Seven was in trouble. It had been weeks since she had delivered any news to Iron Baron and he was getting impatient. He demanded that she bring him good news within the next 72 hours or else her brother would pay the price, but she could do nothing. It wasn't because she wasn't trying to do her job, she was just trying to do it without getting had been stalking the pack for weeks and she had learned nothing new. Cole and Kai were all lovey-dovey with each other and were either always together or with their friends. Nya, Pixal, and Zane were busy trying to finish all their school projects to look good for college. Harumi was giving nothing away about her relationship with Morro or the pack. Morro had always kept to himself, making it harder to gather information on him. Jay was either busy with school or babbling about his upcoming birthday. Lloyd was the only one Seven felt she could get dirt on, but even that was slim.
At first, she had hoped to take advantage of his worries about the future to get closer to him but lately, he had been disappearing into the woods, and no matter how much she tried she couldn't find him. Thankfully she had managed to track him to the mall and she wasn't letting him loose her again. When she got to the food court she was met with many of her classmates gathered around Dareth and a box. Seven would ignore this until she saw Lloyd, Harumi, and Morro looking into the box. Believing that this could be something Iron Baron might be interested in, she took a look. Her eyes widened when she saw the engravings and she quickly snapped a few pictures.
"Are they medieval or something?" Harumi asked as she looked over the horn.
"Could be older," Lloyd replied.
"So, they are valuable, then?" Maggie grinned with dollar signs in her eyes. She knew people paid a fortune for things like this.
"Well, the bits of bone aren't, but the jewels and accessories are," Dareth said but he doubted those would sell for much. Aside from the horn and the amulet, the box was full of old rings, bracelets, necklaces, broaches, and earrings. They were a bit rusted and dented from age. The only interesting thing about them was the designs engraved into the metal. Whoever these things belonged to them must have loved wolves.
"Look, we don't know if it's genuine yet; you must take these to someone who knows their history." Lloyd pointed out, thinking how Misako would love to study things like this.
"What about Koko? She knows about that stuff right?" Dareth asked but before anyone could reply he was packing all the items back into the box.
"Wait, can I take these to show my Mom? She's an archeologist and works at the museum." Lloyd asked, holding up the horn and the amulet. Not seeing the harm Dareth agreed. As the others started begging Dareth to let them take something as well Seven rushed out of the mall to message Iron Baron and send him the photos. Hopefully, this would get him off her back, at least for a while. As she was waiting for a reply, Lloyd walked out onto the street. He had gotten tired of the arguments about the box and decided to wait for Harumi and Morro outside.
"Hey, you waiting for your brother?" He asked when he noticed Seven on the corner.
"Oh, yeah, h-he's just running a bit late." She stuttered and kept her gaze focused on her phone. Lloyd didn't get the message, though, and approached her.
"If you want we can give you a lift. It's on the way and I'm sure Harumi won't mind."
"Thanks but I'm good." She said and caught sight of the presents tucked under his arms. "Who's birthday is it?"
"These are going away presents for Skylor and their Dad." He replied then he noticed the confused look she gave him and remembered that Seven and Skylor never met. "They're travelers and she used to go to Ninjago High before they went back on the road; they've been camping in the woods and are leaving soon."
"Is she the wild redhead everyone talks about?" She asked and he nodded. "She sounds like fun, can I meet her?" She smiled as sweetly as possible. When Iron Baron revealed these werewolves to her he told her about wild werewolves and based on the context clues she had gathered she felt it was safe to assume Skylor was one. Screw the antiques. If she got the whereabouts of one wild werewolf then maybe, just maybe, Iron Baron would leave her and her family alone.
"Sorry, but it's invite only and Skylor doesn't know you," Lloyd replied and just like that her hopes were shattered. She was about to try and convince him when Harumi and Morro left the mall and approached them.
"Lloyd, there you are! Come on, we're late." Harumi said exasperate as she grabbed his and Morro's wrists and practically dragged them to her car. Lloyd shot Seven an apologetic smile as they hopped into the car and took off. Seven watched them drive off with an irritated frown. Her phone buzzed and when she opened it she saw that Iron Baron had replied. His message was a simple one.
-Bring me those items, or else!
Under the text were pictures of her and her brother taken without their knowledge. The most disturbing ones were of them sleeping in their beds, and they were taken from inside their bedrooms...
Garmadon didn't know what to say. He was standing at the bottom of the stairs watching as the kids threw their little going away party with the music blasting. Thank God there were no neighbors nearby or else they would have the police coming by with a noise complaint. He glanced around the room at their guests. Cole and Kai were busy making out in a corner. Jay and Nya were dancing together to the music. Pixal and Zane weren't into the party scene much so they were standing off to the side and talking among themselves. Garmadon heard footsteps coming behind him and saw Skylor returning from the bedrooms after making sure they had packed everything.
"What is this? You call this music?" Garmadon asked, referring to the music.
"You are such a grown-up. It's fun!" Skylor laughed and gently dragged him into the party. Garmadon still didn't like it. To him, it sounded like something was dying, but he complied and started talking to their guests. Not too long after that, Lloyd, Harumi, and Morro arrived bringing their presents.
"Where have you been?" Cole asked as Skylor and Garmadon started tearing into the gifts.
"At the mall; you guys should see these," Harumi said and pulled out the horn and the amulet to show them. "Dareth found them in his attic; there was jewelry too, and it looked really old."
"Yeah, no one was interested in these and Dareth said we could have them," Morro added as Garmadon and Skylor took an interest and started examining the items. While Garmadon looked at the horn, Skylor was staring intently at a coin with a wolf face engraved into it. She placed two fingers against the wolf carving and her eyes suddenly turned yellow. When she did this she could feel the power of this artifact. It was only a small taste, but she could tell that its previous owner was mighty.
No one noticed this, however, as they were more focused on what Garmdon was doing.
"This is an old werewolf language." He told them. "This inscription is a memorial to an alpha killed in battle with a human tribe called the Saxons."
"The Saxons!? From the Dark Ages?" Jay gasped and he nodded.
"That was our time when werewolf kingdoms were rich and powerful; only the strong survived - and our tribes were the strongest of all."
"Werewolf tribes lived alongside Vikings and Saxons?" Kai asked skepticly.
"People called the Vikings the wolves of the North and maybe they actually were!" Pixal exclaimed, getting excited to learn more about werewolves and their history.
"Who has these?" Skylor suddenly said, her eyes finally returning to normal as she pocketed the amulet.
"Dareth's taking them in to show Koko."
"He can't do that! They're ours!" She shouted, surprising everyone, even Garmadon. "We still honor the time when we ruled and protected much of this land; these are pieces of our lost history and we're not leaving until we get them back."
"You can't just steal them!" Cole glared.
"Steal them? It's our history!"
"It's everyone's history! These belong in a museum." Pixal argued.
"It's not just about the past to us, Pixal, and I'm not leaving Ninjago without these finds!" She snarled and stormed upstairs before anyone could argue.
"Well, I've been to better parties." Kai sighed, only to get smacked at the back of the head by his sister.
"I'll talk to her." Morro sighed and went up to her bedroom. He found her sitting on the bed, staring at the amulet again. He knew she knew he was there and neither of them spoke as he walked into the room and sat on the end of the bed. The silence remained until Skylor sighed heavily and put the amulet down.
"The pack would love this; I'd be a hero, instead of a clown." She explained and Morro nodded in understanding. "You think I'm right, don't you?"
"I understand what you're going through, but you can't go breaking into Dareth's home." He replied but that wasn't what she wanted him to say and she led down, turning her back to him. Sensing the conversation was over, Morro reluctantly left hoping this wouldn't lead to more trouble...
"You found these in your attic?" Koko asked as she examined the items in the box and he nodded. When Dareth said he had found something cool in his attic she had been scared it would be something creepy like old family portraits, distorted home movies, or an antique doll. Needless to say, this was a welcome surprise. This was an extraordinary find. This might be linked to the skeleton found in Dareth's garden, but to her, these things looked older. "We'll need an expert opinion, but these look very much to me like genuine Saxon or Viking jewelry and could be 1,300 or 1,400 years old."
"Don't you know which?" Chad asked and Koko rolled her eyes. He and most of her other students were so close that she could almost smell their breakfasts on their breaths and it was already taking most of her self-control not to push them all out of her bubble.
"No, I don't. It was pretty difficult to get a handle on things in those days, but what really fascinates me is this wolf." She said and held up the ring to show the class.
"Miss? You are going to make sure these go to a museum, right?" Pixal asked but before she could reply Dareth jumped in.
"I found them, it's up to me!"
"Why don't you leave them with me? I'd like to do some research, and we'll pick this up in History this afternoon." Koko offered and Dareth nodded. She smiled and packed everything away and put it under her desk. "It's a pity we don't know where they're from; communities would often bury their valuables just before a battle, and unfortunately they wouldn't live to dig them up."
"Wait, are you saying there could be more?" Lloyd asked before he realized his mistake and looked around at his classmates and could see the greed in their eyes.
"What? Like, buried treasure? In Ninjago City?" Maggie gasped before turning to Dareth with a sweet smile. "If you need help clearing out your attic, you only have to ask."
"Back off, gold digger! My attic - my treasure!"
"All right, that's enough!" Koko shouted before a fight could break out. "Right now we don't know what could be out there so let's see what I can find by this afternoon." She promised and quickly got on with the lesson before anyone could say anything. As the lesson continued Morro's gaze was focused on the box just barely poking out from behind the desk. What he didn't know was that Pixal noticed his staring...
It wasn't until gym class that Morro got a chance to sneak back into the school to get the items. Their gym teacher was making them all run laps around the perimeter of the entire school building and Morro deliberately lagged in the back of the group until they were far enough away from him to sneak away unnoticed. Morro had hoped that the others would try and help him, but they had all refused, each one giving their excuses.
Cole didn't have much of a reason to refuse, he just didn't want the drama. Being human, Harumi didn't have much to do with the situation and Morro didn't want to risk involving her in the theft. Jay didn't want to get in trouble if they got caught. Morro already knew how Pixal felt about the situation and refused to let her in on his plan. Kai wanted to help, but Nya and Cole wouldn't let him. Nya was convinced that Skylor didn't need these artifacts to win the pack over. She had been their alpha for months before getting shot and aside from that she had done a good job according to Garmadon. Lloyd and Zane believed that Pixal was right about the items Dareth going to a museum. They all had offered to go with him and Skylor to look for more items but that wasn't good enough.
They didn't know where the items were found so what if they couldn't get anymore? What if they did figure out where they were but there was nothing left? What if Nya was wrong and the pack turned on Skylor?
There were too many what-ifs for Morro's comfort so his mind was made up and he was going to take those items whether his friends helped him or not.
Channeling everything he had learned from spy movies, Morro crept down the empty halls and ducked away from any windows or doors that could give him away. There were a few close calls but that was where heightened senses came in handy. Eventually, he made it to Koko's office. After listening closely to make sure no one was inside or nearby he carefully opened the door and crawled inside. As soon as he shut the door behind him, Morro started tearing the room apart looking for the box. He checked every place it could be but there was no sign of it anywhere. He growled to himself, wondering what she had done with it. While in his thoughts someone suddenly started banging loudly on the door and Morro froze in shock.
"Morro! I know you're in there!" Pixal shouted. Morro's eyes widened and quickly opened the door to let her in. "I knew you were up to something!" She hissed only to be shushed by her friend. The last thing he needed was someone walking in on them. Morro didn't know what he would say if a teacher saw him rummaging around the Koko's office for the artifacts.
"It's werewolf history, OK? It belongs with the wild pack."
"But human history is important too, and if the secret comes out one day maybe proving that your history is our history might help." She exclaimed but Morro scoffed at the idea. If Pixal thought that the impossibility of the secret getting out the fact hundreds of years ago humans and werewolves lived side-by-side would save them she was more delusional than ever.
"Do you think Dareth's going to donate them to a museum? He'll sell it to the highest bidder! Hell, they could even go abroad." He argued and continued his search. Pixal grabbed his arm to stop him but before either of them could do anything else the door suddenly swung open and a furious Koko entered. She glared at the two teens who were frozen in fear. She had been coming to her office to grab some things for her next lesson when she heard their fighting out in the hallway.
"You two are a little lost, aren't you?"
"Sorry, miss, we were bunking off," Morro admitted, avoiding meeting anyone's eyes and looking ashamed. Pixal shot him a look but didn't say anything. "It was my fault, I wanted another look at those finds but they weren't there." He explained and Koko sighed. While she appreciated that they were both taking an interest in history the items weren't there. She had put them in her safe and planned to leave them there until a member of the historical society came to collect them. Right now though, Koko had a class to teach so she gave them a detention for tomorrow and kicked them out of her office with a promise to let their parents know what had happened.
"This is your fault," Morro growled but Pixal scoffed.
"No, it's Skylor's; she's talked you into this."
"Pix, you just don't understand what she's going through." He groaned, more annoyed than anything. "She's having a tough time getting the pack to accept her as leader so a find like this could make all the difference! If she returns with those artifacts, they'll take it as a sign and think that she's connected to their ancient past and the ways of old." He explained before storming off in frustration. Pixal watched him go and a frown grew on her face as she let his words sit with her...
Seven stared at her phone anxiously as she re-read that last text over and over again. She knew Iron Baron wasn't making an empty threat and if she failed to deliver the artifacts then she and her brother were going to pay. It wasn't fair to Scott. He didn't know about any of this, so why should he get punished for her mistakes? She had to get these items, no matter the cost. The only problem was Seven was finding it difficult to get the items back from Koko. She tried to sneak into the office but when she got there she saw an angry Koko escorting Morro and Pixal out. That did reveal to her that the items were in Koko's safe in the principal's office, however, when she snuck in there she found that the safe was locked with a thumbprint padlock.
Since she didn't have Koko's thumbprint or a pair of bolt cutters stashed away, Seven had to retreat empty-handed. She was now slumped over her desk in an empty classroom. Koko was at her desk getting ready for the next and although she was confused as to why Seven was sulking all alone she could tell the teen wanted to be left alone. Seven didn't care either way and was quietly planning her funeral before she messaged Iron Baron to tell him about her failure. She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even register when Dareth came charging into the classroom and almost collided with Koko's desk.
"Look at this!" He exclaimed and opened the book to a page with notes and a hand-drawn map. "It's in Grandpa's diary, Miss! He found the accessories in the mud in some cave with a lake here!" Dareth squealed, looking like he was going to burst with excitement.
"This is a real discovery, well done." She praised as the rest of the class came in and took their seats, all eager to hear what she learned. "Ok, we don't know much about this tribe, but according to local legend, there were ghost warriors with glowing eyes keeping watch over their treasure." She explained but none looked that interested. She knew that they were more focused on where the treasure was than the history behind it. "But thanks to some sterling detective work from Dareth, we could be on the verge of some real discoveries." Dareth looked pleased with himself, but she doubted he would be so happy in a second. "It seems that these artifacts were found nearly 40 years ago, just by the community garden!"
"No, it wasn't, it's there." Dareth glared and pointed to a spot on a nearby map of Ninjago City and its surrounding woodland. "They were found in a cave with a lake inside it!" He exclaimed despite Koko's obvious signals to shut up. The response was immediate and everyone was tuned in now.
"The treasures buried there?" Chad grinned like a shark in bloody waters. This is what Koko didn't want to happen. She could see the greed in her students' eyes. She had to put a stop to this before there were half a dozen wannabe treasure hunters trudging through the woods at night digging around and risking their lives for some old trinkets that probably wouldn't even be there.
"There's only one way to find out; who wants to come and survey the site with me? Say, tomorrow morning?" She offered but she could tell it was futile. At least half the class was going out there and there was nothing she could do about it. As the class descended into chaos and Koko tried to regain control, Seven stared at the map to where Dareth had pointed. She wasn't out of the game just yet...
Never mind, Seven was definitely out of the game. She had only been in the forest for roughly ten minutes and she was ready to go home. She hadn't realized just how dark it would be until she was too far from the lights of the city and the giant trees blocked out most of the natural light. Not even the flashlight she had brought lit up more than five feet ahead of her, leaving her to rely mostly on the few bits of light that poked out from the trees. There were also noises all around her. Not sounds you would expect to hear though. They were the sounds of trees and bushes rustling, and twigs snapping, and she swore she could hear someone breathing, though it could have just been the wind. While she knew it was probably just her paranoia she also had to remind herself that these were werewolf artifacts she was looking for. She had to be extra vigilant in case a pack was waiting nearby to tear her to shreds. The noises and darkness weren't the only problem, though. It was also very cold down here but a different, weird cold.
Needless to say, Seven did NOT like this place.
She was tempted to message Iron Baron back and tell him to get off his lazy ass and dig the artifacts himself, but she knew that would be a death sentence for her and Scott. A low whispering sound suddenly made her jump and she held up her shovel, ready to defend herself if necessary. She was kicking herself for leaving her gun at home. She didn't think the legend could be true, but then again not too long ago she didn't believe werewolves existed. If werewolves were real then maybe ghost warriors were a thing too.
Suddenly someone tapped her on the shoulder and she screamed. Without even thinking she whipped around and started swinging the shovel around, screaming like a maniac. When she got it out of her system she was panting, her heart was racing, and her eyes were darting around looking for the thing that touched her. She noticed a shape by her feet and when she looked down she was horrified to see Dareth curled in a ball, shaking like a leaf, as he stared up at her in terror. She was about to ask him what was wrong when the laughter started. This wasn't spooky laughter like out of a horror movie. It was mocking and childish. Seven recognized it almost instantly.
"Ha! You fucking idiots! Oh, you should've seen your face!" Chad cackled loudly as he, Maggie, and their friends all emerged from the darkness. "C'mon, we were just having a laugh!" He taunted when he saw Seven and Dareth glaring at him. "So, where do we dig?"
"Nowhere! You are not digging up that treasure!" Pixal shouted as she and Zane came running out of the woods.
"Great, Little Miss History's here with her only fan!" Maggie sneered, earning laughs from her friends. "Get lost! We were here first!"
"No, all of you push off! I found them first, so the treasure's mine!" Dareth shouted as he jumped to his feet, brandishing his own shovel.
"OK, who thinks we should join forces long enough to get rid of the freaks?" Chad offered but before anyone could answer they all froze when something or someone started whispering all around them.
"It's the ghost warriors!" Dareth shrieked as he trembled violently.
"You don't really believe that crap, do you?" Chad glared but his bravado quickly dissipated when an eerie laughter echoed from the shadow. "I-I-It's just another t-trick, right?" He whimpered, looking around but seeing no one. The strange whispering started up again but somehow it sounded more creepy. "There is n-no such thing as g-g-ghosts!"
"You don't know that!" Maggie cried as the eerie whispering started getting closer. Seven looked at Zane, believing this was some kind of werewolf trick but was surprised to see him and Pixal looking just as scared as the rest of them. Before anyone could say or do anything else all the creepy laughter and whispering suddenly stopped. The teens relaxed a little, still freaked out but relieved it was over.
Suddenly five cloaked figures leapt out of the shadows and landed only a few feet from the huddled and petrified teens. Being the first to gather the courage, Dareth was the first to lift his flashlight to reveal the figures, and he was the first to regret it. The minute the light shone on their faces the teens only caught a glimpse of glowing yellow eyes, dripping fangs, and dark veins before they took off screaming, with the exceptions of Pixal and Zane.
As soon as the screams faded off into the distance, the figures and the couple all burst off laughing and removed their clocks to reveal Kai, Lloyd, Morro, Skylor, and Garmadon all laughing hysterically.
"I had no idea humans could run that fast!" Skylor cackled, laughing so hard that her sides were starting to hurt. Eventually, they all calmed down and she turned to Pixal. "I suppose you've come to stop us."
"I'd rather you found this treasure than them; at least you guys respect its meaning." She smiled and with that settled all of them headed for the moon pool, where the rest of the items were said to be buried. When they got there though they realized they had no clue where to start looking. They didn't have Dareth's little journal and it wasn't like the ancients were kind enough to draw a big red X on the ground to indicate where they hid their treasures. But that didn't mean they didn't leave some sign behind, like an inscription on the cave walls or a patch of dirt that looked different from the others.
As everyone was looking around for some kind of clue Garmadon suddenly crouched down and placed his hand against the ground. At first, they thought he was using Jōhō but his eyes changed and he started muttering something under his breath in a language everyone, besides Skylor, didn't understand before he got up and started shouting the words.
"私たちは先祖の記憶を尊重するためにやって来ます。 彼らの人生に再び光を当てるために。 道を示してください。" He chanted over and over again, his voice bouncing around the cave. Suddenly he shot up and started shaking ever so slightly. Lloyd was worried he was having a stroke when Garmadon suddenly stilled and pointed at the ground close to the entrance. "There!" He shouted and they all started digging. They dug and dug until they found a large wooden chest.
They picked up the chest and returned to the house to look over their finding. Breaking the chest open with a pole they tipped it over the dining room table. Inside the chest were dozens of jewelry, small weapons, and other various accessories. All of them bared either carvings of a wolf or similar engravings found on the horn. There was no doubt that these belonged to the same werewolf tribe as the other artifacts.
"This is the Battle of Badon Hill." Garmadon gasped, reading the inscriptions. "I don't remember what human history says, but our tribes fought together on this day - human and werewolf, side by side."
"I know this story! Uncle Wu told me it." Lloyd smiled at the memory. In legend, the Battle of Badon was a decisive victory won by the natives over their invaders. By the sound of it, one of the parties involved was a werewolf pack, and based on the fact they never reclaimed these items it seemed that they had all perished in the battle.
"Now I understand its power." Garmadon smiled. Holding up a large necklace, he placed the carved coin into an empty slot before turning to the red-haired teen. "This is the traditional emblem of a pack leader, you should wear this on our return." He offered and placed the bone necklace around Skylor's neck. She smiled gratefully and the teenagers all started talking among themselves over their discovery. Sadly, the relaxing atmosphere could not last.
As everyone was getting ready to turn in for the night all the werewolves in the house suddenly froze and stood up straight and still. Pixal looked at them all, confused as to what was going on. Looking closer, however, she realized they were all sniffing the air. They could smell something coming and judging by the look on their faces it wasn't good. Without warning they all suddenly dashed outside and left Pixal in the dining room. She was about to follow them but thought better of it. She was just a human. If there was something dangerous out there then the best thing she could do was stay inside and stay safe.
Outside the six werewolves were standing their ground in a line at the bottom of the front steps. They could smell the threat coming and they were ready to defend themselves. That didn't seem to be necessary, however, when the stranger burst from the treeline and ran towards them. At first, they thought the person was charging to attack, but within a second Skylor and Garmadon recognized who it was.
It was Shade and he looked exhausted, like he had run from the wild pack's territory to Ninjago City without stopping. When he was five feet away he suddenly collapsed to his knees in front of Skylor.
"Shade, what are you doing here?!" She exclaimed as she knelt to help him to his feet, but Shade shoved her away and stood up on his own.
"They've gone! Karloff and I went out hunting and were gone for a few days but when we returned they were all gone!" He shouted and everyone was shocked, Skylor more than others. "We searched the territory but there was nothing, not even a scent." He panted from exhaustion and Skylor felt her insides freeze. There was no way this was happening. A whole pack can't just disappear without a trace. At least, not unless...
Skylor turned to Garmadon with a look of dread. "You don't think...?"
"The twins." He growled as he glared at the alpha. "We left them with the pack for too long and now they've taken over! I told you we should leave, but you wanted to stay!" He shouted and Skylor suddenly felt like a lump had formed in her throat. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't talk. She couldn't think. She could only turn and speed walk back towards the house, needing to be as far away from this situation as she could get. Morro chased after her and reached out to stop her.
"Don't! Just don't!" She bellowed as she smacked his hand away. "If they were happy with my leadership, they'd never have followed with Krux and Acronix."
"You don't know what they said." Kai pointed out. "You were badly injured - they might have even said you were dead."
"No! This is what those two always wanted!" She yelled and tore the necklace from her neck and held it out for them to take. "Put this with the rest; I'm not a pack leader anymore." She pleaded but they didn't take it. Garmadon approached the teens, whether to scold her or comfort her, she didn't know and she couldn't find it within herself to care. "I set you free from your obligations, stay or go as you please." She dismissed and went into the house. Pixal was still sitting at the table, wondering what was going on. Skylor approached and forced the necklace into her friend's hands. "Take all this to your museum."
"No, you should have it," Pixal said but Skylor laughed bitterly as tears welled up in her eyes.
"For what? I have no pack, no authority, no home; this is my life now." She sniffed feebly and quickly retreated upstairs to her bedroom. She curled up under her covers and cried quietly to herself as she let the pack's betrayal etch itself into her heart. She was now an alpha with no pack. She was as pathetic as her father. Their pack had turned their backs on her as they did him.
The bedroom door suddenly opened and light from the hallway flooded the room.
It took a second for her to look up and when she did she saw Shade standing in the doorway. Neither of them spoke for a moment before he closed the door and approached the bed, kneeling before her with a look of shame.
"Our pack's betrayal has tainted me; I must find them and call them to account for their crimes." He said and raised his hand to stop her when she tried to argue. "I know you don't ask me to do that, I must do so all the same." He explained and rose to his feet. Just as he was about to leave he turned back to the young girl. "I have a hard trail to find; please stay well and happy, Skylor. You will always be my alpha." He smiled softly and took his leave.
Skylor did nothing but lay in her bed.
Despite her body aching and begging for rest, she couldn't sleep. Her mind was wide away and taunting her with her failure as an alpha and how she failed her pack. How she left the twins with the pack too long. How Garmadon told her they should leave but she wanted to stay. How the twins and others from her pack would mock her behind her back. How they all thought she was destroying their culture and who they were. How she wasn't as ruthless as her father and showed people too much mercy. How she wasn't a worthy alpha for their pack.
Skylor felt a growl rumble in her throat.
If they wanted an unforgiving monster, then that's what she'd give them...
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