Ezra POV

The light sound of snowflakes falling is the only thing I can focus on. They flutter around in tiny flurries, attaching to any surface they can find. It's a beautiful thing to see on such a terrible night.

There's not a single drop of blood left where she once stood moments ago. I stare at that one place long and hard as if she'll reappear at any second. I pray that those words will be erased from my brain. She had said them with such conviction.

Maybe I was imagining them? Maybe I misheard her?

Little brother.

To my knowledge, I'm just an only child.

There's also the fact the The Red Alpha is a certifiable looney. She could've been messing with my head. She could've been trying to tie me up in knots.

And yet, something in the back of my head know that there is truth to what she uttered mere moments ago.

Can it be true? Can I be related to something so fully evil and demented? The proof is in the pudding. Our features were so similar I felt as though I was looking in some sort of fun house mirror.

She looked like me. She knew my name. How could she be lying when it's so blatantly obvious?

All I want is to chase after her and demand answers, strap her to a chair and torture the information out of her. But I can't.

She could be dead already.

The Red Alpha still has a chunk of silver in her cold, black heart. I'm surprised she didn't die on the spot. She is a lycan after all, but not a fully mature lycan. I don't know how she has lived all these years without ever fully maturing. No wonder she didn't shift during our fight. She wasn't able to.

I stand there for a long while. The snow under my thick paws os past melted, the dirt underneath turning to mud.

I stay in that place so long, trapped in my own thoughts, that I've forgotten I'm not alone. Alpha Veiler steps forward slowly. His reproachfulness is his way of making sure he doesn't startle me. I shift my head over to stare at him.

His enormous figure towers over me. Those creepy red eyes are like beacons in the dark world. His ears twitch and those eyes narrow at me. He's watching me, waiting to see what exactly I'll do. It's as if he's waiting for me to breakdown. He's testing me. The Alpha of Alphas is scrutinizing me.

I glance once again at the broken sword between my paws. What happened minutes back seems like it was an eternity ago. I can't fathom time right now. There is too much shock.

If I'm not careful, that shock will consume me.

Alpha Veiler's gaze stays glued to me. He's observing me under pressure, seeing if the candidate he chose for his Gamma is mentally stable.

I'm not about to make him rethink his decision.

I straighten, puffing my chest out. I try to relax and seem completely unbothered. I'm not sure how successful I am in that. For all I know I might still look like a lost puppy from the outside.

Veiler stalks past me and starts into the forest, drawing closer to the pack. He inclines his head for me to follow him. I trail close to his side.

I wonder in the back of my mind where Ryk had gone. He disappeared. He might have seen how powerful the King truly was and decided he wanted to live. I put myself in his place and know I would've done the same.

We walk through the trees silently. The only noise is our own footfalls and the snow falling all around us. The sirens have stopped. Hopefully that means that everyone that needs to be in the bunker is safely stowed away.

I can only hope that Klepto is safe and sound.

I keep my snout down to the ground and take deep inhales. There are a few bits and pieces of scents left behind. They moved quickly and efficiently. The rogues planned this out, they knew what they were doing.

We keep going further into the woods, deeper into the pack grounds until a scent peaks my interest. The scent of blood, fear, death. They are all familiar in the breeze around me.

When I look over, Veiler is staring at me again. He turns to the direction of the smells and lumbers towards it, clearly wanting me to follow.

So, I follow.

I wonder what we will stumble upon. After years of fighting battles and seeing endless killings, I definitely know what to expect.

The gore we find isn't shocking.

Bodies are strewn everywhere. Some are half buried in snow, others in plain sight. Limbs are scattered, blood splattered, bones shattered. It's hard to stomach the impossible amount of mess from the battle that was waged here.

The scents are fresh. It happened recently.

The amount of lives lost here is tragic no matter who it is that died. Rogue or Pack member, it doesn't matter. The mass destruction is a waste of life.

Everyone here had someone. They had families. Parents, siblings, mates, children.

Thinking back to Klepto makes me look at this from a whole different perspective. What if I'd been one of those killed? Or what if she was the one who'd been murdered in cold blood? The pain of losing someone that close to you is impossible to fathom.

Veiler treds forward into the crowd of numerous bodies. He bends down to touch his nose to one wolf and nudges it with his impossibly large snout. He chuffs and then licks his lips, a gleam of something strange in his eyes. His gaze wanders to me and he beckons me over, his paws dancing uneasily.

When I stalk to his side I catch a whiff of what he was referring to. I stare at the mess on the ground before me and I actually feel relieved at what I see.

Alpha Green's wolf body is ravaged. His neck scratched deep, blood stained against his side. His tail is torn clean off. In fact, there isn't a part of his body that isn't wounded in some way. Someone had made sure he would die a painful death.

He'd met his fate, finally. I curse myself for hoping that Beta Thorn came across something similar. Does that make me a terrible person?

Well, you are related to a monster.

I shake the thought away, or at least I try to. If what the Red Alpha said is true, than I fear for my sanity. To be related to someone so awful and cruel isn't something I want to accept. I will hate myself if it's true. The apple doesn't fall far from the hypothetical family tree.

Evil could run in my veins.

What if that's what's wrong with me? All the terrible things I've done, what if they are because I'm a monster deep down.

Even now I could be walking on thin ice, balancing in between good and bad. A single trip up can land me in a darkness that I can't escape.

The picture of my Mother appears in my head from my awful dream. Her beautiful face was so sweet and kind. She had loved me. She had protected me to the best of her ability. She most certainly was not evil. I can't say the same about my Father, seeing as how I have no idea who he is.

Fear tingles up my spine. I can't think like that. I can't destroy myself from the inside out because of what some manipulative witch told me. This is what she wanted.

Staring down at the dead Alpha, it crosses my mind that we can't just leave this pack without a new Alpha. We will need to appoint a new leader here. Everyone knows that Nathaniel Green would be just as awful, if not worse than his father.

Everything will work out as it's supposed to. The Moon Goddess knows's what she's doing.

The sound of approaching footprints alerts me to the appearance of our comrades. Hyrum is first, he steps into the massacre with a grim slant to his features. Reid and Miranda follow behind him closely.

Seeing them alarms me. If they're here, that means that they aren't fighting rogues.

Maybe they've all been taken care of. Did they pull back, run off? It could be a possibility that they somehow know their leader is gone and gave up.

And then there's Ace and Savannah to worry about. Where are they? Are they still deep in the thrall of battle somewhere?

Thinking of battles has me in a sudden mess of anxiousness to be by Klepto's side. Surely she's safe. She has to be. I would know if something happened to her, wouldn't I?

Each of the lycans before us has blood on them. Not their own of course, but the blood of the enemy. It covers their snouts and paws.

They have fought bravely to protect this pack. And yet, something in my gut knows that something is off. The rogues wouldn't just run away. There has to be some of the little pests still scurrying around here somewhere.

When Veiler lifts his head and points it towards the center of the pack, and I know he wants to go there. He turns tail and starts to run. I'm alarmed when he sprints away. Before I can question it, I follow behind. I try to keep pace with him, but it's difficult. Veiler's a fast one.

I spare a glance behind me to see that everyone is also following behind. Good. It seems we all know who our Alpha is.

As we get farther I realize where we're heading, and my stomach drops. King Veiler is leading us to the bunker.

Maybe Klepto isn't as safe as I thought. Worry grips me in a viselike hold.

I have to get to her, and fast.

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