Everyone keeps their heads low as Odin recites the prayers. One by one, they place some flowers they gathered from the forest on her grave.

"I may not have any words for you but Irene would have said this. Thank you for whatever you had done for us and whatever you had been through. May your soul rest in peace." Damon places the flowers.

"May your soul rest in peace." Everyone says in unison.

After some time, everyone starts to disperse to the house. Zade stops Damon.

"I need to talk to you." Zade drags him to a more remote part of the forest.

"I think I remember who killed Irene," Zade says.

"What do you mean?" Damon asks, shocked.

"The masked soldier?" he tries to remind Damon. "He quickly turned into a wolf and ran off."

"You know who it is?" Damon asks with a relieved tone. They have been trying to hunt down this mysterious soldier for years.

"It's Victor," Zade says confidently. Damon shakes his head in disapproval.

"Impossible! I would have recognized him." He says.

"Not after he became the Alpha King," Zade states and it makes Damon's mind run. It was true! He only saw Victor's wolf when he wasn't the Alpha King. Once they get the position, the wolf becomes more powerful and it may even change its personality.

"The last time you saw Victor was when his father was alive. And I did a bit of research. Victor's dad died due to his illness sometime in the middle of the war. And yesterday, after killing Evelyn, he quickly changed and ran off. That's when I recognized him." Zade says.

Damon tries to hold on to a tree beside him to calm down. "That bastard!" was all he could say. Zade pats his shoulders and reassures him,

"We have to find a way to contact the elders. We have to tell them about Victor." Zade suggests.

"There is no need." Odin surprises them from behind. "This arrived in the morning before we left." He hands over a beautiful, handmade card. On it, it was intricately inscribed 'The Invitation'.

Zade looks at it with wide eyes before stuttering, "The Invitation!"

"First things first, Inara needs to understand who the Elders are," Abir suggests.

"The Elders are a group of three wolves who are an Alpha, Beta, and Omega. They are kind of the government of all the wolves who have a pact with all the governments of the countries to keep peace and the wolves away from human habitation. They would intervene anytime things go awry." Kyros starts.

"Like wars, or normal disputes. If it harms their pact with the human government, they punish us." Damon says. "They are kind of our dictators. But we still have a lot of freedom to make our packs and decide our habitations."

"Now they can't be everywhere to keep a check. So, they appoint heads or authorities in every place which directly answer to Elders. They mostly choose the most superior pack of all. They give them authority and powers to sign and nullify treaties."

"Just like how Victor of the Black Alders is the authority now." Kyros continues. "Earlier it was Damon from the Blue Moons."

"Being the authority makes you one step closer to the Elders," Odin says.

"So, you mean to say they will help us?" Inara asks.

"Once they know the truth, they definitely will," Kyros reassures them.

"I don't think the truth matters to them anymore." Abir thinks. "The Elders have changed a lot. They weren't here after Zade left for his exile. They were nowhere to be found after the second war. And during this time, it seemed like Victor got a license permitting him to destroy all the packs without facing any consequences."

"And then one day we get a notification that Victor is the new authority," Ivory says.

"I heard rumors about some deal between Victor and the Elders?" Zade asks.

"The Elders don't accept deals." Odin states.

"Unless," Damon thinks, "Unless, it is beneficial for them. I remember that their Elder Beta was dead and the Elder Omega was injured badly."

"But they already regained a new Beta and their Omega healed too," Abir says.

"That does sound a bit odd." Zade looks at 'The Invitation'.

'The Invitation' is the official notice of the Elders that they will be visiting their country or town. It is not specified for how long they will stay, but all other activities cease to exist. Wolves and their packs have endless Elder's council meetings, discussing their future plans and all sorts. All the wolves have to attend this charade, compulsory. They have to satisfy every whim of the Elders and make sure not to piss them off.

"This is the first time in six years that they are coming back to Alaska." Abir reminds them.

"So, this might be our only chance," Kyros says with determination. They have to find out about Victor and his shenanigans with the Elders.

"Will Inara go too?" Ivory asks.

"She has to..." Zade replies out of habit and looks at Inara before looking back at the invitation again.

"Her wolf is awake. She has to." Kyros saves the situation. "The Elders might already know about it."

"Then we make sure she is a bit trained before that." Damon caresses Inara's head and she smiles at him.

"Zade will help you," Kyros says looking at Zade who was visibly sweating.

"I...." he looks at both Damon and Odin.

"Abir and Ivory can help me." Inara swoops in to save the day and walks back to her room after giving them a small smile. Everyone tries not to aggravate the awkwardness and disperse back to their rooms.

Odin was in his room when Zade approaches him, "I didn't tell you this before but...."

"Hunter is back." Odin smiles warmly at him.

"And Inara is my mate." He comes clean finally.

"I figured. I could see the changes in you. Congratulation on getting Hunter back." Odin hugs Zade.

Inara was just outside the room and couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"Zade lost his wolf the day Irene was killed." Damon startles Inara from behind. She looks back, embarrassed.

"I wasn't eavesdropping." She looks down. Damon chuckles.

"Want to go for a walk?" Damon asks.

"I heard it is painful to lose one's wolf." She asks as they walk out.

"Zade spent a good amount of years in torment. He often focused on me and the pack just to numb the pain. That's why some people might see it as being selfish." Damon says.

Inara stops walking as she feels guilty.

"Kyros told me all about it." Damon stops too. He turns to hold Inara by her shoulders, "And I am not here to change your mind. I am pretty sure you will see through Zade's actions and realize how pure of soul he is. And you can decide it for yourself."

Inara felt happy that for the first time in years, people trusted her to make her own decisions.

"That's the point," Inara says with a sigh. "I have seen through it and...I am in love with him."

This doesn't surprise Damon as he could already see it in her eyes. What he dreads was the sentence that was ahead of it.

"But I am dangerous for him. The last thing I want to be is the reason that Zade loses his pack, his family because of my twisted fate."