GRAYSON

"Go with the beta," Zagan told Minnie and Casimir after Kyle had left the room.

"Inform the wolves how to fight vampires during battle."

They nodded and followed in the direction that Kyle had gone.

Once alone, Zagan and I faced each other. I didn't hide my narrowed look. I wanted him to know that I didn't trust him. Not yet, at least.

How the king of vampires came to be standing in my bedroom, in front of the bed where my mate and I were meant to sleep, was beyond me.

Never in a million years did I think I would allow this to happen. My wolf and I were on edge with the entire situation. I was anxious to leave.

I didn't want to stay here with him, knowing I should go help prepare my pack, but I had questions that needed to be answered.

Zagan looked around as he approached me, examining the large suite. He nodded in approval. "I have to say, Alpha, your pack house is very impressive."

I nearly scoffed. This was coming from the man who had lived in a castle his whole life.

The royal family's palace was said to be incredible, housing some of the most celebrated figures ever known to the supernatural world.

I couldn't tell if he meant this comment as demeaning or genuine. Either way, I chose not to reply, crossing my arms over my chest in silence instead.

Zagan wasn't fazed by my obvious contempt. He laughed under his breath, shaking his head. "I just saved your life, Alpha," he reminded me. "There's no need for disdain."

I growled softly. I didn't like that he talked to me as if I were one of his children who was pouting. "You'll have to excuse me if I have difficulty trusting vampires at the moment," I replied.

Zagan nodded, his amusement fading slightly. "Yes, well, I suppose that is something I can understand." He paused, crossing his own arms to match mine.

He met my gaze with the same intense fierceness. "I am pressed to remind you that I am not your enemy. We share the same goal. We both have much to lose if my brother takes the throne."

The tension in my shoulders didn't release at his words, even though I knew there was an aspect of truth to them.

As leaders, both of us would have the blood of our people on our hands if we failed.

Thousands of people would die if Azazel succeeded.

But none of this meant I had to trust him. At that moment, I would only consider standing alongside him during the upcoming battle.

This alliance was a difficult one for me to join, but I knew I had to do it for the well-being of my pack.

Kyle had done the right thing when reaching out to Zagan Mortar. But if Zagan was truly worthy of my trust, not just my partnership, he would have to earn it. I wouldn't be giving it away just yet.

"How did Azazel get into my mind?" I asked, changing the subject to something useful.

Zagan raised his brows. "Which time? Just now? Or when he took control of your body two months ago?"

I hated the fact that he had to ask for clarification as to when a vampire had taken control of my body. "Just now."

I knew how Azazel had taken control two months ago. I had access to his thoughts.

He had used black magic the night when vampires had entered my territory, the night that changed everything.

Azazel had practically planned out every single second. With the help of Adalee, the vampires were able to distract me and my warriors just long enough for Azazel to enter the territory unnoticed.

When I had decided to go back to Belle, completely alone in the forest without my pack members to help me, Azazel knew it was his opportunity to strike.

A few days prior to this, Azazel had stolen a dark potion from a witch. Specifically made for vampires, it allowed the user to enter the mind and take over the body of any person they bit.

All they needed to do was find a piece of the subject they wished to possess and put it in the potion. Perhaps a strand of hair or a nail.

I was sure that Adalee helped in this part of the plan as well. The vampire would then coat their fangs in the potion and bite the person they wished to control.

Afterward, they could enter the mind of their subject and take over their body. Just like Azazel had done with me.

"I'm sure you've heard the phrase 'All magic comes with a price'?" Zagan started to explain.

I nodded.

"Well, it seems as though the price that Azazel had to pay was creating a connection to you. You saw him with his army, am I correct?"

I nodded again. "He was preparing them for battle."

"Which was a significant moment in Azazel's life, a turning point. He was creating a core memory which I'm certain is why you were pulled there.

"He left a piece of his soul with you when he left your body. It's not unusual for that to happen with dark magic." Zagan frowned.

"The piece of his soul that he left with you wanted to be there for the significant moment in Azazel's life, the moment when he started a war. So you appeared."

My jaw clenched at the news. I didn't want any part of Azazel in me. "Will he appear for the creation of my core memories?"

"No. I believe the price you had to pay for participating in dark magic-whether it was voluntary or not-was losing your mate."

I immediately felt my wolf and vampire surge forward at Zagan's words. I growled, showing him my fangs. "I didn't lose my mate. She is mine. She will always be mine."

Zagan raised his brows in amusement, obviously not expecting my intense reaction.

This only made my wolf angrier.

I snapped my teeth at him and rolled my neck. I had to suppress the urge to shift.

My wolf wanted control. He had wanted control all night.

"I meant no offense, Alpha Grayson," Zagan said, watching me. His amusement was fading quickly as he seemed to realize just how serious I was about protecting my mate.

"I have never been in the presence of an alpha wolf. Forgive me if I said something to upset you. I'm sure your mate is fine, and the two of you will be together soon."

My wolf calmed only slightly but stayed at the front of my consciousness. It enraged him to be reminded that we had failed to care for our mate in her time of need.

My hands curled into fists. I had an intense urge to punch something. The moment this war was over, I would have Belle back in my arms, and everything would be okay.

Afraid I would shift if I stayed in Zagan's presence, I grunted and walked out the door of the room, intent on finding Kyle and helping to prepare for battle.

I could vaguely hear the sound of Zagan following behind me. I was glad he didn't talk. One more word out of his mouth, and Azazel wouldn't be the only Mortar killed today.

3. The Unwilling Alpha

GRAYSON

The training grounds-a huge plot of land, only a five-minute walk from the pack house-were full of werewolves.

Most were already in wolf form. Some were fighting off in the distance, but many were in a large group, listening to Casimir speak.

I wasn't surprised. Casimir was Zagan's second-born, a vampire prince.

I remember sitting with my father when I was young, listening to him tell me about the Mortars and the special abilities they obtained.

They were an exceedingly gifted family and had been this way for centuries.

Depending on when they were born in relation to their siblings, each child that was conceived had a unique role.

As expected, the firstborn was the heir to the throne. They were born with natural leadership skills.

The firstborn Mortar became king or queen when they came of age. Azazel had been the firstborn of his family, destined to be king.

The second child born into the Mortar family was a warrior, strong and agile. They would take over as the head of the royal army when they came of age, leading them into battle whenever necessary.

Casimir was the warrior of his family. This is why I wasn't surprised to see that he had taken it upon himself to lead my pack in training. It was a natural role for him.

The third-born was the smartest, born with an incredible mind and problem-solving skills.

Third-born Mortars were some of the most intelligent people in the world and were known for always having their noses stuck in a book.

And then, finally, the fourth child born into the Mortar family was the clan healer.

They were born with magical properties in their blood that could heal any injury when it was consumed.

They were also kind and compassionate-easy to talk to. Minnie was the fourth born of Zagan. She had saved my life with her blood.

Azazel had the throne before Zagan. Together, he and his wife, Queen Cordelia, were to produce the next four Mortars meant to continue the family legacy.

The heir, the warrior, the scholar, and the healer. However, this plan quickly changed when Cordelia died during childbirth, along with their firstborn and heir to the throne.

Azazel was overtaken by grief after Cordelia died. Many believe that it was due to this grief that fate decided to pass the throne down to Zagan, his family's second-born, and warrior.

Zagan was never meant to be king. It wasn't in his nature. Yet, he was a fair and just ruler, leading his people with a gentle yet firm hand.

As I continued to study the scene in front of me, I noticed that Minnie was also in the group of werewolves receiving instructions from Casimir.

She didn't seem to be listening, though, too busy studying the large wolves around her with obvious fascination.

As if she could sense my eyes on her, her head turned to look at Zagan and me. She smiled brightly.

In a flash, she had basically flown across the large field and was standing next to her father. He smiled down at her when she wrapped an arm around him in greeting.

"Aren't they incredible?" she said in amazement to her father as she looked around.

Zagan nodded in agreement, assessing the hundreds of werewolves before us.

Minnie's gaze snapped to mine. "I've never actually seen a werewolf in real life, only read about them in books.

"But you guys are way cooler in person! And so strong! I couldn't believe it when I got to see one of you guys shift. Fascinating!"

I nodded once in response. I wasn't in the mood to humor the overly excited vampire princess.

We continued walking until we were in view of the entire training grounds and all of my pack members. My body tensed as I watched them. Unexpected anger and resentment surged through me.

"What color is your wolf?" Minnie asked me, continuing with her chattering.

"Black," I grunted.

An awkward silence overtook us, and for a moment, I thought Minnie might be done talking. But then I heard her whisper to her father, "He's not a very happy fellow, is he? Are we sure we want him to be king?"

A growl loud enough to shake the earth left me. Everyone's heads turned to us in shock, and the werewolves dropped to their knees and bared their necks as a sign of respect and submission.

I only saw Minnie's horror-stricken face for a second before Zagan stepped in front of her protectively. Smart.

I wasn't usually this on edge, but with everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours, my wolf and I felt ready to bite someone's head off. Minnie was one more smart comment away from being that person.

"Minnie, why don't we go help the wolves train?" Zagan requested.

I didn't hear her response. However, a second later, I saw a blur of movement fly from behind Zagan, and Minnie's small form appeared on the other side of the field.

Zagan nodded at me once before following her.

I looked back at all of my pack members watching me with wide eyes, waiting to see what I would do next.

I knew they were expecting me to say something, maybe give an inspiring speech to prepare them for battle. But that was the last thing I wanted to do.

I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from shifting out of blind fury. So, instead of talking, I stiffly motioned for them to continue with their training.

I didn't even notice when Kyle started to approach me, too consumed with anger.

"Hey, Alpha," he said warily when he was within hearing distance, taking small steps toward me.

"How ya doing?" He obviously sensed my touchy mood.

I grunted in response.

Kyle nodded slowly and stood next to me. He knew not to push me.

We watched in silence as Casimir continued to direct the wolves. He began splitting them up into pairs, telling them to go attempt to fight in the ways that he had just shown them.

Kyle sneered as he looked at Casimir in disdain. "This is so not fair. The dude's taking my job."

Kyle was usually the one to lead the pack warriors, having been the head of our army for years now. He was good at it and would continue to be the head of my armies after this war.

I knew that Kyle understood that. He wasn't actually worried that Casimir would be taking over his position. He was just trying to lift my spirits.

Only, he didn't understand that I wasn't in the mood for his jokes.

"He knows more about vampires than you do, Kyle. Let it go," I snapped.

Kyle's brows rose in surprise. "Ouch," he said.

I didn't respond. Guilt touched me for a moment but was quickly replaced with anger once again.

After a few more minutes of silence, during which I continued to glare at my pack members, Kyle spoke again. "Okay, seriously, what's got your panties in a twist?"

He just didn't know when to let go, did he? I growled and turned to him, baring my teeth threateningly. "I mean it, Kyle. Drop it."

He raised his hands in surrender and took a step back, which was a smart thing to do. But the extent of his intelligence ended when he continued to push me, opening his mouth again to speak.

"Look, you might kill me for saying this, but I don't care. I don't know what's going on with you, and that's fine.

"You're going through it. I get it. But whatever this is"-he gestured up and down to my heaving form-"needs to stop.

"It isn't the time for it. Your pack members are scared. They're being thrown into a war without any warning. They need their alpha, not this sulking, scary, red-eyed, giant thing you've got going on."

I sighed. "You're right," I said in defeat. I was letting my emotions get the best of me.

"Really?" Kyle asked in shock. His disbelief didn't last long. A large smile overtook his face. He looked very pleased with himself. "I mean... Of course, I am. I'm always right."

I rolled my eyes. I turned my gaze back to the several pairs of wolves, assessing them and their skills.

Two wolves, in particular, were being especially violent with each other, snapping their teeth and trying to push the other one to the ground.

The larger of the two wolves, Micah, was one of my best pack warriors. I'd never seen anyone fight like him.

"You're scowling again," Kyle said. I looked at him, only noticing then that he had been studying me. "You look like you're about to kill someone."

I was scowling? I hadn't even noticed.

"You want to tell me what's going on or why you were looking at Micah like he just killed your puppy?" Kyle asked.

I sighed. I didn't want to talk about it, but Kyle wasn't really giving me a choice.

"Azazel," I said after a moment. "He ordered all of the pack members to shun Belle."

"What?" Kyle asked. "He didn't order me to shun her."

"Because you already knew her. Azazel knew you would try to fight it. Mortars can only control actions, not emotions." I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to contain my anger so I wouldn't shift.

It wasn't getting harder with each passing moment that we spent talking about this.

"Pack members refused to talk to her and snapped at her whenever she tried to reach out.

"She was terrified of them. I felt it. She wouldn't even leave that godforsaken room where she was freezing and alone because she was too scared to see anyone. She wouldn't even leave to get food. She was starving herself."

Kyle inhaled quickly. "Shit," he muttered. "Fuck, that's why I didn't see her."

"She was hiding," I agreed.

Kyle ran a hand down his face. "Why didn't she come to me? Shit, why didn't she ask for help? Didn't she know I would have done anything to help her?"

"Azazel threatened her. He told her not to talk to you or Elijah after you had tried to help her find food. Remember that? The day you brought her into my office?"

Kyle nodded.

"He hit her right after and told her to stay away from you and Elijah. She was absolutely terrified. She didn't know what to do."

I could feel her emotions now, even though she was so far away. She was in pain, scared, and devastated. She was also determined to keep me out of her mind, so I couldn't figure out where she was.

Usually, I could sense her overall presence and use it to pinpoint her general location. Now, though, she was completely closed off to me.

She had built up walls in her consciousness, and no matter how hard I tried to break them down, she didn't give in.

Kyle looked pale. "So that's why you're glaring at your pack members? Because they mistreated the luna?"

"Yeah," I grunted. "I guess so."

Kyle didn't say anything for quite some time as he processed what I had just told him.

After a few minutes of silence, he finally said, "You can't blame your pack members for what happened to the luna. They didn't know what they were doing. Just like how you had no control over what you were doing."

I looked at Kyle. The idiot somehow always managed to be the voice of reason.

Kyle gazed at the horizon, squinting at the sun. "If you're going to be angry with someone for hurting your mate, be angry with Azazel.

"He's the one who's responsible-and he's on his way here right now. And you get to decide how he dies."

4. Unexpected Reinforcements

GRAYSON

I stood stoically at the edge of the training grounds as I watched my pack members train.

After my conversation with Kyle, I needed time to process things, so he left me alone and went to train with the others.

Something small suddenly wrapped itself around my leg. My first instinct was to kick the thing off me, but then I looked down. It was Zoe.

Zoe was only five years old, and one of my pack's more rambunctious young wolves.

I wasn't surprised to see that she had somehow managed to sneak away from the pack house where all of the younger pups were supposed to be. Zoe was always finding ways to get into trouble.

She didn't say anything as she hugged onto my leg like some sort of monkey. She simply watched the werewolves in front of us with wide eyes filled with interest.

I always liked Zoe, and she seemed to like me. She was one of the reasons that I wanted to have kids.

We formed a bond a while back as soon as she could talk and ended up spending a lot of time together.

She would often sneak into my office and ask me what I was doing, constantly interested in pack affairs.

I had a sneaking suspicion that she would become a higher-ranking member of a pack someday, maybe even an alpha.

She showed all the signs of being a great leader-except for her disobedience and inability to follow orders.

I sighed. "Zoe, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the pack house," I said, bending down to pick her up.

Zoe pried her gaze away from the warriors. Her brown eyes widened when she saw me. "Your eyes are red," she told me matter-of-factly. Her voice dropped into a whisper. "You look like a demon."

I couldn't help but crack a smile. I didn't even realize that my vampire was at the surface of my consciousness, making my eyes red. It was probably due to all of the anger that I was feeling.

I was surprised that, rather than being frightened, Zoe seemed interested in my red eyes. "That's because I have a vampire inside of me now, just like how you have a wolf. I have both species."

Zoe nodded. "Yeah, I know," she said, shrugging nonchalantly as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "My mom told me.

"She says you are really strong because you have a vampire and that it's good to have you as an alpha. That's also why you turned into a giant!" She spread her arms out wide, trying to express how large I'd gotten.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I have gotten pretty big, huh?"

Zoe gripped my shoulders, inspecting them. "Yeah, you're basically the biggest person I know."

I laughed, but before I had a chance to respond to her statement, Zoe placed her palms on either side of my face. "Your beard is scratchy," she said. "Like my dad's."

I nodded, amused by how quickly her thoughts jumped around. "Well-"

"Hey, your mate is pretty. I saw her," she interrupted.