The Broken Crown

Secrets and Lies

"We cannot face another massacre." 

"Our loyalties lie with Crimson Lock, they always have." 

"How many men did Crimson Lock lose? How many men did we lose? Compare the numbers of our losses and you will see who the enemy is here. They only care for themselves." 

"Those mutts are the reason why our kingdom fell and now they as for our aid again!?" 

Voices erupt all around me, calling out for Alpha Edward to side with them, to see where our loyalties lie in this new world. Evercrest Ridge was one of the first packs to create a treaty with Crimson Lock, when Crimson Lock was still just a small pack surrounded by larger and more imposing ones. Our two packs were weak once, ages ago, becoming strong as the leaders of our packs thought analytically and lead our packs to where they are now - having survived yet another war and being one of the nine packs left. The last treaty we signed with them was when Crimson Lock followed the lead of Alpha Lily Maxwell, when she declared Crimson Lock a rogue pack - serving no king or queen - thus only creating stronger ties to a powerful pack. 

Yet creating treaties with a pack whose Alpha burned down the last Alpha King's palace as well as killed Alpha King Laraxis only makes us targets. Whoever killed the Steward of Crimson Lock's daughter, we can only expect that they also see Evercrest as an enemy which needs to be taken care of. The Steward of Crimson Lock lacks much of the power of an Alpha, for he cannot allow his children to take on the same title once he passes, he cannot just declare war unless another Alpha backs him up, and he cannot just declare himself Alpha. Alpha Lily Maxwell stated in her will and in the new laws of the pack before she died in the palace which she burned down, that no one would become Alpha of Crimson Lock unless they were her flesh and blood. The very flesh and blood that disappeared the moment Lily Maxwell left for war and no one has seen her child since.  

"If we continue to wait here and wonder where and when the next attack will happen, then we will find dead pack members," another pack member speaks forth, their sharp voice causing a ringing to erupt in my ear. "These werewolves have to come from some pack or a small collection of rogues." 

They were not werewolves though. I saw them, I saw the ears, the skin, their eyes, and the eternal beauty I thought books only fantasized. The attackers were elves. 

Alpha Edward stands in the doorway of his office, looking out at the small gathering of pack members surrounding him in the hallway. Luna Olivia had let them in, herself worried for what could happen as she has been on edge since the attack. I don't blame her, she has two small children and does not want to see them killed off before they even reach the age of five. I stand beside my father, his calming presence in this situation worrying me, as he would usually be shouting and snapping at people who dare disrespect the alpha like this. 

Placing a hand on my shoulder, my father pulls me back a little into a doorway in the hallway which runs to the kitchen. "War is coming, Evelyn." he whispers, looking down to me with his eyes. "I prayed to the Moon Goddess that war would not occur for at least another several decades, but we are flawed individuals. People seek power, wrath, revenge, and so much more." 

"You think someone is wanting to be made Alpha King again?" I question, thinking of the nine Alphas left. I have met most of them, or at least seen them, and they are all men of old tradition. It does not shock me to hear someone would seek after the royal crown, but with the crown comes much blood, politics, and hate. 

"Rumors have been brewing for quite some time," dad begins, looking back to our Alpha, "some Alphas get tired of the reckless behavior other packs get away with, they miss the order of the Werewolf Kingdom, and they want to see their family name holding the royal title and making the rules. Men and women get greedy, becoming blinded by what the crown offers them, and they do more damage than good."