So school started again, huh? Fun fun fun.

The update schedule has been messed up over the last few weeks, but now it'll be returning to normal. Which will be three times a fortnight instead of four, because I have twenty-three GCSE exams to take, and that means a lot of work. Ugh.

We were discussing the events of the night before in the command room when my phone rang. I swiped across the screen and lifted it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello, sweetheart," someone said slyly. "Remember me? Zach?"

I sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. You're still alive then?"

"Yeah. And I'm told that I have you to thank for that ... so thanks, I guess. You saved a lot of lives with that warning. Against my better judgement, I'm actually starting to like you."

Leo shuffled uncomfortably beside me, obviously able to hear and probably wondering if he would have to fight an Alpha over me. I patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, we can go back to comfortably hating each other as soon as the ferals are dealt with. Let's not get too attached in the meantime, hmm?"

Zach laughed. "Oh, believe me. That won't be a problem. Now I figure you want to know what happened?"

"Sure."

"It was easy enough. My pack house is practically a fortress, so I just pulled everyone inside and armed my fighters with rifles. We shot maybe a dozen before the ferals decided it wasn't worth the trouble. They didn't act organised — more like a leaderless rabble looking for easy slaughter."

"So where are they now?" I asked cautiously.

He paused before saying, "I wish I knew. Their trail leads east, but I'm not risking my scouts following it."

East was the worst direction. Until now, the ferals had confined their attacks to this side of the Silverstones. But if they crossed the mountains, they could threaten the other four packs, who had been safe so far. Screw it, we would have to cooperate now. With two packs down and the other five at risk, maybe the Alphas would realise that too.

"Alright, well tell your bastard cousin to move his ass. New Dawn is closest, and I'd bet anything they'll end up there."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about Jace — he takes his job very seriously," Zach assured me. "I just got off the phone with him. The ferals will cross the mountains and run into a brick wall of fighters. The other packs are... Actually, I'm not supposed to tell you that. Forget I said anything. And thanks again for the warning."

I knew from his hurried tone that he was about to be hang up on me, so I didn't bother to ask about the secretive preparations. "Just ... don't throw that away by doing anything stupid."

And with that, I hung up first and turned my attention back to the table. His phone call had interrupted us, and now five faces stared at me, waiting for a decision. Rhys, Fion, Ollie, Leo and Tom had appeared when I had summoned the council and told me that Maggie was making lunch and Mortimer was apparently too lazy.

"So where were we?" I asked.

"As I was saying, we questioned the surviving children. The people murdered last night were survivors from Ember. They escaped the ferals, I assume, and they were coming to us for refuge," Ollie explained.

We fell silent at that announcement. If the ferals would attack innocents not two miles from our home and not us, there was something wrong here. They seemed more than happy to attack rogues, so obviously we had nothing to do with it. It was the castle they were avoiding.

"Why us? For a flockie running from ferals, another pack would be the logical place to go. Not a rogue camp," Fion pointed out.

Ollie beamed at her, obviously pleased. "That's what I asked. The kids weren't sure, but I gathered that their new Alpha told them to come here. Our immunity hasn't gone unnoticed. Most people seem to think Last Haven is the safest place to be, which is partly why we've had a hundred refugees arrive in the last week alone."

"And this new Alpha is Logan's pup?" Leo checked.

Fion was the one to answer, our expert on ... well, everything. "Yes. Lewis Fletcher, seventeen years old. His father ruled Ember for twenty-two years before he was killed by the ferals."

"So he's wet behind the ears but from the right family. Figures. Packs always did go for blood over talent," I muttered.

But to be honest, he wasn't doing so badly, having inherited a defeated pack. At least he wasn't stupid enough to put pride above the safety of his pack members, if he had been willing to send them to us. They had almost made it too. Just two miles, I thought sadly. Two miles between life and death for those escapees.

"What I don't understand is why they passed us. It was stupid from a strategic perspective — leaves them open to an attack from behind," Tom pointed out.

Rhys, who had kept his mouth shut until now, drummed his fingers against the table. "It was stupid from all perspectives. We could have pinned them at Shadowless if we'd wanted to."

"True," I acknowledged. "But I don't want to go on the offensive until we know more about their motives. Starting with how they become ferals. A leader's name would be helpful too."

He grinned suddenly. "Ah, well I can help with that. I've been hanging on the grapevine recently."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It's an expression," Rhys explained matter-of-factly, "for being the amazing brother with all the answers."

"Oh, ha ha," I scoffed. "Aren't you hilarious?"

"Just shut up and listen, yeah? Word on the street is that the ferals are being created by humans. Supposedly, they're fed some drug which kills your human side. That leaves a wolf in a werewolf body, crazy from being internally ripped in half."

I tried to imagine how my wolf would react to that. Not well, that was for certain. I knew I wouldn't be able to deal with losing her to some poisonous drug. And it would explain so much, including the ferals' animalistic behaviour. A numbness settled in me. There were hundreds of crazy animals running around in human bodies.

"These humans you speak of... There isn't any chance they could be hunters?" I asked, and Rhys nodded. "Then I think you've solved the mystery of their leader as well. Because there's this guy called Mal—"

Tom narrowed his eyes dangerously, his gaze flicking to Rhys in warning. Oh, right. Yes. He wasn't allowed to know in case he did something reckless. Which was bullshit, of course, but who was I to question Rhodric Llewellyn?

So I covered my tracks with a coughing fit before continuing. "I mean, I know someone I can ask. We have a hunter prisoner."

That seemed to satisfy everyone. They didn't even look suspicious. And Tom made sure to change the subject as quickly as possible anyway. "So their aim is to destroy our entire species. Which means we need to act now. Find a way to work with the packs to neutralise the feral army."

I nodded along dutifully. "Which is a good idea, but it brings us to another problem. Does anyone know how we can work with the packs when they hate our guts?"

Rhys raised a hand lazily. "Me, me! Pick me!"

"Go on," I sighed. "What do you know, Rhys?"

"Everything! I spent the last week with a pack, remember? There's going to be a packmeet today — all the Alphas will get together and talk tactics. Can we go? Please? It'll really piss them off."

"Packmeet," I mused. "Without us? That's rude."

"They must have forgotten to invite us," Fion agreed.

Rhys stood up, looming over us with over six feet of height. He looked quite the rogue with that insolent grin. "Pity. We'll just have to gate-crash."

It was a damned stupid idea. Break into a room where seven Alphas, who each led several hundred wolves, were having a civil discussion. Annoy them with our presence, then have the nerve to suggest we cooperated. It really would be a miracle if we escaped alive. But it was still a better idea than twiddling our thumbs until the ferals had finished their conquest.

I was feeling decisive. "Ollie. Six cars, and fighters to fill all of them. We leave in ten minutes."

***

Ten minutes later, and I was climbing into a jeep with Leo. The fighters had all arrived quickly, full of excitement and restless energy. I had been pleased to see so many familiar faces— including the twins, Tally, Sophie, Ryker, Emmett and even little Owen, who had volunteered so enthusiastically that I couldn't find the heart to say no.

It was lucky that Rhys knew when the packmeet was taking place, as well as where. The Alphas had, rather stupidly, decided to meet in the Silverstones, which was conveniently close to Lle o Dristwch. It took just half an hour to drive there.

When we piled out of the cars, I narrowed my eyes. Because the Alphas had chosen a church, of all places, to host their meeting. It clearly hadn't been used for religion in years. I could tell by the overgrown graveyard to one side and the isolated location on a mountainside. But still. What were they thinking?

We didn't want to give them time to discover our arrival, so we moved fast. When everyone was crowded around the unguarded entrance, the twins shouldered the doors open. Twenty-five rogues rushed into the room, quickly overpowering the men inside.

When the dust from a minor scuffle settled, I took a good look at the interior of the church. The pews had been broken up — probably for firewood — ages ago, leaving an empty hall. Now it was filled by a massive table, and seated around it were seven Alphas, four Lunas and fourteen Betas. Two guards stood for each pack, and those men were the ones who found themselves at the wrong end of a knife.

They hardly dared to breathe, let alone speak. Everyone sat in shocked silence as our intrusion ran its course. Most of the Alphas looked indignant, or even furious, which didn't really bother me. It had been necessary, not only to prove that my pack was as formidable as any of theirs, but also to stop them banding together to attack us.

I stood in the entrance for a good minute, with Rhys and Fion on my right and Leo and Ollie on my left, before I made my dramatic entrance. It was showing off, of course, but it was worth every second for the Alphas' facial expressions. Either they were constipated, or very pissed off. I couldn't really tell which.

"Hi, guys," I said breezily.

"Hey," Zach replied, the only one with the manners to return the greeting. He was sat with his cousins, Jace and Jaden, who led New Dawn and Riverside Packs respectively. Those three would stick together, as firm allies and relations, and they were probably my only chance at acceptance.

Jaden rolled his eyes when he recognised me, which wasn't surprising. He didn't like me, but he didn't have the brain cells to make his own decisions, so he would follow his brother's example. And that example looked promising at the moment, because Jace was actually smiling slightly. In an amused, smug sort of way.

"Only pack leaders are allowed in this meeting," Alpha Keith of Silver Lake informed me icily. He was famous for despising rogues (which had something to do with Rhodric, I think), so I gave him up as a lost cause and decided to have a little bit of fun.

"Oh, good. I like exclusive events," I replied, settling into a chair which Zach's Beta had vacated for my use. And when I say vacated, I mean that Rhys physically dragged him from it, of course.

"That means you need to leave," he continued as I hadn't spoken.

"Don't you know? I'm leader of Last Haven Pack." I left out the rogue part for the sake of argument.

"That is not a pack. It's a group of rogues with a fancy name," Keith growled. The others didn't seem eager to involve themselves, instead choosing to shuffle awkwardly, although it looked like the Alphas from Lowland and Pine Forest agreed. Jerks.

"Like Shadowless, then?" I asked and hit a sore spot.

Zach's father had declared Shadowless as a pack only twenty-three years ago, and no one had felt like arguing after he had defeated all-comers on the battlefield. Rhodric had particularly liked telling us that story, for reasons he had never disclosed.

Keith spluttered with disgust but didn't answer, and neither did anyone else for a long time. Zach smirked proudly at the mention of his pack's origin.

"Shadowless have an Alpha. You don't," Cornell from Lowland said suddenly. "Females can't lead packs on their own."

"Why ever not?" Jace asked amiably, finally joining the discussion. Perhaps he was a feminist, although I had seen him boss his mate around. She wasn't here today, for some reason.

"They can't defend themselves, let alone anyone else." Keith's voice was full of scorn.

"I know more than a few who could easily thrash you," Zach said, with malice behind every word. It was obvious that he didn't get on with the Silver Lake Alpha, whose pack had always been strongly opposed to Shadowless. Once rogues, always rogues, in Keith's opinion.

Alpha Keith, whom I was liking less and less by the second, shook his head. "The girl needs a mate to rule a pack."

Zach was arguing because he felt like it, not because he particularly cared how they treated me. But I still appreciated it when he snapped, "Skye has a mate."

"Not an Alpha mate," someone else sneered. He wasn't an Alpha, although he was sat in an Alpha's seat. Too old to be the Ember pup-Alpha, and that was the only pack unrepresented. So some upstart opportunist, I guessed.

"And who the hell do you think you are?" Rhys asked roughly. He folded his arms and sized up his potential opponent, who was both shorter and oddly bony.

"I'm Jackson, Alpha Logan's brother. Regrettably, he was murdered and my beloved nephews are imprisoned, so I am representing Ember Pack."

"What's left of them," Rhys retorted. It was true that Ember were useless now. Even if their fighters were still alive and sane, they wouldn't be for much longer. The same went for Lowland Pack, yet their Alpha was acting as if he wasn't now powerless.

That was met with silence and frowns. It seemed to be an Alpha thing to ignore anything which they couldn't argue with.

"If she stays," Jackson said, stressing the if, "she stays alone. In the interests of peaceful negotiations, only the Alpha and Beta pairs of each pack are allowed in this room."

He thought he was being oh-so-clever, knowing I wasn't stupid enough to stay in this room without the protection of my fighters, outnumbered by people who wanted me dead. I think he assumed I would leave quietly after the announcement of that rule.

"You've all got guards," I pointed out shortly.

"They are here to break up fights, and you must give that order in front of us. You are permitted to keep no more than two unranked men in this room."

I thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Guys, get out."

The male portion of my fighters, which was roughly half, left the church without an argument. Emmett and Ryker took up positions behind me as the guards. I couldn't have chosen better myself. They had identical smirks and wore knives openly.

"And the others too!" Keith demanded angrily, just to make it easier when he tried to kill me.

I feigned innocence, looking at the remaining Last Haven members with confusion. "What, them?"

"Two men," Jackson reminded me sternly.

"They're women, dumbass. You didn't say shit about women, so I figure I can have as many as I want."

Jackson and Keith both looked at each other with pure dismay. They had screwed up and they knew it, because their Alpha rules were made for the packs, who didn't have female fighters. I'd bet it specifically said 'two men' in pack law. They shut their mouths about it after that, obviously realising they couldn't enforce the rule.

But Jace leant over the table, hiding a smile at his fellow Alphas' embarrassment. "What about them?" he asked, nodding towards Rhys and Ollie.

Ah, shit. Leo was my mate, so they obviously considered him part of the 'Alpha pair.' But those two? I racked my brains, because I didn't really want to back down or send anyone else out. Inspiration struck and I smiled slyly. "Oh, they're my Beta pair. Got a problem with that?"

It was true for Ollie. But I was implying that he was mated to my brother. Both of them cringed in unison, but didn't deny it. At least, not out loud. I could feel Fion absorbing Rhys's mental wrath before it could distract me.

"Not at all," Jace said mildly. "Just wondering."

Then I turned to satisfy the other condition by ordering Ryker and Emmett, "If I decide to gut one of these bastards, which seems very likely, please try your best to stop me."

"Yes, Luna," they said simultaneously. "We'll try."

And so, with no legitimate reason to deny my presence, and no easy way to kill me, they had to let me stay.

"So, what were you talking about?" I asked innocently.

"I strongly protest to her being here," Keith growled, as if he hadn't already made it obvious.

Rhys must have got over his displeasure, because he deflected that one for me with an eye roll and a creative idea about where Keith could shove his protests.

Jackson got a look in his eyes that I didn't like at all. Something between sly and satisfied. "Yes, Keith. We shouldn't exclude the poor girl, should we?"

Keith frowned for a minute —mind-linking him, I guessed— before his eyes suddenly lit up, and he smiled too. "You're right, I'm sorry. Perhaps you would like some refreshments."

I didn't answer, mainly because what they were trying to do was so blindingly obvious that any reply I gave would be dripping with sarcasm, and they would know I was onto them. Better to let my enemies think they had screwed me over than warn them that they'd failed.

The Alpha signalled to one of his guards, who started pouring a glass of juice. Conveniently, he crouched down behind the table to hide exactly what he was doing. When it was finished (which took considerably longer than it should have), Keith pushed it across the table to me, still smiling sweetly.

My family didn't insult my intelligence by filling the mind-link with warnings—they trusted me. And of course, I had no intention to drink it. But I did wonder why Keith had brought poison to a packmeet—who had he been planning to dose?

I lifted the cup to my lips, tilted my head back and let the liquid touch my lips. It took all of my self-control not to reel away from liquid which could kill me, but I managed it. Keeping my mouth firmly closed, I swallowed several times and continued to tilt the cup upwards as if I was actually drinking it.

Jaden looked at me with boredom, Zach with concern and the others with incredulity. Only Jace gave a slight nod which indicated understanding.

"Thank you," I told my enemy with as much sincerity as I could muster.