I felt like my world was spiraling and I had no idea what to do. Running. Leaving. That’s what how I handled everything and now that I was staying I felt out of place like a fish on land.

I needed to get away from everyone to have time to think. The forest beckoned as a safe haven from the constant tension in the air amongst the pack.

I headed down, hurriedly, until I was surrounded by the tall trees. Breathing in a deep breath, I exhaled slowly trying to reign in the panic that I could lose Maverick and that people would die because of who I was, not because of my actions.

It was so unfair. Life was unfair.

The sound of footsteps made me turn to face Tristan.

“Tristan,” I said his name, his presence taking me by surprise.

He shrugged. “I needed some fresh air.”

This had taken its toll on all of us.

I nodded, I had needed the same.

“They figure a way out of this situation yet?” I ventured, trying not to allow myself to even hope there was a solution.

He shook his head. “There is not going to be a way out this. You have to know that Alexandria.” His voice resigned.

“I don’t know what you mean.” I folded my arms as I regarded him.

“There will be death no matter what choice is made. It’s just the severity of the loss we are trying to minimize. These aren’t people who play nice.” The dark look he gave me sent a shiver of fear down my spine.

I swallowed hard, trying to take in his scary viewpoint.

“There has to be a way,” I murmured, unable to accept what he was saying.

I had to believe there was a way. The alternative was too horrible to even consider. I didn’t want anyone to lose their life because of me.

Tristan sighed. “It’s our way of life. It’s who we are.”

“Who we are?” I whispered.

“Werewolves. We are effectively animals, in our world it’s survival of the fittest. There is no room for the weak.”

I still knew too little about our way of life to understand what he was saying.

“It’s the whole point in what your parents are trying to achieve with marrying you off to Colt. It’s to make our kind stronger more stable.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You know how hot tempered we can be.”

I inclined my head. “It’s got me in trouble more times than I care to count.”

“Then you can understand how that could impact relations between pack members and packs. It has also had a tendency to start wars.”

I knew how difficult it was to reign in my temper and my brief encounter with Kane was an eye opener to the world of werewolves. It wouldn’t have taken much to escalate things.

“The Mason and Richard’s packs have been warring for years. The decision to join the two families loyalty with your marriage to Colt was to bring peace.”

“And I thought they were just a power hungry lot.” It was getting more complicated.

He half smiled at my remark. “They are. Make no mistake about that. Peace between the packs could be achieved many different ways. Marriage isn’t the only option. My mother tried her best but she couldn’t change their minds.”

I was caught unexpectedly in a bout of emotion for someone I had never met.

“Your mom went to great lengths to keep me out of this.”

He gave a brief nod. “She believed in our ways. In finding your mate, the one you’re supposed to be destined to be with. Unfortunately, she lost her mate and then married my father. A Richard.”

From the dark in his eyes I could tell there was a lot he wasn’t telling me. His personal pain.

“What’s your father like?” I ventured.

He shrugged. “The type you don’t want to run into in a dark alley.”

I knew the kind.

“Your mom did more for me than my own family. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to meet her.”

“She kept an eye on you. She watched you grow up. It wasn’t easy for her to see you raised in an orphanage but it was her only choice. If anyone had suspected you hadn’t died, they would have searched until they found you.”

I let out a steady breath. It scared me a little how far they would go to fulfill their plans.

“What’s Colt like?” I asked. I wasn’t sure it was to understand my enemy better or a curiosity to what I would have been subjected to if my aunt hadn’t protected me.

My cousin studied me for a few moments. Was he trying to read if I could take the hard truth? Or did he need to sugar coat it?

“He is cruel, and vindictive. He doesn’t have an honest bone in his body.”

I wasn’t sure I was in the space to take in all this. The whole issue loomed over us like a storm about to unleash its power.

“What would my life have been like if your mom had failed?” Maybe I needed to understand that to be able go to gauge the people we were about to go up against.

“You would have been protected from the outside world, have limited interaction with people outside your immediate family to ensure your innocence. The Richards wanted you to be pure and untouched. At seventeen you would have been expected to move into their pack to start adjusting to your new life but your union and mating would only have taken place on your eighteenth birthday. You would have been expected to produce offspring straight away to ensure the stability of the union.”

I swallowed. My whole life had been mapped out to achieve everything but any form of happiness.

“Colt is also known to use violence to keep women submissive and compliant.”

So he was that type of man, the insecure type that had to use his fists to ensure loyalty. It spoke volumes.

“I know it wasn’t easy growing up in the orphanage but trust me the alternative would have been much worse.”

I remind silent, my mind busy playing out what my life would have been like if I had stayed.

“It was easier to hide you as a baby than a teenager. You understand that?”

I nodded. “I’m sorry your mom isn’t around for me to thank. I truly am grateful.”

I never imagined I would have said something like that when it came to my time in the orphanage. All those years of wondering and now I knew the truth.

The truth that if I hadn’t grown up in the orphanage I still would have been just as lonely surrounded by a family who didn’t love me.

“If she was alive to see what you’re facing now, she would have felt like she had failed you.”

I studied the deep frown on my cousin’s face.

“You think running is the only solution?” I said, remembering his annoyance that Maverick had vetoed the idea.

He shrugged. “Going up against them isn’t an option.”

“What if Maverick can get other packs to join in the fight?” I asked, not even knowing if that was even something that could be achieved.

“Our loyalties are to our packs, I doubt anyone pack would join a fight that didn’t have a vested interest in.”

It was logical but deflating.

“Then what do we do?” I asked, fearing what he might say.

He studied me for a few moments.

“Maverick is already considering the only option left.” His voice was sombre and I frowned.

“What option is that?” I didn’t like the feeling that settled in the pit of my stomach.

Why hadn’t he mentioned it?

“He wants to call Colt for a one on one Alpha fight.”

“What’s an Alpha fight?” I found myself asking.

“The fight to the death. The winner wins the loser’s pack.”

Was he crazy? There was no way I would allow him to put himself in that kind of danger. What was the whole point of this if I lost the man I loved? Was there a point in going on without him?

There wasn’t. It was that plain and simple.

“He can’t.” I felt the pressure on my chest was inescapable as I tried to breath through the knowledge that Maverick was willing to risk his life for me and his pack.

“It might be the only way. And that’s if he wins.”

I frowned. “How strong is Colt?”

I couldn’t believe I was even asking the question.

“Colt is strong but so is Maverick.”

That wasn’t the answer I wanted.