---Kim's POV---

I didn't understand how the whole shopping trip could have gone so wrong. One moment I was laughing almost hysterically, my stomach cramping up because apparently, Kath had handed me a flashy yellow dress whilst she knew I hated that color with a passion.

Luckily for me, my little sis Karen had laughed out loud and reminded me of my dislike for yellow ever since a mother goose had chased the ten year old me for trying to pet her chicks. It resulted into more laughing while I had changed and flung the dress towards Kath before we left the shop.

It was then that my stomach had lightly churned with an unsettling feeling like we were being watched. I had shrugged it off; we were in a mall, laughing loudly and having fun. Of course people would look up to see what the ruckus was about.

"Oh my god, I have to pee now before you guys make me laugh any more. Stop laughing!" Kath choked out when both Karen and me busted out in louder laughter while I could visualize Kath there tiptoeing in an attempt to hold it up.

Lucky for her, Karen had guided us down the hall towards the bathroom, which was slightly secluded from the main area to give people their privacy. Karen and I were making due on our sister bonding and both of us felt grateful that Will had happened. If not we probably wouldn't have got together again.

"It's all so...weird though. I mean, a few days ago I woke up in my bed, thinking that werewolves were only possible in books like twilight and such. And now, here we are." Karen replied while she shuffled a bit, probably waving her hand in a wide gesture to our surroundings.

A smile crept on my face as I nodded, tilting my head when I heard the hand dryer going off in the bathroom, indicating that Kath was ready. "Well, let's get ready to continue our shopping trip, shall we?" I groaned, knowing that Kath had met her match in Karen; she was a shopaholic to the max.

Karen laughed at that before she looped her arm in mine and chuckled when Kath moved past us. "Come on ladies, chop chop! I want those Jimmy Choo shoes before some jezebel stomps in and buys those lovelies! They're mine!" Kath added possessively in the end, making us laugh even more.

Suddenly, I heard a thud from flesh hitting flesh coming from in front of us, at the same time that a shiver went through my body when Karen gasped and froze to the spot. The shiver multiplied when a voice I could hear every time in my nightmare spoke up. It was one of those guys who participated in the beating.

"Let me go you brute!" Kath snapped before the swift sound of her footsteps coming our way were stopped abruptly as the sound of flesh connecting with stone echoed harshly to the secluded hallway, accompanied by her shout of pain.

"Gotcha! What were you thinking Kitty Kath? Running away from us while we only wanted to say hi? Who are your friends huh?"

Kevin. One of the taller, more build guys that had laughed out loud when I was reduced to a crumbled and tearful mess. He had also been the one to hold back the younger male who had protested against the beating before Kevin had escorted the teenager away from the scene and charged him with caring for Carlos' sister.

A hand squeezed mine before I was tugged behind Karen, my muttered protest falling on deaf ears as my heart clenched. Here I was, over five years older than my little sister but she was the one defending me. It should have been the other way around!

"Will! We need help!" I thought as hard as possible while focusing my thoughts on one of the few who cared for me, who loved me whilst the voice of Kevin found its way to my ears as he stepped closer.

"Hey, isn't that Kim? Long time no see, huh?" He drawled sarcastically before barking out a laugh while I heard Kath struggle to get free. Whoever held her grunted when I heard a soft thud and Kath snarled, "Let go of me you filthy pig! I have a boyfriend and he's so gonna kick your asses six ways from Sunday!"

Kevin just chuckled again and took a staggering step towards Karen and me. Was he drunk? All of my senses were on high alert, which was probably the reason why I heard footsteps closing in on us, felt Will's anger and near bloodlust flowing through my veins as a tingling sensation started in the base of my skull.

"Stay back you, you.... I'm warning you!" Karen snapped as she pushed me back when two pair of footsteps came towards us and Kevin let out a drunken laugh before he took another step. Karen stepped forwards and shoved him away with all her might while my eyes were rapidly moving around, desperate to hear Will, David, just anyone.

Karen gasped before I winced at the sound of a hand smacking against her cheek with brutal force. She stumbled and fell to the side while I tried to catch her but failed miserably. A hand was able to catch me though, and I was pulled towards a body that was reeking of stale beer, sweat and other things I'd rather not smell.

"It's a party, just like last time we had you, right little Kim?" Kevin breathed in my face and I whimpered while fighting back with everything I had in me.

A growl rolled through the air before Kevin was ripped away from me, quickly followed by a groan when another flesh-to-flesh sound sounded dangerously close to me. I ducked and sat by Karen, feeling at her face to check if she was awake while I heard Kevin snarl loudly.

"What the hell Ivan? Should have known that a filthy rogue would-" He didn't finish the rest of his sentence because several other thudding noises resounded, accompanied by growls.

---Ivan's POV---

The moment that girl, my girl, went down, my wolf just completely lost it and went for the one who backhanded her and was now harassing the blind girl. I snarled as I pulled the guy away from her by the collar of his shirt and spun him around before plowing my fist in his face.

Blood squirted out of his nose as I growled again, shoving him away from the two women behind me. I noticed that the guys who were struggling to hold down another girl, which made the anger in my body simmer to new heights. I wanted to help her too but right now, my mate was more important than the others. A movement to the side caught my eyes and I noticed the blind girl's hands flitting over my mate's face before she sighed in relief.

"What the hell Ivan? Should have known that a filthy rogue would-" My fist muffled the rest of his protests and I smirked with satisfaction when a few teeth flew across the hall as the guy tumbled down, out cold.

I turned towards the other guys and saw one of them leering towards my mate. "Mine!" My wolf snarled before I dashed forwards and threw myself on the guys, who quickly scrambled back to defend themselves, dropping the girl from their filthy hands.

Taking a punch to the shoulder, I snarled and quickly planted a few strategic hits in one's stomach before I dodged another's kick. A fist collided with my jaw, causing me to back off with a snarl before I lunged again. Right at that moment, I heard two pair of footsteps pounding towards us before two guys slid around the corner.

At first I thought that they were reinforcements of the group of drunks that I had mistakenly helped a few days back but as soon as the blond one spotted one of the girls lying on the floor, he snarled and jumped into the fight. The other one was emitting a powerful aura, making me sniff discreetly.

Shit, pack wolves and by the smells of it, the future Alpha along with a Beta, maybe even a pack warrior from the looks of it. The Alpha snarled and glanced at the blind girl and my mate before he scowled and attacked the drunks, barely shooting me a glance as he shot past me.

The three of us managed to knock them all out before the blond guy dashed towards his girl. "Kath, are you alright love? What happened?" He asked but the girl, Kath, just shook her head and embraced him in a tight hug, shivering all over her body.

I snarled when the other guy, the young Alpha, headed towards my mate. He turned back with a rumbling growl and eyed me warily before I hissed, "Stay away from my mate."

His whole posture tensed while he stepped in front of the two girls, his muscles twitching as his eyes darkened. "Your mate? You want to steal Kim away from me?" He spat whilst showing his teeth before slowly lowering through his knees until he was hunched protectively in front of them, causing me to tense and growl as well.

No way was he going to take my mate away from me. I just found her and I wasn't going to lose her now.

The blind girl reached out and gingerly placed her palm on his back, which strangely soothed his anger a bit. I blinked with confusion until I realized that he was protecting her, not my mate. My eyes shifted to the girl that was still laying on the floor with her hands on her face before I growled at the thought of her in pain and walked towards her.

At that, the guy defending them let out a warning growl, causing me to roll with my eyes as I shot him a glare. Meanwhile, the blind girl slightly jabbed her elbow at his stomach, making him growl again and turn around. "I think he means Karen and not me, Will. Calm down please and talk instead of growling at each other like two rabid wild dogs."

My eyes widened at the way she talked to an Alpha but clearly, she was his mate as Will just sighed deeply before he placed a kiss on her forehead and chuckled. "That's what dad meant with needing both an Alpha and Luna." The blind girl, who probably was Kim, stared up to him while her green eyes passed his face and stared at a point close to it.

"Uhm, you lost me."

He chuckled again and shook his head. "I'll explain later." He looked back at me and sighed again before apologizing, "I'm sorry, I thought you were going after Kim, my mate." He stated while gesturing towards the blind girl, whose eyes shot in my direction when I chuckled. "Yeah, I guessed after you protected her more than my mate."

Kim frowned slightly before she blinked, the stunned look on her face quickly changing to one of happiness. "Oh, Karen's gonna love this. All that whining about me living in this world and she being left out and now look. Her mate saved us from Kevin and the others."

At the mention of Kevin's name, Will tensed up and took a deep, calming breath while his face got a distant look on it. Pack communication, I guess. Then I realized something. "Wait, you knew them?" I demanded, stepping forwards while my eyes shot from Kim to Karen and back again. Karen was inconspicuously looking at me through her lashes and blushed when our eyes met.

Kim sighed sadly and pointed at her unseeing eyes. "Yeah, they took my sight as a parting gift last time they cornered me." I growled as my blood was pulsing through my veins with anger. They attacked a human? A defenseless human girl?

The blond guy stood up with a sigh, his mate curled up in his arms before he motioned with his head. "I contacted the pack and they're here soon to get that scum under arrest, this time under werewolf supervision. Let's go home with our mates and calm down before we go into this."

Will flexed his hands a few times before nodding and scooping Kim up in his arms, making her yelp before she blushed when Will laughed at her. "It's not funny, I can't see when you're about to do that!" She reminded him half teasing, half serious.

Will nuzzled her neckline before muttering something in her ear and looked over my shoulder. "Ah, they're here." His gaze swept to me before he looked thoughtful for a moment and then sighed, "Come along, get your mate and come with us. It's best if we know how you ended up with the likes of them before we make any false judgments."

I nodded slowly and walked towards Karen, who was now blushing ferociously while she looked down. A reassuring smile slipped on my lips, something that felt rather weird to me since I hadn't got much reason to smile lately; other rogues had always referred to me as the moody prick.

Shaking those thoughts off, I reached out and waited for a moment, as if to ask her permission. Karen nodded once, her whole face flushed as I picked her up and cradled her against my chest, immediately calming my wolf down until the only sound that left his muzzle was a soft purr.

"I'm Karen by the way." She muttered before hiding her face against my chest. I chuckled at her shyness and followed the others while leaning down to whisper in her ear, "And I'm Ivan. Glad to meet you, my little one."

---Will's POV---

My mind was still buzzing with thoughts and emotions while I thought about everything that happened tonight. As soon as Kim made contact with me, I could hear the memory of Kevin's voice slithering through my thoughts. The anger that had followed was mind-blowing and made me dart out of the pub without a word of explanation for David.

He followed though and must have guessed the seriousness from the situation from my expression because he didn't try to stop me, he just ran along with me until we found Kim...and the mob that was attacking her and the girls.

My eyes landed on my mate as I was slowly rubbing on her back, her eyes closed as she rested her head on my shoulder and sighed once in a while. A sound from the seat across the room made me look up and I smiled when I spotted Karen in a similar position with the rogue, Ivan.

Although he had been a rogue for most of his life, he wasn't evil or corrupted. It wasn't his intention to even bump into the escaped werewolves until they messed up his camp in search for food and water. Trying to get rid of them, he had helped them on the way but failed when only the leader of the band and a few of his men left. Kevin had returned though, and Ivan said the man had mentioned something about finding a lost treat.

"I wonder what he meant with that..." I send out towards Dad, who was sitting at the bar with his head resting on one hand while he was reading several reports that he and Jasper had found. Father blinked tiredly before freezing slightly as he read something over and over again before growling.

"Damn, why haven't I seen this before? It was right there!" He snapped, smacking the papers on the counter with a sharp snapping sound before waving Jasper over. "We know where Carlos' family is. Unfortunately."

I sat up in the couch, my muscles taunt while Kim looked up and kissed my throat when I growled slightly. Her kiss managed to take my mind of things for a moment and I smiled down at her before looking back up.

"Why is it unfortunate?"

Father sighed again and looked up from the paperwork as Jasper and even mom were mumbling softly, shaking their heads while gesturing towards the papers. Father sat up with a muffled groan and started, "Well, word has gone out that you've found your mate, which will result in a meeting with the closest packs. So in the next week, about eight packs will come over to greet the pair of you."

He looked me straight in the eye before flashing an uncomfortable glance at Kim. "The last pack, who is a fairly close neighbor, had sent out word that they will be arriving in a few days. And that, is the Morningstar pack, led by Alpha and Luna Hernandez." He said, pronouncing the last name clearly.

I snarled, same as David when we made the connection. "You mean to say that Carlos is hiding a few territories away? His pack is saving his hide from what he did to my mate? If that's the truth, then I'm taking this to the council."

"Council?" Kim muttered softly as she blinked up at me. I sighed softly and said, "The Alphas from every pack have a representative in the council. They decide what's right and wrong and judge our actions. If a pack has broken the most cardinal rules, they can be brought before the council. It can also be a cause for war." I added with a growl, before I looked up at dad.

"And I couldn't be more agreeing with you son. If this has happened to my sweet Eva..." He trailed of slightly before I nodded and looked at mom as she walked up behind dad and hugged his waist. "I would like it if you can wait until the Alpha-pair is here, Will. You can confront them about it and see if they really have supported their son. Better that then to wage war against the innocent."

I nodded once before sighing and dropping my head against the seat, slowly thinking about everything. Blinking tiredly, I sat upright and glanced at Ivan. "So, what are your plans Ivan? You can join the pack if you want to." I said while my mind kept buzzing about the Hernandez family.

Letting Ivan think about it for a moment, I thought back at the dream and I knew that if that family was guilty, if their whole pack had helped them to hide Carlos and his men, I would go to the council, and the pack would probably stand behind me.