Chapter Six

Matt

After the mind link ended, an eerie silence engulfed the carnival grounds before people started to panic. Families took off running away from the Southern border, but the only person I could focus on was Harriet. I saw the horror beginning to take hold of her. I had to do something to distract her. I grabbed Harriet’s face, pulling her lips against mine as I stole a passionate kiss. I needed her to feel anything but fear.

Harriet and Heather didn’t have a dad anymore because of the last attack on our village. Fifteen years ago, there were the hunters. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it out alive.

***Come on, Matthew. It’s an infestation of rogues. Leave your girlfriend and get to the border.*** My dad snapped at me through our mind link.  

“I love you, Harriet.” I choked out as a tear ran down my cheek. I didn’t care if she saw me vulnerable. I needed her to feel my love penetrating deep into her bones. I needed to protect her and our pack. When this was over, I could show how deep my passion could penetrate her. I shredded my clothes as rich molasses fur engulfed my body, and I took off towards the border. I clenched my jaw, biting down on my tongue, refusing to look. Then I heard her voice; it took everything in me not to turn back to her.  

“You asshole! That’s not fair! That wasn’t part of the agreement !” She screamed at me. As I ran, I heard her muttered something that I couldn’t make out. 

“Fuck the agreement,” hissed my wolf Pan. He was confident she was ours. I believed it too. I prayed silently to the Moon Goddess as I tore through the forest towards the border. Screams and howls filled the air as I got closer.

I broke into the clearing only to immediately dodge an enormous gray and black wolf. I tore numerous throats out. So much blood washed over my fur. I gagged and spit out the rancid blood of the rogues. I spotted Alpha Dane; he was in trouble. He was cornered by four wolves. I charged in and chomped into the neck scruff of one of the wolves. I was torn from the wolf by another rogue when my back was clawed from shoulders to tail. As my legs gave from underneath me, I gritted my teeth. As I tried to stand up when all of a sudden, the pain shot through my chest, and I fell back to the ground. I looked up to see a gray wolf with matted tearing out the throat of Alpha Dane.

Alpha Dane was in his late thirties, and currently, his mate was a weaker wolf regularly, but she was carrying his pup. As soon as his body hit the ground, I knew his mate was hitting the ground at the safe houses as well. Once two wolves were fully mated, their souls refused to go on without each other. Rarely could wolves survive losing their other halves. Without our Alpha or his pup, we were Rogues…

I howled to attempt to push the pain out that radiated in my chest. I locked eyes with the rogue who slaughtered my Alpha. A deep rumbling growl escaped my lips as I stood, challenging him. The rogue made a break for it going deeper into our territory. I took off after him snapping at his tail and back legs whenever I could. I started to pick up the scent of smoke creeping through the forest mixed with something else...Harriet. She hadn’t made it to the safe houses yet. I lept at the rogue at the same time as he turned around, slicing the side of my face with his claws. My body fell backward into a stump. As I struggled to my feet, the rogue took off again.

“Get your head out of your ass,” hissed Pan. “The girls are up ahead. He could kill Harriet.”

“Thanks, Dipshit,” I rumbled at Pan as I took off in hot pursuit. Every step was excruciating, but I had to keep going for the sake of my friends and, most importantly, Harriet. Up ahead, I saw what I feared the most; there they were. The piece of shit was charging right toward Harriet, but there was no way I could reach her in time. A pit in my stomach threatened to overtake until a blur of Rose’s blue birthday outfit took her place. Happy Birthday, Rose...have a back full of bark. I was more than grateful to her at this moment than I ever had been before. If we got out of this alive, I owed her. My eyes were raging black pearls as I launched myself at the rogue. I furiously tried to snap at his opponent’s neck. The rogue was able to shove me off before we started circling each other. Desperately I was willing the girls to leave.  

“Come on,” Heather panted as she and Harriet helped Rose stand. Harriet looked back in my direction, and I prayed she would leave me. Pleading at her with my eyes and I continue my dance for the upper hand with the monster. It felt like an eternity as she finally slipped away into the woods.

I turned my full attention to the rogue as he lunged at my rear with claws drawn. I almost dodged him entirely, but one of his claws caught the flapping flesh on my back. I winced in pain but used that to fuel me as I sunk my canines deeply into the sensitive tissue of his neck and ear. I shook him violently, feeling my mouth slip to just his ear. His metallic blood flooded my mouth as he managed to swipe my chest with a claw. When I flinched at the swipe, his ear ripped out of his head and hung in my teeth. The rogue cried out in pain as blood soaked his matted fur. While he was distracted, I took my opportunity to clamp down on his neck and masticated on it until I heard the snap I craved. His body went lifeless. I dropped the carcass and shredded his throat for good measure.  

I stumbled back away from the body and shifted. Blood slowly dripped down my back, face, and chest. I gave the piece of shit’s body one last swift kick before I turned and headed north towards the smoke. I knew it would have probably been better to stay in wolf form, but I needed Pan to rest. I quickly ran through the forest naked. Burning trees started to engulf the woods as I protected my little beta the best I could with my hand. I was about to just say fuck it and shift when I caught a familiar scent mixed in with the smoke, Heather.