The Rider of Rosewood
The Council of Alphas

Present-day...

Chandler kicked open the door. "Get out! Now!"

Rosalind didn't move a muscle, she was still in shock from the news she had just received.

Theo refused to leave her side.

"You heard me! Get out!"

Rosalind took a shaky breath. "Did you know?"

Chandler said nothing.

"Did you know you're my brother or not?" She asked with much more confidence this time.

He didn't respond.

Theo stood up. "Excuse me, Rosalind asked you a question and I believe she deserves an answer."

"Listen, the Council of Alphas will be here any minute now, and the Pack Mother will be livid if you aren't ready."

Rosalind rose to her feet. "Fine."

Theo stormed out of the bedroom and Rosalind followed.

Chandler gently grabbed her hand and whispered in her ear. "I didn't know until I smelled my scent on your sweatshirt and when you said it belonged to your brother, that's when I knew you were my sister."

She broke herself free from his grasp. "Thank you for telling me."

Rosalind changed into her dress and admired herself in the mirror. It didn't look too bad. The velvet dress went nicely with her complexion. She wasn't used to the sight of herself in a dress. She didn't have time to keep staring at herself, everyone was waiting for her.

She walked to her bedroom where Theo and Heath were talking, or more accurately, Heath was keeping Theo occupied, so he didn't try to escape.

Theo leaned back on the bed. "I'm not saying I hate the movies, I'm just saying the books were better."

Heath's jaw dropped. "There are Harry Potter books?"

"Hey, guys." Rosalind stood in the doorway and picked at her nails.

Theo immediately sprung to his feet. He cleared his throat. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks."

Theo took a red flower barrette and pinned it in her brunette bob. "You've got this!" He whispered in her ear.

She forced a smile. "Of course, I do, She lied. Today she'd have to fake it till she made it. She put on a brave face and stepped towards the door, but hesitated before opening it. "Stay safe, okay?"

"I'll try my best."

Chandler swung open the door. He was wearing a black, well-fitted suit and neatly combed hair. He cleared his throat. "The Council is waiting for us in the banquet hall."

Rosalind nodded.

Chandler pointed at Theo. "Don't even think about leaving this room."

Theo rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I don't feel like being mauled to death by a pack of angry werewolves today."

"Whatever." Chandler stepped outside the room. "Heath, don't let him out of your sight." Without another word, Chandler slammed the door on them and began leading Rosalind to the room where the council was meeting.

"I like your tux, did you pick it out yourself?"

"Of course not, Duke did. I'm not a nerd."

Almost on cue, Duke stepped out of his room wearing a juniper-colored blazer with golden buttons. "Are you guys ready?"

"No, Rosalind mumbled.

Chandler crossed his arms. "You don't really have a choice, princess."

Rosalind begrudgingly held her tongue for the rest of their walk.

Duke gently punched Chandler's arm. "You look good."

"I always look good, but thanks."

They came to the end of the corridor. The only thing separating them from the council was a shimmering platinum door covered with a depiction of a pack of wolves. They all looked towards the one in the center. The alpha.

The boys glanced at the knob and then at each other. Eventually, the tension became too much for them and Chandler pushed open the door, revealing a luxurious banquet hall. The walls were laced with scarlet tapestries. A long banquet table surrounded by chairs that resembled thrones. The most lavish throne of all was at the far end of the table, and her mother sat in it proudly like the queen she believed herself to be.

A tall, dark-skinned man rose from his seat to greet them. He had white hair, stern eyes behind his thick-framed glasses, and he wore a bronze ring on every finger. "Are you the daughter Luna won't shut up about?"

"I must be, since I'm the only daughter she's got." As far as she knew anyway, her mother had kept so many secrets from her, she didn't know what to believe anymore.

He glanced her up and down. "I was expecting more."

Duke cleared his throat. "Rosalind, meet my dad."

He extended a hand. "Lydon Kingsley, but it's Pack Father Lydon to you." He introduced himself. Then his attention drifted to Duke. "I heard you're the new sheriff in town."

"You heard correctly. The Pack Mother promoted me a few days ago. I hope you're proud."

His father adjusted his glasses. "Honestly, I'm disappointed it took you so long. I suppose I expected too much from you."

Chandler shoved Duke out of the way and squared off in front of Pack Father Lydon. "Listen up, Asshole! Duke has done nothing but his absolute best from the day he got here, and that's more than I can say for myself. He deserves to be the leader more than I do, and you should be proud of him!"

Luna stood up and slammed her knuckles onto the table. "Can you at least try to show some respect, Chandler?" She sunk back into her seat and shook her head. "You're such a disappointment. Sit down now!"

No one argued with her request.

Rosalind sat at her mother's right hand and Chandler sat across from her. He downed the entire glass of wine in front of him in one gulp.

"I've never seen anyone disrespect an alpha in such a public fashion!" A woman seated across the table exclaimed.

"Don't worry, he will face consequences for his actions," Gregorio said, trying to restore order.

Things were not going well. The Alphas loudly argued about pack politics while Chandler snuck another glass of wine.

Rosalind let out a relieved sigh when the food finally arrived. She was slightly less enthusiastic when she saw the giant hunk of meat that was almost too big for her plate. She picked up her fork and knife and hesitantly cut into it. The inside of the meat was so rare she feared it may still be alive. She took a small bite. The taste was completely unfamiliar to her. "What kind of meat is this?" She whispered to herself.

"Moose." said the woman seated next to her with a look of playfulness in her yellow eyes. "I killed it myself a few hours ago." She proudly showed off the blood on her sleeves.

Rosalind just smiled and nodded. "Very impressive."

A fanged grin spread across the woman's red lips. "I like you."

Luna, on the other hand, was not impressed. "Can't you try to be proper for once in your life, Regina?"

She giggled. "Where's the fun in that?"

Rosalind forced down as much of the moose meat as she could. The other werewolves seemed to enjoy it. Maybe she would grow to like it.

As everyone was finishing their meal, Luna stood up and tapped a fork on her glass. "May I have everyone's attention, please. Since we're all gathered here tonight, Gregorio and I are proud to unveil the project we've been working on for the past decade."

Gregorio hid in the corner of the room with his head down and his hands tucked in his pockets. Luna proudly displayed a bottle filled to the brim with bubbling white liquid.

Rosalind immediately recognized it from when she fell in the pit inside the Sightless Caverns. Wasn't all that stuff deadly to werewolves? Why was it here?

Luna ran her fingers across the glass bottle. "I call it Wolfsbane. Just a few drops are enough to kill a fully grown werewolf where they stand."

Pack Father Lydon banged his fists on the table. "Are you mad? Why would you invent such a thing?"

"Perhaps, you've forgotten why the Silver Huntsmen were founded. We were assembled to stop the rogue werewolf epidemic, and that's precisely what I plan to do."

Pack Father Lydon said nothing else.

Regina's hand shot up. "Do you intend on sharing it with the rest of us?"

Luna gave Gregorio the signal, and he reluctantly moved one of the tapestries, revealing several large containers of Wolfsbane. "I'm sending each of you home with a batch. All you need to do is dump some into your nearest water supply and soon your area will be completely rid of rogue werewolves."

"Won't it kill you too?" Rosalind refused to make eye contact with her mother.

"I'm so glad you asked." Luna grabbed a bottle of pills off a rack next to the bottles of Wolfsbane. "All you need is to take one of these, and you'll become completely immune to Wolfsbane’s effects."

Rosalind squeezed her hands into tight fists. "So you're just going to slaughter everyone who's not one of your own."

"Well, that's the plan. We have to make sure the werewolf legacy doesn't become tainted."

"Tainted?" Rosalind let out a deep growl, which slightly scared her, but she didn't back down. "This was never about the rogue werewolf epidemic, was it? You're only worried about preserving your legacy."

Duke made eye contact with her from across the room, signaling for her to stop, while he tried to rip Chandler's fourth glass of wine out of his hands. Rosalind saw his disapproving look, but she continued regardless. "I know a Mixedblood, and he's a better person than any of you combined!" Something awakened inside her. A rush of power flowed through her veins. She was barely in control of her own mind, but it didn't bother her. It felt good. "I'm done with your lies, mom!"

"Hell yeah!" A very drunk Chandler smashed a plate, causing it to splinter into hundreds of fragments. "You never loved me! You never had any intentions of making me an alpha, did you?"

No one said anything.

"Of course not, I'm nothing but a pawn in the Silver Huntsmen's stupid game. You know what? All of you can suck my—"

"Knock it off, Chandler!" Duke cut him off in a final attempt to defuse the situation.

"No, you knock it off!" Chandler said, his speech slurred.

A disappointed expression spread across Gregorio's face. Luna stood up. "I've heard enough! Security escort them out!"

The rush of power became, so overwhelming, Rosalind could no longer contain it. Her hands morphed into paws and thick brown fur spread across her body. She jumped onto the table and knocked off as many things as she could, causing a wruckus.

She was no longer in control of her actions, but she didn't mind. She pounced at the two security guards whose names she didn't know, nor did she care. She completely missed them since she lacked control over her wolf form. Her eyes drifted to the door. Freedom. With all the force she could muster, she ripped the door off its hinges and barreled through the corridors.

"Rosalind, I need you to relax." She heard Theo's voice, but she couldn't see him. Something sharp plunged into her back and she fell unconscious.