"We cannot face another massacre." 

"Our loyalties lie with Crimson Lock, they always have." 

"How many men did Crimson Lock lose? How many men did we lose? Compare the numbers of our losses and you will see who the enemy is here. They only care for themselves." 

"Those mutts are the reason why our kingdom fell and now they as for our aid again!?" 

Voices erupt all around me, calling out for Alpha Edward to side with them, to see where our loyalties lie in this new world. Evercrest Ridge was one of the first packs to create a treaty with Crimson Lock, when Crimson Lock was still just a small pack surrounded by larger and more imposing ones. Our two packs were weak once, ages ago, becoming strong as the leaders of our packs thought analytically and lead our packs to where they are now - having survived yet another war and being one of the nine packs left. The last treaty we signed with them was when Crimson Lock followed the lead of Alpha Lily Maxwell, when she declared Crimson Lock a rogue pack - serving no king or queen - thus only creating stronger ties to a powerful pack. 

Yet creating treaties with a pack whose Alpha burned down the last Alpha King's palace as well as killed Alpha King Laraxis only makes us targets. Whoever killed the Steward of Crimson Lock's daughter, we can only expect that they also see Evercrest as an enemy which needs to be taken care of. The Steward of Crimson Lock lacks much of the power of an Alpha, for he cannot allow his children to take on the same title once he passes, he cannot just declare war unless another Alpha backs him up, and he cannot just declare himself Alpha. Alpha Lily Maxwell stated in her will and in the new laws of the pack before she died in the palace which she burned down, that no one would become Alpha of Crimson Lock unless they were her flesh and blood. The very flesh and blood that disappeared the moment Lily Maxwell left for war and no one has seen her child since.  

"If we continue to wait here and wonder where and when the next attack will happen, then we will find dead pack members," another pack member speaks forth, their sharp voice causing a ringing to erupt in my ear. "These werewolves have to come from some pack or a small collection of rogues." 

They were not werewolves though. I saw them, I saw the ears, the skin, their eyes, and the eternal beauty I thought books only fantasized. The attackers were elves. 

Alpha Edward stands in the doorway of his office, looking out at the small gathering of pack members surrounding him in the hallway. Luna Olivia had let them in, herself worried for what could happen as she has been on edge since the attack. I don't blame her, she has two small children and does not want to see them killed off before they even reach the age of five. I stand beside my father, his calming presence in this situation worrying me, as he would usually be shouting and snapping at people who dare disrespect the alpha like this. 

Placing a hand on my shoulder, my father pulls me back a little into a doorway in the hallway which runs to the kitchen. "War is coming, Evelyn." he whispers, looking down to me with his eyes. "I prayed to the Moon Goddess that war would not occur for at least another several decades, but we are flawed individuals. People seek power, wrath, revenge, and so much more." 

"You think someone is wanting to be made Alpha King again?" I question, thinking of the nine Alphas left. I have met most of them, or at least seen them, and they are all men of old tradition. It does not shock me to hear someone would seek after the royal crown, but with the crown comes much blood, politics, and hate. 

"Rumors have been brewing for quite some time," dad begins, looking back to our Alpha, "some Alphas get tired of the reckless behavior other packs get away with, they miss the order of the Werewolf Kingdom, and they want to see their family name holding the royal title and making the rules. Men and women get greedy, becoming blinded by what the crown offers them, and they do more damage than good." 

"So this attack and the murder of the Steward's daughter, it is all to create another war?" I know that going after the Steward's daughter was something that these men behind the attack had thought through. You do not just barge into a massive party and find the Steward's daughter and members of Crimson Lock to attack without an organized plan. By why the daughter? Why Genevieve? She was a year older than me and had so much potential before her, for if her father was to pass, she would become the Steward. No Alpha has run Crimson Lock since Lily Maxwell passed, but that does not mean someone is aiming to become the Alpha. Could this attack be planned from inside of Crimson Lock? Someone who wants to take the title of Alpha? 

 "Goddess knows. We can only hope the remaining structure we have in this society is not lost." 

The voices around us keep going off, people calling for a decision as Alpha Edward looks to my father, motioning for him to follow into the office. I am left along in the mob, watching people shout at my father, asking for answers as he is ushered into the room and the door closes behind him. Their voices die down, becoming mumbles as they gossip amongst themselves. 

"Rogues have to be behind this," one person comments. 

"Another pack, the Alpha could have given the order." 

"They were elves," I state, not raising my voice too high as I stand in the corner. A few eyes look my way, eyebrows raised as they question my statement. "They were elves, the men who attacked." A handful more people look my way. 

"Elves? The creatures which abandoned our kingdom when Alpha King Zion went crazy and handed his title over to some mutt-

"I saw them," I defend myself, gaining more attention as my voice becomes stern. "I saw their ears, their faces...everything I've read about how they look was reflected in real time." 

Whispers begin to spread around the room, my voice gaining more attention as I hold my head high. "They were there. There was an elf with-"

"Evelyn!" Someone shouts, their tone making me uneasy as I look across the crowd to see Alpha Edward standing in his doorway. Motioning for me to come closer, I push through the crowd, my hands becoming shaky as I am in autopilot going towards the Alpha. As I reach the door, I al pulled into the Alpha's office, greeted by the familiar faces of my father, the Luna, our Beta, and Alpha Edward. Everyone of importance in our pack stands within this room, eyes glued to me. "Explain yourself for claiming elves were there that night?"

"I saw them. I saw an elf with his pointy ears, his tall build, and-"

"And what 'elegant features?'" Luna Olivia mocks, claiming my words to be lies. 

"He was an elf, I swear it on the Mood Goddess."

"Do not be so foolish to swear upon the Goddess herself," Beta Jackson spits, defending his traditional beliefs in praying and serving a deity. 

I feel as if I am backed into a corner, defending myself with no physical facts. "Elves hold no scent," I begin, trying to take on a more logical argument, "no one could have smelled them out like a rogue." 

"An elf could not go unrecognized," Alpha Edward retorts, taking a seat behind his desk. 

Nodding, I agree with the Alpha. "That does not mean they were out in the open the entire night. They could have entered into the hall, breaking down the doors and going after Crimson Lock members." 

"Evelyn," my father whispers, his eyes telling me to step aside and ignore what I claim to have seen. He does not want any trouble brought from his family into this. It is not typical for the Alpha to call upon the child of one of his leaders. I could embarrass my father here.  

"I know what I saw," I state, "and I am not going to lie about it. I know the mention of elves makes people uneasy, for we have lost ancient wars to them in the past. I know we are more afraid of elves being involved in this than another pack. Ethereal Shadows has elves in their pack, they are a mixed-"

"Evelyn, be silent," my father snaps, shutting my point down immediately as I freeze up, unaware my father could be so sudden to change his tone with me. "We have heard your point, you have served your purpose." 

A pain tugs at my heart with his words, my eyes beginning to water as I take a step back in the room. "Queen Sybil befriended the last elves in this kingdom. I doubt these elves would come after the packs who served her." 

"Lily Maxwell was a bitch, we all know that. She plaid her cards and destroyed the utopia Queen Sybil was trying to create. She sent her deranged husband after Queen Sybil and killed the Queen and her unborn child." 

"Of, for Goddess' sake, give up on that theory that Lily Maxwell knew what she was doing," Luna Olivia snaps at Beta Jackson. "Lily was some prepubescent human who was so brainwashed by her husband that she didn't even know what she was doing when she burnt the palace to the ground." 

"Please, let us try to remain civil here," Alpha Edward interrupts the argument, his eyes catching a glimpse of me. "We have a meeting to run here. We only have a day before Ethereal Shadows' Alpha makes his way here to discuss terms of a treaty." 

"That pack is filled with inbred mutts, we cannot just make a treaty with them," Luna Olivia hisses, insulted by the mention of Ethereal Shadows. "Their pack was created for the founding families to fuck elves and then let their children keep there blood 'pure' and in the family." 

Ethereal Shadows is one of controversy, for no one knows how the pack came to be, they can only assume. One day, Ethereal Shadows claimed it was a pack, a group of wolves and elves popping out of no where and having the strongest warriors and most money to create a name for itself. The most popular belief of how the pack started was because wolves and elves wanted to breed amongst themselves in some type of experimental form, multiplying like rabbits until a pack was created and the pack members being related by blood due to incest . 

"We are to remain civil with their Alpha and Beta."

"No Luna?" Luna Olivia asks, a small smirk tugging at her lips. 

"None yet. Perhaps the Alpha is so inbred that he is disfigured and-"

"There will be no mention of anything like that," Alpha Edward cuts off Beta Jackson. "He is the only unmated Alpha of the nine remaining packs. If we are lucky, we can win his favor over with a treaty and perhaps someone will catch his eye here." 

I know who they are referring to, for Alpha Edward has a daughter not much younger than myself, a beauty to behind. Poppy has always been a favorite, suitors lining up as her father has worked hard to keep them away. 

"Or perhaps because he has no sister or close cousin to wed," Luna Olivia remarks, Beta Jackson snickering beside her as I see these people in a new light. No one ever truly gets to see the Luna interact like this, for she is usually standing beside her husband when he gives out news or orders. Never have I seen her filled with a hatred for a pack before. "I am not going to see our daughter be wed off to some half-elf-half-wolf creature." 

"We do not have to get them married. We just need this Alpha to see the potential in a stronger treaty with us if he likes our daughter." 

This Alpha could be older than my father, yet they are talking of using her as bait, as some sort of eye candy and expect their daughter to be completely fine with it. I have seen a few Alphas before look at Poppy with lustful eyes, but they knew they could not chase after her, for her age and the fact they were married caused them to see a gap. I know of the few women in the pack who Alpha Edward refuses to acknodlge he uses as some 'complimentary' service for Alphas and Betas visiting without their mates present. It is as if we have stopped moving forward in history and have begun to move backwards as woman and even a few men of the pack have served as a sick form of entertainment. 

But these people cannot just simply ignore the fact that the pack they are welcoming soon is half elf. They could have been tied up in the mix as well. I know I saw an elf kill the Steward's daughter. I have to stand by what I saw or else this pack could be going off to fight another pack. A pack could have hired elves to do this...but it all seems to complex. It is risky to ask elves to do your dirty deeds. It is risky to murder anyone of importance as well, especially when our society is so fragile since the last Alpha King passed away. 

Looking to my father, he offers me a small nod, telling me to leave the room. I have heard more than these people perhaps wanted me to hear. 

"And if Poppy is not his taste?" Luna Olivia asks her husband, her eyes briefly glancing over to me, as if scanning me over. 

"Then we shall improvise."