Cora struggled to comprehend what she just witnessed.

The moment was like the time she helped her father put their dog down when she was twelve. Baxter got attacked by an emaciated wolf, and by the time they killed the starving beast, Baxter suffered a punctured in the lung.

Cora would never forget holding her dog's head as her father slit it's throat; the moment created a mental scar that would alter view on the world.

Here, she felt that same change. She had never seen someone so brutally take power over another before, nor had she seen a lycan -- while turned -- attack another with full aggression. Perhaps a few weeks ago, she'd consider these creatures as the very beasts that she had been told they were. But now? Her veins burned with invigoration to harness that same power.

She never wanted to feel powerless again.

Whatever this moment was, she would be forever changed for it.

Ludovic grimaced, his pain and anger clearly mixing in what had to be a cocktail of adrenaline and rage. He glanced at his bloody hands before sneering, and all Cora could feel was concern for him. "Are his hands going to be alright?" Cora asked, leaning close to Mina.

Mina nodded, just as quiet as Cora. "Yes. He will heal."

Cora's pulse throbbed in her neck, especially as she eyed Theran who slowly walked out with a female lycan at his side. Despite Walder standing in front of Cora, Theran grunted a pathetic groan as he glowered at her, the ire in his eyes terrifying; he lunged at her, not to hit, but to intimate.

"Lostcha," Ludovic growled, glaring over his shoulder at his cousin.

Theran looked away in defeat and cradled his broken jaw, the female whispering something to him as they sluggishly moved away. It reminded Cora of the throes of a dying animal, although she was shocked that he would just abandon his throne like that.

"So, he is just leaving?" Cora asked, her eyes wide. "Just like that?"

Mina breathed heavier. "Yes, yes I think...I think Ludovic just took the throne. If Theran were to stay, Ludovic would kill him. No one around defended him," Mina said, astounded. "So...he has to leave."

"You seem surprised," Cora said, not sure where to land her gaze as she looked around the war room, stopping when she spotted Oren, who looked around with caution.

She didn't trust him, and she loathed his stupid nephew that mauled Ben.

"We haven't had an Alpha unseated like that in well over a hundred years. It's quite exhilarating." Mina gave a loose chuckle.

She eyed Ludovic once again. So, now he is the Alpha.

Cora swallowed thickly, her mind and heart dreading to find out the answer to her next question. "Am I staying, or will he give me away too?"

Mina gave Cora a closed-lip smile. "He will keep you."

Cora exhaled and moved her jaw around as she ran her tongue along the backside of her teeth in an attempt to let out her emotions. Sentiments of gratitude and relief coursed through her, and she stared at Ludovic's back and broad shoulders with a new appreciation. "I want to thank him. Somehow, some way" --her voice grew shaky, relief flowing through her in waves as she spoke-- "if he's keeping me, I need to do whatever I have to to show my gratitude."

Mina said, "Yes, we can do that. But later. For now, I suggest we leave him. He has to establish this claim, first. Although, let's stay until someone tells us to move."

A few moments passed of lycans deliberating in the Lavorna before a familiar dark-skinned Seer walked through the door, her eyes weary. Rasha looked Cora over and said, "Come, I need to speak with your witch."

"I'm not staying here?" Cora asked, her gaze moving back to Ludovic, who somehow spoke to others, despite the way his blood dripped onto the floor; no one seemed to rush to his side to help him either, although they gave him their full attention.

"The new Alpha must tend to his reign first."

"Alright...but is everything okay? What happens now? Does Theran just move in somewhere?" Cora asked.

With a solemn tone, Rasha said, "Everything will change now. But we must deal with it one step at a time. For now, let us go ahead and wake your brother. It is due time for that, as we still need to hear his side of the story."

The climb down was much easier than up, and Cora insisted on walking this time, needing the stairs to exhaust her energy. Her legs were shaking by the time they reached Ben's door, having never descended that many stairs before.

Before Cora went in, Rasha said, "We will remain here for now. Once you are done, please tell your witch that I need to speak with her."

Cora nodded and faced the Seer. "Thank you. And her name is Hilda," Cora said, although spoke as politely as possible. "She is much more than a witch to me."

Rasha bowed her head and kept it there, which made Cora glance to Mina for a cue, only for her to nod towards the door. "Go on. And take your time."

Cora nodded and turned around, ready to get this over with. She just wanted him to be awake so they could officially begin to move on and heal. And even in that moment, her gratitude for Ludovic grew, as if Theran were the Alpha, then this conversation her brother would be entirely different. Hilda would probably be planning on how to flee with Ben.

She entered the plain room and neared the unconscious Ben, thick furs still keeping him warm. She knelt on the furs that lined the floor, being as close as she could to his bed. Hilda sat directly next to him, her hair dirty and needing to be washed. So does mine. The sun burned brightly through the windows, revealing even the smallest crevices and cracks in the walls.

"We got word they want to wake him," Hilda solemnly said. "That's why the bandages are off" -- Hilda smiled as she looked Cora over -- "You handled yourself well, Cora. I hear we even have a new Alpha."

Her lips curled into a smile, though she didn't take her gaze off of the carnage of Ben's face. "Yes, I will have to tell you all about it...but why are his bandages gone? Couldn't we keep them on as he wakes?"

Roman neared Ben with a small knife and ointments. "To let them breathe, and to help him when he wakes. When someone's face is covered in bandages, they always want to rip them off after such a deep sleep."

Three gashes ran from his forehead down the side of his face, just missing his eye but slicing out a chunk of his eyebrow. It was more than a deep scar, as some part of his cheek had clearly been gauged out, although everything was healing much better than it ever could at home.

Ben would carry these scars until his last breath, never able to forget what happened.

Roman, who looked as dirty and weary as the rest, cleaned the boy's wounds with cloth, water and salves. Ben stirred, although this time they didn't give him anymore of the kväll milk -- soon he would be coherent.

"These wounds are a bitch," Roman mumbled, carefully cutting the stitching on Ben's eyebrow with the small, slender knife he had.

"Thank you for everything," Cora said.

Roman's dark brown eyes glanced up at Cora before he looked back down at Ben. "Just don't forget me when you're an Omega. Ludovic keeps you close, so I imagine he's already thinking about the options there."

"Well, he was my guard."

"No, he kept a closer eye on you than his duty required. At least, Theran never ordered for him to do that."

Cora looked away, wishing this was a moment where she could consider those words about Ludovic, but it was the last thing she should be worried about. She looked back at Roman. "I won't forget you," she said softly, although recent events inspired her to add, "Or Nailan. I know he's your nephew, but I won't forgive him. For Ben, nor for trying to hurt Macie. I won't tolerate that."

Roman snickered, revealing his fangs. "Yeah, that little fucker will be in a world of hurt. You know, you might want to consider changing the boy," Roman said, nodding to Ben.

"What?"

"Into a lycan. Not right now," he quickly added once Hilda glared at him. "I just mean in the future. He will be among us, and he can best fight off idiots like my nephew with his own claws. He'll heal better too with future injuries."

Cora sighed, shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose. "That's his decision, honestly. I cannot even consider that right now. So much is happening, and I just want to hear Ben speak."

Hilda cleared her throat. "One step at a time, Ashmore."

Once the wounds were as clean and glossy from salves as they could possibly be, Roman poured some green liquid down Ben's throat to negate the effects of the waning kväll milk, cradling his head so he didn't choke.

It took a few more minutes of pure silence, Cora refusing to think about anything other than Ben, especially since she had been afforded the luxury just now.

Ben's lips quivered, and then a mumbled sentence escaped him...along with groans of pain.

Roman had a strip of black bark ready and said, "When he is aware enough, we will have him chew on this Sadie's bark. It's better than Willow's bark for pain."

Ben's eyes opened not long after that, revealing the brown of home; the same color as her mother's.

He was completely groggy, his eyes lulling back into sleep with heavy blinks. Then Roman tucked the bark into his mouth and said, "Chew."

Ben, who must have been famished, began to chew without more prompt. He grimaced and spit it out. "Ew," he groaned.

Tears flowed down Cora's cheek as if she were a dam ready to burst, unable to hold everything back. She was so happy to hear him again.

His lips were cracked, and Hilda handed him a water skin to drink. Once Ben realized it was water, he grabbed the bag and downed it all, water dribbling down his chin.

That seemed to wake him up, as he looked around the room, his eyes growing wide when he spotted Cora. He breathed heavier, looking at Hilda, then at the bed he was in, then, at the walls that surrounded him...

He reached for his face.

Cora placed a hand on his knee. "No, don't touch it."

"What's happening. Please. Don't put me back to sleep," Ben said with a shaky voice.

It gutted Cora to know that he knew what they had done to him, or to think that he was scared that she'd do something to him. It was for your own good, Ben.

Hilda said, "Ben, before we tell you anything, you need to chew on that bark for pain relief. And we also need to know the last thing that you remember. I want to hear it first before the others."

He breathed heavily, taking the bark and chewing on it, used to following Hilda's commands on medicine. "The lycans," he grunted. "I remember the lycans."

He frowned as he sucked on the bark, reaching for his face once more, only for Cora to stop him. "Ben, you saved Macie. You did a great job. You, well, you got really hurt, but you'll be fine and Macie is safe. Please don't touch your face for now."

His brown eyes filled with anger and he furrowed his brows, only to close his eyes and shudder with pain.

Hilda said, "Try not to make too many facial expressions, Ben. It will hurt. Here, lie down and we will talk more. Then maybe get you a nice steak for dinner."

"They attacked me," Ben said, lying down, his breathing growing erratic, the promise of steak not distracting him in the slightest.

Cora moved her hand to his wrist. "Yes, they were very angry...because you did a good job. You stopped them."

"Where are we?" he groaned.

"We had to leave--" Hilda began.

"What happened," he interrupted with a whimper, starting to cry. Roman backed away and sat in the chair that Cora had first seen him in, watching quietly.

Hilda took in a deep breath, the energy growing tense. "The lycans took us."

"What," Ben whispered.

"Ben, listen to me," Cora said, leaning up and over him, kissing his arm for comfort, just as their mother used to do for her. "I had to come here soon anyway. You are only here because of your injuries. This is not a permanent setup for you. Perhaps once you're healed, we will look at taking you home. They have amazing healers out here, and a lot of resources. You are in great hands here."

"My face," he whimpered through a frown, hovering a hand over his wounds.

"Leave it for now," Cora gentled cooed. "Your eye, nose and mouth are still intact. There will be scarring, but the ointments given to you should help greatly. We are leaving it open for now just to let it breath, but will put bandages back on it so the ointments retain their moisture."

Ben panted with panic and misery, the sorrow in his eyes unfitting for someone only thirteen years of age. Cora pressed her lips together, internally shaking with rage for what the Ashmores did to her brother.

"You're alright, Cora?" he whispered, glancing at her.

She wiped her cheeks, not realizing how much she had been crying. "I will be just fine, Ben. I promise." She thought to Ludovic, and how she felt safe now.

He nodded and glanced at Hilda. "And you, Hilda?"

Hilda took in a shaky breath, patting him on the shin. "I am alright, my dear boy. We all are."

"Macie is alright?" he asked, as if he had been afraid of the answer.

"Yes," Cora and Hilda said at the same time.

He frowned, which made him groan with pain as he chewed harder on the black bark. He spoke through a shaking jaw, gripping the fur blanket that lie on him. "They wanted to take her. She asked me to help her. She was scared, Cora. She knew she'd never come back. It wasn't fair."

He started to cry. Cora kissed his hand. "Try not to cry Ben, it will hurt. Everything is alright, really. I'm not just trying to make you feel better. We are safe, and so is she, all because of you. The Alpha met with me, he likes me, and we have protection here. It's really going to be okay. You just have to focus on healing so we can look at getting you home. You were braver than most grown men will ever be. Seriously, mother and father would be proud."

Hilda added, "Let's get you up, relieve yourself, get some real food into you and then hopefully sleep tonight. Perhaps a bath soon."

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at Cora, his bottom lip quivering. "I am sorry you had to come here. Did they find you because of me?"

Cora glanced at Hilda, not sure if she should say that she came here on his behalf. Hilda took over and said, "Well, Ben, as I often say, life likes to string things together in patterns we don't understand. It seems Cora coming to the lycans was meant to occur through you defending a young girl's honor. Your sister didn't have to, but she offered to go with the lycans if it meant sparing you. We only brought you because their healer is much more equipped than anyone back home."

He grunted. "So, it is my fault."

Cora sighed, then leaned closer. "Look, I'll be honest, I kind of like this Alpha here. You did me a solid, really," she said with the most lighthearted tone she should muster.

He cracked a smile, but it only lasted for a moment. "This is all the lycan's fault."

Cora sighed. "The one that attacked you is not far from my mind, little brother. I don't plan to let that go so easily."

"I don't want to stay here with them. With any of them."

"They're not all horrible. Some have been better friends than most humans."

"Yeah, well, it's all their fault any of us are in this position--"

Hilda said, "Ben, enough. Not here, not right now. Although, I understand. We can have that conversation later."

Silence fell on them and in time, Cora could sense that Ben wanted to be left alone. She decided to give him space.

"I'm going to go settle into my room, which is right by yours. I'm important here, unlike at home," she jabbed, and he let out the faintest smile. "There are guards to protect you, because you're my brother. So just ask for me if you ever want me, and they will come get me."

"Do I really get to eat steak?" He looked at Hilda.

Hilda laughed. "And perhaps cake."

"What?" he asked, his eyes brightening.

"Yeah," Cora said, happy to him lighthearted once more. "Trust me, this isn't the worst thing to happen to us, Ben. It's really all going to be alright."

He seemed to believe her that time, and she even believed it herself.

Cora kissed his hand and told Hilda that Rasha wanted a word, and then left the room, breathing freely for the first time in weeks. Outside, Mina was cleaning her nails and glanced up at Cora, dropping her hands. "Is he alright?"

She beamed. "Yeah, he's the best trooper."

"I am so happy to hear that," Mina said, her eyes and smile warm. "Let me show you to your room, then."

"Thanks," Cora said, still smiling, feeling like a weight had been lifted. Theran was no longer her problem, and her brother was awake. Cora addressed Rasha, "Hilda will be out shortly, too."

"Forare," the Seer said.

Mina looked at Cora as they neared an adjacent door, Walder right behind her. "I'm happy that you looked so relieved. You're a nice person, and I hate to see nice people suffer."

Cora pressed her lips together and smiled. "You're really one of the better parts of this, you know that? If I become Omega, are there any goals you want to accomplish that I can help with? Or anything like that? I really want to thank you for everything you've done for me. Like, you know, getting your poor lip busted for starters."

As Cora looked at Mina's lip, she noticed it was nearly healed, whereas hers was still angry and swollen.

Mina chuckled, opening the wooden door to reveal a room that mirrored Ben's. "I never even thought I'd be in a position like this, so I honestly don't have an answer. And I hated him treating you like that," Mina's tone grew dark. "I know we are a society of obeying those in charge, but to take advantage of someone is another thing. And I'm losing patience for that kind of treatment the older I get. I mean, I'm only twenty-five summers in, but still...I just felt the need to stand up to him. Maybe that's how Ludovic felt..."

"I worry I'm going to want to do the same to Nailan. He's not that old, is he? But I still want to claw his face in..."

"What exactly happened with Nailan and your brother?"

Cora eyed the old metal handle, not caring if Rasha or Roman could hear her. "Nailan Ashmore was going to steal a fourteen year old girl. Half of the Ashmore's didn't think much if it. To Roman's credit, he seems to be the most remorseful out of them all," Cora quietly said, walking through the door after Mina opened it.

Mina sneered and shut the door behind them, and it was an expression Cora didn't often see in this lycan. "That's because the Ashmore's grow bold in their practice of the Old Ways -- much like Steigen...what did your brother do, by the way?"

"He took our family's silver dagger and stabbed Nailan," Cora said, looking out her window, enjoying the view. "Just to save a girl he had a crush on. Although he might have genuinely saved her from a miserable life."

She thought to herself, and to the life she almost got sent to live...Steigen practices the Old Ways. I can see why mother and father fled.

The sun dulled in its vibrancy outside, the sky darkening with gray clouds in the distance.

Mina quietly added, "Well good for him. We need more people, even lycans, like him."

Cora surveyed the empty room as she turned around, the light growing dimmer by the minute as the dark clouds cut out the sun, before facing Mina once more, who remained near the doorway. "So, what now?"

"You wait until further instructions, I suppose."

"When can I thank Ludovic?" Cora asked, still not fully processing that Theran was gone. "I want to do something for him. Show him my gratitude. It means more than I can express that I feel safe now. That my brother is safe. I owe him everything. I know it wasn't all for me, or anything like that, but still...I'm here because of him."

Mina looked away, gently shaking her head. "I am not sure. I assume by now, you'd be able to go to him. But I don't know if we should."

"Why shouldn't we? I mean, I guess it doesn't matter. I was thinking like tomorrow or a few days from now. Surely he has to heal, or get his hands treated first? That was a serious injury."

Mina shrugged. "We heal quickly. I mean, it will take him a few weeks to recover fully, but his body should be at a stage where he can tend to it himself. And um, the reason you shouldn't go is because it's a very delicate thing to offer."

"What," Cora stared, slightly curious and concerned at the same time.

Mina's eyes moved back and forth from Cora to the floor. "It's just...I don't know if it's the proper move or not."

"Why? What is it?"

"Well, I am thinking you can go to him and offer to tend to his hands."

"Really?" Cora frowned. "Wait, why would that be something I shouldn't do?"

Mina went to another window and peered out herself. "Usually only an intended, or a mate, would help. I imagine a Seer will tend to the dressings if he isn't, since he is the Alpha now. But he is of the type that would probably take care of himself, which means it's a prime opportunity to display your role as an intended...if you wanted, that is."

"Wait, the intended stuff aside...he can just take care of it himself? His hands got pierced, by teeth," Cora said, not able to imaging taking care of such a wound by herself. That sounded like a horrid option, especially for even more severe injuries. Cora tried to imagine not tending to Ben's wounds, telling him to either find Macie or take care of it himself. "I mean, his mother never tended to his wounds? Surely everyone didn't just leave him like that?"

Mina chuckled, tapping her finger tips on the window sill. "When he was a youngling, yes, his mother tended to him. But at a certain age, we take care of our own bodies, unless they are grievous. Essentially, we heal so well, and take such pride in our scars, that to let another tend to our wounds is seen as disrespectful. However, there are exceptions. If the lycan is so injured, like your brother, then it's seen as a necessity to receive aid. Or, if it's a battle, then everyone tends to each other to get their bodies in fighting shape. But if they can take care if it on their own? Then it's offering intimacy. And a lycan like Ludovic needs to be heavily injured to have another take care of him that's not an intended or a mate."

"Huh..." Cora said, finding that fascinating. "So, if I go now, because of my setup as an Omni and former intended of Theran...it will be seen as giving my intimacy?" Cora asked, running her hands on the sill of the hearth in her room, lost in thought.

Mina nodded. "Yes, that's correct. If you are to go to Ludovic now, it's basically offering your intimacy to him, or confirming you want to continue your, well, I guess betrothal, or whatever that would be, to him. We just call it courtship here. Not sure if humans used that term."

"Courtship works for us...but I just want to thank him," Cora said, although a part of her wasn't opposed to the concept, especially as her attraction was completely present.

She thought to him, imagining him taking care of his hands all alone. She hardly knew him, but she felt so indebted to the him and wanted to help him.

"I know, and I can even tell him that. But for our people, it's still such an intimate offer. Which is why I'm not completely sure if we should approach it it all. He could not like it, giving that it's so soon. It could be seen as you trying to ride in the wake of his power. It's um, a reason he and his past courtship failed. Sava is a very powerful, intense female, and it was no secret she wanted the title of Omega, not just Ludovic."

Cora sighed and frowned. "I never thought about his past courtships."

"It's been over a year, but I don't want to make it seem like you're going just to secure your title. Then again, you basically told Theran to eat wolf shit, so he might know that's not the case," Mina said, chuckling.

Cora laughed and looked back out her window, a storm definitely approaching in the distance. She swore she could even smell it. "Yeah I can't believe I did that. I was just so mad at him."

"I'd like to think it's the moon already coursing through you," Mina said with pride.

Although Cora hardly had time to think it over, intimacy or not, she wanted to go to Ludovic. Her gut told her to do it. "You know what, let's go. I'm fine with whatever it might suggest. I want to let him know, no matter what, that I recognize how he basically saved my life just now."

"You're sure?"

Cora faced Mina. "I am to go to an Alpha, Mina, no matter what I do, it seems. Ludovic has proven his worth, and I owe him. It can't hurt me to do this. I think you're right and he'll know I'm not going just to secure a title."

A wild excitement overcame Mina's eyes as she grinned. "Alright, why not? We can always ask."