Colson wasn’t happy as he made his way through the hotel lobby. He was tired and frustrated over the fact that he'd lost track of Deak while looking for him. Colson figured the man wanted to be left alone, but he still felt like a failure for not catching up with him and trying to talk with him. Colson groaned when he got to the elevator that said: 'OUT OF ORDER.' He was ready to take a shower and, hopefully, cuddle with Gretchen while they figured out their next move.

He could hear crying in the distance as he dragged himself up the stairs to the floor they were staying on. His heart ached as his wolf whined, begging to see their mate.

Colson breathed out, “Gretchen.”

He quickly went up the stairs taking them two at a time and yanking the door open before barreling down the hallway to get to his girl. He caught her scent in the hall, leading him to Madeline’s room. Colson was hesitant to open the door; he sensed a lot of pain coming from the other side. He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath before opening the door and stepping inside the room.

The room felt tense as he heard the soft cries echo through his ears. Colson advanced into the room, searching for the one person who was important to him. Gretchen had her arms wrapped around Vita as she cried into Vita’s shoulder. Vita looked up and was relieved to see Colson there for Gretchen. She let him pull Gretchen away from her and take Gretchen over to the couch. He sat down, keeping Gretchen in his lap as he held her.

“Colson,” she cried.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you when it happened.”

Gretchen shook her head. “That doesn’t matter; I’m just happy you’re here now,” she told him.

Colson ran his hand over Gretchen’s head to calm her down. It killed him to see her this sad and know there was nothing he could do to make it easier for her to process. He looked over and found Vita sitting down in the chair across from him. He hated that he had to tell her that he couldn’t find Deak and talk him into coming back with him. “I’m sorry, Vita,” he said quietly.

Vita looked down at her hand that she was twisting in her lap. “It’s okay, Colson; I kind of figured it would be a long shot. Deak needs some time to himself, and I need to respect that,” she admitted.

Colson nodded his head. He leaned in, pressed his lips against Gretchen’s head, and tightened his hold around her. His wolf purred with happiness, and it was then that Colson realized that Gretchen was home for him. He would do whatever she needed him to do to make this work cause he could no longer see his life without her.

Tabitha and Marco rushed through the door into the room.

“What’s happened? What’s wrong?” Tabitha asked.

Ruby stepped out of the bedroom and looked at Tabitha. She stretched her arms out for Tabitha to come to her, which Tabitha did willingly.

“I’m sorry,” Tabitha whispered.

Ruby gave her a small smile as she wrapped her arms around Tabitha. “I know,” she sighed before she broke the news. “We lost Madeline.”

Tabitha pulled back and stared into Ruby’s eyes. She shook her head. “No, no. Why do we keep losing people we love?” Tabitha cried out.

Ruby pulled Tabitha back into her and consoled her. She knew this would take Tabitha back to the night she lost her mother. Tabitha constantly challenged the women in her life, but it didn’t mean she didn’t love them. True, Tabitha didn’t know Madeline very well, but Ruby knew they had a connection.

Tabitha looked up and tilted her head slightly as she saw someone very familiar walk into the room. “How did you get in here?” Tabitha questioned.

Everyone turned to look at the woman standing close to the door. She looked familiar but wasn’t sure where they had seen her before.

“I’m sorry to have barged in here, but I had no other place to go,” she explained.

“I’m sorry. Do we know you?” Zachary asked the woman in question.

The woman sighed heavily and looked down in embarrassment. She knew it was a mistake to come here and try to ask them for help. “I'm, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here,” she said as she turned around to leave.

“Wait,” Tabitha called out.

The woman stopped where she stood but didn’t turn around.

Tabitha walked over to the woman; she inhaled her scent and looked deeply into her eyes, and inquired, “Esha?”

Eyes around the room widened, and mouths dropped when they heard this. Esha nodded her head slowly as her heart raced. She didn’t know what they would say about her next, causing her insecurities to go wild in her head.

“Why did you do it?” Tabitha asked her.

Esha shrugged; she couldn’t give her a straight answer.

Tabitha crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the woman before her. “Why did you trick me into wanting to say here?” Tabitha asked again, this time clarifying the question.

“It’s part of the deal I made,” Esha admitted.

“What deal?”

Esha sighed as she circled her face and her body. “The one that made me look pretty. As long as I could lure guests into staying here in Silver City, they would make me look pretty to help sell the package.”

“I don’t understand. You are pretty,” Tabitha told her.

Esha huffed, “Tell that to all the people that used to bully me and make fun of me because I didn’t look like a true siren. So I made a deal that made me feel good about myself, and tricking people into staying here didn’t affect me until I met you guys. You all connect to each other in a way I’ve never seen before; you’re all different, yet you accept each other for who you are and don’t try to change it.” Esha shrugged. “I wish I had that in my life.”

“You could if you gave someone a chance to know the real you and not what you think they want.”

Esha smiled. “I did show my true self to you, Tabitha, when we spent the day together. That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I didn’t want it to end. I’m sorry for putting thoughts about your friends and family into your head. I hope you can forgive me,” she said softly.

“I think we’ve lost enough people today,” Tabitha responded.

Esha looked at her with confusion, “What do you mean? Who did you lose?”

Tabitha sighed and answered, “We lost Madeline, she was poisoned, and we couldn’t save her.”

Esha raised her hand to her throat; she couldn’t believe someone was doing something like this. “We must notify the faction council about this, they will not be happy, and neither will the Vampire King.”

Merida stepped up when she heard the girl talk about the king. “Your king is a liar and doesn’t care what happens to the people in this city or anywhere else.”