All eyes were on Rick. He stared blankly at Jonathan. Most people expected him to fight back, but he was too shocked to do so. “That was – that was wolfchoker!” All around the room, people gasped. Wolfchoker was a banned poison. The only pack that had access to it was the notorious Blackseed Pack.Jonathan didn’t reply, he only stared back at Rick. “But I don’t, I don’t understand,” Rick stammered. “How did you get that? Only the Blackseed Pack has that poison.” A thought suddenly crossed Rick’s mind. “Wait! Do you…do you know Mercy?” Olivia didn’t know how a human like Jonathan got his hands on wolfchoker, but she was enjoying watching Rick squirm. “He knows where Amelia is. I’m sure of it,” Olivia said. Jonathan nodded. He believed it, too. Rick was guilty as hell, he could sense it. Whatever had happened to Amelia, Rick had played a part in it. “Where is she?” Jonathan asked, his eyes wild with fury. Rick’s mind raced. He didn’t even care

“I think you’re right,” Gabriel said, agreeing with Jonathan. “This is a water pack. It makes sense that she’d be at the river.” Jonathan smiled at Gabriel. Asher nodded too. It really felt like they were a united front, which is exactly what they had to be if they were going to find Amelia. They all ran to the river. At the bank of the river, Asher hesitated. A shudder ran through him. Forest wolves are born afraid of the water. Their fear works to keep them safe. The water prevents forest wolves from transforming. So if they encounter anything dangerous, they have no way to deal with it. As a young boy, Asher fell into a creek behind his house. The water wasn’t deep and posed no threat, but when he tried to transform, he couldn’t. He panicked. He had never felt so helpless in his life. That feeling flooded back to him now. The red river raged in front of him, as fear paralyzed him. Not Jonathan, though. He just jumped right in.

Amelia was awoken by a noise. A strange noise. She opened her eyes. For a moment, she forgot where she was, but then it came flooding back to her.Rick.She felt groggy and sore from sleeping sitting up. How long had she been here? Was it day or night? Hunger pangs stabbed at her stomach. She’d only seen the servant once. She’d brought Amelia food, a simple plate of stale bread and cheese. Amelia tried to ask her questions but soon discovered that she was mute. Other than that, she hadn’t seen anyone who wasn’t in the prison.She was cold and began to shiver. It was damp in the cell and the moisture sat in her bones. She fought back tears.Crying won’t solve anything, she chastised herself. Stay strong. She walked to the bars of the cell. She looked left, and then right at the rows of mutilated women. She’d barely escaped the same fate, and she had a feeling she wouldn’t be so lucky next time. She thought about Olivia.Where are you, Liv? Are you looking for me? Of course y

"So do you think your father is in on this?” Gabriel asked again.Shane was taken aback by the question. He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.“I don’t know,” he confided. “It’s possible, I guess. I actually don’t have a very good relationship with my father. Since my mother died, well, my father and I haven’t really seen eye to eye. I was supposed to take over the Alpha position when I came of age, but we didn’t share the same political stance.” Shane looked down to the floor. It was hard talking about this and the group knew it.“What do you mean, the same political stance?” Amelia asked softly. “It’s okay, Shane. You can trust us,” she added.“My dad – he – he believes in using force to maintain the peace of the pack. And for security. As his Beta, Rick also advocates for the use of extreme measures. They believe in violence. I don’t. I believe there are other ways to protect our pack.”“So your succession didn’t come when you turned of age?” Jonathan asked.Shane nodded.

Mercy removed one of Jonathan’s bandages. It was caked in dried blood. She gently wiped the wound with antiseptic. He flinched. “That stings,” he smiled at Mercy. Mercy didn’t seem to hear him, though. She reached for a clean bandage. “You’re worried about him, aren’t you?” “Who?” Mercy asked. She applied the bandage to Jonathan’s arm. “Rick,” Jonathan stated. “Nonsense.” Mercy shook her head. “Look what he did to those women. He’s a bastard.” Jonathan reached for Mercy’s arm. “Merce,” he said. “You can’t lie to me. We grew up together, remember? I know you too well. I can basically read your thoughts.” Mercy made eye contact with Jonathan. There was sadness in her eyes but she didn’t respond. “You can talk to me Mercy.” But still, she said nothing. So Jonathan continued. “I have a feeling, and correct me if I’m wrong, but the year you left? Was it – was it because of him?” Mercy sighed then. “It was, wasn’t