A few hours later, and after making up (and I mean we made up in every way) with Cain, we pile into the cars. I recommend to Cain that we take more wolves than usual, and so we brought Axel, Lucas, Gwen, Zach, and ten other warriors along with us.

Cain and I drove with Lucas and Noah, one of the elite warriors. Cain briefed me on the meeting he held without me last night, and I somewhat paid attention. Honestly, it sounded pretty boring to me, because they unanimously agreed to not use excessive force unless necessary. I had a feeling their version of necessary was much different from mine.

I hoped for Sebastian's sake, he would be smart enough not to provoke Cain or mention challenging me. I had no doubt that Cain would turn Seb's flesh into ribbons of skin for threatening me.

By the time we arrived in Red Crescent, I felt extremely on-edge. On some level, my wolf recognized that this is my territory, and it made my thoughts more animal than human.

Your eyes are glowing, Cain mindlinks me as we get out of the car.

I pull my mask and hood of my cloak up, trying to suppress my wolf, something that I used to do effortlessly, and now seemed impossible. I can't help it. My wolf is going insane, I tell him, and for some reason, I have the urge to sink my teeth into his neck, claim him so the Red Crescent wolves know he's mine.

Cain groans. Stop, pup, he says as we walk up to the door of the Pack House, Axel to our right, Lucas to our left, and the rest of the wolves behind. I can feel you through the bond. You need to control it.

I roll my eyes. He was the last person to tell me to control my wolf. My mate's wolf was always in control of him. No, more than that- he is his wolf, there is no dichotomy between the two.

Cain knocks on the door, and I set my shoulders back and inhale, though trying to control my wolf is futile.

Sebastian answers the door almost immediately. "Welcome," He says slightly sarcastically, and I'm not sure if Cain noticed the slight chill in his tone. "Come in, they're waiting in the conference room."

Cain nods once and steps in, his shoulders so broad he barely fits through the door. He grabs my hand, and I know he's fighting the urge to carry me. We walk through the Pack House, and I almost laugh when I see the conference room. The same room I tried to kill Cain for the first time. Ah, good times.

"Not all of your wolves will fit," Sebastian says coldly. "Since you decided to bring a small army."

Cain growls at him, but Sebastian doesn't react as he steps through the door, leaving us outside. Axel, Lucas, Gwendolyn- You come in. The rest of you, stand guard. Five outside of the Pack House watching the perimeter, the rest of you sweep through the house, Cain commands.

Gwen grins evilly, no doubt excited to be included in such important pack matters, and I was impressed by Cain for including her. Given how sexist he was when we met, having a she-wolf involved in such a vital matter was good progress for Blood Lake, and I felt proud of Cain's growth.

The warriors disperse, and I was pretty sure that Sebastian would be outraged if he knew they were going to go through the house looking for possible threats, but Cain took no chances, even though I assured him Sebastian wouldn't be dumb enough to attack us.

Cain and I go into the conference room, followed by Axel, Lucas, and Gwen. Sebastian is sitting at one end of the table, Beta Samuel to his right, Gamma Omar to his left, and Mason, the Delta/ my former fuck buddy sat next to Samuel. He had his trademark smirk plastered on his face as he looked at me, his eyes intensely focused on mine.

I could feel Cain's rage through the bond, and the hand he had clasped in mine was burning. Change your mind about the no-violence rule? I tease him, and his anger subsides slightly.

I sit at the opposite end of the table from Sebastian, and his eyes narrow at me. It's a statement on my part, an intentional one that says: Cain isn't in charge, I am, because I'm your Alpha.

Cain and the others sit around the table on our side, their faces devoid of any emotions, as per usual for Blood Lake. Even Gwen doesn't have a smile on her face for once, and in her completely black outfit, her red hair slicked back in a ponytail, and with her face stoic- she looks dangerous. The Red Crescent wolves look at her with interest, as they have never seen her before at one of the meetings. They were also probably surprised that there was a Blood Lake female involved in pack discussions, given the reputation Blood Lake has.

"Have you informed your Leaders of the situation?" Cain asks Sebastian once we're all sitting down.

Seb scoffs. "You mean did I tell them that Ares is their Alpha? Yes, I did."

"We are not going to do the transference yet," Cain says simply, addressing the matter directly, as is his typical style.

Sebastian's fist bangs down on the table. "We need to do it now. There is no more time."

"Have there been any more acts of rebellion lately?" Axel asks him, leaning forward slightly.

Sebastian nods. "Two days ago, we caught wind of a group of Crescent wolves meeting in secrecy to plot a coup. We have the wolves in our jail."

"So kill them." I plainly state, bored. Simple problems require simple solutions.

Omar and Samuel blanche at this, but Mason's eyes just narrow as his fists clench, which makes me grin.

"I am not going to kill them," Sebastian hisses, shaking slightly. "We have lost too many wolves over this already. They're good men. They don't deserve to die."

"I agree," Lucas quietly says, surprising me. "Their wolves are acting out because of the lack of leadership. Once the permanent Alpha is in place, I don't doubt that they wouldn't attempt something like that."

"So what? Just keep them imprisoned until the transference?" I scoff. "Waste of prison space, if you ask me."

"I agree with Lucas," Cain says after a moment. "Killing them will only weaken the pack once the transference does take place."

Sorry, pup, Cain mindlinks me apologetically, but I shrug it off. It's not like I expect him to agree with everything I say.

Gwen interjects, "Just kill them and be done with it. Use them to make an example. Nobody will fuck with you if you put their heads on a stick." She sounds almost as bored as I am.

Seb snarles. "Who even are you? What are you doing here?"

Gwen's lip curls into a cruel smile as she takes a knife out of her sleeve and places it on the table in front of her. "Talk to me like that again and you'll see."

The Red Crescent wolves' eyes widen slightly at that, and I can sense from the bond that Cain is proud of Gwen.

"Jesus Christ, there's two of them," Mason mutters, rolling his eyes at Gwen and I.

Sebastian grinds his teeth. "No more of my wolves are dying. That's final. You're not here to talk about slaughtering innocent people. You're here to do the transference."

Cain raises his eyebrows. "I already told you: It's not happening right now."

"Then when?" Sebastian bellows loudly. "Ares is perfectly fine. There's no reason to wait. You're stalling. Why?"

Cain's voice is deadly calm as he speaks. "Blood Lake is being targeted by an outside threat. Until that threat is taken care of, Ares will not go through the transference. It will take weeks for her to recover, and I can't have her weak while my pack is under attack."

Sebastian's head cocks to the side. "What kind of threat?"

"You should know," Cain says smoothly. "You're the one who sent ten of your wolves to my territory."

Sebastian's face contorts in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Omar gasps in realization. "The ten wolves that went missing last week. They came to your territory? Why?"

I shrug. "You tell us."

"We didn't send anyone to your pack, Ares," Seb insists. "I swear, I had no idea where they went. We thought rogues had taken them."

"Are they dead?" Samuel asks quietly.

I nod.

"You killed them?" He asks, and I already know where this is going.

"They crossed our borders. They knew it was a death sentence," I say calmly without remorse.

All hell breaks loose.

Samuel flips the table over and lunges for me, and I summon Thane's dagger, all of us jumping to our feet. Cain summons a ball of fire, and holds it out in front of him as he places himself in front of me, ready to attack Samuel. Electricity crackles around Sebastian's hands, Omar sinks into a fighting stance, and Mason holds two daggers out in front of him.

Gwen has two daggers of her own, and her eyes are focused on Mason. Lucas and Axel are still, waiting for orders to attack, their gazes unwavering on the Red Crescent wolves.

"You don't want to do this, Sebastian," I warn. "Call off your dogs before I kill all of you."

The electricity crackles louder. "You shouldn't have killed the wolves without talking to me, Ares," Sebastian says, his eyes blazing.

I shrug. "They were asking for it," I say honestly. I wasn't even being a dick that time. They literally were asking for it.

Samuel roars and suddenly, I can't breathe. I start choking, clutching at my throat as all of the air leaves my lungs.

"Ares!" Cain reaches for me, extinguishing the fire and holding me in his arms as I collapse. "What have you done?" He yells at Samuel, who smiles.

He's an Elemental. Air, I mindlink to my wolves as black circles obscure my vision.

Cain passes me to Axel, who cradles me in his arms as Cain starts throwing balls of fire at Samuel.

Samuel uses his Gift to extinguish the flames before they reach him, and Cain charges at him. Sebastian throws electricity at him, and he crumples to the floor as his body convulses.

I still can't breathe, can't get to Cain. Lucas was fighting with Omar, and knocks him out with one punch, which if I wasn't on the verge of dying, I would have been impressed by. Gwen and Mason are fighting, slashing knives at each other so fast their movements are blurry, though that could just be the lack of oxygen in my brain.

"Ares, Ares, stay with me," Axel pleads, but I feel far away, and can't see anything besides darkness anymore.

I vaguely realize that I'm about to die.

And then I do.

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