Jason's suggestion about intercepting Alaric's army of demonic freaks caused an uproar amongst the council, which took about an hour to dissipate. All the while, he kept his mouth shut. Yes, it was risky as hell, but there was no other choice. Waiting for the enemy to show up on your doorstep was never a smart idea. Laios was a well-fortified city, true. However, Jason doubted that it would have kept Alaric out for long. And once the deranged lunatic broke through the walls, thousands of innocent lives were trapped in his claws.

Jason grumbled while rubbing the back of his neck. All the bickering back-and-forth was giving him a massive headache. He leaned forward and retrieved a glass of water. While gulping down the cold water, he noticed Mallory's scowl. Her reaction didn't surprise him in the slightest. The Blue Hills pack was their birthplace and no matter what their former pack did, they remained family.

"Fuck them," Cyron said, licking his paws. "They deserve to suffer from the pain they put you through. No family worth their salt would ever betray their loved ones, even amongst demons."

"You have loved ones?" Jason asked, surprised that demons were capable of love.

Cyron growled at his assumption. "Of course we have, meatsack! Demons might not be the most loveable supernaturals in the universe, but we do have emotions just like everyone else."

"Sorry," Jason replied. A pang of guilt shot through his heart for assuming that demons were heartless creatures.

Cyron huffed and said, "You should be." The hell hound receded back into Jason's mind.

Jason groaned while rubbing the tension out of his forehead. "Sorry, Cyron. I'll think before I run my mouth off again."

A few tense seconds passed. Jason started to fidget when Cyron didn't reply to his apology. He was afraid that he had taken things too far; but a second later, the hellhound replied.

"Don't lose your head. I'm not angry at you, just at your stupid assumption. Just like the rest of the world, they have brainwashed you to believe every single piece of misinformation out there about demons."

Jason nodded and then turned his attention back to the bickering group seated around the table. He needed to intervene; otherwise, they'd be trapped in the room until Alaric broke down the castle's walls. Jason pursed his lips together and whistled. No audible sound left his lips, none that humans could hear, but werewolves could. Those around the table, except Ishmael, flinched and covered their ears. Their heads snapped to Jason.

"Goddess, Jason! That hurt!" Darren growled, rubbing his earlobes while glaring at Jason.

Jason grinned and said, "Well, then stop bickering. I know that my proposal is dangerous, to say the least—"

"It's suicide," an alpha yelled out.

"Then what do you suppose we do? Wait for Alaric to convert forty packs under his banner and then let him pit them against the city's defenses? Where thousands of innocents live under your protection?" The alpha who yelled grumbled at his words. "We can either cower behind the walls or take the fight to Alaric."

Killian scratched his stubbled chin while glaring at the map. It was not like they had many options to begin with. Either they hid like cowards or faced the enemy head on before the situation became too hot to handle.

"As much as it pains me, Jason's right," Killian admitted. "We need to stop Alaric before he grows his army. With the witches and the Blood Council on our side, we have enough warriors to end this once and for all."

The war room's doors burst open as the council and the generals began preparing for departure. They had a four-day ride to the Blue Hills pack, and they needed to inform their allies of the plan.

As Jason exited the room, he spotted Mallory storming off toward the drawing room with her mate in tow. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. Jason knew he pissed off his best friend for suggesting that they use their birth pack as a staging ground, but there was no other option. True, he wanted to make his brother and father pay for their part in the whole mess, but the pack was perfectly situated for a counter-attack.

A pat on the shoulder snapped Jason out of his thoughts.

Astrid smiled at him and said, "Go after her."

Jason nodded and rushed after Mallory. After approaching the drawing room, he entered the chamber. Mallory paced in front of the hearth while her mate sat on one of the leather couches, brooding as always. Jason edged toward his best friend, unsure of how angry she was. A soft crackle of fire echoed through the silent room. He was cautious of breaking the illusion of peace amongst them.

"Are you planning on standing there with a mouth full of teeth, or are you going to explain to me why you condemned our former pack to their doom?" Mallory spit out, glaring into the fire.

Jason walked up to a leather chair and gripped onto the backrest for encouragement. To avoid the worst case scenario, he needed something between them.

Jason mulled the words in his mouth before he spoke. He didn't want to antagonize Mallory any further. Her mate, Henry, still didn't say a word. The brooding wolf stared at him with the same air of disdain. Just what he needed, a unified front. Jason shook his head, giving into the inevitable. There was going to be a fight, no matter how he tried to defend his actions.

"Why are you still loyal to them after everything they put us through?" Jason asked, gripping onto the leather couch. He was walking on thin ice.

Mallory's head shot to his and then she said, "Because they're good people."

Jason scoffed. Not the most sensible move, but he didn't give a fuck. Good people? The entire pack sat at his father's feet, licking his feet. Some of them even sucked his dick. The pack hated him because of his father, rather than forming an opinion about him themselves. The pack followed their Alpha's lead. They were a bunch of brain-dead morons.

"Good people?" Jason chuckled. "To who? Me? Don't try to defend them, Mallory. The pack hated me for no reason."

"And you want to exact your revenge, don't you?" It was Mallory's time to scoff.

"Partly..." Jason admitted." But mostly, because my father and brother deserve to pay for the mess they helped create."

Mallory stormed up to Jason, causing the latter to flinch. He didn't want to trade blows with his best friend.

She stopped in front of the couch. "The Jason I knew would never involve innocent people in a pitiful act of revenge."

Her words sliced into him. What she said was true, but it was not as if he was about to order innocent people to fight against Alaric. Only the pack warriors, his father and brother.

"Do you think I am a monster, Mallory?"

Mallory kicked the chair and said, "You're acting like one right now. Now matter how badly the pack treated you, they don't deserve to die at the hands of Alaric."

"And they won't. Not all of them, though," Jason replied. "I chose our birth pack because they're directly in the path of Alaric's army. If we don't assist them, they'll die either way. Once we get there, we will move all the non-combatants up north to one of the other packs. The pack warriors along with my brother and father will remain. They'll fight even if I have to chain them to a tree."

"You want them dead that much?" Mallory whispered.

"No," Jason replied quickly. "If they die during the battle, it's all on them, but if they live through it, then kudos to them."

Mallory shook her head, not believing him one bit, but Jason didn't care. If his brother or father died, he wouldn't shed a tear. They didn't when they betrayed him.

Mallory sighed and said, "When are we leaving?"

Jason knew he wasn't out of the hell kennel. She was still mad at him, but he could do nothing about it. The generals had already given their soldiers their orders. They were heading for the Blue Hills pack.

The chaos that ensued the following day left much unspoken. Mallory avoided Jason. Every time they were in the same room, she found a new excuse to flee. At first, he accepted her evasiveness, but after a while, it began chafing at his decision. Was it the right call to use the Blue Hills pack as a battleground? Strategically, it made sense, but morally it didn't.

"Will you stop your belly-aching?" Cyron yelled out, causing Jason to flinch. "You made the right call, no matter what. If Mallory wants to bitch about it, then let her. Alaric will attack the pack in a week or so. We can let them face the threat alone, or we can assist them and limit the damage."

Jason zipped up his backpack before he said, "I think she realizes it, but to her I chose the pack to exact my revenge on my father and brother."

"And didn't you?"

Jason nodded and then slung the backpack onto his shoulder. "I did. It feels to me that the moon goddess had her hands in this. In her way, she's punishing my father for interfering with her domain."

"It wouldn't surprise me...," Cyron replied as Jason opened the bedroom door and began making his way toward the courtyard where his mate and friends waited for him. "She's a vengeful bitch."

"Wait. You met her?"

Cyron scoffed and said, "No. But the stories of her wrath have soaked into the walls of the underworld. Many of the foolish souls who pissed her off found themselves thrown into the bowls of Tartarus by her hands. She's as benevolent as she is beautiful, but get on her bad side and you'll wish she never created you."

A chill ran down Jason's tail, and it wasn't coming from the icy wind that swept through the snow-covered courtyard.

"Remind me to stay on her good side," Jason said, walking down the steps.

Cyron chuckled and said, "Don't worry. I'll keep your ass out of her grip."

Jason shook his head while walking over toward his mate. Killian was busy talking to Ms. Bell and the three remaining alphas, who were still left in the city. The alphas stayed behind to organize the deployment of the troops heading south. After they completed their tasks, they would join their king at the Blue Hills pack.

When Jason reached Killian, Killian automatically wrapped Jason in his arms and kissed him. However, Jason noticed the kiss wasn't as mind-numbing as usual, rather strained. He pulled back and stared into his mate's green eyes.

"What's wrong? Still pouting that I decided to fight beside you?" Jason asked.

Killian's busy eyebrows furrowed. "Maybe... I don't want to lose you to that piece of garbage. The moment he realizes you're on the battlefield, he'll try to collar you again."

Jason shook his head and then kissed Killian again. "Not about to happen. I'm much stronger than before and I've made sure that he won't be able to do it again."

"How?"

Jason craned his neck sideways. An inch thick, black collar-like tattoo appeared around his neck.

Killian's eyes snapped towards the tattoo. "What is that?"

"It's a demon snare. Cyron taught me how to cast it." Jason grinned as the marking disappeared from sight. "When Alaric's witches try to bind me again with their magic, the trap will activate and the witches will die in the most horrendous way."

Killian smiled and then said, "Good." But his smile disappeared, and a pout formed on his handsome face. "But I still don't like the idea of you rushing out into battle."

Jason sighed and then grabbed onto his mate's calloused hands. He placed gentle kisses on the back of Killian's hands and then replied, "I won't allow innocent people to die for my sake. You'll need me when you face Alaric and you know it."

Killian sighed. "Just promise me you'll be safe."

Jason's tail whipped into action and slapped his mate's delectable ass, earning a scowl from Killian. "I should be telling you the same."

Before Killian could reprimand Jason for hitting him, Jason leaned forward and captured his lips. A low growl slipped from Killian's chest as he deepened the kiss, nibbling at Jason's lower lip. Jason gasped, giving Killian the time to plunge his tongue into Jason's mouth.

Just as their kiss turned dirty, a cough pulled them apart. Darren grinned as if he had found his favorite dildo.

"As much as I enjoy watching you two make out in the middle of the courtyard, we have to head out," Darren chuckled while sprinting off toward the gray SUV that Ishmael entered.

"What a horny ass," Jason huffed out, untangling his wrapped tail from Killian's waist. "We better head out."

Killian stole a quick peck before saying, "Very well, let's go see how vicious Alaric's bite is, shall we?"

Jason nodded as they made their way toward their own vehicle. Time for a family reunion...