The dog tags around Mihai’s neck might as well have been a collar tied to a leash held by an iron fist. He was never given an inch or a moment of respite from it. It might as well have weighed a ton.

Because it sure felt like it.

He absently played with the chain, hearing the two metal plates clink against each other. No matter how much he pulled or tugged against it, even if he tried cutting it off, it would remain there until he drew his last breath.

It was a constant reminder of his servitude as a werewolf to the vampire king, Phaeron. His life and everything he did was for the glory of Phaeron’s every whim, whether he was in his human or wolf form.

He hated it.

No, he didn’t hate it. He wasn’t quite sure if Phaeron could hear his thoughts. Sometimes, he believed the vampire could, but maybe Phaeron wanted to lead him to believe that.

He watched as his pack streamed through the Eastern Hills, the small village nestled within the dark green folds of the land. There was a rumor that an omega warlock lived there, although Mihai doubted they’d find any. Despite Phaeron’s bounty for omega warlocks, the vampire king had so far been unable to find any.

It was as if the omegas knew why they were being hunted.

Secretly, Mihai was relieved. Not just because the omegas were safe, but because he was safe as well.

Mihai was a double alpha, a fact he forever hoped to keep from Phaeron. He tried not to dwell on it too long—that whole question about whether or not Phaeron could hear his thoughts—but a sliver a fear wedged itself into Mihai’s consciousness at the outset of this mission and kept pushing itself further and further into his thoughts.

Mihai was the alpha of his pack, a title that he had fought and bled for ever since he grew fur that first time. A pack alpha was a leader, which Mihai was very good at being, and he vowed to himself that, one day, he’d lead his people to freedom away from the immortal vampire king.

So far, he had failed miserably, much to the heartbreak of his pack. And he was no closer to finding a way to freedom than the day he had ascended as pack alpha.

Phaeron knew that he was pack alpha and had even backed Mihai as leader.

No, it was the fact that Mihai was the other type of alpha that made him terrified for the vampire to ever find out.

As a man who could pass on his seed to an omega—and possibly an omega warlock, no less—Mihai knew that there was the possibility that if Phaeron ever found out, the vampire could compel him to mate with an omega warlock to create a werewolf/warlock hybrid.

Which was exactly Phaeron’s plan.

A cold wind blew past Mihai, ruffling his short, brown hair. He shivered, although it wasn’t just from the cold.

Keep your thoughts on the mission, he told himself. Focus, and get it done.

If Phaeron had no reason to investigate his alpha werewolf, he would never find out that Mihai was a double alpha.

He had to believe that.

“Mihai,” a voice murmured, interrupting his thoughts.

He turned his head to see his younger sister Nathalie standing next to him. As his beta wolf and second, Nathalie was an even fiercer fighter than him. Truly, the only reason why she wasn’t pack alpha was because she was five years younger than him.

A fact that she never let him forget. Tonight, however, she was as pensive as he was. She frowned up at him and crossed her arms, her own dog tags tinkling against each other as she did so.

“No sign of an omega warlock,” she said, her light and whispery voice at odds with her warlike, protective nature. “Or of anything that says this is worth our time.”

Mihai nodded slightly, turning his attention back to the hills. “And no one has any information of the whereabouts of an omega warlock?”

Nathalie let out a derisive snort. “No. The people are too afraid to be associated with omega warlocks. Especially with what happened with the last one.”

Mihai remembered the rumors about an omega warlock that escaped Phaeron’s clutches, turned a man into a vampire, and wreaked havoc in the west. For four years Phaeron had seemed content to be silent. In the aftermath, all hell had broken loose in Pristat.

Mihai’s wolves were personally responsible for it, even if he wanted nothing to do with the megalomaniacal vampire. He was compelled to do so. They all were.

“No one’s stepped forward?” he prodded, feeling that same odd mixture of dread and relief. Dread at Phaeron’s wrath for failing him yet again. Relief at Mihai’s secret being kept for that much longer. “Even with the price that Phaeron put out on any omega warlock’s head?”

Nathalie gave a shrug that Mihai suspected was meant to be nonchalant, but her stormy eyes betrayed her thoughts. “Would you put your neck on the line for a few coins?”

It wasn’t just a “few coins”—truly, the amount was very high, but Mihai could see her point. He sighed and put his hands in his trouser pockets. “Perhaps Phaeron needs to up his bounty.”

She watched him with a side-eye. “And you’d be willing to tell him that?”

Mihai would, especially if it kept his pack from being the bad guys and terrorizing villages. Before, werewolves like him lived in the forests, on the fringes of society. They were feared, but they weren’t the bogeymen that hunted down innocents.

The last year had taken its toll on all of them. Dark circles bloomed under Nathalie’s eyes that were too old for a woman of seventeen years. What he would do to remove those dog tags from her neck so she would finally be free...

He opened his mouth to answer her, although with what, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t get the chance, however, because another voice cut him off.

“If you’re not going to tell him, Alpha, then I will.”

Mihai bared his teeth at the newcomer, a beta wolf like Nathalie, but this one was an asshole and an upstart. “You aren’t the one who makes decisions like that, Aaron,” he growled.

Aaron crossed his arms, letting his huge biceps bulge, and gave Mihai a cocky laugh. “Neither are you.” He picked up his dog tags from his neck and held them forward, the metal glinting in the moonlight. “Our master is the king of vampires.”

“Our alpha is Mihai,” Nathalie snapped, but that only made Aaron chuckle.

“Some alpha, then,” Aaron sneered. “Leads us like dogs under our master’s orders. Unable to do anything. As impotent as if he were neutered, like the mutt he actually is.”

“You watch yourself.” Nathalie stepped in between Mihai and the beta wolf as the three of them bristled, ready to attack. “Mihai is your alpha, and our leader. And I won’t tolerate any insubordination.”

Aaron’s lip curled. He cocked his head as he looked at Mihai, daring the alpha to attack. And as alpha, Mihai had every right to do so, but he clenched his fists and waited for the moment to pass.

“Are you going to let this bitch do all the talking for you?” Aaron dared.

Nathalie snarled at the slur against her.

It was hard not to tear into the beta wolf. Aaron had been a thorn in Mihai’s side for years now, ever since they were pups. They’d always been in competition with one another, always at odds. He knew that Aaron never appreciated his position within the pack. Mihai had to be ready at any point for Aaron to challenge him for the title of pack alpha.

“She seems to be doing fine by herself,” Mihai rumbled, crossing his arms. “You seem to be the one who’s having trouble controlling himself.”

Aaron raised an eyebrow before giving a slight shake of his head. “Yes, alpha,” he said as he started strolling ahead. Nathalie let out a low growl as he passed, but Mihai held out his hand, telling her to stand down. Aaron paid her no mind, and as he passed Mihai, he turned his head and breathed, “Keep telling yourself you’re in control.”

Mihai stiffened, reining in his fury, but the beta wolf kept walking into the night, possibly to terrorize some poor human in this village. Nathalie glared beyond Mihai for a long time, watching the beta wolf go, before she cut her gaze back to Mihai.

“You should let me kill him,” she muttered to her brother.

Mihai shook his head. “Aaron has the loyalty of much of the pack. We can’t afford to lose them.”

As much as it pained him to say it, it was true. It came down to the fact that Mihai hadn’t been able to free the pack from Phaeron’s rule, while Aaron had promised more, so much much for the wolves. It didn’t matter that Mihai could see no way of that working. What did matter, though, was that many of the wolves were willing to try anything to gain freedom.

Even unseating Mihai as pack alpha.

“Well, he at least deserves me shitting in his bed,” Nathalie said, and Mihai laughed, combing a hand through his short dirty blond hair.

“I think I need a drink. Did you spot any pubs in town?”

Nathalie paused before letting out a dark chuckle. “Would you be going as a werewolf or as a man?”

Mihai tucked his dog tags into the collar of his tunic, hiding them away from sight. There may be the odd warlock or magic user that would be able to distinguish him as a werewolf, but for the most part, he liked the anonymity of being a human.

Nathalie caught onto that and gave a nod. “Human it is, then.” She pointed down the hill. “Just off the main street, there’s a pub that I think is still open.”

“What’s it called?”

She grinned mischievously. “The Moon’s Bane.”

Mihai looked back down the road and shook his head in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I think it’s because they serve moonshine,” Nathalie said. “Lots of it. Certainly smelled like someone spilled gallons of it when I passed by earlier.”

That could or could not be true. A werewolf’s sense of smell was strong, especially so when they were in their animal form, which Nathalie would have been when she was patrolling the streets.

Mihai gave a long sigh. “Moonshine it is, then.”

***

THE MOONSHINE WAS TERRIBLE. Unfortunately, that was all they served at The Moon’s Bane, which Mihai was beginning to think wasn’t an ironic name for the establishment. This stuff would be the bane of anyone or anything’s existence.

Including the moon.

At least it took the edge off his headache. He grimaced, swallowing the harsh liquid as it burned all the way down his throat and into his stomach. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he clunked the stein on the counter.

The bartender looked up from the other side of the counter. “More moonshine?”

Mihai’s stomach twisted uncomfortably. “I’m good for now, thanks,” he said, tossing a few coppers onto the counter. He had to meet Nathalie anyway. He’d been in this dark, damp, piss-smelling pub for at least an hour.

He had to find her and get out.

The floor tilted as he stood up. He paused, using the stool to balance himself and orient his brain to the alcohol-infused world. He drank too much, he realized.

How many pints of moonshine had it been? Two? Three? It shouldn’t have impacted Mihai like this. Not to where he was stumbling toward the door.

“Trouble finding your way out, sir?” a voice called out to him as he neared the door.

Mihai halted and swiveled his head around to look at the man who spoke. No, not a man—an elf, judging by the pointed ears. A good-looking Drelos, who was looking at him very keenly.

“I’m not interested in meaningless sex,” Mihai slurred and immediately felt ashamed that his mind went there first.

The elf chuckled lightly. “I’m not interested in sex with you,” he said. “You’re not my type, werewolf.”

Mihai straightened, a little insulted by the you’re-not-my-type comment. Suddenly, he realized that the elf had called him a werewolf.

“How did you know?” he asked. It wasn’t like the elf would be able to sniff his scent or be able to recognize him as anything other than human.

The elf gestured to a spot just below his collarbone, and Mihai realized with a sinking feeling that his dog tags had slipped out of the collar of his shirt, possibly when he first stepped off that stool.

And everyone knew what those dog tags signified.

Shame burned his cheeks as he stepped forward. No use denying what he was, even as there was amusement in the elf’s eyes. Amusement and sympathy.

“I know what it’s like to be ordered around by someone horrible,” the elf said softly.

Mihai shook his head. “You have no idea what it’s like.”

The elf smiled serenely. “Come, sit down. I have a story to tell you.” He patted the space next to him, and for a moment, Mihai reconsidered the elf’s initial refusal for a one-night stand. Yet there was something sincere in the elf’s eyes, and Mihai slid into the spot.

“Need a drink?” the elf said.

“Water,” Mihai said too quickly. He shuddered at the thought of more moonshine.

The elf chuckled as he signaled for two glasses of water. The two of them waited for the bartender to serve them before the elf spoke again. The entire time, Mihai watched the stranger, wondering what he was getting at and what he meant by everything.

The elf cupped his hands around his glass of water, his expression pensive, reflective. “My name is Pyt,” he said, his voice so soft, Mihai leaned closer to hear better. “I used to be in the service of an evil warlock.”

Mihai stilled thinking about the one warlock who instilled fear in his followers and ruled with an iron fist. “You worked for Cormac?”

Pyt chuckled darkly. “Yes. And I was one of the ones who helped to overthrow him. He’s in the dungeons of his own castle now, waiting for death to claim him.”

Mihai blinked. If this Drelos worked for Cormac, then he knew a little of what it was like to be in his shoes. Maybe not in the same sense that even his thoughts were controlled by a vampire king or that if his status as a double alpha were ever found out, he would never have a night alone to himself again.

But maybe there was some camaraderie in their misery.

“How?” Mihai managed.

Pyt’s mouth curved into a half-smile. “You don’t lose hope. Ever.”

The ridiculousness of the statement made Mihai bark laughter. If the Drelos still had hope after everything that happened, then he hadn’t been through enough shit in his life. Mihai had seen and done the worst in his time under the orders of Phaeron. The dog tags were like a noose around his neck, slowly squeezing every ounce of him until there was nothing left.

“I see you’ve lost hope already,” Pyt murmured, nodding to Mihai’s neck. At some point during his thoughts, Mihai had begun playing with the tags around his throat, like he always did when he was deep in thought. Hopeless. Lost.

“It’s hard to imagine hope when everything has been taken away from my people,” Mihai said. “And I can’t do anything about it.”

Pyt nodded. “You sound a lot like me four years ago.” He leaned forward. “Here’s the thing, you can be free, alpha.”

Mihai narrowed his eyes. “How?” He stopped and shook his head. “Wait, I don’t want to know. Not with...” His voice trailed off as he tapped his temple. “You never know who may be listening in.”

Pyt watched him for a moment before sitting back and crossing his arms. “Don’t be afraid to hope.”

“I don’t want to be foolish either.”

Pyt nodded appreciatively. “Fair point. But what if I told you there was a way out? A way to get rid of those?” He gestured to the dog tags, and Mihai’s fingers let go of the tags on instinct.

“How?” Mihai whispered. “How?”

Pyt considered his question for a moment, before grabbing one of the cloth napkins. Before Mihai could ask what he was doing, the Drelos pulled out a quill pen and, without ink, proceeded to write on the napkin like he was writing some important document.

“You don’t have ink,” Mihai lamely pointed out, although it seemed like Pyt knew exactly what he was doing and hadn’t lost his mind yet.

“I’m writing down the location of a place where you can run free,” Pyt said before he folded up the napkin and pushed it toward Mihai. Curious, the werewolf lifted the edge of the napkin and saw that, indeed, the white cloth was blank.

“When you’re ready,” Pyt said, “you’ll see where you can be freed. Along with other packs of free wolves.”

Free wolves? Mihai’s heart shuddered to a halt. “Are you...?”

Pyt noded. “I’m telling the truth. And that,” he tapped the folded napkin, “will tell you where you can be safe. When you’re ready.”

“What about...?”

Pyt shook his head, and Mihai clipped his words. “If you hurried, you could make it there before a certain...king would find out.”

Mihai tucked it into his pocket. “Thank you,” he said, and meant it.

Commotion outside drew Mihai’s attention to the door. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have paid much mind, but the wolfish instinct inside of him bristled at the noise. Something must have happened. He got to his feet and looked out the ancient, thick glass window.

“Shit,” he muttered, seeing Nathalie standing in a fighting position, her fists raised in front of her. And opposite to her was...

“Shit!” Mihai cried again, louder this time. Aaron stood across from her, a feral grin on his face.

His second-in-command and a beta wolf were fighting for dominance, meaning that the winner would be crowned Mihai’s second. Mihai knew this day would come eventually, as Aaron had been working his way up the ranks to eventually take on Mihai’s position in the pack. For his part, Mihai had been trying to keep his sister fighting ready. Nathalie was a fierce fighter, but there was something dangerous in Aaron’s eyes that promised a no-holds-barred brawl.

Possibly to the death.

“I have to go...” Mihai exclaimed, twisting his head around to look back at the Drelos. But like everyone who had made promises in Mihai’s life, the elf had disappeared, taking whatever information he had with him.

Mihai cursed under his breath, not sparing a moment to look around the pub for the elf. Instead, he tossed a few coppers onto the table in lieu of a real order and ran out to the street.

Where his entire pack structure could very well be falling apart.