CADEMy stay in the dungeon had taught me a lot of lessons I wished I had known long ago. My envy and greed had made me lose the people I valued most, friends and family. "I know you hate me because of the throne, but I need you to know that I wouldn't be taking your place if it hadn't been assigned to me to do so," my younger brother said.I scoffed. "Save me the details, I know you are more than glad to be stealing my position as alpha of this pack. I knew Father had always chosen you over me but that will never happen. The throne is mine and there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it."On the day of his coronation, I watched in envy as my brother took my place as alpha. I wished I could strangle him where he stood with the rest of the elders. I hated my father and brother so much that I rarely spent time in the palace. Rather, I built another pack of my own far from the pack, a rogue pack in my name where I could be alpha. I recruited many rogues and formed an army of my

LUCY"Cade," I muttered. My body was covered in his blood as I tried to stop the bleeding. Cade whimpered and pleaded for forgiveness, but it was too late for that. All I needed was the name of whoever did this. Cade tried to speak but I couldn't figure out what he was saying. "He's here," that was all I heard. His bloodied hand pointed to something ahead of us. I raised my head to see who it was but his face wasn't clear enough. "Looking for me?" the man sneered. Before I could say anything or do anything, he struck me with his sword.My eyes fluttered open, the remnant of the nightmare still clinging in my head like a cobweb. I glanced around the dimly lit chamber, my heart pounding heavily against my ribs as I tried to shake off the fear. "Chris," I called out after I realized that he wasn't beside me. There was no answer and my unease deepened. Where could he be? I recalled that he had gone to see Lothar to further discuss ways of catching the murderer, but I didn't realize

CHRISI, Chris Parker, the vibrant leader and alpha of the hallowed manes pack was now subjected to a life of misery. My guards who were once my loyal subordinates were now against me, torturing the hell out of me.I endured the torment of the dungeon with only one motive in mind, vengeance. The pain of the wolfsbane coursing my veins only served as fuel to my determination. I gritted my teeth in agony as the wolfsbane began to take its toll on me. But I refused to give my captors the satisfaction of seeing my falter.After much torture, Lothar decided to pay me a visit. The scorn on his face infuriated me, causing me to curse under my breath. "You look a mess, Chris. I didn't reckon that my boys would be this harsh to their Alpha," he mocked."You bloody traitor. I should give it to you. You played your game so well, betraying both father and son," I said."Oh please don't flatter me. I was just one step ahead of you folks in everything. You know, I wasn't originally from here. Yo