Chapter Five

**

The dark figure leaned his head against the window, absolutely disinterested by the animated conversation his companion was having with their driver. He watched the trees pass by, the lush greenery of the Southern region acting as a sort of sedative to his troubled mind.

Although he had protested the King's assignment at first, he was somewhat glad now that the Royal had pushed him to take time off of his official duties and visit the region. He had visited before and had loved everything about it that was quite different from the snowy capped mountains in the North and moody weather.

This place was sunnier, for one, and the natural balance felt more firm, peaceful.

And there also aren't any pesky nobles trying to kiss my ass and suck up to me...

The region was under one of his oldest and closest friends who were NOT suck ups in any capacity whatsoever. The Werewolf Noble, though playful and carefree, still carried out all his duties with absolute efficiency.

That's not to say he did not know how to have fun on the side and enjoy himself. Many thought he was a little too carefree considering his responsibilities but none of them had known him long enough for him to be absolutely real with them and see his incredibly tactical side. It was too bad that he had to travel to the East for a confidential assignment from the King himself.

Which is why I'm here instead...

The man rubbed at his chest unconsciously as he got lost in his memories of their time together, his mind drifting so much so that he didn't notice his companion trying to get his attention until the man placed his hand on his shoulder.

"My Lord...We have entered the BloodRose Pack's land."

The man reported once the Noble turned to face him, all his earlier thoughts forgotten as he assumed the usual stoic expression he beheld when handling issues as serious as the one they were meeting to discuss. Unease filled his entire body, a feeling that was quite foreign to him for it was rare that he indulged any form of anxiety.

He had been trained from a young age to master his emotions and control them. It was, therefore, not usual for him to feel unsettled so suddenly and be unable to calm himself. 

"Are you okay?"

He whispered within, conversing with his wolf who seemed to be the origin of his confusing emotions. 

"I'm not sure...It must be the change of environment."

His wolf responded, unsure of his jumbled up emotions. The Noble simply nodded, retreating from his inner thoughts and back to the present where he noted the sound of a speed bike in the distance. As a bike enthusiast, the sound of the machine piqued his interest for a moment as they turned into the main road leading towards the pack land.

Ah, that must be a Ducati Corse. Someone here is a speed junkie with very good taste...

He mused, well and truly impressed by the motorcycle whose engine he could no longer hear. The unease was still present even as they were welcomed into the pack and led towards the meeting house once they alighted their SUV's.

The noble was genuinely perturbed by this but hid it well as he went through the usual formal greetings. He did not want to jump to conclusions as to whether something bad was about to happen but he did not ignore the possibility, choosing instead to stay alert at all times.

He had no clue, though, that the source of his unease was making her way to her house with her own unsettled emotions ravaging through her...

"Welcome to our Pack, Lord Rhys. We are honoured by your visit. Please, come this way. We shall begin the meeting soon."

Alpha Reed stated, gesturing at the open double doors leading into the meeting hall. Rhys noted the surprise on many of the pack members. He wasn't stunned by their reactions. After all, it was not often that the second in line to the throne would make an appearance at such a normal meeting.

This meeting isn't as normal as we first thought...This is more important than any meeting we have had in quite some time...

***

"Wait a minute, so you fucked Gary up? I can't believe you snapped!"

Luci's laugh was loud as we made our way through the forest, heading towards our set patrol area. Instead of staying put, each of us had opted to help with patrol to keep ourselves occupied. 

We were now heading towards where Seb and Evan were and I was slowly regretting telling her about my altercation. 

Well, I would rather get ahead of it...It's surprising in itself that they haven't started talking about it. 

"Oh, so you heard?! Our white wolf finally kicked the shit out of Gary!"

Sebastian hollered from atop the trees where they were scouting for any possible threats, no doubt. Evan rolled his eyes playfully at Sebastian and Lucretia's excitement as he descended the tree in one swift motion, landing on the ground perfectly. 

"You do realise this is your cousin you're trolling, right?"

Evan stated as he grabbed my water bottle, granting me a small wink once I frowned at him. It was only right I gave him leeway when he was defending me against the two crazy siblings who were now hi-fiving once Sebastian descended the tree.

"But of course. He had it coming. I would have punched his teeth in if Lex hadn't done it."

Sebastian stated, a wide grin on his lips as Luci nodded vehemently. Each of them couldn't stand their cousin's preference for bullying.

One of the main reasons I had assimilated so well into the pack was due to the fact that they had stood by me and helped me in the transition. I was an angsty teen, acting out because not only had I lost my mother when I was very young, I had also lost my pack.

Coming to BloodRose pack had been my father's way of pushing for a new beginning for us. I hated the very thought of moving on and forgetting my pack but the BloodRose began to grow on me, more so the people and my newfound best friends.

"He needs to get his act straight. The bullying thing has grown old really fast."

Luci stated with an eye roll, earning herself nods from Sebastian and Evan.

"I hope you didn't embarrass him too much." 

Evan muttered, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he pulled me in for a side hug. I shook my head, mirroring his laugh with my own as we walked through the forest and began the patrol.

"I held back...a lot."

"Well, not enough clearly. The pack is BUZZING with the news!"

Luci declared as she went through her phone, chuckling as messages pinged through from the pack group chat no doubt. An exhausted sigh escaped my lips even as Evan pulled me closer whilst chuckling at my expense. It would be a while yet before everything settles down.

"It seems you're going to have to remove the training gloves, Lex. We have a problem in the southern area."

Seb said, clearly conversing through the mind link as he began to hurry towards the southern area. All our playfulness was instantly forgotten, each of us focusing on the task at hand.

We were compromised. 

"Fucking Gary. I told him to tighten security there!"

I seethed as we each sped towards the location, the general mind-link abuzz with the new development.

"We have a breach! Six Rogues have broken through the south area. We're trying to hold them back but they have reinforcements trying to break through the North, East and West!"

One of the guards urgently reported the situation which we were sure was being relayed to Alpha Reed too.

"We won't let them breakthrough anymore! Alexandra will take the South where the breach originated. Luci will head East, Evan will head West and I'll go North. We will get it done!"

Sebastian stressed, prompting each of us to nod as we took off towards our assigned points.

"Be careful, my sweet girl."

My Father's voice echoed within my mind, his word's bringing me absolute comfort. I knew he worried after me.

"I will, Dad. I promise."

I responded, meaning every word as I let my rage through and rushed towards the Southern area. Chaos reigned supreme once I arrived, the battle absolutely heated as our guards fought to hold back the ravenous rogues. Letting my wolf reign free, I fought my way through, dropping the Rogues one by one as they rushed towards me. 

My instincts and martial arts prowess came to the fore as I used my training to incapacitate them for later questioning to get to the bottom of it all. To finally understand who was behind their organised attacks. 

I was too engrossed in the restraining one of them to notice the last Rogue creeping up on me, his feral growl alerting me to his presence but it was a little too late. Seizing the opportunity, he pounced on me, sending us both tumbling down as we fought for leverage. I glared into his yellow eyes that were wild with rage, all traces of his humanity and connection with his wolf broken.

"Our Master may have given his orders but you must be eliminated! You are a threat to all of us!"

The Rogue seethed, his hands wrapped around my neck as he choked me out. I struggled to breathe, my mind working on overdrive on how to handle my opponent.

Don't panic, Alexandra! Panicking will make you lose control of the situation and you will die. Think rationally. Get control of the situation...

Grabbing his neck, I shoved my knee into his crotch hard, satisfaction filling my every pore once he let go of me and whence he released a groan of pain. Following through with my plan, I swiftly wrapped my hands around his neck in a chokehold whilst my own legs were wrapped around his torso to secure the hold.

He thrashed around, trying to pry me off but I held my ground, praying to the moon goddess that he gave in before I did.

"Just go to sleep, dammit!"

I shouted, using the last ounce of my energy to tighten my grip even further. A sigh of relief engulfed me once his body went lax, clearly out for the count.

"Finally!"

I groaned as I shoved his body away from my own, breathing a sigh of relief. I stayed on the ground, my limbs too tired from the fight to really move around. It was in that very position, as I stared up at the starry night sky, that I felt the shift within my body.

Longing.

Completion.

Release.

Love.

Lust.

All these emotions and so much more rushed through me, overwhelming every pore of my being. It was as if I had found something I didn't know I was even looking for and it was the best feeling in the entire world for me. 

What is this?... What's happening?...

Tears pricked the side of my eyes when I saw him arrive with the reinforcements. 

The moon goddess had played a reverse Uno card on me and granted me the one thing I never wished for or really wanted...

She had opened a door within me that I never thought existed and everything that I had ever believed in was turned on its head.

He's my MATE?!

***