No one dared to breathe nor say a word, that was how dire the situation in the Ranger pack was. The Alpha had recovered from his injury enough to go for a run, his black wolf cut across the forest with disgruntled gait and agility.

He howled out to the moon in outrage with a twinge of frustration. A howl the whole pack heard from afar and resounded with discordant pitches. That was how tight the bond between the alpha and the pack existed; the Alpha's pain was shared by everyone.

Where had he gone wrong? Tristan continuously thought over it while his powerful paws dug into the loose earth.

It was obvious he had the girl under control but then, she broke out of the bond, how was it possible? It wasn't supposed to be possible unless Daniel did pull some kind of trick? Yeah, that must be it!

Daniel claimed she was his girlfriend and judging from their closeness, must have done something to keep her from leaving with him.

Anger like no other burned through Tristan and made him see red, he would get his revenge on that son of a bitch.

This was his terrible state of mind when he suddenly caught a sickening smell in the air - a vampire was in his territory.

He took to chasing while tracking down the scent but frowned when he discovered this particular vampire was going in circles - he was taunting him!

Tristan's line of sight finally fell on the vampire and pursued him, heavy thudding resonating through the empty forest. He finally caught up with him, knocking the disgusting creature to the ground.

His powerful jaw looming over the vampire's face accompanied by his massive drool. The chase had made his blood and heart pound in his ears so he decided to take out his fury on this unfortunate vampire.

But just when he had lowered his head to chomp off a piece of his flesh with those beast-like teeth, the sneaky creature found a loose spot in his tackle and slipped out of his hold and sped-climb a tree, finding a good perch on a high branch.

"I didn't come to fight you nor invade your territory but with a message"

He growled at the vampire in protest, he didn't believe a word he said.

"We know about your confrontation with Daniel and Asher wishes to help you out,"

The growling stopped but the cautious look as he shifted back into his human form was still there.

Though he had healed, there was now a long sword-like scar on his face. It cut diagonally on the spot between the end of his eyebrow and the side of his left eye, shifting outwardly to his cheekbones; any closer and the girl would have lacerated his eye.

Now, that scar was a reminder of his piteous defeat by that girl which made the urge to acquire her grow. He would make her his one way or the other and by then, would enjoy breaking her till she submitted to him in the most deviant manner ever - retribution for what she did to his face.

Just the thought of it exhilarated him, a slow creepy smile tugging his lips to the side, this would be a fulfilling game.

"Why does he want to help me? What would he gain from this?"

Tristan was not born this morning, he knew the vampire would help him for nothing, this wasn't fucking Christmas, it was business.

"You of all people know the both of them have never been on good terms and Daniel did something to infuriate Asher lately, he wants revenge.

"But killing Daniel, when found out might start a war between both races -"

"So needs me to end Daniel so it seems like the usual power struggle between werewolves, how brilliant" Tristan praised him, "I've always known that vampire has a dark side to him"

"So what do you say?" Ozark asked Tristan after throwing the bait.

"Does he have a plan already?" Tristan asked.

"I came prepared"

Tristan was impressed, the vampire really was serious about this deal.

"We know that at this rate you can't defeat Daniel,"

"Says who?" He was pissed to be berated like that, a huge kick to his ego.

"Let's be real here, you have an advantage in numbers but Daniel has quality. Even if you send in thousands of werewolves, his well-trained warriors would strategically crush them beyond redemption"

"Enough!" He shunned the vampire, "Go straight to the damn plan already"

"Call for a treaty, tell Daniel that you're sorry and giving up on the girl "

His nostril flared," Excuse me vamp, do you even get the whole point of this conflict? The girl is what I want and would fight for her till my last breath!"

"The girl you would get if you let me finish up with what I was saying"

"Fine, let's hear this marvelous plan of yours" he heckled.

"Be the first to raise the white flag" Ozark instructed the werewolf, "Daniel hates war and would have no alternative other than to allow for peace talks. During that event, that is where you would strike"

"That sounds interesting" Tristan rubbed his jaw contemplatively, " continue"

"You would make use of the spies you planted in his place to spike all the drinks with wolfsbane"

Tristan's eyes widened, "I didn't plant those spies, those are his greedy relatives and wolfsbane is too dangerous.

"It might be able to weaken Daniel and his men but everyone would notice it the moment they take a sip.

"Moreover, Daniel is not a fool. He'd expect me to have a drink with him. So what am I going to do? Drink and get myself weakened too? What's the point of gaining an advantage over him then?"

"What if we have a way to make the wolfsbane unnoticeable, taking its effect at a later time while you and men gain immunity?"

Tristan was dumbfounded, "That's impossible unless….you have a witch helping you out ?"

"I told you we came ready," Ozark smiled.

Tristan still felt uncomfortable, if they had planned it this perfectly without flaws, why couldn't they scheme a way to kill Daniel without a trace.

Fine, as far as he got the girl, every other issue was none of his business.

"Alright, I'm in. When do we start?"