"I have been betrayed. And not just me. Our entire pack has been betrayed! That so-called Alpha claimed to come here in peace but as you can clearly see he is now attempting to kidnap our Luna." Alpha Cadman stood on the tailgate of his truck, which he had parked just outside of the block of the apartments that had been built specifically to house the pack's guests, as he raged to the crowd.

Alice felt a shiver of fear shoot up her spine the moment she saw him, although his back was turned to her at that moment. She could tell, even without him turning to face her, that while he hadn't quite shifted, he was nearly in a Half-Shift, that state that some werewolves could hold themselves in, where they managed to keep themselves in a dangerous, deranged place between wolf and man, and where some men had been known to lose themselves entirely.

Those men finally completed the shift and then became the worst kinds of rogues, slaughtering whatever was in their path, whether it was animal, human, or werewolves.

They were the stuff of human legend, at least that's what the stories that Alice had grown up with said, and she shivered at the thought, pulling Fin's sweatshirt more tightly around her body.

"I won't let anything happen to you." She felt Fin's hand settle on the small of her back, and was amazed yet again at the thrill of electricity his touch sent through her body, even while the stress of the situation was still overwhelming. She nodded to let him know that she had heard him as they stepped out onto the road in front of the visitor's apartments.

Somewhere nearby Alice could hear the rumble of engine's and she guessed that that was their ride, but it wasn't as if they would be able to get through these crowds, or off of Amber Moon's pack lands unless they reached some sort of consensus, at least with some of the members of the pack. If all of the guards and sentries between where they were and the border, along with all the pack members that were standing in front of them wanted to stop them, they didn't stand a chance of getting out of here alive.

Especially not as a group in vehicles. Their best chance of making it out was probably taking off in wolf form as individuals. Then maybe a few of them might make it. But most of them would probably still end up being slaughtered. And so diplomacy was their best option. Alice needed to make them realize that this morning it had been extremely important to Amber Moon that they strengthen their alliance with Fin's pack and that twelve hours later it was still extremely important that they do the exact same thing. And now that would be easier than ever because she would be there to help build the alliance. At least she was hoping she could convince them of that.

Taking a deep breath she stepped forward, away from Fin's reassuring touch, but not too far away.

"My friends." The crowd fell silent the moment that she spoke and every eye, including Alpha Cadman's turned to her. Alice made a point not to look at him as she searched the crowd for a friendly face. She was both relieved that Kate wasn't there, because Kate shouldn't be in a crowd like this at the moment, and saddened.

If her friend had been there she would have focused on her at the moment. Finally she found Cole, and while his bruised and swollen face caused her to draw in a sharp breath, she managed to steal herself against what she was feeling, balling her hands into fists, as she forced herself to continue. "Today, in the most unexpected of places I found my mate. As I'm sure everyone here knows, before today I was unmarked because I had not found my true mate."

A gasp went through the crowd and she realized that based on the way she had phrased it she had implied something else that she had not quite meant to say, which was that she was already marked. She had only meant to say that she wasn't marked my Alpha Cadman and that he wasn't her true mate, but she heard the growl that was ripped from his lips as he took an entirely different meaning from what she had said, one that she really hadn't meant at all. She wasn't about to clarify though, when that was really none of his business now, and beside the entire point. He wasn't her mate, after all.

"When I walked into today's luncheon it became clear that Alpha Nowak is my True Mate. He is the one that I have been destined to be with by the Goddess for all time."

"Lies. The whore lies." Alpha Cadman roared the words from where he stood and it took everything in Alice not to take a step back, away from him. Instead she squared her shoulders and willed herself to meet his eyes, and confusion swept through her for a moment when she saw that they burned red. Even in wolf form his eyes had been a deep brown color. She'd never seen anything like this before.

Behind her she could hear a growl rumbling in Fin's chest but she held out her hand and shook her head ever so slightly, feeling as if she were balanced upon the edge of a knife blade and any movement might send her tumbling off. If it were anyone else, or really any other situation even, she would let her mate tear the man to pieces. Lane, the man who she had slept beside only last night, was putting everyone there in unthinkable danger. If she could end this with a snap of her fingers that resulted in his death she would do it and wouldn't feel a bit of remorse, for the man was spinning rapidly out of control and had brought it on himself.

"Enough. You speak another word about my mate and I'll-"

"Fin, please." Alice turned and practically ran into him. She hadn't realized how close behind her he was, and she pressed her hands to his chest as she stared up at him, begging him with her eyes to stop, and not say whatever it was that he was about to say. Yes he was an Alpha and his mate had just been insulted. But they were in hostile territory, surrounded by not just all the warriors but nearly all the men in an enemy pack. She was going to have enough of a job trying to smooth over things to get them out of there alive without him and Alpha Cadman getting into a verbal altercation, or worse a physical one.

"Mine." He said the words in a low voice, his hand coming up to cup her cheek.

"I am," she whispered. "I promise you. Just let me get us out of here so we actually have a chance to get to know each other."

Drawing in a deep breath she steeled her nerves and turned back around.

"Alpha Cadman, I never meant to hurt you. And I have done my best for this pack this last year, I don't think anyone here would deny that." She looked out over the crowd and saw many heads nodding as she took a few steps forward, her hands down at her sides, her palms open and facing the crowd.

"I care for this pack. I do. But the Goddess never meant for me to be the Luna here. That's clear now. I was meant-"

"Did you tell him that you're pregnant with my pup?" Lane sneered as he said the words, jumping down onto the road, the crowd parting before him as he stalked towards her.

"I'm not." She shook her head frantically as she practically shouted the words. "We haven't even had sex in a month. My moon days were a little over a week ago. I'm on the pill. That's why you've been so angry. That's why you fucked that girl today, isn't it? Or are you just a cheater?" Alice hardly had time to think of what she was saying, she was so busy justifying how what he had said couldn't possibly be true.

"Do you think anyone here believes that? That you've been sleeping in my bed, in my arms even, every day up until this morning, but that supposedly we haven't been having sex? They've seen you every day, they've smelled you, walking around with my scent practically dripping off of you. And you want everyone here to believe I haven't fucked you until you could hardly walk, every single night when I came home?"

"You haven't touched me in a month since I wouldn't let you mark me."

"Lies. More lies from the mouth of a whore who just wants to run off with the younger Alpha of a bigger pack. He isn't even really your mate is he, Alice? Why would you do this to me? When you're carrying my pup?"

Alice saw the looks of doubt flashing across the faces of the pack members present and knew that their Alpha's lies were convincing many of the men who were present. And why wouldn't they be? The wolves in his pack were programmed to look up to him, to obey and follow him blindly. And here he was, abusing that power in a potentially deadly way.

"I'm not pregnant. I'm not carrying your pup." She screamed the words, tears filling her eyes.

"Well you certainly won't be permitted to leave here. Or stay with him until you've proved it for sure."

"He's my mate." Alice gasped out the words. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you are mine. And any pup you carry is obviously mine too." The red light in Alpha Cadman's eyes glowed more brightly as he fixed his stare on Alice and she heard the rumbling growl in Fin's chest that scared her more than anything else. She clung to his hand, afraid of what would happen if a fight broke out with these odds, and furious that the man who she'd slept beside for so many nights had pushed her mate so far beyond what any man should be expected to bear having to hear about his newly discovered mate.

"Wait. Just wait a minute." Alice turned quickly towards the sound of the voice, her heart lifting ever so slightly in hope, while another part of her wanted to scold her best friend for being out amidst the dangerous crowd on this night. "I've been listening from my car over there and I think there's only one way to solve this. Because I don't know about Alice, but I am pregnant," Kate had come to stand beside her best friend and as she spoke she gave her father a long, hard look, before taking Alice's free hand, "and I don't think either pack wants a war. We need to do whatever we can to stop this. Cooler heads must prevail."

A/N- I hope you are enjoying this story! If you are I'd love it if you'd comment and click that little star button to vote for it.

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