In Ruby's absence Regina and Zelena were allowed to leave their tents. However, their little fox caretaker was always with them. Among the many wolf warriors at the camp, they found blacksmiths and archers and tailors and children. It was like one massive wolf den. As intriguing as this little society was, thoughts of escape were heavily on her mind. She still had no idea how the wolves were neutralizing her magic and her attempts to get information from the little fox were ineffective. She kept her eyes open for Ruby's betas, her second in commands, in hopes of using them for an escape, but she couldn't figure out who was who and she still had no plan. She and Zelena usually refrained from speaking until they were alone in their tent and able to write down their conversations rather than say them out loud. She learned more about her sister every night, learned more about her tragic past. The poor thing never stood a chance. Abandoned by Cora, being adopted by a kind woman who died soon after and a man who beat her day and night and had her brainwashed into thinking she was wicked because of her magic. Once she found out who she was, she was rejected by Rumpelstiltskin and then ignored by the group of witches who promised her the world in favor of some random little girl. Regina's story was just as dark and complex as hers, but Zelena hardly seemed to care about anything other than trying to figure out how the wolves were suppressing their magic.

3 days after Ruby's departure, Fee, their fox companion, woke them up bright and early, bid them to bathe and returned as they finished to take them for a little ride. Their wrists were shackled and they climbed into a beautiful black carriage and was spirited away.

"Where are we going?" Zelena demanded, looking at Fee.

"The Dread Wolf wants you to meet her at a special place." Fee answered.

"Did she capture our mother?" Regina inquired.

"Yes, she is probably being moved to your tent as we speak."

Regina sighed and turned her head to the window, watching the forest pass by, trying to discern if she recognized any landmarks.

"What's a fox doing among werewolves?" She heard her sister ask. She turned her head when it took Fee too long to reply. The girl had turned herself back into a fox and curled herself into a little ball, trembling. "It's okay." Zelena said softly. "I'm sorry, I don't possess a lot of tact." Fee remained where she was. It took her awhile to change back into a human, but when she did she still refused to answer Zelena's question.

An hour later they arrived at their destination. It was a cave. A simple cave. Ruby was standing outside it in a blood red skirt that had slits on both side up to her thighs and a matching sleeveless top that left part of her toned midriff bare. She removed their shackles and commanded Fee to stay with the carriage.

"Why are we here?" Regina demanded, looking around at the thick forest around them. "In the middle of nowhere."

"It's not nowhere." Ruby answered. She motioned for them to follow and the sisters exchanged glances before making their way into the cave after the werewolf commander. Regina looked around, seeing that the walls had been decorated and painted. The upper walls were painted with what might've been brushes and a skilled hand. The lower half had crude drawings and markings, as though made by a child. She narrowed her eyes a little seeing claw marks scar the stone and blood streak through some of the designs on the wall. There were some braziers lit in the main chamber, really the only chamber since the place was so small but the remnants of people still remained: cooking utensils, pots, broken cots, shattered tables, shredded photos and a small fire pit. Someone used to live here. This used to be a home.

"What happened here?" Zelena asked.

"A massacre." Ruby replied, looking around. "Did Snow tell you what happened in my village?"

"Bits and pieces." Regina answered. "My soldiers found her, attacked her and whoever she was with. You lost your mother-"

"No, I lost my mother because she tracked me." Ruby interrupted. "Because she lead them straight to our den. I killed my mother, protecting her, because I thought it was right, but I wish I hadn't. I wish I could take it back." She sighed. "I didn't know what I was. Granny made me wear that...that stupid cloak every second of every day because she knew. Snow had me convinced that it was Peter, my love, that he was the wolf that was terrorizing the village. So we...chained him to a tree." She chuckled sadly and sat down in one of the few chairs still standing. Regina watched the many emotions swirl through the werewolf's eyes and she recognized a lot of them. Had felt a lot of them. "I killed him." Ruby said softly. "And the town turned on me like I was an animal. Like I had not lived there my entire life. Like I had not helped in his fields, or helped the healer gather herbs or Lady Taylor with her cattle. They attacked and I...barely escaped with my life. Granny didn't." She looked around again. "There was nothing left of my mother's pack hardly. Just a couple young wolves who didn't know what to do. I couldn't go back there. Beaten, broken and bruised, I found myself here. A family lived here. Of werewolves. A father, a mother, and their two sons. They healed me and helped me, kindest people you could ever meet."

"They died?" Zelena asked softly.

Ruby shook her head and stood up. "No, they were murdered." She left the cave, motioning for them to follow and they did, walking along a small path that was now overgrown with vegetation. A small clearing came into view, showered in sunlight. Four graves were also visible, the small towers of stones that marked them were the only ones of their kind amidst a sea of wildflowers. "There was a village here." Ruby said, pausing to look around. "A big one, a nice one. At least I thought it was at first. I was off one day, hunting, trying to get back into shape, speed up the recovery process. When I returned, the werewolf family was dead. Beheaded and skinned. The men of this village were celebrating. Celebrating that they had murdered an innocent family, who couldn't even live in the village, who hunted miles away so as not to disturb the people, who were in full control of their wolves, who had children." Ruby met Regina's eyes, confusion evident in her brown orbs, as if she could not understand how a person could do such a thing. "I walked into this village and killed every man wearing a wolf skin. Every person that raised a hand against me, I killed. I burned their village to the ground, killed their cattle, destroyed their crops. I forced them, all of them, men, women, children...to dig these graves. I forced them to build these headstones. My friends, I brought their bodies, their heads, their skins, and buried each of them the way they deserved. Those who remained of the village, I sent away. Luckily, Ana, the werewolf mother, was also a witch. I found one of her potions and used it to create this eden. It changed the landscape and protects this place from the people who onced lived here and any more who want to." Ruby sighed and looked down at the graves. "This is where it began for me. This is what really taught me the cruelty of man. I know that there are good humans in the world and good werewolves. I know there are beasts on both sides, but I realized that it is not really us that treats us this way. It's just humans. For so long, I wondered why. Most werewolves don't bother trying to live in a village and when they're living together, they fought and squabbled over the littlest things, because they have never had lots of things." She turned around. "Does that make sense?" Regina nodded. "I wondered why we live in scattered packs when if we gathered together, we could really build a home for ourselves and we would not be alone. No wolf is meant to be alone. And together, no wolf cub would ever grow up like I did: afraid and confused and out of control. We would teach each other our strengths, protect our weaknesses, be a real family."

"That's why you gathered all of the werewolves in the Enchanted Forest?" Regina frowned. Ruby nodded. "Okay, I understand that, but I don't understand why you attacked our kingdoms, why you captured us."

"I attacked your kingdoms because I could." Ruby answered. "Because I wanted to show my people and the entire world that just because we are children of the moon, it does not make us animals. Every attack was precise, tactical and we never killed, only took what we needed and moved on. Except that person we ripped in half..."

"You do realize that that is only making people fear and distrust you even more."

Ruby chuckled as she stepped closer to Regina. "They will fear and distrust us either way."

Regina shook her head. "I don't understand. You don't want to conquer the world, but you don't believe that you can live here. What exactly are you trying to do, Ruby? Why are we here?"

"Power." Ruby answered. "I need your power. But I'll explain everything later when your mother is with us."

"So, what's next?" Zelena asked. "Now that you have all three of us."

"Next…" Ruby smirked. "I finish gathering my people and we prepare for the winter. You go back to your tents, have your heart to hearts with Mommy and then...I'll tell you whatever you want to know." She took the lead back to the carriage and stood at the door, offering her hand to help the sisters inside. Regina accepted it and took her seat, silently wondering just what Little Red had planned for them. She was a bit surprised when Ruby joined them in the carriage for the ride back.

"Regina."

"Yes?"

The wolf looked up at her. "Is the fort up in the mountains still there?"

"Why do you need a fort?" Regina asked.

Ruby ignored her question. "The largest one was Fort Chambers, yeah? In the eastern mountains."

"Yes." Regina shrugged. "That's where you're going to hold up for winter?"

"I have to check it out first, but maybe." She shrugged. "Possibilities are everywhere."

Regina scoffed and turned back to the window. She didn't understand this woman at all. Ruby had lost everything and turned from a homeless, lost little wolf into a werewolf warlord with an army that was pretty much unstoppable. She seemed to be torn between conquering and taking over this entire world and building a home for her people. She wondered which one she would choose.

When they arrived back at the camp, they were met with a celebration. Even Ruby looked confused. A baby wolf walked up to her and bounced around until she picked him up. "What the hell is going on?"

"Everyone's here now, Dread Wolf." The pup said happily.

"Even the ones from Oz? Already?"

"Yes ma'am."

Ruby smiled and placed the pup on the ground. "Then we do indeed need to celebrate."

Regina and Zelena were pushed back into their tents where they found that their latest acquisition was waiting. Cora Mills looked shocked when her daughters walked in together, but neither paid her any mind. Regina went right to the stack of paper on the desk and grabbed a pencil, taking it over to Zelena's cot. Tonight. We have to escape tonight.

Zelena shook her head and wrote something else. She always has people watching. Always. It's useless until we figure out why she needs us.

She doesn't seem to want to kill us.

Could be a ruse. Lure us into a false sense of security.

We have no magic. What would be the point?

Zelena shrugged. Maybe she wants us to identify with her? See werewolves for what they are, maybe even join her.

Why would we join her? Regina frowned at the idea.

Why wouldn't we? What do we have at home? You might have family, but I have nothing and no one. Never have. Zelena pushed away the pencil with a sigh and Regina tilted her head, watching her older sister curl up away from her. She went back to her cot and sat down.

"Regina, what's going on?" Cora demanded. "Where are we-"

"Go to hell." Regina growled, turning her back to her mother and laying down. Outside she could hear a lot of commotion and it wasn't until an hour had passed did she hear the sounds of music and merrymaking. That's when the curtains opened and Ruby stepped in.

"You guys want to come to the party?"

Zelena and Regina exchanged looks before agreeing. Fee stepped in with more dresses and escorted them to where they could wash up if they desired. Cora followed, trying to talk to her children, but Regina was beyond done with her mother. She wanted to strangle her for what she did to Daniel, but to prevent that and potentially angering Ruby, she simply ignored her mother and watched the festivities. It was a sight to see. Watching all of the children dance to the music and the adults eat and drink and laugh like everyone was a part of one big family. Regina could see why it appealed to her sister. But this was not just an ordinary family one could walk into. These people were werewolves, and she was sure a good portion of them hated humans. Ruby was looking for a powerful weapon, but what weapon could that be? And why would she need a weapon when she had an army?

"Regina." Cora grabbed her wrist and made her turn around. "Now is the perfect time to get away."

"She has guards." Regina wrenched her arm free. "And I would rather die than go anywhere with you."

Cora sighed. "You're still angry."

"You expect me to welcome you with open arms after everything you've done to me?!" Regina demanded, rounding on her mother in her rage. "You broke me. You destroyed me. I've lost everyone I cared about because of you. You need to get away from me and stay away."

"So you're going to sit here and do whatever she wants? We could be planning an escape."

"Go ahead." Regina scoffed. "Escape. Have fun. Leave me out of it." She stormed off, finding her sister in Ruby's tent, eating. Ruby was once again on her throne, watching the entertainment with quite an interest. It was a woman, singing for her. A beautiful woman with dark chocolate hair that fell to her thighs and piercing blue eyes. She was wearing a long red dress with too many slits and cut outs for it to appeal to Regina, but it clearly appealed to their werewolf commander. Regina took a seat next to Zelena, who was busy talking to the werewolf next to her. She nudged her sister and tipped her head to the singer. "Who's that?"

Zelena turned to look. "Raksha."

"She's Ruby's lover?"

"From what I've gathered, no. She's a general, a strategist. I think Ruby might have a crush though."

"Looks like it." The werewolf was almost in a trance, and Raksha seemed pleased of the effect she was having on her commander. At this moment Ruby seemed less like the Dread Wolf and more like Little Red. There was a commotion outside and a massive wolf walked in, dragging a dwarf in his jaws. He dropped him at Ruby's feet and the she-wolf scowled when Raksha stopped singing, turning to see what the hell was going on.

"What is this?" Ruby snarled. She looked down at the dwarf. "Who are you?" The terrified dwarf looked up into Ruby's eyes and her scowl got deeper. "If you piss your pants in my tent, I will part your cock from your body, understand?" The dwarf quickly nodded and slowly got to his feet. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I come on behalf of Queen Snow and King David-"

"Queen?" Ruby laughed. "King?" The other werewolves burst out laughing at hearing this. "Tell me," Ruby smiled. "What does the little bitch and her pet farmer want? For me to release her stepmother?"

"Y-yes." The dwarf said, shaking in his boots. "And for you to surrender." That only made the wolves howl with laughter.

"How many?" Ruby asked the wolf that had brought in their messenger.

"I could guess at least 14,000 troops, not a true warrior among them. Trees provided cover. Maybe more. They looked like the bitch's usual rabble: former farmers and fools who picked up weapons because she asked them to."

Ruby slowly nodded and looked down at the dwarf. "You want me to surrender. When you walked in here, how many werewolves did you see? Can you see take a guess?"

"Um...more than 14,000?"

Ruby smiled. "Exactly. Much more than that, and every single one is twice as fast as a single one of her soldiers, twice as strong, twice as durable, twice as good. You tell Snow that I will not risk the lives of my people to once again teach her her place. If Regina wishes to go…" She paused to look at the ebony haired queen. "She may go. We'll meet you at the river to the north. I want to have a few words with Snow." She nodded to the wolf and he picked the dwarf up as though he weighed nothing and dragged him out again. "Party's over. Spread the word that I want the camp packed up within the hour." Ruby commanded, the rest of her followers leaping into action.

"You're letting me go?" Regina asked. "You attacked my kingdom, slaughtered my soldiers, and now you're letting me go?"

Ruby paused and looked at her. "Did you know the names of those soldiers? Every single one?" Regina slowly shook her head. "That's because they meant nothing to you. But you meant everything to them. They stood by you in darkness and died to protect you and you cannot even tell me their names, who they were? If you desire to leave with your stepdaughter, you may. You should go pack your things."

"And me?" Cora demanded.

"You're not going anywhere, Heart-Ripper." Ruby smirked. "You are a prisoner, your daughters are simply my guests. Guards?" A pair of werewolves quickly stormed in and carried Cora away.

"And...me?" Zelena asked, standing up.

"The true is, my dears, I needed your magic. That's why I took you. Unfortunately, you would've died if I had continued with my original plans, but I've come to the conclusion that your mother may be all that I need. Of course she will die, but...who cares. Zelena, if you wish, you may leave as well." Ruby dipped her head and left, Raksha falling to her side. Once they were away from the humans, Raksha touched her commander's arm.

"You're not really letting them leave, are you?"

"Of course not." Ruby scoffed. "But if I am right, they won't want to leave. After all, they have nothing and no one. Zelena could truly help us. She won't buy into that faith and goodness crap. She's too powerful to simply let go. As is Regina, but I'm not sure about her. Prepare a force to march on Camelot and secure Merlin and Excalibur. Send 20,000 archers with me when we go to make the exchange and make sure they are not seen. I want them in range immediately. Chain up Cora, she didn't always rely on magic and she's a crafty bitch. Put a dozen wolves on guard duty."

"Will that be all, Dread Wolf?" Raksha asked, smirking.

"Get everyone else to our new den as quickly as possible."

"Yes ma'am."

Ruby watched her leave before noticing that Fee had come with her. "It's all coming together, Fee."

"Everything is possible with the Dread Wolf."

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