Within Evercrest Ridge, rumors spread fast, for Luna Olivia was never one to allow a chance to stir up trouble slip through her fingers. I was constantly filled in on the constant pack drama either from my friends or my own mother from what she had heard at the pack house, the stories having been twisted by the Luna. My parents once told me you can tell much about a person by the type of partner they choose to take on and marry. Alpha Edward always seemed like a strong leader, a man of wisdom, but his one shortcoming was marrying Luna Olivia - a woman who would rather watch a pack member fall victim to her rumors. I used to think it was just the workings of the mate bond, but now as Alpha Edward has shared these false rumors of my pack not answering the call of aid, I have begun to notice that every bit of rumor started or tension between pack members was not caused by Luna Olivia, but Alpha Edward himself.

The silence of the night allows me to pounder the instances of my past, make me reflect upon the pack I was once part of. Many of the men who fought and died when Alpha Vaugh attacked, Terrance once led them as their Gamma. Some of the other pack members who perished alongside their families and friends were people I once knew and grew up with.

Alpha Edward knew who I was since Quinn and Terrance adopted me as their own. They told him the very child who would be residing within his pack under a different name. He had nothing to lose from me being made Alpha of Crimson Lock, for it would mean strong treaties between our strong packs because he was my origional Alpha, yet here we are with false claims tearing our packs apart. Could Alpha Edward have called the attack upon Crimson Lock and killed the Steward's daughter? No one was really fond of Steward Cade, not even most of his own pack members, but I know no one from within Crimson Lock would have called such an attack. Alpha Edward is where I should start my search.

Leaning my back against the cold stone wall, I look up to the painting ahead of me, the ostentatious gold trim around the oil painting only capturing my attention more as it details the joining of elf and wolf in one pack. The elf stepping forward under a haze of silver look to be Keva, for the lavender eyes and silver hair instantly mark her. There are two who step out from the wolf side of the painting, a couple only dressed in simple attire as they carry with them a child. Knowing the truth of this pack, these paintings are so clear to me now, for this painting shows how Zion and Sybil brought their son into the world and took him to Keva, promising him a pack he would one day rule. Since River was a child, he was told all of this would be his, just as any child of an alpha would be told.

The sudden noise from down the opposite end of the hall draws me from my concentration and I rise to my feet, looking down to where the small crowd of elves and wolves of Eternal Shadows disappeared just three hours ago. Everyone dressed in ceremonial attire, they each walked down this hallway and towards the observatory, then past the staircase of it to a corridor I did not notice ever before.

I watch as what once was a stone wall begins to pull open, a light hum sounding in the air as the stone wall appears like a haze. There is some form of magic taking place which isolates a piece of the palace from everyone else and I desperately want to find out what it could be. Quickly, I step out of the hallway and into a sitting room where the fireplace is going out and the curtains are pulled shut. I remain silent as I sit upon a couch, hearing the footsteps go by as their voices are mere whispers in some ancient tongue I cannot decipher.

"Eavesdropping is not a desirable trait in anyone," a voice calls out from the darkness of the room.

I jump in my seat, looking towards the dark corner of the room to see the silhouette of a woman sitting in an armchair with her legs crossed. "Do I know you?" I ask, turning around as I remain seated.

"Perhaps."

"Then you would know who I am and that with Alpha River playing games with his pack members rather than performing his duties as an Alpha to attend council meetings, I have my reasons to be here," I state, keeping my voice steady as I know to stand my ground.

"I will not argue with an Alpha," she replies. It is not that I have intimidated her or perhaps given her my strongly-stated opinion, but I can tell she does not care why I am eavesdropping. She is here for another reason.

"What can I help you with?"

"Who said I needed anything?"

"The fact that you have come to me and do not present your face. You want to tell me something or ask for something," I point out, crossing my arms as I lean back in my chair.

The woman remains hidden in the darkness, wearing it like a cloak. "I was once like you in a sense. I was never an alpha, but I had a sense of duty to the people who gave their loyalty to me. When I heard the daughter of Lily Maxwell had reclaimed her title and pack, I wanted to meet Leala Maxwell."

"And what have you come to conclude from me?" I question, cocking my head to the side as I try and figure out who this woman could be. She talks as if she may have known my mother a little, or at least heard of her like all have.

"I am still waiting on my final decision."

"So you have just started to watch me then?"

"Something of the sort. I have heard much of you from the mouth of others," she replies, "but if I were you, I would not waste your time anymore with someone like me tonight. Go off and do your searching. I'll make my decision and return to you when I have made up my mind."

Nodding, I rise to my feet, my curiosity only growing as to who this woman could be. "I look forward to hearing your decision." Walking off, I exit the room and am back into the hallway where I see the stone wall has closed back up and everyone is gone.

Heading to the wall which was just open, I can hear the faint humming from behind the wall. My fingers feel fuzzy against the wall, almost prickly as I apply more pressure. Magic is what holds it closed to the unwanted guest, but what lies behind it? Pressing my ear against the cold wall, I try and see if I can hear voices from behind it, but nothing comes except the humming. Sighing, I pull away and look back down the hall wondering where everyone went. Did River already exit or is there a chance I could catch him leaving?

The longer I stand beside the wall, the further the humming digs into my skull, my ears lightly tingling as I feel the effects of magic. My fingers soon turn numb, no longer feeling the pressure of the wall against my skin as I pull away, wondering just how old this magic could be. I have heard this is a difference between illusions and actual cast spells, for a greater source of magic and knowledge is needed by the magician to cast a spell which does not just confuse. I will not be able to walk through the wall, but if this is an illusion, what could the magic be cloaking?

My fingers run over the wall, the rough stones smooth against my tingling fingertips as I try and find a place where my fingers may catch on. Perhaps this could be a simple door made to look like a wall or perhaps it is truly a magical door and not just some illusion cast on the eyes of those who should find what lays behind the wall.

Finding no luck, I pull away from the door and look down the hallway to make sure no one will pass me by. Looking back once more to the wall, a small flicker upon the wall erupts like a pebble dropped in water, creating a ripple against the stones as I watch a glimmering sheet vibrate quickly and then return back to normal. As I take a step back, the humming turns into a high-pitch ringing, my hands shooting up to cover my ears instantly as I wince in the sharp pain it causes my ears.

A woman cloaked in black stands before the glimmering wall, her icy blue eyes staring at me, as if I am the only thing which exists in this entire hallway. Raising her hand, she reaches out to me, inviting me to take hold of her hand covered in black leather gloves. Her long jet black locks fall below her waist in loose curls, her pale skin appearing almost like a ghost in the darkness of the hallway. She is not elf nor werewolf, for she has no distinct features to tell me so. If anything, she is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, with her ruby colored lips, delicate oval face, and skin lacking any slight blemish.

Her beauty seems to have put a spell on me, for my hand has found hers before I even know what I am doing. Taking a step back, she becomes swallowed by the glimmer in the wall, pulling me with her as I seem to have lost my own decisions, for I gravitate towards the wall.

A cold wind rushes past me, as if icy to the touch as I instantly feel frozen. Before I can blink, the rush of cold air is gone and I feel warmth again, my eyes looking around to the spectacle before me as my mouth gapes open. The greenhouse where I stand surrounds me, nothing more than a stone column behind me containing ancient ruins as the column runs up to the ceiling almost four stories high and vines wrapping around it. Trees are planted and are spread out along the side, different types of flowers and bushes spread among the path as ponds create a layout for walking. In the center of the garden lies a circular stone structure where the root of a tree is placed in the middle, the branches and leaves bursting forth from the top of the structure as if to create a blush pink canopy.

Looking around, I see the woman who led me in as she stands in the circular stone structure, her hands held apart as a silver globe levitates between her palms. I begin to walk towards her, the smell of flowers overwhelming me as I notice a few butterflies which go about the room. "Where am I?" I ask the woman, gaining a closer distance as she does not turn around or answer me.

The closer I get, the brighter the silver orb in her hands begins to shine, my curiosity only growing for what this place could be. Once I stand before the trunk of the tree, I notice the small pond around the tree where candles are placed and floating in the water on their own, their flames colors of white. "Who are you?" I ask, looking to the woman as her icy blue eyes briefly look out at me.

I watch with curiosity as she pulls her hands apart and the silver orb remains in place. Raising her hand, she pushes it out and the orb moves forward with her movements, right towards the tree as I watch the orb fly right through the trunk of the tree.

"This is an illusion," she whispers, parting her ruby painted lips as she begins to whisper a spell which causes the orb to rise into the sky of the canopy and create around the two of us a burst of rain. "A very well-crafted illusion created by my ancestors. Within the illusion, the plants grew roots and required a nurturer."

"What does this have to do with the palace? Why lead me inside?" I ask, looking around as the rainfall spreads out across the plants.

"King Zion had an illusion crafted as well within a room of his, an illusion which hosted another in the form of a mirror which led to the tomb of his ancestors. When magic was a powerful source in that kingdom, the room was not a room, but a grand crafted space just like this one but built by the elves his family stole their kingdom from." The woman turns to me, her fingers pressed lightly under my chin as she takes a step closer to me. "This room exists within a different continent."

"Where am I?" I ask, my tone more serious and less curious as I begin to worry for my safety and my packs.

"You do not know it by any name, for it was a realm forgotten in time as mankind progressed and created their inventions of wrath."

I pull away from the woman's light hold, taking a step away as I begin to look frantically around the room. "You cannot see past the walls of the spell, Leala Maxwell, nor should you wish to see what lies within the abyss."

I begin to walk back to the stone column, the one which brought me here which was covered in vines and ruins. Just as my fingers brush the fabrication of the column, I stumble forward as the column has disappeared. "Bring it back," I growl at the woman, looking over my shoulder to see her eyes glowing blue as her hair looks as if wind blows through it.

"That column led nowhere. There is no one exit and entrance, for this would then be a portal."

"Who are you," I demand, my chest rising and falling heavily. "Why did River and Keva lead others in here? What do you do here?"

"I told you I keep the illusion protected," she replies calmly, her feet beginning to lift off the floor as she begins to glide towards me. "As for who I am, is it not obvious from the fact I hold a spell together?"

"You are a witch."

"A sorceress. Witches care not for the studies of ancient texts; they would rather wave their hands around and burn a house down than care to learn the knowledge I have sought after and learned for years."

"So why am I here? Why did you invite me in?" I ask, my heart beating fast as the sorceress comes to stand before me.

"I too was curious when I first realized magic lay behind a wall I could not open. I have heard of you, I have watched you from within the walls of that palace, and I know who has given you the option to call upon them." She knows the witches my mother once met and fought with sent me a letter. "Has no one told you witches should not be trusted?" A small smile pulls at her lips and the sorceress moves a strand of my hair back. "Though no one should be trusted, not even the men who pledge their love and loyalty to us."

"What do you want me to do? What advice are you trying to give to me?"

"I have served this illusion well for six centuries and I know of what has passed. I see much of what has passed and what takes place. I know you face so much conflict within yourself." I await her final words, or at least some summary of what she is exactly trying to get across to me. "I choose to serve no king, prince, alpha, mage, jarl, or whatever else there may be. I am not restrained to only give one person my council."

"So what council would you give me?"

"So much like your mother. There were many possibilities of who you could have been, but there is an infinite amount of who you could become."

"Is being like my mother a horrible thing?" I ask, curious as to why the sorceress now compares me to my mother, why she says I am much like her.

A smile passes her lips, a spark igniting within her eyes as the column lays behind her with the glimmering effect. "You do not need to fight another man's war, Leala. Fight your own war."

<><>

"You wandered off for a while," Bryson comments, taking his seat beside me within the council chambers as our chairs circle around the center of the room where an empty podium stands. Alpha Penelope sits one seat over from me, her voice low as she speaks with her Beta.

Brushing the hair out of my face, I look up to the windows as the sun is risen high into the sky. "Business to attend to..." I trail off, looking down to my watch as I cross my legs.

"Time to see if the mysterious alpha of Eternal Shadows will show," Penelope mumbles, leaning back in her chair as she looks over to me. Dark bags and bloodshot eyes are upon the Alpha's face, her auburn hair pulled tightly back into a bun, and not at all her usual self. She is more tightly-wound than usual, either making small commentary to her Beta or snapping at those who argue with her.

"He said he would." Penelope scoffs at my answer, looking back to the podium as we both acknowledge River is already running a few minutes late.

Looking around the circular council, I meet the glare of Alpha Edward, his jaw clenched as he stares at me. "Edward seems quite pissed at you. Did not even greet you when you entered."

"He made false claims," I remark, looking away from my past alpha and towards the main doors of the council chambers as I begin hearing faint footsteps.

The doors of the council chamber propel open, two guards holding them open as in walks Asger, his eyes focused on the podium. Following Asger is Keva, her silver hair tucked behind her shoulders and a crystal tiara with silver spun into wire creating an intricate design as it wraps around her forehead with a teardrop sapphire falling just above the middle of her eyebrows. Just as Asger and Keva enter into the room and come to take their seats at chairs placed just beside the podium, the last figure enters into the room wearing a tailored charcoal grey suit.

"Look who finally showed up," Penelope mumbles, Bryson smirking at her remark as all of the alphas sit still in their seats.

Golden eyes meet mine, River not breaking contact with me as he walks down the isle towards the podium, the room seeming to close in around the two of us. As River comes to stand behind the marble podium engraved with leaves, the tension in the room begins to rise, Alpha Edward quickly glancing towards me.

"Sorry for the short delay," River greets, adjusting his watch as he looks across to the alphas present.

"You should apologize for more than that," Penelope scoffs, rolling her eyes as she sets her gaze all on River. "You did not show up for two days in a row last time, even when my fucking pack was attack. How much of an idiot do you have to be to not acknowledge the responsibilities you should hold when multiple alphas pledge their loyalty to you."

"We have made progress," Emmitt snaps at Penelope. "Hold your tongue, Penelope. Remember who you are talking to-"

"What? Just another alpha? River is not king," Bryson adds in, rising to his feet as he points his finger at River. "I will not acknowledge a king who does not take on his responsibilities."

"Ignoring civil duties has always been the role of those kings. We wanted someone else with different qualities...qualities which I see you lacking."

River's jaw clenches as I watch the anger pass by in his eyes, as if rolling off of him in waves.

"I am trying to make a right from the past kings," River tries to argue, "and no one is perfect."

"We pledged our loyalties to Alpha Maxwell-"

"You pledged your loyalty to me when she agreed to fight for my right for the crown," River interrupts Yusuf, looking over to me. "She pledged her loyalty to fight for what she believes."

"She does not know what she believes," Edward laughs, everyone looking towards him as I instantly feel a wave of stress washing over me. "She claims to be a strong alpha yet she is weak in her decisions."

"Shut your trap," Penelope growls at Edward, springing to her toes as I can tell Penelope is not just aggravated and angry, but excited as well. Penelope longs for something to happen, for words to be spoken and for her to be justified to pounce.

Alpha Edward laughs, pointing towards me as he once more opens his mouth. "See how she has to have other alphas stand up for her, to defend her. She thinks she holds some kind of power or importance just because of who her parents were. Guess what, you little brat, I came from nothing and I became an alpha. There were alphas who were like you in the war, who were given a pack by their birthright and thought they were invincible. Those packs are nothing more and those alphas were perched on the top of spikes, their bodies rotting on those spikes as a warning."

A silence spreads across the room, my heartbeat quick and pounding hard in my chest as I glance over to see Asger, Keva, and River speechless at what Edward just said to me. Edward's chest rising and falls heavily as I can tell he is trying to hold back his wolf.

"You knew who I were the moment Terrance and Quinn adopted me," I speak up, eyes placed on me now as I hold my head high. "You accept a Maxwell child into your pack and never once tried to council me or teach me what makes a strong alpha. Pardon me, Edward, but you were not the best role model either, so I am having to learn much of what was finetuned into your head." Rising to my feet, my heels allow me to stand taller than before, my fingers at the sides of my coat as I roll my head to the side lightly as a way to help calm me down. "But I would never lie and claim false statements about another pack, much less my own. Your pack was attack and you never called upon Crimson Lock for aid. You have made this mess yourself out of your own childish greed seeing me just inherit a pack stronger than yours. You are just bitter and that makes you pathetic."

Turning my attention back to Alpha River, I know what I have to say now before we can continue our meeting. "You have two packs which have pledged their loyalty to you, one which makes false claims and the other which has responded to those claims. As the man we have pledged our loyalty to, act like a king and make a decision."

River stands perplexed, unexpecting my commentary as Keva takes the role. "Crimson Lock and Evercrest Ridge are no use to Eternal Shadows when they are fighting and serving the same future king. Either solve this matter or one of you will face removal."

Keva is right, for no one can continue to work together in this council when two alphas are about to go to war themselves. "We should be fighting Ryker and Vaughn, not one another." River draws the attention back to him.

"Don't pick her side just because she is an easy lay," Edward snaps at River, only for a growl to surface from my throat, the walls of the council chamber shaking as I watch the pen on Edward's desk roll to the floor. Edward's face pales as he looks up to me, the pen hitting the side of his shoe as my growl comes to a close.

Keva told me I stand on a thin line, one step away from greatness and another step away from insignificance. I must decide what will happen to Edward and Evercrest Ridge. When she said insignificance, it confused me, for what could I do to not make a name for myself? To not side with someone I believe should be king and just go down in Crimson Lock history as another alpha? To me, that form of insignificance is the simple form I would not mind...but both Keva and the sorceress made it seem like more.

I have stated my loyalty to River's pack, to his place on the throne, but I know that I have told him not one man should sit on a throne and make decisions. Everyone knows how corrupt the royal family was and how they made the rules to favor them and their friends, but my mother and father believed in a different system. My parents believed in a constitutional monarchy, my mother made plans to see that plan unravel before her in victory...yet she faded away into history not with insignificance or greatness, but with wickedness attached.

"I pledged my loyalty to Crimson Lock because of what their pack represents, because of what Lily Maxwell fought for in a government," Alpha Yusuf speaks up in the silence which entraps the room. "I believed her daughter would be the very alpha we need to see to it that a government is in place where the monarchy is limited by laws we alphas will set forward."

"A monarch who reigns but does not rule...that is not what we are fighting for," Asger comes to defend his pack and Alpha. "We are fighting to see Alpha River back where he belongs."

"Back?" Bryson questions, raising a question to the room as I hold my tongue. I know what Asger is referring to, for that crown was River's birthright. Penelope and I know the truth, but do the other alphas?

"Alpha River comes from a royal bloodline, he is the closest blood relative to King Zion. It is his right." Asger cleans up his mistake well for the time being, but soon the others will begin to ask questions and the truth will come out. "He will not be a king who does not rule."

"That system was flawed," Penelope snaps, looking back to me. "I have had enough of this mess. Fight their battles or fight your own, Leala."

Penelope exits the council chambers, no longer bothering to hear what River even had come here to say. "Penelope is right, for you are fighting someone else's war. Are you sure you believe in government where the crown is in full control again? Your mother laid our every single flaw of that system, your father did all the digging and wrote a journal filled with stories."

"I cannot continue to live the legacy of someone else," I whisper, looking to Alpha Yusuf as he shakes his head.

"You have already started to craft your legacy."

The two alphas who pledged their loyalty to me have both left the council chambers, leaving me alone as attention lands on me, waiting to see if I will declare my separation from River's cause or not. I cannot just make just a large decision like that so quickly. River's golden eyes are filled with dread, begging me with his gaze to not walk out on him as silence surrounds us and pulls us closer together.

"I-I will remain committed to this cause unless I declare otherwise."

With that, I flee the room with Bryson right on my heel. We pass through the gran halls of the palace and find ourselves rejoining Alpha Penelope in a small sitting room which overlooks the town. Taking in a deep breath, I calm myself down and ask for Bryson to give us some space. Entering into the room, I sit across from the alpha, fiddling with my fingers as I try and think of where to start.

"Do you believe in the same system as before? Complete monarch rule?"

"I was not yet born, I do not know what it was like for everyone, much less alphas," I reply, watching Penelope take a strand of her auburn hair and twirl it between her fingers.

"It was absolute hell." Raising my head, I meet Penelope's gaze as she stops playing with her hair. "If my pack was facing troubles with rogues and did not have enough men to patrol the boarders, you would think I could request aid from the royal guard, but all I would hear back is to just call upon another pack. The kings left alphas to fend for their own unless it came to money...money kings wanted to fund their parties, trips, private jets, remodels of the palace...you get the idea. I was able to get a few rules I wanted pushed past Zion only because I was becoming friends with his wife and my pack paid the most to him that year. Kings will always be greedy, wanting more power as no limits have ever been placed.

"One King wanted to marry the Luna of a strong pack's Alpha. In his lust for the woman, he killed her husband and adorned her in rubies and diamonds as he stole her away to the palace. That luna ended up walking to her balcony on a high tower and allowed herself to fall forward to the palace courtyard below." The serious tone in Penelope's voice offer me a strong warning. "Another alpha said his pack could not afford the tax due to constant rogue attacks and the hiring of witches to fight those rogues off. The King sent his best troops and wiped that pack clean off the map and faced no rivals because of how scared everyone was of him."

Penelope's hand shoots up to wipe away a tear which rolls down her cheek. "I was fifteen when Zion's father spotted me and decided he wanted to marry me...after he had forced himself onto my sister." Taking in a shaky breath, Penelope tries to steady her words. "My sister was nineteen and Zion's father was twenty-four...he raped her and tossed her out of the bedroom window when she would not stop crying. My sister fell four stories to her death and lay naked in the courtyard for three days as he ordered his guards to leave her there...he wanted-he wanted my parents to see the mess he made of her when they came for their visit."

"I'm so sorry," I whisper, my heart aching for Penelope as I never knew any of this.

"My parents were devastated and could do nothing, even though my father was an alpha. My mother hung herself three months later, for she pressed my dad every day to get justice for my sister, but my father was a coward and died a coward. I took up the role of Alpha when I was fifteen and met that nasty king who then wanted to be with me because I looked just like her. I stabbed that man four times in the back when he led me to his bed while his queen was pregnant with Zion. He survived and decided he wanted to wage war on my pack. I ran so far from my pack, leaving behind my pack and duty as I was scared of that king. I lived in human cities for a decade until that king finally died and I returned to take control of my pack."

Penelope takes a pause, looking out to the town view. "Zion's father never faced punishment because no one would dare approach him, no one would dare to point out the king had too much power...I fought beside Zion and Sybil that day because I knew your mother was wrong in her approach to attack the palace. She was too focused on revenge for Nixon that she did not understand the bigger picture. I pledged my loyalty to you because I believe you see that larger picture."

"I do."