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"Absolutely not." I growled out.

"But...she cat be useful to us...we are struggling, that you cannot deny."

"It is our sworn duty to hunt creatures like her and you would have us owe one a favor?!"

My beta scowled at me, "no. I would have us use her."

"A witch, you wish to attempt using a witch. And not just any coven witch, the banished witch."

"Well...she is the closest." He rubbed the back of his neck, "besides, who really knows why she was banished?"

I scowled, irritated, "are any of the rumors kind?"

"Well no but they are rumors."

"She. Should. Be. Dead." I growled

"But shes not, she's powerful Bash. We need powerful right? Plus again, shes the nearest witch."

"Shes a witch. Thats the problem. Tell me mason, what do we know about Witches?"

Mason practically rolled his eyes, "we know there is different classifications but they all have a nasty murder habit. That's what you're getting at. I know."

"And how many of our wolves have died trying to hunt her?"

Mason stayed silent.

"Exactly."

"...we wont be a pack for you to protect if you continue as you are. I'm not just speaking as your friend but as your beta. If you do not find your mate, you will die. We don't get eternity to look, you know that."

I sighed, leaning back in my chair, "I know Mase."

"So. Meet the witch. She can find you your mate."

"She can and will use it against me"

"Which is why we kill her after she does what we want."

I growled out a sarcastic laugh, "yes because witches are dumb enough to allow that." Slowly I rose from my chair and started out the room.

He followed me from my office, down the stairs and into the woods, "Alpha..."

"Beta."

"Where are you going?"

I turned to face him, walking backwards through the packs grounds, "hunting, care to join me?"

He groaned, "like I would let you alone right now."

I frowned at the comment but turned back around and continued on my way.

He was worried.

All the pack was worried.

A wolf only gets so many years to find its mate.

40 to be exact.

From the moment we turn 105 a clock beings.

If we do not make it to our destined lover in time, our wolf fades away.

Our wolves are our other half we cannot survive them.

We grow increasingly weaker and we die.

Mason is so worried because I'm at 39.

My wold half barely connects with me anymore.

Except in battle.

In battle we are one.

~~

Avidly ignoring my long time friend and Beta is not a simple task.

He is one persistent asshole.

"Alpha." Mason sighed, wiping blood from his face, "we have bigger issues, you shouldn't be out hunting."

I watched the vampires corpse slowly turn to ash, "hunting helps me think when I'm angry."

"You-"

"You want me to betray our kind, the duty given to us by the goddess Luna all those years ago to go see a witch?"

He shook his head, "we have run out of options."

I surveyed the burning manor before us as little by little the scattered corpses turned to nothing more than dust.

Vampires are really too easy to kill. I looked over at my Beta, "any ogres or things been spotted around here?"

He growled lowly, "No. and this is serious Bash, we need a plan."

"I have a plan."

He arched a brow at me, obviously irritated, "care to share then?"

"Find an ogre and kill it." I said flippantly, walking deeper into the woods.

"You're dying Bash!" Mason called after me in a gruff growl.

"I know." I said over my shoulder, "more reason to bring a few monsters down with me."

"A witch could.."

"A witch could make for an interesting target, but we'll kill one of them after a big ugly ogre." I commented playfully.

Mason didn't appreciate my humor, "we need our alpha, without you we wont be a pack anymore."

"So you have said." I hummed, "I'm not dead yet but I will be if we try and seek out that witch your so keen on seeing."

"We don't know th-"

I shushed him, my wolf still at the surface.

Something was watching us.

A groan from the trees.

Several snaps of branches.

A gnawing shuffle of grinding bone and rotting flesh. The sound causing my hair to stand on end.

Mason and I glanced at one another.

Only one creature makes such a sickening sound.

"A zombie? Seriously?!" Mason groaned.

I grinned a little as the first ugly rotting corpse burst through the trees, running faster than any human ever could.

A powerful zombie then.

I ran at it despite Mase's protest.

Im a dead man anyways, whats one little zombie bite?

My beta sighed in exasperation, sitting on the ground, as I ripped its arm off "you are not coping well."

"Sure I am!" I laughed out, bashing its head with its own arm.

It lunged at me, teeth barely missing my skin, instead embedding into the arm I was beating it with.

So I let go, shoved it to the ground and picked up a rock, beating its face in.

"Yeah." Mason deadpanned, looking over my bloody form, "you're handling this all so well."

I shrugged examining the body.

Like golems zombies are given life by witches.

Powerful ones.

And every witch signs their zombies. Their name and coven sigil.

Don't know why.

Don't care.

All I know is, my nights hunt just got interesting. "Help me figure out what coven we are gonna kill Mase."

He sighed but relented, checking the usual spots.

Neither of us found anything.

I sighed a bit, eyeing its chest before ripping open its shirt.

Fresh stitching.

This is one nasty ass witch.

"Haven't seen that in a while." Mase muttered.

"Not in at least 75 years." I whistled lowly, "somones been practicing a long while."

I slowly pulled out the stitches, opening its chest with my bare hands.

Mason and I both gagged at the smell, my beta growling, "I hate our sense of smell sometimes."

"Well if these sluts stopped making themselves undead boyfriends we wouldn't have this problem."

Its heart was missing.

"Uh." The tawny haired man started, "isnt that where the signature is supposed to be?"

"It is." I mused, "but it appears she wishes to remain anonymous."

"Didn't think it was possible."

"Neither did I..." I muttered, pulling a vial from the body and holding it up to Mase. "But it looks like someone left us message in a bottle."

"Should we open it?"

"It was hidden inside a zombie." I deadpanned.

"Right-"

"Of course we are opening it." I grinned, pulling out the cork and dumping out the small parchment.

I blinked at it.

Only one word was scrawled upon the old paper in a curling script.

Hello.

My brows furrowed as I held it up to Mason, "what the hell do you think it- FUCK!"

I didn't get to finish my question.

wAnother zombie, even faster than before tackled me to the ground, jaws snapping.