Never in her life had Amy ever seen a war, but she had definitely read about them. She had read about dozens and dozens of wars, but never in her life had she considered the possibility of becoming face to face with one. All around her stood brave soldiers and brave werewolves, and she suddenly felt so insignificant. Here she was in the midst of something that was so much larger than herself, but she still needed to do all she could to protect her people. These soldiers needed to go home to their families once this was over.

"Ameline!" the king barked. "Take my horse and ride back home. I will not see you on the battlefield. You will not die here if I have anything to do with it. I want to see you live past twenty."

Amy grimaced. Her name day was tomorrow, and usually her family would celebrate it by doing something small, but war felt like no celebration to her. Her name day would be one of mourning.

"I'm not leaving," Amy replied stubbornly. "You know that I'm good with a bow. I'll keep my distance, only jumping in when I have to. Please, Father."

The drums sounded again and the king pulled his helmet over his face to protect his head. "Very well, Ameline. But you stay in the back. If they break through our borders, you take my horse and make a run for it. As long as you are still alive, there will always be an heir."

He didn't wait any longer before marching out to battle with his soldiers, Amy taking the rear. Even though she couldn't be near the front with Geric and the other wolves, she watched as he looked back every now and again almost as if to make sure that she was still there.

After twenty long minutes of marching, Minnings' army finally came into view across the large field, and even from this distance, Amy could see the shock and the fear on their soldiers' faces at seeing the wolves at the front of the line. They hadn't expected to be fighting against wolves, that much was clear.

A scowl formed on Amy's face as she watched an all too familiar figure on a grey horse riding back and forth in front of his line of soldiers, making a show of commanding his army. Charles looked much more formidable in his armor and with his weapons than he had at their castle just a couple weeks ago. But Charles brought this war on himself, and hopefully today, they'd finish it.

Surprisingly, some of Minnings' soldiers dropped their weapons and fled in fear, but the others looked enraged. In a rush of anticipated adrenaline, both armies rushed forward in a series of shouts and war cries, and before she knew it, the roar of metal clashing against metal deafened her ears.

Blood pulsed in Amy's ears as she jumped back, fear filling every inch of her as the reality set in. This was a war. People we're going to die here.

"Geric," Amy whispered fearfully as she frantically looked around her, trying to find the furry heap she called her beloved. Her heart leapt into her throat as she spotted him amidst the throng of warring soldiers. Three of Minnings' soldiers surrounded him, trying to push him into a dangerous corner. He easily took two of them out but would be too slow to get the third.

Without even thinking, Amy cocked her bow and let her arrow fly, the arrow striking the enemy's neck. Geric glanced over at her and gave her a grateful nod before rushing to the aid of another wolf.

Amy watched in fearful fascination as the wolves took down soldier after soldier with ease, almost as if batting a fly, but that opened up a path for the Colmar soldiers to break through the enemy lines.

Realizing that she hardly had a good vantage point from where she stood, Amy glanced around her before she spotted a tree, and without hesitation, she began to climb.

With her bow and arrows in tow, it took a lot longer to climb than she had anticipated, but when she was high enough, Amy sat on branch large enough to support her weight. And then she waited. She waited for the perfect opportunity before drawing back the string of her bow and letting her arrows fly. Either she was able to go for a kill shot or wound the soldier enough for one of her own to finish the job for her.

All the while, she kept a careful eye on both her father and Geric. She often lost Geric in the frenzy, but never once could she miss the king with his jewel-encrusted armor and the seal of royalty emblazoned on his chest. Her father fought nobly alongside his soldiers, a king that any kingdom would be proud of.

After what felt like hours, Amy grew bone weary from her station in the tree, but still she continued to watch and wait until she got down to one last arrow in her quiver. Her last shot had to count.

Her eyes carefully followed the fight until she found exactly who she was looking for. Prince Charles. He stood near the middle of the fight, bloodthirsty and vengeful but relatively unscathed. She would have to change that.

Amy cocked her last arrow and drew back her bow, the arrow trained on the Charles' heart. Watching. Waiting. And then Charles paused for a moment to catch his breath, the perfect opportunity.

She loosed her arrow, but Charles must have seen her shoot because he dodged at the last second, the arrow narrowly missing his heart and embedding itself in his shoulder. He let out a roar of pain before slinking to the back of the fight and hastily calling for a retreat. Amy couldn't believe it. They were retreating! What exactly did that mean for Colmar?

Colmar soldiers let out shouts of triumph as they watched the Minnings soldiers retreat and only then did Amy drop down from the tree, ignoring the way her muscles protested against the drop.

No sooner than when her feet touched the ground did a large white wolf smother her in its tufts of fur, whining joyfully before giving Amy a nice slobbery kiss on the cheek. Amy assumed that meant 'thank you', but she wasn't able to reply before another wolf charged at the white wolf and playfully tackled it to the ground. Amy couldn't help but laugh as she watched the two of them bite each other and tackle each other before they wound their necks around each other. It warmed her heart to its very core.

Her attention was torn away from the display as her own furry fiend rubbed his body along Amy's before wrapping his neck around her and pulling her in for a hug. She hugged Geric back with all the love, and what was left of her energy, that she could muster.

Hopefully it was finally time to go back to camp.

. . . . .

The soldiers and the wolves sat around the campfire singing boisterously loud but they did it together, unified as humans and werewolves. For the moment, it seemed as if the rift between them was gone and replaced by something that more resembled trust and friendship. Fighting together side by side had definitely proved a lot for both humans and werewolves.

Amy burst into laughter as two of the werewolves got up from where they sat and danced with each other around the fire, all onlookers laughing and clapping along to the music. If Amy had enough energy, she would join them, but she just felt content watching. The werewolves moved with such grace that she admired. It was so beautiful...

Her thoughts were interrupted as a young girl with blonde hair came to sit beside her, and for a moment, Amy wondered why she was there. That was until she caught sight of the amber glow of her eyes. Those were the same eyes of the white wolf who had rejoiced with her earlier.

"Pardon me, Your Majesty," she said quietly. "I just wanted to thank you for saving me earlier. I thought I was going to be killed for sure."

Did Amy save her? She hadn't been paying attention to details other than the Minnings' crests emblazoned on each of the enemy's uniforms. This girl looked to have a few minor wounds, but nothing too serious.

"You're welcome," Amy said, giving the girl a smile. "Though I'm surprised to see a girl as young as you fighting amongst the werewolves. How did you get turned?"

The girl smiled and shook her head. "That's a story for another day. But I want you to know that since you saved my life, I am indebted to you. Whatever you need from me, it's yours."

Amy nodded her head politely. "Thank you..."

"The name is Kalia."

"Thank you, Kalia. May you have a long, fulfilling life."

When Kalia left her side, Amy craned her neck over the fire, trying to catch sight of Geric, but she didn't see him anywhere. Where had he run off to?

Almost in answer to her question, she felt a tap on her shoulder and giggled as Geric pulled her to her feet, spinning around to the beat of the music. One after the other, humans and werewolves both got to their feet and began dancing along, but Amy only had eyes for Geric. She gazed back into his beautiful amber eyes and she felt so lucky. Geric was the most amazing, incredible, and selfless man—and werewolf—that she had ever known, and more than anything, she felt lucky to call herself his. Completely and utterly his.