A light rain splattered across the neighborhood. The quiet morning was broken by harsh snarling coming from two werewolves and their vampire captive. Danika fought against the werewolves dragging her out of the house, led by fucking Harper. Unlike the last two, these ones were smart enough to cuff her in silver and wear heavy gloves to protect themselves from her and the metal. They were also bigger and stronger, ready for her to fight back. "You stupid son of a bitch," she snarled at Harper's back. "You have no idea what you've done!"

Harper whipped around and grabbed Danika's throat. "Shut your fucking mouth," he snapped. "You should consider yourself lucky that you are the alpha king's whore. You're right; I need you alive. But, I don't need your tongue. So, you had better pull it back, or I'll rip it out."

"I'm going to enjoy watching you die."

"Your precious soulmate isn't going to do a damn thing as long as I have you."

"Aarón isn't going to be the one to kill you," she laughed humourlessly. "He won't have the chance. That thing in Kate's body is going to rip you apart!"

"I'm already ahead of you on that one, blood-sucker," he spat. "That thing is wearing Katie like a meat-suit. That demon will keep her and the others out of my way, and I will be rewarded for my loyalty. Alpha La Chapelle will be the new king, and I will be the alpha of the Toussaint pack!"

"You have no idea what her body is truly capable of. That thing has been hunting her since we were kids, and you fucking morons led it straight to her. And now... now it's going to kill us all."

Harper tightened his grip on her throat with another harsh snarl before shoving a hard rod between her teeth. It immediately started to burn her lips and tongue, and pain that could only be brought on by silver speared through her. It took every ounce of her will not to scream as the other two wolves locked the chains on her wrists behind her back and linked them to another set around her ankles and a silver collar around her neck.

The pain was excruciating, but she refused to let any of them see it. The lycanthrope half-dragged, half-carried her up the street towards the center of the neighborhood. Ahead of them, she could see the rest of the spearhead pack fending off the greater numbers of the La Chapelle pack. The members of the Courture and Rousseau packs, including their alphas, were hanging back, clearly unwilling to take a side for the moment.

Harper's voice cracked across the sound of the fights like lightning. "Kneel! Or watch your queen's head fly!"

Everyone went still, looking around to see who was threatening whom. Then, when all eyes landed on Danika's bound form, the La Chapelle pack howled in jubilation while the spearhead wolves all froze in terror. She tried to shout past the gag, tell them to fight and not worry about her. But, even if she could have gotten the words out, it wouldn't have mattered. In the short time she'd been among Aarón's family, they had made it clear to her that she was a part of the pack regardless of her breed.

They stopped her in the center of the street, in clear view of the entire pack, and her two escorts tried to shove her to the ground. Stubbornly, she braced her knees as best she could and refused to move. Jean-Claude La Chapelle appeared in front of her, his eyes bright red and mouth full of shark-like teeth. "On your knees, whore," he snarled, inches away from her face.

Danika spat blood and venom in his eyes, earning her a howl of approval from the spearhead and a roar of outrage from La Chapelle. When he lashed out and struck her across the face, the chorus of cheers turned to anger and then into shrieking when La Chapelle grabbed her by the hair and kicked her knees out from under her.

To this, she started screaming. She couldn't help it. Being on her knees and the wolf holding her hair... memories of Jake came rushing back. She should have fought harder against him. She should have done more to stop him. It was her fault. It was her fault!

Danika didn't feel a thing when a chunk of her hair was torn out from her thrashing and struggling. Over her own screams, she couldn't tell that many of the La Chapelle wolves were going quiet. She couldn't see the looks of absolute horror on their faces through the burning of her tears. Whether she wanted them to or not, every female in the crowd recognized her fear, her panic, and her pain.

"Cowards!" Gaia shrieked, storming forward as the wolves finally wrenched Danika down and bound her chains to the base of a pole embedded in the ground. "You call yourselves leaders? You call yourselves alphas?!"

She spat at the ground and snarled, a clear and violent challenge aimed directly at La Chapelle. A delta stormed up to her, matching her challenge, expecting her to back down like the females he was used to in the European packs. "What was that, you little bitch?" he growled, puffing out his chest and towering over her.

Gaia stepped up to meet his gaze and bared her fangs. "Coward," she snarled again and shoved at his chest. Shocked by her reaction, the delta stumbled back a few steps, and she continued her advance, pushing him again and again. "Hypocrite. Bastards, the lot of you. I will not bow to privileged, abusive, self-absorbed pieces of shit like you with raisins for balls!"

"Why, you little-"

"If you lay a finger on her," Rose shot forward to stand at Gaia's side. "And I'll bite your whole hand off!"

"Do you think threatening our queen makes you strong, uncle?"

To everyone's surprise, it was one of the Courture omegas that Aaron was supposed to take as a mate who stepped up to join Gaia and Rose. Her light hair, skin, and eyes made her look like a ghost compared to the lycans from South America, and she was shaking like a leaf to take a stand against one of the alphas. When La Chapelle turned his angry red eyes on her and snarled, she jumped, and Carmen stepped up to take her hand. One by one, every female of the spearhead pack joined them until they all stood together. "Do you think crushing the spirits of your women makes you powerful?" Carmen called out, angry yet calm. "It does nothing but show us just how weak you are, Jean."

Roars of agreement and outrage rose from the rest of the spearhead males, and a few soft sounds of support came from the various other packs. Danika stared up at them. She knew they had accepted her because of her bond with Aarón... but their queen? She was just a vampire. How... why would they fight for someone like her?

Harper suddenly slammed his foot down on her upper back, jerking her forward while her bound wrists held her arms back. Both shoulders popped loudly, sending lightning bolts of pain through her body. Her already throbbing scalp screamed in pain as he grabbed her hair and jerked her head back, exposing her throat to the silver blade he pressed to her skin. "They must hate you," he mocked in a cruel laugh. "If they wanted to protect their queen, they would be doing what they're told. I wonder what their so-called king will think of his people refusing to protect you?"

The spearhead pack had gone still again, but every one of them now had the glowing red in their eyes and sharpened fangs. Ready to fight at a moment's notice. "Your alpha is a weak fool," La Chapelle spat. "He is no true lycan. He's no better than a shifter dog. Mercy is weakness. Tolerance is weakness. If he wanted command of the La Chapelle wolves, he should have killed off my entire bloodline."

"A mistake I will soon rectify," Aarón's voice boomed over the courtyard.

Harper lifted his foot off Danika's back, easing the pressure off her aching shoulders, and dragged her around the pole by her hair so she could see Aarón, Evelyn, and Darius coming up the street, murder set in their expressions.

New energy surged through her upon seeing him. This wasn't the life she expected for herself. She never once dreamed she would stand side-by-side with a werewolf and love him and his pack as her own. But here she was, and she wasn't about to condemn Aarón to the same miserable existence Darius led.

Twisting to get as much leverage as possible, she pushed back as hard as she could against Harper's grip, slamming his hand against the pole. Stars exploded in front of her eyes, but she felt something in his hand crack, and he shouted in surprise and pain. Pulling at the chains, she faced him the best she could and kicked out at him, breaking open one of the chains and striking his knee. Encouraging howls came from the wolves and laughter at Harper's stumbling back. Pride gleamed in Aaron's eyes, even though he never once looked away from the opposing alpha.

"It's time, Guerrero," La Chapelle raised his voice to carry as far as Aarón's and took several steps forward to challenge the younger male. "No more games. No more compromises. Let us see who the stronger lycanthrope really is. Who the true alpha king is!"

"Alpha," Aarón's whole body was shaking with anger. His voice lowered to the sound of churning gravel, and the air shimmered with magic as he started to shift. "I really hate that word."

A moment later, Aarón stood at his full height of nearly eleven feet. He advanced on La Chapelle, who had frozen mid-step and was rooted to the ground. If it didn't hurt so much to do so, Danika would have laughed. She had been just as ignorant and arrogant before seeing him shift on command. She had been just as terrified to see the beast's true form, larger and stronger than any other werewolf in existence.

She did not think Aarón would give La Chapelle the same treatment he had given her.

"Wha-what is this trickery?!" La Chapelle's voice cracked as Aarón got closer and closer. "This doesn't make sense... The same magic that makes you alpha runs in my veins!"

A single swipe of his massive hand knocked La Chapelle to the ground. Before he could get up, Aarón brought his clawed foot down on his chest. "There are no alphas!" he roared. "There are no betas! There is no difference between you and the lycan beside you! We are equals!"

The silence was near deafening as Aaron cast his furious gaze around the crowd of Parisian wolves. From the La Chapelle pack to Courture and Rousseau standing at the back with the same dumbstruck and panicked looks on their faces.

"Your alphas have lied to you to keep you quiet! Compliant! Your alphas have denied you mates and pups! Many of you starve while your alphas feast on the best meats money can buy! Your alphas have given preferential treatment to the swine who will follow their commands to keep you in line! Swine like him,"

Aarón turned his furious eyes onto Harper, who tightened his grip on the silver blade and took a step closer to Danika again. The werewolves around them were getting restless, muttering between themselves. More than a few were turning their own angry glares on Harper and the other betas. More red eyes started to appear in the crowds, adding to the discontent.

"I am here to bring you the life our greatest ancestor, our progenitor, the first lycanthrope wanted for us!" Aaron continued his speech, getting louder as the grumblings of the low-ranked, abused pack members grew more riled. "She did not want us segregated from one another! She did not believe that one lycan was better than the other! She believed in family! Equity and equality!

"I foolishly believed that I could change the minds of your alphas! If they were shown compassion and mercy, I thought I could guide them to lead a better, happier, healthier pack! But, time and time and time again, they have proven me wrong! They have failed to adapt! They have failed you!

"They called me weak for not destroying my competition! They called me weak for correcting our people's mistakes instead of punishing them needlessly! They called me weak for not oppressing our females, the very individuals who are the future of our kind! They called me weak for choosing a mate out of love, rather than one simply on her ability to produce a child! My mate, who is strong and loyal. Who is kind and loves with her whole being despite the cruelty of this world. I have chosen to foster than love, treat her with the respect she deserves, and for that, they call me weak."

Danika felt her body go light as he very briefly met her eyes. The intensity behind his look was enough to set her on fire. Desperate concern, uncontrollable rage, and love so deep she could drown in it. She jerked against her bindings again, but they held firm this time.

"These alphas, who have done nothing to earn your loyalty, demand it!" he continued. "They, who have blamed you for your misfortunes, have kept you chained! They have reached their height by stepping on the necks of those they are supposed to protect and call me weak!

"I will not deny your right to food and shelter and comfort! I will not strike you down for simply wishing to better yourselves! Whether you seek comfort in the arms of a lycan, shifter, or vampire who is male, female, or otherwise, I will not deny you! Let me walk with you! Let me fight with you! Give me the opportunity to earn your trust! Your faith! Your loyalty!"

"Kill him!" La Chapelle screamed, writhing under Aaron's foot. "Attack him, you fools! I'll kill you all where you stand!"

Not a single soul moved to help.

"I will ask nothing! Nothing," Aaron turned his wolfish head to look back down at La Chapelle. "Except for the heads of your alphas!"

To this day, none of the wolves really knows for sure who attacked the alphas and betas first. Stories would travel far and wide, each one wilder than the last, and each one changing with every retelling. In drunken boasts, nearly every wolf present would claim that they were the one to draw the blade and make the first kill. Females, both fertile omegas and infertile gammas, would declare that they were the first to claim their freedoms. The rumors and stories and claims were wild and nearly identical to at least three other stories or rumors.

The only one who knew the truth was Raphaël Laurent. Unlike Aarón, he was not confident that the beaten-down wolves would be willing to fight their oppressors, even if they were riled and encouraged by the speech and demonstration of power. When the time came, Raphaël sent Anton and his most trusted followers to blend into the crowd to encourage the rebellious cheers and curse the alphas. Then, he did what he did best.

Raphaël found a spot on a rooftop, set his sights, and waited for the perfect moment. The moment Aarón called for the heads of the pack leaders, he squeezed the trigger and shot Phillipe Courture between the eyes. The werewolf's head exploded in a shower of blood, skull, and brain matter. After that, there was so much chaos that the vampire leisurely packed up his rifle and slipped into the crowd completely unnoticed.

Aarón, himself, was responsible for La Chapelle's death. He lowered his head to get close to the so-called alpha and snarled so quiet that no others could hear. "I am a descendant of the great Eve. We are nothing alike. She would be disgusted to see what her people have been reduced to."

With that, he drove his foot into La Chapelle's chest, killing him instantly and staining the concrete red with blood. He roared, the closest thing to a howl that would ever come from a werewolf. The spearhead lycans raised their voices to sing with their king until it could be heard from across Paris.

Then, he finally turned his eyes on Harper. The cowardly rat that threatened his mate not once but twice. The one who used Kate's addiction against her and manipulated her into losing herself. The one who messed with forces he truly did not understand.

For all his flaws, Harper was not stupid. He knew he only had one shot at getting out of this alive. Forgoing the silver knife that was supposed to be for inflicting pain rather than killing, he drew the gun from his waistband. He kicked open the latch holding her chains to the pole, dragged Danika to her feet, and aimed the weapon at her head.

His hands were surprisingly steady as Aarón turned his entire, massive body towards the remaining beta. "I will walk away," he spat, flicking the safety off. "I will not challenge you or your claim. I will be a rogue for the rest of my life. No pack, no family, nothing. I will walk out of here alive, or neither of us will."

Danika hissed and snarled, tugging against the bindings with now completely numb arms and wishing she could form the words around the bit to tell Harper to go fuck himself and for Aarón to kill the bastard. Someone snarled behind them, and Harper pressed the gun harder against her temple.

"I will shoot her!" he roared. "Don't think I won't!"

Aarón stared into Harper's eyes for a long time before taking a single step sideways. "Leave," he growled. "And never come near my family again."

Harper shoved Danika forward, keeping a careful distance from any one of the werewolves that were watching him. At the edge, he paused, and fear entered his voice for the first time. "Give me your word," he demanded. "Give me your word you won't come after me."

With a mighty jerk, Danika managed to wrench herself free and rounded on Harper. She didn't think what she could possibly do to him, only that she wanted to see his throat torn open. "No, Danika!" Aaron barked, and she froze. Harper still had the gun aimed between her eyes, and they glared at each other. "Leave, Harper. You have my word. No werewolf will hunt you, and neither will Danika."

There was a glimmer of doubt in Harper's eyes as he continued to glare at Danika. Taking one last precaution, he kicked at the chains tangled around her feet, sending her tumbling to the ground. Another chorus of raged outcries came from the lycanthrope, but Harper himself let out an audible sigh of relief. He took several steps back, never showing his back.

Without any warning, the house of the alpha king exploded in a pillar of smoke, flame, and debris. A harrowing shriek rippled through the neighborhood and flooded the area with paralyzing magic. "What the fuck," Harper yelped, falling to his knees, clapping his hands over his ears as his eardrums ruptured and his body when ridged. "What... what is this... Guerrero... you swore..."

"I have promised you safety from the lycanthrope," Aarón agreed, his lips curling in true disgust. "But I do not speak for the demons."

~