Damon reached out, grasping her hand in his. Her skin was unusually cold, her hand tiny in his grasp, able to feel every bone beneath her thin skin. It was worse than she let on.

Amelia pulled her hand back into her lap, tucking it inside her jacket.

"You lied to me," Damon growled, trying hard to keep his voice low. Last thing he wanted was to scare his niece. "You told me you were okay."

"I'm fine," Amelia growled back.

Damon flinched, even her growl was diminished. He couldn't remember the last time they had mind linked. A few years ago, Amelia had told him they shouldn't try anymore, saying it was too hard given the distance, though it never seemed to bother them in the past. Was her wolf even alive?

"Where's Rey?" Damon asked, trying to mind link his sister. Zeke was beginning to panic in his mind, unable to feel his twin.

Amelia sighed, her breath filled with grief and despair. "I don't know."

His knuckles turned white as his death grip on the steering wheel increased. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean I don't know, Damon. I haven't felt her in over a year."

Emery tried not to show her reaction but her mother's words rocked her to her core. No wonder her mother never mind links her anymore. No wonder, she looks sickly and not herself. If her wolf was indeed gone, her human side would die out. It was a slow and painful way to go. Most committed suicide before the deterioration got too far.

"I don't want to talk about it," Amelia told him with finality.

But Damon would have none of that. "I'm taking you to the pack house. Our doctor needs to examine you. We have to find a way-"

"No!" Amelia's voice shook the car, a bit of her old self coming to the surface. "No. No one can know we're here."

Damon huffed in annoyance. He didn't care what his sister said, he would save her whether she liked it or not. "Where am I taking you?"

Amelia handed him a slip of paper with an address on it. Damon flicked it open, glancing at it over the wheel. "You're staying in the city? The pack grounds would be safer. We can protect you."

"We're safer hiding amongst the humans. I won't bring my war to our pack, not again. I can handle this Damon," Amelia told him, trying her best to sound strong and sure of herself, when deep inside she was terrified. Terrified she wouldn't be able to protect her child, terrified she would die and leave her daughter unprotected.

Damon turned the car sharply off the highway, down a ramp and into the heart of the city. The city was only an hour outside of the Wandering Moon's borders but that still didn't help ease his concern. He didn't want to leave his sister, not when she was vulnerable without her wolf.

Damon pulled up to a three-story brownstone in the Boston city heights. The house was easily a hundred years old but the maintenance had been kept up with. Someone was clearly taking care of the place. He looked at his sister quizzically.

Amelia noticed his look and shrugged her shoulders. "I bought it shortly after I left, just in case I needed a place to come back too."

"You could always come back to your pack. We love you," Damon tried to assure her.

"This has nothing to do with love, Damon. The reason I left is the same reason I can't go back. I won't put them at risk." With that being said, Amelia opened the door and got out of the car.

Damon glanced back at Emery who gave him a slight shrug, almost as if to say, what's there to do? Amelia was stubborn and they both knew it. Damon was going to have to take matters into his own hands, whether his sister liked it or not, but first he needed to have a private chat with his niece.

Emery got out of the car, following her mother up the sidewalk to the steps that lead up to the giant brick house. She slipped her hand in her mothers, giving her a light squeeze. No matter what, she had her mother's back.

"Why don't you go inside mom. I'm sure the windows need to be opened to air out the house. I'll help Uncle Damon with the trunk." Emery offered.

Amelia nodded her head, leaving her daughter on the sidewalk as she walked up the steps, pulled a key from her pocket, and stepped inside the home leaving the front door open.

Emery turned back to the trunk of the van, her Uncle patiently waiting, even though he could probably carry the thing himself. She saw the look in his eye and knew he wanted to speak with her.

"What's going on with your mother?" Damon asked, not wasting any time.

"She's been like this for a while now," Emery said, her eyes glued to the pavement beneath her feet.

"We talk every week and you never bothered to tell me?" Damon hissed, his voice coming out harsher than he wanted.

"I couldn't. Mom was always hovering and I was hoping she'd get better."

"But she hasn't."

Emery shook her head no.

"Do we know what's causing it? Is it poison?"

Emery shook her head again. "It's the mate bond."

Damon startled, taken aback. "The mate bond? How? Why?"

Emery glanced back at the house, tucking her hair behind her ear, listening for her mother's familiar footsteps and labored breathing. She was in the rear of the house, struggling with a stuck window. Good, she couldn't hear them. She pulled out a pin from her hair, prying it open so it was one long pick. She pushed the pin inside the lock on the trunk, feeling her way around until she felt the familiar tumblers give way, releasing the lock with a satisfying pop.

She flicked off the lock, prying the wooden trunk open. She rummaged around inside, pushing aside stacks of documents, pictures, and other memorabilia until her hands reached the familiar leather bound book. Emery pulled it out, handing it to her Uncle.

"What is this?" Damon asked, flipping the book over in his hand.

"It's a journal. Rhea's journal." Emery told him.

Damon's eyes widened, his face in obvious shock. "Rhea, as in the Rhea, the first werewolf? The first mated pair?"

Amelia nodded her head in confirmation. "Yes. Mom somehow managed to find it. Rhea used to communicate with the moon goddess through dreams and visions. She recorded everything in the journal. Take it with you, read it. You'll understand."

"Emery?"

Emery startled, hearing her mother calling for her. She quickly and quietly closed the trunk, sticking the lock back on and locking it shut. Damon tucked the book into a small compartment in the back of the van. Together they grabbed each side of the trunk and carried it out of the car and up the front of the house.

"What are you two up to?" Amelia asked, her hands on her hips.

"Just catching up with my niece," Damon said, waving her off as they walked the large trunk inside the house.

Amelia directed them into the main sitting room where they settled the trunk down on the floor in the corner of the room.

Damon dusted his hands off on his jeans, looking around the interior of the house. It was quaint and well put together for a house that wasn't lived in. He checked the time on his watch, cursing under his breath.

"Crap, I have to head back. Cordie should be home soon and if I'm not back before her ... well we don't want her asking where I've been, now do we?" Damon asked his sister who was shaking her head. "I gotta go. You call me if you need me."

Amelia smiled. "Promise. I love you," she said, pulling him into a final hug.

"I love you more," Damon turned to his niece, hugging her as well. "I'll see you soon little bug." He teased her before bending down to whisper in her ear. "You call me at the first sign of any trouble."

Emery nodded into his shoulder, squeezing him in return. She walked him to the front door, her mother staying behind searching for something to eat in the kitchen. She watched as he got in his van and pulled away from their house, down the street, and out of view. She prayed to the Goddess that they would find a way to save her mother. Her mother was not dying because she gave up her mate for her.