my wolf form,” he paused for a while.

“Besides, if anything happens, I’m just a single person. I don’t have a family who would mourn. So I should do it,” he firmly told them, staring at his leaders.

Amelia felt her heart break. Did he think that no one would mourn for him? Stunned, she stared at him. She wanted to deny the last part of his sentence. She wanted to tell him that her heart would shatter if anything happened to him. Yet, she couldn’t make her tongue move. She didn’t blink as she stared at him. She knew he was trying to avoid her gaze. Yet, she kept hoping that he would glance at her, even for a split second.

Miles looked at Amelia and then at the others. They knew what was going on between the young mates, yet, this wasn’t the time to address that. The matter at hand was far worse.

Offering a smile, Cassy shook her head.

“Don’t think like that, Elijah. I for one don’t want to lose you. You are my citizen and I am very proud of you,” she told him.

“And yes, you are a good candidate for this task. You are well trained and courageous. And when the time is near, you can run back to us. Just be careful. Look for king Vlad and the others. Try to find out what had happened. And perhaps, eavesdrop on them?” She smirked.

Elijah’s lips stretched in a smile and for the first time after he joined the Dark Howl pack, he felt that he was doing something right.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he humbly responded, bowing his head a little.

Cassy glanced at the troubled young witch and smiled.

“So, how much time do you need to make this potion?” She asked.

Though Amelia was shaken up, she faced the Queen and forced a smile.

“It will be ready by tonight,” she promised.

***

Amelia kept her eyes fixed on the cauldron as she stirred its contents. Her eyebrows were knitted together. Although she was making the invisibility potion in a blocked room of the packhouse, her heart and mind were elsewhere.

She watched as the colour of the stew started to change. Slowly, it turned from dark blue to a lighter shade until finally it became translucent. She sighed. The consistency of the potion was perfect – not too thin and not too thick. Simply perfect. Making a good potion always gave her great joy. However, not this time. This time, her heart felt heavy.

She knew that it had to be done. And if it was anyone who had to take the risk, it was Elijah and her.

She mournfully sighed as she took the little bottle she had prepared to pour the potion in. Elijah would leave to complete his task as soon as he received the potion.

“If only I could talk to him before that,” she whispered to herself, as she fought against the salty water that threatened to roll out of her eyes. Sucking in a breath, she glanced out of the closed window. The sun had set a few hours ago and the darkness of the night was spreading fast. A set of knocks on the door made her glance at it.

It must be them, she was sure. She had promised them that she would prepare it by night.

“Come in,” she called. Cade and Monica entered the room.

“Hey, ready?” Cade asked, arching his brow.

Nodding her head as she closed the lid, she lifted the little bottle with the translucent liquid in it.

“I just finished it,” she told them, trying her best to sound cheerful.

“Great! He is waiting for the potion…” Monica told her.

Smiling, “you spoke to him?” Amelia asked Monica.

Although Monica forgave him the first day, she never spoke to him during the past two weeks. As she had told them that day, she didn’t want to face him or do anything with him. The mere sight of him irked her, so she made sure that whatever she did was far away from where Elijah was.

Monica chuckled. “Well… he has changed. Cade and Philip have testified for his sincerity. He is really trying,” she looked at Amelia.

“I think he has learnt his lesson. Besides, he is going on a dangerous mission…” Monica trailed off when she noticed Amelia’s eyes that were now glossed with tears.

A long pause followed. Amelia’s fingers were tightly clasped around the little bottle of potion that was meant for Elijah. She gulped as she looked at the closed lid. Despite her efforts, a lone tear rolled out of her tear ducts. Soon, Elijah will hold the bottle and gulp down its contents.

Will it be okay to k**s it before I give it to him? She wondered, desperately trying to hide her emotions, yet failing.

Monica pursed her lips.

“Maybe you should let them speak?” She heard Asena’s voice in her head.

“But how? Elijah is hesitant to come in here,” she responded.

“I don’t know? Do something….maybe tell him that Amelia needs to give him instructions and just leave the two alone,” Asena replied. “This is ridiculous. Mates are supposed to be together. I think we should lock them both in a room until they figure this out. They apparently yearn for each other!” She added in annoyance.

Holding in a snicker, she gestured to her mate to step outside. Elijah looked at them as soon as they walked out of the room.

“She isn’t done yet?” He asked.

“Uh… no. She wants to give you instructions. Why don’t you go inside?” Monica suggested and stole a glance at Cade who understood what she was up to.

Elijah froze. “But….”

“Come on….she won’t bite,” smirking, Cade pushed him inside.

“At least I don’t think she would at the moment,” he winked at Elijah.

“But…..” reluctantly, Elijah glanced at the closed door and then at Cade. It was surprising to him that Cade was fooling around. Yet he was too confused to respond.

Before he knew it, Monica and Cade pushed him into the room. Stunned, Amelia stared at Elijah.

Grinning from ear to ear, “give him the potion if it is ready,” Monica mumbled and closed the door.

“s**t,” Elijah cursed internally.

“s**t, indeed. I hope she doesn’t reject us. I can’t think straight with a broken heart,” Fenris agreed with him.

“Looks like we don’t have a choice. We will grab that potion and leave,” Elijah spoke to his wolf, staring intently at his little witch.

Amelia’s lips parted. She gulped the lump in her throat and timidly stepped forward to hand him the little bottle.

“Uh… what were the instructions you wanted to give?” He sheepishly asked her, as he took the bottle from her hand.

Instructions?

Amelia wondered, staring deeply into Elijah’s face. Her heart pounded hysterically in her chest. She had no idea what he was talking about, but she had no complaints. If this was how she could converse with him, so be it.

“I…. Uh…. You… you have 24 hours…..” she croaked.

Elijah nodded his head. He was about to leave when she caught his hand. The sparks of the mate bond made him close his eyes. Breathing heavily, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and crashed her lips on his, taking him by surprise.

His eyes flung open, and his body went completely rigid. It took a moment for him to realise what was happening. She was kissing him! His heart fluttered in joy as his tense muscles slowly softened and he relaxed and received her k**s. It was blissful.

“Yes!” Fenris cheered in his head.

What a way to say goodbye…..

Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. She wanted him safe. She wanted him to be fine. She wanted him. By the time she let go of him, she was sniffling and sobbing.

“I’m sorry …..” she gasped, yet the tightness of her throat forbade her from saying anything else.

Shaking his head, he wiped her tears away.

“No…I am sorry. I lied to you,” he apologized.

His apology only made her sniffle louder. She buried her face in his chest, soaking his shirt with her tears.

“Please be careful,” she whispered through her sobs.

Smiling, “I will,” he promised.