"What's in it for you?" Stella asked her sisters as they sat around a newly built fire in the fae woods.

Katie sighed, "Nothing. We have been worried sick about you."

"How the hell do I believe you? You've treated me poorly my whole life!"

Penelope shook her head, "And we deeply regret it. Please accept our apology."

Stella stood up and paced the room. Caleb, Sven, Sarai, and Lonnie were there to mediate.

"Why now?"

Penelope spoke, "When we saw you were gone and Caleb was too we were told you were mates. The oracles talked to us—just us. They knew mother kept a tight leash on us, regardless of what you might think."

"Have you not been mated?"

"No," Katie said, "And we won't be unless Mother mates us to someone. We knew she had Alpha Omar killed and your mother."

"My...mother?"

"Yes," Penelope said, "Not only that, but Caleb's parents were murdered by his adoptive parents."

Caleb stiffened, "How the hell.."

"Mother helped! They all helped!" Katie sobbed, "But so did the witches and dragon folk. They want the lands and the throne. The thing is, even though Mother and your parents did this, they want you dead, too! However, we've learned that the dragons and witches have turned on them."

"I figured," Lonnie shook his head, "War...we'll be at war."

"You can't come back," Katie said, "You just can't, Stella! They'll kill both of you."

"There is nothing in it for us," Penelope said, "We'll be sold off to the next man who comes along with money. Mother said so."

"You want our protection?"

Sarai fluttered close to the sisters, "They speak the truth and they cannot link anyone except for the people in this room."

Katie breathed a sigh of relief, "Can we hide out here?"

Stella sat down next to her, "I am with child, Katie. I must think of my daughter."

Penelope smiled, "Then we will help you protect her."

"Then it's settled," Caleb said, "We're going to give you swift protection always and you will fight with us."

"It's a deal," Penelope said, "Forgive us?"

Stella smiled, "I do, but if you dare turn your backs on us, consider yourselves dead wolves walking."

The sisters settled in to the cabin and gained protection.

The centaurs camped around the area to make it look like it was their cabin. No one would dare try to enter without a welcome.

"Do you truly believe them?"

"I do," Stella said, "I saw the marks."

"The marks?"

"The cuts and bruises on them," Stella said, "The same ones my stepmother gave me when I was being punished. We end this soon, Caleb. I can't raise a child in this mess."

"And we won't," Caleb said, "The battle will begin soon because with the oracles on our side, I am going to raise an army that the wolves have never seen. The witches and dragons will be damned for what they have done!"