EIGHTY-FIVE | FINAL COUNT DOWN

In the morning, after an obscene amount of coffee that does nothing to help my exhaustion, Mom takes me with her to Lia's. From there, Cole escorts me into the Azure's territory. People are bustling around when we reach the main area where cabins are, giving me a strong sense of *déjà* *vu*, though I'm not sure why. It's the busiest I've seen the Pack since first coming to Kiwina.

Cole doesn't say much to me as we walk, though I note some fresh scars on his face and still-healing bruises mottling his skin. He walks with a bit of a limp, though once we enter the main cabin his gait smooths a little more. I want to ask how he's feeling, but I can feel that he's not in a chatty mood. He leads me into a room a few doors down from the Alpha's office where a familiar looking woman waits.

The woman's slightly older than Mom. Her tan skin slightly weathered over her face and knuckles, flushed with signs that she's only just come back inside after a long night of being outdoors in the winter chill. Her reddish brown hair is pulled into a loose braid down her back, just like the first time I saw her. Her hazel eyes are scanning a document, a map like the one Hale and Blue poured over last night.

"Scarlett," Cole introduces me, his grey eyes rimmed in shadow behind his thick glasses as he looks between me and the Beta. "Jannette, this is Scarlett. Scarlett, this is the Beta, my aunt Jannette." She finally looks up, her eyes sharp as she appraises me. I catch the flicker of emotion in both her expression and gaze. Annoyance, mostly, but a light relief too. Like I'm a burden to bear, but at the same time - she knows how to deal with me. It makes me feel more exposed - afraid she's about to take me out with a flick of her wrist.

"Scarlett," Jannette nods once to me once she's finished her perusal. "I've heard a lot about you." I can't tell if she's impressed by what she's heard or aggravated by whatever knowledge she has. I hold perfectly still, the hairs on my neck raising as I get the impression it's the latter. Cole lets out a huff and steps away from me, pulling the document from his aunt's hand and setting it down on the table between us.

"We don't have time for your mind games, Jannette." He warns his aunt in a surprisingly firm and calm voice. I look between them for the Beta's reaction, but her expression and gaze never wavers.

"Fine." Jannette finally says, gesturing for me to have a seat in the chair on my side of the table. "Let me get one thing straight before we get started, *princess*." She adds, crouching over the edge of the table to level me with an chilling glare. "I don't trust you. No amount of good will or vouching words will clear you in my mind. Your presence has disrupted the peace in my Pack, and caused more injuries than we've had in the whole Pack's history. Not to mention the still-rising body count. If it were up to me, you would be shipped out of the country before you could say *woof*."

"But it's not up to you." I grit out, my spine straightening so I can glare back at the woman. I'm not sure it's the right move. But Cole clears his throat before Jannette can react, drawing both of our attentions to the map on the table.

"Scarlett," Cole pushes up the side of his glasses, almost absently as he leans over the page beside me. His fingers trace the outline of Port Greene, the neutral zone between the Azure territory and the Reinier's. "We're planning on disrupting the Reinier's plan of attack, and need you to help us lure them here." He's pointing out an empty area between the shoreline and the forest. A field of some sort. I nod once to show I understand.

"I'll do what I can. Just let me know what you want me to do." I reply, taking a seat as I study the field. It's the ideal spot for a war. Clear of humans or other Wolven.

"You will come with a small team of us, so that we can ensure your safety, to this spot while the rest of the Pack carries out the rest of the plan." Cole tells me, not mentioning what 'the rest of the plan' entails. I don't ask. I'm not part of the Pack, not privy to the knowledge beyond my part in all this. I nod again.

"Sure." I agree, knowing there's probably more to the plan than he's letting on, but if there's one thing I've learned in all my time here, it's to place my trust in the Azures.

They haven't let me down yet. Really all the problems I've had were because I didn't listen or tried to do things my own way. None of that's worked. Not me running. Not my insistence to try to broker a treaty. Not my own desire to fight my cousins or go with them. It's all ended in bloodshed - either mine or theirs. And I'm sick of it. I need to trust them, for once. I need to give trust to these people who've only been trying to help all this time.

"Pack a bag with a change of clothes and whatever supplies you might need for an overnight trip." Cole advises me after a minute, giving me time to panic if I need or refuse. But I don't.

Though every cell in my body screams to know more about this plan and if my Mom knows or if she agrees with it...but I don't ask. Mom would know by now. Probably before I got up this morning, she'd have known their plan. She's probably fully aware of whatever's about to go down. If nothing else, I trust her. Instead, I take a deep breath and let my fists smooth out on my knees.

"Sure." I reply, feeling a slight disconnect with my body as I blindly accept my part in this plan. A tinge of panic surges in me, but I try to tamp it down with the reminder that I don't have time to argue. We've got less than twenty hours now. Probably less than sixteen if we're lucky. Only Blue knows the precise time now. My part of the countdown is a little disjointed now.

I try not to let the realization that tomorrow's my birthday shiver through me. I'm Blooming tomorrow. And there's no more time to prepare. No more time to try to stop it or ease any part of the transition I still don't know about completely. The unknown of what may or may not happen looms on the horizon and I'm awash in the vast sea - not sure if it's a dolphin fin I see in the distance or a shark's fin.

"Scarlett?" Cole asks, his hand pressing lightly over my shoulder. I blink, realizing he's said something while I was panicking.

"Sorry, what?" I swallow dryly, trying to get rid of the slight metallic taste in my mouth.

"Sorry, what?" I swallow dryly, trying to get rid of the slight metallic taste in my mouth.

"I'll take you back to your house now." He says slowly, his slate-grey eyes watching me carefully.

"Yeah, okay." I clear my throat and stand, a little unsteady as my body begins to feel oddly heavy. I wince, wiggling my fingers and toes in an attempt to force strength and life back into the tingling limbs. *What the hell is this?*

"You alright?" Cole's right beside me, still carefully studying me, though there's less concern in his eyes and more hesitation. "C'mon," He pulls at my elbow, leading me out of the room before Jannette can pounce and make good on her earlier threat to ship me out of the country.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," I groan, grinding my hands into my eyes as everything begins to spin.

"It's starting." Cole mutters, his grip tightening on my elbow as he leads me out of the main house and into the cold morning air. I let out a huff, annoyed. It being the Blooming, I assume. My bones are becoming heavier with each step I take, like I'm filling with cement. "I can smell it." Cole growls, his nails digging deeper into my skin. I wince against the pain, only to notice he's practically dragging me from the bustling Azure territory an towards the house.

I groan again, my eyes now stabbing with each blink of the sun filtering through the surrounding trees. We're in the woods now, a few feet in. I pause, taking a second to shield my eyes from the piercing light. Too bright, it makes me cringe and turn my face away after I try to look around.

"C'mon." Cole urges me, pulling on my arm with more force now. I'm struggling lifting my feet, they don't want to work, dragging slightly as the heaviness begins to grip my muscles and turn them into useless heaps in me.

"I'm not supposed to Bloom until tomorrow." I tell Cole, a slight panic and lilt to my voice. I wince against the foreign sound of my voice and realize it's partly because that metallic taste has crept back into my mouth.

"I'll tell Hale." Cole tells me, his arm wrapping around my shoulders to force me into walking again. I stumble, but manage to keep up with his quick pace once he's crowded me. Well, more like pushing me. I've got my eyes closed as tightly as I can, one hand shielding them from the blinding light of the sun. Cole leads me out of the woods and my feet hit solid ground.

"I'll take it from here." Mikyle's voice makes me drop my hands - instantly regretting it as the shape of Mikyle a few feet in front of us - in the parking lot of Lia's, is burned into my retinas. I shut my eyes and cover them again, hands outstretched to search for my old shadow.

"Okay. Just make sure you get her to Port Greene by night fall." Cole tells him, his arm falling away from my back after a second. "Good luck, Scarlett." He tells me quietly, squeezing my shoulder a little before he's gone.

"Mikyle-" I begin, taking a half step forward after a moment of silence.

"I'm here, princess." Mikyle's gossamer touch wraps around me like a familiar blanket. "Early Bloomer, never would have guessed." He tells me with a chuckle, and I feel his arms wrapping around my shoulders and just under my knees before I'm literally swept off my feet. I suck in a breath, reaching out automatically to wrap my arms around his neck as he scoops me up and starts walking. I tense for a moment, not sure I'm entirely comfortable being so close to him, but after another second of silence, I decide I don't really care.

He's here to help me. Weather it's by Hale's orders or his own concern, the point is that he's here. And he's made me a promise. I relax, pressing my face into his chest, and accepting the fact that this is all happening earlier than expected. And I'll be perfectly fine. Because I know if I start to get out of control, Mikyle'll be here to take care of it.