  &quot;I do. I happened upon some helpful hints in a grimoire or two in my luggage that gave me some answers. We re lucky enough to be in a part of the world that grows what I need, so I ll be back before we leave…. I have to go find some very rare plants.&quot; That upbeat tone of a woman who is smug with her new discovery and confident in her own remedies.
  &quot;Wait.&quot; Colton hesitates, grabbing her arm as she moves to pass and my heart stops in my chest, which is already hammering like a war drum. I know he s hesitating about whether he wants this or not. He probably has the same thoughts swirling in his head as I do about the outcome should Sierra be free of my life burden.
  &quot;This is a good thing, Cole…. Sierra and Alora unbound. Sierra is already so far through her life cycle, Alora has barely begun ….. you know when Sierra s time comes Alora will leave too if they are

  The day passes like a blink, and it feels like time is sand in my fingertips, that I can t stop from filtering away no matter how hard I try. Clinging on with anxious determination, yet it slips right through. Like an awful countdown to something I don t want but can t run from, and I know this is inevitable and everything before was leading us back to this moment. 
  To the mountain that was once our home, to the man that started everything and the fight we have been avoiding to stay alive. Fate really did make sure that we had no choice but to come full circle, ready to battle and put things to rights in the oddest turn of events. The wars, the prophecy, the people involved in everything that came before…. we are all convening in the place where it began. The mountain. The Santo Valley.
  Jasper is coming back to the place that I watched him walk away from with my family a decade ago

  &quot;Ten years ago, it was about all wolves… a species that dared to kill his woman and his unborn child for merely existing. When he found out she lived and died at the hands of the Santo pack and he thought his child too, he concentrated his hatred on one pack alone.&quot; Leyanne wanders casually across the floor, shrugging as she goes, and all eyes follow her. An awkward quiet around the room instantly as we all digest this.
  &quot;That s why the fog stayed only with us and them … nothing further out. We saw no vampires in our entire trip to find Leyanne.&quot; Meadow fills in the blanks, adding to what I guess she spoke to the witch about, and brings my mind to the truth of her observation. Outside the Santo domain, we never picked up on a single vampire in eight hours of cross-country travel. Not one sense of them, no scent in the air at all. It s why Leyanne didn t care about 

&quot;I do. I happened upon some helpful hints in a grimoire or two in my luggage that gave me some answers. We re lucky enough to be in a part of the world that grows what I need, so I ll be back before we leave…. I have to go find some very rare plants.&quot; That upbeat tone of a woman who is smug with her new discovery and confident in her own remedies.
  &quot;Wait.&quot; Colton hesitates, grabbing her arm as she moves to pass and my heart stops in my chest, which is already hammering like a war drum. I know he s hesitating about whether he wants this or not. He probably has the same thoughts swirling in his head as I do about the outcome should Sierra be free of my life burden.
  &quot;This is a good thing, Cole…. Sierra and Alora unbound. Sierra is already so far through her life cycle, Alora has barely begun ….. you know when Sierra s time comes Alora will leave too if they are still bound.&quot; Meadow is the voice of reason even if that time is a long way away in our life c

chapter 107