[Double Update. Go back one chapter.]

"Y-You can't." Jackson whispered, her voice shaking. "You can't make me, make that call."

Mason looked on sadly, "I know it's hard, bu--"

"HARD? You're asking me to pick between my life and the life of my best friend. How am I supposed to make that decision? How am I supposed to look Areum in the eye knowing that I'm going to die in a month? Or how am I supposed to look her in the eye knowing that I was a coward and gave up Mark, her sister's mate, just to save myself?" He yelled, lifting the chair he was sitting and throwing it across the room.

It hit the wall and broke into  jagged, chunky pieces against the wall but Mason did not flinch.

"Once Mark mated with Ara, the ability for the one human-wolf couple to defeat the panthers was split between the two of you. Therefore individually you two didn't have enough strength. You're two halves of a whole and the only way to make it whole again and restore the full power is if one of you given up your life. It won't matter if the person alive is the prince or not, once one life is sacrified, the other will be strong enough. This is the only way that the panthers can be defeated." He said calmly.

Jackson's entire body was flooding with anger and he could hear the people outside complaining about the sudden wind. "We have a whole ing district at our disposal. Why the do we need to give one of our own up just to take down 5 weak panthers?"

"Because that pack is carrying their prince."

"W-What the hell?" Jackson's eyes were round circles whirling in purple.

"Panthers have one of the strongest lines of royalty, stronger than wolves. Their mutation makes their regular species weaker but makes their  royal blood almost indestructible. When your parents were eradicating their race, the current prince was already dead. His offspring, however is still alive." Mason's eyes flashed so brightly that his irises almost looked pure white.

Jackson's lip quirked before his eyes widened, "No…not Mino."

Mason kept his lips tucked in, "His father was the prince of panthers, but him and his mate died before your parents got to him. Mino was an infant orphan and was taken in by the pack that is trying to kill you and Areum."

"How do you know this?" Jackson breathed out.

"When I was doing research about the prophecy, I had to look more into the boy who was linked to your mate. I went through the directory. It holds the birth certificates of every species. Since there were no more panthers, we had taken the directory into our possession. I tracked his parents down easily." Mason said as he gestured to a leather bound book that looked about four thousand pages thick.

"S-So? We should still be able to take them down."

"Jackson."

The boy looked up at Mason with shaky eyes, hating that ominous tone, "What?"

"Panthers are mutant creatures. You have the power to control weather, your father has the ability to teleport. Mino…he has the ability to control minds. Normally royal powers are not that strong, but for a mutant, it's possible to happen. It doesn't matter what species or who he's doing it to, he can control their minds and therefore their actions as well. Chances are that he has more powers that we don't know about. Unlike other wereroyalty who have one power, he will likely have more."

Mason looked out his window, "The only reason he hasn't done something with his powers sooner is because none of them know that he's the prince. Panthers don't have as structured societies as we do and those boys have been on their own for almost their entire lives. No one's taught them about themselves and what they're capable of." Mason said softly.

"We can still overpower him." Jackson said firmly, his fingers trembling in uncertainty.

Mason shook his head. "No matter how strong you are, no matter how many of us attack them, if he gets inside anyone's mind, it'll be chaos. He could turn our own against us. He could turn you against your own pack. Or your parents against you. The possibilities are endless."

Jackson shook his head in desperation, "You just said that he doesn't know that he's the prince, he won't even know that he posses those powers. We can get rid of them before he even realizes that he is the prince."

"If he's put under enough physical or mental strain, it'll just explode out of him like a bomb. That's how your father pulled your powers out of you. He sparred with you at a young age and overpowered you until you created a tornado in your living room." Mason said while rubbing his eyes.

"And if one of us sacrifices our lives?" Jackson started pacing nervously around the room.

Mason lifted his eyes, "Then that one person will have enough power to block out anything Mino does to their mind."

"How can one person simultaneously control the minds of the whole district? How can he be that powerful?" Jackson's voice cracked as his skin iced over and his heart plummeted to his feet.

"It's the mutation that comes with being a panther. And honestly, even controlling a few strong wolves, like the council or your pack will be enough to cause immense havoc. And if he starts getting overwhelmed about Areum, there's a chance his abilities might make an appearance earlier."

 Jackson's steps stuttered as he looked over at Mason, "You don't think he could control her…do you?"

"In the scope of his abilities, yes, he could control a human, but I don't know far his conscious will go and if he would be willing to control his link's mind."

"How much do you know about panthers?" Jackson asked abruptly.

Mason sighed, "Not enough to know about his linkage with Areum."

Jackson looked away feeling hopeless, "She'll hate me no matter what I do."

"She is your mate. She will not hate you when she learns the nature of your actions. And Mino won't get within a foot of her. We won't allow it." Mason snapped.

"Only a month? That's not enough time." Jackson muttered. 

Mason sighed, "I know, son. But with the panthers already trying to attack you and Areum, we're racing against time. You have one month to decide which one of you will be the sacrifice." 

Jackson shook his head and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes,  "I can't let Mark die."

"Are you willing to take his place?" Mason asked softly.

Yes.

I don't have much of a choice.

"Jackson?"

He spun around and saw Areum standing by the door with the small smile. Her eyes flickered to the broken chair and concern clouded her vision before she looked back at him.

"The weather's getting bad. Everyone's heading back to their places." She pointed out.

Jackson didn't say a word and turned to Mason who just stared the boy down, "There's nothing else to say. You've heard my side, the rest is up to you. Have a good night you two."

Mason walked into a back room, leaving them alone. Jackson stayed rooted to the ground, looking in the direction that Mason walked away.

His head felt like it was going to explode.

"Jackson?" He turned slowly and looked over at Areum who was smiling pleasantly, completely unknowing of the impending doom.

He had a month.

One month with her until he willingly walks away from her and never sees her again.

He didn't even know he had that in him.

But he had to.

He was the prince.

He silently walked passed her, out the door, and slid in hands in his pockets. Areum blinked in surprise and turned to see him walking away with his shoulders hunched as the wind whipped around him.

Her eyes narrowed and she quickly raced after him, "What's with you?"

"Nothing." He muttered, his mind obviously distracted.

"The others are staying in the Jaebum's old house and Mark took my phone to call Ara." She said as she trailed behind him.

Jackson's back stiffened and his muscles locked when he heard the last two names. "Okay."

Areum kept her lips shut at his emotionless voice and just followed him silently as he walked down the cobblestone path towards his parent's house.

It was strange.

He was so light hearted and cheerful at the bonfire, even though everyone was teasing him, but now it looked like a black glow was radiating from him.

She followed him up the porch and resisted the urge to run her fingers through his hair and down his spine.

She pulled her jacket closer to her body and waited for Jackson  to unlock the door. He let her in without speaking a word and flicked the lights on.

The cabin was small but cozy. It radiated such warmth and homeliness that her shoulders immediately relaxed even though it was her first time being inside.

"You can go upstairs and get changed." Jackson grumbled carelessly before walking into the kitchen, not giving her a second look.

Areum frowned and followed him into the kitchen, "Are you okay?"

He kept his back turned, "I'm fine."

"Are you mad at me?" She asked confusedly.

"No." He said bluntly.

Areum looked around before clearing , "Oh…kay. I'll go change." She gave his back another look before walking away.

Jackson had his eyes closed and his body trembling when he heard her footsteps move up the staircase.

He hated being so brash with her, but what choice did he have? Every time he looked in her eyes or  saw her face, he'd immediately imagine the way it would distort when she found out what he was going to do.

What he was going to sacrifice.

He was supposed to be enjoying having her in his old home, to show her around and bring her into such an important part of his life.

And now this.

Why couldn't he just enjoy being with his mate like every damn wolf before him?

He couldn't get a ing break.

It was one thing straight after another and he barely had time to breathe before another curveball gets thrown his way.

He wasn't going to let Mark die.

He couldn't ing imagine doing that. He wouldn't be able to live with himself and every day he spent alive would be a reminder of what he took away from his best friend.

Fate had a fun way of ing him over in the most sadistic manners.

Something inside him snapped and he lifted up a vase filled of wilting flowers and roared before whipping it on the wall across from him. He lifted another vase and did the same thing with just as much boiling fury.

He watched it shatter in satisfaction until he heard floorboards creak behind him. He turned and saw Areum staring at him from the staircase with wide, frightened eyes.

 "Jackson?" She whispered.

He looked away angrily, forcing himself not to break, "What?"

"What happened?" She slowly made her way down the stairs and stayed by the landing.

Jackson's eyes zeroed in on the glass shards, "I broke it."

"Why?" She asked plainly, refusing to ask the real question. "Look at me." She ordered.

He slowly slid his eyes over to her and took a step back on instinct. He felt like he was betraying her. That he was stealing from her, but there was no way in hell that he was ever going to tell her the truth.

"What do you want?" He barked.  

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, her eyes