I paced the room while my pack doctor examined my brother. He lay on the bed, almost lifeless. His heartbeat—

My parents sat beside Jason, watching him. Tears streamed down my mother's face. My father held her in his arms.

An hour earlier, upon returning to the packhouse, I found many dead wolves. I assumed Alpha Leo's pack had attacked our family.

I glanced at my babies, asleep on the couch near the bed. They looked frightened and tired. I'd raised them carefully; they'd never witnessed such violence. This could cause them significant mental distress.

"As you can see," the doctor began, pausing mid-sentence as he realized Jason was no longer the Alpha.

He cleared his throat. "I cleaned and dressed Alpha Jason's wounds. But I need to test the poisons before determining a cure."

I looked at Jason's blanketed body. Rage surged through me. I should have killed Alpha Leo myself.

"When will he recover?" my father asked.

The doctor sighed. "I can't say for sure. He was very ill before the war. His life was already endangered by an unknown illness. So, if we can't identify the toxin—"

A chill filled the air as worry consumed us.

My mother took Jason's hand. "My son, wake up. We can't live without you. Don't let the poison claim your life. You are—"

My vision blurred, watching my mother's despair.

I had children, too. I understood a mother's feelings when her child was ill. My mother was distraught; her son was near death.

"Everything will be okay. Don't lose hope, Jade," my father tried to comfort her.

My mother glared at him. "What kind of father are you? Our son is dying, and you do nothing, Martin! Save our son!"

My father stared at Jason, defeated. Years of ruling the pack had never brought him such despair.

"Martin, our son is still alive. How could that man steal our pack? Do we abandon it while Jason is ill?"

Her words struck me. I turned to my father. "Dad, Mom's right. My brother is still alive. Adrian only killed Alpha Leo. He can claim Leo's pack—"

Fear flickered in my father's eyes—a first.

"You both need to be quiet. This packhouse is no longer ours. Alpha Adrian's men are outside. He spared Jason's life; consider it fortunate. No other Alpha would have left the pack's Alpha alive."

I shook my head, walked to the door, and opened it.

"Dad, I'll oppose his victory."

As I stepped out, my father called, "Though he intended to help us cross the border, it was your brother who declared war against the Crystal Blood Pack."

I was stunned. I'd forgotten! Jason had declared war before leaving the packhouse.

I turned to him. "Dad, but still—"

"Everything is over, Natalia."

Eric's voice. He approached, his body heavily bandaged. Our pack's theta was—

He looked at me. "It doesn't matter if Jason lives. Adrian won the pack before Alpha Leo attacked Jason."

I frowned. "What? How is that possible?"

His answer shocked everyone. "As head Alpha, Jason surrendered to him during the war, before returning to the packhouse."