Mara ran around her room trying to get ready in a hurry. She had managed to sleep through her alarm, only waking up when Sasha had appeared and scratched her into consciousness. She had been given the time off from classes, but she wasn't leaving until Tuesday, Torlak and Headmistress Varkov agreed she needed Monday to go to her classes, get information, and give the instructors the notice of her absence. 

She was trying to follow through with that, but everything appeared to be going wrong. Not only had she slept through her alarm, continuing her nightmare once again, but she couldn't find her last clean uniform, her books weren't in their right place, and one of her shoes were missing. 

Cursing Mondays, Mara finally made her way out of the room and down to her first class, looking disheveled. She sighed with relief when she slid into her seat just as the instructor decided to start class. 

The nights of restless sleep were finally catching up to Mara, it had either been the same nightmare she had every time she actually dreamed, or it was a Zander induced dream. Either way, they were not very restful, and that was evident from the dark circles that were forming under her eyes.

The weekend away from the school had been nice for the most part, except for Zander still wiggling his way inside her mind. She now knew he was able to do more all the time, and that worried her. It worried her to the point of lying awake at night, staring at her ceiling, trying to think of ways to possibly end it. 

She hadn't thought of anything yet, but she was determined to not give up. Mara looked at the note she had in her bag, the one the Headmistress had given her to distribute to her teachers. This time, she had left it all up to Mara to inform them seeing how it wasn't just for one day, she would need to gather any work they deemed appropriate for her to complete. She knew most of them would send her with nothing, knowing that the Council work came first. 

School was important sure, but none of this would exist without the High Council, and none of the teachers knew how to handle a situation like Mara's. They would be informed of her absence due to important Council business, and if there was any necessary work to send it with her. 

Mara wondered if she had fallen asleep, because before she knew it, the bell for the end of the class sounded. She went up to the front of the room, handed the sheet of paper over to her instructor, and explained the situation. Well, as much of the situation she was allowed to explain. 

As she expected, she was given no work to do while she was gone, she was only told to go in when she returned for a recap of what she had missed. Mara agreed and went to lunch with her friends. 

She expected to have a similar experience to the last lunch, one where she would really only have Trixle to talk to. When she walked into the room, Marx got up from his seat, she expected him to leave the lunch hall, but he met her in the middle of the large room. 

When they were standing in front of each other, Mara looked up into his eyes, confused. 

"What are you doing?" She whispered to him. Silently pleading with him to just go and sit back down quietly, or pass her and leave the room like she had originally expected him to do. 

"Something I should have done from the beginning." 

Mara had no time to ask what he meant by that. She was instantly pulled into his strong arms, their warmth enveloping her as he lifted her from the ground. Before she had time to process what was happening, his mouth moved her hers, pressing hard. She was frozen by shock, unable to react to what was happening.

The entire lunch hall was silent and staring in their direction, people with eyes wider than Mara thought possible, some with their mouths hanging wide open, some just as frozen as she was. 

Marx finally pulled back and set her back on the ground, but kept his arms around her tightly. She thanked the powers that be for that small gesture, because she was sure if he hadn't supported her with those arms, her knees would have buckled and she would have been on the ground. 

When she looked around again, Mara was able to pick out the werewolves in the crowd. The majority of them held shocked and repulsed expressions, compared to those of just plain shock. They couldn't believe the prince of their kind would be with a witch, that was completely unheard of, and Marx had always been one to follow customs. 

"Mara Crowland, you are my mate, and I have decided that I will let nothing come between that. My father may decide to take away the throne from me, but he cannot take you away from me, I won't allow it. I want to give us a chance."

There were small gasps from those closest, the only ones who were able to hear Marx's low growl of a voice. His words had sent shivers down Mara's spine, but she couldn't admit that. She couldn't let him throw away everything for her; it was exactly what she had told him not to do before. 

"Marx," her voice warned. 

"No. I mean it, Mara. I don't want that life if I can't share it with you. I don't want to stand on the sidelines next time you need help. Watching you the other day, sitting there in pain, and all I could do was watch. You have no idea how hard that was for me, to pretend I didn't care for the sake of my father. I won't do that again."

She could see the determination in his voice, and there was no way of going around it now. Everyone had seen them, and there were a few who had heard. She was sure by the end of the day; the entire school would know what was said. It was all over unless Mara knew a spell to turn back time and change it all. 

She knew no such spell however, and she wasn't even sure she would want to do that. Marx had finally made it public, their relationship, and while it was terrifying to think of the repercussions of those actions, it also excited Mara to not have to hide it any longer. Now everyone knew, everyone knew they were mates, and soon everyone would know about the threat Makortax had used on Marx. Whether that knowledge would be good or bad, they would have to wait to find out. 

They both made their way to the table where Trixle and Emmett were seated, and both were staring at them just as surprised as the rest of the room. 

"It's not like this is some sort of secret to both of you." Marx said brushing off their stares. 

"No, but you just sort of blurting it out in front of half the school is sort of new." Trixle retorted. 

Marx just shrugged and laced his fingers with Mara's as they ate. Mara was having a hard time grasping the idea that their relationship had been ousted. They would no longer have to pretend to be looking anywhere but each other, and they would no longer have to sneak around, meeting in supply closets, or under staircases, at least that's what it seemed like. Though Marx's father could come in and take him out of school just as easily, and sneaking around would be the least of their worries. 

The small circles Marx was rubbing into the back of Mara's hand started to calm her nerves. There was nothing they could do now, what happened was done and there was no way of changing it, so she might as well just accept it. 

She thought about Trixle and Emmett, also hiding their relationship, though for a different reason. They were unsure about what could happen; at any moment either of them could find their "true" significant other. However, there was a chance neither of them could have a person like that.

The thought saddened Mara, to think that two of her friends didn't have what she had. They deserved to find their match just as much as she did, if not more, and the fact that it may never happened to them was something that brought her back down.

They finally had to separate ways, but Marx promised to meet up with her later before she had to go on her tour of the different schools. 

She went through the rest of the day pretending to pay attention in class until she could talk to the instructors at the end and inform them of her future absences. They had figured that with two one school a day, on some occasions two, she should be able to finish her round in roughly a week and a half. 

She walked out of the school day with only one assignment, and even that one was optional. She had gone to the library to read up on some of the magical books about the dream spells. 

She learned that bringing someone from consciousness into a sleeping dream was the most difficult type of ability to master. 

Mara remembered the look of dread on Zeldra's face when Mara told her that Zander had managed to do it, now she fully understood why. It was an ability very few could master, and even fewer were able to learn how to protect themselves from such things. Only a handful of people were ever recorded being able to block the ability of the psychic dream. 

There was a complicated spell listed in the book, one that was a protection spell for one's mind. Mara took the page to the copy machine and scanned it, printing off a page she could take with her so she could look at it closer in the comfort of her own room.

When Mara walked into the room, she found Trixle and Emmett inside. 

"Oh, sorry." Mara turned around quickly.

"It's okay, we weren-"

"No. I uh, had someone I needed to talk to. Totally forgot, I need to go there now." She babbled as she went right back out of the room. 

Mara couldn't stop thinking about how weird it was for Trixle and Emmett to be together, she never would have seen that coming last year. It just didn't make sense. But she was glad they both found someone, even if it was for a short time. 

Without realizing it, Mara found herself in front of Marx's room. She hadn't meant to go up there, but her subconscious must have led her. She needed a quiet place to look the spell over anyways, and she was sure Marx would do what he could to help her out, so she knocked on the door. 

When Marx opened the door, he was only wearing lounge pants. Mara stared at his exposed chest, all kinds of thoughts running around, none she would admit though. He stepped aside and she made her way in, sitting down at the desk on his side of the room. 

"Emmett was in our room with Trix. I thought I would come here." She looked over at him.

"For a couple reasons."

He smiled at her, dragging Emmett’s chair over to sit next to her. 

"And what wonderful reasons would bring you up here to bless me with your wonderful presence?"

Mara rolled her eyes at him. It never ceased to amaze her how cheesy or cocky he could be. 

"The first was to talk to you about that whole thing at lunch." She said looking pointedly at him. 

"The second was so I could have a quiet place to look something over."

"If you wanted to look me over, all you had to do was ask, sweetheart." He flashed her a toothy grin and winked.

And there it was, him being cocky again. Somehow it always made her smile. She rolled her eyes, not giving away how his words affected her. 

"I'm still trying to be disappointed in you." Mara said.

"Everything I said down there was true, Mara. I'm not hiding this anymore. It doesn't matter what my father has to say, or what he decides to do. No matter what, I want to be with you." 

She looked into his dark eyes and saw only sincerity there. He really meant what he said, and as much as it worried her, it also made her feel warm inside. No one had ever felt that way about her before, and she liked the feeling of being wanted by someone. 

"What? Have nothing to say?" He asked with a half smile.

"Only that you are probably the most idiotic wolf ever."

Marx looked slightly hurt, his smile vanished and he turned his head. 

"But you're my idiotic wolf." She said as she reached out and grabbed his hand. Marx looked back at her, the happiness returning. 

"Now." she said turning to her back and pulling out the sheet of paper. "I found a spell that might help me in keeping Zander away, but it looks pretty complicated."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure you can do it." Marx said scooting closer looking over her shoulder at the piece of paper. 

"I love your blind faith in me, but I've never attempted anything like this before. This is an actual spell, not those things I've been doing."

"Doesn't matter, you can still do it." 

Marx's voice sounded final, like there was no way Mara could possibly fail. He believed wholeheartedly in her, and that in itself made Mara feel sure. 

She looked over the paper. There was a long list of ingredients that she would need. Apparently they had to be gathered and measured out before being placed in a jolank leather pouch. No other type of leather would do. Apparently the jolank leather would bind the ingredients making them active for the spell. 

"What is jolank leather?" Mara asked turning towards Marx in confusion. 

"It's leather made from the skin of the jolank. They look something like a mixture between the earth pig and cow."

Mara raised a brow, trying to imagine what a mixture between those animals could possibly look like. The thought distracted her temporarily, taking her mind off the impending danger. Mara felt bad that one creature could take her away from everything happening around her and turned back to the paper, more determined to learn the spell. 

Even if she couldn't use the spell now, it would still be worthwhile to have all the components together for when she could do it. To use the spell now, would only complicate things more than they already were. She would have to plan accordingly, only using it as a last resort. 

"So this spell." Marx started. 

"Is one that can protect the mind from psychic dreams. Apparently that is the term they used for magically pulling someone into a dream of the workers choosing. So if I have the components and I cast the spell correctly, then theoretically, Zander shouldn't be able to pull me into one of those dreams again."

"You need to do it." 

Mara looked at him pensively. 

"I can't just do it now, Marx. I have to wait."

"And why is that?" He nearly growled. 

"Zander thinks he can pull me in whenever, he can even do it while I'm awake. He thinks he has complete control over it, and I need to let him think that. Zeldra ga-"

"You're working with that witch now?" Marx sneered. 

"I am working with Zeldra, yes. Actually, she is working with me. She gave me something that can turn a dream to my side. If I take it, and Zander pulls me into a dream then I can flip it and take control. He will have to answer to me, he will have no choice."

"How do you know that she was telling the truth? What if she is working with him again?" He shouted. 

"I don't know. All I do know is that she has helped me so far. She gave me lists of people to talk to, witches, about possibly helping out cause. And I am going to other schools as well." Mara spoke calmly, trying to let it wash over Marx and soothe him. 

"I still think it's a bad idea to be working with her." He mumbled looking down.

"I didn't really have many options. I needed something fast, and Zeldra is good with potions. It probably would have taken me four times as long to find what I wanted, not to mention much longer to make the potion. And she seemed genuinely afraid to hear that Zander is back."

"I still don't trust her."

"Then trust me. I can handle this."

Marx nodded and let her continue. 

"Zander thinks he has complete control over those dreams, that he can pull me in whenever he wants, and I need to let him keep thinking that. The potion I have will let me turn it, give me the upper hand on him, and if I block the dreams leading up to the day that I use it, then he will know something is up."

Marx nodded again, processing the information. 

"So you have to let him pull you in and torture you just so one night, down the road, you can surprise him?"

Mara sighed. She knew he would be looking at it that way, though in all fairness she probably hadn't been in the best shape when he watched her go through the dream the other day. He hadn't liked seeing her in pain, especially when there was nothing he could do to help her. 

"Yes, that is exactly what needs to happen."

"I don't like it." 

"I know you don't like it, I'm not entirely fond of the idea myself, but it's what I need to do. So I will make up this little mix, I will learn the spell, or at least try to, and then I will use it when I can. Until then, I will deal with Zander my own way."

Marx frowned slightly before looking back at the paper. 

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I don't think so, most of this, if not all of it, should be down in the potions room."

"If you need anything, anything at all, you know all you have to do is just ask."

Mara nodded and stood up. 

"I should probably get going if I'm going to get this together before tomorrow."

Marx sighed and stood, taking the chair back to the other side. With his back bare, Mara could see the scar running the length of his back. It was his own personal reminder of what had happened, the monsters he had to face to reach her. Each time she saw the mark, guilt washed over Mara. If it weren't for her, he never would have gotten hurt. 

She pushed the guilt aside when he turned back. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before placing her hand on the doorknob. 

"What are you going to do?" He asked. Mara wasn't entirely sure what he meant.

"I'm going to put this together, and then I'm going to do my job. Travel around and get people to join us."

Mara tapped her chin for a moment. 

"Maybe I should bribe people with cookies." She said jokingly.

Marx chuckled slightly and kissed her forehead. Mara left his room with a smile on her face before sneaking down to the basement to gather the supplies she needed for the spell.

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