I still felt it deep in my bones, a burning heat that refused to leave. Mene's rage was not so easily soothed. I had been struck by the vicious rage while teaching some of the newer priestesses the history of Altia. It had made my vision tunnel and my head ache like it was going to be split in half. Mene's voice had been incoherent and the commands were not understandable but the compulsion had been clear. I had to come to Fortis and I had to bring the healers. It hadn't been long after that I learned what it was that caused her rage.

Someone had betrayed Lilith, had told Adam where she was, had put her in danger. Micheal had nearly died because of their actions and I hoped they realized that Mene would torment them for eternity over what they had done. Her rage was still so very palpable, it beat at me and made my stomach twist and turn violently. I never liked Mene's rage, it was always like a hot brand against me but I couldn't fault her anger with this. I was angry. I had protected Lilith, had done my best to hold her up, to help her heal. To have someone betray her to such a foul male was beyond enraging for me.

I didn't know how this would set her back. I hoped it wouldn't. I glanced at the wooden coffin where the remains of Adam lay. I hoped that what she had done would help her. She had savaged him, he was not recognizable in that box. There was a savageness to the joy I felt from it. I was proud of her for that, for breaking through those walls, through his training, to not only attack him but to kill him.

My eyes fell to the cot where Micheal lay with Lilith. She had arrived an hour ago, the wild Beta, Ezekiel, had brought her and I had watched a heavy bruise bloom on her cheek that I knew Adam had given her. She had curled up with Micheal, clinging to him as she softly cried, apologizing to him. I gave a small sigh. Micheal was fine but he was in the land between life and death, the grey murkiness that chilled one to the bone. I didn't know why Mene held him there. He was healed, the healers had done all they could. His body was fine despite all the damage Adam had done to him. There was nothing but a few faint scars that were almost reminiscent of the ones on Lilith, a bit less elegant than her own but there all the same.

The door opened and I looked over right as the doctor walked in, the Alpha Female, Shey Abigail, followed him looking like she had been crying. "It has to be wrong!" She sounded nearly hysterical as she whispered it at him. She glanced towards me and I merely blinked back at her in response.

"I can't change the results, Alpha Shey. They are what they are." The doctor said it softly and she gave a shuddering breath, looking panicked and almost frantic.

"I can't be!" Her voice pitched upwards at the end and I glanced at where Lilith lay. Her eyebrows furrows but she fell still as she tightened her grip on Micheal. The dominance she had taken rolled off her form as she did so.

I looked back towards the Alpha female, "I see Lilith told you." I was more than aware of her condition. Mene had simply told me it wasn't for me to tell and that it was to fall onto Lilith.

"Please don't. Not with this." She hissed the words at me and I tilted my head, curious as to why she would say that.

"Why?" I didn't understand her reasoning why she didn't like me talking about this. It was new life, I would have thought after their loss that such news would be welcome.

"My daughter died! There is no way I want you to disparage how I feel right now." Her eyes flashed and I could see her jaw twitching as she more than likely ground her teeth together.

I glanced at Lilith and while she was still sleeping, I could see the creases on her forehead. I shifted moving closer to Shey Abigail, I didn't want to wake up Lilith. She had gone through enough for today. "I don't understand. New life must be celebrated." A low growl rumbled from her chest and the doctor reached out, grasping her arm with a low frown.

"Lilith and Micheal are resting. Please refrain from raising your voice." His voice was low and the growl grew slightly and she glowered at him intently, her dominance radiating from her. "I understand your feelings about this but you need to be aware of who else is here. Lilith and Micheal have gone through a significant amount of trauma. Lilith is my main concern at the moment. She didn't sustain much in regards to physical trauma but the mental could be worse. She needs rest, they both do." There was a low tone of censure to the doctor's voice and I watched as the Alpha Female clicked her teeth together but the growl stopped.

"We can leave the infirmary if you wish to discuss this further." I gave a low nod before I moved, heading for the door. I blinked lazily as I could hear her following me. I opened the door and stepped to the side, bowing my head towards her as she moved past me, her form stiff with tension. I closed the door gently and turned around. "Please continue with your feelings of the subject."

She whirled around, jabbing her finger into my face as she snarled. "How dare you! You do not get to come into my home and dictate my feelings to me!" I could see the rage radiating off of her, her dominance as well, however both rolled over me without any effects.

"I was not aware I had dictated your feelings to you. I apologize." I bowed my head at her. I knew I was poor at social interactions. I did not understand how the average shifter felt or how they reacted to certain things and for all I knew I had done something insulting to her. I watched as she nearly deflated at my words as she blinked at me. "Could you please explain how you feel and perhaps I can give some insight to you about your condition?" She blinked at me again, looking almost confused as her hand slowly lowered. "Mene speaks to me, much like she speaks to Lilith. Perhaps I can help." I could never understand how she felt but as a priestess, it was part of my duty to help shifters out in crises of faith. I figured this was close enough to a crisis of faith.

She shook her head, her jaw tensing. "You can't possibly help with this. You can't understand what it feels like to have your ch-child taken from you. To feel that pain and then to have someone tell you to celebrate a new life as if your grief means nothing." She shook and her eyes watered as she looked at me.

"Mene knows your grief, even if I do not." I narrowed my eyes slightly, frowning. I would never understand how she was feeling. I was not destined to suffer such grief and I was thankful for that.

She gave a wet scoff, wiped at her eyes almost angrily. "Of course you don't. You obviously don't have any clue what normal people feel." She crossed her arms over her chest, working her jaw as if upset by her own outburst. However I couldn't fault her for the words. It was true, I didn't truly understand how other people worked and felt. I was made how I was and I had settled with that.

I gave a slow nod before staring at her intently, trying to puzzle out what it would be that had been bothering her. "Is this because the little one was moonborn?"

"Of course it is! I can't survive another child dying! I can't handle having another baby look at me with milky white eyes! I just can't do it!" The words exploded out of her as she threw her arms wide, looking frantic and panicky and I gave another nod. I was half surprised I had managed to guess as well as I had. Usually it took me several tries to get it right.

"You won't have too. Mene never uses the same parents twice. She might take the opportunities provided to her but even she understands the burden that moonborn children brings their parents. You will never have another one." I knew there must have been fear to that, the thought of having to give up another vessel to Mene but the act of taking one never made Mene happy. She knew the pain it brought and it hurt her that she couldn't soothe the pain that her actions caused. All she could do was never visit that pain upon them again.

I watched as she pinched her lips together, crossing her arms across her chest. "Why are you here anyway?" She almost spat the words out and I tilted my head slightly. She seemed to be a bit defensive with my presence or perhaps it was emotions all together. I didn't really know.

"Besides ensuring Micheal survived, it is to be Lilith's guardian for when they come." The rage flared up again at the thoughts. There was a storm coming and Lilith needed me to make sure she weathered it okay. Adam's brother would come to make his demands. Lilith had Adam's power and it would be a large driving force behind him.

"Who?" There was a faint wariness to her voice and I turned my head to look at the door and immediately after there was a heavy banging against the large wooden door.

"Them." I turned back to Alpha Shey and she stared at the door, her form stiff as a low rumble escaped her chest. The banging on the door was growing louder and I could hear footsteps thumping against the floor as several people came down the stairs.

"Who the fuck is that?" At the bellow I looked over my shoulder. The ranks were in front of the door. I didn't much care about who they were but I did know that it was the Alpha, Luka, speaking. An older male was gripping his shoulder as he spoke to him in a low voice, I believed him to be Benji but I wasn't entirely sure. I turned around fully as the older male opened the door. I could see a Hunter standing there but it was the large male who caught my attention and had my lip curling upwards.

"Where is that fucking bitch?!" His voice boomed from him, rolling out on gravelly and growled tones and the Hunter held up his hand.

"There is no need for that language. We can get this done in a civil manner." The Hunter's voice was terse and his expression was as if carved from granite.

"Ambris?" Lilith's voice was tiny and I shifted without looking, blocking her from the male's view as he swung his gaze towards her.

"You fucking bitch!" Adam's brother stiffened, taking an aggressive step towards her.

The Alpha Male of Fortis stepped in front of him with a snarl. "You need to fucking leave." He stared up at the male, his dominance radiating off of him. Alpha Shey moved to stand beside her male, her dominance mixing with his, showing that they were a united front in the face of the threat.

"Enough. That is enough!" The Hunter moved between them, pushing them both away from each other. "I know this is a very volatile situation and tempers are running high but we need to calm down." The Hunter looked between them both and I watched as both males gave heavy growls.

"He comes onto my territory uninvited and starts talking shit about my ranked members, you don't get to tell me to calm down!" Alpha Luka held himself stiff and dominating, rumbles escaping him even as his female grasped his shoulder, showing her support for him.

Lilith grasped my hand and I squeezed it rhythmically, not knowing how she would handle seeing the male here. "Why is he here?" It was like a tiny stage whisper and I squeezed her hand in comfort before I turned my eyes back to the large male. Mene's rage was palpable against my skin and through my bones. She scorched my insides on her rage and demanded retribution for what had been done.

"He is here to pick up his brother. What is left of him at least." I smirked as I said the words loud enough I knew that he could hear.

His dark and angry eyes landed on me and he nearly vibrated. "You shut up you moon touched cunt!" He pointed at me almost aggressively and I felt almost lightheaded at the rage that soared through me. Mene truly didn't like it when someone disparaged me or any other shifter born to serve her. We were essentially her waypoints to this world. To insult us was to insult her and one didn't insult the mother goddess. The Old Way males had dug their own grave but they were working their way to an eternity of punishment by her hands at this rate.

"That is enough! You need to back down, right now." The Hunter pushed him back, his form bunching and his muscles rippling. I wasn't surprised. Altia had a very amicable relationship with the Hunters. I was one of their biggest sources on rogue check ins and information for cases outside of check points and witches. To cross me was to end a long and prosperous relationship that had existed long before me.

"My brother is fucking dead! And that bitch is standing there with his dominance and what is essentially his claim to my position!" He was nearly spitting as he shouted, his face red as he pointed an accusing finger at Lilith. She curled towards me, nearly hiding behind me as she bowed her head. I shushed her softly, squeezing her hand to remind her I was there, that I was to protect her from this as best as I could.

"I understand that but if you don't stop I will be asking you to leave the building. And Mi-ki will be assisting me in removing you." At the reference the witch that seemed almost amused by the tension waved her fingers at the large male, a rather vicious smile crossing her face as fire and danced between her fingertips.

"I man handle real good so I would behave yourself, fido." She gave a rather amused chuckle at that, winking at him as he trembled with anger but snapped his mouth closed regardless. "Pity... I really wanted to serve roasted hot dog." She gave another cold grin that had me smirking. We might not have always seen eye to eye with a lot of things but I respected witches for never backing down or holding their tongues. It made dealing with them endlessly amusing for me.

"Enough, Mi-ki." At the reprimand from her Hunter companion she rolled her eyes and shoved her salt and pepper hair back from her face. "Now that we are relatively calm. What has happened?" The Hunter turned back to the Alphas of Fortis, pulling out a note pad and clicking a pen.

Alpha Luka shifted on his feet, crossing his arms over his chest. "The male in question trespassed onto the territory and attempted to kidnap a pack member-"

"She is Adam's by right! You cannot interfere with that!" It bellowed out of him and the declaration was almost enough to have me rolling my eyes. Adam had no right to Lilith. Mene had made sure of it but these males were so poisoned by their ideological beliefs they couldn't see anything outside of their deluded reality.

The Hunter whirled around and shoved his finger into the large male's face as he gave a snarl that surprised me. "This the last warning I am giving you, Alpha Steve! Back. Down." The rumbling growls echoed through the foyer as everyone else reacted to them and they made Lilith shudder, her new dominance wildly thrumming off her form. I squeezed her had again, attempting to comfort her. As the growls tapered off the Hunter turned back to the Alphas. "I apologize, continue." He gestured with the hand holding the pen as he said it, as if encouraging Alpha Luka to continue.

"He trespassed and attempted to kidnap a pack member, Lilith. She is mated to my Beta and has been for several months." He seemed to emphasis the words as he stared at the large male and there was a heavy rumble from him but I could see him narrowing his eyes and pressing his lips together to stop himself from retorting. "However my Beta, Micheal, stopped his attempt and there was an altercation that nearly killed Micheal. From there I believe Lilith attacked and killed the male in an attempt to protect Micheal." It was the truth but not quite as nuanced as I would have explained it. However I conceded that the male wouldn't have had the intimate knowledge that I did about it.

"So she is the one who holds the power of Alpha Adam's former position?" The Hunter wrote down in his notebook as he glanced up at the Alphas and Alpha Luka nodded.

"Correct." The air vibrated with tension and I knew that the male wanted to explode, to spray his venomous bile all over. After meeting them both, I was no longer upset with the goddess for the curse. I actually lauded her for it. I never wanted a child to be born into families that had those types of males at the head of them, who could rule over them or twist them into little versions of themselves.

"As it stands this is a clear cut case of self-defence but the added aspect of Alpha Adam's power means we need to transfer it to his heir, Alpha Steve, to prevent a power vacuum with their packs and sub-packs. Standard procedure." The Hunter closed up his notepad and tucked it and the pen away before holding up his finger towards the large old way male, as if sensing he wanted to say something. "Don't you say a word. Trespassing is a serious offence, as is attempting to kidnap a pack member, as is attacking a ranked member of a pack. They were justified in their response to his actions." He threw a dark look over his shoulder towards the old way male. They seemed to glower at each other before the other male looked away, his nostrils flaring and a red creeping up his face from his neck with his palpable rage.

"Is there anyway we can speak to Lilith? The quicker we can sort out the shift of power the better." The Hunter let out a breath and looked towards the two Alphas expectantly and I blinked.

"I doubt you will get much from her. The incident has had an adverse affect on her mental state. Seeing Adam again and then witnessing him try to kill her male was very distressing for her. She blames herself." I said the words evenly. "I am her guardian as Micheal is still stuck between the land of life and death and he cannot be here to facilitate such an exchange." Lilith shuddered, a low sound escaping her at the reminder. She tightly squeezed my hand, grasping the back of my robe in her other as she pressed her forehead to the back of my shoulder.

The Hunter looked at me and bowed his head. "Head Priestess Ambris, it is good to see you. How can we facilitate the exchange?" He moved towards me, the witch following him and I lead Lilith closer to them all, holding her hand tightly.

"You need to understand that Lilith experienced an extreme amount of abuse from Adam and her mental state is rocky because of it. We need to approach this ge-"

"If he wants the power he needs to give me what I left there." Lilith's voice was surprisingly strong and steady as she said it and I looked at her in surprised. "He needs to give me back my family." The demand was said softly but firmly and I felt immensely proud of her for that.

"Fuck no!"The words came out on a snarl. "She isn't getting fucking anything from me!" The large male bared his teeth, a growl ripping from his chest as his narrowed gaze fell onto Lilith.

"Enough!" the Hunter spun around once more to look at the large male. "She has given reasonable parameters for an exchange."

"That bitch isn't getting anything from me! She killed my brother, I'm not handing over anyone!" He vibrated, his anger radiating off of him and I could see everyone else reacting to that but the Hunter had gone almost strangely still.

"Are you withholding her family deliberately?" The words came out almost cold and they were steady and even, if a bit clipped. "Am I to take that to mean you are holding them against their will?" Everyone, including me, stared at the Hunter, aware that something had happened but I wasn't sure what. There was a different sort of tension to his form that I hadn't seen before. Even the witch seemed intent on the conversation. She seemed almost joyful as she looked between her handler and the old way male. There was an expectancy to her gaze as she leaned forward, watching them both intently.

I flicked my gaze to the large male and the redness receded from his face and he ground his teeth together to violently I could hear it from where I stood. "Fine. I will bring him here tomorrow but I want my brother today." He hissed the words out and I was almost surprised at the fact he backed down and the Hunter slowly turned to look at the Alphas as if questioning them silently about it.

Alpha Shey shifted on her feet. "He can take him. It's stinking up the infirmary and we don't want to deal with the mess." She sniffed in disgust and the Hunter bowed his head in acknowledgement before he pointed harshly to the front door. The old way male gave a low growl but whirled around and stalked out the door, followed closely by the witch and the Hunter. A heavy silence fell as the door closed and I shifted to look at Lilith. She was tugging on a strand of her hair as if robotically. "So can anyone tell me what power dynamic that was because holy shit did he back down quick." Alpha Shey let out a rather explosive exhale as she said it and I had to agree, I had never seen that before.

"The Hunter was implying that there was a crime being committed on his territory. If there is a suspected crime being committed the Hunters can raid a territory without a warrant." The older male said it slowly and I nodded, realizing the implications of that. No old way Alpha would want the Hunters poking around.

"Benji, do you want to help me toss that useless sack of bones out the front door?" Alpha Luka shifted on his feet, running his hand through his hair.

"Yes, sir." The older male nodded and moved past me and Lilith as I watched Alpha Luka kiss his female gently, pressing his forehead to her own.

He smoothed his hand across her belly. "We will work through this, okay?" She nodded at that before wrapping her arms around his neck.

Lilith shifted on her feet, squeezing my hand. "I want to go back to Micheal." With that she dropped my hand and slowly moved back towards the infirmary. I sighed, feeling both worry and relief. Worry for how Lilith would recover from this and relief that I would never have to experience any of the pain that had swirled around me today.