April's gentle rains and warmer temperatures had succeeded in banishing winter. The pine trees were no longer surrounded by their bare brothers and sisters. The leaves were green once more. The forest was no longer a world of white, gray, and pine needles. It was alive with color. Thanks to the wildflowers.

It was a shame those very same flowers were now coated in red, wet splotches and were being serenaded by painful howls.

"Tyson, Sandra, stand down." Ash loped forward, surrounded by dozens of wolves Ivy didn't recognize. "We don't wish to hurt you." Save for a handful, the wolves who had joined Ash in exile.

Sandra, a light gray Beta with slight Alpha tendencies, growled. "I would take such proclamations more seriously if we weren't already bleeding. Such a brave Alpha you are, ordering your entire pack of traitors to attack three adult wolves who were looking after pups."

Tyson, a dark gray Omega with white paws, snarled in agreement.

Ivy had never seen the forty something mechanic bare his fangs at anyone before. Watching her former babysitter prepared to attack someone made her blood run cold.

"That is only because you attacked us first." Kendra strode forward the picture of arrogance in her wolf form. "What did you expect us to do?"

It was sheer dumb luck that she and Kenji hadn't been noticed yet. Ivy thanked the moon that she had other forms of magic in her blood besides the shifting kind as she cast a Notice Me Not Charm. It would have to do until they could figure out a plan.

"You were banished." Tyson barreled towards Kendra, fangs snapping in pure, raw fury. "You knew what would happen if you showed your face in our territory again. Coming here was a declaration of war."

Kenji's scent spiked with terror as his anxious gaze found Ivy's. "What should we do? If we shift, they'll hear us and we'll lose the element of surprise, but they're outnumbered."

He was right. If they didn't do something, the odds were not in Sandra's and Tyson's favor. They couldn't win against a pack that size. Not without help.

There was really only one choice. They needed to stall for time while their other pack members arrived. "When the music starts playing, I want you to shift as fast as you can and attack. Aim for Ash, Kendra, and Jared. They're clearly in charge. The others will likely give up without an Alpha to guide them."

"Music? Ivy, what are you talking about?" Kenji frowned, confusion written all over his fury face.

"You're foolish. You're going to die. You're no Alpha." Kendra met Tyson's charge halfway and the two crashed onto the ground together.

Mud, dirt, and water went everywhere as they each vied for dominance.

She didn't have time to explain. Ivy took out her phone and started playing her ring tone at maximum volume. It was hard not to be distracted when Hungry like the Wolf started playing out of nowhere.

"Am I going crazy or is an 80's song playing?" Jared blinked, looking around for the source of the sound.

Ivy didn't waste time replying as she began to shift. Desperation poured through her veins as human skin gave way to russet fur and she got down on all fours. Her hands and feet morphed into powerful paws with cruel claws and her teeth became fearsome fangs in record time. The sound of her bones changing was nothing more than mere background noise as she hurled herself towards Kendra.

"Get away from him!" Ivy slammed into the other she-wolf, knocking her off of Tyson.

Kenji likewise had already transformed into a wolf. He wasted no time in taking advantage of Jared's confusion. The colossal sized Beta smashed. "Oh you're definitely crazy for Mating a bitch like Kendra, but you're not imagining the music."

Shock marred Kendra's face almost as much as those ugly scars Penelope had given her as she tried to regain her footing. "I should have known you'd use magic to cheat. It's what you do. You'll always be a sneaky witch, but I know your Achilles' Heel." Kendra wiggled from Ivy's grasp as she stood up to her full canine height. "You have to concentrate to use magic. So that little charm of yours isn't going to work anymore. I won't give you the chance."

Ivy grimaced. Kendra was many things, but unobservant wasn't one of them. If she was going to win this fight, it would have to be as a wolf.

"Thanks for the help!" Tyson howled, fighting alongside Kenji against Jared.

The Alpha Male was outnumbered, but he tried. Ivy saw claws and fangs flying. Painful yips and sadistic snarls abounded as the three males clashed.

She smelled her grandmother before she saw her. The sour scent of lemons filled the air as a torrent of yellow magic clobbered Kendra straight into the nearest tree. "Do you know what the biggest problem with hooligans like you is? You spend too much time talking about what you wanna do and not enough time actually doing it." Willow rolled her eyes as she got on her hands and knees, already shifting.

She wasn't alone for long. A massive black wolf with a gray face soon joined the fray with Penelope following not far behind.

Hoshi growled, his ears perked on high alert and nose sniffing the forest with determination. "We got your message and came as soon as we could. Jeff got the pups to safety."

Kendra grunted as she peeled herself away from the tree. Blood and bits of bark covering her fur. "Like I said, you'll always be a sneaky witch. Just like your grandmother." She lunged at Ivy again, her jaws bared.

"I've had enough of this." Penelope's eyes narrowed as she summoned her magic.

Enchanting droplets of blue magic fell upon the rival pack. It soon became apparent what Penelope was trying to do. A sleeping spell.

More Lupine Wolves arrived, joining the battle against their now sleepy opponent. Joy and James were among them and the Mated pair was an efficient fighting force. Fighting fur to fur, they charged at any enemy within reach.

The movements of the enemy wolves became sluggish, but it didn't stop the battle. Elemental and shapeshifting magic were Penelope's specialty, not sleeping charms.

The sounds of painful howls, vengeful snarls, and frightened yips echoed throughout the forest.

Ivy felt the wind knocked out of her when Kendra pinned her.

"Werewolves fight more like wolves than humans." Ivy watched Kenji as she shuffled the tarot cards. "Once a werewolf is down, the fight is over. Once a wolf is down, they rarely get back up."

In a blind panic, Ivy wrapped her jaws around Kendra's throat on instinct. For the sake of her pups, Ivy had to do whatever was necessary to get back up. If that meant killing the other she-wolf, so be it.

Her decision made, she clamped her jaws around the other werewolf's jugular tighter. A coppery taste coating her canine tongue as her fangs sank deeper into her opponent's throat. Ivy heard a panicked whine, but refused to let go.

By the time she saw hundreds of spheres of ethereal light out of the corner of her eye, it was too late. Something translucent and sharp had struck Kendra in the back of her skull.

An ice dagger.

"I wanted to believe that you were right, Alpha Ivy." Shard had thrown it. The winter faerie was the embodiment of brutal justice. "That this situation was under control, but it seems that we'll have to intervene. This pack bargained in bad faith and they have brought war to our forest. We cannot allow these traitors to destroy our home."

Everything was bathed in a colorful hue. The faerie's auras formed a kaleidoscope of an army and to Ivy's alarm, they were all armed as she pushed Kendra off of her.

"So, tell us who their leaders are and we'll handle them for you." Leaf's voice stood out among the frenzied chatter of his fellow faeries. "Hoshi saved River. It's the least we can do."

The sound of loud thud and Kenji's victorious howl, signaled that they had one less leader to worry about. Jared's body now lay silent and immobile on the ground.

"Him!" A small pup scampered onto the battlefield, racing towards Ash with a water faerie on his back. "He's the one who wanted to hurt Kenji!"

By the Moon, one of these days Jack was going to get himself killed.

Ash snarled, Jack's little declaration having gotten his attention. Somehow in the midst of all the chaos, Ivy felt as though time stood still for just a few seconds. The elderly werewolf's charge toward towards one pup that was just a little too adventurous for his own good overshadowing everything else.

"Thanks." River smiled creating a jet of water that had been intended to knock Ash off his feet. "Leaf, a little help would be good."

The water faerie frowned when that didn't prove to be the case. Against all odds, Ash had dodged and continued on with his charge. "You faeries have no respect for other species. Always meddling. This is a werewolf fight. Faeries have no part in this war and you even brought an innocent pup into it. I will teach you not to interfere in affairs your sparkly little wings have no business meddling in!"

He was a beast of vengeance. His snarl having forsaken all traces of humanity in his desperate bid to punish the fairies. His fangs and claws ready to tear in half the beautiful, petite supernatural creatures.

Leaf conjured several vines that wrapped themselves around Ash. Nature's ropes pulled the aging werewolf forward and slammed him onto the ground with a sickening crack. "I take no pleasure in doing this, but you were warned. More importantly, you were foolish enough to attack River and that's unforgivable."

The only reply Leaf received was that of crimson river billowing forth from Ash's crushed skull. It stained his smoky gray fur and the ground beside him red.

Jack huffed. "What about me? He tried to attack me too!"

"An excellent point. It's also a horrid idea to attack cute wolf pups, but that should go without saying." Leaf chuckled, scratching Jack's furry ears causing the werewolf's tail to wag without mercy.

The Lupine Pack let out a chorus of relieved howls and nervous chuckles. The strange display had given them precisely what they needed in that moment. Reassurance that the war was indeed over.

Still, Ivy knew that she needed to say something and her howl cut through symphony of victory. "Ash's Pack is now without any Alphas to my knowledge. There need not be anymore werewolf blood spilled today, but should any of you wish to continue to fight step forward now. So, that we can end this."

No one stepped forward, but Ivy knew that they would be dealing with the aftermath of this battle for many moons to come.

Chapter 17 Wattpad Word Count Excluding Notes 1853.

Total Novella Wattpad Word Count Excluding Notes 31,211.

Revision Notice: After getting some consistent feedback from some of my most trusted readers, I decided to revise part of this chapter. While it doesn't change the outcome, I did change what happened to Ash somewhat. Please feel free to go back and let me know waht you think of the changes.

Revisions begin at the following paragraph and continue until the end of the chapter.

"Him!" A small pup scampered onto the battlefield, racing towards Ash with a water faerie on his back. "He's the one who wanted to hurt Kenji!"