Riannon didn’t even gasp when Gideon lifted Brayden up in the air, growlingfiercely.

She expected for it to go this way between the two of them at somepoint.“If you think that I am leaving my mate with a piece of garbage like you, you mustbe crazy!” he snarled.

The werewolf tried desperately to fight the clutch of deathbut wasunsuccessful.“Gideon,” Ria placed her hand on his chest, calming him down instantly.“Please...

Just let him go.

Not now, okay?”The lycan unclenched his fingers and the other man fell all the way down to theground.However, he got up quickly, baring his teeth at the opponent.“Bray!” his ex-wife warned him, “You asked for our help, remember? Not theother way around! Be grateful we do this for you in the first place and behave.Remember our deal.”He took a step back, still panting and looked at her.

“I asked for your help.

Nothis!” “Well, too bad,” she folded her hands on her chest, “We come as a packnow.”She could swear she heard him grit his teeth.

But decided to ignore all that.

Noneof this was important now.“They will kill Harper the moment they see him!” he said spitefully.“Plainly speaking,” Gideon interjected, “I don’t care about Harper.

If you don’t likesomething, I am taking my queen back and we are leaving this very moment.Good like gettingyour sister and fake mate out on your own.”

Another growl emerged from the Alpha’s chest but this time someone elseinterrupted them.“Why leave if we are all already here?” Castiel’s voice echoed through the forest,and they all turned to see him in the company of two bulky warriors and Harperwith tied hands.

Shewas typical of her.There was no sign of Roxie, though.“You!” Bray recognised the man and his lips parted as he was stunned.

But thenext second he furrowed his brows as he realized that he was tricked.“Me,” Castiel grinned wickedly, “Long time no see, Alpha.

And such differentcircumstances.

Don’t worry, I treated your little sister and the mother of yourfuture child better than you did me.

One might say they enjoyed staying with me.”The fox chuckled and the wolf snarled at him.on!”“It’s indeed not what we agreed on,” the fox king confirmed with ease as a sneerformedon his handsome face.

“You brought one more person and I brought one less.

It’sonly fair.”Brayden turned to glare at Gideon as if blaming him for what was happening, butthe latter didn’t give a care in the world.“No,” Ria smirked, “You were supposed to bring three.

We counted the baby too.So....

“Riannon,” Castiel smirked, “ always a pleasure.” “Can’t say the same,”she retorted, and his lazy grin only grew wider.

He enjoyed thisgame.

“Cut the small talk!” Brayden grunted, “Where is Roxanne?!”“Oh, she is here,” Riannon sniffed a few times and pointed to the East, “And notthat far.

I would recognise that scent anywhere.”With that, she let Ash and Maya know the location via the mind link.Bray snapped his head at her.

She knew where Roxanne was, while he didn’tfeel anything.

Surely, he was supposed to feel his mate’s closeness.

Or at leasther scent like Ri did.

Yet there was nothing.

His wolf Ragnar wasn’t restless, hewas only thinking about the future fight now.

And everything together made himwonder if Riannon was right all this time...

She was always right before...

What ifRoxy wasn’t his mate after all?“Excellent,” Castiel clapped as if they were in a theatre, each clap louder than theother.

“I have to say, that you don’t stop to impress me.

I placed her at a distancethat would be far enough for any alpha or lycan to sense her.

But you did...

Iwonder why.”“And I have to say that you are disappointing so far,” Riannon coc.ked her brow,trying to change the subject.

She wasn’t aware of all her powers and abilitiesherself and had no desire to share that information with strangers.

“Why don’t weget to the part where you tell us why we are all really here?”“Ouch,” the fox touched his heart with a smirk.

“But you are right.

Why don’t we?So, want the lycan king to denounce himself from the throne and free the lands ofCrimson Fang, Silver Stone, Fenrir’s Eye and Moon Wisdom packs.”“And I want you to stab yourself in the heart right now to save me the trouble,”Gideon scoffed.

“Those two girls are not worth it.

And considering that you’vebrought only one anyway...”were the impossible conditions.

“Their Alphas aren’t even here!”“They can go to your land,” Castiel sneered and tilted his head.

“After all, you stillhave a vast territory and no money to sustain it.

You can charge them.

It would

be a win-win.

You already figured out you are bankrupt, right?”“What?” Riannon’s head snapped in the direction of her ex-husband, but helooked justas surprised as she was.“Oh, you didn’t know?” the fox gave them a sly smile.

“Your pretty mate and sistergaveYou are not that great at book keeping, are you?”Brayden got pale.

His whole world was crumbling under his feet.

His ex circledhim angrily but whispered, “You will deal with this later.

Concentrate now.”Her words gave him strength just like they always did before.

He realised that hemissed this.

But this wasn’t the time for thinking about them now.“He can’t give you those lands and you know it,” Gideon intervened, a mask ofboredom on his face.“But you can,” Castiel looked as if he was having the time of his life.

Riannontried to figure out his plan.

Did he want to simply kill them all? Or was theresomething else? He surepersonality now.“Yet I won’t,” the lycan chuckled, looking down on the fox.

“I just wanted to finallysee your face.

You’ve been hiding well in your fox hole all this time.”“Why thank you!” Castiel bowed mockingly.

“It was hard after your father killedmine.

But staying incognito helped me to do so much.

It was essential to unitingfox clans and creating our own kingdom.”“I don’t remember my father killing a fox Alpha,” Gideon narrowed his eyes at theenemy.

“Who said that my father was an Alpha?” Castiel chuckled and looked straight atRiannon.

“See? There is no imagination! Such predictable way of thinking! Howdo you even live with him? You must be bored to death!”The king growled so loudly that the ground shook underneath their feet.

“Bray!”Harper squeaked through tears, “It’s a trap!” was a trap.The fox laughed menacingly and wrapped his hand around the tied girl, pullingher closer, “Sweetie, don’t you see that they already know? They’ve beenpreparing for me! They really did want to save you.

Too bad that the plan wasn’ttoo good.”They heard sounds of approaching footsteps and in a few seconds huge warriorsarrived holding their people hostage.

The ones who were hidden in the placesRia practically pointed out to Alice.Ash was one of them.

They had to make it believable after all.

And Harperstarted crying louder when she saw him, the desperation evident on her face.She really did have feelings forhim.“See?” Castiel smirked, “I got them all.

And also, I am a bit insulted you didn’ttake many fighters.

I am a far more serious threat than you imagine.”“We did,” Riannon said, and he looked at her with interest.“You did what?” he asked and this time her lips curled into a sneer instead of his.“We did bring more,” the Alpha female informed him, and at the same timecontacted her Beta to start via the mind link.

Howl after howl was sounding in the

distance, signalling to their groups of warriors that they had ready and waiting forthat moment, that the moment hadcome.“Release the girl and surrender quietly,” Gideon suggested firmly, steppingforward.

“ Then we’ll consider...”“No, thanks!” Castiel only pulled Harper closer, covering himself with her body asashield.“How manly!” Riannon couldn’t help but snort.

That, somehow, made his eyeglow just for a second.

Her words definitely had an effect on him.“Kill them!” he made the order to his people and gritted his teeth.

But the verysame second, every hostage, with the exception of Marcus, who was released onhis own, because he was an accomplice, started fighting back.

And each of themhad a little surprise carefully prepared by Riannon personally.Concentrated aconite injections.

The dosage was the biggest they could fit in asmall syringe.Ash was the first to pierce his captor with the short but thick needle in the leg.Thewarriors followed his example, but it didn’t work the same for everyone.“Useless!” Castiel shouted, “I have more people in...”“In a ravine nearby,” Gideon scoffed, taking off his jacket and throwing it to theground.“ We know.

My Beta Reid is dealing with those right now together with mysyster Savannah.”

“Now!” Ria commanded and the three of them went into the fight well.

Braydenwas helping the warriors that were his just a day ago.

He couldn’t see themgetting hurt.

Riannon did the same, while her mate tried to get to the fox king.

Hispath was blocked by the two guards, who shifted before his eyes into two hugewerebears.Swearing under his breath, Gideon shifted as well, tearing one of them into twoparts withease the second he took a form of an enormous wolf.

The second one turned outto be morework.

His gaze was following the fox who was trying to escape with his hostage.Riannon saw that too, but the remaining warriors turned out to be bears as well.And the bears were all muscle.

Very strong opponents.

She was already thinkingabout shifting.

After all, Onyx was eager to go into battle.

But she did not want togive away all her cards yet.Luckily, before she had to, their second wave of warriors arrived, circling them.They submitted the enemies easily now that the numbers were on their side.“Keep them alive!” Ria ordered and saw her mate killing one of the werebears.Their eyes met and she shook her head in disbelief.

They agreed to capture asmany as they could alive.“This one was very stubborn and did not want to surrende,” he told herapologetically via the mind link and she rolled her eyes.

“Ria, I am going afterthat fox.

Stay here and make sure that everything else goes smoothly.”“Fine,” she said, and watched him sprinting away in the direction where Castielleft with Harper.

In a few seconds, Brayden followed them too.She stayed with the warriors, hoping that they would be able to get Harper.

Thiswasn’t the most important part of the plan for her.

But she still did not want herdead even after everything.

“Not a bad operation for your first days as an Alpha,” Ash chuckled as the two ofthem watched the werebears getting cuffed.

The two foxes that were with themwere properly drugged on aconite.

It affected every shifter, but it had less effecton bears than on wolves, cats, foxes and others.such a bad feeling inside.

It felt...

as if something was off...“Where is Maya?” she asked her Gamma and he paused, “Wasn’t she supposedto come with this group?”“She was,” Ash confirmed and then looked at the warrior next to him, “Mick,where isMaya?“She sent us alone,” the guy replied, rubbing the back of his neck, “She saidthere wassomething important she had to do.”“s**t!” Riannon swore and turned on her heels, running in the direction of theEast.

There was only one thing that her best friend could be doing other thanaiding her.

And that was finding and killing her brother’s murderer.“Ash,” she mind-linked her Gamma, “See to the prisoners being locked properlyand guarded heavily.

And send a group of warriors to the East as well.

Lycans, ifyou can find any.

They are faster.”“I can come and...”“No, you have your own task now.

Until me, Brayden or Gideon return, ourcaptives are your responsibility.”She did not shift, running as fast as she could.

Finally, she reached a clearing inthe woods and heard the sounds of a fight.

Before her eyes, a fiery red fox and her Beta were fighting.

At the same time, shecouldn’t ignore the bodies of a werebear and another fox lying on the ground.Maya must have taken them down first.She noticed now that her friend was bleeding in a few places already, but kepttrying toget the fox.

That Beta of hers was stubborn.Ria was ready to shift when someone grabbed her from the back, grasping herhands painfully and placed a cloth over her face.

Instinctively, she tried to take ina deep breath and felt something strange happening.

It was as if her whole throatwas on fire.

The more she tried to get air, the worse it felt.“I am sorry, I have to do it like this,” Castiel whispered into her ear.

“I reallyimagined it differently in my head.

But you are not the only one who likes to playwith aconite...”The fox charged at the wolf, going for the side and digging her canines as deepas she could into the rival’s flesh, making Maya howl from pain.And this was the last thing Riannon saw before the world went blurry...