"You're not leaving?" Regina asked incredulously, following Zelena into their tent.

"No." Zelena said simply.

"Why not?"

"Where would I go?!" Zelena snapped, spinning around. "My mother is dead, my father is probably dead, I am the most hated person in my world. I have nothing." Her sister sighed. "And no one. At least with Ruby, I might be able to form some kind of life worth living."

"You can't be serious. Ruby is called the Dread Wolf for a reason-"

"And you're the Evil Queen. I'm the Wicked Witch." Zelena shrugged. "You're practically in the same position I'm in. Why are you trying so hard to get back to the kingdom that would hang you as soon as look at you?"

"Because, Ruby is obviously planning something huge. Something terrible. The amount of power she's gathering can't be for anything good."

Zelena shrugged. "It's better than any future I would have alone."

"Maybe you don't have to be alone anymore." Regina said. "We know about each other now-"

"No offense, Regina, but I don't need a sister. I want a life. One worth living." Zelena turned back to packing what meager belongings she had. Once she was finished, she stormed back out and left Regina alone. She sat down on her cot and silently pondered what to do. Honestly, Ruby and Zelena was right. She didn't have anything back home. Her father was dead, Daniel was dead, she hated her stepdaughter and stepson, her soldiers were massacred and even her horse was dead. There was nothing there for her. Among the werewolves she might be able to find a new life, new friends, be a family for once. But she didn't trust Ruby. Not until she found out what the Dread Wolf was up to. Perhaps she could play along...for now. She didn't have much to pack, just the undergarments and a couple dresses that had been given to her by Ruby. She headed outside once she was done and found most of the camp already gone. She walked over to Zelena and Ruby.

"I don't know exactly how much help I would be, but I'd like to join you." Zelena said.

Ruby's eyes went wide, her eyebrows almost touching her hairline. "Zelena, do you know who you fucking are?" She scoffed. "Your father really did a number on you, because if he hadn't you would know how awesome you are, how much of an asset you would be to my army."

"I'm not…" Zelena shook her head.

"You're incredible." Ruby said. "You overthrew an entire fucking government when you were just 18 and ruled that government for years. I've seen all your designs and formulas, you're a magical genius, Zelena. Don't you see that?" Zelena was turning red, but she shook her head again. Ruby raised her hand before she could speak. "I saw your plans for a school. A university, right? For magic. What if I can help you make that happen? Together, we can build that university so no one has to grow up in fear of something that makes them unique and wonderful. Magic is dangerous, but it's beautiful, just like you are. You can start right here. You can train some werewolves to be spellcasters, and not just offensive spells, but healing magic as well."

"You mean that?" Zelena asked.

"Absolutely. You have so many skills. You could help with defense, barriers, wards- your adoptive mother taught you how to farm, how to sew, carpentry, right? See, I stopped by your old house, had a look around. The woman who raised you, though it wasn't for long is amazing. I looked for your father." She said. "But it was less about you and more about me wanting to murder him for hurting you."

"I killed him a long time ago." Zelena replied.

"Good." Ruby smirked. "Very good. That bastard deserved it. So...what do you say?"

Zelena slowly nodded. "Okay, but I'm guessing there's a catch?"

"Small one. You would need to become a werewolf."

Zelena seemed to think over the condition for a moment before nodding again. "So be it."

Ruby burst into a wide grin. "Great! Welcome to the Great Wolf Army! Fee!" The little fox quickly made her way over. "Escort Zelena to the main group, will you?" Fee dipped her head and motioned for Zelena to follow. The witch glanced back at Regina before following. Ruby then turned to Regina. "Let's get you back to Snow." A pair of horses were brought to them and they mounted up.

"If I were to join you, I would need to become a werewolf too?" Regina asked as they rode off to the rendezvous point.

"Yes." Ruby answered. "I think it would make life a bit easier being among werewolves and all. Plus, there are lots of my people that hate your people." Regina said nothing in reply. "You know, Regina, you wouldn't be forced to stay with us. I don't force anyone to remain with the army, but if you do decide to join, all I ask for is loyalty and trust."

"I don't trust you. I don't see the method to your madness."

"Join me and I'll tell you."

"You've been saying you would explain everything for a while now."

"Well, thank your stepdaughter for interrupting me." Ruby smirked. "On my honor, Regina. You are too brilliant and too powerful to let go. If you leave, Snow and David will either imprison you, banish you, or force you to change to be "accepted". All of which sounds like hell to me. With us, you won't need to change a single thing about you. You're already resilient, probably the most resilient woman I have ever met, you're incredibly smart, you know a lot about magic, diplomacy, the landscape, the different kingdoms of this world. Knowledge is power and you are sitting on a bounty of it. Hell, I might want to train some cavalry in the future and who better to teach them than you? Why is becoming a werewolf such a terrible condition? You'll be surrounded by people who know how to teach you to control it and benefit from it."

Regina swallowed. It was a tempting offer. "How did you suppress my magic? Answer me that and I'll join your army."

Ruby grinned as they came to a stop. Just ahead was a great field currently inhabited by a portion of Snow's army. She and David were in the direct center, waiting for them. "I poured the suppressant in your bath water every morning and every evening before you went in. You absorbed it through the skin."

"Impressive." She admitted.

"Thank you. Welcome to my great army." The werewolf spurred her horse down into the field and Regina followed. "Hello, little princess." She greeted with a smug smirk.

Snow glared at her. "Regina, let's go. Ruby, you should pay for murdering my people."

"Surrender." David added. "And we won't kill you."

"Nah."

"You're outnumbered." Snow reminded her, looking at Ruby. "I know you're still in there. I know this isn't you. We can help you, but you have to stop this. All this death is needless. We will take you in by force if necessary." She looked at Regina. "Please."

"I can't." Regina said. "I'd rather be here."

Ruby scoffed as she trotted around the heroes. "You're going to take me in? You and what army?" Ruby raised her fist. In the near silence, the song of 20,000 bowstrings was loud, like a lion's roar. A rain of arrows soared overhead, decimating Snow's army. More than half fell from that one strike alone. "Regina's not going anywhere. You should be lucky that I don't care about you, or I would kill you too. Learn from this. You can't win."

"Regina, are you serious?" David demanded as Snow turned around and rushed back to her citizens.

"Quite." She answered simply. "Return to your castle if you want to protect your people. It's the only way."

Ruby rode up next to David and boldly looked him in the eye. "Hidden in the forest behind me is 20,000 archers from my army. That is just a taste of what we can do. You still want to fight us? So be it. All of your people will die." David opened his mouth and Ruby snarled, cutting him off. "Careful with your words, Farmer. Or I will turn my entire army around, just to destroy your kingdom."

"You're a monster." He hissed. "Those were good people, with families."

"We're good people with families. That didn't matter when your people murdered us, hunted us, skinned us, wore our fur like trophies, bragged about killing our children, chasing us from our homes, just because we're not like you. You have no idea what it's like to be treated like an animal. You're a farmer, who grew up toiling in the dirt and only became a prince because you have your brother's face. You know nothing, and you are...nothing." Ruby turned around and Regina felt it. That weird feeling she always felt when something was hurtling at her. Her hand snapped out, catching the arrow and stopping it an inch from hitting Ruby in the back. More followed, hitting her horse and throwing her to the ground. She dove behind it as Ruby dropped down next to her, covering her head. David retreated. Ruby's wolves saw that they were pinned down and returned fire. An arrow storm soared overhead preventing them from moving.

"Wait, Ruby, I can just teleport us." Regina said when she noticed Ruby peeking over the horse body.

Ruby suddenly started laughing. "You can't kill the Dread Wolf." She stood up and Regina was prepared to throw up some kind of shield to protect her newfound leader, but Ruby was completely unafraid. In fact, no arrow touched her. "Is that the best you can do?!" In that instant, Ruby was no more. In her place stood the Dread Wolf, the wolf queen, the warlord, the barbarian, the woman who commanded legions of werewolves and wolves. To think a silly arrow could harm her. Ruby walked forward and Regina peered over the horse in awe as the werewolf boldly made her way to the peasants who by now were starting to quake in their boots. The closer she got, the more that fled, leaving behind the bodies of the fallen. David made a final attempt to stop her, or at least distract her as his army retreated. He spurred his horse towards her, drawing his sword. Ruby crouched down, her clothes starting to rip. Her shift was faster than Regina thought it would be. She blinked and in Ruby's place was a wolf. A powerful, massive animal, far larger than David and his horse. Battle scarred and primed, she was...exquisite...and terrifying. The Dread Wolf charged and slammed straight into David's horse, knocking it over and sending him flying. He managed to get quickly to his feet and swung his sword as she advanced upon him, but to everyone's surprise, Ruby grabbed the sword in her jaws and with one powerful bite...shattered it. The Dread Wolf roared and backhanded the man like he was nothing, defeating the supposedly great king in a single stroke.

"Red!" Snow roared. Regina almost laughed at the angry little princess. Ruby seemed to be snickering in her wolf form. However, the she-wolf didn't bother with Snow. She took the reins of David's golden stallion and pulled it over to Regina, dropping the leather into Regina's lap. Regina nodded and mounted up, riding off with the Dread Wolf at her side. By the time they returned, the werewolf camp was entirely gone, as if they were never there in the first place.

"You use magic to hide where you've been?" Regina asked. Ruby nodded and motioned for her to follow. Regina rode after her. They covered quite a bit of ground before they found Raksha waiting for them in the form of a large golden brown wolf. Once the archers had caught up to them, she took the lead to take them back to the rest of the wolf horde. Regina found it quite amazing at how disciplined and efficient Ruby's army was. She'd managed to move her entire encampment in the span of little over 2 hours, For a human army it would've been impossible. Then it occurred to her that maybe Ruby already had a second encampment and that one was just for the new arrivals. Her more seasoned warriors could be hidden away. She was thoroughly impressed with the she-wolf so far, but she continued to be wary until she knew exactly what Ruby was planning.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Regina was a bit surprised when she opened her eyes and found herself laying on a giant four poster bed. She didn't even remember going to sleep. She wiped at her eyes and looked around at the magnificent room. A roaring fireplace nearby attracted her attention and she sat up, taking in her surroundings more clearly. The room was heavily furnished with oak furniture and silk tapestries on the walls bearing the emblem of King Stefan. She moved to get up, finding that the floor was wonderfully carpeted. In the adjoining room she found a lovely bath made of white stone and already filled with steaming water. On the edge sat various soaps, moisturizers, lotions and other sweet smelling products. She took a nice hot bath and returned to her room to look in the wardrobes for clothes. One wardrobe she recognized as her own and it was full of her extravagant dresses and shoes. The other was newer, or at least new to her, and was filled with clothes of a more simpler make, mostly leathers and furs. She put on some undergarments and chose black leather pants and a brown leather jacket with two long tails for her outfit for the door. She neglected jewelry and only added in a little makeup. When she finished, there was a knock at the door.

"You're up." Ruby peeked in with a smile, now dressed in a long blood red dress with a piece of fur draped over her left shoulder. "Don't you look delicious."

Regina scoffed. "What happened? Did I fall asleep riding?"

"Yes, and almost fell off your horse." The werewolf smirked. "But don't worry, I caught you."

"This is King Stefan's palace?" She asked, gesturing to the tapestries.

"Yes. We took over a year ago, still settling in. Earned us some pretty big points with the lady in scales next door when we delivered a gift wrapped Stefan to her on a plate."

"And Aurora and Philip?"

"They ran off." Ruby shrugged. "This is home base for now. Would you like to see my world, Regina? Or should I say, our world."

Regina nodded and allowed herself to be lead out of the room. Winter was coming but it hadn't quite set in yet so the air was nice. The werewolves had certainly made themselves at home in the palace and refortified it. Ruby lead her through the halls of the palace and then down into the streets where she met more of her people. All of them were indeed just people: mothers tending to their little pups, farmers tending the vegetable and herb gardens, armored warriors and wolves on the patrol, hunters bringing in heaps of meat and fish, old women sitting on the porches sewing clothes and armor, blacksmiths hammering away in their forges. It all seemed perfect...except for it being a bit overcrowded. "There's no castle that can comfortably house all these people." She said as they walked back into the palace and into the kitchens.

"I'm aware." Ruby sighed. She pulled out a chair for Regina before taking one across from her. A server wandered over to bring them mugs of ale and went off to get them some food. "That's why I've been thinking. I found a way to create a world. An entire world for my people. This one is too small. No matter what castle we take, it would be too small for us to live in comfortably and the winters could kill so many of us if we aren't properly prepared. Building the necessary structures would take time and supplies that we don't have, or supplies that it would take longer to obtain"

"A spell? Is it a curse?" Regina frowned.

Ruby shook her head. "It's what we need. With it, I can handcraft an entire world, just for us. But I need power and that's why I kidnapped you and your sister. Stealing your power would've killed you, but it would've worked."

"We wouldn't have been enough." Regina said, scowling.

"True. That's why I was also considering finding a new world to put us in. It would take time, but I could drain this world of its magical properties and power and simply create a city or something and essentially drop us in another world."

"Draining this world would kill countless people."

Ruby waved her hand dismissively. "They are not my concern. The near 100,000 werewolves out there are. The ones who are trusting me right now to take care of them. Our numbers are growing every day, from other werewolves coming in from all over the world or the pups being born. You know, wolves can have litters up to 6 pups a year. We've been here a year and you don't want to know how many litters that can be."

"So you're going to kill everyone so your people can live in a perfect world?"

"Yeah." Ruby grinned. "Perfect plan, right? Besides, why should that bother you? Since when does the Evil Queen have a conscience? You killed because of your vendetta against Snow White, how is that any better than my plan?"

"Because you're talking about murdering children as well. I've never killed children."

"But an entire village is acceptable?" Ruby frowned. "Regina, the world has done you no favors. The road to redemption is a thousand times harder than what it took to become the Evil Queen. They don't deserve pity or mercy. No one gave you any, or me, or my people. From this moment on, you will always be the Evil Queen, the mass murderer, the life ruiner. You will never wash that blood off your hands. Now, me, I don't care about all that. You work for me now. My people are your people. A wolf pack only works if every wolf is working towards the same goal. You are an extension of your alpha...me."

Regina sighed and thought about it. Ruby was right...again. There was simply no going back now and really no reason to. "Okay, you've convinced me."

"If you want to find a better way to cast this spell, then fine. Have at it, I don't care." The Dread Wolf shrugged. "But I don't need you to go soft on me now. You were ready to cut my throat a week ago and try to escape. I need you to keep that attitude." She smirked as the server returned with plates of roasted meat and vegetables. She brought a pan of bread and topped off their ale. "Tonight is your ceremony. For becoming one of us."

"Can't wait." Regina replied, digging into her food. After they finished eating, Ruby took her down to the stables where she was presented with a brand new black ,are, perhaps the finest horse she had ever laid eyes upon.

"She's yours." Ruby smiled. "I know how much you like horses."

"Are you serious?" Regina gasped.

"Mmhmm." Ruby chuckled as she quickly went to mount up. The horse was already saddled with their finest tack. "It's sort of a...welcome home gift."

Regina smirked as she spurred the horse off into the meadow and Ruby watched with a smile as she rode around the paddock. She glanced away when Raksha came to her side.

"Reinforcing with gifts, I see."

"I can't have her having second thoughts." Ruby replied. "Besides, we're continuing with the real plans. Is Cora dead?"

"Yes, we drained her last night."

"Good riddance. Can you believe she could lay a hand on someone like that?" She gestured to Regina. "Fucking bitch, I want to eat her heart out. That one's going to make a fine werewolf." Raksha looked at her, causing her to look up. "What?"

"You like her."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "She's something special, but she's not you."

"Don't try and butter me up. You haven't put nearly as much effort into recruiting anyone else as you have these two. Now, you were all set to drain them as well. What happened?"

Ruby smirked. "I got a better idea."

/

While Regina was a bit conflicted over her decision, there was absolutely no hesitation about the decision in Zelena's mind. She had already gained a small following among Ruby's warriors and almost a dozen had already volunteered to learn magic. The pair found Zelena in the massive stone cellar that Ruby had given her as a temporary work space. The witch went with it and made herself right at home. With Fee as her newfound assistant, she conjured various desks and magic-making equipment she needed, as well as recruit some people to start learning magic.

"Already hard at work, I see." Ruby commented as she and Regina walked in.

Fee looked up with a grin. "Yes, my queen." She ran over to Ruby and held up a large book full of drawn designs, diagrams and formulas. "Zelena already has plans for communication devices, wards we can wear into battle, necklaces that morph into armor and-"

"And…" Zelena said, walking towards them and taking her book from an excited little fox. "Ways to double your food production. For starters."

"Sorry." Fee said solemnly.

Zelena smiled at her. "It's fine." She looked at Ruby. "I've been working on these since I was a kid, but they're just prototypes and they might not be very good…"

Ruby sighed and placed both hands on the redhead's shoulders. "We are going to work on this confidence thing with you. Your designs sound amazing. I can get you anything you need, including some guys to help you test these prototypes. We might need them. Especially those communication devices."

Zelena beamed and nodded. "Give me a few days and I should have some ready to test."

Ruby grinned. "Excellent." They all turned at the sound of claws clicking on the stone and a large wolf came into the room. Ruby sighed and went to see what was going on. Fee continued fixing Zelena's desk for her while she talked to Regina.

"Settling in nicely?" The redhead asked.

"I suppose so. I can definitely see that you are."

Zelena smiled and nodded. "Ruby said I can start small and start to expand in a couple months. She's put me in charge of all of the magic in the army. Are you ready for tonight?"

"Are you?"

"Absolutely. I can't wait. It's a chance for something more in life."

Regina arched an eyebrow. "She tell you her plans about destroying this world to create a new one."

"Yep." Zelena shrugged nonchalantly. "This was never my world. I don't really care what happens to it."

Regina frowned a little but decided not to press further. She spent the rest of the evening with her sister and that evening...everything changed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They were instructed to wear nothing but a dress, one they didn't mind messing up. Regina was nervous. Everyone turned to look at her and her sister as Fee lead them through the halls of the palace to the the throne room. It was an architectural marvel, made of golden bricks with six great pillars lining the thick white rug that lead the way up to the fur covered throne upon which the Dread Wolf sat, a dark and foreboding sight that made Regina's blood run cold. The only others present were Fee, Raksha and Ruby's 12 other generals, consisting of the oldest, strongest and most trusted of her army. There were other werewolves, silently waiting and watching on the edge of the room. Ruby had changed out of her dress and furs and was wrapped in a piece of fur that fastened at her shoulder. Regina and Zelena walked to the edge of the throne room and dropped to one knee, bowing to their new queen.

"Rise, ladies." Ruby chuckled. "No need for such formalities." She stood up off of her throne and descended the steps to help them up. "Are you two ready?"

"Yes." They said in unison.

Ruby smiled brightly, flashing a stunning array of teeth and turned to her generals. "Look at them, ladies and gentlemen. Once our prisoners...slash guests, and now they want to be one of us. Now, I don't have to explain to you all, the asset they will be to us, and the asset we will be to them. Denied every instance of happiness and justice by the world, they're ready to join ours, because fate fucked them both. Just like it did us."

"Do you renounce your former loyalties?" Raksha asked.

"Don't have any former loyalties." Zelena replied.

"All my former loyalties are dead." Regina added.

"See?" Ruby smiled. "Aren't they wonderful?" She turned back to them. "I just want you to know that remaining with us is not permanent. You are allowed to leave any time you may wish. However, once you accept this, you will be apart of the pack. Every wolf out there is your brother and your sister. From this moment on, the pack is your family. Understand?" They simply nodded. Ruby walked around them and Regina heard her shift, but Raksha stepping forward kept her attention.

"Repeat after me please." She said. "Now this is the law of the forest, as old and as true as the sky, and the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back; for the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack." Regina and Zelena repeated the creed and Raksha nodded slowly. "We are more than just an army of werewolves, darlings, more than a people. We are a family. We are a pack. Loyalty to your pack is everything, loyalty to our alpha, our queen, is everything." She touched their shoulders and turned them around. Ruby was waiting in wolf form. Raksha pulled out their arms, holding them out. Ruby waited, as if for final confirmation. Zelena nodded and the she-wolf leaned forward, taking the witch's forearm gently between her teeth and slowly bit into it. She slowly removed her teeth from the wound and did the same to Regina.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then her arm started to burn. She grabbed at the wound, attempting to heal it. The most terrible pain she had ever experienced started to spread up her arm. "Ruby, what's...what's happening?!"

"It's okay." Fee said. Zelena suddenly collapsed to the ground with a sharp thud.

Regina fell everything go black and she hit the ground as well. She couldn't see, but she could feel. The burning was all over her body now. She grit her teeth against it. She felt like fighting the entire world. The pups in the army became her pups, the warriors became her brothers and sisters, the mothers became her mothers, and Ruby became her leader. She wanted to destroy anything that would dare lay a hand on them. Is that what Ruby felt like? Something was trying to burst out of her, something wanted to be free.

"Welcome to the Great Wolf Army, Regina." Ruby whispered. When Regina opened her eyes….she could feel them glowing.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Read and Review!