Chapter 5: Mate

Alice’s Point of view

"Rogues at the Blue Red corridor".

I groan and roll over in my bed.

This is a joke. This is a fucking joke.

"They are many, we need more backup." Continues to mind link a warrior who was on duty tonight. 

I grunt again and get up quickly. I undress in a record time and change into my wolf, jumping out of my bedroom window. 

Having Alpha blood, my wolf is larger than average but and I’m faster. 

My fur is so white that it almost looks like it’s glowing, except for the little patch of black fur on my chest that looks like a crescent moon.  

As I leave the packhouse behind me and run towards the fight, I feel Cassiopeia take control and I know my eyes are glowing a deep green now.

"But how is that possible? We chased them away!" Wonders Cassiopeia.

I don't know either. Hunting with Copper was very effective. We dislodged some rogues from the center of town and they fled to the Red Silver and Blue Silver corridors. We followed them so we split up and took our positions. 

After this first partnership, we met again the next three nights only to find the rogues' hiding places. It was only on the 4th day that I managed to convince my father to transfer me to the Blue Red corridor. 

We then started to hunt them for real, taking them in a pincer, forcing them to escape through the Blue Red corridor where the rest of both our packs were busy killing them. 

We stuck to this strategy for almost a week and then the rogues started to get fewer. As we were no longer in demand at our posts, we decided to chase the rest to the other two corridors. 

I grit my teeth remembering that moment. We debated for a while, each one wanting to take care of his remaining hallway. We ended up drawing straws and I lost. 

I remember the first night we approached the Red Silver corridor. 

*****

Flashback:

"Saph! Come to see this." Copper whispers to me.

I slowly approach and take cover, right next to him. He points to five rogues advancing towards the Red Silver corridor. 

"Another small group? I don't understand. The whole point of being a rogue is that you have no pack. No Alpha, no one to answer to, nothing. So why are they hanging out together?" I turn my head towards him. "Cop?"

"That's weird."

I turn my head back to the group. "What is?"

"Besides the one you killed the night we met, have you seen a rogue alone?"

I think for a moment and realize that I have always seen them at least in pairs. Then it hits me. "Do you think they are organizing to attack us?"

"I don't see any other explanation."

That makes sense. Since we've been attacked, it's always in very large groups of at least twenty rogues. 

"There is only one way to find out." I say.

"Oh yeah?" 

"Yes. We'll ask them." 

"Wait, what? Saph!"

Before he can stop me, I come out of my hiding place and walk around them without them seeing me. I can vaguely hear Cop mumbling "crazy" or "bullshit".

When I arrive on the other side, I signal to Cop so we can attack them from both sides at the same time. 

We both jump on the rogue closest to us. While I fight with mine, Cop has already cut the head of his opponent with his sword. 

He is good at it. I remember the first night when he told me that I didn't have a chance against him and although I'm still convinced that I do, I’m sure that it would be a hell of a fight.

I swing my daggers and slit a rogue's throat. I turn to block another one and I receive a heavy blow to the back of my neck, knocking me down. 

"Saph!!!" I hear Cop shouts my name. I get up like a ninja and fight with the one who hit me barehanded. I dodge his claws, make a grab for him and find myself behind him, in a perfect position to break his neck. As I stand up to face the last one I see him running away. I try to follow him but I hear a muffled scream behind me. 

A rogue is on top of Cop, with one of my dagger at 2 cm from his throat. I see his arms shaking from the effort. The rogue put all his weight on my dagger and it plants itself lightly in Cop's throat. 

"No!"

A sudden wave of panic overcomes me at the thought of him dying in front of me.

I don't think any longer and jump on the rogue's back, rolling us away from Cop. Despite the surprise, he managed to stab me in the shoulder. I scream in pain as Copper yells my name.

As I push him away with my foot, Cop is already on his feet, catches the rogue, and throws him to the ground. He screams with rage and hits the rogue without stopping. He is so furious and puts so much force in his blows that I fear for the rogue's life. 

I get up quickly and just as I was about to put a hand on his back he turns to me and relaxes a little, hanging his fist in the air. 

"Calm down." I whisper in what I hope is a soothing voice. "We need to ask him questions, remember?"

He turns his gaze back to the bleeding rogue.

"He hurt us." He says in a harsh voice. "He hurt you." He whispers sadly.

Is he worried about me? Part of me hopes so because despite everything that separates us, I see him like a friend. 

I shake my head. No. He's not my friend. He's a Red, he's a Red, and no matter how many times I tell myself that since we met, I find it harder and harder to convince myself. 

Cassiopeia like him too. Even though neither of us has ever shift, we let our wolf take control and hunt together sometimes and Cassie likes it.

"I'm fine Cop. I've already started to heal just like you."

I approach the rogue and lean over him. He looks me straight in the eye. At least with the one he still manages to open.

"You don't have the right to be here." He declares while coughing up blood.

I raise an eyebrow. "You seem to know a lot about the laws here. Why are you attacking our territories?"

He doesn't answer me so Cop presses hard on one of his wounds, making him wince in pain. "She asked you a question."

"When we will defeat you, we will move in."

He looks so convinced that it makes both of us explode with laughter. 

Cop resumes. "So you got organized and one day you thought, hey! Let's attack the three most powerful packs on this continent and settle in their place." He shakes his head "You're even more stupid than I thought."

"Even if there were a thousand of you, you're still just rogues. You don't have a chance" I add.

To my surprise, he bursts out laughing almost madly. "That's your first mistake, underestimating us. We are much more numerous than you think and we are not alone."

"What are these riddles?" Cop gets angry.

"You have enemies. Far more than you think and stronger than you imagine. Your fate is already sealed. It's only a matter of time now."

As we try to get more information, the rogue pulls out my second dagger and stabs himself in the neck, leaving us in shock. 

Unfortunately, we are forced to run as the rogue who escaped us came back with reinforcements, at least thirty of them. 

End of the flashback.

*****

We stopped hauting after that night. By message, we agreed to take a break, the time to be forgotten. Moreover, as they didn't attack our packs for two nights, we thought that they had learned their lesson. 

And yet here I am, running in the direction of the Blue Red corridor while it is now a whole week that we had no alert. 

"Cassie can you hear?" She stops in her tracks and listens.

"It sounds like it's crowded."

Indeed as we arrive we find Reds, Blues, and even Silvers in the Blue Red corridors. All of them are in the middle of a fight and there are so many rogues that I can't count them.

Without further delay, we get into the fight, killing all the rogues passing under our paws. 

I lose count of how many I kill but it looks like we are winning. While I am fighting with a brown wolf, three others attack me, managing to hurt me. One of them bites me violently on a back leg, making me howl in pain. 

Two others arrive and they manage to tackle me to the ground. I struggle but nothing works, they are too many. 

The brown wolf then approaches me, aiming at my throat. 

That's it, I'm going to die. 

The last thing I see is the faces of my family and friends and the last thing I hear is a desperate howl. 

The last thing I smell is the intoxicating scent I've ever smelled. 

The brown wolf moves away from me and I see a huge black wolf biting his throat.

"Mate!" Screams Cassie in my head as she jumps up and down.

As soon as it gets rid of the brown wolf, the black wolf turns to me and I am hit by the look in his eyes. They glow a bright blue, similar to my human eyes.

But this is not the most shocking thing.

He has a white spot on his chest that looks like a crescent moon.

He looks away and jumps on one of the rogues holding me down. I finally manage to free myself and together we kill at least twenty rogues. 

I feel so strong next to him that I feel like I am invincible. 

Suddenly, I hear my pack panicking telepathically. 

"Alpha John!"

I turn around and see my father facing a dozen rogues at once and he is in very bad shape. I rush to his side and help him fight. 

The rogues eventually run away and as I help my father to stand up I see my mate doing the same thing with Alpha Mark who is also injured. 

They face each other and everyone freezes. Our two packs shouldn't be here. Silence follows and they both finally let out a growl and turn around.

"Everyone can go home except those who were on guard. Go treat your wounds. For the more serious ones, go to the pack hospital." My father says telepathically to all those on the battlefield, but I stopped listening to him. 

The black wolf and I both stare at each other in horror because I have figured out who he is and I know he has figured out who I am. 

He is a Red, an enemy. But not just any enemy.

He is bigger than the average wolf and he is black, the sign of Alpha blood for males. 

He's Elliot, Alpha Mark's son. The future Alpha of Red Moon pack.