In the underground, lowly lit bunker, the sounds of growling wolves and shouts of excitement and fury bounced off the dirt walls, absorbing and amplifying the sound of the pack's unrest.
The Alpha, Sean, was crouched at the base of the bunker, some of the pack's elders surrounding him. The rest of the pack was spread out in a rough circle, all focusing on the two women in the center. Both held great prestige in the pack: the wolf on the left, the Alpha's Beta, and the woman on the right, the Alpha's daughter. It was peculiar times, indeed, when those this high up in the hierarchy ended up on the trial grounds.
Skyler's muddy, battered skin was pulled taut with rage that had been left unmanaged and festering. Her pixie cut was matted with drying blood. Her arms had been bound behind her back with silver chains, a burning reminder of the injustice of her position. Her hateful glare was a tangible weight, directed towards the group of outsiders—the council, the traveling Betas, and the Alpha's daughters—who stared back at her dispassionately. None of them seemed to grasp that she had done nothing wrong.
"I demand blood!" Skyler refused to be humiliated. She settled back, her weight planted firmly on her soles, refusing to lose face in front of the pack she had helped govern, all because of a simple, tragic heartbreak.
Raven's once-neat box braids were caked in mud and blood. Her sister had tied them into a messy bun, but strands were already escaping. Her eyes were hollow, her stare as empty as she now felt. The only thing that stirred the violence inside her was Skyler's demand for blood.
"I want your blood, all of it!" Raven wailed, her body slumping to the side as she finally burst into wrenching sobs. It was easy to see she was fraying at the seams, the pressure of her situation finally overwhelming her.
Boris couldn't help but feel absolute sympathy for Raven. Skyler had forced her into an impossible situation. It made perfect, agonizing sense that Raven would snap.
Carly looked around at the surrounding wolves, who looked more boisterous and lively, as if the entire situation was a thrilling spectacle. They hadn't taken the gravity of the trial seriously yet. This was one of her packs, she thought, unsure if she was supposed to let them mete out their own justice or supersede the proceedings. She did not want to make any more critical mistakes.
Sean would have preferred to handle everything privately, to keep it within the ranks. But unfortunately, his daughter Raven and his Beta Skyler hadn't thought to use their heads. Instead, here they were, preparing for a fight to the death.
"You will have your blood," the Alpha rumbled, his voice low and solemn. "The judgment will be swift and final. Explain how you've been wronged."
"I am the Beta of this pack. I carry its blood on my back," Skyler began, her voice ringing with conviction. "But Princess Raven has abandoned our way. She found her mate."
The surrounding wolves grew still and silent at Skyler's words. They all seemed to know something the visitors didn't. Their faces didn't look excited or happy; they were etched with distrust, confusion, and weariness.
"She attacked me for her mate. She abandoned this pack and all we go through for the pitiful nonsense of mates."
Boris felt his feet move before his mind could process what he was doing. Skyler was skewing the facts, twisting the narrative to make it seem as if Raven had committed a heinous crime.
"Mind your business!" Beta Kevin hissed to Boris, stepping forward to halt the bleeding heart's steps. "This isn't your pack! And you do not understand them. Your words can't help her!"
Stepping back, Boris waited. If he felt he absolutely had to, he would step in and say something. Because Raven was so young, even younger than his own daughter. To go through such pain was unimaginable.
Skyler closed her eyes for a fleeting second, then snapped them open, a cold, focused glint in her gaze. She opened her mind link, a surge of pure will, broadcasting the memory only to the pack members.
For the visitors, nothing changed. The room remained the same dim, cold bunker. They only saw Skyler's face contort in concentration, then relax into a vengeful scowl. The surrounding pack members, however, suddenly grew stiff, their eyes glazing over as they were instantly transported into the memory.
Through Skyler's eyes, the pack was back in the forest. The sun was a bright, white disk high above their heads, the heat a warm, delicate pressure on her skin. She felt the heavy, leather grip of the whip on her hip.
The air smelled of pine and damp earth. A low, unfamiliar growl vibrated in her ears.
"Mate!" The Shadow Fang wolf rumbled, his voice gruff and underused, his body a solid wall of muscle wrapped around Raven. Raven was staring up at him with what looked to be the barest, most fragile of smiles.
"You cannot stay here! It's treason! You are not allowed to abandon your pack," Skyler warned her in a hard, heavy voice, demanding complete and utter respect and compliance.
"I—I um," Skyler watched as Raven stumbled and stuttered, completely unlike the formidable fighter Skyler had raised her to be. Raven was crushed under the weight of her mate's presence, reduced to a trembling girl.
Skyler's eyes shifted to Regina, who was already unfurling the whip at her waist. Skyler noted how Regina paused, a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes, before she complied. With precise, practiced movements, they started whipping the ground where the wolf and Raven stood, sending sharp, cracking sounds echoing through the trees. They were forcing them backward, allowing no exit but through the barrier.
Skyler watched as the Shadow Fang wolf looked uncertainly between letting his mate go and easily escaping himself. He was a shadow fang Wolf, after all. They moved impossibly fast, but from what she could see, they moved at that speed alone.
"Stop!" Raven shouted, reaching out her hands, only to snatch them back as Skyler's whip nearly connected with her forearm.
At that point, her mate clamped his arms around Raven's waist, pulling her back sharply, unwittingly shuffling past the shimmering barrier.
Skyler looked up as she heard the sound of the group that had been slowly leaving turn back and rush toward them.
"You cannot force him across the border, it won't—" Marcus's voice was cut off by the screams of the Shadow Fang wolf.
The wolf, freshly across the border, screamed in a ragged, animal agony, clutching his head. Blood leaked profusely from his nose and eyes. His hands turned to grotesque claws, his spine arched irregularly, his body looking like it was being ripped apart—not just internally, but mentally, too. His eyes were crazed: one was its previous brown, the other was black as cold midnight, but there was no sanity in either of them.
A wave of sickening triumph washed over Skyler.
Skyler tucked her whip away and watched as Raven tried to soothe the raging wolf, only to be attacked by him. Before the pack could see any more, Skyler slashed the mind link, the brutal vision cutting off mid-scream.
The pack members found themselves suddenly plunged back into the dim, cold bunker, their eyes refocusing on the present. The silence was thick and stunned.
"She would have abandoned our laws! Her pack, for a feral Beast!" Skyler's voice rose, cutting through the silence like a knife. "The same kinds of wolves that we fight every day to protect the packs from—we even protect the humans! Our pack, we die. And she would mate with a feral! With her mate. We don't do that. We are Warden Pack Wolves! And we are never defeated!" she called out like a war cry.
The pack members around her all seemed to cheer and scream and howl in agreement, moved by her sentiment. It wasn't just about the situation; she was igniting the wolves' ancient passion against Raven. Their ultimate enemy, the feral, Skyler was equating Raven to exactly what they were trying to fight against.
"She definitely knows how to win a crowd," Philip muttered to the other visitors, looking around at the pack wolves that seemed suddenly reinvigorated. The visitors, having seen nothing, were entirely reliant on Skyler's rhetoric.
"She's winning," Marina spoke up, her red lips set in a straight, unmocking line for once. Even she understood that mates were not something to be easily trifled with. She wouldn't just kill the wolf that ever touched her mate—she'd kill their entire pack, to make sure they knew that she was not satisfied with one simple death. Mates were a gift from the divine. It was the ultimate insult in her mind to turn your nose up at such a gift.
Author's note:
I will be updating another two chapters tonight. I'm just mopping and vacuuming right now. Once I'm done, I will upload them.