I next woke on a dark stone floor. The bustle and hustle of the camp had gone and now all I could hear was the echoing drips of water droplets and the pacing footsteps of one man.

My every muscle felt tired and useless and I could hardly even sit myself up.

"How are you feeling?" someone asked.

Upon glancing up, I saw Lou looking down at me.

"Exhausted," I replied.

I glanced around. It was dark but I could just about see damp stone walls.

"Well, that's expected," he replied, "You'll be okay soon."

I diverted my glance back to Lou.

"Expected? Why?" I questioned.

Lou furrowed his eyebrow, "Because Alpha Rivers marked you."

"... So? And where the fuck are we?"

It was then that Lou's face dropped and his jaw tightened, "You don't know, do you? He didn't warn you?"

"Warn me of what?" I asked.

Lou sighed and sat down beside me, "When a female wolf is marked she goes into a deep sleep. It's the natural response. Some say it's a physical repsonse to the wound, some say it's to give the male wolf an opportunity to mate if he hasn't already. I'd like to think it's the first option."

"A deep sleep?" I asked, "Lou, how long have I been out for?"

"Five hours," he replied, "He bit deep."

I sat up straight, my eyes wide.

"Why wouldn't he tell me this was going to happen?! He knew we don't mark in Nightingale and I wouldn't know," I said, "And why would he do this when we have a battle to fight?!"

"Because he doesn't want you involved in the battle. He tricked you, Esme. He rendered you unconscious so that Alpha Brynn would have no choice to let me bring you here. To the caves."

My face hardened, "The bastard," I hissed, "But it's not too late. I'm awake now so fill me in. What's the situation?"

"Everything is going to plan so far. Alpha Rivers has been taken by Alpha Kane. April, Miles and Asher returned with details of the base two hours ago. Your brother and his Luna led the soldiers North two hours ago," he said, "They're on foot but they'll be half way there by now."

"We can catch up," I said, attempting to get to my feet.

"No way," Lou replied, catching me as I stumbled, "You're far too weak. Alpha Rivers tactic may have been cruel and manipulative but it was effective. You're not going to be strong enough to walk, let alone fight for hours. Even if I wasn't under my Alphas orders, I wouldn't let you out there."

I shook my head, "I counted the remaining Nightingale soldiers today," I said, "There are only fifty three of us left. That's a third of what we were. If Pheonix has reduced at the same rate, we need every soldier we have."

"I agree with you," he replied, "But Alpha Rivers ordered-"

"Fuck what Alpha Rivers ordered," I snapped, "It's not going to matter if he is killed today. It's certainly not going to matter if Pheonix is defeated and we are all killed too. Do you really just want to wait here to die?"

Lou sighed, "Stay here," he ordered.

He then marched out the cave into the daylight.

A few minutes later he returned with a bowl and a roll of bread.

"From the Nightingale's cave," he said handing it to be, "It should help you get some of your strength back."

I took the bowl a slight grin creeping onto my lips.

"Alpha Rivers wouldn't want me to get my strength back," I said.

"Well..." he said with a deep breath, "Fuck Alpha Rivers."

I opened my mouth in shock, "Lou!"

"Don't tell him I said that," he said with gritted teeth.

I laughed before looking down to the soup.

It was pea and mint, two plants native to Nightingale. The steam wafted up into my nostrils and I couldn't help but close my eyes and smile, comforted by the homely scents.

After only a few mouth fulls, I felt the warmth absorb into my veins and restore at least some of the strength in my muscles.

"Can you stand?" Lou asked when I had finished.

I stumbled to my feet.

"And walk?" he asked looking at my unsteadiness.

I nodded and lifted a shaky foot forward.

But my knees were too weak to hold me anymore and if it weren't for Lou catching me, I would have fallen onto the hard rock floor of the cave.

"And how are you going to singlehandedly take down Alpha Kane if you can't take one step?" he asked, setting me back down on the ground, "Huh? What's the plan?"

I took a deep breath and tried to get back up for a second time.

"Esme stop," Lou said, "You aren't strong enough. I'm sorry that Alpha Rivers did this to you but there's nothing we can do. No amount of soup is gonna fix it."

"What about a horse?" I asked.

"A horse?"

I nodded.

"Theodore said that all Pheonix soldiers learn to ride. There must be a horse somewhere nearby. We can ride North and by the time we get there, I'll be strong enough to help."

Lou sighed once again, "I can get a horse. But first tell me why you want to do this. Honestly, Esme."

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"For the packs. I already told you."

"I know we're short on soldiers but...you really think two more is gonna make a huge difference? It just doesn't quite add up and something tells me there's more to it..."

After quickly glancing down to my hands, I frowned and took a deep breath, "I guess I just don't want to be redundant," I said, "The thought of sitting here whilst good men and women die for a pack I'm supposed to be a leader of kills me. I should be there with them. But because of Theodore I'm not and that makes me angry, especially as his life is on the line too."

Lou nodded, "I see. So he's standing in your way?"

I paused, "Like a six and a half foot wall."

"But you still care for him?" he questioned.

"Of course," I said with a sigh, "That's the worst part."

"Well," Lou said clapping his hands together, "As far as walls go, six and a half foot isn't that high. We can easily climb that."

I smiled.

"Jesse!" he shouted after turning to face the entrance to the cave.

A few seconds later, one of the guards appeared.

"Could you fetch a horse? A fast one strong enough to hold two," Lou said.

The soldier looked from Lou to me.

"Now, please," Lou added with a smile.

He finally nodded, "Yes, Sir."

He then darted from the cave as Lou turned back to me.

"The Alpha ordered me to keep you out of harms way," Lou said, "But you know... judging by the slight decline from the entrance to this cave to where you are sat... I'd say if it were to torrentially rain for 48 hours straight, there's a small chance of flooding. So we should probably leave... just in case."

I smiled, "Thank you, Lou. I owe you."

He then helped me to my feet and supported me as we left the cave and scrambled down to where the soldier stood waiting with the horse amongst the trees.

"Do you have the Alpha's permission to take her from the safety of the caves, Sir?" The soldier asked as Lou lifted me up.

"Yes," Lou said bluntly, "He left her in my charge to do whatever I feel is best for her."

The soldier nodded, "I'm sorry for questioning. It's just-"

"No worries, Jesse," Lou interupted, "Just get back to guarding our civilians."

Lou then climbed up onto the horse behind me and gripped the reigns.

"How the fuck are we going to explain this to Alpha Rivers, Es?" he said as he began to ride.

I sighed, taking a breath of the fresh air and removing the dank scent of the caves from my nostrils.

"I have no idea," I replied, "But all that matters right now is saving the people we care for. We'll think about how to survive his wrath afterwards."

"Agreed," he said, kicking the side of the horse, accelerating our speed, "Rest up. You've got two hours to get your strength back.

The longer we raced through the forest, the more normal I felt. The rushing air brought life to my lungs and whipping my hair and skin with a wintery chill, helping me escape even further from the exhaustion.

By the time we could hear distance shouts and cries and Lou withdrew his knife, my muscles no longer ached and my body felt strong again.

"It's already started," Lou whispered, "We need to find Alpha and Luna Brynn and find out the plan."

I nodded and he rode on until Alpha Kane's base was in sight. It was clear it had been erected quickly but that didn't mean any expense had been spared with defense precautions.

It was entirely walled with thick and sturdy wooden beams each sharpened at the top to create a fierce spike. From the inside, arrows and flaming objects were being hurled out at our soldiers, creating utter chaos as they tried to fight back.

"Over there," I said pointing to across the battle field where Tobias stood barking orders at his soldiers.

Lou pulled the reigns and the horse shot forwards, through the fires and flying ammunition.

"Tobias!" I shouted, jumping off the horse.

He turned his head, "Esme?"

He then looked up to Lou utterly bewildered.

"How the fuck are you-"

"We don't have time for this conversation now," I said quickly, "What's going on?"

"We're losing. That's what's going on," he said, "They have the upper ground and we have no cover."

I glanced around at the battle fields. It was a vast open space, riddled with the stumps of cut down trees.

"Then we burn the wall. Take away their advantage," I said, glancing over at the wooden structure, "There's plenty of things around here to light it with," I added pointing to a burning branch only a few metres away.

Tobias sighed.

"We can't set it alight. The whole place is made of wood and will go up in flames, killing everyone inside and we have soldiers held as prisoners in there, including your mate."

I paused.

"Then we get the prisoners out," Lou said, "Then burn it."

"And how do we do that?" Tobias asked, narrowly dodging an arrow.

Lou glanced at the wall again and narrowed his eyes.

"Each beam has about half a foot gap between it and the next. Anyone small should be able to squeeze through discretely, slip in and free the prisoners. I say we send about ten in."

Tobias nodded, "Some of our female soldiers will be small enough. But they'll stand out in there as enemies. Alpha Kane has no women in his army."

"Then we'll distract them from the outside. Give them all we've got to give the women a chance of getting themselves and the prisoners out alive," Lou explained.

Tobias nodded.

"And if it fails?" Tobais asked.

"We burn the entire place. Those soldiers will die as martyrs for their children and elders in the caves," Lou said, his face grave and serious.

"And Alpha Rivers?" Tobias questioned

Lou clenched his jaw, "It's what he would want us to do."

Tobias nodded, "Well it's a risk but we have to try. We don't have another option."

"I'll round up volunteers," I said before dashing off across the battlefield.

Only five minutes later I returned to Tobias with a patrol of female Nightingale soldiers all with narrow enough shoulders to slip through the gap in the wall.

"That's, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine...and me. Ten," I said.

Tobias suddenly swallowed and took a deep breath in, "You?"

"I'm small enough to fit through there and I'll lead the other women."

"And that's definitely not what Alpha Rivers would want," Lou said through gritted teeth.

Tobias seemed reluctant too.

"I want to do this," I said firmly, gripping my bow, "I should be amongst the volunteers and I shouldn't have to persuade you to grant me permission, Tobias. This is my decision."

He nodded.

"You're right. I'm sorry," he replied, "It's just you're my baby sister. I want you safe."

I sighed, "I know. But I'm not a baby anymore. Let me prove it."

He nodded again and hugged me tightly, "Be careful," he whispered in my ear before letting me go.

I gave him a slight smile before nodding to Lou and turning back to the women who volunteered to join me.

With the cover of the rest of the army, we were able to creep closer to the wall, ducking low and eventually pressing our backs against it, out of sight of anyone above.

I peered through at the base. Most the soldiers were around the walls defending but there were still some in the milling around in the middle, administering first aid to the injured or guarding a large complex of wooden buildings in the middle.

I glanced over at Tobias and nodded. That was the only signal he needed to order every soldier in the army to send a whole fleet of arrows, spears and knives towards Alpha Kane's men. The noise of the battlefield increased tenfold and every man inside the base flocked towards the walls.

With them all distracted, I slipped through the wall, followed by the nine other Nightingale women and we crept towards the buildings.

"Split into threes," I whispered, "Kill anyone you see before they can sound an alarm and find the prisoners. Make sure they are not locked in so that when we burn this bitch, they are ready to get the fuck out."

They all nodded and separated, so that I was only left with two of them.

We silently slipped through a now unguarded door which led down a dark hallway. By the time we had reached the end of it, I'd left a trail of four dead men with arrows in their throats.

"This way," I said, slipping through another door.

But the second we turned the corner, we came face to face with a group of five soldiers.

They were inches from us and before I could even draw an arrow, my bow had been snatched from my hands and my front pinned to the wall.

The other two women, Angelica and Clove, were fighting with everything they had but we were outnumbered by five men and in minutes, we were all unarmed with our arms behind our backs.

"What are three beautiful women like you, doing in here huh?" one asked, running his finger along Angelica's cheek.

"Isn't it obvious? They're with the other three we just found," another said.

I closed my eyes and sighed. That left only three of us to find and free all the prisoners.

"Fucking Nightingales. I told you we should have built those beams closer together because Alpha Brynn has women."

The first smiled a sly smile.

"Why?" he asked now holding Angelica's face in his hands, "Alpha Brynn can send in gifts like this all he wants. The more the better."

She struggled in the grip of the soldier holding her but he twisted her arms back awkwardly and she had to stop to wince in pain.

"Klaus, we have a battle to fight," the one holding me said.

'Klaus' sighed, "Very well, the fun will have to wait until both the Nightingale and Pheonix pack have been crushed. Throw them in with the rest of the prisoners... except that one."

His finger was pointed at me.

All eyes fell on me.

"Why not?" the one holding me asked.

Klaus grinned and he finally released Angelica to fully face me.

"That mark on her neck was made by an Alpha without a doubt. It can't have been Alpha Brynn because his Luna has fierce red hair. That leaves only one possibility."

I swallowed.

"Take her to see Alpha Kane," he added, his eyes still staring at my neck where Theodore had left his so called 'protection' mark.

Seconds later, all three of us were dragged back into the main hallway at which point Angelica and Clove were hauled in the opposite direction to me.

I tried to fight but Klaus and the other man who had been holding me, took an arm each and no matter how hard I kicked and struggled, they could handle me.

Maybe I was still weak from Theodore's bite. Maybe I was just weak.

But either way, one thing is for sure.

I was finally going to meet the one and only Alpha Kane.