Cain frowned. "You think Thane let the rogue go?"

I pick up a rock from off of the ground, and use it to sharpen my sword. "You don't think it's possible?"

Cain mulls it over. "He wouldn't do that. He knows  we would have no choice but to declare war on him if he did that."

"He would do anything for Onyx," I point out. "We could have declared war that night, and he knew there was a chance we would. I don't put it past him to release the rogue if she asked."

Considering my words, Cain and I continue to venture through the territory, but we find nothing. "I can't declare war on him without knowing for sure if he released the rogue or not. A hunch is not proof," He says. "We should give him the benefit of the doubt."

I scoff. "What, like he gave us the benefit of the doubt when he accused us of kidnapping his idiot mate?"

Cain rolls his eyes. "You don't think she's an idiot, Ares. You just feel betrayed."

"No, I'm pretty confident she's a moron."

Cain laughs, but doesn't press the argument further. He may not be Onyx's biggest fan, but I could see he had a soft spot for her.

"Cain, it snowed last night," I suddenly realize.
Cain furrows his eyebrows, looking around at the white forrest. "Obviously," He says slowly, like I'm an idiot.

"Tracks. There should be tracks in the snow. There hasn't been any more snowfall since last night, the prints should be fresh," I point out.

Realization flashes through his eyes. "Ares, you're a genius."

I scoff. Obviously.

We go back to where the body was found, and examine the ground. Most of the prints are footprints, but there are paw markings in the snow, although some of them have been walked over.
The paw prints go into the woods, and Cain tells Axel and Mark, a tracker, to come with us as we follow the prints.

"There was two wolves," The tracker states, hunching over the ground, examining the tracks closely. We have the paw prints, which we know are the killer's because Phillip was killed by a wolf. But we have footprints right next to the paw prints. I'd guess that one was in wolf form, the other in human. The tracks are side by side, like they were walking together. They may be mates, purely based on the proximity alone."

I frown, turning to Cain. "If it was the rogue, he would have been alone, not with someone else."

Cain nods. "I don't think it's him."

"Then how did he get so close to the border undetected?" I ask.

None of them have an answer. "The pack link," Axel suddenly says.

"What's that?" Cain asks as we continue to follow the tracks.

"Phillip didn't use the pack link to let anyone know there was a rogue," Axel explains. "It's one of the first things you're told as a guard on patrol. As soon as you see an unknown wolf, let everyone know where you are and that there's an unidentified wolf."

We consider his words. He's right about that. When I was the Red Crescent Gamma on patrol duty, it was imperative that we always communicated when there was a rogue so other pack members could come quickly to help out.

"He could have been caught off guard?" I suggested. "Attacked before he could let us know?"

Cain shakes his head. "He was a strong wolf. He would have been able to hear or see a wolf before it attacked, especially since there was two of them."

"Got any better ideas?" I ask, annoyed.

"Maybe whoever was in human form was a distraction," The tracker mutters, crouching down again. "Look at the footprints. They're small. They certainly belong to a female. A small one at that, definitely no more than a hundred pounds or so, based on the lack of depth in the print."

"And what about the paw print?" Cain asks. "Male or female?"

"Male," The tracker decides conclusively. "The prints are fairly large, he's a big wolf."

"So they are mates," Axel says thoughtfully. "Pretty unusual for mates that are rogues to attack a pack. That's usually more of a lone wolf kind of thing. They wouldn't want to put their mate in danger just to hurt a pack."

"They were sure that they wouldn't be harmed," Cain mutters, frowning. "Whatever they planned, they knew it would be successful."

I look up at the sky, and there are thick, dark clouds that look far too close to us. "Fuck," I swear under my breath, and they look at me in question. "It's about to snow again."

They look up at the sky, and on cue, soft snow begins to fall from the sky.

"It's not too heavy," Axel says. "We might be able to track the prints before they're covered."

As if the Moon Goddess is listening, the snow suddenly falls harder. Within the minute, the ground is completely covered.

"Fuck," Cain echoes my earlier sentiment, and I'm inclined to agree.

"What do you want us to do, Alpha?" Mark asks, looking at him for direction.

Cain sighs. "There's nothing to do, the tracks are gone. I've told the pack to meet us at the pack house, we need to have a meeting."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"As some of you may have heard," Cain begins the meeting, where every wolf in the pack over 16 years of age has gathered in the largest room in the pack house, a ballroom used for all of the meetings and other events. They look solemn as Cain speaks, but none of them show any emotion on their faces. They are war-hardened soldiers, and in Blood Lake, emotion is a weakness none of them possess. It's why I feel so at home here.

"Phillip Novack was murdered two and a half hours ago by two unidentified wolves. We lost the track due to the snowfall, but we are sure that one is a male, the other female. At the moment, we are unsure about their motivations for the attack.

Rest assured, we will be doubling patrol at all hours. All of the guards will be posted with a partner, no wolf left alone at any time.

I am implementing a curfew for all wolves. They may have attacked during the day this time, but the night is even more dangerous if they can be concealed in the darkness. All non-patrolling wolves must be in the safety of their homes by sunset. Any wolf found out after this time will be punished.

No child is to be left unattended at any time of day. We will have guards posted at the school in case if they are bold enough to attack the children.
Most importantly, no one is to go near the border. If you wish to leave the territory, you must receive approval from myself or Ares."

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. He says this to keep up the illusion that I have just as much power as him, but I know he would want to be the one to personally approve all exits.

"Does anyone have any questions about the new rules?" He asks, his voice echoing through the room, and all of their eyes are focused on him. He asked me if I wanted to be the one to lead the meeting, but I fucking hate being stared at. Even now, my cloak and mask covered my face, leaving only my eyes exposed.

One brave female, around my age, asks, "Will we still be attending the Mating Ceremony next week?"

Cain nods. "According to the Law, unmated wolves will still attend the Mating Ceremony. All of the mated wolves will stay to guard the territory, and we will keep everyone in the pack house to consolidate the area they will protect. Are there any other questions?"

Nobody says a word. "Very well. Phillip's funeral will be held tomorrow at noon. The rules are in place, effective immediately. Don't make the mistake of breaking them," He threatens, and they nod in unison. I had no doubt none of them would be foolish enough to break them, they've seen the kind of punishments Cain doles out. They've seen that he is merciless even with his mate; his ruthlessness does not discriminate.

It's something I love most about him.

He dismisses them, and they scatter instantly, chattering amongst themselves. I catch some of the conversations, most of them talking about their fear over the wolves that dared to attack such a strong pack. I felt anger towards the wolves to dared to cause such fear and panic in my wolves. My pack. My family.

The pack needn't worry.

I would have the wolves' heads soon enough.

And I would show no mercy.

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