Ares growled, the harsh sound rumbling throughout the entire eerie forest. It came out vicious and jarring and cruel but all I heard was the pain behind it. My heart shattered into a thousand little pieces for him. Ares's mother killed herself... and Ares had found her dead body.

Before I could even settle my thoughts, blood started to shed all over my mother's pack. Ares's warriors pounced on the warriors I had once trained with. All of them were clawing at each other's underbellies, ripping fur from flesh. I didn't know where to look or who to attack.

Wolves leapt into the air around me, latching their teeth into each other's neck. I gazed around the bloodshed and locked eyes with my angry mother. She howled to the dawn sky, her voice cutting through my mindlink.

"What have you done?" she asked. "We will die because of you."

I clenched my jaw. This was not my fault. This was not my fault. This was not my fault.

In the distance, I heard my father's cries. Marcel stood over him--the first time I had ever seen his silver-haired wolf fight. I sprinted as fast as I could and threw my body in front of my father's. "No," I said up at Marcel, feeling his wolf's thick saliva fall onto my exposed leg. I pointed at him, hoping to the Moon Goddess, he wouldn't attack him or me. "Not my father. Anyone but my father."

Marcel stared at me with rage, and I stared back. "An order from your luna," I said.

He growled under his breath, then ran back to the others. Dad pushed his head against my forehead. "Aurora, you need to get out of here."

I shook my head. "You need to get out of here. Find somewhere to hide once this is all over. Get the rest of this pack to safety. We will talk when we get back to Ares's pack."

"I can't leave your mother," he said through the mindlink. "She's my mate. I need to protect her with everything I have."

My heart ached for him. Mom was crude to me, and he always fought her because of it... but he loved her like all mates do. No matter what, how could I think he'd leave her? Part of me felt like a shitty daughter for bringing Ares here and letting him loose, but... she deserved it. I had persuaded myself that she did. And so did Tony.

"Just, please, don't get hurt."

"Tell Ares to stand down," he said, brushing his snout into my hair. The touch was so soft that I remembered how he used to do that when Jeremy and I were both pups. We'd run around the backyard and Dad would chase us. We were happy. So fucking happy.

I pushed my face into his, feeling torn. "I can't."

"You're his mate. You can tame him."

"I could, but I don't want to."

The words made Dad recoil. "Aurora..." His voice sounded so fragile in my mind, like he didn't recognize the name or who I was anymore. "He's changing you."

My chin trembled, and I shook my head. "No, he's not, Dad. He's giving me a backbone. He's making me strong."

"He's killing your pack members. He's turning you against us. For no good reason at all." Dad backed away from me slowly, and I reached out to touch his fur one last time. Yet, he recoiled again. And I felt that oh-so-common feeling of loneliness that I had always felt in this pack... just not from him.

"Dad, he's a good man. I promise."

Dad stared at me for a long time, and I didn't know what to do. Every single time I came to this pack, I just hurt and hurt and hurt and I didn't know what was wrong with me. Why did the Moon Goddess give me this life? Why couldn't my family just love me for me?

Ares growled harshly, and I broke my gaze with Dad who had turned his back to me and was running toward the wolves clawing at Mom's wolf. The stench of blood was unsettling, and I screamed at the top of my lungs for everyone to stop but nobody heard me. I didn't want this to happen. I didn't want there to be a fight. We needed Tony alive because without him, we would have no chance at finding the stone for Charolette.

Blood dripped from my mate's mouth, off of every single tooth. His eyes were pure black. I couldn't see any trace of his browns or golds. Those claws dug viciously into anyone that got in his way. I watched one, two, three, four of my old friends die by his hand.

He was darkness. He was war. All he wanted was for everyone to hurt.

My heart clenched, and I stared around at everyone. Everything seemed as if it was moving in slow motion. The edges of my vision blurred more than usual. Men. Women. Wolves. Everyone was fighting, and nobody knew the reasons why. They were fighting to fight; They were fighting because they were born into war, born with these innate feelings to kill to protect; They were fighting because they didn't know any better.

And I could do nothing about it. I reached behind me into my pocket, wanting to grasp my silver knife for protection but it wasn't there. I must've dropped it somewhere. After looking around, something shimmered in the sunlight at the edge of the fighting.

I sprinted to it, weaving through the wolves attacking from every direction. But before I could even reach it, someone latched their teeth into my shoulder and shoved me to the ground.

Tony landed on top of me, his soft eyes staring down. "We have to go," he said. He looked toward the forest, as if he was searching for something then turned back to me.

I shoved my hands into his chest and pushed him off of me. "What is your fucking problem?" I asked, clutching my shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere with you. How do you know so much about Ares? Why have you been meeting with the Hounds? What are you planning you stupid piece of--"

Something howled deep in the woods, and my heart stopped. It wasn't the war cries and whimpers from the warriors here. It was the howl of a Hound.

"Please, Aurora. If you come with me, they won't hurt you." Tony grabbed my hand between his teeth and pulled me through the crowd of wolves, away from this side of the forest.

He said the words with too much certainty. Something wasn't right... And, then, it hit me. I pulled my hand out of his mouth, watching the first Hound run through the forest toward us.

Tony was a fucking traitor. A traitor that I couldn't fucking kill.

"Stop!" I screamed at everyone around me. "This is a set-up! A set-up!"

Everyone continued to fight, not listening to a single word I said. I stared at Ares, hoping that he'd hear me. "Ares! Please, stop! Please!" My heart pounded in my ears when he didn't turn around. Ares was too overcome with violence to even process that me, his own mate, was calling for him.

Tony growled, tugging on my hand again. I kicked him right in the underbelly. "Leave you fucking piece of shit." I seethed, then I kicked him right in his tiny, little balls and watched him scurry away and off the property like the fucking coward he was.

Hounds emerged from the forest, their black eyes piercing right through the sunlight. I grasped onto someone--not caring who it was--and tugged hard on their fur, pointing to the forest. "Hounds! The Hounds are coming!"

He growled harshly to me and turned away. I shook my head, tears filling my eyes. Why wasn't anyone listening to me? Why couldn't they see that they were all about to die?

My mind became fuzzy, and I screamed again... but it seemed like I was mute. Nobody could hear me. Maybe I wasn't even making any noise.

They continued to emerge from the forest, their growling becoming louder. All I could see was Jeremy in the crowd, the hounds attacking him, killing him, slaughtering him. Ripping him to pieces, his blood splattering onto my face, him reaching out his hand for me, me never seeing him again.

We were set up that day, just like we were set up today.

I shook my head at the thought of him. I couldn't run from this again. I would stay and fight, and if I died, then I died protecting the people I cared about. Ares. Mars. Charolette. Dad. And stupid fucking Marcel.

One sprinted toward Marcel, and I ran toward him--shoving him out of the way just in time. The Hound latched his teeth into my leg, ripping a chunk of my muscle from my body. I cried out in pure pain, and Ares looked over.

He jolted from his position, sprinting over and killing the Hound within a second. Standing over me, the blood from his enemies dripped onto my flesh and stained my clothes. More Hounds appeared from the forest, and he lunged at them.

I grasped my leg, trying to put as much pressure on it as I could. The Hounds ran into the chaos, foam dripping from their mouths, beady black eyes on their prey. I prayed to the Moon Goddess that Ares wouldn't die because I fucking loved him more than I loved anyone in the entire world right now.

But he disappeared in the pure madness. I placed my hand on the ground behind me, wanting to try to stand up... but someone snatched my hand in their teeth, latching on so deeply that I couldn't break free.

Thrashing and flailing in his bite, I fought him as hard as I could... yet he didn't fight back. Instead, he dragged me through the woods, in the opposite direction. The harder I fought, the fuzzier my vision became. I grasped my leg, trying to stop the gushing blood.

"Ares," I said through the mindlink, succumbing to the pain and lying flat in the dirt, letting this wolf drag me wherever he wanted. My body couldn't physically handle anymore pain, every part of me felt so weak.

He didn't respond, and I cried fat, ugly tears. I didn't think I'd ever see him again. The Hounds would rip him piece by piece like they'd done to Jeremy.

So, I gathered all the strength I had left and said, "I love you, mate. All of you, every single bit. I hope you remember that forever and always. You have become my only strength." My lips quivered. "I wished to have pups with you, to watch you play with them, to see you as happy as you were in that picture with your mother. You deserve to be happy."