I squinted against the sun rays that managed to sneak through the forest canopy. I sighed happily and stretched though I had no intention of leaving the soft moss bed under my back. The breeze carried the scent of wild animals to my nose but this was one of those rare instances where even my wolf was too relaxed to think about killing. I felt good.

It was probably because Father kicked all the children under eight from the pack house this morning, so I didn’t have to deal with family for today. Supposedly there was some adult matter that had to be solved, that was what every adult told us. Except I was the son of the Alpha, so I knew… Today was the Challenge Day. Every member of the pack was allowed to challenge others for their status and even outsiders could come and issue a challenge.

I wasn’t too bothered… Pack member on pack member challenges never ended in death unless they were for the Alpha, Beta, or Shield position. And Gods knew that not a single soul in the pack would ever challenge Alistair, Bran, or Nikolai and this time there were no outsider challenges. So I wasn’t worried in the slightest.

The bushes on my right rustled, when I looked up it was Bran making his way to me. A smile spread over my face and he gave me one of his own, his seemed tired though. There wasn’t a scratch on him as always, everyone loved Bran, no one would ever challenge him. With a sigh, he flopped down next to me and mimicked my position; on my back with my arms behind my head.

“I swear I sometimes ask myself why do we even live in packs if we just keep fighting each other like this,” he said quietly as if not to stir the serenity of the late afternoon.

“So why do we?” I asked since he practically offered the question. He looked at me with a surprised expression. It looked funny on him.

When the shock wore off he furrowed his eyebrows and actually gave it a thought. “We are pack animals. There is strength in numbers.”

“Really?” I pushed up on my elbows and cocked my head to the side. “Wild wolves live in packs so they can hunt bigger prey, but we are werewolves we can hunt anything we want and there isn’t exactly any bigger predator we have to worry about,” I argued.

“Don’t be so sure about that.” He sighed and a complicated expression settled on his face. “There are creatures much worse than werewolves.” He then shook his head before I could ask what exactly he meant by that. “I think that a pack is every wolf’s emotional support. It can be hard fighting with the beast inside for eternity… We need each other. And why do we fight? Dominant wolves fight for the privilege of taking care of weaker wolves. If a subordinate thinks he can do my job better than me it’s his right to take that position from me. It’s our own way of democracy.” He grinned at that. Packs were anything but democratic.

I lied back down and for a while we just breathed, listening to the breeze and the rustle of leaves. In the end, my curiosity got the better of me. “What creatures could be worse than werewolves?” I asked.

Bran grimaced and with a sigh ran his fingers through my hair. “Creatures so dark and foul not even the Underworld wanted them… Cadracs… Mercenaries… Witches… Hopefully, you will never have to deal with them…” He nuzzled into my face in a very wolf-like gesture, breathed in my scent, and enfolded me in his own. My wolf purred happily in the safety and love of the pack Beta. Then after a while in a quiet, quiet whisper he added: “Especially witches…”

I slowly came to myself and my surroundings. First was the smell of dust and the foul smell of Mercenaries. Then there was pain… My whole body was aching dully, the biggest point of pain being my shoulder. I was lying on my face on the ground. It was cold and jaded, so probably stone. I guessed I was still in the mines. Slowly my hearing came back as well.

“Are you sure you have enough strength?” I quickly recognized that voice. It was the mercenary woman. The dead woman. My wolf reminded me. I quickly grabbed on to that rage so that it would chase away the ache and pull me to wakefulness.

“Doubting me now Olivia?” I guessed that was the witch from before. Her voice was followed by what sounded like an iron-hitting stone.

“Just making sure,” the mercenary – Olivia - said. “God knows I waited long enough for this.” I decided to keep pretending I was asleep even though my blood practically boiled as I heard her come closer and crouch somewhere on my right. “Finally the time of wolves and vampires will come to an end. And you will help me, little Prince. Come on, it’s rude to eavesdrop.” She poked my side.

I growled out and tried to spring to my feet and get her, but everything hurt way too much for that. Before I got into a sitting position she was already standing on the other side of the room with the witch in a white coat stirring something in a stone bowl.

“I won’t help you with shit,” I growled out and tried to assess the situation. I wasn’t in a cage, I wasn’t chained or tied up. Either they were terribly stupid or they didn’t think I was a threat. Well, I had to admit that in my current condition I didn’t have the best chance at killing them. You can, with my help… The darkness inside me purred, ready to kill. I shook my head, I couldn’t. I just had to hope that Yuri and Scott got away.

“Oh, you won’t have a choice in that regard,” Olivia said, picking up a purple-bluish flower. Wolfsbane. “You should have listened to your father, mutt. He has figured out my aim long before you even came to Silver Springs,” she said, smelling the flower. I gagged a bit. She just smiled. “You were only the second choice you know? I guess the other mercenaries were right in one regard… Aiming for Alistair was foolish of me, he is a careful bastard. But I’ve spent enough time here to hear some rumors about a wayward son with the power of Cŵn Annwn in his veins.” She licked her lips as she looked me over. I clenched my hands into fists. “And now I have you and I can show all those mercenaries who doubted me, that I’m powerful enough to end the rule of monsters over this earth!” she proclaimed. All that was missing was thunder and ominous music.

“I wonder how long you spend preparing that speech in front of a mirror,” I muttered under my breath as I pushed myself to my feet with a groan.

“Don’t be a little shit.” She spat at me and crushed the flower in her hand. “I am not like all the others that call themselves mercenaries. I am more powerful than you can imagine. You have never met a mercenary like me. I can summon twenty beasts with ease and I will destroy you pathetic mutts.”

“Summon fifty of them if you want, but you will never beat the Ghealach pack,” I said more confidently than I felt.

Her face twisted in anger and the darkness in the mines moved as if brought to life. “Interesting. That’s exactly what the others said. But just like you, they don’t know the full extent of my powers. Because you little Prince will be my secret weapon. I hope you don’t cherish your freedom too much.” She gave me a wicked smile. “I will make you kill your family before the sun rises.”

I lunged at her but an invisible barrier stopped me and a wave of ice hit me so hard I fell to my knees unable to feel my muscles. I growled in frustration.

“Here, he can’t move, just inject it into his veins,” the witch said as she drew whatever black substance was in the stone bowl into a big syringe. Oh fuck. I had to do something I had to move. But I couldn’t no matter how I willed my muscles to do something, nothing happened. I even tried to call my wolf, but it was like there was a wall between him and me. I couldn’t even make my fangs drop as she stuck the needle forcefully into my neck. The weird substance stung as it made its way through my veins and I cried out as my body was seized by horrible cramps in about every muscle of my body. I dropped to the floor and curled up into a ball clutching my stomach as I convulsed uncontrollably.

I screamed as icy fingers stretched out inside me and grabbed the darkness that made my soul its home. They gripped it tight and yanked. Then there was only darkness.