Lola and Russel hurriedly got out of their cot and ripped past the tent’s opening to see what was going on. What they saw was enough to break both their hearts. They were being attacked. Bodies were lying strewn across the ground. Most of them were Harvenk soldier-wolves but as they tried to get back to the other Oclan wolves, they found the bodies of Kurt and Tris. Both of them had been decapitated, as did the two Harvenk soldier-wolves guarding Drake. With horror, they found that the barred cell atop the wagon was empty.

“Where is he?” Lola screamed, anger and fear and terror warring for space inside her mind. “Where the fuck is Drake!?”

“Come on,” Russel said, jerking her hand. The explosions were getting closer and closer to them. Not only that, but his heightened senses were picking up the heartbeats and footsteps of people running through the camp. And not their people. The scents of these strangers weren’t the same ones he’d grown accustomed to in the week since leaving the castle. They were wolves, he was pretty sure of that, but no wolves he’d ever smelled before. These new intruders didn’t smell like the other Harvenk wolves but they didn’t smell like Oclan wolves either. They also didn’t smell like a Sarchi wolf either.

He couldn’t stop to puzzle it out. He had to get Lola away. To safety. There was a dark, fearful spot in his soul which was scared that whoever the raiders were, they were after Lola. It wasn’t really that far of a stretch either. She’d been the target of two werewolf monarchs, a Harvenk royal prince, and even the human monarch had expressed interest in her.

“We need to find the others,” he shouted at Lola. The constant explosions and distant sounds of fighting were thoroughly distracting though. He was having a hard time navigating.

“There,” Lola shouted, pointing toward a cluster of people engaged in a fight that was obscured by a column of gray smoke. “I think that’s them.”

They were about to head that way but then something came hurtling out of the darkness and slammed right into Russel. Before Lola even knew what was happening, he was gone and she was alone.

“Russel!” she screamed. She tried to follow him but he disappeared. Whoever attacked him had picked their moment perfectly.

“Good,” a voice said from behind her.

Lola whirled. Coming toward her, free from his silver manacles, was Drake. He looked even thinner than usual and wavered slightly as he walked.

“I never thought you’d beat me, let’s get that straight,” he started to say as his eyes flashed with amber fire. “But I’d be a fool if I didn’t have some kind of backup plan. Just in case.”

He laughed at her as he saw her face go through several different emotions. Rage mostly.

“I could’ve killed you, Drake. I spared your life,” Lola said. “What is doing all this really going to accomplish?”

Drake laughed again, a miserable-sounding thing that ended in him coughing. He looked almost sickly.

“I don’t think you understand,” he said. “This was going to happen either way. In fact, I figured you were going to kill me if given the chance. Letting me live was just a…bonus, I guess you could say.”

“Who are these people?” she asked, taking several steps back.

“Let’s call them my friends. I’ve been building these friendships with disillusioned werewolves all over the world. My kingdom. Oclan. Even Sarchi. Hell, I think there’s a few of them that have been hiding in Alcroft. I brought them all together. I did that. Because it’s time for a change, Lola. It’s time the wolves were united under one banner.” His eyes widened and looked crazed. “No longer will we fight and kill each other. We are the natural rulers of this world. These treaties, this peace we live under, are false. It’s a blade hanging over all our heads. I’m here to free us.”

Another figure suddenly came out of the smoke, their eyes also burning with deep, amber color. He was a short man and very hairy.

Lola recognized him immediately.

“Ray?” she asked. That one hurt. While she had never been on great terms with Russel’s brothers, the time she’d spent traveling through Oclan and Harvenk with Ray made her feel like they could almost be friends.

“If it’s worth anythin’ to ya, Lola, I am sorry. But this is how it’s gotta be,” he said, his gruff voice not really sounding all that apologetic.

“You were the traitor?” she asked. “I won’t lie, I really thought that would end up being Roland.”

“He’s too gutless,” Ray replied. “Never was willin’ to do what needed to be done. It’s no wonder our father's run our country into the ground. Drake has a new vision. One that I bought into.”

“Where’s Russel?” Lola asked. “What did you do with him?”

“We have some friends that are keeping him busy,” Drake said. “You’re the real prize, Lola. Once you showed off your power against me, some of the others backing me wanted to get a real good look at you, or so I’ve been told. I think they plan to slice you open. See what makes you tick. I’m guessing it will be pretty painful.”

“I already beat you once. What makes you think I won’t just do it again?” she asked.

“Yeah, that is true. Honestly, you really should have just killed me. All this might have gone down differently if you had. Because, sis, this time, it’s not just me. I have an army. And you can’t kill us all.”

As if to prove his words, dozens of others started coming through all the smoke. Each one had eyes glowing with that intense amber color. Most were in some stage of changing into their more wolfish counterparts. Others still looked mostly human but had claws tipping their fingers. They all looked incredibly skilled at fighting and ready to kill at a moment's notice. One of them, a girl with mangy hair, carried the head of an unknown person in one hand. Lola guessed it was probably another of the Harvenk soldiers. She wasn’t entirely sure because most of the face was covered in blood and hard to see.

“I think I’ve said all I need to,” Drake turned to all his followers, a psychotic smile plastered to his face. “She dies tonight. So does anyone with her. Let’s end this.”

Roars and battle cries erupted out of everyone’s throats as they raced toward her.

Lola felt her body start to react to her fear and anger. It began to change, getting bigger. Fur sprouted along the length of it. Claws pushed her human fingernails out. Fangs pushed out human teeth.

And her eyes started to glow with silver light.

****

Russel felt the impact of whoever or whatever slammed into him. It was painful and he felt bones break. His breath whooshed out of him and for a few seconds, he struggled to breathe. He finally pulled in a ragged gasp of air but before he could get his bearings back, something was slicing into him with razor-sharp claws. He assumed it was a werewolf although he wasn’t sure what nation they were from. Again, their scent was unfamiliar to him. He had been around enough Harvenk and Sarchi wolves to know theirs pretty well and of course, he was extremely familiar with the scent of an Oclan wolf. This one, whoever they were, was neither.

They rolled along the ground for several yards, the crazed wolf still trying desperately to shred him as furiously as possible. Russel took the slashes for the moment, electing to focus on shifting first. He was going to need every bit of raw power he could muster if he was going to survive whatever the hell was going on.

Muscles started to swell up. Claws sprang out of his fingers. His head shifted into a wolf’s head. His eyes blazed to life with bright, blue light. He could feel himself getting stronger. More powerful. As he did, he managed to kick free of the wolf that attacked him. As soon as he did, another one came out of nowhere and kicked him while he was still trying to get up from the ground. He felt it as the powerful blow landed across his back. He was sent rolling for a few feet across the ground.

Only to land right into the hands, or claws more like, of a different wolf. This one stabbed its claws into him when he got near enough, lifted him into the air as if he weighed no more than a child, and then slammed him into the ground.

He let out a grunt of pain and struggled to get back to his feet. The strange werewolves didn’t let up on him though. They kicked and hit him while he was down, hoping to incapacitate him enough to where they might kill him more easily. It might’ve worked too, but Russel started getting pissed. He wasn’t about to let a bunch of asshole werewolves kill him with a surprise attack. No way in hell. He let out a roar of challenge, ignoring the blows still raining down on him, and then surged upward with all his considerable strength. The ones trying to kill him were all thrown back.

He roared again, his eyes flashing blue with more intensity. He had to get to Lola. He knew this. He also knew that time was not on his side. The surprise attack had been done too well. They hit at the exact right moment when all of his wolves and all of the Harvenk wolves were resting. The coordination was too perfect to be a coincidence.

Which meant the traitor, whoever they were, had been in their group the whole time.

He cursed himself for being a fool. For not seeing who it was before all this hell broke loose. But there was nothing he could do about that now. Nothing except fight back and survive at all costs. And, of course, battle his way back to Lola.

“All right,” he said, breathing somewhat hard. He wiped some blood off the side of his face and then spit a wad of the stuff into the dirt. Already he could feel the fresh cuts and slashes he’d gotten starting to heal. His broken bones too. “Let’s finish this fast. I’ve got someone I need to find.”

The three, no four, Russel realized there were four stranger wolves now, started to circle him. They did it wide so he couldn’t swipe at them. It was one of the oldest fighting strategies in the book. Keep your opponent circled and when their back inevitably turns toward you, attack. Keep doing this until the person is dead.

Simple.

But Russel was an alpha now and before that, he had one of the strongest full-wolves in Oclan. He hated bringing that side out. Hated how it made him lose all sense of self and control. But Lola was in trouble.

And he had to protect her.

So he let the beast inside take complete control for maybe the third or fourth time in his entire life.