Diana shifted before me, her body forming into her more familiar presence. She stood warily before me, as though afraid I might run away. My eyes slid to her stomach. She was showing much more unmistakably now. At this point, I was certain the entire pack would know of her condition. They probably would not enjoy the fact that she had traveled all the way to my village by herself.

"Queen Luna," She greeted me, much too formally in my opinion.

"I'm not the Queen Luna anymore, in case you haven't notice," I told her firmly.

"Your title hasn't been stripped by the King Alpha, so unless you're a spirit, you're still our Queen Luna," Diana informed me with a tone of scolding. It wasn't a tone she took with me often before. I frowned.

"You shouldn't be here," I told her, a twinge of concern licking at my soul. I purposely ignored her comment about Roman, not willing to dive into that conversation. Diana hesitated at my statement.

"We need you to come back," Diana said to me, suddenly anxious. She glanced behind her, as though she might've been followed, but I couldn't sense any other wolves nearby. She was alone.

I took in her request silently. I could guess why she was saying this. They were probably about to start Roman's world ending plan. Diana would of course want to stop it, being that she obviously was a follower of the old laws.

"Mila, please. We need you to come back," She repeated when I didn't answer her.

"I can't change his mind," I said stiffly. "I've already tried."

Diana raised her hand to her neck nervously. I'd never seen her so antsy before. Perhaps it was because she was so far from home. Or perhaps it was because she was near a village of humans and wasn't used to the proximity.

"You don't understand. He's changed his mind," Diana said almost desperately. I almost didn't hear her. My heart was already pounding heavily in my chest at her presence. Blood was rushing loudly in my ears nervously, as though Roman might step around a corner any moment. Would I want him to? I shook my head.

"What do you mean?"

"The King Alpha. He's postponing the war on the humans. There's unrest among the packs. Something terrible is brewing... the packs may turn on each other. Some might proceed with the plan without the Trinity pack or approval from the King Alpha," Diana burst forward with her words, each one tumbling out of her as though it had been a river behind a dam building within her. I struggled to follow.

"Roman... postponed the war?" I started from the beginning in confusion.

"He won't attack you, Mila," Diana responded, a confusion washing over her features. "You don't know that already?"

I hesitated, remembering his silence in the forest when I'd left. I'd taken it as a confirmation that he wouldn't be swayed...

"He's told Caleb already. He'll postpone the war until this generation is gone and then drop it altogether. He'll protect you and your descendants, even if they aren't his own," Diana continued babbling with a renewed vigor, "He's honestly talking nonsense at this point. The packs think he's lost his touch and has been swayed by the Goddesses. There's unrest... it's concerning."

I finally began to grasp what she was asking.

"Are you asking me to return so that the plan can continue?" I asked incredulously, looking at Diana from her head to toe suspiciously.

"If you return, if the King Alpha announces you as the Queen Luna to the packs, you could show a united front. You could reveal your abilities, reveal your blessings from the Goddesses, and enter us into an age among the Goddesses' favor once more. The packs could find peace and-"

"Are any other wolves expecting?" I interrupted her, my words careful.

Diana hesitated.

"Still only you, then," I confirmed with a frown, "The packs won't care until they have a future. I won't go back, Diana. If I go back, Roman would only have an excuse to continue once I'm no longer in the path of danger. I can't risk that."

"Are you that dense?" Diana said in exasperation. I felt a flash of irritation at her insult, but didn't act on it. She only continued, stepping forward to grab me by my arms roughly. "You're the reason for everything. The Goddesses didn't listen to me. They're only looking at you. Do you really think they wouldn't grant us a future with you? Of course they will."

"How do you know that?" I snapped back, "Maybe you were just a fluke. Why would they give so many wolves mates in one snap of a finger, but just one a child? It doesn't make sense. They don't make sense. And I'm tired of bothering with them. I'm tired of everything, Diana!"

"I understand that, but this is the entire existence of werewolves on the line. You need to be strong and-"

"Are you blind?" I interrupted her angrily. "The werewolves lives are on the line? You're deities! You're superior beings holding humans in isolation and willing to massacre them mercilessly! Figure it out without me!" I lifted my hands and shoved her by her shoulders forcefully, making her release me in the process.

Just as Diana stumbled back, I saw a blur of movement to my right. In half a moment, I turned to look in surprise, but Greg was already running past me determinedly. He dove into Diana with a look of desperation, his body colliding with hers with a sickening thud.

I expected it to be something useless. After all, what can an eleven year old child do to a full grown lycan? But a strangle cry of pain erupted from Diana's throat as she stumbled away from his form quickly, bending forward before screeching in agony. The sound lifted through the trees terrifyingly, causing a stir of commotion as wildlife fled from nearby. I rushed forward towards her, halting with hesitation to look to my younger brother.

Greg stood with a wet blade in his grip, panting heavily with widened eyes of horror. I looked from the blade, the hilt engraved in wolves, to Diana. She stumbled further back, yelping in pain before falling to the ground.

"Diana!" I cried out, running to her with my heart pounding even louder in my throat. I reached for where her hand gripped her wound and blood seeped dangerously over my own hand. Greg was still too small to aim for the chest. The silver knife had been buried into her stomach mercilessly. "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no." I whispered the words in rising panic.

Diana was gasping in agony, her eyes wide with surprise and fear. It's silver, Roman had said, it's lethal to wolves. She was gasping for air in my arms, grasping at her bleeding stomach painfully.

"You... you have to... come back..." Diana continued to press me, despite her injury.

"I'm sorry, Mila," Greg cried out, no doubt realizing his mistake when seeing my reaction on the ground with this wolf. "I thought she was trying to take you away again! I thought she wanted to hurt you. I didn't... I swear, I didn't mean to..." I was looking at Diana helplessly, horror on my face as she struggled to breath around the pain. And then I lifted my head to look at my brother, who looked just as horrified with blood on his own hands.

I looked from Greg to Diana and back again, tense and torn. Diana would die like this. She may die no matter what I do. Either way, she'd been injured. A deity shapeshifter had been injured with a forbidden weapon by the hands of a human. A terror was rising within me and with it a growing dread. Diana was in danger. Greg was in danger.

"Hold on, Diana," I told her softly, watching as she began to fade in and out of consciousness, "Just hold on, okay?" I lowered her to the ground carefully and then stood to walk towards Greg cautiously, yet urgently.

He stood frozen before me, a new fear on his face. I didn't have to ask. He was afraid of what I'd think of him. I bent to my knee in front of him and then held out my hand slowly.

"I'm sorry," Greg repeated sincerely, tears in his eyes, "I didn't want her to hurt you."

"I know," I said, a warmth of fondness still shining around the sorrow in my heart despite the horrors surrounding us. He looked from me to my hand and then lifted the blade in his with a trembling grip. Then he dropped the bloodied weapon onto the palm of my hand before stepping forward to wrap his arms around my neck in a fearful embrace.

"I'm sorry," He repeated over and over, crying. I touched his hair, closing my eyes to inhale his scent carefully. Behind the blood, he smelled of stolen sweets, woody projects, the heat of welding, and strains of hard work.

"You're a good boy," I told him firmly, the words choking in tears in my throat that I stuffed back with a hard swallow. "I need you to go home. Tell mother and father that I love them, understand?"

"No," Greg cried stubbornly.

"Gregory, go home," I demanded, my tone much more sharp. I pushed him from me firmly, but didn't shove him away further. Instead, I lifted my hand and rubbed his head one last time. "Go home and live a long life."

His eyes, so similar to my own, were red with tears. He stiffened at my demand, his hands clenched into fists, but then turned abruptly to flee home wildly. I watched him go only for a moment and then I looked down at the blade in my grasp. The sheath was on the ground not too far away. I covered the weapon, still wet with Diana's blood, and walked back to her form on the ground.

Diana was unconscious and bleeding on the ground. Beyond this, I could still hear her heart beating stubbornly in her chest. I had to get her back to Trinity and I had to be quick, but I had no idea on how to manage this. I attached the blade to my waist determinedly before looking at my own hands.

"Shift," I said to myself. The beast that had been quiet all this time was suddenly rising to the surface, stretching within me as though waking up. And yet, I remained human. "Do you hear me? I said shift."

I pushed my own command into the words, my power rising like electricity around me. But I wasn't reaching out for any other creature around me. I only focused on myself. My hands began to form like liquid into that half-shifted form, my feet following close behind. Fangs formed dangerously in my mouth, but still this was only a half-shift.

"All the way," I demanded the beast angrily. It was like speaking to a tree. I could tell it to move all day, but it wouldn't move. This was my limit. I was truly pitiful. I growled in frustration, unable to waste time further and bent down to grab Diana's form with what shift I could manage.

With the power of the beast in my grip, it wasn't so difficult to put her on my back. However, I wasn't sure of the direction to the pack from here on my own. I took a deep breath, opening that part of me that was connected to Roman abruptly. I reached for him almost violently and I could feel him jolt from the impact with equally violent surprise. With this, I began to go in his direction as quickly as I could.

The half-shift was trying to fade not long after I'd called it to me as though it were something borrowed and not natural to me. I had to fight to keep it, fight to hold the strength to carry Diana on my back, and fight further to push myself towards Roman and his pack. My skin was wet with sweat, fear flooding my senses for a wealth of reasons. I could feel Diana's blood leaking over my back and down my legs dangerously, and yet her heart continued to beat stubbornly.

I wasn't sure how long I'd carried her through the forest until the shift left me entirely. The weight of Diana's body was suffocating me as I pushed on with nothing more than a human's strength. My muscles burned, my breath tore through my lungs with strain, and I became slow; too slow. Tears were stinging my eyes from frustration and despair, but I couldn't stop. If I stopped, she would die here. I couldn't stop.

A sense of alarm jolted within me and I hesitated mid-step. Before I could react, a fully shifted wolf tore into view, running towards me with terrifying power and speed. I'd never seen the wolf before. Its fur was more tan than gold, its form trembling with growls, and those eyes were wide and wild with desperation.

"Beta Caleb!" I exclaimed, knowing somehow it was him, and felt immediate relief once he was before us. He didn't shift to human form. Instead, he stood rumbling before me, his head twisting side to side as he looked at his mate on my back. "You have to take her to the healers quickly! Take her-" I turned with difficulty, pushing to stand up straighter so that I could lift Diana as high as I could.

Caleb understood without me having to command him. In fact, it seemed this was the entire reason he was here. How foolish of me. Of course he felt her injury and would come for her immediately. Despite my terrors, I was relieved. He lowered himself before me and I struggled to hoist Diana's form onto his large back. His fur seemed to envelope her small body, yet I worried she might fall off.

I removed the blade from my waist and used my belt to wrap around Caleb's neck, twisting it around her wrists as quickly as I could. It would be the best I could do. When I was done, Caleb didn't wait for my order. He stood and ran, much more carefully than he had before, but with much greater speed than I could dream of achieving. In just a couple of breaths, he was gone from my vision.

I stood frozen for a time, my limbs beginning to shake violently as though I had been left stranded in a snowy, harsh winter rather than the cool of autumn. I wanted more than anything to turn back and go home, to hide from everything that had happened, but I knew I couldn't. I bent down stiffly, grabbing the blade from the forest floor, and stood once more to face the direction Caleb had taken Diana.

Roman was there. I could still feel him in the distance, but I wasn't sure what kept him from coming for me as well. It was as though he was waiting for me. I took a deep breath and began to continue my path back to the Trinity pack.

My heart pounded sickly within me. I was afraid. More than anything, I was afraid of the consequences. I had a wish over and over in my heart; that Diana would live and beyond this that her child was also unharmed. But even within this wish was a fear. She would tell them it was Greg who had injured her, wouldn't she? I was so afraid.

By the time I reached the outskirts of Trinity, Caleb had already long arrived before me. The village was busy with panic, even if I couldn't see them. And waiting for me along the edge of the village was a smaller group of wolves; all of them familiar.

Roman stood in the center, stiff like the statue I had left in the forest months ago. As I approached, I carefully blocked him from within myself, building that wall solidly so that he wouldn't know my heart even if he tried. Behind him, a line of warrior wolves stood just as stiffly. Of these wolves, only two seemed hesitant.

My Sol, Logan, was looking from Roman to me carefully, trying to keep his face clear of emotions but even I could see his uncertainty. What kind of greeting was this for his Queen Luna? A little further to the side was Cate, silent and unmoving like a shadow. She leaned against her lance, her entire form speaking of an obvious unwillingness to even a hint of a threat towards me.

The rest stood prepared to attack, as though I might have brought an army of humans with me. For a moment, I wanted to look behind me to search for this imaginary army, but instead I kept my eyes on Roman.

Without a word, I tightened my grip on the wolf blade. I lifted it before me, reaching with my other hand to remove it from its sheath, and revealed the silver blade covered in Diana's blood. My hands didn't tremble and for this I was at least thankful. I was, after all, pretty much committing suicide.

"I was the one who stabbed Diana," I declared determinedly.

The wolves adjusted their position with confusion, looking to Roman for understanding.

"You," Roman said, rather than asked. I could feel him reaching for me, scratching at that wall within me curiously. "Lower your guard and say that again."

"It was an accident, but it was me. I stabbed her," I ignored his request and declared again before throwing the blade to the ground. The tip struck the floor, leaving the hilt pointing to the sky proudly. I couldn't breathe as Roman's glare remained on my form so intensely.

"Are you hoping your title will save you, Queen Luna?" Roman asked me, his tone careful and yet I could still hear a hint of anger.

"She is with child. I know my title won't save me," I answered before swallowing heavily with difficulty. I waited, my heart racing as I stared Roman down unwaveringly. After some time, he seemed to come to a decision, turning to the wolves next to him.

"Put her in the solitary cell," Roman ordered angrily before turning away entirely. I froze at the statement. Even now, he wouldn't order death? Even hearing what I'd done? Or was he only postponing it?

I suppose it didn't matter. If it meant my family would be safe from the wolves' wrath, I would accept imprisonment. As a couple of the warrior wolves approached me, intending to follow their King Alpha's orders, I didn't push them back with my abilities or refuse their attempts. I let them grip my arms firmly and allowed them to begin leading me away.

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Music: Paris Shadows- Enough's Enough