My original estimate had been roughly right. There were at least four hundred wolves surrounding our castle. Every single pack was arrayed there, including New Dawn, Shadowless and Riverside. My so-called allies. It didn't look like they had breached the walls yet. I found the slightest of consolations in that. But the camp was just ashes now.

Jace's minions led us straight into the heart of that army. As we walked, packlings gathered along the side of the paths to gawk at our little ragtag band, especially Jeff. Some stared with silent hatred, but more shouted abuse. We ignored it all — we'd heard it a thousand times before.

No one liked rogues. Not even other rogues, most of the time.

When they started throwing things (rocks, mostly), we closed ranks to shield Fion and Cassidy. It wasn't long before my shirt was sticky with blood from a dozen little cuts.

Our eight guides formed a loose circle. Whether it was for our protection or the army's, I wasn't sure. Going with them had been a choice. Killing the messengers and running away would have certainly sent the Alphas a message, but the wrong one. That's what they expected from us, so I would do the opposite. I hoped I could still talk my way out of this whole mess.

We eventually arrived at an open area with a view of the main gates. Jace Lloyd waited there, surrounded by a dozen of his men, but none of the other Alphas. It was a good a chance as I was ever going to get to rip his freaking throat out.

No, Skye. Deep, calming breaths. Talk first, shred later.

He folded his arms at our approach. I saw an eyebrow raise at the sight of Jeff, but that was all the reaction he allowed. The men around him took an instinctive step back.

"Where in hell did you find a Shadowcat, Skye Llewellyn?" was Jace's first question.

Rhys snapped his teeth scornfully. Jeff just yawned, showcasing those impressive fangs. I wasn't sure how he knew that term. Only the shifters from Anglesey knew of their existence, and as far as I could tell, no one left the island. Could he have been there?

"Never mind about that," I snapped. "I'm giving you five minutes to tell me what the hell you think you're doing."

"Fighting the pack war. What does it look like?"

"It looks like a disgusting betrayal of my trust. There is no pack war, is there? It was all just a way of hiding what you were really doing."

Jace at least had the grace to look ashamed of himself. "Not quite. You see, as you have repeatedly insisted, Last Haven is a pack. We are waging war against you. Therefore this is a pack war."

"Bullshit," I spat out. "We're a pack, not one of the packs, which is the whole problem. And how is seven against one fair?"

"Let's agree to disagree on that. There were maybe fifty of your fighters out here when we arrived. They successfully delayed us long enough for most of the camp to flee to the castle, and killed twice their number of our wolves in the process. Rogues don't play by the rules, so why should we?" the Alpha asked.

That made me prouder than I could say. Fifty fighters dead was a huge number. A devastating number. But it meant there were still enough left alive that we had a chance. There must have been a lot of raiders in the castle. I gave my friends a subtle nod. They could mind-link around and coordinate a defence while I talked.

"What do you mean, most of the camp?" Cassidy asked sharply. I wasn't sure if the words were hers, or Rhys was using her as a mouthpiece, but either way, we would make a rogue out of her yet.

Jace narrowed his eyes. "I mean not everyone ran away, human. The children were spared, and the women. Those who didn't fight back are prisoners. "

My mind ran through all of the rogues who wouldn't run away from packlings. The list included almost everyone I knew. Hopefully, they would have been in the castle to begin with.

"We have our own prisoner," I said. "Kara's your Beta female, isn't she?"

He nodded. "I would be willing to make an exchange. Your niece for Kara."

"You have Nia?" I demanded. The baby had been in Maggie's care. She wasn't the type to give up without a fight. Fion's panic rolled through the link in sickening waves. It wasn't intentional, but I had to put up my mental walls just to concentrate.

"And your Beta. Ollie, I think?"

"I want to see them."

Jace sighed. "Of course you do. But first, do we have an agreement? I think my mate might kill me if I come back without Kara."

"Hmm." I loosed a long breath. "I don't know ... I'm pretty pissed at her. She was spying on me."

Kara glared at me. I let the edge of my knife rest on her skin, and she suddenly averted her eyes. Good. She knew I wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

"I can't say it wasn't obvious. Why else would a Beta female leave her family in the middle of a pack war to go gallivanting off with rogues? You handed me a perfect opportunity to get information on your defences, and I took it."

"Do you have a point, or are you just showing off now?" I jibed.

"Do you?" he countered.

"A baby for a Beta isn't a fair exchange. I want Ollie as well." Don't get me wrong, I loved Nia enough to hand myself over for her sake. But if I could get more out of this bargain, I would.

"That baby is a Llewellyn, and when she grows up she will be more dangerous than any number of Betas. Ollie stays with us, and you can count yourself lucky I'm not executing him," Jace sneered.

I resisted the urge to bash his smug face in, not for the first time. "Kara for Nia, and Ollie will be the most privileged prisoner in the country. I mean it — luxury cell, gourmet meals, the works."

"Done," he agreed with surprising ease. "Ask your friends to shift, and we can get her now."

Our clothes were still in the boot of the car. But the packs seemed only too happy to provide some. Rhys, Fion and Leo were given privacy to change back, yet Jeff remained stubbornly at my side. It seemed tactful anyway. I wasn't entirely sure why Jace wanted us in human form. It could have been a trap.

The first thing Rhys did with his newly-returned vocal cords was recite a long list of obscene words, half of which I hadn't even realised he knew. Most of them featured Jace, but some went as far as insulting his mother and questioning the legitimacy of his parents' mate-bond. My brother could be very creative with his cussing.

The others were far calmer. Leo took over holding Kara again, just to free up my hands for more important things ... like throttling Alphas, if this conversation was anything to go by. Poor Fion was still dangerously pale. She wouldn't be playing any more mind games for a long while. It was a pity. I'd often wondered whether she could thrash Jace in a mental fight.

We followed the impassive Alpha to a space at the fringe of the forest where the prisoners were being held. I counted at least sixty of them, all subdued with shackles and guards. I recognised most from around the camp.

Ollie was being held at gunpoint at one end of the line. Apparently, they had realised the considerable danger he posed. How many flockies had it taken to subdue my second? Why had they even bothered to take him alive?

"I'm sorry," was the first thing he said. "We weren't ready for an attack. They slipped through the borders like, well ... rogues. By the time we knew anything was wrong, it was too late."

"It's not your fault, Ollie. I was a naïve idiot," I replied, more than happy to take the fall for this one. Trusting Jace had been a mistake, and one I wasn't likely to ever make again. "And I'm sorry — they won't let you go."

Through the mind-link, I added, "But we'll break you out ASAP, so hang on."

He smiled in a way that let me know he'd be ready and waiting, no matter how long it took us.

Maggie was next in the line. She passed Nia to Fion. When the baby left her hands, she squeezed my sister's arm. It wasn't just reassuring, it was beyond that. Almost like ... a blessing. When the old woman met my gaze, I understood. She was telling us to go, to save ourselves and leave all of them behind.

I had always been too scared to disobey Maggie, and that day was no exception. Go out and live your life, she was saying. We'll be okay.

It hadn't been part of the deal, but no one dared object when Rhys dove into the line of prisoners and came out with little Sammy in his arms. That kid was our responsibility as much as Nia was, and he wasn't at all valuable to the packs.

"Kill them," he spat. The boy hadn't been crying like some of the others. He had been shouting, if the anger in his eyes and the hoarseness of his voice was anything to go by.

My brother perched Sammy on his shoulders. At six years old, he was getting a bit too big to be carried. Not that Rhys cared.

A little girl wormed her way out of the crowd and ducked behind Rhys's legs. Sammy's friend — the human girl. Her name was Ellie, I seemed to remember. It took Fion a minute to pry her away and persuade her to be picked up. She was sobbing and beyond traumatised. I would later learn that she had watched her sister die when the flockies had stormed the camp.

"You're really pushing it," Jace warned me. But that was all he said. He didn't want kids as prisoners, not really.

With the hostages safely amongst us, I gave Leo a nod. He released Kara, shoving her towards Jace, who steadied her with the look of someone who was not all that thrilled to be doing so. They didn't get along. He was only saving her for his mate's sake.

What I wouldn't do for five minutes with Emma right now, the girl who could bend Alphas to her will. Maybe she could have stopped this. She was certainly the first Luna I had ever met whose mate actually listened to her. Although why she liked my back-stabbing twin, I had no idea.

Kara had made herself scarce, looking more a little bit ashamed. Good. Her lying face had been starting to irritate me.

Only then did I remember two of my wolves who had been missing in action for a little too long. They were not amongst the haggard faces of the prisoners. I drew Jace aside to ask about them, away from my impulsive brother who might have decided controlling himself wasn't worth the effort.

"Where are Ryker and Emmett?" Of course, this was how the packs had slipped through our border, I realised. "They're in charge of our patrols. But neither of them would've talked easy..."

"They didn't," he assured me. "After nearly a week of surly silence, someone thought to check their necks — matching marks. Then it was just a matter of threatening Ryker while his mate looked on. You'd never believe how quick Emmett opened his mouth."

I wanted to punch him for that. My friends, who had gone to help him, had been tortured for their trouble. Only the knowledge that any move against Jace would end in my death kept me in place.

"Are they alright?"

"Of course." He gave me a sharp look. "It was never personal. They're positively chirpy now —too chirpy, actually. Last time I checked in, Ryker was telling me he's far more efficient at breaking people, and us 'flockies' don't know the first thing about torture."

Accurate, if a little out of character for Ryker. He had never taken pleasure in extracting information. "Anything else?"

"He apologised. For what, I have no idea. Maybe all the times he trespassed. Maybe it was meant for his mate."

Okay, that sounded more like him. But he was trying to convey something to me, I thought. Sorry. As if it were his fault, or Emmett's. "Where are the other Alphas? I owe them a few swearwords, at the very least."

I could have sworn Jace's lips twitched. "Waiting. I thought you might react better to just one of us."

"Because I have such an aversion to authority figures?"

"I'm not an authority figure to you, Skye. Half the shifters in the country call you a Luna, sometimes even the Luna. We're both of equal rank here."

I raised an eyebrow smugly. "What would your new friends say to that?"

"If you're referring to Keith ... he's not exactly a friend. After the ferals, I went to make peace with him. He offered me two choices. A pack war I couldn't win ... or this. Which would you have picked, if it was between me and your rogues?" Jace asked.

"You know damn well which I'd pick, you bastard."

"Then you understand why I had to do it."

"And you understand why I have to hate you for it," I shot back.

We stared at each other for a very long time. Allies who were now at each other's throats. This was a betrayal I couldn't forgive.

"I want you dead," I told him. Not a threat, a promise.

"I don't doubt it." Jace averted his eyes and paused. "But until then, we have a surrender to negotiate. My fellow pack leaders want a word."

And sure enough, I caught the all-too familiar stench of power. Jace moved to one side, giving me the horrific view of six Alphas walking towards us.