Emma Pov

　　Robert, my father, tries to approach me, and I step back in anger. Tears fall against my will.

　　"Emma Smith, show some respect! I am your father!" Robert declares angrily, and I take a deep breath, feeling my jaw tighten.

　　"And where were you when Michael called me a slut of the Night Howlers Pack? Where were you when he invaded the Night Howlers Pack to take me as if I were still his mate?" I attack him furiously. "Where were you when I tried to kill myself because no one believed me?"

　　I notice my mother's eyes widen at the information, but I don't let that shake me.

　　"Stop being a spoiled, childish brat, Emma! You will come back with us and stay with Michael, even if I have to drag you to the Moonshadow Pack!" my father shouts, and I feel terror course through my body. He advances towards me, and I prepare to defend myself.

　　"Touch a single hair on Emma, and it will be the last thing you do, Beta Robert," Matthew declares with a growl behind my father.

　　My eyes turn in his direction. Matthew is halfway transformed. His eyes are glowing golden, the eyes of his wolf. From his mouth, lupine fangs are large and sharp, protruding from his lips, and claws have overtaken his hands. Even the size of Matthew's muscles has doubled.

　　I didn't know Matthew had the ability to go into lycan mode. When the human and the wolf manage to maintain balance, all lupine abilities and powers manifest in the human body, allowing the human to remain more in control than the wolf. This ability is only possessed by a few alphas, and it seems Matthew is one of those few.

　　I feel my heart leap out of my chest at the sight of him in lycan mode. The shirt he was wearing started to tear at the arms, his face taking on a slightly more animalistic form. Even Robert takes a few steps back at Matthew's appearance.

　　"This won't go unchallenged, Alpha Matthew. You have no idea what you're doing," Robert declares, his voice now trembling.

　　Matthew advances towards my father, and I notice how his legs are curved, similar to wolf paws. That's why he seems taller too.

　　"I know exactly what I'm doing. I am defending a guest of my wolf pack. You are no longer welcome here! No one from the Moonshadow Pack is welcome here in my wolf pack!" Matthew decrees with a loud growl that even shakes the windowpanes.

　　My body is paralyzed by that fierce growl. My father, in turn, grabs my arm with force. My mother stands at the other end of the room. "Then I will take my daughter with me! She belongs to me, to my pack!" Robert asserts angrily, and I try to break free from his grip.

　　"Let her go now!" Matthew gets even closer, and my father, in a quick and selfish move, pulls me to stand in front of him. Using me as a human shield to protect himself.

　　"You can't stop me from taking Emma. She doesn't belong to the Night Howlers Pack. If you attack me or her, you will be officially declaring war against the Moonshadow Pack," Robert threatens, his voice even more agitated.

　　My body is tense, and I try once more to free myself from my father's hands, one on my neck and the other on my arm. My eyes are focused on the animalistic appearance Matthew now exhibits. His superhuman chest is heaving, rising and falling with his angry breaths.

　　Robert pulls me closer to his body, dragging me towards the living room exit. My mother catches up with us, and I struggle to break free from the two of them.

　　"You can't take me back! I don't want to go with you, damn it!" I say, revolted. Until I grab the doorframe of the living room, causing my father's grip to loosen just enough for me to turn my body and headbutt him in the nose.

　　Everything happens very quickly from that point. "Emma, duck!" Matthew shouts at me as he runs towards my father, who is stumbling from my blow.

　　Matthew grabs my father and throws him against the window, which shatters upon impact. My mother screams in fright for a few seconds, I am disoriented by the act. I hear the sound of bones breaking and know my father is transforming into a wolf. Matthew, on the other hand, remains in his lycan form. He approaches me, and even with his face now more beastly than human, I can see his concern for me.

　　"Are you okay?" he asks, his voice much deeper, and his scent much stronger than before. He lifts his fingers now similar to a wolf's, with protruding claws, to touch my face, but Matthew stops midway, perhaps afraid of hurting me.

　　"WATCH OUT!" I scream reflexively, pushing Matthew aside as I see my father transformed into a werewolf. A gray wolf charges at us, and I try to defend myself, but I am struck by the ferocious bite of the wolf my father has become.

　　A sharp, painful scream escapes my lips as the fangs sink into my skin. Matthew grabs the wolf by the neck and throws him away once more.

　　"Hide. Your parents must have alerted the pack about this," Matthew declares while tearing off his shirt. "I need you to hide, Emma!"

　　"I can't let you face them again. Not because of me!" I say, scared.

　　But there is no time to argue; Matthew is already fully transformed into a werewolf. What I see before me is a huge black wolf with golden eyes.

　　I feel someone pulling me by my injured arm, and I curse in pain. Until I realized it was my mother. "Let's go! All of this is your fault!" she declares irritably.

　　Unlike my father, my mother doesn't have the strength to drag or hold me. I perform the move Thalia taught me, twisting my mother's arm, and forcing her to let me go.

　　"Don't you dare tell me what to do anymore!" I say with authority, and my mother looks at me in shock.

　　"You ungrateful little bitch!" My mother curses before running out of the house.

　　Before I can follow her to stop Matthew and my father from fighting in wolf form, a siren starts blaring from all corners of the Night Howlers Pack grounds, causing discomfort in my ears. Beta Liam appears in front of the house.

　　"I need you to go to the packhouse and stay with Charlotte!" Liam orders.

　　"Why? I can't let Matthew get into a fight with my father because of me!" I retort, nervous.

　　Liam holds my shoulders firmly, his blue eyes are agitated. "Emma, this has nothing to do with you. The Moonshadow Pack sent your parents just as a distraction. They planned an attack against us. We are officially at war with them!" Liam informs me urgently.

　　He leads me to the packhouse at a run. I see other werewolves of the Night Howlers Pack equipped with lethal weapons heading towards the west side of the territory. "I need you to stay with Charlotte, okay? Matthew ordered it. I need you to comply, okay?" Liam asks seriously, and I nod.