Disclaimer: I do not own the Fable universe. Characters you do not recognize were created by me for the purposes of this story. Story contains scenes of a very mature nature; do not continue if anything of that nature could offend you (sex, violence, sub/dom, non-con). This story will be quite dark at times, you have been warned.

***Author's Note: Era-Age has kindly drawn sketches for some of the main characters in "Wolves"! She captured them nearly exactly how I pictured them and I can't begin to express my gratitude for her time and efforts! Check them out at: (remove spaces) h t t p : / / e r a - a g e . d e v i a n t a r t . c o m / # / d 4 k b p 9 a

Thank you for all of the kind reviews posted. I swear when I started this story, I had no idea it would be this long and complex, lol! A happy new year to you all! - Fallon.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Maya pulled the ties tight on her pack and sat it near her vanity. She was ignoring the little voice in the back of her head and was planning on making for Silverpines in the morning. She was hoping to avoid seeing Ezra, but doubted that option was available to her. If she wanted to pay her respects, the risk of coming too close to him had to be taken.

And even in death, she was willing to take such a risk for Von.

She pulled her shawl tightly around her shoulders and fell into bed, curling up in the center without bothering to pull the covers up and over her.

Hale had taken to sleeping with Walter a long time ago, as the shroud of gloom around Maya hurt even him. He'd tried to comfort her as best as he could, but had been pushed to the foot of the bed, and then eventually to the floor.

There was only room for sadness around her, and many of those she had considered friends were starting to wander from her side. In truth, her sadness was draining them physically and emotionally. They all tried to comfort her, but as the weeks passed it grew more difficult.

Page limited her visits, Sabine sent notes instead of visiting her in person, and Ben barely said anything when he managed to visit. If she was in a clearer state of mind, she'd have been hurt by it, but it barely fazed her.

Walter and Logan were the only ones who continued to pursue her with any regularity. She was like a daughter to Walter, and he had pledged long ago to follow her where ever fate took her. Whatever her state of mind, he was there to love her without judgement. Logan helped to fend off the vultures, keeping pestering nobility from becoming too much of a problem. When he found time to himself, he often visited her and made sure she was eating.

No, bitterness and despair were her only true friends now.

And as much as they hurt her, she was too tired to pull herself from their grasp.

A gentle breeze whipped over her, which she thought strange since she remembered shutting the windows. Concerned, she sat up.

A slim, feminine figure stood in the corner of the room near the fireplace. The figure was glad in a robe and hood, so she could not tell their identity.

"Hello, Princess," the figure said warmly, "It's good to finally see you again."

Maya jumped out of her bed and grabbed her Dragonstomper from the table next to her bed, "Who are you? How dare you intrude upon me!"

The figure took a step forward.

Maya raised her pistol, "Explain yourself now before I paint my walls with your blood!"

Tension was thick in the air, nearly suffocating. Maya couldn't believe someone had slipped into her chambers! Where were her guards?

"Who are you?" She asked in awe.

The figure lowered its hood.

Maya blinked a few times, and then it finally registered, "S-Scarlet?"

She had seen the girl a twice before. Once in the Family's mansion, and the second among the balverines gathered at the battle. Scarlet seemed like she had aged much since then.

The young woman nodded, "You remember me...that is good."

"What...what are you doing here?"

Scarlet sighed and averted her gaze from the new queen, "You have been deceived, Your Majesty. Someone who has sworn loyalty to you has betrayed you in the most sinister way I could ever imagine."

Maya lowered her pistol.

Scarlet's voice was full of pain and hesitancy. She knew whatever had brought the young balverine to her, it was serious. At the same time, she was weary of being played a fool. She did not know her well but knew she was under Ezra's command, so she was determined to remain cautious.

"Tell me everything; Scarlet," she demanded, "and Avo help you if you so much as utter a single lie to me!"

Scarlet nodded, her eyes beginning to brim with tears, "Ezra...he's lost his mind, become possessed by greed and lust! He wants you as his mate, Hero-Queen, very badly. He had Von removed from the picture to get closer to you."

Maya scurried to absorb what she was being told, "What...he...he went against his own brother on the chance I'd be with him? He really is mad! Did...did he kill Von?"

"No, he did not," Scarlet shook her head sadly, "And Ezra does not plan on giving you a choice in the matter, my lady. He's crossed all lines, all rules in the Family to bring himself closer to having you. His sanity is fractured. His new second in command, Malakai, he...he allowed him to hurt me."

Maya risked a step towards the balverine, having seen a glimmer of tears in her eyes, "Hurt you...how?"

Scarlet swallowed the lump in her throat. The life of a man she greatly respected was on the line, and she knew she'd have to forget her own embarrassment and tell the entire truth to Maya. The Queen was the only one who'd dare save the tortured Kaiser brother.

"Malakai forced himself on me," Scarlet said in a muffled whisper, "and Ezra watched."

Maya's eyes opened wide. Such a disgusting act...but no, she could tell by the girl's reaction that it was no lie.

She clasped her hand to her mouth, "Avo's mercy..."

Scarlet brushed aside her tears, "Avo was not there to save me that night, Highness, or any of the other nights he abused me. Malakai made me into something...unclean. I've lost my respect, my honor, and that cannot be undone. But I did not come here for your pity; I came here tonight because there is still a chance."

Overwhelmed, she shook her head in disbelief. Clearly Scarlet had risked much in seeking her out, but what could she do? While she'd gladly rip Malakai's heart out, it'd not undo the past and right the wrongs Scarlet had suffered. Ezra too seemed in need of having his heart torn from his body, but she doubted very highly he had one to begin with.

She lowered her head and glanced to the bags she had prepared for her journey to Silverpines, "A chance for what?"

Scarlet approached the Queen, and to her surprise, Maya did not back away.

She looked no older than Maya, but seemed to hold herself in a way that was beyond her years. She was taller than Maya had originally thought too.

Scarlet stared into the Queen's eyes, "A chance to rescue Von before it is too late."

Maya backed away. Her wounded heart throbbed with renewed agony in her chest and emotion wracked her exhausted body.

"Do...do not toy with me, Scarlet. I have believed you to this point and I'll gladly slay those who've harmed you, twice if I could, but do not bring him up. Do not tear open festering wounds!"

"Don't you see?" Scarlet pleaded softly, "We've been hurt and lied to by the same man! I swear on my life that Von is alive, Amaythea! I've seen him with my very eyes!"

Maya shook her head and gritted her teeth together, "I saw him! I wept over his body that day! I weep still!"

Scarlet tried desperately to hit the truth home, "You've been lied to for so long you're beginning to believe it. I was there during the battle at the moment Malakai attacked Von!"

Maya looked away from the balverine in a failed attempt to hide her tears.

"I saw it, Highness!" Scarlet insisted through tears, "Malakai jumped him just as he was about to go after you. He bit him and injured him badly, but Von did not die that day!"

Maya slumped onto her bed, "I saw him..."

"You saw what you were told to see," Scarlet said in a more soothing voice, "You saw Von because he was the one person you didn't want to see lying there. Ezra concocted this entire plan, Maya. He knew of Von's feelings for you, and sought to remove the one man standing in his way. He had Malakai plant a body for you to see."

Finally the name clicked in her mind.

"Malakai..." she muttered, "he was the one guarding Von's body! He stood over me as I wept for Von!"

"That is what he does, feeds off of people's suffering. He was a murderer before Ezra changed him and brought him into the Family. He thinks he controls him, but it is the other way around."

Maya felt her heart twisting in her chest, "If the body was not him...where was he taken?"

"I did not see where Malakai took him," Scarlet admitted, "but there were rumours in the Family that he was given to Reaver."

Maya choked on a sob and clutched her chest. Von...her Von, was given to that deviant as a toy! Worse yet the Family members suspected and did nothing to stop it from happening! She was overcome with the urge to both scream and cry. Von was alive, and she was willing to take a chance on Scarlet if it meant that was true.

"Wherever he went after the battle, he ended up in the Silverpines Arena," Scarlet continued in a whisper, "I...I needed to be sure the rumours were true before I approached you with what I knew. So I went to the Arena..."

"What," Maya asked as she looked up, "What did you find?"

"Von...in chains."

Maya hugged herself and began rocking on her seat, "No...no..."

"They forced him to change and made him compete in their sick games. His success has earned Reaver a large sum of gold that only grows by the day, but I am unsure how much longer he can last."

She spoke not out of cruelty, but out of the desire to rip Maya's dark shroud off of her. Maya was Malakai's greatest victim, and Scarlet was too angry to let him get away with it a moment longer. And if she was going to get even with the rapist and murderer, Scarlet was going to need help.

And the aid of a hero would definitely sway things in her favor.

"I was too afraid to tell you when I saw Malakai drag him away during the battle," she said with a heavy heart, "but I just couldn't stay silent anymore...the guilt was eating me alive."

Maya roughly rubbed the tears from her eyes and took a deep breath.

"It's strange, but I believe everything your saying," she said with a forced chuckle, "Von warned me about him, and yet here I was about to go to the Mansion, to Ezra, to pay my respects to an empty grave. But there is still a part of me that won't believe this until I see him with my own eyes."

Scarlet gave a small bow, "I understand."

Maya stood and grabbed her clothes from the foot of her bed, hurrying behind the screen in the corner of her room. If there was a chance Von was alive, she wasn't going to delay his rescue. She was going to finish this now.

"What is your plan, Highness?" Scarlet asked as she approached the screen.

Maya emerged from behind the divider, clad in her usual blouse, skirt and leggings.

"I'm going to get him out of there." She stated simply.

Scarlet quirked an eyebrow, "That's your plan, Majesty?"

She stopped her pacing and took a moment to actually think about it, "Sneaking in would be difficult..."

"Then register as a combatant," Scarlet suggested, "demand to see the balverines and make sure you are paired against him."

Maya frowned as she strapped on her pistol and sword, "The escape would incite a panic..."

"There are a few Family members I know of who are...not pleased with Ezra's leadership. He killed Vienna and Loki, both well liked members, so some are looking to leave the Family before it implodes."

"He killed her? His own mate?"

Scarlet hung her head. Vienna had been a good woman, a good friend. Her loss was still felt throughout the Family, even if Ezra was too proud to admit it.

"He has lashed out at everyone except his daughter...a small blessing in this horrible time."

"Then we've got to deal with him before we lose our advantage."

"We have an advantage?" Scarlet asked with a smirk.

"Yes, he doesn't know you've told me what he did –

"Maya?"

Both women spun around and saw Walter standing in the doorway. They'd both been too caught up talking to realize he was there. Maya could only guess what he had heard.

"Who is this, Maya?" He asked as he neared them, his hand on his sword.

It took a while, which she regretted, but they managed to fill him in on what had happened. Walter had calmed down by the time they had finished speaking and was thinking silently to himself.

She was glad he'd arrived actually; he always knew the best way to approach a situation.

"I agree with Scarlet here," he said after a few moments, "register yourself for the Arena and make sure he's the one you face. If you really believe her Maya, if you truly do, then I'll rally the men and take the Mansion. We've got to stop this before it gets too far. It'll distract them from the Arena and keep Ezra from noticing."

Maya looked to Scarlet. Of course she wanted it to be true, but the woman's pain was so real for it to all be a lie. She reminded herself that Von hadn't trusted his brother, and that was enough to assure her that Ezra was to be feared and that Scarlet was likely right about everything.

"I believe her, Walter."

He nodded, "When I first noticed what there was between the two of you, I'll admit I wasn't happy. But you've grown so much, dear. His apparent loss nearly killed you, and I need the old Maya back. He's a good man...far better than Finn."

He rolled his eyes at the thought of the smooth-talking Captain.

Maya chuckled and smiled sadly. She knew it couldn't have been easy for him to accept her feelings for a balverine, but it was just like him to see past that and love her regardless.

"Thank you, Walter. This means more to me than you'll ever know."

Scarlet turned to Walter, "I can rally those who want Ezra gone for when you arrive, Sir Walter. They'll gladly fight with you to remove Ezra before it is too late."

"Good, all the help we can get is appreciated. But what about Maya? I don't know if sending you there alone is wise..."

"I agree it's risky, Walter, but this is something I have to do by myself."

Walter understood, he always did.