Chapter 2: Parley Face-off

I was standing in my command tent looking at the wooden war table with my fingers on the carvings of the Southern territories. Five years ago on this same day I had looked at these maps with a heart full of hope. I had looked at them as a Bride to be

Now I was looking at them as a soldier who had already felt the executioner's blade on her neck.

"Commander," a voice said from the tent entrance. It was Captain Vance. He looked younger than I remembered. His face was free of the scars that he got during the bloody siege of the Obsidian Court.

"They are here, " Vance said, with his hand resting tightly on the handle of his sword. "The Alpha King has crossed the river line, he brought a group just like his message said, they are carrying white flags."

I did not look up immediately. I kept my eyes fixed on the map, specifically on the lush, heavily fortified valleys of the South. The white flags, I thought, a bitter taste rising in my throat. The perfect lie.

“How many men, Vance?" I asked with a voice devoid of the trembling fear I had carried in my first life.

"Fifty riders, ma'am " Vance replied as he was stepping closer looking troubled. "It's a number for a King but they are his best guards. Are we still going with your orders? We have archers hiding in the hills. If this is a trap we can end this now."

"No " I said I finally looked up meeting his gaze. "Let him come to the center of the camp to gather the officers. I want everyone to see the King sue for peace."

Vance was hesitant as he furrowed his brow "Commander, with respect we have fought the bloodline wolves for three years you hate them more than anyone why accept a talk now?"

"Because Vance " I said, with a small smile on my lips "sometimes you have to let a wolf think he has found a lamb just to see how deep he digs his grave, go bring him in."

Vance saluted, though he still looked uneasy and stepped out of the tent.

I was left alone. I let out a breath as I reached down checking the twin silver daggers under my leather tunic. They were there cold ready. I was not the naive girl who wanted a treaty to save lives, I was a ghost who had come back to change history.

Outside, the sound of horse hooves was echoing through the camp. The murmurs of my soldiers were rising and falling like a storm. They hated the wolves; they had buried too many friends to trust a sudden offer of a truce.

I stepped out of the tent into the sunlight.

Riding at the front of the group was Lucius, the Alpha King.

He looked exactly like I remembered him perfectly. His golden hair was catching the sun, his silver armor was gleaming, his face was charming wearing a sorrowful expression that I now knew was fake.

Lucius got off his horse with ease, handing the reins to a guard; he did not look like a conqueror, he looked like a savior.

When his eyes found me his face softened it was the look that had made my heart melt five years ago.

"Tiana " he said, stepping forward with his hands open "you came yourself I was afraid you would refuse to see me."

I stood my ground crossing my arms. I did not move towards him "you brought fifty killers to my doorstep Lucius. I usually see my enemies on the battlefield, not in my camp."

Lucius let out a sigh as He took another step closing the distance between us. The air was electric with tension. Dozens of my soldiers were watching from the sidelines, their hands near their weapons.

"We have been fighting for three years, " Lucius said with a low voice. . "The Red Valley is soaked in the blood of my people and yours. I did not come here as the Alpha King, I came here as a man who's tired of the graves."

"Tired?" I echoed with a calm voice "you seemed energetic when your forces burned our supply lines last month."

"An act of war ordered by my council, not my heart " Lucius replied. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a rolled parchment "I brought a treaty, no more fighting, no more borders drawn in blood."

I looked at the parchment. I knew what was written inside, it offered a withdrawal of forces, a shared neutral zone and a proposal of marriage to bind our factions together in my past life I had cried with relief when I read it I had believed every word I had believed he loved me.

". What does the great Alpha King want in exchange for this mercy?" I asked, keeping my tone light.

Lucius stepped closer as his eyes was locked onto mine, "I want you Tiana I want the Commander of the Rebel Vanguard to stand by my side not across from me on a battlefield let us merge our houses become my Luna and we will rule a valley together."

Behind me I heard Vance shift his weight, a gasp from one of the officers, a marriage treaty with the King was a shocking turn of events.

Lucius smiled, an expression that had fooled kingdoms, he extended the parchment "take it look at the terms I have given up everything to make this fair for your people."

I did not take the scroll instead I laughed. It was a sound that made Lucius's smile falter.

"You give up everything?" I asked, tilting my head "you are very generous today, Lucius."

"I am serious Tiana " he said, "I want peace do you accept?"

I looked him dead in the eye. "yes."

Lucius blinked; he was surprised by how I had agreed, "you... You accept?"

"I do, " I said, stepping forward as I smiled at him. It was a beautiful smile that masked the ice in my veins "why should we keep fighting? A marriage is a solution. I will gladly sign your treaty."

My soldiers were whispering in shock. Lucius's chest was puffed out with a flash of pride in his eyes he thought he had won he thought the rebel commander had been tamed by his charm.

"You have made a good choice my love " Lucius said, reaching out to take my hand "the valley will rejoice."

I stepped back avoiding his touch, my smile never faded, "of course but a royal wedding requires tradition doesn't it? A King cannot take a Luna without offering something to seal the contract."

Lucius's hand was hovering in the air before he lowered it his eyes narrowed, "the treaty already guarantees safety and grain supplies for your people, Tiana what do you require?"

"Oh nothing big " I said, with a sweet voice, "just a traditional gift, to show my people that you truly value this alliance."

"Name it " Lucius said, with a smooth voice. "if it is within my power it is yours."

I pointed at the map at the edge of the border. "I want the Southern Border lands, every acre of the Red Crest valley, the iron mines and the three fortresses to hand over the deeds and withdraw your garrisons by the end of the week and I will marry you."

The camp was dead silent, the wind was howling. Not a single person moved.

Lucius froze, the expression on his face shattered the golden light, in his eyes turned dark and predatory.

The Southern Border lands were not some random places. They were the strength of his kingdom's defense. The iron mines gave him the weapons he needed. Those three fortresses were all that stood in the way of an invasion from the neighboring empires. What was more important was that this was the exact place Lucius had planned to use in three weeks to attack my people when we were celebrating our fake peace treaty.

By asking for the South I was not just asking for a gift. I was taking away his plan before he could even put it into action.

"Tiana, " Lucius said with a Dangerous voice, with a strong authority that commanded attention. The charm was gone, replaced by a hard tone. "That is not possible. The Southern lands belong to the pack. They cannot be given away like a gift for our wedding."

I did not back down under his pressure. I just shrugged, with an amused look in my eyes.

"A small gift? I thought you said you wanted an alliance, Lucius " I said,as my voice was clear and strong in the silence. "You said you were tired of all the fighting and death. You said you would give up everything for peace with me. So giving up three fortresses should be a small price to pay for a lifetime of peace."

Lucius clenched his jaw so hard that the muscles in his cheek twitched. His hands were fists at his sides. He looked at me trying to find any sign of the girl he thought he could control.

He did not find anything.

There was no fear in my eyes. No hesitation. I was looking at him like a predator that had caught its prey. He knew that I knew what he was planning even if he did not know how or why.

"You are going far Commander, " Lucius said, stepping close to me, his cloak smelling of iron and ash. The strong alpha was staring me down. "You cannot ask for our defenses and call it peace."

I leaned in closer, with a sharp smile I whispered to him.

“Then I guess we aren't getting married, Lucius. Take your treaty and get off my land. Or sign the South over to me, and let's see who survives our honeymoon.”

Chapter 3: The Ambush Swapped

The signed treaty felt like a weight against my side, hidden under my leather armor. Lucius had signed it. I knew he was furious when he did it. He thought he was clever. I was not fooled. I could still see the anger in his eyes when he stamped his seal into the wax.

He thought that if I was dead I couldn't claim my land.. I was not going to die. Not this time.

"Commander, " Vance said quietly, breaking into my thoughts. His voice was barely louder than the wind blowing through the rocks. He stood beside me looking anxious as he peered over the edge of the cliff. "The men are in position in the passes of the canyon.. They are confused. They want to know why we left the road so soon after the King signed the treaty. The paths through these rocks are dangerous for the horses."

"A broken leg for a horse is better than a slit throat for a soldier, Vance," I said without looking at him. keeping my eyes locked on the empty dirt highway winding through the valley below us.

"Do you really think Lady Brenda would attack us tonight?" Vance asked with his hand on his sword. "We have a treaty now. If she breaks it, it means war with the court."

I let out a breath that misted in the cold air. Allies. What a joke.

"Lucius only signed the treaty because I forced him to, " I told Vance, turning to look at him. "He wanted my army to let their guard down.. He never planned to keep his promise. Brenda is just doing what Lucius told her to do."

I remembered what happened in my past life. I had marched down that road thinking Lucius really wanted me.. Brenda and her wolves had ambushed us, killing my men while they slept. I had barely escaped with my life.

"Brenda is there, " I said, pointing to the road. "She is waiting for us."

". How do you know that?" Vance asked, frowning. "Our scouts checked the road. Found nothing."

"The wolves don't hide where we look, " I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "They hide in the shadows, where we can't see them. They are waiting for us."

Vance swallowed hard looking at the road then back at me. "If you are right we left our decoy wagons there with nothing but straw inside. If they attack they will know it's a trick."

"That's what I want, " I said quietly. "I want Brenda to know that I am not a fool."

then a low thud echoed from the upper ridges. It was our signal.

"They're moving, " I whispered.

I pulled my cloak tighter. Crawled closer to the edge of the cliff looking down. Vance dropped down beside me, his breath catching.

For a minute everything was still. The road was empty and quiet. Then our decoy wagons moved slowly down the track pulled by mules and driven by my most experienced riders. To anyone watching it looked like a convoy.

"I don't see anything, " Vance whispered after a while. "Maybe the scouts were right. Maybe Brenda is not coming."

"Watch the trees, " I said, pointing to a patch of pines. "The wind is blowing one way. The branches are moving the other way."

Vance squinted into the dark. Then his body went rigid.

A massive shadow detached itself from the trees. Then another.. Another. They were wolves moving silently and fast. They didn't howl. They moved like ghosts across the grass converging on the road.

"By the gods " Vance breathed, his hand gripping my arm tightly. "There are dozens of them. That's Brenda's pack. The Iron Fang vanguard."

"Seventy wolves, " I said, with a cold voice . "They brought seventy killers to wipe out my guard. Lucius wanted to make sure I didn't survive the night."

"We would have been killed, " Vance stammered, with a pale face "If we had stayed on that road Commander... We would all be dead."

"I know " I said softly remembering the horror of my life.. I pushed the memory away.

Below us the ambush erupted into chaos.

A giant grey wolf sprang from the rocks onto the wagon. It was Brenda. She slammed into the driver's seat, her jaws snapping.. The driver was not there. He had jumped clear just like I planned.

The other wolves swarmed the wagons tearing through the canvas tops and straw bundles. They expected to find sleeping soldiers. There was only straw.

The attack lasted less than a minute. Then the wolves realized something was wrong. There was no blood, no screams. Only the sound of ripping fabric and scattering grass.

The giant grey wolf leaped down from the wagon landing heavily in the road. Brenda began to shift her body changing from wolf to human. She stood in the middle of the wreckage, naked and furious.

She kicked a bundle of straw away, her chest heaving as she screamed into the night.

"Where is she?!" Brenda's voice echoed up the canyon walls. "Where is the rebel witch?"

Her soldiers shifted back, into form looking panicked and searching the woods.. They found nothing.

I stood up, stepping to the edge of the cliff. The wind caught my cloak making it snap like a flag. I knew Brenda couldn't see me clearly. I wanted her to feel my presence.

Vance stood up beside me drawing his sword with a ring.

"Should we tell the archers to get ready Commander?" Vance asked. He really wanted to fight back. We have the ground here. We can shoot arrows down at them now. We can finish Brenda tonight.

"No," a mean smile spread across my face as I looked down at the trap Brenda set for me that did not work. "Let her go back to Lucius and tell him she did not get me. I want to see the look on my fiancés face when he finds out I am still alive."

Down on the road Brenda stopped screaming all of a sudden. She felt something so she slowly looked up her yellow eyes looking up at the cliffs of the canyon.

Our eyes met across the vast, dark emptiness.

Brenda froze. The color completely drained from her face as she spotted our silhouettes standing tall against the moonlit sky, completely out of her reach. She realized instantly that she hadn't just missed her target, she had been completely outplayed. Her arrogant, vicious smirk completely vanished, replaced by a sudden, sickening look of pure terror.

Chapter 4:Den of Vipers

The massive black iron gates of the Fortress groaned as they swung open. I kept my chin high, as my boots continued clicking on the stone floor of the courtyard. The air inside these walls was different from the Red Valley. It smelled like stone, fancy perfume and blood.

"Keep your hand near your sword, Vance " I whispered with my lips barely moving.

"I haven't taken my fingers off it since we crossed the drawbridge, Commander," Vance whispered back. His voice was tense, vibrating with the natural panic of a human surrounded by a pack of pureblood wolves. "The way they are looking at us... it feels like we walked right into a slaughterhouse."

"It’s not a slaughterhouse yet," I said, looking straight ahead. "Right now, it’s just a theater. And we are the main act.”

All around the courtyard, royal guards in polished silver armor stood like statues, their yellow wolf eyes tracking my every move. They knew who I was. I was the rebel who had spent three years breaking their supply lines. But today, because of the paper tucked against my ribs, I was something else. I was the King's fiancé.

We walked up the grand stone stairs. Toward the big oak doors of the great feast hall. The sound of laughter, glasses clinking and loud music came through the wood. When the guards opened the doors the noise stopped.

The hall was huge. Hundreds of ranking wolves sat at long tables with roasted meat, wine and gold plates. At the end of the room Lucius sat on a raised platform. He wore a fancy dark velvet tunic with thread. He had a cup in his hand.

When he saw me walk in, his eyes flared with a dangerous, sharp light. He had expected Brenda to bring him my head in a sack this morning. Instead, I had walked through his front gates alive, untouched, and smiling.

"Ah the guest of honor has arrived!"

The voice cut through the quiet hall like a whip. It came from the center table.

Brenda stood up, a mocking smile plastered across her face. She was dressed in a sleek, dark gown that did nothing to hide the heavy muscles of a warrior. Her yellow eyes locked onto mine, burning with a mixture of lingering shock and pure hatred. She was still furious about the empty wagons in the canyon.

"Come in Commander Tiana, " Brenda called out. "We thought you had lost your way. Or maybe the journey was too scary for a human?"

Some of the lords chuckled. I didn't smile. I walked down the aisle. My eyes never left Lucius. He watched me quietly. He wanted to see how I would handle Brenda.

"The journey was nice, General Brenda, " I said. "The canyon paths are quiet at night. No distractions."

Brenda's face tightened. She knew what I meant.

"Well we must feed our ally " Brenda said. The word “ally” sounded like poison. She gestured toward a tiny, rickety wooden table placed at the very edge of the room, far away from the warmth of the roaring hearth and the high lords. It was a table meant for servants, or dogs.

Vance let out a breath. "Commander, this is an insult. They are treating you like an animal."

"Stay back Vance " I whispered.

Brenda leaned against the table grinning. "I hope the rebel appetite isn't too delicate. In the pack we eat according to our status.. Right now a human who sues for peace takes whatever scraps the wolves leave behind."

The lords laughed. They thought they were breaking my pride. They thought I would cry or start a fight.

I walked slowly to the table. I looked down at the bones. Then I looked at Brenda. Her face was close to mine. I turned my back on her.

I walked past the table. I marched up the stone steps of the raised platform. The royal guards stepped forward. Their spears blocked my path.

"Hold" Lucius commanded. The guards stopped. Lucius leaned forward. "Tiana. My general has provided a space for you. Why have you left it?"

"Because a general does not dictate the protocol of a kingdom, Lucius " I said. I used his name without his title. Some of the lords gasped.

"Careful human, " Lucius warned with a low and dangerous voice.

"I am not a guest, Lucius, " I said as I stepped closer. ". I am certainly not a servant to be fed scraps in the dark."

I pulled out the rolled parchment. The treaty.

I held it up high. The heavy golden wax of the seal caught the light.

"Three days ago the Alpha King signed this document " I announced. "This is not a surrender. This is a marriage contract. By the laws of the courts the moment the bloodline King puts his mark on this paper the woman named within it ceases to be an enemy."

I looked at Brenda. Her face was rigid with rage. Then I looked at Lucius.

"The woman named in this contract is the Luna of the Obsidian Court " I said. "She is the co-ruler of the Red Valley. She is the woman who will hold the keys to your fortresses by the end of the week."

Lucius didn't move. A small muscle twitched in his jaw. He knew I had him trapped.

"So I ask you, Alpha King, " I said. "Does the future Luna of this kingdom sit at the servants table?. Does she take the seat that is rightfully hers?"

Brenda marched up the steps. Her face was flushed with anger.

"Sire! Do not let this human disrespect your court! She is a rebel! She belongs in the dirt, not at the table!"

The lords began to shout.

"Throw her out!"

"Execute the human!"

"She has no right!"

The tension in the room snapped. Vance moved up to the base of the steps. His blade was out of its sheath. Brenda’s hand went to her dagger. Her wolf fangs lengthened. Her eyes turned yellow.

"Silence!" Lucius roared.

The power of his alpha voice slammed through the hall. The wooden rafters groaned. Some of the lords dropped their heads. Even Brenda stepped back.

Lucius slowly got up from his throne. He was a head taller than me. His big frame cast a shadow on my face as he walked around the oak table. He stepped down until he was standing in front of me. The air between us got really cold.

"You talk a lot about laws and seats, Tiana " Lucius said softly. His voice was low and scary. ". A seat at this table isn't given. You have to take it by being strong. You have a piece of paper.. You don't have the power to sit with wolves."

He smiled. It was a beautiful smile. It looked like he was promising something. He was daring me to move. He was waiting for me to be scared. He was waiting for me to realize that my body was no match for the monsters in the room.

I looked into Lucius's eyes. He was the man who had ordered my head to be cut off. I felt the coldness of the blade. I felt my own blood soaking the dirt. At that moment I wasn't scared anymore.

My hand moved fast. The wolves didn't even see it coming.

“THUD.”

A heavy silver dagger hit the King's table. It went three inches into the thick oak wood. The silver vibrated under the light as it made a metallic sound that echoed through the hall.

The dagger was an inch away from Lucius's cup.

Everyone in the room froze. Brenda gasped. She put her hand on her sword. Vance stopped breathing. No one had ever put a blade into the Kings table before. It was like saying I didn't care.

I kept my hand on the dagger, leaned over the table with my face inches away from Lucius's face.

"I didn't ask you if I could sit, Lucius, " I whispered. My voice was quiet and scary. It made his eyes widen in shock. "Move your general. I am taking my seat.”