Today, Lia realized that having peace and rest was a rare privilege to some people. It was like jumping from the frying pan to fire, she had just dwelt with Asher's case only to be informed of Daniel's predicament.

Her werewolf mate, it appears, was in agony and she was needed to alleviate his condition, as said by Ryan.

"My brother, Trevor, where is he? Didn't he come? I sent him over to check on Daniel, he hasn't gotten back to me yet," Lia complained as they trudged down the trail leading to Kinney village in the forest.

"He was there," Ryan informed her.

"He was there? Why then haven't I seen him back home?" She was worried.

"He came with their hunter buddies to investigate the incident but the information they received was restricted and they left. The whole pack is a mess, we can't let them put their noses where they aren't supposed to," he said.

"Won't the council be offended by that?"

"The council's responsibility is to oversee we don't oppress the humans and maintain the balance between both races, not own us," Ryan growled, pissed when he recalled their overbearing attitude earlier.

"The way I see things, the council has you all captive. You claim they don't own you yet your kind is still restrained under their leadership. You answer to them, remember?" Lia pointed out.

"I can't really blame them, this captivity was brought on by the egotism of our ancestors," he grumbled.

"I don't know much about supernatural history aside from the ones I was told," Lia, who was captivated by the story urged him to continue.

"During the great war, all races were at conflict with each other and of course, the weak humans bore the brunt of the disaster until the witches proposed a treaty.

"All supernatural clan leaders and Alphas refused to bear the responsibility of uniting everyone -they claimed it was an enormous responsibility. Rather, they pledged allegiance to the witches' cause, giving them the support they needed - albeit with one or two disputes along the way.

"It took a lot of years and trials for the witches to achieve their intention of unity but at last, it was accomplished and too late for other supernaturals to realize they had given the witches enough power than they should wield,"

"Wow," Lia was blown away by his narration. So that was how it all happened? Everyone was too invested in their own people that they weren't able to see the big picture ahead.

"Can't anyone contend for that position? Must it only be the witches in charge?" She queried him.

"There are some other creatures in there but none make it to the inner circle, they make sure of it."

"The council is ensuring that the power never leaves the witches now or in the future," she shook her head, "Isn't this some sort of democracy?"

"It's survival of the fittest and we're here," Ryan announced.

"Oh my God," Lia drank in the sight of the devastated pack; it was a shadow of itself.

Most houses were burnt while the rest were in ravages, even the prominent packhouse wasn't recognizable any longer.

The corpses had been cleared out of the way but the metallic smell of blood was so strong that she even held her breath.

The mood was melancholic and there were still families trying to identify their loved ones wherever they were.

The cries of uncomfortable babies and children rang through her ear and made her head throb.

Lia's heart sank, tears stinging her eyes. She turned towards Ryan with burning fury, "Who did you say did these?"

"Save your anger, Tristan's dead already. Let's go," He began to lead her to the direction of the pack's hospital, which thankfully, had not been affected by the attack.

The wails of werecreatures in agony assaulted Lia's auditory canal so hard that she wanted to just curl up at a corner and shield her ears.

The hospitals were overwhelmed and more injured patients were being brought in, making it look like they were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

"Come," he steered her.

Lia was expecting to be led to a private room but was mystified when they walked into a basement.

"What are …?"

A wild growl made her jump out of her skin and her eyes settled on a familiar creature, no, human chained to the wall.

"Oh boy," Lia breathed, her eyes widened in disbelief. Daniel's beta definitely underestimated the words, "Alleviate his pain,".

Right now, Lia could only explain that Daniel looked like a dog gone rabid.

Daniel's eyes were red and swollen with veins protruding out of his neck. He partially shifted; having razor-sharp teeth, furs on his skin, and a low dangerous rumble in his throat; he looked like a man-eater each time he lunged forward, struggling against the binds which rattled with his movements.

Lia looked at the other two in the room with her, recognizing one as Judith and the other as a doctor judging from the tray of medicine she carried.

"Why is he that way? Why haven't you guys done anything?" She queried them.

"We would have, but we were waiting for your arrival, "Judith answered.

"You were waiting for me?" Lia pointed to her chest, stunned by their blunt confession.

"It's a miracle that our Alpha survived that wolfbane ingestion but right now we need to treat him, get the rest of the poison out of his body.

"We can't get into proximity with Daniel, without him reaping our head off. The effects of wolfsbane on a werewolf aside from the intense pain include hallucination. Right now, he doesn't recognize any of us but might -"

"Recognize me because I'm his mate, that's why you need me," Lia filled in.

"Exactly," Judith acquiesced," We need to put him to sleep so the doctor could work on him,"

"Alright," Lia took a deep breath and rubbed her palms together, preparing herself for the task ahead.

She had just taken a step toward him when Daniel snapped at her ferociously which made her jump back.

"Careful," Ryan cautioned her.

"Alright, Lia, you got this," She cracked her neck.

This time, she got on her knees and slowly crawled her way to him while holding his gaze. The rumble rose gradually in his throat but Lia didn't break the gaze until she was right in front of him.

"Daniel, it's me," Lia breathed, raising her hand slowly yet carefully to touch his face.

The werewolf's scorching gaze followed her action without reacting and just when Lia was confident she had successfully tamed him, Daniel chomped on her hand.

"Ahhh!"