Alen

"- ranging from medical supplies to doctors, what do you think Alen?"

"Al."

I flinch in response to the sudden sharp sting on my forehead, my eyebrows furrow looking down at the rubber band that was shot by my beta.

"Ass." I mutter, grabbing the paper on my desk as I mindlessly scan through the words.

"You've been out of it since this morning," he added, shooting another rubber band across the room.

Rowan is my beta, we've been working in my office all day sorting out supply shipments and all that fun stuff. There's no one I trust more than him, we've known each other since we were kids, including Ethan. All three of us were known for being the pack's trouble makers and now here we are with big titles behind our names.

"Milo's been non-stop pacing in the back of my head all day. He won't tell me what's wrong." I answer, I've tried asking him and everytime he stays quiet and on edge, whining quietly about god knows what.

"Why don't you go out for a run, it's getting late anyway." He stands and I follow along with him.

I give him a nod while organizing the files on my desk. My body moves impatiently, realizing that a run might do me some good after all.

"Make sure Ethan's not up to anything, I haven't seen him since yesterday and he's been blocking my links on purpose." I say, rolling my eyes as I follow him out.

"I'm not his damn babysitter." He argues

"Course not, you both act like children anyway." I grinned, dodging his attempt to slap the back of my head.

We split our ways as I head out towards the woods, taking off my clothes and shifting in seconds. I let Milo take over, feeling his eagerness eat away at me.

I guess he did want to go for a run after all.

His steps felt rushed, the wind whisked against our fur as I felt Milo begin to grow even more restless. The trees passed by in a blur as the night began to set, the forest grew dark accompanied by the soft glow of the moonlight, Milo's steps only going faster.

'Just tell me what's wrong.' I pleaded, not wanting to make him even more on edge. He let out a small whine, his steps unfaltering as he swerved through the trees.

I felt worried, wanting to know what's wrong and yet annoyed with his silence.

I took in my surroundings, the trees were more spread out and the ground was tattered, covered in dried plants and leaves. I grew irritated realizing he had run into forbidden grounds.

'Milo-' My scold was cut short when a smell overtook my senses. This scent was soft and smelled of roses and honey.

'Mate.' He whined and my heart froze completely.

All of my previous worry's and annoyances have gone out the window and I'm left with nothing but mixed emotions.

The chances of a second-chance mate are rare if even possible. I'd given up all hope at the thought of having a mate ever since the first time I got rejected, my heart aches at the thought, remembering the pain I had to go through physically and mentally.

My wolf's rapid steps come to a slow pace and the smell of blood overtakes the sweet scent we were following. My heart pumps with worry as milo growls.

The sound of snarls and flesh ripping catch my attention as we skulk towards the sound. My body shakes in anger and dread at the thought of losing my second-chance mate before I even get to meet her.

We stumble upon a clearing and the sight before me has me seeing red. The small trembling figure leaves little relief in me, kneeling on the ground with a bag over her head, blood splattered all over her from the dismembered bodies on the floor next to her.

My eyes catch sight of the one responsible for all this monstrous mess.

A rogue.

It's the main reason we stay clear of this area. It's packed with rabid rogues who prey on the innocent village not far from here. Killing humans is very looked down upon across most packs, rogue wolves do it from starvation or no reason at all.

These wolves have been casted out of their packs for very good reasons, they've taken over this area and have decided to do whatever they want with the village.

I've heard about this village and their 'sacrifices', the mere thought angers me that her own people would leave her out here to die at the hands of a brutally dangerous creature.

A low growl slips out of me, my lips slightly curling to bare my teeth as it catches the attention of the rogue.

It growls back, taking a threatening step forward as a show of warning that it almost makes me laugh. I let out my aura, showing him who he's challenging as I snarl.

He flinches back, his ears flat back against his head and tail tucked into his legs. He lowers his head showing submission, I let out another snarl, my anger hanging by a thread as he finally leaves.

My attention turns solely on the small figure before me, her sweet scent becomes stronger, enveloping my senses and causing my heart to race uncontrollably. I can feel Milo's excitement mirroring my own. The mixture of roses and honey becomes stronger the closer we get, wrapping around us like an invisible thread.

I carefully removed the bag off her head with my teeth and a heart-wrenching sob escaped her throat. The sound itself stirred up a protective instinct in me that I hadn't felt in years.

I hadn't realized I'd started growling and I stopped the moment I realized it made her even more scared.

She's beautiful.

Her gentle eyes demanded my attention and I found myself completely captivated, a soft brown accompanied by small but barely noticeable freckles on her cheek. Her hair, disheveled from the bag, fell around her delicate face and she's trembling, engulfed in fear but I couldn't help but be drawn in.

I couldn't get enough of her scent and I leaned in, my snout caressing her shoulder as I shifted her hair. I could feel her tense up but I ignored it, too engrossed in her smell to care.

I had to calm Milo not to mark her then and there. There's a time and place for that and this definitely isn't the time.

She's everything I could ever hope for and my heart sped up at the thought of bringing her home to my pack and introducing her to everyone.

I could feel Milo wagging his tail as he continues to take in her scent, I can feel his excitement and I know he thinks she's perfect— everything about her is— and he wants to learn more and I do too but-

'She's human' I link, I was too mesmerized by her, I had only just realized that she doesn't come from a pack. She comes from the village that sent her to die, a human village.

'So what.' Milo links back, I know he doesn't care but I could feel he's irritated with me.

'It's too dangerous to bring her back now.' I back away from her shoulder but I can't make a better excuse, I don't care that she's human but it's the fact that she's human that increases the chances of getting rejected again.

I sneezed slightly and felt instant regret the minute I left her scent. 'We have to go'

'Like hell we are!' He argues but I'm already walking away. Every being in my body is begging me to turn back around— to go back to her but my fear keeps pushing me forward.

The minute I turned my back on her she relaxed, I felt a pain in my chest watching her run away the moment I got far enough, Milo whined quietly and I knew he was angry at me.

...

We've been shadowing her from afar, making sure she didn't get into any danger with other rogues. After a while I noticed she was heading in the direction of her village.

My wolf grew restless, both of us wondering why she would go back to the place that sentenced her to her death. We watched as she entered through the back door of a building and I figured she might know someone that can keep her safe.

It took everything in me to get myself to head back to my pack, Milo only growing more angry with me the further away we got from her.

My steps came to a sudden stop, and I felt my heart drop at the sound of chaos erupting from the place we just walked away from—the place she went into.

The instant I heard a loud cry, I knew who it was from and I sprinted, my legs only carrying me fast enough. The fear I felt running up my back only pushed me more forward.

'I told you we shouldn't have left her!' Milo growled and I stayed silent because I know he's right. I felt angry for letting my own fear get the best of me.

The scene before me quickly came into view and it only filled me with rage. We charged forward heading straight for the man on top of my mate. I tackled him and pinned him to the ground with a snarl before sinking my teeth into his throat and ripping it out in seconds.

With sharp breaths and blood dripping from my teeth, my eyes searched for my mate. She looked at us, trembling in fear as her eyes switched between the dead man beneath me to my bloody mouth painted in red.

With careful steps I stalked towards her, trying my best not to scare her anymore than I did already.

I came up behind her and she didn't react until I nudged her back to get her to stand. She gave me a confused look and I moved in front of her, pulling her shirt with my teeth.

Milo became annoyed with her lack of obedience and let out a low growl in response as we once again nudged her back. Only this time he pushed hard enough to lift her a bit and she finally got the hint, standing up in a hurried manner.

She stumbled on her feet and my eyes landed on the wound on her thigh. I felt guilt attempting to swallow me whole but I pushed it back focusing on helping my mate.

We circled her pushing her a bit to make her walk but it only caused her to stumble as she stayed in place. Milo let out another low growl, wanting to get her out of here and to treat her wound already.

With a final push she began walking in slow steps trying not to put too much weight on her left leg. I pressed up against her side to give her some support as she placed her hand on my back. The feeling made me shiver and I paid too much attention to it, not noticing her knees buckle before her.

I quickly got in front of her causing her to fall on my back. I grew anxious at the sight of her passing out because of the knife wound and I rushed my steps, taking us to a cabin nearby.

...

The moon light flickers on the lake as we walk up to the cabin. I place her down softly on the ground before shifting into my human form. The night is quiet, only the sounds of crickets and frogs croaking can be heard as I grab the spare sweatpants on the porch.

I picked her up bridal style, trying my best to avoid touching her wound. The wood creaks below my feet as I walk inside the cabin, my eyes scan the dark room before landing on the couch in front of the fireplace.

Her scent evades my senses and it takes everything in me to get myself to place her down. I take a moment to quickly set up the fireplace to keep her warm before heading to the bathroom to find the first aid kit.

Upon walking back to the living room I notice her shifting uncomfortably as she tries to make sense of her surroundings. She's been continuously falling in and out of consciousness the whole walk here.

I could practically feel Milo pacing anxiously in the back of my head and I can't help but feel more remorseful.

I kneel in front of her, thankful for the shorts she has on as it makes my job easier. Placing a clean cloth on top, I apply pressure on her wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. My heart breaks at her sharp inhale as her head shoots up in pain.

I could feel Milo coming to the forefront and taking over, feeling impatient and worried for his mate.

We look up and I freeze as her eyes meet mine. She looked at me in a daze as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

I press on her wound once more, drawing out a small whine and a stuttered breath from her as her head falls back against the couch.

Milo whines quietly at her pain, and I hesitated on doing the next step, knowing it'll be more painful than the last.

The rubbing alcohol comes pouring out of the bottle and onto her wound. Her whole body stiffens and it goes still, only the small rise and fall of her chest lets me know she's out.

I take the time to clean and wrap her wound properly before heading to the bathroom to wash my hands. Milo's been oddly quiet this whole time but I could tell he has a lot to say.

I walk back to the living room as the fire crackles and the soft glow of the flames light the room. My eyes land on my mate, the fire casting a soft glow on her skin as I drink in her features.

A quick trip to the bathroom and I come back with a wet cloth, I kneel down in front of her once again and I begin cleaning the blood and grime off her in gentle motions.

I lift her small hand in mine, taking the time to clean each of her fingers before moving to her arms.

The feel of her skin sends sparks along mine and I hesitate on pulling away once I've finished cleaning her thoroughly.

The minute I place the rag down I feel Milo take over, my body shifting into wolf form before I could even protest.

'We have to take her to the hospital.' I sigh, already feeling his protests.

'If we are going to distance ourselves from her then at least allow me these last moments with my mate.' He argues in a pleading manner.

He steps onto the couch, laying down next to her before plopping his head on her lap. His words run through my head as her scent takes over my senses. I could feel him calming down to the sweet smell of her and I soon gave in.