The quiet night broke into chaos as several warriors from the pack of Lancaster arrived in our territory. I looked at Aric in horror, and the darn man just smirked at me. Perhaps, did he plan to attack the pack beforehand? Was it carefully planned? What about Luke? Was he aware of Aric’s evil plan to bring down Pembroke?
“Why?” I finally got the courage to ask why he dared to bring his warriors into the pack of Pembroke.
“Because Pembroke is mine, Isabella, and so are you. I will lead the pack beside you, and together we will become the most powerful couple,” he exclaimed, and as he laughed, I realized that Aric had become crazy.

“I don’t understand why you are being like this, Aric. You are this evil before,” I told him and once again, he smirked at me.
“Lancaster and Pembroke should become one,” he said but it was pure nonsense to me.
“This is just a prank, right?” I asked because even if I trained myself to fight, I wasn’t so positive about my ability to defend the pack tonight. Besides, Daddy was a bit sick, and this attack would surely cause him stress!
“A prank? No, no, my dear,” Aric said, and then he gestured for his warrior to do what they were supposed to do.
Then, I heard a battle cry before they ran toward the main house where my parents were probably having a good conversation, or even drinking coffee. My heart raced with shock and betrayal. I had trusted Aric when he spoke of past affections, but now he was here, attacking us. How could I have been so trusting?
A few moments later, I heard women shouting for help, men panicking to guard their loved ones as well as the pack. Daddy went outside to check what was going on and he was shocked to see the chaos in front of his eyes. I tried to run toward him, to warn him of danger coming from Lancaster, but Aric grabbed my wrist to stop me from leaving.

“Let me go!” I demanded.
“No. You must stay here with me. Let’s watch together how your Dad’s men will fight against the best warrior from Lancaster. Sooner or later, you will realize that you also need Lancaster to be strong, Isabella,” he stated.
“Aric, please let me go!” I cried so that he would set me free, but Aric was stubborn.
Then, my eyes looked everywhere for Luke because I was desperate for his help. As one of the pack members passed us while running toward safety, I blocked his path. When I glanced at Aric, he seemed to not care at all. Maybe, he was probably enjoying the scene where I panicked during an attack.

"Where's Luke?" I demanded, grabbing a passing elder who was covered in blood.
"He's gone home!" he yelled over the noise of the fight.
Gone? Despair hit me hard. To be abandoned by Luke at such a critical time hurt almost as much as Aric’s betrayal. But there was more to come. I saw Vanessa not fighting, but directing Lancaster warriors with cold precision.
"Vanessa!" I called out, running towards her. She turned, her look cold, confirming my worst fears.
"Isabella, you never saw the bigger picture," she said coolly.
"Aric? Vanessa? Why?" My voice broke, the pain sharp and deep. Once again, they both betrayed me.
Aric stepped forward, pretending to be sad. "Oh, Isabella. So naive. We needed a stronger pack, and you were just a pawn. Everything would have been smooth if you accepted my marriage proposal,” he reminded me of the past.
“Seriously, Aric? You are being like this because of my rejection to marry you?” I asked in disbelief. Anger blazed within me, burning away the shock. "I trusted you!" I screamed at him. "You faked being kind while plotting with her?"
"Love makes you weak, Isabella," Aric replied casually, his indifference making me even angrier.
Vanessa laughed cruelly. "And you were always too weak to lead, darling."
Their mockery and betrayal were too much. With a cry of grief and anger, I attacked. I wasn't a warrior, but desperation gave me strength. Our fight was fierce. I fought hard, every move driven by a storm of emotions. Betrayal sharpened my focus, each strike pushing back against Aric’s heartlessness and Vanessa’s taunts.
“Stop it, Isabella! You are just hurting yourself!” Aric warned me.
“Why should I? I don’t even know if my parents will survive tonight, and yet, you wanted me to stop fighting? How could you?”
“No one will die tonight, Isabella. I am just teaching you a lesson that without me, you are nothing,” he claimed.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked and before he could stop me, I transformed into my wolf form.
But something else happened! I heard Vanessa chanting weird words, as if she was chanting a magic spell, and then, I was back to my human form.
“What’s going on? What did you do?”
“I’m sorry but I asked Vanessa to do that. I don’t want you to get hurt, Isabella. As I have said, nobody will die tonight. You will only learn a lesson or two that Pembroke is better with me as the leader,” he claimed and for a moment, I realized something important.
“So, you don’t really love me, Aric. You love what Pembroke can give you. Is it prestige or power? I am not sure though,” I told him.
“I love you, and Pembroke as well. I just can’t let a human lead this pack or to have you as his woman. You are only mine, Isabella.”
When he said it, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing so hard. “I am no longer pure, Aric. I already gave myself to Luke…several times.”
“W-What did you say?” he yelled angrily.
“I said that I am no longer a virgin or suitable enough to become your Luna. I already did it with Luke. I slept with him, and I let him to fuck me,” I teased him even more, causing him to glare at me. “Why? Did you think I will keep myself virgin after the failed engagement?”
“You are not supposed to sleep with someone else!” he shouted, and before I could react, he slapped me too hard.
Vanessa was also shocked when Aric raised his hand to hurt me. "Heartless monster!" I shouted at him.
“How many times did you sleep with him, Isabella?”
“Many, many times, Aric. And no one can replace him in my heart,” I said the truth.
“Foolish woman! You love him, but where is he right now? He’s gone before I could even claim you as my woman! Look, if you can’t be my Luna, you will still be mine as my mistress,” he declared and my eyes widened in disbelief that he could be so ruthless and insensitive.
Then, when he was about to strike me again, someone came running and informed him of something terrible. Even I was even shocked to hear it because there’s no way it was happening. Vanessa turned to face Aric to voice out her worries.
“How did he do it? He was here a while ago, Vanessa! Didn’t I tell you to keep watching him?” Aric shouted at Vanessa and she flinched in fear.
“He said he was just going to take a call!” Vanessa reasoned out but Aric’s response was a slap on her face.
“Stupid!” he told her, and I felt bad for Vanessa. Obviously, Aric was not that kind to her, and they were just obviously working for a cause. “Retreat! Retreat!” He called his men to stop harassing the people of Pembroke.
“What’s going on?” I asked but he didn’t respond.
He was about to leave when another group of men in masks came barging inside the territory of Pembroke. Another group of enemies? Shit! How could I keep Pembroke safe when enemies kept barging this way!
I thought I was going to die but then one of the men took his mask off, and it was Luke Skywalker. When I glanced at Aric, he was glaring at Luke, too. What’s going on between them? I waited for Luke to speak first, and when he did, my mouth gaped open in surprise.
“You have always been right, Aric. Pembroke and Lancaster should become one, but this time, Lancaster would be under my leadership, as it should be,” Luke announced.