November 26th

"We need to go to pack house immediately," Leo said, glancing out of the window, "Things are about to get really messy out there."

"What things?!"

"I will explain everything when you are safe," he said, taking my hand and hauling me from my corner.

He led us out onto the drive where an armoured van infested with soldiers waited. Conall was nowhere to be seen as Leo hoisted me into the van. The air was metallic and hot in there. With no windows, it was dark but I could just make out the faces of a half dozen soldiers, sitting silently and patiently. Leo followed me in and bolted the door shut behind him.

"Sit," he ordered, guiding me onto his lap.

I perched there as he wrapped an arm around me and banged his other fist against the side of the wall. The vehicle's engine promptly spluttered to life and we rolled forward.

With so many men in such a small space, the air soon grew thin and warm. I breathed heavily, thoughts rushing through my mind.

When we arrived in the courtyard of the pack house, the doors were unbolted, and Leo ushered me out first. I was met with the gentle hands of Mateo who lifted me down and pulled me into a hug.

"I am so sorry, Nels," he whispered.

I realised he'd never hugged me before. As his chin rested on my head and he wrapped both arms around my shoulders, panic seized me.

"Mateo, get back to work," Leo ordered, "You don't have time for this."

Mateo slowly pulled back, being shore to squeeze my hands and give me a kind, yet sad and extremely worrying smile.

Leo seized my hand again and dragged me into the pack house. When we were behind the closed doors of his office, he let go of my hand.

"I'll say this simply and plainly, Nelda," he said, standing a metre in front of me with his face untelling and his body rigid and straight.

I blinked twice and nodded.

"Your brother has been detained for conspiracising against me and my pack," he said, "I've known for a while. I just needed confirmation."

My stomach folded as a shockwave of realisation hit me. The organisation of rogues. It was Conall this entire time.

A high-pitched ring pierced my eardrum as my eyes blurred with panic.

"The clues were in plain sight. You didn't notice them because he's your brother and you think highly of him. But he has been our enemy all along."

I stumbled to the wall as my breathing grew shallow. Placing my palms against it, I hung my head beneath my shoulders and stared wide eyed at the knots in the wooden floorboards.

"You're going to execute him, aren't you?" I said, "Have you already done it? Is my he still alive?"

There was a couple of seconds of silence.

"It will be done at dawn."

I let out a wretched scream as I dropped to my knees.

"No," I shrieked, "You can't do this to me."

"He was behind the deaths of numerous of my pack members, including an innocent woman. He was plotting to assassinate me and abduct you. He was the one who poisoned me with wolfsbane the night I nearly killed you. For his crimes, he will die."

I dug my nails into my scalp as I rocked back and forth.

"In a couple of hours, the pack will be at war. The rogue organisation already know we have their leader and they will send us everything they've got. But we've got more. We will defeat them, and peace will return to Astra."

I couldn't speak. When I opened my mouth, another horrific scream escaped. It burnt my throat and pierced my ears but I couldn't keep it in. My blood vessels already felt like they were going to burst as my pulse echoed through my brain.

"I need to meet with General Raven. My mother and sisters will arrive here soon. They will comfort you."

When the door to the office next open, I was lying in silence on the floor. My tears had crystalised on my cheeks and my throat seared with pain. I couldn't even bring myself to move as three pairs of footsteps came in.

"Nelda," Rosa's soft voice said, "Nelda, we're here now."

I opened my eyes for a split second to see Rosa knelt beside me as Elora and Nola wrapped me in a blanket.

"He's going to kill my brother," I said in a raspy voice.

"I'm so sorry," Rosa said, pressing her forehead against my shoulder, "I wish there was something we could do."

Elora bit her lip and tapped her foot for a second.

"What if there was?"

Rosa slowly turned her gaze from me to her eldest daughter.

"What?" she asked.

"What if there was something we could do to stop this?"

I propped myself onto my elbows as the energy of hope spawned inside me.

"Elora..." Rosa said, shaking her head, "We cannot stop this. Leonidas is the Alpha."

Elora fixed her eyes on me instead, "They're keeping your brother in the basement of the east wing. There's an escape tunnel down there that runs for miles and forks into dozens of openings in remote parts of the territory. If we free him, he stands a good chance of getting away."

"But there'll be dozens of guards down there," Nola said, "You'll never get through them."

Rosa's face had creased with nerves as she shook her head repeatedly.

"It's worth a try, isn't it?" she said, "What do we have to lose?"

Nola swallowed and shut her eyes, "We can't, El."

"Your father will be furious," Rosa said, "Your brother will be furious."

Elora shrugged, "It's time to stop fearing them, Mom. As soon as our fear is gone, they have no power over us."

"I'm in," I said, getting to my feet, "Anything for my brother."

Nola shuffled, her nails digging into her palms.

"I couldn't live with myself if I don't help," she said eventually, her voice shaky.

"Mom?" Elora said, "Are you in?"

Rosa shook her head firmly, "Conall is a danger to this pack. Not only is this going against your brother, but it is risking the innocent civilians out there. I'm not allowing this."

"All he wanted was to save his sister," Elora said, "He never wanted to hurt anyone innocent."

"Save her from Leo? He is her mate," Rosa replied, "He's not perfect but he loves you, Nelda."

Elora let out a frustrated cry, "He's far more than imperfect, Mom. He drove her to stabbing herself!"

Rosa's face fell as she turned to me.

"You mean-"

"It wasn't an accident," I said quietly, "I wanted to kill his baby and truthfully, I wanted to die with it."

Rosa closed her eyes for a second before she got to her feet with us.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath and reaching for Elora's hand, "I'm in."

"Good. Now, huddle in for the plan," she said, ushering us all closer.

We watched out the window as the convoy of trucks left the pack house. Each was filled with a dozen men, including Leo, Xavier, Raven and dozens of others who would try to stop us. When the pack house had returned to relative quiet, we ventured out into the corridors. Elora led with me right behind her with Nola and Rosa in tow.

At first, the few remaining soldiers saw us and didn't bother us. They just bowed their heads and let us through. But as we neared the East wing, things go trickier.

As we hurried down the narrow corridor that led into the East wing, we met a soldier marching fast. He was adorned in the full Astra uniform – black head to toe – and his forehead creased with stress.

"Can I help you, Luna?" he asked, skidding to a stop, "Mrs Thorn, Miss Elora, Miss Nola."

He bowed his head with respect but eyed us all carefully.

"The Luna has had some bad news," Elora said confidently, stepping forward and making clear eye contact with him, "We're heading to the kitchens for a strong coffee and some food to calm her nerves."

Rosa wrapped her arm around me as I buried my head into her shoulder.

He nodded, "Of course, Miss Elora. I will escort you."

Elora eyes twitched a little as she forced a smile.

"There is a war raging. You must be so busy. We'll manage alone."

"The east wing is currently restricted. I can't let you go to the kitchen unaccompanied no matter how many things I have to do."

Elora nodded and smiled sweetly, "We will be grateful for your assistance."

The soldier walked ahead of us as we headed through the east wing to the kitchen. It was down in the basement, meaning Conall couldn't be far away.

The soldier stopped at the door of the kitchen and let us enter first.

"I'll give you some privacy, ladies. Let me know if you need anything," he said, "I'll also have to inform the Alpha you are here."

Elora glanced at me, his shoulders shooting up.

"Given the circumstances, the Luna would prefer if you didn't. She doesn't want to see him."

"I can't disobey his orders, Miss Elora," the soldier said.

Elora clenched her jaw, her eyes drifting from the soldier to the knife stand on the counter. Before my eyes could even widen, she had seized her knife and jabbed it toward the soldier's throat.

"Contact the Alpha and I will cut you," she said, holding the knife right at his jugular.

The soldier didn't even flinch. His lips twitching into a smile, he lowered his eyes to the knife. Elora was tall for a woman, but he was taller and twice as wide. Within seconds, despite her training he had smacked the knife from her hand and pinned her against the wall. She let out a groan and while the soldier fought to get her hands behind her back, he didn't notice Nola gingerly take the knife off the floor. Screaming, she launched herself toward the soldier, gripping the blade for dear life. The soldier was as shocked as the rest of us, including Nola, as he caught her skinny wrist mid-air.

"I don't know why I did that-" she begun, before Elora flew through the air at the soldier.

"Mom, lock the door!" she shouted, as she wrestled the soldier on the ground, "Who cares, Nol. Just keep doing it!"

When he was on top of Elora, Nola leapt on his back and started pulling at his hair and shirt all while screaming.

"Nola, can you help without screaming please?!" Elora said as the soldier had to take his hands off her to throw Nola from his back.

Before he had untangled Nola's fingers from his hair, I was on top of him too. I seized his radio from his pocket and threw it at Rosa who had just finished bolting the door shut.

"You don't want to hurt the Luna," Elora spat as he grabbed my arm and twisted me onto the floor, "The alpha will execute you with her brother."

As he cast his eyes down to me, his distraction gave Elora and Nola the chance to give him everything they've got. Elora kicked him in the chest, sending him backwards before they both pinned him down. I scrambled over to help while Rosa slid the knife back to us.

With the four of us working together, we had him secure.

"Get off me," he growled.

"Pinky promise you won't radio Leonidas and we might consider it," Nola said as she sat on his legs, holding them still.

"We're not going to consider it, Nola," Elora said, grabbing the knife and bringing it back to his throat, "Instead, you're going to tell us exactly where Conall Rivers is being held and how to get in."

The soldier laughed, "What is this? An uprising?"

Rosa swallowed as she knelt and began rifling through his pockets.

"You two don't surprise me," he said, looking at me and Elora, "It's a well-known fact that you don't have a brain cell between you... but you?"

Rosa paused to meet his eyes.

"You're smart enough to know what Xavier will do to you if you go through with this. You were always his perfect little Luna. Too afraid to even speak out of place. Don't let your successor and your wayward daughter lead you astray."

The colour drained from Rosa's face.

"Whatever he does, I will survive," she said eventually, "Conall Rivers will not if I don't help."

She continued to go through his pockets until she pulled out a pair of steel handcuffs and a bundle of keys. We secured him to a pillar in the middle of the kitchen before taking deep breaths and retreating.

"Now, tell us how to help Conall," Nola said, copying the way Elora stood with her feet apart and her arms folded.

He laughed again, "Or what?"

Nola looked up to Elora.

"Or we will cut off your balls," Elora threatened.

"I'm trained to withstand far greater torture than castration, sweetheart. You could do things to me that you're too innocent to even imagine and I still won't tell you shit."

While Elora continued to threaten and argue with him, my eyes drifted to the ceiling where a vent was. It was large and the cover appeared slightly askew - as if it could be loose. I dragged a chair across the kitchen and climbed up. With just a gentle push, the cover moved, revealing a ventilation tunnel.

Being in the basement meant no windows and such ventilation systems would be necessary in every room. If I'd learnt anything from the movies, I was willing to bet they were all linked up. This theory was only reassured when the smug smile of the soldier was replaced with panic at the sight of me scrambling up.

"You're a genius, Nelda," Elora said in delight.

Glancing down the narrow claustrophobic and dark metal tunnel, I didn't feel that way.

"Okay, new plan," Elora said, "Nelda and I will crawl through these tunnels until we find Conall. You two stay here with him until I text you. Then start a fire on the hob and make sure all the alarms go off. When the soldiers are evacuating, make sure you keep him quiet. We'll need ten minutes to free Conall before you let him blabber to Leo."

Rosa stared vacantly back at Elora.

"Mom, can you do that? I need you to focus. We'll face Dad later together."

She nodded, "Okay."

Elora put the knife in her mother's hands and wrapped her fingers around it. She took the soldier's bundle of keys and stuff them into her pocket.

"You can do this," she whispered, kissing her cheek, "I'm so proud of you already."

Rosa placed a gentle hand on her cheek, "Go save Conall."

Elora jumped onto the chair and effortlessly leapt up into the vent with far more elegance than I had.

We crawled through the tunnel for half an hour, peering through every vent. There was room after room, storage cupboards, locker rooms, gyms, bathrooms, a cafeteria. We crawled for an hour, the cold air flow bringing out skin up in goose bumps and drying our lungs. Just as we were nearing the end of the tunnel and giving up hope, we peered down the final vent into a dark room. With concrete walls, hard floors and a row of metal bars, it was immediately identifiable as a cell.

"There he is," I whispered, pointing down at the shape of a man, hunched over in the corner of the cell.

His head lolled and his limbs hung limply. I put a shaking hand over my mouth as I fought back a sob.

On the other side of the bars were four soldiers, heavily armed and huge.

Elora took out her phone and typed a text to Rosa. A few short minutes later, the building vibrated with the piercing sound of the smoke alarm.

The soldiers finally dropped their position and turned to each other.

"We need to evacuate," one said, "Procedure is to leave dangerous prisoners securely in the cells."

"He's not any old prisoner," another replied, "We should take him."

"He's set to be executed at dawn. Who cares if he dies in a fire first?"

They all shrugged and nodded before quickly filing out. As soon as they had slammed the door behind them, Elora lifted the vent cover and dropped down into the cell as she pulled out the bundle of keys. After trying a few, she found the one that fit the padlock on the cell and swung open the bars.

By then, I had struggled down from the high ceiling and rushed into the cell. I dropped in front of Conall and gently shook him.

"Conall, it's me," I said over the blaring alarm.

He was bruised and bleeding all over. With two black eyes, a swollen lip and cut nose, he was barely recognisable. But despite his weakness, he murmured and smiled at my voice.

"Where's the tunnel?" I asked Elora as she unlocked his handcuffs.

"Not far," she said, helping me lift him off the ground.

He was struggling to stand and leant most of his weight on us as we led him to the door where we waited a few minutes to be sure the coast was clear. The air was slowly filling with smoke and oxygen fast becoming a precious commodity. Desperately trying not to cough, I covered my mouth with my sleeve as I pulled Conall's shirt over his mouth.

By the time we left the room, the hallway was thick with smoke. As we slipped further into the East Wing, it hid us in the haze.

Eventually, we reached another door. Elora fumbled with the keys until she could finally swing it open, revealing a gloomy set of stairs. The door was reinforced and thick meaning behind it the air was fresh and smoke free. Elora locked it behind us before helping me assist Conall down the steps.

After a few minutes, we were in a tunnel carved from the earth. It was cold down there but the sweat on my skin was thick as adrenaline pulsed through me.

"How far until this tunnel forks?" I asked, nervously glancing behind us.

The alarm was now a distant murmur but not distant enough. Rosa and Nola would have had to evacuate by now too and it was only so long before that soldier found a way to alert Leo and the rest of his men.

"We have to hurry, Conall. Please," I begged as he started to sway with his weakness, "This is our only chance."

He took a deep breath and drove his legs forward. We were still moving far slower than any soldier would be but it was something.

When we reached the fork, we chose a tunnel at random and continued our way through. By the time the tunnel veered towards the surface, Conall was gathering some strength.

"We're about to enter a warzone," Elora said, as slit of moonlight hit the tunnel ahead and a sweet breeze of fresh air wafter over us, "We need to find cover as soon as we can."

Conall shook his head, "We need to find my soldiers. None of them will hurt you, Nelda. I will ask them not to touch your friend as well."

I glanced at Elora. She nervously nodded.

"Okay."

"Conall this is Elora. Elora this is Conall," I said.

"Nice to meet you, Conall. Sorry about the circumstances," Elora said as we scrambled over some rocks, nearing the caved exit of the tunnel.

"The Alpha's sister, huh? Can I trust you?" Conall said, looking her up and down through his bruised and swollen eyes.

"I'm his sister only by blood," she said, "I've come to hate him as much as you do."

Conall shrugged, "I suppose given the circumstances that will do."

When finally reached the surface, the sounds of distant battles filled the air. We staggered away from the end of the tunnel until we found some cover in a thick hedgerow. After giving Conall my phone, he dialled a number.

"Sparrow to Nightingale, do you copy?" he said.

"Boss?" an elated voice cried, "Yes, we copy."

"I am with dove. We need back up asap."

Without hesitation, the voice replied, "Send us your location. We're on our way."

Only twenty minutes later, a stampede of footsteps arrived. We stayed silent until Conall caught sight of their faces and smiled.

"They're mine," he said, staggering out of the hedgerow.

I peered through the vegetation to where five men stood. They were all around Conall's age with stubbly beards and long shaggy hair. Their clothes were plain and dirty but they all wore bright gleaming smiles as they greeted Conall. After the hugs and handshakes were over, all eyes turned to me.

"That's her?" one asked.

Conall smiled proudly.

"Indeed, it is. The woman all of this has been for," Conall said, holding his hand out to me.

I came out of the bushes and took Conall's hand.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Nelda," one said, shaking my hand.

His eyes were warm honey brown and his cheeks sported deep smile lines as he beamed at me.

"Who is the other girl?" another one asked.

"Elora Thorn," Conall said, his voice dropping, "She helped me escape."

The men hesitated while they examined Elora. She had the same blue eyes as Leo and the same sharp cheek bones and strong jaw. She even shared his confident demeanour and deep stare.

"Can we trust her?" one asked.

"Yes," I said, "She's a friend."

They still seemed reluctant.

"It's okay," Elora said, "I have to go back to the pack house and be there for Mom and Nola when my father catches word of this. Hell will be unleashed."

"No," Conall said, "You know our location."

"And I will lie," Elora said, "It will help you for me to go back and lead them astray."

I nodded and hugged Elora.

"If everything goes to plan, I'll never see you again," I said, a tear in my eye, "Thank you for everything."

"I will miss you, Nelda Rivers. But I hope I never see you again. I hope you live out your life in peace as far from this hell hole as possible."

I smiled as I squeezed her once more before letting her go. She sprinted away, leaving me with my brother and his friends.

"No time to waste," one of them said, "We need to get to the tunnel."

"Tunnel? So that's how you've been getting past the border?"

Conall grinned, "And your mate is none the wiser."

Avoiding the horrific screams and cries of the many battles throughout the territory, we weaved through the woods.

"What's it looking like out there?" Conall asked through deep heaving breaths.

"We're losing a lot of soldiers," one of his friends said, "But we have your sister. That's all that matters."

"He'll be weak without her," another added.

I shook my head, "He hates me."

"You're his mate, Nel," Conall replied, "Without his mate, a man is nothing. Even Alpha Thorn. He'll also be the last of his demonic kind without you."

One of his friends put a hand on my shoulder and grinned.

"When we're out of here, we can all live happily ever after, Nelda. Alpha Thorn will fall and you will bring peace. Our little dove."

I gave a nervous smile. That wasn't a lot of pressure at all...

We ran for a few miles more, before we reached the shore of an ice-covered lake.

"The tunnel is under that pile of boulders," one of the men said, "All we have to do is move them and we're away."

But Conall skidded to a halt, holding up his hand as his ears pricked.

"Something's wrong," he said.

We stood in utter silence, all eyes scanning the forest.

Conall slowly stretched his arm in front of me and pulled me behind him. His five friends withdrew their knives and surrounded me.

"Something is deeply wrong."

The deep voice emanated from within the gloom of the forest. I shut my eyes and prayed to the Goddess as gravity suddenly felt ten times stronger. I wanted nothing more than to sink to my knees in utter despair.

"That something is my Luna's incessant desire to escape me and your seemingly desperate desire to die."

Oh shit.