Eden snuggled up against his mate, a sad smile on his lips. The alpha had managed to make him regain his composure, but a part of him was gnawed away by the uncertainty that the future had in store for them.

They stayed close together in comfortable silence for a moment, then Glen pulled away. He lifted the younger boy\'s head to look him in the eyes.

"I think we should call the others to finish this conversation and head back to the cave. I will feel better there to mark you. I\'m not very comfortable here."

"Oh? Why ?"

"Don\'t worry about that, just let\'s get out of here fast." The alpha placed a kiss on the blond\'s temples, who closed his eyes briefly at the contact of his lips and then stood up.

Glen walked to the front door which he opened and closed behind him. Lit by the lantern hanging on the porch, four faces turned towards him. Elias\'s features immediately changed from an expression of intense anger to a smile that sickened the dominant.

At his side, his wife and daughter displayed an apologetic expressions. Alana looked away as she saw the long, dark-haired werewolf stare at her for a moment, and Glen\'s expression changed as well.

The Dominant\'s eyes took on a fiery complexion. The medium-sea green were glowing in the night as Glen\'s lids scrunched up, targeting Elias. Face hardened and jaw clenched, the werewolf finally opened his mouth, his piercing gaze still fixed on the man.

"Thank you for giving us some time. If you don\'t mind, I\'d like to finish this conversation so that we can get back to the cave as soon as possible."

"You\'re leaving already? But you arrived only a few hours ago and your mate seems a bit…"

"I have no reason to stay. We overstayed our welcome. It\'s best that we leave as soon as possible. Besides, I thought you wanted to stay away from the werewolves…"

"That\'s true, but we also have to ensure the protection of the Goddess\' Warrior, after all, we don\'t know when Light will return, or what her next move will be…" The leader started blabbering and the alpha let out a sigh that made Alana flinch.

The woman had felt the alpha\'s animosity ever since he had come out to meet them. There was no doubt that the reason for his hostility was the argument his father had with the outsider.

She looked at her father who continued to smile, clueless and convinced that his verve would allow him to win over the alpha. When the dominant finally spoke, her jaw clenched.

"I\'ll be honest, I\'m extremely grateful for everything you\'ve done for me and my mate," Glen said, bowing his head to Silphie who immediately waved her hands, embarrassed by his gesture.

"No, no, please. I only did my duty. If the Guardian had been in her normal state, I wouldn\'t even have had to intervene. I offered her to stay with us for a while so that I could teach her what her master should normally have taught her. So next time, she should be able to support you properly. She will then be able to pass on the torch to her apprentices." She said with a smile that Glen returned.

The expression disappeared immediately as the dominant turned to the Skinwalker\'s chief.

"However, I don\'t like you at all," the alpha resumed in a cold voice. "And I\'d rather avoid dealing with you."

The expression on Elias\' face showed his utter confusion and his thoughts grew hectic. He had to find a way because it was his last chance after having failed everything.

When his daughter Alana came to fetch him, telling him that the Moon Goddess\' Warrior was here and he needed their help, the man believed that the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

Since the day the blessing renewal ceremony had failed, Elias Crimson had had to live with the gaze of the other members of the tribe who silently accused him of being the reason for this failure. He had been chosen because he had the greatest aura, but despite that fact, he had not been able to offer all the members of the tribe the ability to transform into a wolf that makes them proud.

Over time and now that the common history with the werewolves has become a legacy that is only passed down so as not to lose sight of their origin, the Skinwalkers\' power was a vestige that Blue Moon didn\'t want to give up.

Since the failure of their leader, many were bitter and evoked the disappearance of the clan. The arrival of the Warrior was an opportunity Elias didn\'t want to miss.

By helping the werewolf, he might be able to redeem his image. Even if their power were to fade, at least he would be known as the one who reconnected the clan with the werewolves.

Chance had also made the warrior the mate of the omega of Bloodhood, the original pack.

This means that if he played his cards right, he could make forget the failure of his takeover, by making Blue Moon reconnect one last time with the pack with which it all began.

Who knows maybe even that the Goddess would want to grant them her blessing again seeing that they were living in harmony again.

Unfortunately, the warrior arrived along with an outsider Skinwalker. An Everett. He had understood it immediately when he saw his face which had so much resemblance to that of the former chief. Elias had to get rid of him. After all, his grandmother had betrayed Blue Moon by running away with a civilian, he no longer had his place among them and he would do anything to make the man understand.

At least that was his intention until the alpha openly defended Connor whom he was subtly trying to blame. The werewolf drew a straight line between them and Elias knew he had underestimated their relationship.

The Warrior and the outsider were much closer than he had assumed and that complicated his plan. One of his options was to use his daughter, maybe with her charms she could win the heart of the outsider and allow him to win the favor of the alpha, he needed it.

But even this plan was immediately swept away by Connor and Elias couldn\'t contain his anger. Now that he had permanently alienated the man, he had no choice but to succeed on his own. He listened to Glen\'s words with apprehension.

"Your wife and your daughter seem reasonable, although I heard about some clashes with the latter. Anyway, I have a debt to you that I would pay by coming to your rescue if you ask me, but it will stop there. I have neither the inclination nor the intention to be friendly towards you."

"What? I don\'t understand. Oh…" He said after a pause and his smile faded into a sneer. "Is it this outsider who told you something, right? He\'s just trying to pit you against us, real Skinwalkers. Earlier he spoke exactly like Light, I bet he has been affected by her dark energy during the confrontation. We should look into it for…"

"Dad !" Alana screamed to cut her father off. Elias turned his head towards his daughter who was staring at him with a look of shame on her face. "Enough is enough." Tears filled the eyes of the woman who fled inside.

"Alana, what are…" Silphie stopped him by the shoulder and Elias turned around to face her. She shook her head to dissuade him from saying more and the man, furious, jerked her hand away then walked away before transforming into a grey wolf who disappeared into the night.

The woman was silent for a moment as she followed the silhouette of the wolf, which shrank and faded into the darkness. She felt Glen\'s presence behind her and her voice rose softly, disturbing the calm that reigned in the sleeping village.

"You heard everything, right?" She asked and didn\'t bother to wait for an answer. "I won\'t ask you to understand him, I have a hard time and I\'m his wife. I know that since the failure of the ceremony, the man I loved has totally changed. He took it very badly that the blessing couldn\'t be granted to all the members of Blue Moon.

I wasn\'t born here so I don\'t understand very well, but for the members of the tribe, being able to transform means being a little closer to their origin and their ancestors. Skinwalkers take pride in the blessing bestowed on them by the Moon Goddess. Even before Blue Moon became a tribe of Skinwalkers, wolves were part of their daily lives.

The writings that tell this period of their history are fascinating. Humans and Wolves were living in such harmony, and this happened, just because of the friendship between the leader and the alpha. Did you know they became friends because the first leader saved the alpha when they were still a little boy and a wolf cub?"

She turned to Glen with a wistful smile and continued her story.

"The little alpha was hanging by the leg after stepping into a trap and the young chief cut the rope to free him. Since then, the books say they met in secret to play together. Their friendship has been forged like this over the years.

When one day men attacked the village of the chief who was then a teenager, his wolf friend came to help him and the rest of the pack followed suit. It was their first side-by-side battle. Many more fights followed until the day when the Moon Goddess, moved by their bond, rewarded the pack by giving them human souls and you know what happened next.

"If that\'s what really happened, it\'s a beautiful story, but, with all due respect, your husband is not honoring his ancestors by acting this way," Glen answered and Silphie sighed as she pulled the blanket that covered her shoulders tighter around her neck.

"He\'s not being honest, but I believe most Skinwalkers are the same. What Alana told your friend is true. Skinwalkers are drawn to werewolves. Your friend got angry because he thought we belittled your bond and I apologize. I understood that your relationship had a depth that few people could understand and that it was because you lived and shared many things."

"Connor and I have been through the best and survived the worst together," Glen stated soberly, crossing his arms.

"I don\'t doubt for one second. He told us what your father did to you. I can\'t even imagine how much that must have broken you. To be rejected by your pack, your alpha, and father who also tried to…"

"As Connor said, I had a family. A second mother who was loving to the point of being too much most of the time," he said with a small chuckle. "A father who taught me what it meant to protect and cherish. A little brother who adored me so much that he created the smallest pack in the world just for me. It may seem like a joke to everyone, but the Everett pack was listed at the WIA.

At six years old, Anthony threw a tantrum and harassed Laurent until he gave in and filled the legal forms. It was symbolic I know, and the leaders agreed only because they knew Laurent but it shows how determined my little brother was to make sure I had a place of my own as a werewolf. And finally, there is Connor.

It was Connor who ended my loneliness. He walked in my life with that same rude attitude that horrifies people before they realize that his big and fool mouth just hides an equally big if not bigger heart. He\'s one of the most beautiful souls I know and apart from my mate, he\'s the person I cherish the most."

"Indeed, it really has nothing to do with what they feel toward the werewolves," Silphie repeated sadly. "That\'s probably what hurts my husband and what Skinwalkers want. Since I arrived, I\'ve had time to get used to life here, but there\'s something I see every day that I still can\'t get used to."

"What ?" Glen asked, curious.

"Regrets. The Skinwalkers regret separating from the Werewolves, and I think what they desire more than anything, perhaps even more than to be able to transform, is to live in harmony with them again."

"Then maybe I can help you."

Eden\'s voice had just risen from the front door. Neither the alpha, nor the Soul Healer, nor Silphie had heard the door open.

The blond moved forward to hug his mate who put an arm around his shoulders. Eden locked his golden gaze on the woman in front of him and resumed.

"I\'m not making any promises. I can only try to talk to my dad about it.. He must first find out who you are and Bloodhood\'s hidden past, but then, let\'s try to reconnect the pack and the tribe as in the old writings."