Wanderers of the world. Wolves that roamed no man's land. Sneaking into packs' territories. Making them bend their necks in submission. Turning back to the habits of old.

War.

We were no longer men.

Blood.

We were never meant to live like humans.

Death.

We were wolves. Animals.

A few days after our arrival at RavenFur and my and August's prolonged discussion about what needed to be done in order for us to stand a chance against the enemies we were going to face, we came to the conclusion that the wolves we had to fight on our side were simply not enough.

Being the strongest alpha in the States he could have done this for himself, he could have started his own bloody journey gathering more wolves to fight for him, but all he did was follow my lead.

We had departed. Two packs – one made of men who had nothing to lose and one formed of men who had everything to lose but were willing to do it for their alpha. I was perplexed about how August had even managed to convince his wolves that they needed to fight in a war that was not their own and I was a little envious that he had a pack that stayed loyal to him even at the price of their own lives.

As wolves, it was natural for us to be loyal to our pack, however, the notion of what a pack was differed from August's wolves' definition. They followed their alpha's lead unconditionally while the majority of packs followed what was in the best interest of the pack as a whole, individuals notwithstanding.

Having RavenFur's example in front of me, I could only learn from it. Valuable lessons of how an alpha should lead and I had to give it to him. There was more honor in his way of leadership than I had seen in a while.

We would stick to no man's land when we traveled in between pack territories, then we would wait at the borders, extend an arm in an offer of peace and cooperation and when refused we would turn that offer into a bloodshed.

Those who lived would stay with us and learn. Those who were too stubborn to bend would die and be buried in the earth to rot.

Soon, we would no longer need to say the reason for our arrival. Soon, wolves would flee their packs on their own and join us. The Apex pack. The biggest formation of wolves there was.

Some would do it to save themselves the effort of facing us in a battle. Others would seek glory and prestige.

I knew what I was doing was wrong. I knew that no one would blame August for supporting me since he never took anything for himself. Later, they would believe him if he made some excuse about his reason for joining me on this journey.

I could do nothing about it but keep standing under the blood Moon and pray that somehow all the wrongs I was committing were going to add up and make a right. My rise to an Apex, my conquest over the moon children, my mission of rescue and justice, I could only hope that it wouldn't turn out to be my biggest mistake tomorrow as I thought about today.

About finding and bringing my mate where she belonged while taking care of a threat no Alpha or Apex had dared to stand against – the wildlings.

Tales about them had been present in the moon's children folklore for centuries. Tales of horror about these half-beasts half-men who had forgotten their own legacy and turned their howls towards the Moon dressed in scarlet. Tales of horror about what happened when a wolf went too far.

No one really knew what turned you wild, what caused the normal wolf to be stuck in that form that was neither human nor truly beast, there were just suspicions and guesses.

However, even without a knowledge about the wildlings' genesis, the moon children had always believed in their existence. Therefore, it was the wildlings that I claimed we would be battling against.

No one but those who already knew was going to believe me if I even tried to breathe a word out about the real enemy we were going to face. Perhaps, some of my people had heard the rumors. Perhaps, they gave ear to them once in a while, just another tail to entertain their nights as they speculated about who and what exactly controlled our world and the Council.

There was no official record of the soulless' existence and since, unlike the tale about the wildlings, it was one that was foreign to the moon children they were a lot less likely to believe it.

It was mind blowing – the fact that they had managed to hide their existence from the general public to the point where, after ten years of terror, no one had yet exposed them.

How did they manage to hide the truth for so long? How hadn't anyone discovered it already?

Why were they hiding their nature from the sups and what were their intentions?

No explanation I could think of bode anything good for us. Moreover, it made me apprehensive of what the future held with them being in the driver's seat.

If what Christine had told me was the truth, then I could easily make a conclusion about who really was pulling the strings, yet I had to still find a proof.

It was the third week of our journey when it happened.

Apex? Jason called into the link. His wolf's howl followed into the night. Our fur protected us from the cold that had descended early on us this year but nothing could protect us from the ice inside our chests. Even as wolves we felt it. Emptiness in a bond that had once been a warm and cozy place. An emptiness that overtook our every breath and heartbeat.

That same emptiness sounded in the call of desperation. The scouts had found something but it apparently wasn't what they had expected to discover.

A week ago, with the pack I had sent several groups of wolves to roam into different territories and look for a sign from her. My beta's group hadn't been one of them. Soon after our alliance with RavenFur, Jason had stepped up as my beta and being my most trusted man I had kept him close to my side.

Tonight, his group, along with a few others, had been charged with scouting for the pack. We had to keep our eyes open and the spectrum we could see large enough for us not to become a victim of a surprise attack and with so many packs that had lost many of their wolves to us, I sure expected there to be at least one alpha who were reckless and stupid enough to launch such an attack against us.

What is it? Calling into the mind link, hoping for news that wouldn't finish my shattered heart, I forced my paws to carry me faster, swifter into the woods we had been traveling through for the last few nights.

Looking for signs to lead us to where my mate or my enemies were. So far, there had been none.

There is a person here, Jason's mental voice called back with a slight growl to it. The longer a man stayed in his wolf form, the more animal he became.

We'd stayed like this for days.

Threat? I inquired.

No, she's too old to be a threat of any kind, he sent back.

Then leave her there. Why are you calling for me? I asked, moving up to a higher altitude, the air thinning in my very lungs.

Just come. You need to see her, came back as a response.

Letting the bond and the wolves' scents be my guide, swooshing over fallen leaves wrapped in frost, my wolf's paws shortened the distance.

The last few nights had been hell on both my pack and me. And hell seemed to be all that awaited ahead.

Stopping in front of the three wolves shading the bigger part of the woman's figure from view, ears perking up with the whisper coming out, listening without meaning to.

"Moon-kissed... find... world... scarlet... her name... moon-kissed... scarlet... find before... rivers... flow... scarlet... find... moon-kissed... scarlet... her name... scarlet..."

The wolves parted to let me see her. An old woman sitting on the withered moss, wearing a dress that looked more like a robe than an actual dress in its simplicity, dirty, grey with spots of green when it had been probably white once. Her eyes were closed, the skin on her face having that yellow tint of sickness to it. Her cheeks seemed hollow. Dark shadows rested below her eyes. Deep wrinkles made that face look like it was some kind of artwork made from parchment thrown over a skull. Long, dirty locks of grey hair stuck to her head then fell over her shoulders like an ugly unkempt wig. It didn't seem to have been washed up for a few weeks at least, nor did she.

And all the while my eyes inspected her, she continued on her soft whisper.

"Moon... scarlet... find... scarlet..."

Words that wouldn't make sense to anyone but those who knew that scarlet was more than just a shade of red.

Body sinking into fluid motion, I let my flesh mold into its human form, the chill caressing my skin ten times more prominent than it had been in my wolf form.

I crawled toward her, the lack of clothing nearby making it impossible for me to hide my nudity from the old woman's crazy eyes, however, I tried to hide the most important bits the best I could in the near darkness.

"What did you say?" I asked in a soft voice, stopping a foot away from the woman. My hands weaved around my body in an attempt to cover my bare skin and allow me some semblance of cover.

"Moon... find... moon... kissed..."

Her eyes never looked at me as her hand traveled to gesture west.

She's clearly delusional but I thought you would want to see her, Jason spoke into my mind, a hopeful note in his voice as his wolf moved to stand next to me.

"You did good," I said aloud. "Take her to Christine and inform the pack that we're setting up camp here tonight."