Any indication that the man was looking out for Alpha's best interests was tainted with the heavy feeling of suspicion that loomed on Sota's every word. He seemed too opportunistic to make for a trustworthy ally. 

"There is no room in Valhalla for the likes of your kind, lovers of men, that is." He observes me; the moon's yellow eyes remind me of a cat watching a bird, and I struggle not to show how much he makes my skin crawl. "So for Alpha to suddenly abstain is truly a moot point. As we advance, my only goal is to get the wolf back on our side so we can get out of your city and on to Ziduri."

His words dripped with malice, contempt for me, and all the irritations I'd caused him. My time in court had made me wise to the wicked ways of older men. While I'd never spoken among them, I had witnessed many squabbles, and it was always the lame and incapacitated who spoke the softest and spun the most deception. 

"Well, at least you approve of him getting laid." I retort, pleased with the disgust he responds with.

"Lycans crave the flesh; if yours is enough to get us to our destination, I don't care if he devours you at the end of all of this. All that matters is if you are willing to do what's necessary?"

I couldn't do this on my own; I couldn't continue this quest without the help of Alpha, and in truth, I wanted our departure from each other to be on better terms than a wolf gone rogue. Reminding myself that loyalty spoke volumes among these people, I swallowed my pride. 

I owed it to Alpha to set this right.

 "Anything," I answer immediately. "If you're trying to hire me for my services, I'm sorry to say I tried that, and it nearly got me killed. You'll have to come up with a better idea."

Sota grins, creasing the leathery, worn skin on his tanned face. "Enjoying yourself, are you? I'm sure you're convinced these remarks are at my expense; I get to smell your whore self on him every time you manage to coax him into your bed, so I'm no stranger to the reality of his infatuation with you. I'm hoping to use that to my advantage; the wolf wants you dead because it wants to sever this bond; run your mouth like that, and you'll be struck right from my life and out of my hair."

So his hope wasn't that I would succeed; it was that I would die and he would get his leader back.

"And if I convince him?" I retort, wondering where my motivation was in all of this.

"It all turns out the same, I'd say. You get to keep your life. Without the support of the Alpha, I can almost promise you Adriam will ask for your death." Sota shrugs; his indifference does not give me confidence.  "Every morning, the entire pack runs in two groups. Victor leads the second, but Alpha leads the first. To run with the pack is how we rebuild bonds and establish brotherhood. Alpha needs to accept you again; this would be the best way to do it."

I can see where this going, my lips turn down into a frown.

" I can't keep up anymore, not missing a leg but I ride on Delta's back. I think you need to ride Alpha. Your father designed us to be ridden, and something happens when a magic user sits on a Lycan's back. It would let him see that you have chosen him, even if it's false. The wolf needs to believe it."

 I wait for the joke. Ride the wolf who wants to kill me? 

"Funny. I thought you said ride Alpha. Much as you seem aware of my preferences, I'm not fond of public indecency, so I'm afraid I'll have to pass." Crossing my arms over my chest, I turn my back to him, contemplating my chances of making a case for my salvation.

His response to my lude suggestion doesn't disappoint. Sota grips my arm, and I threaten him with my free hand, my fingertips frosting over as he snarls and retracts his grasp. 

"I'm telling you is that you don't have a choice, brat. The men are chomping at the bit for your head; you're on borrowed time." 

My lips turn downward; I search his gaze for a bluff but find none; it must be the truth. The time for bravado had faded; there was nothing left to do now but concede. Alpha felt something for me, much as I did him, but the wolf wanted to sever our bond. I needed to either accept those feelings or come to terms with my imminent death.

"I've never sat on Alpha's back, Sota. This is uncharted territory for me, I'm going to assume that it's not in the least bit as simple as you're making it out to be."

"It won't, he'll do everything he can to get you off of him. But, I trust you'll come up with something."

Of course. 

Why had I expected anything different?

We decide it needs to happen sooner rather than later, Sota instructs me to enjoy my final days. He could put off my judgement until the next run, but his hope would be I would die on the back of the wolf rather than on the same stones as my parents. 

Sick to my stomach, I steal Tonic to head to the city to see Stefan. He needs to know I'm alive, there had to be someone left that I didn't disappoint. Propaganda liters the city's walls as we walk; the small town of Dezna erupted into a social divide overnight.

Those who wished for the lycans to stay and for salvation paired against those who wished them to see the monarchy restored. My face was painted and slashed through, coupled with calls to arms. A man stands on a shabby wooden crate, screaming into a crowd that the rebellion was the only truth. 

I shudder at those words, the rebellion had been here long before the lycan's had invaded and e hadn't even known it. Or, perhaps, my father just hadn't cared. The crown had abandoned them, I had abandoned them. I pull my hood tighter over my head, grimacing at my nature these last few months. 

Taking the opportunity, I sit on Tonic's back, trying to get used to the feel of the movement beneath me. Much as I'd like to focus, I felt conflicted with the path I was on. With Alpha out of the way, it might be the best chance I had to restore my kingdom. 

I could use the unrest within the pack to my advantage, but the truth was I had no army. The only force between invaders and the crown had been my father. Tilting my head back, I exhale roughly, wondering why the gray haired man had chosen a wretch like me. Even in the wake of some realization that I might actually be capable of raw emotion, I was considering turning on him. 

I didn't deserve loyalty like he could offer.

My fingers trace through Tonic's thick coat, as we passed a building I snag a paper and read it's scrawled Romanian, it begs for justice and liberation from the rule of my father. I didn't know my people well enough to know what they would wish, it would seem Haryek and even the famed dictator himself, knew them more than I ever thought to. 

Alpha was becoming a known entity, and a disturbing amount of the propaganda surrounding him was positive. He had done what no one had dared to do, and the path it took to get to my gates was shocking for such a small force. Alpha was making history, and my family had been on the wrong side of it. 

That wasn't his fault, much as I'd liked to have blamed him up until now. 

Where was he sleeping? Was he fed? Was he warm? His desire to keep me safe and to stay away meant he was away from the people that mattered the most to him. 

Heading to Stefan's house, I try not to think about it, much as I can feel Tonic's curiosity looming over me as I climb off his back.

We enter Stefan's house, and for a moment, I'm content until I spot Loan. I could almost turn around and leave; he's not my favorite person, and even less so after he had to save my life. He holds a smug grin, and I pretend I hadn't noticed. 

"How're you, Loan?" I ask, cold.

 He rolls his eyes and drinks whatever alcoholic beverage is in his glass. With a cast of his middle finger in my direction, he downs his glass, and I wrinkle my nose at his behavior. 

"Peasant," I grunt under my breath.

Loan had come from meager beginnings, one of the only villagers ever to attend the school and survive. Plenty were born to humble beginnings; few had the temperament and the will to endure the trials. I should be honored to have been in the same class as him, and yet, he grated against me at ever turn. I loathed him, he coveted my crown, and I yearned for his endless talent. 

Much to his dismay, when his ability presented as a healer more than combat, it had been a major blow to his vast bravado. It was a silent pleasure that my own ability had trended towards the skills of old. My mind drifts towards Haryek's words, that I was designed to fight, and it made sense as to why Loan despised me so much. 

"Loan had quite the story for me." Stefan wraps his arms around Tonic's waist and kisses his cheek. For a moment, I long for someone to love me and look at me the way Stefan looks at Tonic. 

Yet, Tonic does not share that adoration. Alpha has said that wolves did not have a sexuality, it as more so a 'feeling' that they chased. It would appear that, while Tonic was entertaining Stefan's affections, it was more so in nature rather than nuture. 

"I'm sure he embellished quite a bit," I grumble, but Stefan frowns.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he faces me squarely. "You almost died on the back of a psycho dragon, and if it weren't for the white wolf, you would never have gotten her onto the table, which then crashed through a glass floor?" He doesn't sound amused.

 I shrug. "Something like that." I begin to make myself some tea but then pause and decide on water instead. After my experience, I'm not touching tea for a long time. 

"How do you feel? Did the dragon recharge you?"

 I shrug once more, a lazy rise and fall in my shoulders that I can hear the discipline for already. My mother would be disgusted as such a response, my time with these brutes sullied my good breeding, yet I don't hate it. A life time of enduring and now that I'm offered a way to write my own path, I'm balking. 

Why couldn't I get out of my own way? Why did I have to lash out?

"Better than I deserve. Better than I've felt since I've been home." I admit.

"You're damn right. The rest of us feel like shit." Loan snaps.

 Tonic looks like he agrees; he's exhausted.

"I offered to heal you," I respond sharply.

"Not everything needs magic. Users like you are the reason we are in this mess." He tells me in frustration, and I scoff at him in response. 

"We never would have needed these bloody creatures if we could do for ourselves as we did in the past." He gestures towards Tonic, who holds up his hands in defense. "It is this elitist bullshit that caused this. We are at war because our kind uses magic to excess; we can't even defend ourselves against a few hundred slaves."

My eyes shoot up, I feel the anger burning in my throat. "They aren't slaves any longer, they are free men fighting for their people, they are doing something that none of our people ever dared to do for each other and it's commendable. I'm the first to admit that.. what my father did, what he turned us into.. it was wrong."

"They aren't natural." Loan says, lowering his tone. "These creatures aren't here to liberate us. You should have done the right thing, sided with the rebellion and put them out of their misery. Look at them, they're wild animals-"

My chest tightens, his words sound to much like my own and I can't stand it. "It's not their fault. That is the root of this and why this is happening. They didn't ask for this."

 I know this hits Stefan personally, he didn't ask for his curse, and my society had done a number on the Strigoi population.

"Most of us want to be cured." Tonic speaks, but I can tell he struggles with that statement. 

The wolf is a part of them, a conscious side of their lives. How did they feel about this?

"Don't we all? Your kind isn't the only one suffering at the hands of others." Loan takes a large drink, and Stefan pinches the bridge of his nose in embarrassment at his intoxicated friend. "The only good your father did was protect important things. Like the elders, those with special gifts, and the borders of his territory. Those underlings, who live outside the capital, live under this blanket of protection but get no help from the 'Lord'. We didn't all grow up rich and privileged, asshole." He practically spits at me. "I can't afford to have all your 'feelings' about these creatures."

I wish to lash out, to insult him, to remind him of his lowly stature but there was no more rank among us. I would not be a Prince without a kingdom, and I would not be alive in a few days if I didn't solve this. I'd run here, to hide and relax, when I should be doing everything I could to make sure I was successful in bringing Alpha back to my side. 

Loan owed me nothing, much as I disliked him, I could empathize with his hatred of the crown. 

"You're right. It's not your burden to bear, it's my job as your Prince to hear these concerns.. and do something about it. My father was horribly unjust in his treatment of the outer sectors and... I can't fault you for your bad blood."

This seems to catch him off guard as if he thought I wasn't capable of seeing his point of view. Shaking his head, he slowly sits up, swirling his drink in his glass. "I'm merely speaking for those who suffer daily from lack of work. The ones the Lycans replaced, who were doing side work to feed their families and who had little magic. They are actively hunted by bounty hunters and thieves for their lands.

 Your father was a piece of shit, but at least on his lands, we were somewhat safe. Now it's open season. I didn't realize the capital had no other defenses. We are sitting ducks out there as Elves move down the border. " Loan downs his drink, scowling at the empty cup. 

"We would have smelled if there were more elves." Tonic interjects. "Are you saying there's been elf activity?"

"Why on earth would they come near your side? They are coming in from the back door; we have enough to hold them back, but we are taking major losses. That's why I came here; Stefan said I could make my case for some aid." Loan glances towards the Strigoi, who looks like he wishes he had better friends. "I just didn't realize Dezna had no military."

"My father was like a dragon in that he coveted money. He thought he was invincible. Are you hoping that I will leave and defend you? What exactly is your angle, Loan?"

Waving a dismissive finger at me, he shakes his head. "Not you, necessarily, but if you're keeping the dogs then I want my share. I'm talking about your captors. Their job was to defend; it's time to defend! " 

I frown at the drunken Solomonari, flinching at the way in which he speaks about our resident lycans. It sounded too much like myself, to close to how I felt before- 

The thought stops as I push it out of my forefront, sighing at how conflicted I'd become. "I want to help you, Loan; your region has every right to protection. But, I'm afraid it is me you'll be dealing with." There was little to offer; we had no structure, no means to provide support, and the harsh reality of what I would be faced with had slowly begun to settle on my shoulders.

 My father had left me nothing but a smoldering wreckage to govern.  

Loan scratches his stomach with a hearty scoff and reclines his feet up on a nearby chair. "Is lycan cock so good that you must keep it all for yourself? Are your daddy issues so deeply ingrained that any man will do? What would sparing a few dozen truly hurt for you? They're dead the moment they leave these borders anyways, might as well turn over the ones who wish to live a little while longer-"

"Do not speak about them that way!" Tonic snarls, flashing his teeth. "We are not pawns to be traded; these are free men! Most of all, do not insult Nicolas in such a manner. He is the only one trying to bring peace to this country; everyone else has stepped aside; the least you can do is show some damned gratitude!"

I had not expected Tonic to defend me, I blink back my shock as I regard him, composing myself as I wonder just how far I was willing to let Loan drag me.

Loan's insults bring me back to the days of my schooling. It was nothing I hadn't heard before, when you used your body, people tend to notice. I bear the marks of someone who had been used on my very soul. But I was no longer the shivering youth just trying to survive.

"I get it. We don't like each other." I mutter, placing my hands on the countertop to smooth out my fingers and compose the magic itching to get out. "But, like it or not, until my dying breath I am the best this country has got. This will be my final warning; the lycans are my allies, and I won't have them spoken to or about in such a manner. Never mind your comments toward me; I draw the line at blatant racism. So you can leave your bias at the door, and I'll see what I can do for you, or you can walk back home and accept that all you'll get from me is my gratitude.

 You helped save my life, Loan, but your attitude is, and always has been, complete shit, Loan."

Stefan places his hand on my shoulder, squeezing me as he offers me a reassuring half-smile. "If you're done being a complete prick, Loan, you can enlighten us on the situation with the elves."

As much as I want to cast him out of my city, I will allow Loan to enlighten me about the situation. His group had gained control of the large town of Cluj-Napoca after being pushed past the border, which impressed me, considering the strong presence of the elf in that town. Still, it explained the constant string of soldiers attempting to reinvade.

They suffer attacks from elf and human lines on an almost weekly basis. Since Cluj-Napoca was surrounded by mostly flat farmlands on half of its territory, it's been easy to prevent most attacks. In hand-to-hand combat, they lack the fighting ability since many of their residents are women and children. 

It's a two-day walk from there to the bordering cities of the Elf Capital, but Loan feels as though a large force has shored up in the town of Brasov, which puts them very close to the magic rebellion and even closer to our doorstep than we had thought.

If it was true, aid for my city might only be a falcon's flight away, and we could gather more men from the ranks of any loyalists in both cities. It also meant that the fight was significantly closer than any of us anticipated. The elves were closing in on us, and we would be met unprepared without this information.

More than anything, it meant there was a good chance Lord Taryek of Ziduri was well-informed of our intentions. 

"We need to get this war started. Our people won't survive much more of this brutality, and with winter coming, it would take one short siege to starve us out. The elves intend to conquer Dezna and claim all this land for themselves; that is obvious. If that happens, there will be no room for us unless we want to serve under Taryek, and I think the Lycans would rather chew me up. Our people are ready to fight, we just need help." Loan concludes, doing his best to insert some humility into his plea. 

While it lacks sincerity, I didn't find his assessment false. The truth was, this didn't bode well for me by any stretch of reality. If Taryek succeeded, I would have no use for him as a placeholder and would probably be tried for treason due to my involvement with the lycans. Any way I sliced it, my best hope was to get Alpha back on my side. 

Composing my face, I nod. "Right now, if you want to prove yourself useful to our cause, I need you to watch Haryek. His leg is broken, but his mouth works just fine. I need him not to spread unrest that the lycans did this to him, if you can manage that, then I believe we will be able to come up with some aid."

Much as he might want to argue, it seems he's finally concluded that this was the best I could offer on the cusp of a lycan uprising. I had my own problems, and the fact that I was willing to help at all should have been plenty to convince him if he were anyone else. Reluctantly, he nods, pouring himself another drink. 

"Babysitter. I get to babysit an elf." He spits, "Fine. I can give you a couple of days, Nicolas."