As soon as the alpha hit the earthen floor, he shifted into his wolf form and wriggled out from Kace's grasp. Slipping in his own pool of blood, Kace found himself on the ground watching a ferocious werewolf charge him.

Determined to overcome his attacker, Kace wasted no time in charging the black wolf. The two met mid-air as Kace launched himself from his foot with the steady hold and tackled each other to the ground. The two werewolves rolled a few cycles until they came to a stop with Kace on top. The blue-eyed quickly wrapped his hand around the wolf's muzzle to keep those dangerous jaws closed while covering Ganz's eyes with his other hand.

Blinded and not able to bite, Ganz entered a great panic. The wolf whined and struggled against the man on top of him, clawing anywhere he could in an attempt to maim the blue-eyed. Kace did not loosen his hold although he sustained several wounds from the struggling wolf. Shifting yet again into his human form, Ganz found Kace's throat and wrapped his hand around his prey's neck while cruelly tangling his fingers into the blue-eyed male's hair.

Kace's vision swam when Ganz threw his head to the side and slammed him onto the ground. Kace shook his head to regain his vision and feel great pressure strike his gut. Ganz was standing over the blue-haired and ramming his boot into Kace's abdomen. Stars entered the blue-haired male's vision as Ganz dealt kick after kick causing his vision to blacken.

Running footsteps preluded a deep growl that emanated throughout the northern section of the garden. Ganz halted his kicks and turned to the opening of the small corner in time to see a furious true blood charging him. The alpha turned to flee the prince, but he was caught by the collar and slammed into the ground. The force of the true blood's assault crushed the bones in the alpha's back causing the alpha to release a cry of pain.

"Stay down if you wish to live," Den ordered through a growl as he turned to see the blue-haired unconscious on the ground. Blood surrounded the male causing Den's heart to break and rage to spark in his bones. Den's hands shook with worry as he cradled his mate in his lap. The true blood's sensitive ears detected his mate's faint heartbeat and straggled breathing, and eternal hatred for the alpha on the ground engulfed the crown prince of Eternal Dawn.

Den's eyes turned golden as he shifted his gaze of flames to the man on the ground. It took all his strength to not tear his mate's attacker to shreds then and there. The weak heartbeat of his mate brought Den's attention back to the man in his arms, and he carefully brought the blue-haired into his arms before standing to his feet.

The true blood released a threatening snarl as he passed the alpha and firmly commanded, "Do not move until I send people to collect you." A whine escaped the alpha as he had no choice but to comply with the fuming true blood.

Den held the blue-haired male close to his chest as he made his way through the moonlit garden and to the castle. A multitude of questions flew through the prince's mind as he hurried through the garden. Why did he attack you? Why didn't you shift into your wolf form to defend yourself? Why did he want to kill you? Despite the questions, Den never once let them consume his mind and kept his focus on getting the blue-haired to safety.

The true blood burst through the castle doors and began demanding the nearest physician. As most of those in the castle were concentrated in the banquet hall, Den ended up carrying his bloodied mate into the lively hall which effectively put a halt to the joyful chatter.

All eyes turned to the true blood with an unconscious man in his arms as Den walked up to the gamma standing beside the future Beta of Crimson Night and pleaded for his help. Estan's eyes widened when he saw the male in Den's arms and immediately instructed Eternal Dawn's prince to follow him to his clinic.

"Den? What is going on?" A feminine voice inquired as the Luna of Eternal Dawn quickly made her way to her eldest son. A gasp escaped Leera as she stared in shock at the male in her son's arms. "Who is this?" The Luna quickly looked at her son when he rolled the man into his chest.

"My mate," Den stated before following Estan out of the hall, leaving the entirety of the guests speechless. Leera watched her son leave with worried eyes before returning to her mate. "Gen, what do we do?" The Luna inquired, the concern for her son and his mate showing through her scrunched brows.

"It is up to the gamma to save him. We shall have a discussion with Crimson Night once this is resolved. For now, we let Den be with his mate." The Alpha of Eternal Dawn gave his Luna a reassuring nod before wrapping his hand around her waist comfortingly as she gazed at the entry to the hall with worry.

Silence fell upon the hall for a moment before the doors to the hall were slammed open with a furious force and the eldest prince of Black Moon entered supporting a slumped figure against his side. Gasps filtered throughout the hall as spectators saw the blood-covered man leaning into Seth.

The prince of Black Moon made certain he had obtained every wolf's attention before loudly declaring, "Ganz was ruthlessly attacked by the crown prince of Eternal Dawn!"

>>>>>>

Estan looked at the door to his clinic as it was swung open and the prince of Crimson Night entered followed by the Luna and her right hand. Estan quickly bowed in greeting to the prince and Luna before his eyes fell on the pink-haired male that entered shortly after. The gamma's eyes grew to the size of saucers as he looked from Syri to Jae. The gamma did not have the proper amount of time required to fully process the scene before him as the Luna and prince rushed past him to check on the male lying in one of the patient beds.

Den stepped back from the blue-haired to allow Armina and Jae to approach. "How did this happen?" Jae inquired. His voice was firm as he addressed the prince of Eternal Dawn, but it was not blaming.

"He was attacked by a wolf of Black Moon," Den answered.

Jae's eyes flashed gold, and he clenched his fists. "Ganz, that bastard." A snarl radiated from the true blood, and he was ready to go for blood, but a small whine from the gamma standing at the other side of the bed brought Jae back to his senses. Jae's eyes turned back to their dark orbs, and he reminded himself to control his emotions for the sake of Estan.

Den was another true blood, Armina was an alpha, and Syri could not be affected by Jae's strong presence, but Estan was still fair game when it came to being overpowered by the prince's aura. Jae knew Den was doing his best to not go and slash Ganz to a thousand pieces at that very instant, and he knew he needed to keep his emotions for the sake of his pack.

One wrong move could send the three packs of Crimson Night, Eternal Dawn, and Black Moon into a conflict that could have otherwise been avoided. Jae would make sure justice would be served to the one responsible, but he needed to do it right. He could not let his emotions get the better of him, so Jae clenched his jaw and resigned to asking Den to take care of Kace before exiting the clinic and making his way to the hall where a huge commotion had broken out.

Armina was quick to enter the hall and found her mate standing silently beside Gen while the Alpha of Black Moon demanded Den be punished for attacking a wolf of his pack. Yejin made his way to Yehwa, who had entered with the Luna, and requested an update on Kace's situation while Jae followed his mother in approaching the three of the five present Alphas.

"I was under the assumption we had gathered here under peace, but evidently, I assumed wrong as a wolf of my pack was savagely attacked by the prince of Eternal Dawn! I demand an apology and justice for Black Moon's future Beta!" Greem, Alpha of Black Moon passionately requested of Fachan and the two remaining Alphas of White Fang and Red Claw.

"I believe we should not proceed hastily. We must gather all accounts as to what happened for the truth to come to light," Rose, Alpha of Red Claw stated as she stepped forward.

"The truth?" Greem released in a scoff. "How dare you doubt my son."

"That is no way to speak to a fellow Alpha, Alpha Greem," Jiro, Alpha of White Fang, interjected. "Please remember we are equal as Alphas."

Rose gave a short nod to Jiro in gratitude before addressing her fellow Alphas, "I do not doubt that the future Beta of your pack was attacked by the crown prince of Eternal Dawn; however, a wolf of Crimson Night was critically injured in the process. I believe we should know the order of events before drawing any hefty conclusions. We must know exactly why Den attacked Ganz."

"I did it to protect my mate." Den's strong voice sounded from the entrance of the hall's entrance, catching everyone's attention. Whispers and gasps sifted through the hall as the tall true blood confidently made his way to the gathered Alphas and Lunas. The crown prince gave a bow in greeting to his elders before continuing. "Ganz was attacking my mate, so I intervened to save my fated one."

The five Alphas remained silent in invitation for the prince to continue. The crown prince took a short breath before recalling hearing his mate's screams and following the trail to come upon the gruesome scene against the white flowers. Den's voice did not waver as he recounted the bloody events. Once Den had concluded, he turned and gestured to the male slumped against Seth. "The blood on Ganz is that of my mates'. This is evidence enough how brutally he attacked my fated one."

The true blood turned back to the Alphas before adding, "I do not believe I was brutal in my defense of my mate; Ganz could have sustained far worse. I implore you to consider these facts upon your deliberation." Den ended his defense with a bow before walking to the side and joining his mother as the Alphas turned to each other.

"He has a point," Rose began. "His mate received far worse wounds than Ganz did. In fact, I believe Ganz was deserving of a broken back. How dare he attack the future Gamma of Crimson Night with no consequences." Nods in agreement came from the remaining Alphas other than Greem. "Den was not in the wrong for protecting his mate."

"I agree," Jiro spoke up in agreement with the Alpha of Red Claw. "Den could have killed Ganz for harming his mate so cruelly. I propose we do not draw conclusions. Justice was served where justice was due. Let us not allow this to harm our relationships with each other."

"I agree with Alpha Jiro," Fachan stated. "We should not let a brawl between youngsters taint our relationships. We gathered here in peace, and in peace shall we remain."

"Ae," Rose voiced in agreement. Gen was quick to nod his head in agreement, and Greem reluctantly agreed, allowing the tension in the hall to begin to slowly dissipate.

"Now, shall we return to our night of fun?" Fachan inquired as he waved over a worker and selected a glass of wine from her tray. The four Alphas agreed and left to continue their conversations with various other guests and attendees.

Hearing the verdict, Jae was furious. How could they completely wash over the fact that Ganz attacked Kace unprovoked and had broken the promise of peace under which the packs had gathered? Fists clenched and jaw squared, the prince of Crimson Night set off to refute the decision to let Ganz's attack on Kace be. However, his father was quicker and completely derailed Jae's plans when he walked up to his son with a wide smile on his face.

"You finally did it, son! Who is the lucky wolf? I can smell her all over you! Omega? She smells sweet." Fachan's face was bright as he clapped his son on the back before turning to face the crowd gathered in the hall. "Could I have your attention, please?!" The Alpha called as he lifted his glass. The hall fell silent as the attendees waited for the Alpha's exciting announcement. "My son, Jae, has chosen his mate!"