Andreas hadn't been sleeping.

He had revealed so much more than he was comfortable with when the information about the alyko map came out and those false stories were distributed to the council members, but it was the last remaining line of defense in all that he and Pearce and Auden had constructed over the years.

Auden. What an unfortunate bastard, but Andreas couldn't say he missed him. He was never very smart—always stating the obvious and spouting his vile hatred of the alyko.

Andreas despised the alyko as well, but he knew when to tread lightly around the sensitivity of pack trauma. And he didn't truly believe that the alyko were witches in the sense that they were evil, which is usually what the term implied. Rather, 'witch' was just a convenient slur that invoked the distrust and hatred in their pack.

But Auden believed the alyko were witches in every slanderous sense of the word. He relished in helping create those stories of the alyko wrongdoings, because he believed them capable. He was fueling a fantasy that excited the lurid parts of his brain that wanted them to be true—that needed them to be true so he could drool over their wicked retribution.

Even though Andreas, Pearce, and Auden all knew that their pack's alyko were not killed in that fire at Maggie's cottage, Auden relished in the idea. It was more convenient for Auden's twisted mind to believe the fantasy that they had created for the rest of the pack than to weigh the truth of their vampire partner.

The vampire excited Auden as well, but it only did so alongside the idea of the evil witches. It was strange the way Auden's mind worked; Andreas didn't completely understand it. But he wouldn't have to anymore. Graeme had made sure of that.

The only thing that kept Andreas from being completely relieved at Auden's departure from the world was that they had one less person upon which to rely, and that made his and Pearce's job maintaining this elaborate facade that much more difficult.

Andreas had finally begun to relax. At last, the Samhain festival was tomorrow. With just one more day of immense pressure in this uncomfortable, cramped office, he would be free to enjoy the fruits of his sacrifice on the pack's behalf once more.

The joy of having the Alpha and Luna return to the pack was a most delicate situation to eradicate, but Samhain provided the perfect cover. Their Luna could tragically vanish, and the folklore surrounding the holiday could be blamed. The whispers and fear about Miss Cady's experimental alyko identity would be allowed to fester and grow and become so large as to overtake the small, burning hope she had begun to light in them. And with her death, Graeme would cease to be a threat. It was as simple as that.

A small smile began to curl on the elder's smug face when Pearce appeared in haste at the door of his office.

"She is with child,

" the typically calm male huffed, panting softly to give away how he had rushed to deliver the news.

"Who?

" Andreas grimaced, not understanding why such personal news about anyone in the pack would concern him. As much as he cherished the lycans in their community and their way of life together, he could not stomach much that had to do with their females and offspring.

"Graeme's mate,

" Pearce panted again, swallowing in an effort to help catch his breath.

The chair Andreas had been leaning back in gave a loud thud against the floor as he allowed it to succumb to gravity and the weight he placed upon it. This. This was not good.

"How do you know?

" his voice was grave with the question it carried.

"She is glowing. Many have witnessed it.

"

Andreas sat frozen in the silence that ensued. This could not be. It hadn't even been that long since she was here and was… awake.

"The fertility ritual,

" he snarled.

"It would seem so. You must call off tomorrow's plan.

"

Andreas chuckled. He actually chuckled—it was not something typical to his nature. And then his face contorted in quiet rage.

"Call it off? It cannot be undone,

" the snarl puttered in his throat, a threat against the stupidity of Pearce's statement. One does not simply call off a vampire.

"But the pack already knows that the two have conceived an heir and that Graeme's mate is the Moon Goddess' chosen Luna for this pack. There are whispers everywhere, and tomorrow they will all see it for themselves,

" the other elder argued.

"That can't be taken away from them. The pack will never recover from it, nor will our leadership.

"

"Oh we will recover and so will they,

" Andreas' snarl remained deep in his throat.

"If we consult with Zosime and get the required medication administered in some way tonight, we may be able to avoid such a display tomorrow at Samhain. She will have already lost it.

"

"There is not enough time,

" Pearce shook his head.

"There is no way around it!

" Andreas shot up from behind his desk and slammed his hand on the ornate wood.

"We have no choice. Have Damon retrieve Zosime from he dungeon. Graeme is not here. He will never know.

"

"Damon is home with his family in pre-celebration.

"

"Then I will do it myself,

" the rage tore from his throat as he stalked forward, briskly passing Pearce in the doorway and heading for the dungeon.

Down in the darkness of the dungeon, Andreas looked at the empty cells. All of those that had been occupied were now empty, including Zosime's.

"Perhaps you should not have left her here as you did,

" Pearce spoke from behind him.

"Did you check on her? Visit her?

"

"What is she, my mate for Goddess' sake?

" Andreas growled.

Pearce allowed the question to remain unanswered, suspended in the dank underground air. He knew that was what she was intended to be, but Andreas' rejection had kept a vital part of her from maturing and growing to its full capacity. Perhaps she truly could have been a good partner.

"We need to find her now!

"

"Andreas, if she is gone it is because she has decided to talk. And they have chosen to listen.

"

"Where could she possibly be?

" Andreas scoffed, dismissing the idea that Zoe could be out of his reach.

"Find her.

"

Pearce bristled at the command. He was not the one to follow such orders, but their demotion from the Alpha's office meant that he had increasingly been doing things on his own, particularly now that the least among them—Auden—was gone.

"It is your fault she is gone.. You find her.

"