"Look at me, if you're going to be in charge, you can't be soft," Temp said, watching as I applied a fresh bandage over my right thigh. It had only been a couple of days, but my wound was healing nicely; the stitches were hideous, but in the end, I was going to have some great battle scars. I took a deep breath, already tired of how Temp was telling me how to lead. Literally, left and right, he was trying to order me around, persuade me into doing things his way, or giving me advice. It was just like back at the facility and on our assignments; he always had to be the one in charge and for once, he wasn't. It was clearly bothering him. "I mean, how do you think you're going to find Ethen? Huh? Or, any lead on him?"

"I don't know," I told him, frowning. "But, I have pack to follow us, don't I?"

"Who won't help us kill him," he pointed out, kneeling down in front of me. "We're wasting our time sitting around here, Blue."

"Well, do you have any brilliant ideas?" I asked, harshly. "If so, don't be afraid to share." I rose to my feet, careful about applying too much weight to my bad leg. "Now that I have this pack, things are different, Temp. We need to be smart and take advantage of this power while we have it. Yes, they won't help us kill Ethen, but they'll help us find him."

"How?" he questioned, coldly. "You don't know, do you?" I pinched my lips together, understanding his point. I had spoken to Kolton and Pete the day before about any sort of plan, but there was nothing. In all honestly, I had no idea what I was doing; I couldn't lead or control a pack of werewolves. What the hell was I doing? Temp stepped forward, his voice dropping to a whisper. "We make him come to us."

"How do you suppose we do that?"

"He took this pack's Alpha, right?" he said, raising an eyebrow. Slowly, I nodded, trying to gather what he was thinking. "Then, Ethen knows the pack resides here - he knows about this forest, about how surviving werewolves are inhabiting it. This is why you can't be soft, Blue." I frowned at him in confusion and he moved his mouth towards my ear, hesitantly. "What if something tragic happened to the survivors? What if the forest all of a sudden caught fire?"

I shoved him away. "You're insane!"

"Think about it," he tried, tossing his hands. "It's his kind, isn't it? He cares about the survival of werewolves, right? A sudden fire, a suspicious one, will make him want to check it out."

"First off, I'm not killing anyone else," I told him, referring to the werewolf that I had battled against to survive. "There are children in this forest, Temp. A fire could wipe out the majority of the werewolf population and we'd be responsible - yeah, I'm not completely fond of the race, but not all of them are bad. Secondly, the fire would piss Ethen off and thirdly, what if he's not the only one who checks it out? What if his brothers do too?"

"Even better," he responded, rolling his eyes. When he noticed the ugly expression on my face, he took a deep breath. "Sometimes, sacrifice is necessary."

"We're no longer working for the government," I whispered, eyes narrowed. "Sacrifice isn't an option now."

He huffed. "This is why I should be in charge."

"No, this is why you're not," I argued, shoving at his chest again. "You're not smart about things, Temp." He huffed in disbelief and shook his head, angrily. I didn't want to argue with him; despite the pack, he was all that I had. Tilting my head back, I continued, "Listen to me, there are some nasty werewolves out there, like Kolton. But, there's this saying - that wolves hunt for survival, for food, but humans hunt for sport, for fun." He looked at me, clearly not understanding the point. "It's saying that we are the heartless monsters, so I'm not going to prove the saying right by starting a forest on fire."

"You're being ridiculous," he said, venom dripping from his words. "I will start it then."

"No, you won't," I told him, eyes narrowed. "Don't test me; I'll have you tied to a tree, Temp."

He shook his head. "Look at you, now that you have this pack following you, you're threatening me. Last time I checked, I'm helping you after you begged me to; I don't need to be helping you at all, Blue. I could leave right now, leave you to handle everything on your own." Panic slapped me in the face and he released a harsh laugh, taking a step back. "How would you like that? Being on your own with this pack of unpredictable werewolves? Figuring out a way to find Ethen? What happens if you bump into another Torment? Huh?" Noticing my worried expression, he licked his bottom lip. "Yeah, that's what I thought. If you threaten me again or try to order me around, I'll leave your ass. I'm not one of those mutts, understand?"

I swallowed loudly. "You know I need you."

"Well, duh," he responded, rolling his eyes again. "But, I don't follow orders from you, so I'll do what I want."

"You aren't starting a fire."

"Then, I suggest you come up with a better idea," he said, stepping away. "We don't have all the time in the world, Blue." With that, he waltzed out of the tent, sullenly. I groaned in frustration and stomped out of the tent, blinded by the sunlight. To my left, I spotted Kolton throwing daggers at a tree, sweat rolling down his forehead. His evil eyes glanced at me, narrowed, before he threw a dagger, harder than the time before. He still hated me and honestly, I didn't blame him. To my right, I noticed Pete bandaging a little girl's knee; I had learned that he was the closest thing to a pack doctor.

But, straight ahead, I spotted an unfamiliar man in his twenties, walking through the clearing, his blue eyes narrowed. He was lean and muscular with dark, messy hair that nearly hid his eyes from view. Raising my chin, I approached him, calm and collected. He was eyeing my pack members in confusion and anger - when I stopped in front of him, he looked me up and down. "I want to speak to the person in charge."

I frowned. "You're looking at her."

He raised an eyebrow, then chuckled. "You're joking." When he noticed that I wasn't laughing or cracking a grin, he paused and took a whiff. "But, you're human."

"It's a long story," I responded, suspiciously. "Who are you?"

"My name is Tyler," he introduced, raising an eyebrow. "So, you're their Luna, huh? For how long?"

"A couple days," I answered, honestly. "Why? Is there a problem?"

"Just a little one," he admitted, something twisted hiding behind his eyes. I narrowed my eyes in warning and watched as he glanced around, rubbing his jaw. "Tell me, do you really think you're capable of leading this pack? Any of these werewolves could battle against you and take your power, don't you know? Like me." At that, he smirked, a similar smirk to Kolton's, meaning he was definitely not a good guy."You see, I'm here to take my rightful position as Alpha of this pack, Babydoll."

"Well, I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen," I responded, shrugging. "I'm their Luna and right now, I'm feeling a little threatened." He frowned and without hesitation, I shouted, "Kolton! Come here!" In seconds, Kolton was at my side, a grim expression on his face. Tyler looked back and forth between us, releasing a small growl. "Tie this man to a tree and make sure he doesn't go anywhere. You can have a little fun with him, if you want, but he needs to stay alive."

Kolton raised an eyebrow in shock. "My honor." Kolton whistled and suddenly, two burly men appeared behind Tyler, snatching his upper arms. Tyler snarled at me and like expected, started making threats. Grinning from ear-to-ear, Kolton beckoned for the men to follow with him, which they did, followed by Temp appearing in front of me.

Temp's eyes traveled after them. "Uh, what was that about?"

"You said I can't be soft," I said, calmly. "This is a start."

* * *

Three hours later, when the sun was beginning to settle down behind the hills, I wandered through the trees to where Tyler was tied, grumbling. The majority of the wounds Kolton had inflicted were already healed, but there were a couple of bruises on his skin, a busted lip, and a few cuts from a blade. Kolton backed away, watching as I approached him, confidently. Temp was trailing behind me, intrigued by the situation, along with Pete who was silent. Despite torturing me before, he seemed to be one of the most loyal ones. Tyler spit at my feet and I stepped backwards in disgust, before clearing my throat and looking towards Kolton. "Did he speak at all?"

"No, nothing," he answered, somewhat surprised. "I couldn't break him."

"And, you won't," Tyler blurted, licking his busted lip. "I've been through a whole lot worse than this." Temp huffed from behind me and folded his arms across his chest, patiently. "I was captured by the government once - and they knew how to torture someone. I was stabbed with so many needles, had way too many fluids injected into me, and was starved." My throat tightened; he had been captured by the government? A part of me wondered if he had been held at the same facility I had worked at. "This is nothing, Babydoll."

"How'd you escape the government?" Temp asked curiously. "I heard they have high security and uh, it's nearly impossible to escape."

"I'm smart," Tyler responded, rolling his eyes. "If I knew how to escape a government facility, I can guarantee you I'll escape this pathetic tree." He looked around, his eyes stopping on me and a devious expression crossing his face. "And, when I do, I'll kill you and take your power."

I tilted my head. "Is that what you think?" I moved closer to him, inspecting his appearance. "Don't underestimate me."

"Don't underestimate me," he said, releasing a harsh laugh. "You have no idea what I'm capable of - the connections that I have." He appeared stuck in thought for a moment, before shifting his attention to Kolton and Pete. "You know, I forgot to mention earlier when I was being pathetically tortured that your Alpha, the one who goes by the name of Ethan, is dead." Pete growled and looked towards Kolton who remained emotionless. "Do you want to know how I know that? Because, I'm the reason he's dead."

"You're lying," I said, shaking my head. "And, for someone who wants to take over as Alpha, you aren't doing a good job at winning this pack over."

"No, I'm proving what I'm capable of," Tyler said, raising an eyebrow. "I ordered Ethan's death and I can easily order all of yours."

"Oh really?" I countered, stepping towards him. "Who carries out your orders, huh? Who does all your dirty work? Who should we be trembling in fear over?" I grinned and waved my hands in the air, dramatically. "Sorry, but I'm not scared of you and I'm not scared of your connections. If you're lucky, I'll let you live, Tyler. I suggest you stop making threats because you are the one who is showing the meaning of 'pathetic'."

He chuckled. "Okay, when I escape, I won't kill you." I frowned at him and Temp grabbed my shoulder, gently pulling me backwards. "I'll have one of the Volkov brothers do it."

I froze. "Wait, you know the Volkov brothers?"

"That's who killed your Alpha," he said, looking towards Pete and Kolton. "I had a Volkov brother do it."

"Ethen."

Tyler narrowed his eyes. "How did you know what brother?"

"Because, I knew Ethen Volkov," I answered, hearing Temp take a deep breath behind me. "For a while, I was helping him and he came here - he came to kill Ethan." Pete looked at me in surprise, along with Kolton who carried an expression closer to disbelief. "I told him he couldn't and he, uh, used his power; I went unconscious and when I woke up, he was gone. So was the Alpha." Pete rubbed his jaw, processing the recent discovery. "I've been looking for him ever since."

Tyler smirked. "You were fooled by a Volkov brother."

"Yes, I was," I agreed, replying through gritted teeth. "Do you know where he's at?"

"Possibly," he said, almost teasingly. "If I gave you his location, what would I get in return?"

"I don't trust you," I responded, folding my arms across my chest. "You'd have to lead us to him and I'd have to lay my eyes on him." He pursed his lips in thought, debating in his head. "Then, you can have this pack. You can take over."

Kolton growled. "That's not how it works."

"I made a deal with you," I reminded him, eyes narrowed. "So, I can make a deal with him." Taking a deep breath, I looked at a smirking Tyler, one who seemed pleased with the deal. "I'm making deals with demons - damn, what the hell am I doing?" Temp tapped me on the shoulder, probably to add his input, but I was already speaking to Tyler. "So, what do you say? Sound like a good deal?"

"I could just kill you and take your power," he replied, shrugging. "That plan sounds a little bit more exciting."

I groaned. "What else do you want?"

"Before you do whatever you want to do to Ethen Volkov, I want to speak with him first," Tyler said, watching my reaction. "You see, I happened to be the one who turned Ethan, your Alpha, into a werewolf. When I bit him, he was experimenting with witchcraft in the forest - I think there's a possibility Ethen found out why, before he killed him." I started processing the news and request, ignoring the pointed looks from Pete and Kolton. "It's important I know because witchcraft is dangerous and usually, a last resort for someone. I need to know why Ethan was sticking his nose in it."

"You'll just warn Ethen about us," Temp said, quietly. "We're not stupid."

"No, I wouldn't," he responded, seriously. "Believe it or not, but I hate the guy. I hate all of the brothers."

"Yet, you had one of them kill their Alpha?" I asked, frowning.

"It was the easiest way to gain power," he answered, calmly. "I came here to replace Ethan, but it seems they've already officially elected you the one in charge." He eyed me up and down in disgust; I wanted to slap him more than anything. "You stole my power, my place, Babydoll."

"Whoops."

"So, do we have a deal?" Tyler asked, remaining calm.

I hesitated. "Fine, we have a deal, but if you try anything, I swear to God, I'll kill you myself." He smirked in response and nodded, most likely having something under his sleeve.