Damon's grip on the knife faltered. It felt as though the world tilted on its axis, and he took a sharp intake of breath. His brother ? How could Stanley be the one to betray him? They had always been close, closer than Damon had ever been with any of his siblings before they'd been slain. "How dare you accuse my brother of treason!" he raged, advancing on Chants with the knife raised high. "I trusted you! You've been my agents for years, and now not only would you conspire to kill me, but to blame Stanley for your crimes?" "I—I saw him with my own eyes, Damon. For a long time, he was anonymous, but then just a few months ago, he revealed himself as the face of the rebellion to us all!" "Liar!" "Please—please, I was just following orders! Stanley is the one, I promise!" Chants cowered against the wall, shaking her head back and forth as Damon descended with the knife. She squealed when he placed the blade against one of her floppy ears, but she made

Several months had passed since Damon last visited the Underland and the palace that had belonged to his father and the wolf kings before him. Built upon the worn hands of wolves generations ago, the palace was as elegant as it was militant, with sprawling halls and soaring pillars that stretched up to the sky-high cavern ceiling. As Damon strode through the palace, Scar at his side, he could feel the eyes of the wolves upon him, their distrust and loathing as clear as day. But he would not be cowed. He had committed to his plan, and to Scar, and he refused to give up on change, no matter how impossible it seemed. He watched Scar's awed expression as they wandered through corridors filled with gaudy furnishings and paintings. He knew after the last few days, she deserved a moment of rest, but Damon found himself restless after the discovery that his cousin was the one scheming against him. Sleep would not come to him, even if he immersed himself in the welcome scent

Scar hadn't thought it would be possible for Damon to grow more distant from her, but despite her efforts, it was as though he had become mist falling through her fingers no matter how hard she tried to close her fists around him. Just when she thought she was starting to understand the man, he went and became something else entirely. Damon hadn't touched her since. She'd tried to tempt him. Perhaps she should have felt embarrassed by the wanton lust she experienced for the prince, and the extent to which she'd been willing to go to just for the hope of glimpsing the kind heart beneath his mask. But he didn't budge or break. He'd become stone.And his brother whom she had trusted first was still no where to be found. After four days of Damon speaking with his advisors, of coming up with plans that Scar was excluded from, at last, he came to her to act on their intentions to go to Scanthin without her and speak with her father, the alpha of the Scanthin pack. Shortly a

Their intel indicated that the goblin rebels were holed up in one of the abandon mountains in the agricultural district of the Underland. Although Damon was of the mind that every corner of their limited space underground should be utilized to its maximum potential, there was still much to do in his lands to make that possible. The mountain had old and rusting wooden walls with several windows that had been smashed. However, despite the mountain being out of use officially, there was a suspicious amount of goblins hanging about. Although it would make getting inside a little harder, Damon saw this as a good thing. It meant the rebels hadn't been warned, and they would be able to capture more of them than they might have otherwise. The outside was well-guarded; there were at least two dozen goblins on patrol, and there would be more inside. Damon signaled for the others to stop, and they all took a moment to assess the situation. The factory was surrounded by a high fence, and the o

"Will you lead the way?" They climbed down from the horse, and Scar assessed the trees around them. The earth was iced over with frost, ferns and plants captured in a thin layer of chill that would disperse as the sun rose. Pines towered above them in all directions, not unlike those surrounding the goblin fortress and settlement farther north. But these trees smelled of home, and a longing to see the old houses of her hometown surged when she realized where they were. Scar 's feet carried her forward of her own accord, and until that moment, she hadn't realized just how much she'd missed this forest and the small town she'd grown up in. Despite how resentment had fester bed in her heart and soul these past years, it was still her home. The wolves here were still her pack, her family, whether she liked it or not."Come on, I am going to see my family, it's all about alliance please " Scar called behind her at Shadow who looked at her in shock "You lied to me Scar, you intended to go