"Rogue?" Liam and I both snap at the same time, the shock in our voices palpable. Liam's already pressing at Craig's wound, and I'm ripping my dress, using some of the fabric to act as a bandage until paramedics arrive.
"Yes," Craig hoarsely whispers. His breathing is uneven and deep, like the heavy pounding of a child learning to play the drums. "He's so strong...we couldn't...we tried..."
"Easy, Craig," Liam murmurs, regarding me out of the corner of his eye. I nod at him, noticing Casey shoving her way through the crowd towards Liam.
"He's still there," Craig gasps, coughing. His breathing deepens. "He's gone mad...mad, Alpha...mad..."
"I hear you, Craig," Liam says, a firm resolve set in his voice. He gently helps the patrol boy onto the stretcher paramedics have brought, rising to his feet as they carry him away towards the pack hospital.
"What's happening, baby?" Casey asks, clutching Liam's muscular arm. She trails her fingers up and down his bicep, purposefully drawing the attention of all the unmated girls that have surrounded us. They gasp and giggle, completely uncaring about the fact that we just had an injured wolf taken to the hospital and a rogue prowling around our borders.
"Rogue." Liam's reply is clipped and sudden. He shakes Casey off of his arm and takes my wrist, dragging me towards the shadows that the trees make around us. He stops underneath the bright pool of light the moon has made on the ground, turning on his heel and flicking his wrist. Immediately, a group of well-dressed wolves arrives, all of them partially shifted and baring their pearly white fangs.
"Thomas, Ben, Nick," Liam addresses the triplets that are drooling in front of him, constantly licking their muzzles and snarling. "Go give the rogue a greeting for us. Adhira and I will be joining from Concert A."
Nick nods, howling. His brothers follow in suit, and quickly, they're gone, racing towards the border that Craig had dragged himself from. As they leave, and Liam takes my hand again, I feel my insides grow cold and stiff. He mentioned Concert A... which means a sneak attack.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Liam?" I ask, attempting to pull out of his grasp. He stops, causing me to slam face-first into his back.
"Ouch," I groan, rubbing my nose.
Liam turns, his slitted eyes slicing through me, and I immediately stop trying to fix my nose, dropping my hand to the side. The Liam I had been dancing with is gone, now. All I can see is the Alpha King everyone else sees and expects him to be. The cold, collected Alpha that would stop at nothing to see his pack safe, even if it meant killing those that posed a threat to the people. He's not happy, go-lucky Liam anymore. He isn't my best friend Liam.
He's Alpha King Liam.
"What other choice do we have, Adhira?" He snaps, his voice as hard as concrete. I gulp. When he uses my full name, that's when I know I'm in deep shit. "This rogue is mental. He almost killed Craig!"
"I get that!" I say, holding my hands up in an attempt to placate him. "But is a sneak attack really the best way? Isn't there anything else we can do? Why can't we just face him head-on?"
"You saw what happened when Craig tried that, didn't you?" Liam asks tartly. When I nod, he turns around, continuing to walk deeper and deeper into the dense forest ahead of us. "Well then, the same thing will happen to us if we go head-on. I don't want you ending up like Craig, Adhi."
"What is it with you today?" I growl, planting my hands on my hips. "Why are you all so protective of me all of a sudden? I'm the Beta, Liam! I'm not some damsel in distress!"
"I know you aren't," Liam snarls. "I'm just trying to make sure you know I'm going to protect you."
"Of course, I know that!" I exclaim in exasperation. I throw my hands up in the air, but I'm careful to keep my voice to a certain level, just in case the rogue hears us. "Liam, you're my best friend. We stick by each other. Why all of a sudden are you so worried about our relationship? Why are you being so protective of me?"
"Because..." Liam struggles to find his voice, a look of agony twisting on his face. "Because I...um..."
"You?" I cup my ear arrogantly. "I'm listening."
Liam stops, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "I don't have to explain myself to you, Adhira," he says. "Watch your step, and stay in your line."
"Watch your step and stay in your line," I mimic behind his back, angry. Fury bubbles in my stomach and threatens to overflow, but I hold myself back. Liam's stronger than I am, whether I like that fact or not. He'll easily overpower me and strip me of my title as Beta. Besides, I'm not that angry that I'd kill him...yet.
I look around the forest, careful to keep a few paces behind Liam, following his every step. The place that we're in is dark, but not just because it's nice. Midnight forest is always dark, which is where it got its name from. The trees clutch each other and use their branches to make thick canopies above our heads, shielding us from the downpour of the moon's rays. Little white puddles manage to splash onto the ground, though, rippling at the impact of my footsteps.
Suddenly, a loud, painful howl snaps me from my reverie. Startled, I look up abruptly at Liam, and I see his face change. His features twist into one of surprise, then of pure rage. He growls, grabbing my arm so quickly that when he pulls, I stumble over my feet, collapsing onto the ground then back up onto the soles of my shoes. We're running, then, racing through the forest. It doesn't seem to bother Liam when he gets kissed by the branches, their lipstick leaving dark red slits in his skin. He howls back, his body jerking as his shift takes over him rapidly. Soon, I'm no longer running with a man, rather, with an anthropomorphic wolf.
"Don't leave my side, Adhira," he growls, his head whipping back towards me as the howls grow louder. "Do you understand me?"
I roll my eyes. "Yes," I scowl. I don't particularly want to stay back and let Liam do all the work, but I'm feeling quite tired now, especially when it comes to arguing with him. I don't know what happened between the time when we were dancing and now, but I certainly don't appreciate his sudden need to make sure I'm safe and kept behind him. I'm the Beta, for god's sake!
But, silently, I bite my tongue and follow him, our pace slowing significantly as we near the open area close to the Alpha's Den. We don't directly go into the circle, however, where Nick, Thomas, and Ben are, however. Liam makes us creep around the bushes behind the rogue, and as I get a good look at him, I feel my stomach churn.
He's brutally beaten, that's for sure. Blood is seeping everywhere out of him, and he has gruesome-looking bruises forming on his skin. His fur looks prickly and sticks up in random places around his body, and he's very clearly naked.
"Motherfucker," I hear Liam growl. He crouches low in the brushes, pulling me down with him. I wince, landing on a hard, rounded stick that rips the back of my dress - not that it wasn't already ripped, though.
"Damn it," I curse softly. "This cost a fortune."
"I'll get you something better," Liam hisses. "Now get ready."
"Get ready?" I ask, completely brushing past the fact that he'd buy me another dress. I stare up uncomprehendingly at him. "Get ready for what -!"
But Liam's already gone, jumping into the circle and letting his fulls shift to take over him. He howls loudly, and through the gaps his body makes, I can see panic flash through the rogue's features.
"Oh...that..." I murmur, allowing my own shift to take over me as I follow Liam into the circle. Ben and Nick are immediately behind me, snarling and bashing their teeth. Their fur is covered in sticky blood, but they don't seem to care.
Liam and the rogue circle each other, and Nick, Ben, Thomas, and I each take a side of the circle we're in, scouting the circumference. Once the coast is clear and there hopefully won't be anybody else joining us, I howl at Liam, and he nods, pouncing on the rogue. Clearly not ready for the attack, the rogue stumbles and is easily slammed into the ground, the crack of his muzzle making me wince.
Liam stands on top of him, his paw digging into the rogue's cheek. The rogue whimpers, and in a blinding, musky yellow light, his shift takes over him, leaving a bleeding, naked, skinny man in his wake.
"Get...off..." he rasps, blinking his twinkling orange eyes multiple times, as if he's a lost child.
"Fuck no," Liam snarls. He wraps his paw around the rogue's neck, shifting into his human form as he rises up on his legs. He holds the rogue up by his neck and turns his head, jerking it from me towards him.
"Adhi," he calls, and he only says my name, but I know what I have to do. Releasing my shift, I stroll towards the wolf, winking at Liam when I catch him watching me. I've done this multiple times - he knows how I work.
"So..." I drawl. "You're the rogue that attacked that poor boy, aren't you?"
"Let...go..." The rogue continues to rasp, ignoring me.
I tsk, glancing at Liam, who nods at me. He unwraps his fingers, and with a plop, the rogue falls to the ground. Before he can escape, I grab him, unleashing my claws and digging them into his skin.
"I don't like repeating myself," I snarl, "So I'm only going to say this once more." His Adam's apple bobs and I smirk. "Are you the rogue that attacked Craig?"
The rogue is silent for a few moments, defiant, but then, he caves, nodding almost robotically. "Yes," he says, his voice hoarse. "Yes...it was me...it was me..."
"Why did you do it?" Liam asks, taking a firm step forward. "What do you want with my pack?"
The rogue doesn't answer.
I tighten my hold on him, and he begins to gasp, clawing at his throat, but I hold him mercilessly. Somehow, I don't feel a drop of sympathy for him. Maybe it's because he attacked poor Craig, or maybe it's because I've been interrogating rogues for nearly nine years, but any empathy I had for rogues who attacked my family went down the drain. A harmless rogue looking for a pack? No problem. I can easily take care of that. But a rogue looking to either overthrow my Alpha or hurt a member of my family - that wasn't going to sit with me, not on my watch.
"I - ack! Loosen up!" He demands, trying to kick at me. I curve my stomach away from him, tilting my head. I do loosen my grip, though, just so that we can hear what he has to say.
"Now?" Liam asks, sounding bored.
"I...I don't know," the rogue admits. "I just - it just came over me...the taste of blood...I needed more...I..." his eyes flicker. "I wanted more. Badly...please...I...help..."
Liam's eyes narrow, thoughtful. We all wait for his verdict, the triplets now fully human and the rogue trembling in my grip.
"Bring him to the dungeons," Liam finally decides. The rogue's eyes widen. "When he's in better shape, we'll get more out of him." He snaps his fingers, and Thomas and Nick take the rogue from me. He thrashes and wails, calling us all sorts of names, but Liam and I merely turn away, following Ben back to the pack.
"What else do we have to ask him about?" I whisper, leaning closer towards Liam. Our arms brush and a shiver cascades down my spine.
"Who sent him. Why they sent him. Is he a messenger? Are we going to have war," Liam lists, counting on his fingers. "There are so many more things we have to know about him, but unfortunately, we don't have the time."
"Oh..." I mouth, looking down at my bare feet. "Um, and Liam?"
"Yeah?"
"You don't have to repay me for the dress. I bought it with my money," I say, shrugging.
Liam grins. "Yeah, but I'm gonna do it anyway."
"Why?"
"Think of it as an apology for my behavior before," he says, looking down rather sheepishly. "I'm sorry for how I acted, Adhi. When I heard rogue, I guess I just...snapped."
"It's okay," I assure, accepting his apology despite still being a little confused. Liam and I have fought rogues for over nine years. He's never worried about me as badly as he had minutes ago. It's almost like something took over him - like when Lia has her mate instinct and rushes to protect Mabel from the tiniest thing...like a needle.
"So...I'll see you later? On patrol?" Liam asks, holding his hand out for a fist bump.
I nod, smiling. "Yeah," I say, bumping my fist with his. "See ya, Alpha King."
"See ya, Beta," he says, and then, he's off, disappearing into the bushes to change into his clothes. I watch him go, laughing to myself as I do so. I can't stay angry at him for long, I think. I move to a nearby bush to change into a new pair of clothes, and as I do so, I see the rest of the wolves at the party slowly cleaning up, murmuring amongst themselves as they do so. I frown, thinking back to the rogue that had just attacked us. He claimed he had gone mad at the taste of blood, but I still didn't fully understand why he had come here. There are plenty of packs before the Alpha King's. What motive did he have against Liam? What did Liam ever do to him?
I think of these as I walk back to the pack, joining Mabel and Lia as we all start to clean up the party, the rogue's howling in agony in the background. 268Please respect copyright.PENANAF3M5cBtMH8