Rogues

Rider

I was heading to my mother’s office after receiving a mind-link from her that she and my father wanted to speak with me. Werewolves could mind-link each other, which was basically speaking to one another telepathically if they belonged to the same pack or were fully mated. But it only worked when they were in close proximate to one another.

My parents, Trish and Erik, were the current alphas of the pack. They shared the title. Usually, a pack would have an alpha and a luna, but because my mother had alpha blood, they led the pack together as co-alphas. It never bothered my father that she took the alpha title instead of becoming luna. It surprised me because I knew I wouldn’t want my mate to be an alpha. It was a dangerous role and definitely not the job I would want my woman to take on. I wanted my mate to be safe and sound at home with our pups while I was out protecting the pack.

I couldn’t wait to find my mate. I was confident she would be perfect and submissive.

My nineteenth birthday was in a couple of weeks, and I couldn’t wait. Firstly, that was when my parents planned on handing me the alpha title, and second, that was the age when a werewolf could finally sense their fated mate. A mate was the other half of your soul. The Moon Goddess blessed every wolf with a destined mate. They were supposed to be your perfect match, someone who completed you.

I reached my mother’s office and knocked.

“Come in.” I heard her announce from the other side of the door.

I opened the door and walked into the office. My mother was sitting behind her desk while my father sat on the couch with my younger brother, Rory. He was only seven months younger than I was. My mother got pregnant right after giving birth to me and a werewolf pregnancy only lasted six months. That was why we were so close in age. My brother and I were complete opposites. I was serious and disciplined, while he was laid back and a total prankster. Even though we were opposites, we still got along well. It didn’t seem to bother him that I was next in line to be alpha. He was quite supportive of me. I had already decided that when I took over as alpha, he would be my beta, the second in command, and my best friend, Matty, would be my gamma, the third in command.

“Thanks for coming, Son. Take a seat,” my mother said, drawing me out of my thoughts.

“What’s going on?” I asked curiously as I took a seat across from hers.

“I just got a phone call from Alpha Samuel of the Dark Shadow Pack. Rogues attacked them last week, and they lost five warriors,” my mother replied in a serious tone, causing me to let out a heavy sigh.

Rogues were lone wolves that either left their packs because they didn’t like following rules or had committed a crime and therefore been banished from their pack. Either way, the majority of rogues were bad news. Some even turn feral after living alone for so long. They lose contact with their human half and end up living as animals for the rest of their lives. Because of that, they were extremely dangerous.

“Those rogues are becoming a problem. We’ve already lost three warriors this month alone to rogue attacks,” I replied while running my fingers through my hair.

“That’s just it. Seems like we aren’t the only pack being attacked. A couple of weeks ago, a small pack to the south, The Raven Pack, was completely decimated. Half the pack wasn’t even found. They just disappeared, and no one knows what happened to them,” my father added.

“What are we going to do?” my brother asked, sounding concerned.

“I think we need to have an alpha meeting and devise a plan together. They seem to be targeting smaller packs like ours,” my mother replied.

Our pack wasn’t the smallest, but we also weren’t considered big. We had around three hundred and fifty pack members, but our training was intense, so our warriors were stronger than the average warrior. Meaning we could handle ourselves even though we were a smaller pack.

“That’s a good idea. Maybe some of the larger packs can spare some of their warriors to help protect the smaller packs,” I added, and my mother nodded.

“I’ve already talked to Alpha Drake, and they'll send some of their warriors to help guard our borders,” my father said, and I immediately groaned in response.

I didn’t have anything against Alpha Drake, but I couldn’t stand his daughter, Sophia. I spent a lot of time in their pack when I was a kid. My parents were close friends with her parents, Alpha Drake and Luna Isabella, so I often got dragged there. Sophia and I had never gotten along. She was so stubborn and opinionated that it drove me crazy. I still couldn’t believe that Alpha Drake was handing the alpha title to her when she turned nineteen a month after me. I mean, I knew she was the only heir to the pack, but still, she was a woman. I have nothing against women, but I firmly believe the alpha role was a man’s job. I would never dare tell my mother that, or she would kick my ass. She had done it before when I alluded to the fact that women shouldn’t be alphas, and since then, I had learned to keep my thoughts to myself when it came to that subject.

It wasn’t that I didn’t think my mother did a good job as alpha; it’s that I worried about her. She was so small, and it would destroy me if something happened to her. I knew it would ruin my brother and father too.

“What’s wrong big bro? You worried about whom Alpha Drake might send over to help us?” my brother teased, bringing me out of my thoughts. I glared at him; he always knew how to push my buttons.

“You’re the future alpha of this pack. You need to learn how to be civil with people you don’t get along with, Son,” my mother scolded and gave me a pointed look.

I know. I’ll be civil if she is, but I’m not sure she knows how to be. I swear she’s the devil,” I replied with a frustrated huff.

“You’re still upset about that epic wedgie she gave you the last time you saw her, aren’t you? Remember that one? You guys were sparring, and she had you pinned down, and then she...” my brother started, and I quickly cut him off.

“That was like five years ago, and she didn’t pin me down,” I spat back, and he chuckled.

“That was two years ago at most, and she definitely pinned you, but you deserved it for the shit you said to her,” my brother replied with a cocky smirk.

“Enough, both of you,” my father intervened.

Before he could continue, we all received a pack-wide mind-link.

Rogues, northern border... one of the warriors on patrol shouted through the link before it disconnected. I could hear the panic in his tone.

“Shit! We got to go,” I said as we all immediately stood up. I could see the concern on my parent’s faces.

I tried mind-linking with the other warriors on patrol, but no one answered me. They were likely busy fighting and couldn’t reply.

We ran out of the office and made our way outside. As soon as we were through the front door, I quickly shifted into my wolf, Chase. My clothes were shredded in the process.

Chase was a large black wolf, and he could be ruthless at times. He hated rogues as much as I did. My wolf and I shared a body but had our own thoughts. We communicate with each other through our minds. I first shifted when I was sixteen, which was the standard age that we got our wolves. Ever since then, we have worked as a team.

We ran through the forest. Rory’s wolf, Chaos, was hot on my tail, and my parents weren’t far behind him.

Can you smell that? Rory asked through mind-link as a coppery smell hit my nose.

Yeah, blood. I replied, while slowing my pace as we approached the northern border.

My wolf, Chase, was on high alert. Things were quiet, but the smell of blood was getting stronger the closer we got.

As we reached the border, I immediately spotted two of my warriors standing over something. They were looking down at whatever it was with their backs to us.

As I got closer, I noticed a body lying on the ground in front of them, and I recognized it as one of my warriors. His name was Edward. I knew immediately by the gruesome sight that he was deceased. He had been completely shredded, with claw marks littering his body.

I could smell the distinct scent of rogues in the area. They smelled like rotting flesh. It was a very distinct scent and unmistakable.

I shifted into my human form, and my parents and Rory followed suit. I grabbed some shorts from a stash of clothes we kept in a tree at the border and quickly slipped them on before joining our warriors.

“What happened?” I asked Larry and Warner, the two warriors.

Upon hearing my voice, they both turned to greet us.

“Alphas, Rider, Rory,” they said in unison.

“He was attacked. I don’t think he saw them coming until it was too late. By the time we got here, he was already dead. We managed to kill two of the three rogues, but the third got away.” Warner added, and I could hear the pain in his voice as he looked down at his deceased friend.

I scanned the area with my eyes. That was when I spotted the two dead rogues only twenty feet away.

“If we had just gotten here a few seconds sooner, we could have saved him,” Larry added, his voice breaking as he spoke. It was clear he felt responsible to some extent.

“You got here as fast as you could. I have no doubt about that. Don’t beat yourself up over it,” my father said as he patted Larry on the shoulder.

I made my way over to the two dead rogues while my parents questioned the warriors.

They were both lying on the ground in their human form, covered with various wounds. They probably fought in wolf form, but once they sustained serious enough injuries, their bodies automatically shifted into their human shape.

One of the rogues appeared in his mid-twenties, while the other looked no older than sixteen. I frowned at the sight. Why would a sixteen-year-old be living like a rogue? And why attack our pack?

“Find anything over here?” my mother asked as she came to stand beside me.

“Wow... He’s young,” she added before I could reply.

“Yeah, he is. They both are,” I stated, and she slowly nodded without taking her eyes off the rogues.

“Your father and brother are going to take care of the scene. Come back to my office. We need to make some phone calls,” my mother said, and I nodded before following her toward the packhouse.

We were both silent as we walked. It was clear that the attack was bothering her as much as it bothered me. What exactly were these rogues up to? They usually live on their own, so why suddenly are they working in groups?

We reached my mother’s office, and she took a seat behind her desk while I sat across from her. She let out a sigh before finally speaking.

“I want you to run this investigation and work with our neighboring packs to devise a solution. Your father and I will be here to guide you, but I have complete faith in you as a leader to deal with this. You’re taking the alpha title in less than a month. Let’s call this a tryout,” my mother said in earnest.

“I can do that,” I replied with a nod.

“That means working with people you don’t always get along with,” she added with a pointed look. I knew exactly who she was talking about. Sophia. I cringed at the thought of working with her, but the alpha title meant more to me. Therefore, I would do my best.

“Of course, I’ll do my best,” I replied.

“Alpha Drake’s pack is our biggest ally. We need their help,” she said.

“I know. I’ll call and give him the heads-up on what happened here today,” I replied, and could see the satisfaction on my mother’s face.

As much as I didn’t want to make the call, I knew I had to. I guess I would be seeing the she-devil herself sooner rather than later. I knew Alpha Drake was going to send her since she was their head warrior, and also, since she was going to be taking over the alpha title soon, her father would want her involved in the investigation.