Jae increased his speed as he smelled the suffocating stench of smoke mixed with blood. Hurry! We are almost there. The Alpha prayed that Syri was still alive as he ran with all his might.

"Just die!" The savage cry was all Jae heard as he raced into the ring of fire that had broken out in the forest. The guards and pann that had arrived with Jae followed the Alpha's command to surround the ring of flame-filled trees as Jae pushed through the hot flames and toward the source of the cry.

Protect the Luna!

Chaos greeted Jae as he jumped over body after body until he came across a scene that made his heart drop. Syri was kneeling on his knees with the sharp end of a blade caught between his hands. The zeta was gripping the blade tightly, stopping it from piercing his heart. Blood ran down Syri's hands, and tears stained his cheeks as he glared up at Seth who was standing over him pushing the blade closer and closer to his flesh.

Behind Syri lay a motionless Aki with blood covering his face, neck, and chest. Not detecting any sign of life from the beta, Jae was able to piece together what had happened as he ran toward his betrothed. Turning human, Jae did not stop running until he rammed into Seth and brought Black Moon's crown prince to the ground.

Syri let out a gasp of relief when the pressure from the blade disappeared and the dagger fell to the forest floor. Hands sticky with blood, Syri reached down and grasped the blade's handle before standing to his feet and looking over at the alpha who was struggling with the true blood. As Syri took a step toward Jae and Seth, a hand around his wrist twirled the zeta around to stare into the red eyes of Ganz.

"You'll pay for what you did to Sina," Ganz snarled as he grabbed ahold of Syri's throat and began squeezing tightly.

"Let him go, Ganz," a voice said to the zeta's right, drawing Ganz and Syri's attention to Kace who was quickly approaching the two. "Your fight is with me," Kace declared as he removed the mask covering the top half of his face to reveal one blue eye and one red eye. "Because you are going to pay for what you did to me."

"You're that mutt," Ganz scoffed as he threw Syri to the side and turned to face the binate. "Very well," Ganz agreed. "If you wish to die so badly, who am I to say no?"

A low growl rippled from Kace's throat as the binate shifted into his wolf form and charged Ganz. While Kace and Ganz fought, Syri turned back to Jae and Seth to see the wolves of Crimson Night surrounding Black Moon's crown prince. Yejin and Jae stood before Seth whose face was painted with blood from various wounds that had been dealt by Crimson Night's Alpha.

"Give it up, Seth," Jae stated. "You and your wolves are surrounded. You've already lost your sister. Do you want to lose your life as well?"

Syri gripped the blade in his hand tightly as he walked up to stand by Jae's side. The zeta's eyes were slanted in hatred as he watched the cornered crown prince spin around to see the numerous wolves surrounding him.

"Fuck you all," Seth snarled as his eyes glowed with rage. The alpha's red eyes locked onto the zeta standing beside Jae as he growled. "If I'm not leaving here alive, then you aren't either."

Syri stood still as he watched Seth shift into his wolf and charge toward him. Remaining still as a statue, Syri's eyes flashed aqua as he lifted the blade and held it in front of him. Seth let out a yelp as Jae turned into his wolf as he jumped in front of Syri and bit the alpha by the throat.

As Seth began to slow from the resistance supplied by Jae, Syri lifted the blade and stepped to the side as Seth's opened jaws snapped at him. In one fluid motion, Syri sliced the blade over the top of Seth's neck, slicing through the wolf's spinal cord and severing his lifeline as Jae ripped out Seth's throat.

Flying past Syri, Seth's legs buckled from beneath him, and he fell onto the ground. "I told you that none of you shall leave this forest alive..." Syri's voice was low as he addressed the lifeless wolf on the ground before him.

Yejin hurried over to Seth's form to confirm the kill while Jae morphed back human and wrapped Syri in his arms. Having Jae's strong arms around him broke down Syri's wall of rage and blindness to the world. Tears spilled from Syri's brown eyes as he sank to the ground. Carefully bringing Syri to the floor, Jae continued to hold his love as the zeta mourned for his brother and friend as well as the other horrors that had been committed by Black Moon's prince and princess.

The trauma of taking a life sank into Syri as he held his bloodied hands in front of his face. "I-I-I killed someone..." Syri's breath was barely above a whisper, and his eyes were wide from the shock.

Jae's brows furrowed when he saw the broken expression on his love's blood-stained face. Knowing Aki and one of the pann who guarded Syri had been murdered by Black Moon, Jae was able to understand how intense the rage that had taken over Syri must have been.

"It's okay," Jae said lovingly as he took Syri's red hands in his and brought the zeta's head into his neck. "It's all over now."

Sobs racked Syri's body as he cried into Jae's neck. While he soothed his love, Jae linked Yejin and gave him directions to gather the bodies and separate the innocents from those of Black Moon. Jae's scent eventually filled Syri's senses and calmed the zeta until he felt the fatigue and exhaustion that had been building up the past few days. Before Syri knew it, he was asleep in Jae's arms.

Kace shook his hand in the air to fling off the excess blood from his fight with Ganz. A few of Crimson Night's guards came to collect Ganz's body as Kace walked away from the scene and went to check in with Jae. However, the binate slowed his pace as he neared the true blood. Seeing Jae holding a sleeping male, Kace veered from his original path to search for something warm.

"The captain of the pann is unconscious, but his right hand did not make it," Yejin reported to Jae after making his rounds and tallying the survivors and fallen. "Also..." Yejin took a breath before adding, "Black Moon's youngest prince, San, was found with Captain Reem. What should I do about this?"

Jae scrunched his brows as he thought of a solution. The youngest prince was not known for being involved in Seth's dirty work. He was a quiet omega who stuck to himself most of the time and did not seem like an immediate threat. "For now, bring him with us. Reem had mentioned that he had picked up an unexpected passenger."

"Ae, Alpha, that is correct," Xander said as he and Haikon walked up to Jae and Yejin. Overhearing Jae and Yejin's conversation, the delta and theta came to explain the situation with Black Moon's youngest prince. "Reem took San from the castle. It seemed as if Sina was about to kill him."

Jae nodded as he took in the information. "Thank you, Xander," Jae said before concluding. "We'll shelter him until we get this resolved."

"Ae, Alpha," Yejin responded with a dip of his head before leaving to return to oversee the situation.

Footsteps approaching from behind drew Jae's attention to Kace as the binate walked up to him. Remaining silent as usual, Kace offered the true blood a folded blanket he had found strapped to one of Black Moon's horses that had been used in the chase. Motioning to the male in Jae's arms, Kace unfolded the blanket and gently laid it over the sleeping Syri.

"Thanks, Kace," Jae said with a soft smile as he arranged the blanket to cover his exhausted love.

"Some of the surviving wolves from Black Moon are saying that Seth and Sina murdered Alpha Greem and Luna Aihnae," Xander reported to Jae as the Alpha made sure Syri was secure in his arms beneath the blanket. Jae gave his full attention to the delta as Xander continued, "It appears that Seth was using Aki to force Syri to be his mate. He was then going to take over the role of Black Moon's Alpha and wage war against the other packs."

Jae's blood boiled at the thought of Seth forcing Syri to mate him. "That bastard." Jae's eyes flashed golden, and he wished he could rip Seth's throat out a second time.

"It's a good thing Reem linked you when he did," Haikon commented. "The moment Syri received that letter, Reem knew it would lead to something much worse."

"Sadly, he lost his brother in the process," Xander added with a sigh.

"His brother?" Jae asked with a raised brow. He had not known the other rho was related to the captain.

"Ae," Xander confirmed. "Reem's right hand, Brenton, was his brother. And he lost his life when he and Reem stayed behind to fight Black Moon and allow the others to escape."

"I think Brenton and the Ante Luna had known each other before we were called to guard Syri," Haikon commented as he remembered seeing Brenton and Syri in a deep conversation when they had arrived at the castle.

Jae knew all he needed to know when he heard the pann's name was 'Brenton.' Various emotions ran through the true blood when he recalled Syri's broken expression when he had asked Brenton to leave that night at the cabin in Alia. Although he despised the rho for traumatizing Syri, Jae remembered that Brenton and Syri had become good friends, so he was only able to say, "I hope he is resting well, now."

"As do I," Xander agreed with a breath as Yejin rejoined the group.

"The bodies have been gathered, and the fires have been snuffed," Yejin informed the group. The alpha's gaze became gentle when he saw the silent form in Jae's arms. I'm glad he is resting now.

"Good work," Jae responded with a nod. "Let's go home, now. There are several in need of medical care. If Black Moon wishes to respond, they can do so in the morning."

"Ae, Alpha," Yejin, Xander, and Haikon responded with a bow of their heads before readying everyone to head for Crimson Night's palace.