Arek let his hand drop and looked at Inessa full in the face. "Maybe you do think that. I wouldn't be surprised if you were that conceited."

"Shut up!" Inessa yelled. The constant back-and-forth between fear and anger finally exploded. "You don't know anything about me." Seconds after her outburst, Inessa heard whimpering and crying echoing through the halls. Arek closed his eyes and grimaced. "Wonderful. Now I know you obviously didn't care enough to keep your voice down. Now the younglings are awake."

"Younglings?"

Arek looked at her like she was stupid. "The orphans. The first floor is the only place big enough to keep them. Especially the wolf-shifted pups. You wouldn't by chance have any sympathy in that thick head of yours, would you?"

"Wait, this isn't my fault," she whispered furiously. "No one told me they were here and you slammed the door and banged the wall!"

Arek stared at the wall, the shadows hiding half of his face. There was a dent in the stone. "You're staying here tonight." Without another word, he walked out the door and locked it behind him.

Inessa stared. The lock was on her side. But wait, there are the two guards on the first floor. She sunk back onto the floor. They stayed here throughout the banquet, so they'll likely be here the whole night. They did not look like members of the Arm, but Inessa doubted her chances of winning a direct fight against them, or anyone for that matter.

There was a bed next to the small window, but Inessa did not move from her place. She'd never slept in one before, and she wasn't about to now.

Eigh. She randomly recalled the eight members of the Arm seated at the feast. She was dizzy, and her thoughts were mushing together. That drink. Before she knew it, she was asleep, her head buried into her legs and her arms wrapped around them.

*****

Arek paused in the middle of the hallway. A baby's cries echoed through the mansion, as well as a gentle shh and a woman's hum. Arek went to the end of the hall and bent over the staircase. On the first floor was a thirty-four-year-old woman with short red hair holding a baby. The woman looked up and quickly bowed. "I'm sorry. Did we disturb you?"

Arek winced inside. He did not need to shift into a wolf to sense the fear in her voice. "I did not intend the commotion to wake them." Their cries carry easily throughout this mansion. The stone floor does nothing to conceal footsteps either. It was clear to him that this mansion was meant to magnify the motions of the owner and notify the owner of every move every guest would ever make in his abode. That would be me. He forgot the woman was still bowing. "Be at ease," he said smoothly. He walked down the stairs towards her. What was her name, again? Mullin, right. "Mullin, I know this is not the ideal place for you and the other guardians to take care of the orphaned younglings, but I hope you can make do with it until something else is built."

"Be it far from me to complain, Alpha. This is the finest place the younglings have had." Mullin smiled, staring at the little one in her arms. She brushed the baby boy's feather-light hair to the side with two fingers. "The two rooms downstairs give us plenty of space to teach the human-shifts to walk in one room and the pups to play in the other. It also allows us to keep a better eye on them should they shift to their other form. We simply place them in the next room and- forgive me for speaking too much."

Arek stared at the baby in her arms, then at her. "Don't apologize. You were giving me information I need. When it comes time to build a place for the younglings, I want you to be a part of the designing." He turned back to the stairs and started to his room, the door at the end of the second hall on the side of the mansion opposite Inessa. Arek thought about Mullin's words and felt the smoldering heat inside of him. Until he became Alpha, he thought the Omegas were the worst-treated group of the clan, but after he saw the cabins for the young orphans, he knew he was wrong. They were so crowded that they were practically on top of each other. There were barely making it through with blankets and food, and once one got sick, the whole cabin got it within a day. There was nothing Mullin or the other guardians could have done, not with the Red Conclave in charge. He clenched his fist. How many atrocities would he find until he lost control and bashed the heads of the Conclave against a boulder?

Then there was the fear on Mullin's face, reminding him of what he had done and who he was. He touched his cheek. It probably doesn't help that I have this. A thick scar trailed from his left eyebrow down to his cheek. It had almost healed, was almost the color of his skin, but it stopped. It would be stuck on his face for the rest of his life.

In his room, Arek walked over to the window and opened it. He stared at the moon, glowing and white. He thought about Inessa and what the Conclave expected him to do. He clenched his jaw and lay on his bed.

Who was he kidding?

The Red Conclave knew exactly who he was, and exactly how they could use him to their advantage. It felt like he was walking on ice, never knowing where a crack was hidden and carefully placed. Even though he was now the alpha, he felt like the one being controlled.

It made him sick.

*****

Before the sun rose, Arek woke up drenched in sweat, his breath heavy and his throat tight. He clenched the sheets in his fists. No, stop! It's just another nightmare. He sat up from his bed and walked over to the windowsill, trying to steady his breathing.

An hour passed. The sun rose, but the scenes from Arek's dream were still playing in his head. He winced and crammed his head into his hands. I've got to make this stop.

Arek shifted. It took him about twenty seconds – faster than all werewolves except for the most elite of the Arm. As a wolf, all his instincts were back, forcing his brain to snap out of the dreams and attend to his immediate surroundings. Good. I think...I think it's over. He could hear someone walking up the stairs. His scent. He's one of the Arm. Arek realized, irritated. Go away. He had something important to figure out.

Someone knocked on the door.

Arek growled.

The knocking persisted.

Arek shifted back into human form. This better be important. He opened the door.

It was the leader of the Arm. He bowed. "Alpha."

Kusal. That was his name. He was an easy two inches taller than the Arek, but Arek was visibly stronger and faster, except for one thing. Arek remembered hearing of Kusal years ago. Supposedly, he is the fastest shifter in the East clan. Arek smirked to himself. Just wait. We'll see about that later on.

Kusal was looking straight at Arek. Soon enough, they both realized they were doing the same thing: judging each other. Arek stepped out of his room. "The mansion feels empty. Where are the orphans?"

"Mullin and the other guardians took them out for the day. I sent one of the Arm to keep an eye on them."

"Good. Now, what do you want?" Arek walked down the stairs, but Kusal stayed on top, watching him.

"You're not like the Conclave, or the Arm. You didn't touch the girl last night, did you?"

"I'm surprised you didn't use her name. And no. Someone doing something that low should be publicly torn apart. Anyway, being around her is the last thing I want." Arek glanced upstairs, remembering where he last left Inessa. I should find out if she's awake or not. "Yet, I can't help it."

"Why?" Kusal's dark eyes trailed Arek's every move.

"Her scent." Why did I explain myself to him? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? The irony. "There's something strange about it." Arek walked into the hall opposite his. He twisted the handle to Inessa's room. It's still locked. He banged on the door.

"You left her here. Alone." Kusal stood behind him.

Now that was definitely an accusation, not a question. Arek gave him a look before snapping the door handle like a twig. He let the door swing open.

The room was empty.