My mother justified her war by seeking revenge for the man she had lost. Those who fought beside her agreed with her cause, for Nixon was their alpha as well. But what am I fighting for? What do I stand for? If I stand for nothing, then why am I going to war?

My mother fought against the crown for revenge and to tear down the system which once was in place. While the events may have not gone the way she wanted, in the end she got her way. For two decades the werewolf world from the fallen kingdom has been one of chaos. Packs were built and packs became ash, alphas ran around claiming territory which was never theirs. My adoptive father was a gamma during that time, fighting to defend his pack as other alphas tried to take their territory and kill pack members. So many of our species fled to the human world without a trance of their pack left behind. I was a child when a neighboring pack tried to attack us, our house burnt down as my adoptive mother sheltered me in the pack house. I lost friends during that attack, their bodies strung across the territory without any respect. In high school, another attack occurred at my pack, many of my classmates called to defend the pack as a handful of them lost their lives in the attack.

Whispers have been circulating for the past two decades, whispers of another war on the way. I heard of packs of the past, those whose alphas wanted to go to war to win control and give order to this region, only to not have formed the proper alliances and lost their lives in the meantime. No rebellion lasted more than a year. Battles have been fought for the past two decades, but never before has each pack given their alliance to one of two sides. This time it feels as if this war will determine the new order of this region - an order which people have been longing for as alphas create their own rules, territories are torn down and replaced, laws are made up, and resources of other werewolf kingdoms have been lost.

Penelope and Yusuf pledged their loyalty to me without a second thought, the two of them always together as they have been valuable advisors. Mathis and Finch granted me their loyalty once their alphas were killed off. I have all of this power backing me up yet I still feel like I am lost. I feel lost in how to conduct a war meeting, how to build a government, and lost in what I believe in.

Oliver had a hold on me for so long, acting as my most trusted advisor, and yet he deceived me while providing me with what I still think could be reliable advice. Keva offered me advice I am not sure of taking, for she has tried to get be beside River ever since I met her. My grandmother and Penelope have given me similar advice as well, warning me about attachments as I have only forgotten about their warnings.

I jumped into bed with Finch just because of the charisma he carried, how he showed interest, and how he displayed loyalty. My mind has constantly been circling around River since we met, but I know I need to focus on what matters most to me now.

My life did not start when River came along. My story did not begin when River introduced himself to me. My story began when I learned who I was and what power I help...what I could do with that power. A crown does not give me power, but the people who back me up, respect me, and are willing to fight for what I believe in give me power. But what do I believe in exactly?

I have to eliminate what everyone has told me what to believe, I need to figure out what I am fighting for. I know the system was rigged with River's parents were in control, I know the region has been a mess without an order in place, and I see the need of the people. Do I believe in these reasons enough to begin today?

The woods are silent as I watch from afar, Yusuf by my side as we stand on the edge of Evercrest Ridge territory. Only an hour ago did we arrive, Brie and Cedric taking a group of my men with them as they headed off with the others on the front line. All I can see ahead are a row of houses from the neighborhood I once lived in, families beginning to turn on the lights. I can tell by the sudden commotion erupting from the houses that the men we sent out in the first wave have attacked. "How long until our second wave?" I ask, looking to Yusuf as my fingers shake at my side.

"I'll wait for Alpha Finch's word."

"I feel wrong just sitting back here like this...all useless." I look to the side. "No offense."

"I understand. When I was younger, I was glad to fight beside my men. Leave it to back surgery and years of aging to take me out."

"I have had no prior injuries. I should be out there."

"Can you defend yourself?"

"I fought off that elven assassin," I point out, growing nervous as I watch smoke begin to rise beyond the rows of houses. Yusuf pulls from his side a dagger with engravings on the hilt. Taking the weapon, I strap it to my side and continue my rebuttal. "If I believe in what the men out there are risking their lives for, then I should be willing to risk my life as well."

Yusuf glances towards me, taking in my words as he looks back to the men standing behind us, awaiting news in case they must head out to the battle. "You will get a chance to march upon the battlefield and slay your enemy. For now, stop trying to play the hero...there are no heroes in the real world, as there are not villains." 

"That's a bleak way to look at life." 

"Life is not all black and white," Yusuf comments, looking back out to the houses as we watch families begin to shelter from the war. A buzzing of my phone notifies me that the pack house has been reached and Alpha Edward's men surrounded as the real battle has just begun. "For now, we ready ourselves in case things take a turn for the worse." 

Holding my head high, I follow Alpha Yusuf in observing the pack land from a high ground, hearing howls ripple through the night in terror. My mother tore down a kingdom and I am trying to build one by tearing down a pack which raised me up. I doubt the Moon Goddess would shine any blessings on me now. 

Just as we all begin to relax in our positions as the battle takes place a mile away, a rusting in the trees raises the hairs on the back of my neck. I turn to look over my shoulder just as Alpha Yusuf does, our men looking wide-eyed as they ready themselves for whatever caused a sound from behind. Just as a gust of wind passes by, I watch as several large wolves tear through the forest and dig their powerful jaws into the bodies of my troops. 

"Get into formation! Shift!" Yusuf orders, turning around to face an attack from behind as my eyes widen in fear and I do not know exactly what to do now. I watch as another large wolf digs it claws into one of the men I was talking to on the walk here, a gasp running from his neck to jaw as I watch other men fall to the ground. 

Looking over my shoulder back to the houses, I see a few more wolves charging up the hill to us as I shout for our men to ready themselves for an attack on both fronts. Just as we form a tight formation, Yusuf pulls me from the front line as a wolf jumps towards where I once stood. Those glowing yellow eyes are focused on me as my skin pales and Yusuf pulls me further away from the frontline. "We need to get you to safety." 

"We are not outnumbered. We can fight them off," I point out, seeing that the wolves attacking us from Evercrest are not even a third in the magnitude of our platoon. "Inform the others what is happening and we may require some men to return back here." 

The moment I watch Yusuf send the message to Alpha Finch, a shriek erupts next to me as the woman warrior by my side is grabbed by her feet and head knocks against a rock enough to do a great deal of damage. There where the woman once stood is the same wolf with those glowing yellow eyes. As the wolf growls, I ready myself, knowing I am strong enough to do this on my own. The moment the wolf leaps towards me, I execute a pirouette, taking from my side the dagger Yusuf gave me. Dropping to my feet, the body of the wolf grazes by and I plunge the dagger into the side of its neck. As I pull the knife out, the blade slides across the wolf's jugular and I watch its body drop to the floor at Yusuf's feet. 

"Quick footwork there, Leala," Yusuf comments, approving of my kill as he steps over the body and our formation grows tighter as it seems we have fended off all current attacks, though more will be on the way. 

"We need to rejoin the others. Strength in numbers." 

"Your call." 

"Everyone, we are going to regroup with Alpha Penelope's men at the stronghold," I announce, the warriors around me nodding as we begin to change formation and look ahead for a route to the pack house and battlefield. 

We walk cautiously down the hill and from the woods, down into a main street as the houses lining pull their curtains shut. I do not want to see these vulnerable people injured and I am glad they shut themselves inside. I remember once attending a pack meeting ten years ago when my pack was discussing Crimson Lock...

"They are savages who need to learn there are consequences for their actions."

"The values of their pack lie with wrath and pride. If we associate Evercrest with Crimson Lock, then we are allowing ourselves to be seen just the same. Evercrest Ridge has never been known to bull other packs."

"Times have changed since the war," my father speaks up, calming down the crown as I sit beside my mother. "If we do not harden our shells, then our pack will fade away too...just like the others." 

"They kill families in their homes. They murder the vulnerable. They stood beside a woman only seeking revenge for his husband's death."

"Yet they are the strongest pack in this fallen kingdom," Alpha Edward speaks up, indicating for everyone to hold their tongues. "Sometimes we must align ourselves with those we are not fond of.  Gamma Terrance came from Crimson Lock yet we invited him with open arms and have known him as a kind man who values justice and honesty. We cannot judge the whole of Crimson Lock based upon the Alphas Maxwell and Steward Cade."

"There will be a day when they come for us," my mother whispers, looking down to me in the silence of the hall. "A day when they no longer see our pack as a friend, but as a competitor." 

The main road leading up to the pack house begins to become scattered with bodies in human and wolf form - some stuck between the two like some sick mutation. I notice faces from both sides, even some young faces I once attended the same school as in my youth. The closer we get, the louder the howls and screams become as I feel like a ghost has taken control of my body, leading me down memory lane as I wonder what has become of Alpha Edward or his Luna. 

"Fuck them up!" I recognize the familiar voice of Penelope sounding in the air. "Do not leave a chance for them to survive." 

Her words cause me to gain another perspective of the woman I have come to know as a trusted advisor. She wants no warrior left alive. She wants to make sure no one is left alive. 

My feet begin to walk around bloodied bodies, Yusuf walking ahead of me as our men are ready for another wave of attacks. 

Her auburn hair flows behind her, her black clothes not hiding the blood which soaks her sleeves, and sprays of blood across her face. She seems like some vengeful goddess from the days of ancient Greece, more fitting for the underworld than the heavens. A long dagger is held tight in her hand with a blade of silver and hilt of iron as I can only wonder how painful the blade would be to have across my flesh. 

Looking over, Penelope notices me and steps down from a bare fountain, the men beside her watching the attack upon the pack house. The familiar French country-side architecture no longer bares ivy as I watch flames begin to consume parts of the house. "We have the majority of the pack warriors behind the pack house like we planned. Finch and Cedric are pushing them to the cliffside as we finish off stranglers here." 

Alpha Mathis jogs over, his face bare from blood unlike Penelope's. "I have a group of men at Alpha Edward's house to draw him out."

"And Luna Olivia?" I ask, wondering where the woman could be who has talked down to me my entire life. 

A smile pulls across Mathis' face as he motions for someone to come to us. The scent of smoke grows stronger in the night as I notice the body of an Evercrest warrior begin to twitch. Just as the warrior reaches out his hand for help, a few yards away from me, the whistling of silver in the air goes by fast as Penelope's blade lands into the neck of the warrior and he moves no more. I watch as Penelope struts over to the warrior's body and pulls the blade from his neck, cleaning it with her sleeves as she looks back to me. 

"See for yourself," Mathis replies as he motions for me to look to the men approaching us, Luna Olivia's conscious body dragged behind them as she cries out for her husband. "You grew up in this pack, Leala....how much does Edward care for this bitch?" 

Luna Olivia is thrown to her knees before me, her hair stained with blood as I notice the gasp upon her temple. Those eyes which usually glared at me are now full of fear as she looks to me, her lip quivering as she pleads with me to not kill her. 

"Edward is fond of her," I reply, looking away from the Luna as I try and distant myself from this situation. 

"Evelyn, please," Olivia cries, "Evelyn, please do not let them kill me."

Evelyn...a name I have almost allowed to time to forget. 

"Evelyn, you know-"

"Address Alpha Leala Maxwell property, cun-"

"Enough, Mathis!?" I growl, silencing the alpha as I watch him step away. Looking back to Luna Olivia, I watch tears run down her bloodied face, pleads of mercy coming from her lips as I take in a deep breath. "We will wait for Edward to come forward before we make a decision about her fate."

The Luna begins to cry, screaming as Mathis' men pick her up. "Evelyn, please, PLEASE. You know what they do to the body of a defeated Luna...you know what they do. Please do not let them?!" 

I try and hollow myself, to allow myself to no longer hear her screams as she keeps screaming out my name. "Do not hurt her. Just get her to shut up," I mutter, looking to Yusuf as I look back to Mathis. "If you men lay a hand on her to do any arm, I will have them killed. We need her alive and well, not dead or broken." 

But she is already broken. I see the way her eyes reflect the fires of the pack house, how she watches her pack fall before her as she lies helpless in the arms of the enemy...the enemy she once trusted. "Any news from Cedric or Brie?" 

"They are still fighting off a large amount of warriors," Penelope informs, looking out to the burning pack house consumed by red flame, as if taking pride. The smoke begins to fill the sky, clouding the sunrise as I watch the Alpha look upon the fire with a deadly curiosity. A smile tugs at her lips as she walks forth the warrior she just killed and presses a finger to her lips. "It was a beautiful house." 

"War can degrade even the prettiest of things," Yusuf comments, keeping his voice low for only me to hear as we look to Penelope, yet I know his comment was not about her or the house. His comment was not about artwork or items in general, but I know it was a comment to my state of mind. I know Yusuf looks at Penelope with the same worry I do, for we see a woman loving the game of war more than it should, and I wonder what Penelope was like before everything went south in her life. Was she like me before she had to make a name for herself and took back her title of Alpha? Was she once soft and sweet like me and I am transforming into a cold shell? 

Was that a transformation which happened to my mother?

"We head for the Alpha's house. Bring the Luna with us," I order. 

Yusuf, Mathis, and I are followed by twenty men and Luna Olive dragging behind, all headed to meet with Edward as I know he will not just end this battle to save his warriors. I've always know Olivia and Edward had a messed up romance, but they are fond of one another. The way to the alpha's house is clear of current battle, for bodies lie across the streets with their eyes wide open and glassy. Ahead of us lies the house, a few men guarding the front door as they look to me with glares. The three warriors guarding the house were men who served under Terrance and grew up knowing me well. 

As we come to a stop at the front lawn, I have the two men with Olivia bring her forward to the frontline to leverage. "We have Edward's wife. Have him come out here to meet with us," I announce, my voice carrying as I watch the men knock on the front door of the mini mansion. Steadying myself, I take in a deep breath and look to Olivia. 

"To think I convinced Edward that you visiting Crimson Lock was a wise choice. I cannot believe how stupid I was," she snaps, spitting at me as I take a step back. "You are a little vulnerable and powerless bitch, just like that whore mother of yours. Let me guess, you have already boned half of your advisors?" 

"You should hold your tongue," I lightly growl, looking away from Olivia. "It is not the best decision to try and aggravate your captor."

"Oh please, you are not running the show."

"And you are not running a functioning pack anymore," I refute. "The very fact you are now attacking my character makes me wonder exactly how much you believe Edward will chose to talk to me to save you." 

The two of us look forward to the front door as Edward steps out from his ivory tower. The alpha looks stressed, his hair thrown about, eyes bloodshot, and the moment he looks to Olivia, he does not seem relieved to see her alive. "What do you want, Leala?"

"Wave the white flag and step down from your position, Edward. You surrender and no more lives are lost."

"What lives? The lives of the warriors you will have no use for? The life of my Luna who ran from me not believing I could keep her safe?" 

"No one else has to die here tonight," I state again, "call off your men." 

"You were once part of this pack. You were once an ally even. Look how these people have changed you all because of the blood which runs through your veins." 

"Do the right thing here, Edward," I warn. Glancing to Olivia, I ask her to speak to her husband, to try and ask him for what I ask. "Do no-"

"Don't bother with Olivia," Edward voices. "She can't persuade me, Leala, and you should know this."

"For goddess sake, Edward, put an end to all of this." 

"This is war, Leala, and not all the time does someone surrender," Edward snaps, his voice strong as he steps back into his house. "You want Evercrest Ridge? You burn this house down with me in it and then the fighting will end. People only fight for their alpha, not a cause." 

Just as I want to argue his point, Edward slams the door shut and Olivia shakes with laughter beside me. "What a coward," she laughs, falling to her knees as I look to Mathis and Yusuf. "What a fucking coward!" Olivia screams for her husband to hear. "You were never a real alpha you coward!" 

"What do we do?" Mathis asks, glancing towards me as the weight is only added to my shoulders. 

"Like Edward said, burn down the house." 

"And Olivia?" Mathis asks, his eyes shifting to the hysterical Luna beside me. 

"Leave her alone. She is broken enough." 

As I watch Mathis' men move forward to fight off the warriors at the house, I turn my back to the house and look out to the smoke rising from the pack house. Just as I make my way back to the pack house with Yusuf at my side, I look back to see smoke rise from Edward's house and the laughs of Olivia seeming to echo in the dead air. 

"I need some fresh air," I mutter, looking across the pack land I once lived in, bodies and blood seeming to be everywhere as my stomach turns and I vomit onto a sidewalk. "I'm fine." 

Wiping my mouth clean, we continue back to see Alpha Penelope rejoined with Cedric, Brie, and Alpha Finch with his men. As they ask about Edward, Yusuf fills them in in return for their information. "Send our our men to gather the remaining pack members. Do not harm them. Inform them they will need to hear now new instructions and the news." This entire situation makes me sick to my stomach as I push past everyone and look to the once local gathering spot of this pack I once took pictures in front of for prom photos. 

It feels poetic almost, in a twisted way, that tearing apart the pack I grew up in helps to tear apart the person I once was within this pack. I have changed so much from the woman I once was to what I am now as a Alpha of Crimson Lock. 

It scares me. 

<><>

"Any more of this little rebellions?" 

"None since last week," Brie informs as she steps into my office and delivers mail onto my desk. "Everything is beginning to run more smooth since we dispatched thirty more men out there." 

"What of Olivia? Of her...arrangement?" 

Glancing up to me, Brie shakes her head and lowers her head. "Not much progress. To be fair, she was not the most stable person before that battle. Dr. Klein says he seems to be moving backwards rather than forwards." Nodding, I drop the topic of Olivia and how I sent her to therapy as she remains within what is left of her pack. "One of the letters addressed to you is from Eternal Shadows."

Looking to the small stack of letters, I shuffle through them to find the one with violet ink holding my name. Grabbing the letter opener, I slice the top half open as Brie begins to walk out of the room. A small letter is folded in the envelope, the edges curling upward as I pull it out of the envelope and open the letter. 

A small cluster of some shiny dust falls from the letter and onto my desk. Pushing myself back, I look to the dust upon the center of my desk,  looking to the mysterious dust. Glancing down to the letter, the handwriting is unfamiliar to me, written in a language I have never seen. 

"Who is that from?" Brie asks, noticing me standing just as she begins to leave the room. "Alpha Leala, is everything okay?"  

"What is this?" I ask, referring to the dust on my desk. 

Brie walks forward, reaching out to the dust as she stops herself from touching it. Looking up to me, she seems perplexed. "Why would someone send you stardust?" 

"Stardust?" 

"Elves use this for powerful spells and potions. I studied things like this when I was training under Bryson." Brie thinks for a short second. "It is a common myth that stardust can be used to bring back the soul of the dead." Grabbing a small bottle from the side of my desk, Brie instructs me to fill up the empty bottle to keep the dust secured. 

"I don't know what this means." I hand my Gamma the letter, watching her eyes scan over the words as Brie has a look of confusion upon her face. Shaking her head, Brie expresses to me her inability to read the letter, handing back it to me as I stare at the stardust which shimmers in the light. "Get me someone. Someone who can read unfamiliar languages. Latin or Greek or whatever hybrid cursive this is." 

I watch Brie scurry out of the room, the container of stardust left on my desk beside the letter as I pull open a locked drawer. Picking up the container, I place it right next to the wax seal from what seems like years ago. I run the letter between my fingers, looking to the purple ink which seems to shimmer. Who would want to send me such a letter? 

I am just at the tip of the iceberg. 

<><>

"Alpha Finley has remained neutral for so long. He has been a dormant force just waiting to explode." 

"He has not made any indications that he is a threat," Yusuf refutes Penelope, the three of us sitting around the kitchen table of my house. Penelope rolls her eyes, pulling my attention towards the stiches over her eyebrow as her body has begun to heal well from the battle. "When Ryker and Vaughn met with us, Finley stayed behind. Finley has made it his business to not get involved, besides, he has a small pack. Finley does not have a chance of going to war without an ally." 

"He will have to pick a side in the end," Penelope comments, sipping her tea as she looks to me. "You cannot remain neutral when a new ruler comes to power. He must submit." 

I know Penelope wants me to meet with Alpha Finley, an alpha so silent I have forgotten his pack is a few states away. "He has made no attempts of any attack or communication." 

"He could be gathering troops."

"What troops?" Yusuf laughs. "Leala has been pledged nearly half of this region's men while River takes the other half. Finley barely has three hundred men."

"We all know Lily Maxwell was short on troops and so she hired out witches. He could do the same." 

"We could catch word of witches," I argue, shaking my head as I push my chair back. "If we want, I can contact Finley for a friendly meeting, but I will not pressure him to pick sides." 

"Someone wants you dead, Leala, you should be cautious." 

"I cannot remain shut inside all day for the duration of this war," I acknowledge, watching as Cedric enters the kitchen with a pale face. Asking him to announce his business, Cedric takes in a deep breath, his hands shaky as I wonder what has put him in this state. 

Cedric takes a seat beside Yusuf, clearing his throat as he calls someone else into the room. I watch Brie with another warrior enter, the warrior carrying a box addressed to me, my name written in bold font. Getting to my feet, Brie tells me to take a seat. "You do not want to see what lies in here." 

"What is it?" 

"Alpha Leala..." Brie trails off, her voice filled with sorrow as she explains to the warrior to keep the box with him, though the warrior looks disgusted to hold it. It is similar size to the one I sent Asger, the one which contained the head of Oliver. 

My jaw becomes clenched as my fists clench. "What is in there, Brie?" 

"It was addressed to you at the pack house, the top open and a few pack members got a look." 

"Tell me what it is." I swallow the lump in my throat as I readjust my question. "Tell me who it is." 

Tensions rise as Cedric looks at me. "Your grandmother's house was attacked last night. Some intruder slipped in without notice." My eyes begin to water as I collapse into my chair. Cedric walks over to me, Alpha Penelope and Yusuf excusing themselves from the room in this private moment as I hold in my sobs. "I am so sorry, Leala." 

I wrap my arms around Cedric, burring my face in his neck as I begin to sob, my body weak as I think of the woman I had just started to know. I was to meet her just this weekend for brunch. She was my last close link to finding out more of my mother. 

"We have put out men around her house and your adopted parents. Whoever sent this message-"

"Is the rest...the rest of her body intact?" I ask between my sobs, the question hard to muster as I cannot believe I would ever ask something like this. 

"It is." 

Pulling away from Cedric, I look to the box the warrior holds. "Get that out of here." 

The warrior nods, Brie following him out of the room as I grab Cedric's arm, keeping him close as I need someone next to me right now in this moment of weakness and loss. "Get someone to plan the funeral and invite who we can. I know I have an aunt." 

Cedric takes a mental note for now, wrapping his arms around me as he embraces me tightly as I want to scream out at the world. "I want Asger dead," I cry, tears streaming down my face. "I want whoever he is working for dead." Once more, I have been stripped down, another person taken from me as my list of allies in life grows thin. I feel stripped, my emotions hollow and bare as I clutch onto my Beta for support. 

"I know," he replies, brushing a hand through my hair, "I promise you that I will be by your side through it all."