3. Twelve

~ Harper’s POV ~ 

I clenched my eyes shut as waves of terrible pain wrecked me. They started from my chest and reached to my toes. I was still in my wolf form and I could still feel that I was running. My paws were thudding on the ground, leaving a trail of dust behind me and my muscles felt alive.

The realization that Zara was cheating on the mate bond at this very moment was so painful. It struck me down emotionally as well as physically.

I would have tripped on my own two feet and landed on the muddy, forested floor, had I not been in my wolf form. Ironically the pain was more intense because I was in my wolf form. My wolf's destined mate was cheating on the mate bond and nothing anyone could say could soften the blow. 

My wolf pushed me to the back of my mind and took control. My pupils would have dilated and the green in them would have become more prominent. In addition to my silver coat, I must have looked feral. 

I had planned to retain control of my wolf form while fighting the rogue. Giving up control to my wolf at such an emotionally charged time might be a mistake but he didn't give me a chance. While I was suffering from the pain of the mating bond, he pushed me to the back of my mind and was now going to enjoy his revenge on the world by killing and ripping everyone in sight.

My wolf was fully in control now. He was going to lead a full-on attack on the lack of rogues, while I looked from the sidelines. It would be like watching your body do things but having no control over it. He was angry and hurt and someone was going to pay for it. 

My wolf ran at an impressive speed towards the Eastern border, where the rogues were stationed and the whole pack followed behind, while I was stuck in limbo, left to think about my lonely, miserable life.

How could Zara kiss another person when she had kissed me hours ago? I get that she was confused and obviously with everything that has been happening, she had a lot to deal with but that was no excuse to string two guys along. If she wasn't interested in getting back together with me, she should have told me so last night. She shouldn't have kissed me and clung to me like she had missed me. I refused to believe that Zara's feelings for me were just a result of the mate bond. Sure, it might have started that way but we were definitely past that stage of uncertainty. I knew I loved her and my feelings weren't limited to the mate bond between us and I knew it was the same for her too. So, I had no idea why she did what she did. I had done my fair share of mistakes and fucked up my life royally where Zara was concerned, but that didn't mean I was going to let her string two guys along or make me some sort of a side piece. With everything going on and the pack depending on me, playing games with Zara was too much. I understood the reasons for her actions. I could comprehend her state of mind when she kissed me. I understood why she did what she did but that doesn't mean that I support that. I loved her, but I didn't expect that from her. Funny how the illusions of the people we know shatter in front of us. 

We were nearly at the eastern border when my wolf gave the signal. The warriors were divided into two portions, just like we had planned. Half the warriors fanned out after me, ready to attack the camp from the south, while the other group, which was headed by Aiden, would be attacking from the north. The encampment would be sandwiched between our warriors and they would have no place to flee and would have to fight us.

My wolf growled lowly, eager for the bloodbath that was about to begin. He was excited to rip and tear into the rogue wolves who had been threatening his pack members, and his family. He accelerated his speed, leaving his warriors behind, to get to the camp faster. 

He didn't look to see how far behind the other warriors were, neither did he mind-link to check how far away the other group was. 

Who the hell did Zara even kiss in the first place? I knew Zara and so I knew that she wouldn't kiss any Tom, Dick, and Harry, just to prove some point or something. Physical intimacy meant something to her. Kisses and sex were a way to emotionally connect with someone. She respected the simplicity of these acts to not ever do them in a dare or out of a mood swing. When she kissed someone, it meant that she was attracted to that person because she genuinely liked that person. Unlike me, who wanted to dip his penis everywhere and considered the act to be physical, without any emotional value. Well, before Zara came into the picture. I had spotted her with some guy at the alpha ceremony. It had to be him. There was no way a guy would travel all this distance to just "drop someone off". I had felt these bouts of pain when she was away too, which meant that this wasn't the first time they had kissed or done something more. Up till now, I had simply ignored the fact that I had felt this pain before. Maybe, it was my subconscious protecting me from the real world or maybe it was something else. My brain was pretending as if nothing had happened. As the cogs of my brain turned and more facts slid into place, I was growing more and more confident that the guy I had seen at the alpha ceremony had been the guy Zara had cheated on the mate bond with, several times to date. The evidence of my hypothesis would soon be proved if it was, in fact, true.

My wolf crouched down in the bushes, poised to attack the rogues. The element of surprise was crucial here so as soon as I got the signal via mind link that everyone was in place, I burst through the bushes and pounced on the nearest rogue in my sight. 

Surprised cries broke from the rogues. They quickly overcame the shock of being attacked, shifted into their wolves, and began to fight us back. Now is when the fun began!

I snarled at the two rogues in front of me and pounced on the larger one on my right. He tried to sidestep me but I clenched my jaws around his hind leg, ripping into his muscles and cracking his bone. I could feel the over-eager swipe of the smaller wolf at my back and growled back. I tore off the leg I had in my jaws, which left the bigger wolf staggering from the sudden loss of balance. It would soon die from the excess blood loss, slowly and cruelly. 

I turned my attention to the smaller rust-colored wolf clenched my jaws around his stomach and bit down. The tangy-colored blood from its belly filled my mouth and I flicked my neck and threw him against a tree. With a wound so gaping, this wolf was going to die in the next few seconds. 

The few scrapes I had experienced while fighting the duo were quickly healed because they were pretty superficial. 

I zeroed my attention on another wolf who was going to chomp down on one of my pack warriors. I ran quickly planning to hit its body like a cannonball and sent him toppling to the ground. He turned at the very last minute and was able to land a deep swipe on my left shoulder. I snarled at him and quickly snapped my jaws around his neck. 

Five minutes later I realized that with the way my wolf was killing the rogues, there would be no one left to question. I had ordered my fellow pack mates to try their best to not land killing blows until it was necessary but it looked like my wolf was enjoying himself while killing everyone.

I tried to regain control of my wolf form and tried to push him to the back of my mind. In this form, if he didn't want me to take control, I wasn't going to get control. So, I sat back helplessly and watched as my wolf slaughtered everyone and enjoyed every minute of it.

I was sure that by now my pristine white fur would be mated with blood and tinged a rust color. The stench of blood lingered in my mouth, making it rancid and nauseating. 

I shifted back to my human form when my wolf saw that no rogues were standing. The attack had lasted a couple of hours and even though we were outnumbered. I looked around at the mangled corpses lying on my feet, the mud smeared with clotting blood and the smell heavy with death. My wolf relaxed inside me, content that he had done what he was supposed to do, protect his people from the rogue pack by obliterating them. 

"Here". I was handed a pair of basketball shorts by Aiden and quickly stepped into them.

"Do we have any casualties?" I asked, looking at the bodies and dreading looking at a familiar face.

"None. Three are seriously injured." I nodded and relaxed at the good news.

"Samantha?" I asked, knowing how he must be strung out, knowing his mate was in the face of danger today. 

"She is good. A few scratches here and there." He tried to act nonchalant but I knew the effort it took for him to do that. I could only imagine how I would feel if Zara was left amongst a group of predatory wolves.

"Any rogues left alive?" I asked, hoping that there were.

Aiden nodded. "Three, but barely."

I nodded. "Take the injured to the hospital. Burn the rest." I turned around and stretched my muscles. "I'm going to take a quick shower and go back to the hospital. Check to see if there's an update on Dad."

Aiden nodded, his look far away in thought. I took a few steps in the direction the pack borders when Aiden's voice made me stop. "Harper."

I turned around and waited for him to say something. "I don't think it's over yet. This", he said, pointing to the battlefield we were standing on," was way too easy."

I looked into Aiden's eyes, his eyes calm and collected, but I knew what he was thinking. Because I was thinking the same thing.

This was far from over.