"Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged."
~Samuel Johnson
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Hunter

Mom stood ashen-faced in the foyer, staring her eldest son down. "Where's your brother?"

"He said he'd meet us there," I replied, shrugging on a light coat. "Needed time to think."

"If he doesn't show-"

"He'll show. Trust me."

"Do you have any idea who he's leaning toward?" Mom asked quietly, slipping on her shoes.

"Probably me, considering the argument we got into when I tried to stop him from leaving," I grumbled, flashing back to the moment in the early hours of the morning. While I knew he went to tell Elsa and Anna the situation, we'd argued whether it should be in person or over the phone. Caleb fought for the former, I for the latter, but at the end of it, I couldn't stop him from doing what he wanted without causing a scene.

Noticing Mom's horror, I swiftly added, "I'm kidding. I don't think I'm actually on the list. The truthful answer to your question is I don't know. I just know he'll be trying to figure something out to the last second to prevent this from happening."

"Unless we have a miracle on our hands, please prepare yourself, Hunter, for I fear if Caleb does not make a choice, the Controllers will choose someone close to us."

I felt the color draining from my face. "You mean like Ember and Josie?"

Mom nodded solemnly. "They're the closest ones to us out of the entire pack. They want to hit us where it hurts."

"If they fucking touch-"

"We ready?" Dad interrupted, stepping into the foyer with Ember on his heels. Mom and I mumbled "yes" in response, and then we trudged out to the center of the compound, where the rest of our pack anxiously awaited. Dad scanned the group. "Everyone here?"

"Everyone but Caleb," Mom confirmed. "He said he'd meet us there."

Without another word, she shifted into a black wolf, and the others followed suit. We settled into a quick trot in the direction of the neutral territory; Josie maneuvered her way directly next to me, shoulder brushing against mine. She asked: What's the plan? Do we have one?

If we do, I'm not aware of it. I responded grimly. Caleb hasn't told me anything, and I haven't dared reach out to the Twins. How are you holding up?

Nervous. I don't think Caleb would choose me to die, but I also can't fathom him choosing anyone else from our pack. He loves all of us.

He has something up his sleeve, I'm sure of it. I just don't know what it is. Regardless, I'll protect you. I'm not letting anything happen to you.

I know you won't. Josie gently bumped her shoulder into mine. Once this is all over, I think a long vacation is in order.

Yes, and far, far away from here. I'm thinking somewhere tropical. Mexico? Hawaii? Ooh, what about Fiji?

As long as I'm with you, I'll be happy, but tropical sounds lovely!

As much as I could in wolf form, I smiled at her, and Josie returned it. The two of us continued to trot shoulder-to-shoulder until we reached the clearing of the neutral territory. On the other side, the Starks approached in a single-file line, and in the middle, facing the arriving packs, were Lily and Caleb in wolf form. They sat side-by-side, unmoving, and I could not read a single feature on my brother's face.

What's going to happen? I asked him, trotting closer to him. Josie followed me.

Have every fan out. Ensure they're not packed together. We have a plan. Caleb replied, his wolf form still stoic.

On a scale of one to ten, how stupid is your plan?

Depends on who you ask.

I'm asking you.

Caleb failed to respond, giving me my answer. Instead, I sent a message to my parents, suggesting we spread out. Easier to attack if it came to that. Surprisingly, they agreed to "my idea," but I'm pretty sure they were too preoccupied with figuring out what pack members they were about to lose to overthink my words.

Lily must've conveyed the same message to the Starks because their pack mirrored mine's movements. Callie sent daggers toward us, along with a few others, but the rest simply seemed terrified, and I couldn't blame them. While I had no doubt Caleb had a plan to get everyone out of this, I still itched with anxiety, and it took all my willpower not to fidget, to not appear uneasy. I had to stay strong for my pack. After all, I was their future alpha, and I could not show weakness.

Our packs hardly waited a minute before the Controllers appeared, clad all in black. Feral grins on their faces, they stopped ten feet in front of Caleb and Lily. Why the space between them, I couldn't be sure, but I wasn't complaining about it. It gave my brother and his girlfriend time to escape if needed.

"Caleb Laroche and Lily Stark," Killian began, black eyes shining with malintent. My pack and the Starks turned into our human forms. "You stand accused of having an affair with each other after explicit orders, multiple times, not to do so. As punishment, you had to choose two members from your packs to die. Have you made your decision?"

Caleb and Lily shifted. My brother, whether it was bravery or stupidity, dared to smirk ever so slightly as he responded, "We have."

"Who do you choose to die from your packs today?"

"After careful consideration, we have chosen-" Caleb and Lily shared a glance and clasped their hands behind their backs- "you: Lyanna, Killian, Josiah, and Gillian."

"You are part of our packs, after all," Lily added calmly, staring them down without a single ounce of fear.

Silence- only broken by the breezy southern wind rustling the leaves and pine needles- enveloped the packs. Starks and Laroches alike shifted uneasily on their feet. None of us had expected this; if this was Caleb's plan, I understood why he considered it stupid. It was stupid. Beyond idiotic. Did he seriously expect them to agree to this?

Gillian's laugh of genuine amusement grated on my ears and nerves. The other Controllers joined, but their reaction did not faze Lily or Caleb, who simply continued watching the Lawmans and Kellermans with bored interest.

"That's a good one," Gillian finally said, wiping a non-existent tear off her face. "Nice try, and I commend your ability to try and find loopholes and make light of this situation, but it's not happening."

"Now, name your pack mates," Lyanna insisted, crossing her arms.

"We have," Lily replied shortly. "We choose you."

Killian shook his head. "We were expecting this. If you don't choose, we will choose for you, and believe me, it will hurt."

"Losing anyone from our pack would hurt," Caleb snapped lightly, a fraction of his irritation finally showing. "You're not killing anyone else in our packs. Not today."

Killian turned to Josiah and Gillian. "Would you like the honors first?"

"No, no, go ahead," Josiah said, motioning at my pack. "Yours is doing the most talking."

"Kids, hold everyone in place."

Justin, Karina, Nina, and Dwight obeyed, and invisible concrete cemented around my feet. Panic lodged in my throat. I turned to Caleb, who met my gaze, unflinching and with no sign of distress. How could he be so calm? What was his plan? Was he actually going to let two of us die?!

Lyanna and Killian strolled over, walking up and down behind us once. Twice. Three times. They stopped behind Josie and Ember, twisted the girls' arms behind their backs, and shoved them forward. Any ounce of self-control left my body. I lunged forward to grab my fiancée and sister, but the attempt was futile against the bonds on my feet.

"Let them go! Take me! Take me!" I shouted, straining with all my might. Josie and Ember struggled furiously, tears streaming down their faces. Even Caleb and Lily paled, but they didn't move. Instead, they laced their fingers together.

Howls erupted around us.

Stark, Laroche, Kellerman, Lawman – we all froze. All heads were on a swivel, searching for the culprits despite knowing fully well who they belonged to. At least, my pack and the Starks did. The Kellermans and Lawmans remained perplexed. However, with everyone looking around, looking for the Morningstar pack, the shifters – including myself – failed to notice the red dots on our chests until it was too late. Multiple shots rang out simultaneously. An angry prick lodged itself into my sternum. Glancing down, I saw a dart full of burgundy liquid emptying itself into me in the blink of an eye. I yanked it out once it finished and rubbed my chest ruefully. Fire flooded my veins for a few seconds. My vision tunneled. What had I been shot with?

Suddenly, as soon as it'd come, the effects disappeared. My blood felt normal, my vision cleared. I blinked and turned to Caleb. Neither he nor Lily had flinched, had not moved. It hit me at that moment that this had been part of their plan. I would've appreciated being told beforehand that I'd be shot in the chest by a dart, but now was not the time to bring that up.

In the chaos, none of us had noticed the four white wolves approaching from behind Caleb and Lily. When they shifted, a collective gasp sounded from the Starks and Laroches. They hadn't expected the twins, Spencer, and Dom to show after our last meeting.

"If you want to kill someone," Elsa's icy voice snarled, "kill us. Leave them out of this."

For the first time since I'd met them, Lyanna and Killian appeared truly stunned by the appearance of my sisters; Josiah and Gillian equally so by Dom and Spencer. The Lawman patriarch found his voice first and said, "How did you do it?"

"Let go of Ember and Josilyn, and we'll tell you," Anna answered sharply. Killian and Lyanna, without looking at my sister or fiancée, shoved them to the side. I lunged forward and caught Josie. Noah grabbed hold of Ember.

"Are you okay?" I asked, clutching Josie to my chest.

She nodded, her body shaking. Barely above a whisper, she said, "We need to get near them. We need to have their back if and when things go south."

God bless my fiancée. After being moments away from dying, all she could think about was supporting the twins and their crusade. Maybe she didn't have the physical strength of most alphas, but by God, she made up for it in her convictions.

Subtly, we shifted closer and closer to Caleb and Lily, who now stood behind the leaders of the Morningstar pack. We still kept our attention on the situation unfolding before us, though.

"You have our full, undivided attention. Please, tell us how you did it before we kill you," Killian insisted.

Dom responded, "Long story short? We killed some enemies and befriended others. Turns out they're really good at hacking into all sorts of government databases."

Spencer picked up the story, but whereas his brother's eyes glittered with pride at what they'd accomplished, Spencer's were full of murderous rage, wholly directed at the Controllers. "Kill more than a few Shadows, enter our DNA into Interpol as theirs, fake a plane crash, and you have the perfect fake death situation."

Josiah cocked his head. "And now, you've come to meet your real death. All to save your packs?"

"They're not our packs," Spencer said, lip curling involuntarily. "We only came here to kill you."

"Then why shoot them?"

"In the event they do decide to join our fight against you," Anna spoke up, "then they're protected from any of magic ripping their hearts out, and it dampens the effects of your magic on them overall."

Killian scoffed. "Please, you can't nullify our magic."

"Not completely, but enough to give us an edge."

The Kellermans and Lawmans stepped forward; the twins, Spencer and Dom, matched their steps until they stood barely a foot in front of the enemy. I watched helplessly as the Controllers snapped their hands forward, fully expecting to see them punch through my sisters' chests.

But they only stumbled slightly backward.

I swear the world stopped turning. The wind stopped blowing. We stopped breathing.

Elsa smiled, venom dripping from her lips. "Our turn, bitch."