Destruction.

The only thing I see for miles.

Trees reduced to nothing but splinters; boulders crack and shatter into pebbles.

I am the cause.

I couldn't take the news of Darcy being kidnapped and hurt by Kaceline, so I ran to the forest to cool off some steam.

The forest was in ruins now, thanks to me.

I sit in the middle of the horrible mess and hug my knees to my chest.

What have I done?

Going on a rampage didn't bring Darcy back, neither did it make me feel better. If any innocent bystanders were near, I didn't want to think about what could've happened.

I hear a set of footsteps coming near me. The soothing scent of cedar, pine and peppermint fills my nostrils and calms me down a little bit.

From my peripheral vision, I see Lorenzo plop down next to me on the ground.

I hug my legs tighter so I could hide my nakedness.

When he sees this, he takes off his indigo hoodie and hands it to me.

I take it and quickly zip it on. It's short but at least it covers up the important stuff. I now sit with my knees bent and arms supporting me at the back.

"Thanks." I mutter.

He responds by scooting closer to me and laying his head on my shoulder.

"Lori, do you ever wish that our lives were never the trainwrecks they are?"

He nods.

"I'm sorry I'm not the mate you were probably hoping for. I just have a lot of baggage and by publicly accepting you as my mate and Alpha King, I'll be putting you in grave danger. Darcy is missing because of me, and I don't know what'll happen if you're gone too." My voice cracks in the end and a tear escapes my overflowing eyes.

Lorenzo wipes my face with a thumb and wraps his arms around me in a side hug.

For a long while, we sit in silence, just enjoying each other's company.

In the distance, two wolves and a very large tiger make their way near us.

I stand up and push Lorenzo behind me before growling at the trio.

They lower their necks in submission and the tiger closes it's eyes. I recognize the white and brown wolves as none other than my Beta and Gamma.

"Shift. Please." I say using my Alpha tone.

The three animals shift back to their human form and I face Kaden, Anastasia and Kella all in their naked glory.

I'm honestly not bothered. My pack even trains without clothes on so we got used to nudity.

"So you're a tiger shifter?" I ask the obvious.

"Uhm, yeah. We felt your anger through the pack link and we only came when you calmed down." Anastasia answers.

"What's he doing here?" Kaden glares at Lorenzo.

I narrow my eyes to slits and grab Lorenzo's wrist possessively.

"Wait, you're mates! Right?" Kella interjects while her curly orange hair bounces on her back.

Anastasia and Kaden's eyes widen in realisation. I feel Lorenzo shuffle uncomfortably. Only now I realize that my back is still pressed to his front.

"Don't tell anybody guys. Please?" I plead with them.

"Yeah sure."

"We got more important stuff to do."

"Welcome to borstal, bro."

I sigh and roll my eyes. If this group is going to be leading our kingdom, the werewolf race is on tenterhooks.

~

"We have reason to believe that Kaceline is hiding the witch princess near Redcliffe Coven borders, your majesty."

"Then contact Stella Harmony. I'm sure she should know about this too."

"Yes your majesty." Jeremy, one of my best trackers bows and exits my office.

I avert my attention back to the map in front of me. The Redcliffe Coven is two packs away from my pack. It would take about one day to reach in wolf form, so having their stella come to my pack would be the better option.

I should've known that Kaceline was the one behind all this. Who would have a grudge against me for my psycho power-hungry uncle's death? Who would want to make me suffer by taking away my best friend? Who has a bone to pick with the werewolves the witches?

My powerful and equally crazy aunt.

"Beta Cole, please ensure that Stella Harmony of the Redcliffe Coven is informed of the urgent meeting requested."

"Yes Alpha."

I exit the castle and walk to the archery range near the training grounds. I need to cool off some steam before meeting this stella.

Not caring about my attire (which consisted of dark blue jeans, a black coat,white Nikes, the sash, tiara and scepter), I pick up a bow from the rack and some arrows laying around. I carefully place my scepter near my feet and put the bow in shooting position.

"Your highness, you might tear your clothes!"

"Alpha, please stop!"

"Your majest-"

I fire an arrow at the redhead that was running towards me. The arrow pierces the stack of clothes she was holding and pins them to a shed.

She stands frozen in place.

"Nobody interrupt me." I growl out.

They all finally get the message and scramble away.

I start firing arrows at the targets all around me. I imagine Kaceline and Kenneth's faces on the targets and shoot the arrows harder and faster with more force. All of them land on the bullseye, some even piercing through another.

I continue firing arrows until I am mind-linked by a warrior that Stella Harmony is here.

"Time to get this show on the road." I grunt.

I walk into the meeting room with my scepter in hand and my once crooked tiara fixed.

I take my seat at the head of the table where Mia would usually have sat.

"Let's not waste any time, shall we. Why am I here on such short notice, Alpha Princess Chloe?" Harmony starts speaking in a friendly tone, but her darkening purple eyes are anything but.

"The trackers of the Howler pack, the pack nearest to your coven, have found the scent of rogue witches and rogue wolves near your coven's borders. We all know that rogues generally don't work together, so this is quite the revelation.

As you may have known, your future queen and my best friend, princess Darcy has been abducted. It surely is no coincidence that rogues are spotted working together in this time." I state with an expressionless gaze at Harmony.

Harmony's eyes widen in disbelief.

"What do you need me to do? I can get my warriors on it, I'll contact the Stella male of my coven right now."

"Not yet, we can't ambush them. They have Princess Darcy as leverage."

"Then what do we do, your majesty?" Gamma Trent asks.

"I may have an idea. But it's dangerous." I say darkly.

Everyone visibly gulps and looks at me as if I am suggesting that I feed us to a kraken.

Well, I might as well be feeding them to one.

Only two words are fitting for my plan at the moment: suicide mission.