My body slams against the ground, the soft mat harsh upon my body as I can feel my bruises from the day before only being prolonged on my body. Stumbling back up to my feet, I wipe the sweat away from my brows, shifting my gaze back to my father as he stands firm in his place. "You are moving too quickly because you fear the impact it brings." 

"It that not normal to fear the impact?" 

"Never let the appearance of the threat threaten you" he states, tossing the firm foam board in the air, the size resembling that of a dagger. "You hesitate because you focus on the 'what if,' and when you respond to that, I will win the battle." 

"I don't get it," I state, hesitantly moving closer. Just as my father flinches with the board in his hand, I duck, pulling my head behind my arms to protect myself, only to feel no blow. Glancing up, I look to see my father still in his planted position, crossing his arms. 

"You do not get it because you are failing to identify the problem. What are you afraid of?"

"That foam board hitting me," I respond, rolling my eyes as a smirk pulls at Terrance's lips. Flinching with the board in hand, I move back a step, only for no real blow to occur. 

He steps forward, our shoulders square, and he tosses the board up in the air and catches it. "You are reacting to a certain outcome before it happens. While this is not a bad thing, Leala, you hesitate too quickly, which leaves me time to still hit you before you can realize your mistake. This board is no the problem - the opponent - I am the problem. You are failing to identify the problem at hand."

"I cannot just train myself to not react."

"That is not what I am saying, Leala," he states, "I am saying you are not reacting to the real problem at hand. Watch me - forget about the distractions. If you look at me, you can still see my weapon, correct?" 

"Correct," I reply, focusing on my father as I can still see the blue foam board he holds in his hand. 

"So then focus on my movements, not the board." 

I watch as my father's arm comes swinging around, not flinching this time, and I dodge the board coming at me, stepping back quickly as my weight shifts from foot to foot. As I stop back to my father, I watch a small smile spread across his face. "Never let the appearance of the threat threaten you, Leala. Now, let's begin." 

By the end of the session, my body is dripping with sweat as I use my shirt to wipe the sweat from my face. As I lay on the mat, I watch my father go back inside the house, my chest rising and falling heavily as I focus on the pounding of my heart. My eyes focus on the blue sky with grey clouds, the spring breeze softly blowing across my skin, and I find myself closing my eyes and trying to relax. 

My mind begins to wander, thinking back to the events of these past three days. Aunt Taylor is still in town, the funeral happening later today. Brie is isolated in the pack house as she has sent multiple requests to speak with me. 

"Cedric, how many hours do I have still free?" I ask, peeling my eyes open as I can pick up the scent of my Beta coming towards me. Hearing I have the next six hours open, I roll over on the mat and push myself up to my feet. "Anything I need to be aware of."

"Brie-"

"Besides Brie," I snap, looking up to those forest green eyes. Cedric purses his lips together, trying to hold back whatever he wants to tell me. 

Just as I pull my hoodie on, I am met with the frustrated face of my beta. "You need to hear her out." 

"She was working for River."

"She was working for him to protect you," he argues as I scoff. "You cannot just throw everyone who argues or tells you something you hate into a tower. You are not some dictator, Leala, you are an Alpha...yet you are going to start loosing respect from this pack if you keep up with this routine." Taking in a deep breath, Cedric lets out a sigh as he places his hands on my shoulders. "Hear her out, please, you may learn she is still someone to keep in your inner circle. Between Brie and Alpha Penelope, I trust Brie far more." 

I trust Cedric more than anyone in this pack, perhaps even more than my father. He has been there by my side for almost everything and he has given me criticism which I have internalized. Out of respect for Cedric, I may go to see Brie and hear what she has to say. Cedric trusts Brie more than Penelope and that is something I should focus on and put my attention towards. Asger's message both threatened me and pointed me towards a new direction. If great empires have always crumbled from within, then Crimson Lock could also crumble from within if I do not try and hear others out. 

The fact River had Brie watching out for me, it makes me wonder if he still thinks of me often, for I know there has not been one night when I shut my eyes and not think of those golden eyes. 

<><><> 

My black dress itches my legs, the fabric brushing across my thighs as I pull at the sleeves. My heels click against the wooden floor of the pack house, eyes glancing towards me as pack members spot me. I have not visited the pack house much in the past week, rather keeping myself locked up. Ever since I ordered the attack on Evercrest Ridge, the pack has grown restless yet silent. Rumors circulating, questions being brought up not just about my age and title, but also if I am going down a similar path of my father. I know my father was an alpha for put fear into others, manipulating those who were part of this pack, and declining mercy to many. I do not wish to be like my father. 

As I climb the stairs and come to the door being guarded by three pack warriors, I greet them as they unlock the room Brie has been kept in for barely two days. Entering the room, the dim area feels haunting, Brie's head hung low as she looks outside, her blond hair in tangles and still wearing an old pair of clothes. Glancing over her shoulder, bloodshot eyes glance back to me as she only looks back outside. 

"River did not hire me to spy on you, Leala. I have been loyal to this pack since I met my mate. I knew River because we grew up together, the two of us raised in an elven realm where we never belonged. My father was a doctor and my mother a noble from the past kingdom. I joined Eternal Shadows when it was built, but even then it never felt like a true pack." 

"So how did River hire you? What were the details?" I ask, trying to keep the more threatening questions suppressed as I know I need to trust Cedric here. 

"He spoke with me on the phone, calling in a favor he had been waiting on for nearly five years. My job was to simply keep him updated on you, no mention of battle plans, but only how you were doing. He wanted to know when you felt sick, when you were happy, if you were facing difficulties. He asked for me to keep an eye on the people who supported you, to analyze their actions and words, and to try to guide you away from those who could do you harm." 

"What favor were you returning?" I question, curious as to what River did for Brie all those years ago. Taking a seat across from her, those eyes slowly begin to shift towards me. 

"He set me free from Eternal Shadows." Leaning back, Brie brushes a stand of hair from her face and rubs her temples. "I was supposed to marry him, a deal set by the elders, Keva, the council..." Her face tells me the story, how mentioning how the marriage was setup causes her eyes to drop, her lips to pull down, and how her eyes begin to water. "We both wanted nothing to do with one another in a romantic sense, so I asked him to banish me when he became alpha." 

"And he kept his end of the bargain. How was that doing you a favor if you both did not want to go through with it?" 

"He was willing to go through with it." I raise an eyebrow. "River has always respected and admired Keva, so when she wanted us to wed, he was hesitant, but never resisted the idea because Keva wanted it to happen. He believed her to have his best interest at heart." 

River was willing to marry Brie because Keva told him he needed to. River was willing to marry me and Keva no doubt suggested that. Keva told me to marry River...but why? 

"Keva raised him, taught him magic and everything he knows. Keva ran Eternal Shadows and got it prepped for him." 

"But Keva does not see him as the true alpha of the pack, does she?" I ask and watch Brie shake her head. "The longer River is in power of that pack, the more restless she becomes. It was once tradition for the king's son to live among the elves for a few years as part of a treaty made ages ago. The elves were never meant to be ruled by a werewolf and yet Keva was forced into handing off a pack of wolves and elves to River." 

"Who made her?" 

"River's father demanded it, as it was part of the deal struck up when River was taken in by Keva as a child." 

Shaking my head, I cannot seem to wrap my head around all of this. "So why accept the deal?" 

"Keva was keeping up with tradition by helping to raise a king's son, but she never intended to give River a true pack for him to rule. She saw it as a chance to gain power. Keva has always been hungry for power. She is helpful to those she plans to use. She has been around for centuries, watched her children die before her, watched those she trusted betray her...she watched Zion's ancestors march upon her realm's territory and claim a potion of the land to build a palace upon. So much of what River has been given is what Keva believes she is owed for her kind's suffering." 

"Why did she want me to marry River?" Brie almost laughs at my question, shaking her head as she pinches the bridge of her nose. 

Brie cannot seem to really take my question seriously. "Why do you think?" 

"I thought it was all because I was to become an alpha and having our packs join through a marriage would mean a stronger pack to claim the crown." 

"And who were your parents? Think about how that would play out in reality when all the family secrets were out. How could your pack accept River as their alpha when his parents were the cause of your pack's grief? How could the wolves in River's pack accept their Luna when her parents were the ones who burned down the old kingdom?" 

"A civil war."

"A civil war indeed. It would cause the pack to fall apart...to crumble from within." 

Brie's words set me off, bringing me back to what Asger had told me in his message. "And if that had happened, the elves would claim control of the pack..." 

"You are starting to piece together it all." 

"What does River know?" 

"He has started to look around his pack, he is growing suspicious of Keva. He believes you about Asger." 

I nod, thinking about how now that a marriage between River and me seems almost impossible, what Keva could be planning. Keva and Asger are behind what happened to Oliver, the death of Bryson, Ryker, and Vaughn, and my potential death. Keva wants me out of the game now, but why? 

"I need to see River," I speak up quickly. "I am so sorry about everything, for all of this," I say, referring to the isolation I had put Brie in. Informing Brie to follow me out, the two of us leave the room as I tell my warriors they are dismissed from guarding their Gamma. The two of us walk side by side swiftly as I try and think about the other alphas who have been working alongside me. What happens next? I have done so much damage already. I have caused so much destruction to only now wonder if everything was worth it. It was all my fault for letting it come to this. 

"The alphas beside you will not be happy to hear you are meeting with River." 

"They will not know of it."

"They will always know, Leala. They have eyes and ears everywhere." 

As Brie causes concern in my own pack members, I look at those who stare at me as I walk with Brie through the entrance of the pack house. She is right, for no one would just blindly go to war with me unless they had a way to know what was going on behind closed doors. I know I can trust Cedric and Brie, but who else? Can I trust Penelope or Yusuf? 

The moment we exit the pack house, I unlock my car and the two of us drive off to my house. "So now that a marriage to me if off the table, what happens now?" 

"Many people want a crown on their head," Brie warns. "Alphas will try and win your hand, no doubt Mathis and Finch have thrown their hat into the race. As for Keva, I do not know what her next steps are. River is still after a crown and she knows that." 

Taking in a deep breath, I try and focus on the road as my next question forms. "This is not really a war for the crown, is it? This is a war between wolves and elves." 

Brie shakes her head, glancing over to me. "There are two wars being fought here, Leala, as there always are." 

<><><>

The grey clouds in the sky are fitting for this afternoon, the gentle breeze turning more harsh as my hair blows around me. Aunt Taylor stands beside her husband, the two of them adorned in black as they place tulips onto the closed casket. Taking in a deep breath, I hold back the tears as I take my step forward with a dozen white lilies in my hands. As I place the lilies onto the top of the black casket, I cannot help but think of the day that box was brought in with my grandmother's head. This woman showed me so much love in the short moments I had with her, treating me as family should, and never sparing a moment to create a memory with me in the few moments we shared. 

This woman was a link to my mother, for me to find out more about my parents, to learn about who I really am, yet she passed away too soon. This should never of happened. There should have been a sighting if someone from outside the pack had entered, leading me to believe someone in this pack is not who they say they are. Someone in this pack betrayed me and Crimson Lock but either allowing someone to slip past the guards and attack my grandmother or someone in the pack was hired to do this. 

Glancing around the solemn faces, most of those in attendance are human, the few who are not being older individuals. Cedric and Brie stand next to me, placing their own flowers on the casket as they appear to the humans here as just attendees rather than here to protect me. As I wipe the stray tears away from my face, I return back to the row of mourning faces, watching the minister as he begins his speech about my grandmother's life. 

"The mother of three children who sadly buried one of her own. She was a strong woman of faith in others and never missed a chance to offer help, whether it be a friend, family member, or stranger." The minister continues on as I glance down the rows of tombstones in this graveyard, finding the familiar set where my parent's were given their own marble tombstones. My body feels hot to the touch as I cross my arms, the minister continuing his speech as an ode to my grandmother. 

"If Lily had never married that predator, we would not be here today," I hear Aunt Taylor remark to her husband. Something seems off about Mr. Rose, for his eyes are blue yet hold a hint of violet, a set of tattoos upon his wrist he tries hard to cover, and his general placement in this crowd just rubs me wrong. My mind is telling me he is not human, especially how the watch he wears seems to give off a hum for my ears to pick up. Something tells me he is a warlock or wizard. 

"Try and be civil," I mumble, glancing towards Taylor as she knows saying such things for my ears will only do more harm than good. "We are here to remember our family member, not argue. We are both in pain here." 

"You barely knew her," Aunt Taylor whispers back, our voices low as a few eyes glance our way. 

I want to snap back at her, to argue that she was my family member too, but I know that here is not the correct place to hash out this type of argument. Aunt Taylor is right in some regard, for she knew my mother and father more than I ever can, but I know she is also biased. I know my father was no saint, for my parents did not live in some fairytale and I cannot pretend that my father was some dashing prince who saved my mother from a dragon and they fell in love and lived happily ever after. I cannot pretend I have not heard the stories of what my father did, both to pack members and to my own mother, but I know in the end they loved one another in their own twisted way. 

We all watch as the casket is lowered into the ground, soft music playing as the wind picks up. As the casket finds it resting place in the ground, the sound knocks a hole in my heart, my jaw tightening as I wipe away the tears. Cedric offers me a tissue to use a Brie looks around and keeps an eye on Mr. Rose. Do I trust Brie? If Cedric trusts her I feel like I should, but I am keeping her at an arms distance. It seems that she has good intentions and she has a good record with many here at Crimson Lock, but I am in a very strange place right now where I do need to be careful who I trust. I do not know who I honestly can anymore...a piece of me thinks it all started when Oliver betrayed my trust. 

A piece of me thinks it all started when I found out who I really was. 

Walking away from the funeral, Cedric and Brie follow closely behind as Aunt Taylor and her husband linger back. The car is ready for us at the edge of the cemetery, the metal gates pulled open as guests of the funeral begin to leave as well. Just as Cedric opens the passenger door for me, I come to a stop and look over my shoulder. Explaining I will be right back, I make my way back up the hill with the wind blowing my hair around. Walking around the grave of my grandmother, I walk up to the stones set aside for my own parents as a way to remember them. I know my father's body is not buried here, for Zion never allowed his body to be returned home for a proper funeral, yet most of the remains of my mother are laid to rest here. To think what became of their bodies, it sickens me. Zion was able to keep the body of his dead wife preserved in a royal tomb with magic so that he could resurrect here years later, yet my parents could never have that chance. My mother never had the body of my father to have the chance of bringing his soul back into. My mother is nothing but charred bones now and my father's corpse is rotting away somewhere unknown. 

"Your grandmother was devastated to pick out this headstone," an unfamiliar voice points out, those blue eyes glancing at me. "So young yet she had lived through so much." 

"Did you ever meet her?" 

"No," my uncle replies, turning to face me as I can hear some sort of humming in the air. "Taylor did not speak much about Lily either. She did not think she was still an aunt for decades after Lily died - thought you had perished somehow." 

"Adopted," I reply, starting to get the hint that my uncle knows the secrets of the family my mother married into. The secrets of what I am. 

"Nice to finally meet you," he states, holding out his hand to shake as the humming becomes louder, the oscillations at a growing magnitude as I look down to his hand. Ruins seem to be tattooed on the inside of his arm as his sleeve lifts up. 

Just as I reach my hand forward to shake, I spot Aunt Taylor heading over. "What do I call you?" 

"Uncle Declan seems a bit too formal considering we are just meeting when you are fully grown," he comments, tilting his head so that the wind catches his hair perfectly. 

"How did you meet my aunt?" 

"College." 

I take a second glance at the ruins which seem to be tattooed on his skin. I take a chance. "Really? Someone of your talents would go to college?" Just as Declan raises an eyebrow, I open my mouth. "I mean, it is strange how my human mother married my father and then you, a warlock of some sorts, marries a human as well." 

Just as Declan realizes what is going on, Aunt Taylor has come up to the two of us. She has to know what he is, for she knows about supernatural beings already. "Will you be coming for dinner tonight?" I ask, turning my attention to my aunt as she nods, informing that the two of them will. "I look forward to getting to know you both better." 

Excusing myself, I head off back towards the car awaiting me, wondering what someone like him would be doing with my aunt. Witches, warlocks, wizards, and all those types of magic users are known to marry in their coven or at least stay close to their coven. Could it just be a coincidence that Declan happens to be a warlock of some sort and part of my extended family? I think it is a good coincidence, but it could also be fate pulling my stringers, nudging me closer to something. 

As Cedric starts the car and drives off, I zone out as Brie begins to chat with Cedric, the two of them deep in conversation as I stare outside the window, gazing back to the cemetery. Asger wanted to send me a message by killing one of the most innocent people I have ever known. He went after a human, my grandmother, and someone with no ties to our world. Asger has shown me his true colors, for he went after an innocent and helpless woman. I want to know who helped him. I need to know who let these events transpire. 

"I want a meeting called of every warrior on duty the day my grandmother was killed, regardless of ranking or where the were sanctioned. I want every since one to be interviewed by the two of you to rule out who allowed for a weakness in our boarders and for treason and murder to transpire," I interrupt, looking back to Cedric and Brie. "Call for this meeting first thing tomorrow morning. If anyone is to miss, they must have very extenuating circumstances and documentation." 

"Your pack will believe you are blaming the men who have sworn to protect them." 

"Someone allowed for this to happen and we will get to the bottom of this." Looking back out the window as the trees pass by. "An innocent woman died and her death was used as a warning. If Crimson Lock respects me, then they will respect this decision." 

<><><>

R I V E R

<><><>

The halls of the palace had never felt so hollow before. Ever since word reached Eternal Shadows that the mother of Lily Maxwell had been murdered in her house, River had felt on edge. Not on edge that he too may find himself in danger paralleling the human grandmother of the very alpha he was at war with, but afraid for the life of that very alpha. Perhaps it was the news of Leala's loss of family which caused him to reflect on just how empty this home he has was. Ever since news reached his ears, River wondered if he could ever feel that loss, feeling as if his entire life spent in the palace was just filled with hollow memories. 

The woman who raised him was not by any means family, for she was a teacher. River was taught many things by Keva, beyond what many were taught by their nannies or professors, for he learned about celestial magic and how to harness it, as well as how to run a pack and kingdom. Keva had been alive for centuries, her own mother older than the moon itself before she passed off to the Golden Planes, yet River had always felt an urge burrowed within Keva, longing to unleash itself. 

It was as he stood here, upon the balcony of his grand room, that he noticed the elf exploring her garden and picking the glowing flowers. Something seemed different about her, about how she moved and dressed. Once adorned in pastel hues, the elf had transformed her wardrobe in the past week to white hues which absorbed the light of the moon. As River stepping further onto his balcony, memories flooded his mind of the alpha who once wandered his palace gardens when she would visit, her brunette locks pulled out of her face, and her eyes shining in the sunlight. 

Leala was different from every woman he had ever met. The moment he decided he wanted to have her by his side for eternity, River was perplexed as to why fate could be so cruel to make him feel such thoughts, for she was the very daughter of the man and woman his own parents detested. Yet, over the years, River had come to hold very little respect for his own parents, finding their own selfish actions to be the reason for why the kingdom he was once promised having fallen. Every time his father would visit, River would be swarmed with questions of war and ideas for how to run the next werewolf kingdom, yet River found very little interest in those topics of politics. When his mother would visit, River found those conversations geared towards topics of politics and rogues, asking him what he would do with the packs which were dissolved after the war and those who fled into the human world. 

Yet, the woman he knew was becoming his weakness, was also becoming her own enemy. The woman he could not take his mind off of was also a woman he knew was suffering to gain control of her surroundings and perhaps even her own pack. 

River remembered the day Keva approached him, discussing options of a wedding between the two of them, though River did not yet know Leala was the future alpha of Crimson Lock. Keva knew before River the truth of Leala's past and future, trying to get an engagement underway before River had even known Leala would become the alpha of Crimson Lock. Why would Keva wish for the two of them to become wed? River did not know, but he wanted to get to the bottom of it all. Keva had once tried to wed River and Brie, to unite two strong families within the pack, yet those plans had fallen through years ago.

River wondered how long Keva had her eye on Leala for as a possible spouse before she turned her cheek. As Leala had progressed into her own woman, her own identity, and her own alpha, River had noticed how Keva reacted to news about the young alpha and how she would talk about her. 

Full moons like tonight turned into long nights to harvest flowers for alchemy purposes, Keva wondering through the garden she had planted years ago, harvesting the crops, and muttering prayers to the gods she once swore had forgotten about mortals. 

As River looked back to his bed, memories of those hazel eyes filled his mind, causing him to wonder what Leala was thinking, planning, and expecting to happen next. Brie had filled River in that Leala knew the truth - that Leala knew Brie was there to protect Leala and inform River of her wellbeing. River no doubt believed Leala was beyond mortified when she heard that information. For weeks River had his men following Asger around, acting as eyes and ears where he could not, yet there seemed to be radar silence. River knew Asger was covering his tracks well, yet he just needed to find the one weakness in Asger's defense. 

Grazing back and forth within his private chambers, River soon found himself back in bed and staring at the ceiling, wondering just how much longer this war would take and how many more lives would be lost. A childhood filled with dreams of wearing a crown did nothing but cause stress to the young alpha, his concerns only growing by the day as he wondered just how much of his destiny was actually his - and not just his father's. 

A sudden knock at the door drove the alpha from his thoughts. Rather than open the door with no protection, the young alpha held out his hands and cast a spell Keva had taught him years ago, cloaking the room with a thin layer of defense between himself and whoever stood behind the door. If they were to enter the room, four ruins placed upon the walls would defend the alpha as well, allowing him a faster reaction time compared to his opponent. 

As River opened the door, the familiar eyes of his once most trusted companions stood on the other side. The eyes of the elf locked with his, a smile tugging at the elf's lips as he seemed to gaze right through the werewolf. 

"Protection from me, is this what we have come to River?" Asger asked, pushing past as he entered into the room to find the ruins marked upon the walls. "Why so cautious within your own palace?" 

"What can I do for you Asger?" 

The elf took a seat before the empty fireplace, leaning back as he looked towards the window. "I assume you know why I am here, River, right?" 

"Enlighten me." 

"Why have I lost your trust?"