I slid further down my seat and ran my hand over my face. It had been exactly eight hours since since we had been attacked. Brinn's mother went in search of her and Owen and ended up being caught in the middle of the war. The savages pushed a knife into her abdomen. It was a gruesome sight. Brinn and I caught the aftermath, but it didn't make things anything less harder on her.

Her mother has been in surgery for the past five hours. Richard sat a few seats down from me with his head in his hands. Owen took off a few hours ago. He had witnessed his mother being stabbed and his father completely annihilate two of the predators. His life would change from this point forward. He and Brinn had gotten into a huge fight the moment we entered the infirmary. It was mostly him yelling and her crying. He was just angry and needed someone to blame, but I had to step in before things got too messy.

Brinn's sobs shortly turned into sniffles, then eventually to soft snores. She laid her head in my lap as I caressed her soft blonde locks. Taylor bandaged her up a few minutes after we entered the infirmary. Her arm should heal in a couple of days. She was exhausted, we all were. What started of as a reunion of peace and unity, quickly turned into bloodshed and loss. We let our guard down, and that was a mistake.

Richard stood abruptly, hands balled into fist and teeth clenched. I'd seen that look before, a look of belligerence. His eyes grazed gold, a sign that his wolf needed to be let out. "I'm going for a run. Have someone notify me when she's out of surgery. I want to be the first to see her." He commanded his Beta. He ran his hands over his face before he made his way to the exit.

My mother and father walked in a couple minutes later. They came to us after we arrived to the pack hospital to make sure we were alright, but left shortly after. "Jill is still in surgery?" My mother asked as she sat on the opposite side of me. "Yes." She shook her head at my response. "For the sake of her pack, I hope she survives this. Or we'll have another war on our hands." I rolled my eyes at my mothers blatant disrespect. Jill was dying and all she could worry about was a war. I couldn't blame her though, her parents taught her a different way of life. No humanity, no culpability.

Although she had gotten better over the years, her true self would always come out to play. "Rachel, war is the last thing on our mind right now." My dad said as he stood over her. She sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm just saying, we have to think of the pack."

"You are not an Alpha Rachel. I do not want to go through this again!" And there it was, a fight for dominance. A fight that my parents had many of times throughout my childhood. My father was traditional and believed a female should stay at home and raise their pups, no involvement with the pack. That was a problem for my mother. She was born to lead and anything less was a slap in the face to her. I could see it in her eyes, the true meaning behind her actions. She didn't believe my father was strong enough to lead.

It infuriated my father. I watched him hold back many of times, and I watched him put her in her place many of times as well. But there was one time that stuck with me, and her as well. As she didn't dare to challenge him again after. I had just turned ten. My mother was feeling rather ballsy that day and decided to disrespect my father in front of the pack. A mistake she would never make again.

I got pulled away before I saw her punishment, but I knew it was bad. The little fight she had left quickly deteriorated after that day. No one speaks of it, but my father sometimes has to remind her of that day to get her to stand down. It hurt him to hurt his mate, but an alpha's pride sometimes gets in the way of their choices. I couldn't afford to let that happen.

My mother sunk into her chair without another word, showing my father her neck. My father let out a gruff of appreciation.

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. "What's going on with the pack?" I asked, trying to clear some of the tension. He sighed, "It's out of control, some of the males started a riot. They want to attack Silver Crest." I left my father and Ryan in control while I stayed with Brinn.

I sighed, "I'll make an announcement in a couple of hours." He nodded.

My mother rubbed Brinn's arm soothingly. "How is she?"

"She's upset." She nodded understandingly.

"And the pup?" She asked with a look of concern.

I had Taylor check on Brinn and the pup a couple of hours ago. Of course she put up a fight, but it was all worth it to know my pup was still there and healthy. "Fine, I had Taylor che- Wait how did you know?"

"I didn't, but I sure as héll know now!" She said as she smacked my head.

I held the back of my head with my hand. "Ow." My father chuckled, "Congrats son."

"Thanks dad." My mother shook her head. "You should have said something Titus."

I moved Brinn to my lap before I stood. "I'm going to put her to bed, then I'll be back." They both nodded. My father sat next to my mother then placed her hand in his. I made my way towards the exit. Brinn squirmed slightly in my arms but didn't wake. I decided to place her in her room in the pack house. It wasn't far from the pack hospital, and I needed to keep an eye on her.

I gently placed her into her bed, being cautious of her right arm. Then placed the blanket over her small form. She quickly pushed my hands away. "No, I have to be there when she wakes up." She said as her bottom lip quivered. "I'll wake you up when she does, I promise." She slowly nodded then turned on her side so her back was facing me.

I walked over to her desk. I opened the drawer in search of a notebook and pen. I grabbed what I needed then moved towards the bed. I sat next to my mate as I mind linked Ryan. Ryan you are to report to me once Luna Jill is out of surgery. He responded almost instantly. Yes Alpha.

Also issue me a list of the pack members we have lost. We need to start arranging appropriate funerals.

On it.

I scanned my mind on what to say for my announcement. I felt the pain and suffering my pack was going through, but I also needed to take into consideration of the pack members I had lost. We had to go about this the right way, or things could quickly spiral out of control. With Richard a complete mess, everything was in my hands. I not only had to lead my pack, I had to lead his as well.

I was hoping, praying the list wouldn't be too long. But when Ryan showed up an hour later with the list of names, I was shocked. Innocent children lost their lives in the hand of a bunch of savages. My eyes scrolled down to the middle of the list when it landed on a name I didn't expect to be there. "L-lily?"

Ryan nodded. "Straight kill to the neck. We had to lock Seth in the cells to contain him. He's not doing too well." As to be expected. Although Lily didn't accept him, he had accepted her.

I shook my head. Lily was a bítch, but she didn't deserve to be killed by one of the Silver Crest members. They were foul and had no remorse for their actions. "How's her father?" I asked.

Ryan shook his head. "No one has seen him since the attack." I narrowed my eyes. "That's strange..." Ryan nodded, "I agree."

"Find him. There is no way he would leave his daughter to die. I call bullshít."

"I'm on it." Ryan turned to to leave when I called out to him. "Yes."

"Thank you." A small smile appeared on his face. "You're welcome." Ryan and I had been friends since we were little, but sometime the duties of the pack got in the way of that. I cared for him like a brother and vice versa.

He turned on his heel and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. I turned to my mate and placed a kiss on her forehead.

***