Christy stared at the crowd of people, gulped. There were dozens of mongrels of all ages. More than she could have imagined. How had they all managed to stay on the island for so long?

Their numbers equalled to the size of the two clans combined – although she didn’t know if any of the Stargaza clan had survived.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Lola asked. You could back out and we can get the hell off this island. Head to the mainland where it will be safe. I’m sure your bank accounts are still there. We could go anywhere.

I told you, I’m not leaving. These people will never trust me if I don’t tell them who I am.

She saw Josh, the dark-haired self-proclaimed leader of the outsiders. He looked different from when she’d seen him on other occasions. He had even more contempt in his eyes now as his gaze fixed on her.

Part of her wanted to run, to take Lola’s advice, head to the mainland, to freedom. She’d never forgive herself if she did. Ronan and Magda still needed her. She had to know if any of her clan had survived too.

Instead, Christy met his gaze head-on, unflinching. If he thought he could intimidate her, he’d be wrong.

We should go, Lola said.

Christy took a deep breath. No, I won’t run. Not again. If I hadn’t run, Ronan and Magda might still be with us.

Chris… Lola gripped her arm.

She marched forward until she reached Josh. “I’m not the alpha’s daughter anymore.” She raised her chin. “My father and brother are dead.”

“So what does that make you then?” Josh glared down at her. “Your clan is gone. There’s no one here to protect you, princess.”

“Funny, I thought the outsiders didn’t abide by clan laws.” She arched an eyebrow. “You despise the clans, or are you going to join them now the Imperious has taken over the Stargaza?”

Josh’s jaw tightened. “I’ll never join them. We abhor the clans and their rules, but magic is still dangerous.”

“Magic is something that can be used for good. My mother, Olivia, was a friend to every clan on this island. She didn’t believe that any one clan could rule the other or that one was superior to another.”

“Your mother’s death caused another war and the decimation of another clan. There was a third clan on this island, too and they were wiped from history, forced to live in poverty and deemed as mongrels. Your father and the Imperious clan decimated the third clan. Why should we let you walk in our land and live?”

“I’m not my father, I don’t mean you or any of your people harm,” she said. “If you want me to leave, I will. If you want to stand up to Alec and hope to win, you’re going to need my help.”

Chris, what you doing? Lola asked.

Josh snorted. “You? How could you help us?”

“Alec destroyed your clan, the same way he did mine. Wouldn’t it be better to fight together to kill our common enemy? Think about it, you don’t stand a chance to against the Imperious clan,” Christy said, dropping her hands. “But if you have me by your side, what do you have to lose?”

“Everything.

Christy grimaced. No one really knew how the age-old alpha’s curse had begun, but it didn’t surprise her the outsiders blamed her own clan.

Lola stepped forward. “I was born an outsider too. Like the rest of you, I had to stand by and watch our clan be killed. But not all the Stargaza are bad,” she spoke up. “Queen Olivia believed no clan was better than the other. That we were all part of one family, one clan.”

“Queen Olivia is the reason we’re cursed!” someone shouted.

Christy’s lips thinned. “The curse has been around for centuries, so you can’t blame her for that.” She put her hands on her hips. “If anyone should be questioning trust, it should be me, since my mother was killed on this part of the island. How do I know someone here didn’t kill her?”

More angry mutters followed. But from what she’d heard from Ronan and Magda, she didn’t believe that story now. There had to be more to it than that.

Josh’s eyes blazed. “That’s a lie. She came here to see the lead of the Amara Clan. They were close friends.”

Christy froze, confidence wavering. “Then if she was a friend to you, why can’t we help each other now?” she demanded. “My mother wouldn’t have wanted to see your people like this, and neither do I. Help get our freedom back. Help me save Ronan.”

Josh’s expression darkened. “Is he alive?”

She nodded. “Yes, don’t ask me how I know, but I’ve seen him. If you care about him, help me get him away from Alec before it’s too late.” She gave him a pleading look.

His brow creased, fists clenched. “Fine, you can stay here, but remember you are not the alpha here, princess. I lead this pack, not you,” Josh said, through gritted teeth.

“If we’re going to work together, we’ll need a plan.”

“Fine, you can stay here – no one will harm you, but I’m only doing this for Ronan,” he snapped. “You’re not a princess here. You’ll have to pull your weight like everyone else.”

Christy spent the next couple of days getting to know Josh and the other outsiders. It felt like pure freedom to live among people with no one in charge of everything she did. She started to see they were people too, and not the monsters the clans made them out to be.

Lola had easily adjusted to the simple way of life again. Although things were hard, thanks to the limited supply of water and electricity, Christy felt determined to make it work.

“I had a dream about Ronan again,” she told Lola. “He said not to look for him.”

“Good idea,” Lola replied. “It’s too dangerous to go back there.”

“I won’t leave him. Besides, I have power too.” She ached to see Ronan again, feel him, touch him.

Josh stalked over to where they stood by the well. “I have something to show you, pack princess.”

Since she wasn’t the alpha’s daughter anymore Josh had started to refer to her as the “pack princess”. She didn’t like the term. Hell, she’d never been a real princess. She didn’t know what the hell she was.

Christy folded her arms. “Do you have any news on Ronan?”

“No. Follow me.” Josh waved an arm and stroke off in the opposite direction.

She glanced at Lola who just shrugged.

Christy followed him through the forest, past the makeshift houses and deeper until they reached a glade of trees. The scent of pine cones filled the air mixed with wet grass.

“Where are we going?” Christy asked. She felt magic stir with her unease, fought to keep it under control. It had become harder to rein in since the night of Ronan’s capture. She didn’t know if it was an emotional reaction or because she no longer had Magda around. She’d have given anything to have the old witch’s guidance now.

“This is where your mother died,” Josh stated. “Where you were born.”

As she moved closer, the ruins of a house with blackened walls came into view. The redness had worn off the bricks, parts protruded from where the roof had vanished. All that remained was a bare skeleton of blackened bricks with trees growing through the empty spaces.

Christy froze, feeling her heart skip a beat. “Did you bring me here to torment me?”

“No, I brought you here to show you where the Amara clan were annihilated. Once our beta was gone we didn’t have anywhere else to turn to so we just scattered over the island, or others left.”

Christy moved closer. She wanted to run away, not to go near the house. But her mother’s fate and her own had started here.

“I never knew about the third clan,” she admitted. “Clan lore states only Stargaza and Imperious shifters came here five hundred years ago when they were forced out of Europe by humans.”

“Yeah, well, clan lore erased the Amara clan. We were a clan just like yours, we were all family.” Josh led her inside the burned-out ruin. Trees covered the ceiling where it had fallen in and debris covered the floor where weeds had grown through.

“Who was the beta?”

“Tiberius and his wife, Una. They were kind and just. Nothing like Alec and–” His voice trailed off.

Her brows drew together. “My father, you can say it. There wasn’t much love lost between us. I’m sorry about your parents, they would have been proud to see how you’ve remained leader here.”

Josh laughed, waved a hand. “Oh, they weren’t my parents and their story isn’t mine to tell.”

Christy glanced around, picturing her mother wandering through the house as it had been.

“This is the place where you’ll find answers to the past – don’t ask me how. Ronan told me to bring you here a long time ago.” Josh turned and left.

Christy wanted to ask more questions. Like how to find answers, and how did Ronan know she’d come here? She paced back and forth. “Okay, Ronan, why did you want me to come here?” she asked aloud. Strange, to go back to the place of her birth. Where Olivia had died and she had lived.

Was magic the answer?

She’d had dreams before – like the connection to Ronan – but she had little control over how her magic worked. Hell, she didn’t understand what her powers could do.

Josh had insisted the outsiders hadn’t killed her mother. Ronan was an outsider too. What did it all mean? Christy knelt in the ashes and dirt, stared up at the twisting branches. She felt a tear drip down her face, imagining how her mother had lain here bloodied, broken. Had her mother held her before she died? Had she even seen her? More tears leaked out, pooling on the floor in a pool of golden light.

She blinked, surprised.

An image formed in the light of a beautiful woman. Her long brunette locks fell past her waist, her eyes were chocolate brown, her smile warm and welcoming.

“Olivia, you shouldn’t be here,” another voice said. “Your baby is due any day now.”

Olivia rested a hand on her swollen belly, smiled. “Nonsense, I can’t sit about all the time. My baby is strong. She’ll have strong magic too.”

“Do you really think you’ll be able to break the curse?” The woman asked. “It’s been so long since any of the shifters could use magic, or walk in human form at the full moon.”

“I do. The curse was made to weaken them, to rein in their powers. But I have a spell that can release any shifter from the curse,” Olivia said, putting bits of leaves and a power into a bubbling cauldron. “It’s time they were free. I know I can this work.” She touched her stomach. “We can do this.”

A boy with dark curly hair came in. “Mama!” He threw himself into the woman’s arms.

Olivia laughed. “Handsome boy you have there, Una.”

Una kissed the boy’s forehead. “Run along, Ronan. Olivia and I have work to do.”

Christy gasped, covered her mouth to avoid interrupting the vision.

Olivia and Una stood brewing something. A crystal flashed as Olivia held it over the burning incense.

“The spell is almost complete.” Olivia grinned. “We’ve done it, Una.”

The door banged open as Alec came in. “Hello, Olivia.” He smirked. “Now what do you two think you’re doing?”

“You’re too late, I’ve cast a spell. The curse will end and all the clans will be free once and for all,” Olivia said.

“That’s where you’re wrong, my queen.” Oren came in. “I can’t let any of the clans access their full powers. We have a war on our hands again just like when we fled Europe.”

Olivia’s eyes narrowed. “Magic is part of who they are just as much as their wolves are. The Imperious will no longer rule either the Stargaza or Amara clan,” she said. “Together we’ll move forward as a united clan. Alec, you don’t have to–”

“Enough! I’m not ready to let the curse end yet, and I’m tired of you getting in my way. Only one clan will rule on this island and it will be mine.” Claws formed as he slashed her face.

Oren sent Una staggering backwards with a bolt of light. The crystal clattered to the floor. Olivia screamed, clutching her stomach as Oren raised his hand and blasted her too.

Christy wanted to cover her eyes, stop the vision of her mother’s death from playing out yet she sat frozen in place.

“My baby,” Olivia gasped.

Alec and Oren left; flames engulfed the room. Christy looked away, unable to watch through the haze of tears running down her cheeks.

A baby lay on the floor, screaming, naked and bloody as fire took hold. They left Olivia there for dead along with her new-born baby. A boy came running in, scooped the baby up and hurried away.

The vision faded as Christy sat crying, alone with her pain and more unanswered questions.