Madilynn’s golden eyes shimmered with obsession. I could see just how eager she was to get what she came for but I wasn’t about to stand here and plead with her to change her mind. That just wasn’t an option.

My fists curled, knuckles cracking, while I raised my chin and spoke loud enough for the she-wolf to hear, “This isn’t going to end well for you, Madilynn!”

The blonde woman chuckled, smirking as she raised a brow and tilted her head. Her gaze looked me up and down then settled on my face. Her eyes narrowed.

“Oh, but it is, Quail Wolf… It is. I have an army of hundreds, while you have…” Her gaze scanned those behind me. She looked unimpressed, raising her brows and lazily gestured to the pack. “Well, them.”

I looked over my shoulder.

With those pack members who stayed behind to join the fight against Madilynn, they were a mixture of young and old. Though they were standing with their alpha, I could see the fear in their eyes.

Oh, God, did they all look so terrified… Guilt stung my chest, wondering if I was going to be able to lessen the upcoming casualties I’m dreading.

Turning back to the she-wolf, I vouched for the Carmel pack that they were stronger than Madilynn gave credit for. She underestimated the small numbers behind me against her hundreds.

“We may have a smaller number to fight back with but that’s just the point. We will fight back.” I stepped forward, growling, “So stand down. Now.”

Madilynn’s smirk turned into a sneer. Her golden eyes swept back to her natural gray.

Aside from the problem at hand, it still freaked me the hell out how identical Iota looked to her older sister. If it weren’t for the vast differences of Iota being kindhearted and Madilynn being the total opposite, I’d say they were the same person.

The she-wolf stuck her chin up, brows raised as she sighed, “You know I can’t do that, Quail Wolf. Not when I have business to take care of.”

Growling, I snapped back that she had no business here! That Carmel didn’t belong to her! It would never belong to her!

Pursing her lips, eyes squinted, Madilynn did a once over of me again. She hummed as she did this slow pacing from side to side in front of the army she brought with her.

With her shoulders back and hands on her hips, Madilynn chuckled, “Yes… Let’s talk about this town of yours, shall we?”

Her eyes glanced my way while grinning, “Such a lovely little town by the sea. Quite an attraction for visitors. Especially for the humans.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I tensed. I really didn’t like the way she said that.

Madilynn pursed her lips, looking upward and squinted at the air. She lightly tapped her chin. “I wonder, Quail Wolf, how you thought a warning would save them…”

When Madilynn looked at me, a deadpanned look on her face, she dropped her arms to her sides, scoffing that if I really thought I’d be able to save the humans in time prior to her army’s arrival. The she-wolf laughed, throwing her head back.

I frowned, jaw clenched and glanced at Iota who was narrowing her eyes.

Madilynn sobered, her laughter now a chuckle.

“You’re so naive to think I wouldn’t cover my basis on my way to find you.” Extending her arms to the side, leaning forward with her arrogant grin. “I’m unstoppable! And you are stupid if you think you had any chance whatsoever to save your little town.”

There was a sudden echo of shrill screams, tearing flesh, and snarls and howls reaching my ears. My head snapped in the direction of the town. The others behind me now alarmed, panic vibrating through the crowd.

Madilynn cried happily with her arms thrown up in the air. “Still such a beautiful symphony to play well into the night!” She straightened with a sigh, slowly lowering her arms to her sides then grinned, shrugging, “It’s for the best, though, I assure you.”

My heart was pounding wildly in my ears. The humans! They were being slaughtered along with those of the pack trying to protect them! And I was just standing here!

The crazy she-wolf’s eyes turned away from me and did a double-take. She made a show of tilting her head to peer behind me. Her face lit up, teasing, “Well, well, well! If it isn’t the Alpha Heir?”

I tensed, looking over my shoulder where the alpha family were. Ridge stood at the front, his parents on either side of their son despite their situation.

Facing Madilynn again, I curled my fists and rolled my shoulders back.

“Oh, no wait…” Madilynn’s brows shot up, looking upward and placed a finger gently to her chin. She had an out loud ‘Ah-ha!’ and snapped her fingers and pointed in the alpha’s direction. “That’s right! The alpha heir is no long the heir… But the alpha!”

Madilynn scrunched her nose, wiggling her fingers in a mock ‘hello’ at Ridge. He was scowling back at her.

“Weeeeeell!” The she-wolf laughed, placing her hands on her hips and craned her neck forward. “This is an interesting new development! One that I predicted for you, Quail Wolf, but you poor sweet girl! You really thought it would make a difference to defend him.”

Her nose scrunched at that last word while giving Ridge a sneer. Madilynn feigned a frown, shaking her head and clicked her tongue against her teeth a few times while she shook a finger at me.

“I told you it was pointless to defend the man who was supposed to love you for all eternity.”

Narrowing my eyes, I glanced at Ridge whose green eyes shifted to mine. His brows furrowed, staring at me before I turned away. I clenched my jaw, breathing in and out slowly. I knew what Madilynn was doing. She was trying to rile me up and was using my biggest weakness.

“And lookie here!” Madilynn cried, extending out a hand towards the alpha family again. “Here is your alpha mate, Quail Wolf! Here he stands with another in your place! And what a shameful replacement he chose. Just look at her!”

Madilynn sneered, giving a distasteful look over of Molly standing by the guards. It was maybe presumed she was of importance because of said guards. And from where I was standing, Molly was quivering. Her blue eyes wide and tearful, her bottom lip stuck out and… well, she just looked ready to fall apart.

I’d never seen Molly Sinclair lack so much confidence in my life. I didn’t know what was going through her mind but I knew she’d give anything to run and hide.

Facing off with a hundred wolves ready to attack was the last place Molly wanted to be.

“Tell me, Young Alpha,” Madilynn called over, her wicked smile showing her partially elongated teeth. “Are you happy with your decision in taking another in place of your real true mate?”

She scrunched her nose, craning her neck forward.

“Especially when you’ve lost every memory you rekindled with her?”

Ridge’s eyes widened and I frowned at Madilynn, jaw clenched tightly because I’m sure I know why she was so “up to date” on what went on in the packs.

Mr. Beaumont growled at me that this was all my fault! That had I not returned then none of this would have ever happened! He blamed me for Madilynn’s invasion into Carmel in the first place, and that Mr. Beaumont should have killed me when he had the chance that day of my banishment.

Ridge snarled to get his father to drop his gaze but he peered my way, trying to be discreet in his glare.

Madilynn, however, took care of Mr. Beaumont’s high horse real quick. She had no problem stirring the pot.

“Oh, well now…” Madilynn feigned a pout, tilting her head. “Com now, Beaumont…”

The she-wolf started up her pacing again, keeping her sights on the former alpha. She raised a brow, smirking, “The Quail Wolf was nothing but a pawn in this whole ordeal.”

Madilynn grinned, claiming that Mr. Beaumont was as stupid as she thought all alphas were. Her eyes narrowed as she spat, “You side with the wrong allies, old man! You cast out the ones truly worthy—” while gesturing to me. “And then side with others who want nothing more than to take you out of your misery.”

Mr. Beaumont’s frown deepened, narrowing his eyes. He chose not to say anything as Madilynn made a show of jumping to the side and swept her arm from in front of her to the side to introduce a wolf emerging from the army behind her. It’s golden gaze locked on Mr. Beaumont as it shifted; bones cracking and twisting until he was in human form.

Those in Carmel were stunned; gasping and murmuring and Mr. Beaumont stood there, wide-eyed at Alpha Hannibal, sneering.

Madilynn batted her eyes, and rested her hands against the side of her face as she mocked, “Ohhhh, noooo! Look at him, Hannibal! He’s so confused! If we’re lucky, he’ll have a stroke!”

She laughed, lowering her hands and raised a brow with a smirk.

“Well, I bet you feel quite stupid now, don’t you?”

Mr. Beaumont blinked a few times, scowling as he growled at the traitor alpha across the way.

“How could you do this, Hannibal?! How could you betray us like this?! After everything—”

“That’s exactly why, Darren!” Alpha Hannibal snarled, clenching his hands at his sides. “Everything you’ve done that kept your stupid little town from my reach is why I decided to finally take what I wanted!”

His eyes shifted to me, growling before relaying to everyone how Alpha Hannibal had the perfect plan from the very beginning. From the very first time when the spotting of a Quail Wolf in Carmel was brought to his attention.

He spoke of the day his former pack member was looking over every female in the Carmel pack, that there was a particular scent that Sawyer had picked up on. There was a set back with the mix up that Sawyer believed it was actually his mate’s scent that he picked up and not that of the Quail Wolf.

“However,” he sneered, pausing to grind his teeth. His glare on Mr. Beaumont darkened. “You pointed out to me the night of the Mate Celebration that the only female sibling to Sawyer’s mate was the Gomez girl. You slipped up by telling me this. That was how I was convinced that the scent Sawyer picked up in the forest was that of the Quail Wolf but she was standing right beside her sister that day. So of course he was overpowered with the Recognition process and forgot that it’s not the scent that makes one a Quail Wolf… but the eyes.”

Alpha Hannibal scoffed at the stunned look from Mr. Beaumont.

“The day of your son’s wedding, Darren, was when I got my confirmation to who the Quail Wolf was. I had closed in on taking the Gomez girl as a peace treaty offering only because I felt it in my bones that she was the one spotted in the forest that day! And so I informed Madilynn of my suspicions and requested her help to confirm my assumption by dragging your son into the matter.”

Alpha Hannibal looked at me, sneering that it was his idea to use Ridge to draw me out. His suspicions started after he approached me the night of my sister’s celebration. He explained that he noticed the way Ridge was reacting to the closeness I had with Nikko, and then the alpha had spotted Ridge and me behind that wall, discussing the mending of the Mate bond.

I couldn’t help but look over at Ridge. His face was scrunched, brows furrowed and his green eyes staring at the ground. He seemed to trying so hard to recall what the other alpha was saying.

“And sure enough!” Alpha Hannibal seethed, drawing me back to him. “Ridge Beaumont was revealed to be the True Mate to the Gomez girl. She chose to give into her protective instincts over her mate…” The alpha sneered in my direction. “Who didn’t want her to begin with.”

The older alpha growled low when Madilynn intervened. He frowned at her patting his arm and waving him off with a nod of, “Yes, yes, yes! And then he lost all those beautiful memories made with the Quail Wolf who he fought his father for and she fought you for. The end for you.”

Madilynn smirked, “Now then…”

Looking in our direction, the she-wolf raised her brows. “Your alpha mate is someone you no longer have to worry about, Quail Wolf…”

I swallowed hard, sensing everyone’s gaze on me at that moment. Even Iota and Vicky. I bit my lip, frowning at the she-wolf across the way.

Over my shoulder, Ridge kept switching back and forth between me and Madilynn. I glanced down at his fists curled tightly at his sides.

“Poor, Quail Wolf…”

My attention went back to Madilynn now eyeing me carefully. She smiled in that wicked way of hers, assuring me that the rejection I went through twice now (thanks for that) would be worth it. It would be worth every scrap of pain I went through because now I would have someone who is at my caliber. She boasted that I could have someone who relished the idea of continuing the line of Quail Wolves with me.

Madilynn purposely glanced behind me, raising a brow and grinned at Ridge when his dominating growl reached her.

There was this… slight shiver running down my spine all of a sudden… and it took everything in me to keep my breathing in control. I needed to stay in control and so I inhaled and exhaled slowly. But I couldn’t stop the shivers grazing down my skin. My fingers tingled, the sensation coursing into my veins. I realized what this was. I realized that my wolf was sensing another like me.

Madilynn crossed her arms, leaning forward. She scrunched her nose in a mocking way at Ridge.

“Calm yourself, Alpha Beaumont. You have your mate already, remember…?” she mocked, then Madilynn raised a brow and grin at me. “It’s time for the Quail Wolf to meet hers.”

I caught movement from behind the alpha and Madilynn, and a gold furred wolf stepped forward. The wolf trotting over to stand between the pair.

Madilynn looked down at the wolf, raising her hand to gently caress down the back if its neck.

“He’s been eager to meet you, Quail Wolf,” she directed to me with a grin. “He’s a bit older than you, I do have to say, but his years has given him some time to gain control of his wolf. He’ll be more than happy to teach you how to control your own.”

She waved Alpha Hannibal to step back, while Madilynn did the same to leave the blond furred wolf in the spotlight.

The wolf stood alone, staring at me. It’s gold eyes dissolved, replaced with the electric silver-blue that was identical to mine and Emory’s.

I squinted, staring at this other wolf while rolling my shoulders back a little. My muscles were tensing up.

Iota suddenly whispered in my ear for me to remain in control.

“Remember what we discussed,” she muttered under her breath. “Your wolf will be drawn to one like her. So remember what will be your decision.”

I lowered a brow as the blond wolf began to shift. The snapping and cracking of its bones was actually quite enticing with a certain allure. My gaze followed every movement the wolf made, delightful shivers running down my spine again. The growling purr from my chest made Iota’s hand touch my shoulder, but I shrugged it off without turning away. I couldn’t stop watching the transformation from wolf to man.

The fur seeped back into the pores of the skin to a taut muscular figure taking the last formations. I bit my lip, taking in the long muscular thighs, running my gaze up to the Adonis belt and higher to the man’s chiseled abdomen before I roamed up to the hard chest with perfectly contoured pecs and the pronounced trapezius muscles and broad shoulders.

My gaze flicked up to meet a deep navy blue pair of eyes, hidden under the sweaty fringe of blond locks belonging to this other Quail Wolf who was absolutely breathtaking.

Our stare was long, my trembles uncontrollable. But Madilynn’s sudden cackle made me blink and break gazes with the man staring at me.

“My, my, my… I can feel the sexual tension from all the way over here, Quail Wolf!” She purposely glanced behind me and grinned, “He’s beautiful… isn’t he, Quail Wolf?”

Madilynn paced around the man standing in place. His gaze still on me, his chin lowered and chiseled jaw clenched.

The she-wolf ran a finger down the side of his arm and paused for a moment, tilting her head to smirk at me when I gave her a possessive growl.

Chuckling, Madilynn introduced, “Quail Wolf, meet your new true mate… Nigel.”