Axel's POV (SURPRISE!):

Come to the conference room. NOW. We are under attack, I mindlink the warriors that came with us to Red Crescent.

Ares looks like she's about to black out, and her face is purple as she chokes on the nonexistent air.

"Ares, Ares, stay with me," I plead as I hold her in my arms, but her eyes flutter shut, and her heartbeat is so faint I can barely hear it.

The warriors appear almost instantly and attack the Red Crescent wolves. Gwen subdued their Delta, holding one of her daggers against his neck as she snarls at him. Cain must have told the warriors about the Elemental, because one of the wolves injects him with wolfsbane.

But Ares still doesn't breathe.

"No, no, no," I whisper in horror, and lay her on the ground on her back and lean over her. She isn't breathing. Her heart stopped beating completely, and I felt her bond to the pack- to me- completely break off.

Pain flooded throughout my body like a tidal wave. It felt like I had been impaled with a spear, and I heard Cain yell out- in pain, anger, both. The warriors had subdued all the Red Crescent wolves and were restraining them. Cain was on his knees, tears streaming down his face as he looked at his mate's lifeless body.

In all the years of knowing my Alpha, I never saw him cry.

His body was hunched over in pain, no doubt from the bond being broken. It hurt me, and I wasn't even her mate.

No. It couldn't end like this. Ares couldn't just die. She was undefeatable, not even the Moon Goddess herself could strike her down.

I start doing CPR on her, shattering her sternum under my hands as I press down on her chest over and over again. I put my lips on hers, puffing air into her nonreceptive body. Her lips are still warm.

Gwen screams.

No, no, no! She couldn't be dead. She was young- so young. Despite all she had been through, she still had so much left to learn, to experience.

She never got her pups.

I keep doing CPR, and my vision becomes obfuscated by tears as I think of her as I knew her in life.

How her muscles would flex when she would punch the hell out of me, harder than any male wolf ever could.

The first time Cain allowed her to train, and she challenged me without hesitation, without fear. She had been eager- far too eager for the chance to unleash the full extent of her strength on me. I was cocky, stupidly so.

I never underestimated her again.

When we were attacked with Onyx in Blue Moon, and she fearlessly singlehandedly killed wolf after wolf, absolutely no emotion on her face as she did so, like it was a minor inconvenience instead of a serious threat against her life. It's just the way Ares was: Calm, brutal, capable.

More compressions on her chest, more puffs of air into her lungs that did absolutely nothing. She was dead.

When we played duck, duck, goose with the pack pups, and she had a beautiful smile on her face as she let the baby wolves tackle her. She would have made an excellent mother, raising pups just as fierce and deadly as her.

The resolution on her face when she told Cain she would take my lashes for me. The lashes I deserved, because I had knowingly and intentionally let her escape, thinking it would be best for her to get far away from Blood Lake and Cain.

I had already lost her once. When we all thought she died after Wilson took her, my grief was exceeded only by Cain's.

The image of her, chained up at Wilsons, blood coating every inch of her body would burn in my mind for the rest of my life. I made a vow that day to never let her be that vulnerable again, to protect her with my life, no matter if I forfeited my own.

It would have been worth it.

And now here she was, my lips pressed to hers as I desperately try to breathe the life back into her, my oath completely in vain.

Cain lets out a pained howl, but I can barely hear him. I think I hear Gwen sob.

And then I hear her gasp for air.

I pull away, looking at her in shock, tears clouding my vision, as her chest heaves up and down as she sucks in as much air as her lungs allow.

Her grey eyes fly open in panic, and she sits up in a fast, jerking emotion, clutching her throat.

Cain rushes to us, his cheeks coated in tears, and he makes a horrible, heartbreaking choking sound as he pulls her into his arms.

I get off the ground and give them space, unable to believe that my best friend both died and came back to life in my arms.

"What the hell happened?" Ares asks, her voice rough and chalky. "You look like someone died."

*************************

Ares' POV

"What to do, what to do?" I muse as I rake the blade of Thane's knife along Samuel's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood as his jaw clenches. Sebastian and his wolves were injected with wolfsbane, and Cain's warriors restrain them, but they still watch the scene in horror.

"Don't kill him, Ares," Sebastian begs, locked in Lucas' tight grip. "He's my Beta."

Cain snarls at him, his eyes completely blackened. I could smell the residual salty tears that dried on his skin, the only evidence that I had quite literally just died.

"The funny thing is," I say, cutting deeper into Samuel's flesh. "When you die, there's nothing at all. All that bullshit about there being a bright white light- that's all it is. Complete bullshit."

"He didn't mean to kill you!" Sebastian insists, and I smile slightly in amusement. There's something impossibly funny about cheating death.

"There's only darkness," I continue, ignoring Seb's interjection. "That's it. Complete blackness. No consciousness, no nothing. One minute, you exist, and the next- you don't. Bizarre, right? How easily life can be snuffed out, and that's all you're doing, really. Like blowing out a candle. There's light- until there isn't," I say bemusedly.

I slice off Samuel's ear, and he screams as it falls to the ground. "I thought you might want to know that, Sammy," I continue antagonistically. "Since you'll be there soon enough."

Sebastian cries out as I jerk the knife into Samuel's chest, twisting it roughly. Blood squirts out of his chest and on to my face, and I laugh as I withdraw the knife from his heart.

I wipe the blood off my face with the sleeve of my cloak as Samuel's dead body crumples to the ground. "Let that be a lesson to you, all of you," I say to the Red Crescent wolves, my eyes narrowed on Sebastian. "If any harm comes to my wolves, I won't make your death that quick, but believe me when I say I will snuff out your light. And then, you too will know complete darkness."

Their eyes are downcast. Even Mason shuts his fucking mouth for once. "Now submit, or I'll feed you Samuel's ear," I hiss, holding the knife out in front of me.

After I killed Wilson, there was a short lag in between me killing the Alpha and the Transformation. A good thing that lag existed, otherwise I would no longer be the Alpha of Red Crescent and wouldn't have control over them.

All of the wolves drop to their knees under the command of their Alpha. I smile. "Good pups. You'll stay on your knees until we leave your territory. Any problems with that, Sebastian?" I coo as I hold the knife to his neck.

He grinds his teeth. "No."

"No, what?" I taunt, pressing the blade until there's a small stream of blood, but not enough to kill him. Killing him would make an already messy situation messier, since I would have to find someone to replace him, and Red Crescent would almost certainly fall apart.

His eyes squeeze shut. "No, Alpha."

I laugh, withdrawing the knife. "That's what I thought. Any more problems, and I kill every wolf in this wretched pack and make you watch. Are we clear?"

He inhales deeply through clenched teeth. "Yes, Alpha," He spits out.

We leave the destroyed conference, the Red Crescent wolves still on their knees. As soon as we're outside, Gwen pulls me in for a hug.

"Don't do that ever again," She says breathlessly, squeezing me tightly. "I swear to the Moon Goddess if you ever die again, I will revive you just to kill you again."

I roll my eyes. "What a heartfelt sentiment," I tease, and she doesn't laugh for once. Her eyes are still lined with tears, puffy and red.

Cain pulls me away from Gwen and into his own arms, picking me up and cradling me. Don't argue, he says gruffly. I need this.

I roll my eyes again but know that arguing is pointless. He carries me to the car, and Axel, Lucas, and Noah are arguing over who drives with Cain and I. Axel looks surprisingly angry, his frame shaking, and his eyes are dark as he yells at Lucas. Lucas looks equally angry, and it looks like they're about to have a full-on brawl over it.

What the fuck is their problem? I ask Cain in confusion. It's a fucking car ride, who cares who chauffeurs?

Cain looks at me sadly. He looks like he's aged a decade in the last hour. Their wolves are on edge from your death. They feel like they need to be near you, it's making them unstable.

I groan. Ugh, you die once and everyone gets sent into hysterics.

"Axel, you drive. Lucas, take the passenger side. Noah, go in one of the other cars, we can talk once we're back in Blood Lake," I command, and their frames stop shaking and look at me in... concern? Sadness? I don't understand emotions very well, much less how to read them.

We pile into the car, and Axel grips the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles are white. On the drive, I can see Axel and Lucas glancing at me every few seconds in the rearview mirror.

"If either of you looks at me one more time, I will hurt you," I threaten half-heartedly.

I feel exhausted. Dying really takes a lot out of you. Go to sleep, Cain commands, still holding me in his arms, ignoring all seatbelt laws. His eyes are bloodshot, and for the first time, he's trembling.

I roll my eyes. Whatever, I mutter, and close my eyes, because I really am tired, and I'm sick of all of the attention.

Ugh. I had a feeling that dying would seriously limit my freedom for the next few weeks.

************************

A girl with white-blonde hair laughs with a dark-haired man. "Oh, please do not tell me you are serious, Landon?" She asks through giggles.

He looks at her with reverence, a small smile playing on his lips. "My deepest apologies, Lucille. He requested specifically for you to wear this."

Landon holds up a dark red ball gown that has small gems along the bodice. Lucille pouts slightly. "But I detest wearing the gowns!"

Landon laughs. "I know, Lucy. You know how he is about these things."

Lucille clutches the gown. "I do not know which I like least: Alphas or dresses."

"Always the dramatics with you, my Luna," Landon chuckles, but he looks at the girl with such love, anyone could see he was only teasing. "Now hurry up and get dressed, would you? You know he hates when you are not on time."

Lucy gives him a toothy grin. "Precisely why I do it, my sweet Beta."

Lucille closes the door in Landon's face, and sighs as she looks at the gown. It's exquisite, she knows, but she really does hate wearing the gowns her mate insists on her wearing. Ever since she met him at the Mating Gathering two weeks ago, he plied her with the finest dresses and jewelry on the continent.

She puts on the dress, and realizes that she can't lace up the back all of the way. "Landon, are you still there?" She calls out through the door.

"Yes, Luna, is there something wrong?" He asks, and the concern in his voice makes Lucille's heart melt, even though she knows that it's his duty to be concerned about her.

"Can you come in here for a moment?" She responds, and he quickly opens the door and sees the fine lines of her naked back, where the dress had not been laced up. His mouth drops open, and suddenly, he feels like he needs a glass of water.

"Your dress is undone, my Luna," Landon responds stiffly.

Lucy giggles. "I know that, silly. I need you to help me lace it. I cannot reach."

He curses quietly under his breath, but goes behind her, taking the ribbons in his hands. "Just put them through the loops and cross them," Lucy helpfully adds.

With all of the focus in the world, Landon does the first few rows. Gods, why do these contraptions have to be so complicated? He asked himself.

Her hair covered the rest of the holes, and he had to move it in order to put the ribbons through them. He gently sweeps the hair off of her back with his hand, and abruptly jerks it away when he feels as though he's been electrocuted.

Lucy responds with equal shock, jumping slightly. "My apologies," Landon mutters. "I must have accidentally collected static."

Lucille shrugs it off, and he continues lacing the back of her dress, but every time his hands brush against her bare skin, it feels as though there are small volts of electricity running through her. She wonders if he can feel it too.

"Finish getting dressed, my Luna," Landon formally tells her when he's finished. "Your mate will not appreciate either of us being late."

She nods, and he leaves the room.

But as she finishes getting ready, she can still feel tingles on her skin from where he touched her.

I bolt upright, gasping for air. It felt like I had just been watching a movie, all of the details so clear, so real.

"Luna, are you okay?" Axel asks, looking at me in the rearview mirror.

"Fine," I say, slightly breathlessly.

What'd you dream about, pup? Cain asks in interest, looking at me with concerned dark eyes.

I have no idea, I answer honestly.