Dex' POV

Two days had past and some pretty peculiar things have happened in my town. To start, I had trapped everyone in. All the highways were blocked. Nobody got in or out. It was a good set of pushing to make these mini avalanches, but the snow froze and everyone was stuck.

Now I did let the men go. No promises or anything. Just told them they had ten seconds to get home and they did. Of course this meant all of Cloudcroft knew my secret. They also thought I was a monster. This was sickening. I recognized the path I was on. The spiral descent into starvation. Again.

I tried to eat, sometimes, but I just vomited it up. It was like I was literally sick. Only I had no temperature, or anything else. Mae, now Mae was still out. I wondered if she would ever wake up again. The other cat didn't. Of course it didn't help I slit his throat afterwards

One time, I did go into town. Lily practically dragged me with her to the store, because nobody else could go, and she didn't want to go alone. The stares hurt. There was that one kid who pulled at my shirt, just like a three year old or something. I jumped on top of the shelves. Yep, I was that spooked.

Of course the kids mom pulled him away and started kissing him like he had just survived a fall off a cliff. She also said some unkind things about myself. Sure I jumped, but I didn't even shift. No claws, or red eyes, or anything. Lily was kind enough to help me down. She didn't mind the stares. I wished I had that type of personality.

On our way out the lady at the register tried to tell me it was free. Mainly because my eyes where glowing red from the mother's harsh words. But we insisted on paying. She didn't take the hint, and I just stormed out of the store and left Lily to pay. No one took any hints. I was pretty much the same guy as I was two days ago.

It went on like this for the next week. Storms got worse, people were afraid of me. Mae was in a coma. All while June was there and her looming threat. Also to add to the pile of annoying things I didn't want to deal with, Xander showed up, and he brought the whole Pride!

Sparrow yelled at me. A lot. He was more like my father than he my beta. Now in some Prides, Alphas chose their friends to run the Pride. Those Prides are weak. Now saying Sparrow and I where friends was very inaccurate. In truth, we hated each other's guts. But he was smart, and a good beta. Plus if everyone always agreed, who'd challenge the stupid ideas?

It seemed like our house has turned into a military base, or something. Scary. In another note, the attacks from June where getting stronger. She was ready for war. Red thought the Final Battle, a werecat term for the largest attack in a war, was going to be on the full moon.

Finally we told Dillan about Willow. It was the stupidest thing you'd ever seen. They kissed, a lot, while Red stood there, with me, a sour face on her lips. She hated watching this as much as me. That was saying a lot by the way.

I was currently reading in my room. Or rather writing. I had scrawled a lot of notes to Mae, if she ever woke up, in these books. Just in case, something bad happened to me in the Final Battle. Most of the notes where short and sweet like, 'You know this is right! ~DM' I didn't sign my full name, because that would take up the entire page.

Then Kyra burst into the room.

"Get your stupid ass out here now!" Kyra said. Coming from anyone else is hurry, but she said it a dozen times a day.

After finishing my final note in my final book, I went to the living room. There a girl lay on the couch. Her brown hair down like it belonged to sleeping beauty, and green eyes looking at me. A smile that never left was on her lips.

Mae had woken up.

* * *

Mae's POV

My memories came back in short bursts. The first thing I wondered why I was on the couch and not in the Luner Claws place. Then I remembered that. Dex walked into the room and seeing me he flipped out. Ironically I remembered his words at that moment too.

I am your Alpha. There is no denying it now. You belong to me

I remember glaring into Dex's red eyes, knowing I was fighting to save those people's lives. I had failed them. Twenty people had died because of Dex. I shuddered at the feeling of his eyes though. Every horrible thought that was whispered in my ears. Every sight I saw.

"A-are they dead?" I asked Dex, not meeting his gaze. That was for two reasons. I didn't want to see the red eyes again, or look at his murdering face.

"No." That one word took me by surprise. This time I looked at my brother more carefully. Although he was normally thin, from the time with the Pride, he looked even worse, now. His skin was pale, lips cracked. He hadn't been eating or drinking enough. Then his eyes. They were something between red and green, but full of fear. I looked at his hands, which his fingers were stained black. He'd been writing something.

"Then..." I trailed off, wanting Dex to help me finish the sentence.

"They went home, and we got free food." Dex said, teasingly. But I knew what that meant. Our secret was out.

"What are we going to do about it?" I asked.

"I got a memory wipe potion. It'll take a few days but I can modify it so that it's going to make you only forget about me and werecats in general. Anyone in the town when it goes off, boom." Dex said, "I also blocked the exits so no worries there." A good solid plan. I liked it.

That's when Xander walked in. He smiled happily, I guess to see me. I remember the first time we met, at a ball many moons ago. We danced, played a game, in which he won, by cheating, and then when the werecats attacked, he saved us.

I hugged him and we talked of many things that night. All of us did. We talked of the coming battles over the coming days. The blizzard outside got worse. The full moon approached.

We all trained hard over the following week, making sure each of us, could fight with a knife, or claws. Preferably both. Kyra set up a target, and practiced with her bow. I couldn't use a bow, but I knew how useful it was to have at least one archer on your team.

I practiced outside with my gun sometimes, then my golden knife, then dueled with the other shifters. I was the busiest person here! All the while I had to make plans like a general in a war.

It happened on the full moon, when we were all asleep except me. The house shook with gun fire. The sound of claws raked the sides. Shadows started to pile turning off the light. My call of warning echoing throughout the house.

"The battle has begun!"

AN:

I think I'm going to die an excited death now! I'm so in to writing this story! So inspired! So ready to write cliff hangers! Like this one. Also I want to say there is only going to three more parts to this book. Chapter 25, Chapter 26 and the Epilogue. As for another book in the series, I'm not sure. mj142020 pointed out that a lot of good book series have a odd number of books in them. I know this is false because she has no taste. But I still aspire to be like the experts, right? So I've taken it into consideration. With that typed, please remember to vote and comment! BYE!!!!!!