It doesn't take long for Thatcher's rogues to realize they're under attack.

Within a minute, the previously empty clearing is a battlefield. Rogues run out of the pack house, which stands in the center of the clearing and join in the fight. Growls, snarls, yelps and screams of pain or anger rise from the battle as the casualties start piling up.

Praying to the Moon Goddess that I don't lose someone close to me, I start cutting down rogues. In a battle like this, the easiest way to tell which side the rogues are on is who they attack. I'm in my human form, if they attack me, I know they're with Thatcher. His rogues also have a slightly different scent, they don't have Chains and the more feral of them have those bright red eyes.

I find myself facing three rogues at once, two wolves and a witch with the ability of ice. I guess her power works like my fire, she has to be touching the object she wants to freeze, or the ice has to travel and spread.

I take a swipe at one of the wolves, managing to make a shallow slash in the side of his neck. He growls at me, making me growl right back, my wolf swishing her tail angrily in my mind.

These bitches, Raven growls. Let me at him, Rei. Let me show these fuckers we're not Queen for nothing.

Not yet, I reply, dodging a spear of ice thrown from the witch. You'll get your turn.

"Ha!" Zaine's spiked bat smashes into the back of the witch's head, likely caving in part of her skull. She collapses immediately, body landing on the packed snow, dead. Zaine stands next to her, scowling down at her body, "Take that, witch bitch." He starts swinging his bat at the other two wolves, screaming, "You don't fuck with me or my fam!"

While the rogues are distracted dodging the maniac with a bat, I take the chance to sink my blades into their necks, giving them a sharp twist before ripping them out. Their bodies collapse, bleeding out.

Zaine sends me a smile before we both continue fighting, keeping an eye on each other's backs.

We may be in the middle of a battle but I get a warm sort of feeling at the fact that I'm doing this with the people I care about, my family. The way we have each others' backs, the way we take care of each other. It's comforting.

"Hey guys," Daring says rather cheerfully as he and Four appear and join Zaine and I in fighting. "Asher and Killian made it out. I think they're by the pack house."

I nod as I roundhouse kick a rogue in wolf form as she lunges at me. "And King?"

"I'm right here," Daring says, smirking.

"Not exactly the time for jokes, Daring," I snap. "You know I'm talking about your brother."

"He's letting the rogues take the brunt of the attack for now," Four replies, scowling. "He'll either join in later if it starts turning in his favour or he just wants to, or he'll try to run. Daring, Max, AJ and I are gonna make sure he doesn't get away. Daring and I just stopped by to give you a quick report."

"Oh and keep an eye out for Darcy, Alix and Falcon," Daring adds. "They'll fight dirty, you need to be careful with them."

Before I can reply, they're gone, slinking through the mass of fighting rogues towards the pack house.

I hear the shrieking cry of a falcon and look in time to see Falcon, in her bird form, diving into the skirmish from her position in the sky where she must've been observing the battle, joining Alix in fighting against Dad, River and Hellor.

Taking a quick look around, I don't see Darcy anywhere. Where could she be?

It takes a second to register the feeling of my body hitting the snow. The feeling of a blade pressed against my neck is the next thing I notice, along with the sneering, blood-splattered face of a fierce-looking woman hovering over me, pinning me. My eyes narrow, sensing she's human. What is she doing in a battle like this? She can be easily overpowered by a werewolf, witch or warlock.

Ripping my arm from her grasp, I plunge my blade into her thigh and push her off me.

"Why are you here?" I ask, getting up.

I glance at Zaine and, seeing him nod, I know he'll watch my back so I can focus on this human woman.

Hissing in pain and getting up, fists clenched around the handle of her knives, she spits, "Because I want to be here. You may be stronger than me, wolf, but I can still hurt you. Yeah, I go down easier but that's part of the fun. My fight may not last as long as yours but I'll fight to the end."

She lunges at me again, swinging her knives through the cool winter air. I hold one of my blades up, blocking hers from hitting me.

We don't fight for long before I managed to sink my blade into her chest. She gasps, eyes going wide before a faint smirk grows on her lips.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted," she says with a weak shrug, light draining from her eyes. "Say goodbye to my mate, will you?"

I let her body fall to the snow, eyes staying on her for a second longer before I turn away. "She was brave, I'll give her that."

"Brave or too stubborn to know when to run?" Zaine says, glancing over his shoulder at me from his position fighting.

"Dana!"

I turn, hearing the anguished shout. Another woman appears, kneeling beside the body of the other and cradling her gently.

"Babe, please," she whispers, resting her forehead against the forehead of the woman who must've been her mate. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you..."

"See, this is why I hate war," Zaine hisses next to me, having taken down his previous opponent. "It tears apart families and leaves hundreds of broken people in its wake."

I nod, agreeing. As I look back at the woman, she lunges at me, claws and canines out, clawing at my neck and chest as I grip her arms, holding her back.

"You!" she howls. "You killed her!"

I grit my teeth, trying to push her away. It's best that we kill her too. She lost her mate and if she follows Thatcher in what was previously thought of to be as attacking for fun only, there's no telling what she'll do.

Thinking the same as me, Zaine lets his bat collide with the back of her head. Her body goes limp instantly and I lower her to the ground, next to her mate.

"Poor woman," Zaine murmurs, looking down at the pair. "At least you're together again."

Rei, get over here, now, Raiden's voice says urgently, sounding... scared?

I look around quickly and see him watching me, gesturing for me to come over to him quickly. Zaine and I both hurry over to where he is. It's where Dad, River and Hellor had been fighting Alix and Falcon. The two rogues are still nearby, Falcon furiously fighting against River, Hellor and Killian and Alix leaning against a tree nearby, grimacing and pressing a hand to the rather serious looking wound in the side of her neck.

As Zaine joins the three in fighting Thatcher's remaining guard dog, Raiden grabs my wrist, pulling me to where Clove, Scott, Dean, Drake, Nick and Blake are fighting off anyone daring to try and approach two figures on the ground, one sitting against a tree, the other kneeling next to the first.

I sheath my blades, my breath catching in my throat when I see who it is. My twin and I are next to them immediately, kneeling beside him, me beside Asher and Raiden on the other side of our dad's body.

"Dad," I whisper, gazing at the deep wounds in his stomach, feeling tears start to well up in my eyes. "Dad, no. You can't die."

He smiles weakly, hand grasping mine. "It was bound to happen eventually, Rei. I got her but she still got me."

It takes me a few seconds to realize he's talking about Alix; He's the one who made Alix start bleeding out but Alix managed to return the favour as well.

I press my other hand to one of the wounds in Dad's stomach, desperately trying to stop the bleeding but I know it won't work.

... I'm going to lose him.

It's that thought that sends the tears falling down my face, my cries escaping my lips through my attempts to hold them back.

Asher places a hand on mine gently, pulling it away from pressing on Dad's wound. The sparks that fly at the contact are a welcome comfort, one that assures me that my mate is here, that I'm not alone.

My teary eyes meet Asher's own. Seeing the haunted look in his blue eyes-the ghost of all the pain he's been put through-makes my tears fall faster.

Asher leans forward as if to kiss my forehead softly, then stops, hesitating. He looks away from me, instead guiding my head to rest on his shoulder. I can tell he probably feels undeserving, insecure because of what they did to him, what lies they've made him start believing.

"Dad," Raiden whispers softly, crying as well, "What are we going to do without you?"

Despite his pain, Dad manages a small smile, "Miss me but smile?" He coughs, a bit of blood escaping his lips. "It was close to my time anyway... It just happened sooner than desired."

"What are you talking about?" Asher whispers, a hand on Dad's shoulder. "You'd still have a good couple decades to live, you're not that old, Zander."

I can see the light fading in Dad's eyes. It's almost gone.

"I love you," he says, voice quiet and growing softer as he continues. "All of you. Never forget that. Forever." I nod, blinking and making more tears fall as I squeeze his hand gently. As Dad weakly takes his last breath, eyes falling closed, he whispers, "Give 'em hell."

Raiden smiles sadly, "We will, Dad. We will."

I sigh softly, closing my eyes and lowering my head for a moment, the pain of losing Dad dancing clearly in my mind. He's not gone forever, his spirit will be able to reach out to me but not having him here with us physically still stings, a lot. I lean forward and kiss his forehead softly before pulling my hand from his still grasp.

I hear Falcon scream angrily and look up to see her now trying to get away. Glancing at Alix, I see that the life has completely drained from her as well. She's dead.

Good riddance, you shit-eating hoe.

"Get back here, you piece of fucking shit!" River yells angrily.

Looking back, I see Falcon has shifted into her second form and is flying higher in the sky, looking down at her opponents with what feels like a taunting attitude.

"Oh no you don't," I hiss softly, pulling out one of my smaller knives. "Strange."

"I'm ready," she replies. "Just throw the knife and I got it."

I stand up, keeping my eyes on Falcon, who's decided to taunt us by flying circles over our head. Aiming carefully, I throw the knife as hard as I can. Clove's eyes lock onto it and when Falcon dodges, she uses her telekinesis to make the blade turn in the air and lunge at the bird again.

It continues for a minute or two, Clove even throwing up another knife to manipulate and give Falcon two things to keep her eyes on. Eventually, Clove manages to pierce Falcon's back with one of the knives. She lets out a pained cry as she falls, spiraling out of the sky, dying. As Clove brings the other knife back to her, a loud piercing whistle rises above the sound of fighting.

It's that goddamn high-pitched whine again. It doesn't hurt like it did when I was feeling the pain through my bond to Asher. It rings in my ears but it doesn't pound in my mind like it did. Beside me however, Asher tenses and his eyes widen. I watched he starts shaking his head back and forth, panic starting to overtake him.

"Stop it," he whispers, his eyes wild and unfocused. "Stop it. Stop it, stop it, stop it!" My mate lowers his head, his hands clawing at his ears. His breathing is fast and hard and my heart breaks hearing him mumble to himself, "Nothing but a burden. Glad I'm gone. No one needs me. Weak. Pathetic. Useless."

"Asher," I say softly, placing my hands on his shoulders. His head shoots up, wide teary eyes meeting mine. "You're not useless, Asher. You're not useless and you never will be."

"You said you loved me," he whispers in response, his voice broken as if it were a cruel joke I'd played on him.

"I do love you," I reply, my eyes not leaving his. "Asher, I do love-"

I pause, listening. Over the now-fading high-frequency noise, I hear a sarcastic sort of clapping.

"Nicely done, Royals," Thatcher's voice says smoothly. "I wasn't sure you had what it takes to kill those two."

I look up and see him sitting calmly in a tree a little ways away, close enough to be heard over the sounds of fighting around us, leaning against the trunk, legs lying along the branch, arms crossed and looking for all the world there wasn't a battle going on below him. He holds his phone in his hand, teasingly waving it side to side and showing us the screen which displays the settings of playing a song or video. Daring and the other three Rulers are standing under him in wolf form, watching him with narrowed eyes.

"Took you long enough to get here," Thatcher continues carelessly. "We had quite a lot of fun together, right Cinder? Too bad you all missed it. A little sensitivity spell and all it took was a bit of noise. It helps that it's like a dog whistle too."

My hand finds Asher's as he moves to stand next to me. I can feel his lack of confidence facing Thatcher and that adds to the burning hate I have for the Rogue King.

River snarls, "We'll make you pay for what you did to him."

"Will you now?" Thatcher replies mockingly, sounding bored. "Can't wait, you've got me trembling with excitement over here. If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get, Alpha."

Thatcher puts his fingers in his mouth, letting out a shrill whistle. A good portion of his rogues turn their attention from their current opponents to us while more of his rogues appear to take on mine. So we're facing dozens of rogues while most of my rogues and the pack warriors we brought along are unable to help.

While the others begin to battle the rogues, I start heading for Thatcher, weaving through the throng of bodies towards him.

I hear Thatcher laugh as he watches me, taunting, "C'mon Queenie, I'm wide open."

He jumps down from his perch on the branch, landing on the bloodied snow. Max growls and lunges at him, only to be thrown to the ground by Thatcher.

"Now now, Maxie," he tuts. "I thought I had trained you better than that." Max growls at him but doesn't attack again. AJ moves to stand beside him, pressing his side against Max's. Thatcher continues, "Rash decisions lead to bad attacks, which leads to getting yourself killed. You're lucky I gave you mercy and didn't kill you. Anyway-"

I cut him off by lunging at him, slashing my sage blades through the air.

As Thatcher spins away, he laughs and sings, "Took you long enough, Queenie. I was beginning to wonder if you were having second thoughts on killing me."

"You're insane," I hiss, taking a swipe at his chest that he just barely dodges.

"I'm an artist," he replies, smirking cruelly, "And blood is my paint. Red is such a beautiful colour. I bet you would look great in it."

He lunges at me, claws aiming to sink into my chest. He meets nothing but air as I duck under his arm and he twists away when I try to stab him in the back as he goes past me. As I do, I notice that he's wearing one of the golden chain necklaces my rogues have. The only explanation I can think of for how Thatcher got a hold of it is that it's the one I gave to Asher, that he had Alix remove.

Four tries tackling him as he's still recovering and gaining his footing but Thatcher manages to kick him away.

"Don't," I growl to Four and the others. "Step in if I need help, otherwise he's mine."

Thatcher smiles as I take a swipe at him again. "Afraid you're too late, Queenie. I'm so over you."

I growl, fed up with his attitude and lunge at him again. He grabs my arm as he steps to the side, twisting it behind my back. Narrowing my eyes, I stomp on his foot, aiming a stab at his chest with my free hand and blade. When he moves to dodge, his center of balance shifts and I take the chance to push him down, pinning him to the snow.

"Not bad," Thatcher says, panting slightly with a happy smile. "Not bad at all, Queenie."

A second later, as I go to stab his chest, his bones start shifting under his skin. Cursing, I try to keep a hold on him as he shifts under me but a combination of rearranging bones and him twisting and squirming makes my grip loosen and gives Thatcher the chance to escape my grasp.

"So it's a wolf fight now, huh," I mumble, sheathing my blades and shifting as well.

Go for it, I say, giving Raven control over our body.

She'll have a better chance at pinning him in this form. While I can fight in wolf form, it is her body, she knows how to use it.

Hell yeah, Raven growls, starting to circle Thatcher as he does the same with us.

They continue circling each other for a while, neither of them wanting to make the first move. In the end, Raven ignites a ball of flames on the tip of our tail and flicks our tail like a catapult, launching the flames over our head and towards Thatcher. He jumps aside, letting the flames melt the snow where he had been standing.

Raven lunges at Thatcher, snarling and snapping our jaws, aiming for his neck or chest. Thatcher's jaws nip at our feet as we go past him, spinning around to face him again.

Out of the corner of our eye, I notice that Daring, Four, Max and AJ are all occupied with rogues, unable to help if I need it. So we can't afford any slip ups.

I snap back to attention as I feel Raven twist away from an attack by Thatcher.

This face off continues for a while. Raven uses our fire power when needed but eventually it takes too much of our strength and we can't risk it anymore. We can't lose too much energy. A triumphant glint in his eyes, Thatcher sees our depleted strength and lunges. Raven tries to dodge but she's too slow and we're taken down.

As we lie panting on the red snow, while Raven tries squirming and kicking Thatcher off us, I try to summon a bit of flame, enough to make Thatcher let us go. Nothing we try works. Raven, tired from fighting, steps back and gives me back control.

Thatcher shifts back to his human form, keeping me pinned down, his clothes reappearing on his body because of the Chain around his neck. Asher's chain.

Seeing the look in Thatcher's eyes, I shift back as well, knowing he's gonna get me to one way or another.

Daring, Four, Max and AJ are still caught up fighting rogues. The other Royals, alphas and friends of mine, while nearby, are probably too caught up in their own fights to notice. There are so many bodies around us that they might not be able to see Thatcher and I on the ground either.

If anyone's available, I say, I could use some help.