Chapter 3

Alec’s POV-

I was on my normal patrol route around our border closest to the hunters when I could sense something coming. It seemed far off, but gradually the sound of a dirt bike became louder. The hunters were chasing something. I hated the rule that we had to stay back unless something crossed into our territory. No doubt the hunters would screw something up and we could possibly miss something important. I get why the rule is there though. We don’t want them coming over here either, so the rule is the lesser of two evils. I use the pack mindlink, basically our own telepathic way of talking to each other so that even when we’re shifted we can communicate, to let my warriors know that there is something coming. They ask if I need back up and I tell them I can handle it, but I’ll need help getting everything cleaned up and someone to cover the rest of my patrol once I take this wolf down.

As a werewolf, the spirit of my wolf and I share the same mind space and can communicate with each other in either form. We’re basically 2 peas in a pod, the pod being either my body or his. My wolf, Gage, is jet black and very large so it can be hard to hide during the day sometimes. I think that’s kind of the point. Luckily this area is pretty shaded and there are some large bushes I can hide under while I wait for them to approach. In my human form I’m 6 foot 2 and very muscular since I still have the strength of my wolf, but if they’re chasing a rogue it would be easier to take him down in my wolf form. I can blend in well enough in these shadows so I can see the chase coming to me, but they won’t be able to see me until it’s too late. Luckily the wind is blowing towards me so the rogue won’t be able to catch my scent. I can get theirs though. The stench of the rogue is almost overpowering but I get the hunters scent as well.

Just great. It’s that self righteous asshole, Dean. Of course it would be him. Always trying to act all high and mighty because he’s older and knows he doesn't have to follow my leadership like my pack does. I see him raise his arm and aim his gun at the rogue, before he realizes just how close he is and lowers it back down. I can almost hear the curses spewing out of his mouth. We make eye contact for just a second before he stops his bike. The rogue he was chasing was already in my territory and slowed down to try and turn to see what made Dean stop when I used his bad choice to my advantage. I jump from the shadows and leap for his back. I put my large jaws around the back of his neck and used my momentum to swing my body back to the ground and whip the rogue's body around to follow, knocking him out on the landing. It was probably a little flashier than I would have normally done, but I did have an audience after all. I looked back to see that Dean was still watching, so I nodded my head towards him letting him know I’ve got this. He gets all pissy and speeds away kicking up all kinds of dirt and dust as he leaves.

As soon as he’s gone I hear my warriors coming from the direction of the pack house. The first one to show up is my Beta, Zander Jackson, and then my lead warrior, Kade Porter. Not only are they two of my best warriors, they’re also my best friends. Zander and I are both 20 but Kade is only 18, and still taller than both of us in human form. Zander is 6’1”, I’m 6’2” and Kade is 6’3” and still seems to be growing. Kade is an old soul though and usually acts as the more mature one in non-pack related situations. My wolf is the biggest though as I will soon be the next Alpha. Since we’re all in wolf form I still have to use the mindlink to let them know what I want to do with the rogue today.

Alec: Hey guys. Just grab him and take him to the cells so we can talk when he wakes up.

Kade: Damn Alec what did you do to this guy? You barely even sent out the link.

Alec: What can I say I’m efficient. That’s why I’ll be Alpha.

Zander: Yeah and it had nothing to do with that fading smell of Dean around here. He was the hunter chasing him wasn’t he?

Alec: Maybe, but that had nothing to do with it. OK, maybe that wasn’t the whole truth but he didn’t need to know that. Whatever, just take the stinking rogue out of here.

Zander: Yes boss.

In about the last 6 months we’ve been getting a lot more rogue activity and we’re still trying to figure out why. Usually if we are able to talk to a rogue they can at least let us know where they came from and why they’re in the territory. Other times the rogue is just too far gone and we have to put him down quick, otherwise it would put the pack in danger and that is something I simply will not do. Lately though we can tell that these rogues are still coherent and can think and talk just like the rest of us, but they refuse to give us any information. Even when threatened with pain and death they refuse to give us any info. I’m hoping we’ll be able to get something out of this guy, but I’m not holding my breath. There have been issues in the past with a few rogues that were working for other factions, but those were never in our territory. We heard about it from other pack Alphas during some of our events or business meetings. I was starting to wonder if something like that had finally found our door, but we had no proof, and other than increased rogue activity there was nothing else going on.

Heading back to the pack house I decided I would speak to my father and ask to check again if there was anything going on in the surrounding packs, or if any packs have recently gotten rid of a bunch of members. It’s very rare to banish a pack member but it has happened. That’s usually how the feral rogues come around. A wolf does something so bad that their pack won’t allow them to stick around and no other packs will trust them enough to let them in. They end up wandering the world by themselves and retreat into the beast within. There have been times when a couple rogues that leave for other reasons would find each other and stick together just enough to keep their sanity and live comfortably amongst the humans. My father once told me a story about these types of rogues coming together and forming a whole new pack on their own near the east coast, but no one remembers what happened to that pack.

Our pack house is pretty large, since it’s meant to accommodate not just the ranked families, but also visiting wolves, offices, dining and recreation areas for the pack. Our pack has both beta families and gamma families, but smaller packs usually only have betas as support. Zander is probably the best beta I could have asked for, and we have become best friends after basically doing everything together since birth. Our current gamma didn’t have any kids so that means I would get to choose my gamma. I’ve been keeping an eye on my warriors to see who I might want to work with, and the great thing is that I’ve found that I have the best warriors. It will be a tough choice for sure. Right now a bunch of the ones that aren’t on patrol are all hanging out in the rec room waiting for orders.

“Hey everybody! I need my warriors in the Alpha’s office in 5,” I yell in there as I take myself up to meet with my father. I hear their various grunts of assent when I head down the hall and knock on the door.

“Come in,” my father says. I open the door and see him behind his desk, his Beta, Zander’s dad, is in the chair across from him. I take the other chair, leaving the sofas nearby for whoever makes it in first. Zander usually just ends up standing next to me during these debriefings. It honestly gives me more confidence knowing that he is close by and has my back if anything comes up between us and our dads. Thankfully it doesn’t happen often, and today’s meeting should be pretty straight forward.

“Hi Dad.”

“Son,” he nods. “I heard you had some activity by the border.”

“Yes sir. I’m bringing my people in right now to go over everything. Afterwards I would like a moment of your time to go over a few other things as well if that’s alright.”

“Looking forward to it. I have a few things to speak with you about as well.” I nod at him as everyone starts to filter in and find space either on the sofas or just standing nearby. Once everyone is settled my dad looks to me and lets me know it’s time to get started. Lately my dad has been having me lead our warrior meetings so I can get my feet wet in the Alpha role.

“Ok everyone. As some of you know we had more rogue activity today. It wasn’t an attack since we were able to pick up the chase between a hunter and the rogue. We were lucky enough that the rogue decided to run straight into our territory and I was able to capture him fairly quickly. Zander and Kade have brought him down to the cells for interrogation. We’re just waiting for him to wake up so we can start our questioning. We have people watching him and on orders to link me once he wakes. This rogue makes 2 for the week and 15 already for the year. Definitely more than in a usual year. Has there been anything out of the ordinary found around the borders?”

“No sir. Everything has been reported as normal. No signs of rogues in the area until they are upon us,” Kade replies.

“Nothing new from interrogations, except the same weirdness we’ve been getting in the last few months,” Tanner, one of my warriors says. “The last one ended up killing himself somehow during the interrogation. It looked like he was finally going to talk, but I don’t know if he took something ahead of time or during the interview, but it looked like he started choking and his body started to shake before he fell over dead. Just like those old World War II movies where the nazis had cyanide pills in their teeth.” We all just looked at him like he was crazy. “Or something like that,” he says as he shrinks back into his seat.

“Did the hunter say anything today after the rogue went down?” my dad asks me.

“No. It was Dean. He just spun his bike around and took off without a word.”

“Hmmmm I see. So we aren’t any further in getting this figured out than we were 6 months ago,” my dad says to the group. Everyone just sits silently and lets his statement hang in the tense air. There is something that I’ve been thinking about, but never really put it out there before and I figured now would be as good a time as any to let my idea out.

“I do have an observation we haven’t really considered or at least mentioned out in the open. Most of the times when we’ve taken down a rogue in the past it was either attacking us or running from the hunters. All the ones that we’ve had issues with after take downs have been runners, none of them attacked. Even the ones we took down in our own territory without any hunter involvement were all just running through and never once attacked until we initiated contact. Even if they came across one of our weaker members they didn’t attack. Why not? If they are truly rogues they wouldn’t have the capacity to avoid taking out any weaker wolf they come across.” I said my piece and sat back to let it sink-in to the group. After a moment my dad looks at me and speaks.

“So these rogues aren’t acting like rogues, but instead showing restraint and self preservation until facing interrogation, at which point they protect their information above all else. What do you think that sounds like? What could that mean?” It’s clear he wants me to be the one to answer. Even if it wasn’t, looking at the faces of everyone around the room shows me that they don’t know what to say anyway. I think about the words my father used and how he phrased the question. He always has reasons for what he does. Then like a damn metaphoric light bulb on top of my head, it clicked.

“They are acting like a pack. They’re not doing anything that could bring awareness or retaliation to where they came from, and not giving any details on where the rest of them are or how many wolves they have. But I thought a rogue pack was a myth.”

“Not a myth. There was one that came together on the east coast as I told you when you were younger. They haven’t been heard from in decades, but who’s to say that someone didn’t try again here? Either way we need to be able to look at this from all angles. Don’t take anything for granted and don’t assume anything. I want everyone to remain vigilant and keep your eyes out for everything. Not just here but off territory as well.”

“Yes Alpha,” everyone says in unison.

“Relay this to all warriors not present, and unless there is anything else to add everyone is dismissed.” No one says anything and they all get up silently and leave the room, leaving just me and my father remaining in the office. I knew he said he wanted to talk to me but I wanted to tell him what I had intended before the thoughts disappeared from my mind.