I was shaken awake abruptly. I snapped my eyes open and stared at my brother in confusion. His face held a look of panic and alarm. I sat up and grabbed his arm in concern. Before I could gather the words a bloodcurdling scream was heard not too far away. This wasn't an ordinary scream, this was a scream of terror. "Come on we have to go." Owen said hurriedly.

I grabbed my shoes and shoved them on shakily. "What's going on Owen?" I asked.

"Were being attacked by the Silver Crest pack." He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door. "Attacked?!"

This made no sense, our packs caused no trouble with Silver Crest. We were on neutral grounds with every pack.

"Where is everyone?"

"Mom is directing all the females and pups to the underground cellar. Dad and Titus are fighting." He explained.

My stomach dropped, this was bad.

"I snuck out of mom's sight to find you. She's going to be pissed." He said as we reached the front door. "Thank you."

I need to know if Titus was okay so I decided to mind link him. Titus?

No answer.

Panic began to settle in. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, not wanting to get worked up. If Titus was in trouble I would have felt his pain, I reassured myself.

Owen stopped at the door and ran towards the windows. He peaked out through the blinds at the scene. "Fúck." He muttered under his breath.

He slowly opened the front door, revealing the tragedies that lied behind it.

Rain poured down on lifeless bodies some of our own and some of Silver Crest. Warriors fighting to the death to defend their pack from the intruders. The reasoning for this chaos...unknown.

I wanted to vomit...

Owen pulled me out of my shocked state as he lead me out of the house. We made our way to the side of the house, where we caught our breath and took in the surroundings. Wolves were fighting in their wolf form, tearing flesh, studying their prey. It was a bloodbath, one that would not be easily forgotten.

We both sighed in relief when the pack house came into view. That feeling was quickly pushed to the side once we saw the amount of lifeless bodies laid across the field.

"Don't look." Owen warned, but it was all ready too late. I doubled over, using my hands to hold me up as I vomited. The smell of death got stronger, invading my nostrils. A reminder of the attacks that took place. Owen crouched down next to me, rubbing soothing circles into my back.

Then it hit me, Titus's scent. It was faint, but definitely there. I shifted into my wolf in an instant then took off into the woods. Owen called after me in a panicked voice. It's not safe to shift while pregnant, but my mind was somewhere else at that very moment. I made a rash decision without thinking, one I might regret in the future.

I pumped my paws against the forest floor. I had to find him before his scent disappeared. I let my wolf take control while I sat in the back, anxiously waiting. I had a better chance of finding him with her in control.

But as usual, luck was not on my side. My wolf skidded to a stop as a dark brown wolf crouched to the ground, baring its teeth ready to pounce. Staring into the wolf's chocolate eyes, realization dawned. This was no ordinary wolf.

It was Lily.

The raging look on her face said it all.

She planned to kill...

Sharp rain padded down onto my fur like bullets. The uneasy smell of death passing through me with the wind. We circled each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Although I knew it was useless, I decided to reach out to her one last time. Lily, just walk away.

No! She said, snapping her jaws at me.

What is your problem? Now is not the time! She was stopping me from getting to Titus, and that only made me angrier.

Now is the perfect time. With all this chaos going on, we can say you died from one of the Silver Crest wolves. I growled at her. She was plotting my death! How would I know if she wasn't working with the Silver Crest wolves?

Don't worry, I'll take care of Titus. I lunged for her, aiming for her neck. She crossed the line a long time ago. In my opinion, I was rather generous. But that generosity ended right now.

I clawed at her snout, leaving a mark. She howled in pain before she dug her canines my into my neck and threw me against a nearby tree. I hit the tree with a loud thud. The sound of my bones cracking wasn't as painful as the actual fact. I pushed back a whimper and attempted to stand on all fours. If I was going down...fine. But I wasn't going down without a fight.

She charged at me as I steadied myself on my paws. I crouched to the ground, ready for her attack. She crashed into me,knocking me off my feet. But not before my claws trailed painfully down the side of her right eye.

Furious, she growled loudly.

I knew clawing wasn't going to be enough, and if I really wanted this to come to an end, I needed to aim for her neck. She had thrown me around like a rag doll two times too many, and I was sick of it.

Red clouded my vision as I pumped my paws in her direction. My teeth found her neck as I collided into her. My bit down harder, hard enough to kill her. Her squirms slowly came to a stop as her heart beat faded out. I released my grip then stumbled to the ground, exhausted.

Skin replaced fur as Lily shifted. She laid there bare in the snow with here eyes closed shut and mouth slightly open.

Lily was dead.

I just killed Seth mate. I doubt he would see things in my perspective. He'd be too blinded by the lost of his mate. I pushed those thoughts aside for the time being. Right now I needed to find my own mate. I quickly jumped into the nearby lake and washed off any remains of Lily's scent.

I had been running for a good ten minutes at this point. I was right on Titus's trail. It would only be a matter of seconds before I would find him. His scent led me to a clearing near a lake. I had only been at this part of the pack a couple of times, and not by my father's will.

This was right at the end of our territory's boundary. I was on full alert at this point. I felt Titus's wolf calling out to mine. I let my wolf have full control as she led us to our mate.

***

I shook out fur as I exited the stream of water. I didn't like killing. But I wasn't opposed to it when necessary. I walked towards the lifeless bodies and let out a huff of breath.

Power got the better of this pack of wolves. They were savages, living off of greed and hunger. They would rather kill a whole pack to be victorious. They were a troublesome pack that lost their way when Landon became Alpha. We had heard about their downfall, we'd just hoped they wouldn't become a problem. We were wrong.

I sunk to the ground in exhaustion. I had put my walls up earlier to stop Brinn from feeling my pain. I was ambushed on my way to get her and barely made it out alive. That would have caused a pain for her and potentially affect my pup. It took a lot out of me, but I needed to protect her. I felt her trying to push through to get in touch with me, but at the time I was fighting for my life.

I felt my wolf calling out to hers, fighting for control. Too exhausted to stop him, I sighed in contempt. Ryan informed me the last of the Silver Crest pack fled with their alpha. They took the Cowards way out, when they realized they were outnumbered.

I peeked my ears up as I heard the sound of a twig snap. I relaxed when I saw Brinn advancing towards me. She licked my face before she began sniffing along my wolf. She shouldn't have shifted! It was dangerous for her and our pup. She had not regard for her or the pup's safety. I snapped my jaws at her, growling my disapproval.

She sank to the ground, peering up at me through her drooping ears. Titus you're hurt! Was the first thing I heard as I let my walls down. I rolled my eyes then picked her up by my canines. She stayed quiet as I raced to the pack house. Brinn you shouldn't have shifted!

You weren't answering me! I thought you were hurt! Anger laced her voice.

I was trying to protect you. What happened to your arm? She stayed quiet. Her right arm was broken for sure, and it wasn't healing.

I did something really bad Titus... She explained.

I stopped in the area where I dropped my clothes. I let go of her then shifted back into my skin side. I quickly changed into my shorts as she shifted. She grabbed my shirt and threw it on. Her glossy eyes met mine before they dropped down to the ground. "Titus I.."

"It's okay Brinn." I pulled her to my chest as I wrapped my arms around her. Our short moment of solitude was ruined at the sound of a woman's scream. Brinn pushed me away, holding a panicked expression.

"M-momma!" She called out.

I now realized the reasoning for her panicking. I grabbed her arm and took off towards the pack house.

***