I didn’t get involved in any commands, as I watched Rex get more Shifters to guard the outer boundary and start recruiting more combat Shifters. He got a place ready for the woman and children, for when the fight may begin and also got another area with doctors and beds, just in case…

I watched and finally felt like that red threat looming over the horizon was something that we could deal with…As before now, I had felt like it was stifling, like it had its hand around my neck. But now, now I felt slightly better, like we were aware and would fight better and not so surprised…

Rex had often stated that he was glad that I had told him about what I had seen, thanking me like I was his savior but…He had a strange look in his eyes…

Feeling what he was feeling, I was confused upon Rexxie’s confliction towards what his cousin was doing and the near certainty of war approaching.

Asking why he felt that way, Rex sighed and held me tighter, “War is death. There’s not many that aren’t connected to another, so death would bring sorrow and sadness to at least one other person. Sometimes, I just…I just feel like I would prefer to stop the war, then let it happen.”

Moving, so that I directly faced him on his lap, I put my hands to his face and smiled, “War is a part of us whether we like it or not. It’s a factor that seems to follow us everywhere, something that will most likely happen in any type of future we try to forge our way through. Granted, I believe it as a human factor for sure, but…As Shifters, being part wolf, we also have a fighting spirit about us too.”

Rex put his forehead against mine and sighed, “I know this, Sweetheart. I will fight for everyone in my pack, I will try to keep from someone getting hurt or killed but, this is all because of someone wanting to be known as the King. Why is everyone involved for such a selfish act? That is why I’m so conflicted.”

Kissing his nose, I pulled slightly back, to look at him right in the eyes, and smiled, “More is involved because of their belief, their loyalty, their trust, their own opinions, their own desires…Again, it seems it’s just a part of us…That’s all.”

Rex let out a small laugh and held me tighter, “Such a precious, little treasure you are!”

Bringing our lips together, we were once again in our own little world.

Tingles spread from my lips and across my body, like lightning, and I sighed as Rex took the kiss deeper.

Every time we kissed, I felt so willing to go to the next base, whatever that was, but for some reason we didn’t.

I don’t know if it was Rex or me, but it seemed like we had some hidden law that we both unknowingly knew not to cross…It was weird!

All we did was kiss and I guess that was alright, I liked it a lot and I was sure Rex didn’t mind either.

I knew he was getting older, probably a few people getting antsy over him having an heir but…I was getting older too!

Not once had he complained about my age, not once had he complained about not being able to do more.

I felt it through our link, our bond, that he was not complaining there either. No, actually, I felt his happiness a lot, so much that I was giddy nearly all the time!

I really did feel like I was having one of those teenager, puppy dog, type of loves that people had back on Earth!

Ah…No…It was more than that! Rexxie really was…My everything!

***

Within just days, the whole compound had changed. It looked more like an army camp now, instead of the casual…Well, like an office? Or maybe like a park?

Whatever, I shrugged, it was just obviously much different than before!

“My Queen, please help us!”

Seeing a few people suddenly rush towards me and throw themselves before my feet I took a step back in shock.

This is new!

People weren’t often coming up to me and stating ‘my Queen’…

I suppose though, it really was out there everywhere now, that I was indeed the upcoming ‘Queen’…

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Right, there’s another issue here besides being called ‘Queen’! Pay attention!

But before I could even understand the situation, they were practically knocking their heads on the ground!

Widening my eyes to the ‘never seen before with my own eyes drama’, then to also see people staring at me…

Was this a plot? Haha, was someone filming some old movie? Actually, that’s not a bad idea!

It’ll give this place a little more…You know…It’ll give it some happy, smiley faces atmosphere…But I suppose, a war was coming…

…If not a movie then…What the hell!?

Didn’t bowing go out of date like…A millennium ago!?

“My Queen, we are from a pack to the south, the Free Horizon Pack, only getting here recently but having been held prisoner before that. Please, my Queen, we haven’t done anything wrong, yet we are still being treated like outcasts like we had joined the enemy! What if we go rogue!? Will you take responsibility!? We came here in hope that it would be better than joining the enemy but…Please, my Queen, there’s already so many of us now without a home!”

…He was telling the truth…By the looks of it he must have been picked out of the group to be their spokesman and one other near him might have been the one to get him over to me as he seemed to be quite a large Shifter…Hey Mr Muscles!

Seeing that someone was indeed after them and that their attire was not at the best, probably because it had been pulled on and what not, I told those who were now running towards us that it was alright.

…They did well, I suppose, they found someone that could help!

Seeing no red in these people, I was suddenly put back into shock once again upon finally understanding the words that had been spoken.

Right, the country has changed because of this up and coming war and now innocent people have been put through hell…

Seeing these people as green, holding what I would call ‘no threat’, I turn to one of the Shifters that was taking a guarding post close by and asking them, “How many people are in this predicament?”

The Shifter blinked at me and I could see that he had no idea!

“Don’t worry about it!” I told him, a bit angry…Just not angry at him…

Wasn’t Shifters supposedly more ‘family’ like and care more for each other! I mean, humans tend to be more selfish and I was glad to become a Shifter and all but at the moment, I just can’t see a difference!

Whatever, I’ll do the work! At least then I know it should be done properly!

Well, if it’s not done properly by me, then I’ll just…

Focus!

Putting out a hand to the man that seemed to be in charge of the four people kneeling in front of me, I pull him up and the other three got up too. “Tell me…No, show me! Take me to all the people like yourself.”

The man bowed his head and in just a small amount of time he figured that he’d probably still be able to save his family if he did as the Queen asked. “This way!”

His original objective was to get the King, that is what they all agreed upon before leaving but…The Queen seemed just as good, even if she was only as tall as their shoulders at most!

I was led through two different opened areas, then went into a very secluded and underground place that seemed to be to the side of the huge compound.

And just as I thought, these people weren’t the only ones that may have flocked here and were now being detained due to not being trusted.

I guess I understood Rexxie and the higher ups for not trusting new people but…It seemed a bit too cruel.

Who knows how long it would take before they turn rogue and well, then wouldn’t all of them be in danger!?

Some of them might still be with a connection, probably because the Alpha might still be alive or be here amongst them but if the Alpha had been killed, the connection is cut and that is why Alpha’s are protected by Beta’s. Now that I recall through some boring ‘history’ lesson, there was a time that nearly all Alpha’s had been eliminated, but that was a long time ago…

So, something had to be done but how were they to tell if they could be trusted or not?

…After all the preparations for war and not having come up with a good plan as of yet, the people have just stayed here…

Seeing the people look like they could form a grudge at any second, I clapped my hands together and sighed to my new mission.

With that small action, I got half of the area’s attention and I walked right up to them, seeing at least half of the people here as ‘green’.

Immediately I started to point out to all the ‘green’ people, separating them from the rest and sending them to the wall nearest to the door. The people were looking around curiously, wondering what was going on but they just did as asked, probably just glad that finally something was being done and perhaps they could get out of this place that seemed to be more like a quarantine, as they had been cut off from the rest of the world while stuck there.

Without needing to know that these people had not actually become part of the pack, simple because I was not obviously connected to them, I had also an idea that only simple things were written down about them, probably due to the fact that they had been so busy planning and preparing for war…

Now that the ‘green’ people were separated from the ‘red’ people, I turned towards a guard, ready to ask him about the knowledge of these people but then thought against it…

He might not even know! And well, it was probably better to get out of there and not let the people know what was going on just yet, as…What would I say?

‘I was just getting the ‘green team’ and the ‘red team’ separated, that’s all!’?

I nearly laughed but simply went on with my decision to get out of there first, before questions were asked and my careless personality came out too much…

Turning back to the people that were the ‘green team’, I simply state, “Follow me.”

With that I started walking and all of a sudden, I had a few loud mouths getting upset and a few people stop us from the front.

The ones to stop us looked uncertain and the loud mouths were saying, ‘Hey, what about the rest of us?’, ‘Where are you taking them!?’

Sighing, I thought for a moment and turned to the rest of the Shifters that were the ‘red team’, and said, “Do not fret, I will come back soon!”

That was when I saw a faint redness elsewhere…

In a quick flash, I flinched to what I saw in my mind and realized what this probably will do, now that I’ve seen it!

Being reminded of the bomb that was in my shoulder a few years ago, I widened my eyes to thinking of the ‘what if’s’.

These people, they were from elsewhere, being held at a distance from the King, it could happen…It could happen that someone here could be a kamikaze suicide bomber…

Would the person even know that they had a bomb?

Maybe, they are red after all…

At the moment, the slight redness was not coming directly off a Shifter, like it did normally…It was more so around an ankle.

…I had to get out of here before that Shifter finds out who I am!