*Media pic is of Second Beta Arn in his fur.

Troy surprised Lucas and Jules both when he suddenly brought up their dead Second Beta. It was not as if the two had forgotten about him or the attack. Lucas was still investigating the entire incident quietly at Troy's request. It was just that somehow they had overlooked or ignored the possibility that his attack might ultimately affect how Penn perceived Troy and the pack as a whole. There was no doubt that she loved the pups and would do anything for them - kill for them - but what did she feel about the Orthos pack?

Troy interrupted their thoughts by continuing on saying, "I still don't understand why Arn attacked her that first day. It doesn't make any sense. He knew, like the rest of us that you'd invited her here along with the children." He was addressing Lucas, who had extended Penn the invitation to come and stay until the pups were settled the day he met her in the woods.

Troy continued, "Arn knew she was a guest. He knew she was under our protection. Even if we didn't like it," he added looking squarely at Lucas and reminding his First Beta that he had given her the invitation without consulting Troy on the matter. It wasn't a sore spot between them. But, the unexpected invitation might help to explain some general level of hostility towards Penn when she arrived. 

"However, " Troy continued, as he expressed his thoughts and confusion aloud, "even if no one wanted a rogue here in the pack, Arn knew attacking her for no reason was forbidden. He took such a huge risk because, if he'd killed her, which I'm sure he was confident he could, he would have been severely punished. He had to known his actions would lead me to strip him of his title and demote him. Why would he take such a risk? Why was attacking her worth ruining his career and reputation in the pack?" he asked  Lucas and Jules, despite not expecting a reply from either.

Agitated, Troy began pacing back and forth between his desk and the fireplace.

"Have you found anything out Lucas?"

He stopped pacing long enough to look his First Beta directly in the eye. "Did his mate say anything? Has anyone else come forward with information?"

He hadn't pressed Lucas for answers before now because he knew the man hadn't had enough time to find any. But, Troy felt an urgency now to get to the bottom of Arn's attack - before Penn slipped through his fingers.

Lucas shook his head 'no'. He'd spent the past week trying to figure out this very mystery. He'd had Arn's blood checked for any poisons, drugs or other substances that might have accounted for his strange behaviour. There was nothing out of the ordinary he was told a few days later.

He then sat down and talked for several hours with the man's mate just the other day, after giving her a week to mourn in private, but she was just as surprised and perplexed as everyone else. He asked if she'd been aware of any changes in his routine, attitude or even affections in the past month to 12 months but she could not think of a thing. She couldn't name one thing that was out of the ordinary that gave her cause to pause and wonder about him.

Lucas felt she was genuinely confused by her mate's behaviour and truly unable to account for it. He did encourage her, if anything came to mind over the next few days and weeks, to tell him right away. Even the smallest of details might be useful, he encouraged her. She agreed, but didn't seem very hopeful she'd be able to shed any light on what had happened.

Lucas relayed this all to Troy now.

It was Jules who asked what neither men had thought yet to ask themselves. "Was she his only target or do you think he intended to hurt the pups too?"

Immediately both men shook their heads 'no'. They wanted to deny the possibility altogether. The children had already, at that point, been unofficially adopted into the pack. The word had already gone out that the Griffin pack orphans were being brought into the pack and would be publicly accepted without delay. The children were as good as members of the pack. And no self-respecting Beta would ever attack pups from his own pack for any reason. So, the thought was preposterous.

And yet, Anex also knew the rogue was a guest and that attacking her would clearly result in his public demotion and other punishments. Was it possible he was after the children and not just Penn?

As the two men's minds were running a million miles a minute trying to think of every possibility Jules asked with quiet curiosity, "Did Arn have any ties to Codax's? Could Codax have asked him, as a back up plan, to take out the Griffin pups if they ever got here? Codax must know that Lara would have sent all the pups here for their protection. He must have known that Lucas is the First Beta here. The man knew every little detail about Lara's life after all. He was a true stalker in every sense, " she said with disgust. "I'm sure he knew it was possible that some of the pups might eventually find their way here, right?"

This line of questions brought a shocked gasp from both men. There was a tie. Arn and Codax had originally come from the same pack. It was a small nomadic pack from the south that had no power, prestige or assets accept that it produced highly skilled hunters, who could be transformed into very useful Second Betas - like Arn.

Arn had met his mate, who was a member of the Orthos pack, while his pack was travelling along the southern regions of Orthos territory several years back. He'd left his pack and was welcomed into Orthos without question. This was a very common practice.

When the previous Orthos Alpha, Kress, realized Arn's potential, he began to train him for the role of Second Beta. He was given the role the year before Troy challenged Kress for the pack and won.

Troy had been Kress' First Beta for several years and had helped train Arn. He thought Arn was a very capable Second but did not promote him to First Beta when he won the pack after a pretty epic battle. Instead, Troy had given the role of First Beta to the man he trusted more than any other soul in the pack – Lucas.

Arn had not shown any signs of displeasure or dissent when he was overlooked for the promotion. In fact, he seemed very supportive and quite content to remain Second Beta in such a big pack where the work for a Beta was endless and he was well respected among everyone despite the fact that this was not his birth pack.

Troy and Lucas looked at each other and they both let out a sigh of frustration. Was it possible that Arn had always had a seed of discontent in his heart from the day he entered the pack? They might never know. And it was unlikely, since he was not successful in killing Penn, that Codax would ever admit to any plot to destroy the Griffin pups by using his old pack-mate.

Still, even the remotest possibilities should be thought through and investigated in such a strange case.

Troy focused his attention on Lucas' face and said, "You need to look into this further. But, you need to be careful for your sake and for the sake of the pups too."

How many other wolves in the pack had ties to Codax? Would Codax use others to try and get to the Griffin pups?

"We'll need a list of everyone with ties to Codax," Troy said with resignation. "They'll all have to be quietly investigated. You might have to bring on some extra hands to help Lucas."

He couldn't be sure but there might be as many as 20 or 30 wolves with ties to Codax in his pack. Lucas was going to need a few trustworthy men and woman to assist him in getting to the bottom of this quickly and quietly.

Suddenly, the smooth operation of pack life in the heart of Orthos territory was changing and taking a hitherto uncharted direction. Troy didn't like it at all. A great feeling of unease settled on his shoulders. It might all be conjecture but until they knew more Troy was wise enough to know that neither the pups or Penn were safe just yet.

Codax was just crazy enough to keep coming after the children even after he destroyed their pack. They didn't call him Codax the Killer for nothing. And if he'd pressured or asked Arn to destroy the pups, what would he do when he found out that Arn had been killed by the rogue who saved the pups?

How long would it be before he turned his revenge on Penn and hunted her down too? She would be defenceless without a pack to protect her. Even Lara, who had an alpha mate and a whole pack behind her, was not able to stem the flow of Codax's hatred and revenge. If Lara wasn't safe then Penn, alone, stood no chance at all regardless of how strong she was.

This alarmed Troy deeply. He took up pacing again and could not spare a thought for Lucas and Jules. Instead, he could only think of Penn and what he could do to help her.

Perhaps the pack should offer her sanctuary if she would take it. Would she spurn it though? He could, of course, let her remain, indefinitely as a guest, but the pack wasn't too keen on rogues for guests. They might not feel compelled to help her when the time came in the same way they would if she was an asylum seeker they promised to protect.

Or, here he was treading on very uncertain ground, he could offer her a place in his pack - as a member. He could unilaterally decide to accept her into the Orthos pack and his pack-wolves, regardless of their objections to a rogue, would have to accept her as one of their own. This would mean that they would give her the same protection they would any other member of the pack if push came to shove.

He was sure the pack would adjust. They certainly would not fear her anymore if they knew she was a member and no longer a rogue.

However, would she agree? Would she want that?

He realized he'd be hard pressed to convince her to become a part of his pack if doing so put the pups at risk. But, would it? Wouldn't it ensure that she was there to protect them if Codax came gunning for them whether directly or indirectly?

Troy's pacing increased. Would she resent being asked to join just to protect herself or the pups? Clearly the pups loved her and wanted her to remain. She could not deny that. They would genuinely want her as part of the pack and others would come to accept her after a while too. But, could she accept pack life again? Especially, after being isolated from it for so many years? Could she transition?

He ran his hands through his hair as he continued to ware the floor down. The next question was, did he want her to become part of the pack for his own selfish reasons? Was he thinking things through clearly and with an objective mind?

Objective? That was a good laugh. He hadn't been objective about her since the moment he laid eyes on her when she escorted the pups up the drive to the pack house. He'd felt drawn to her even then in ways he could not understand or comprehend. By the moon, what would the elders have to say about all of this? Troy was almost terrified to ask.

He couldn't explain it to himself but he felt like he wanted to make her stay. He wanted to keep her close. He wanted to protect her. How would she feel if the unmated Alpha of a pack tried to use every method possible to get her to give up her freedom and subject herself to pack life because he didn't want her out of his sight for reasons he could not understand himself. Troy wasn't hopeful.

When he finally stopped pacing, he found himself alone in his office. It was well after midnight and his companions had left quietly while he dented the hardwood floor with all his pacing. He might have laughed if he wasn't so preoccupied with trying to figure out why he felt so deeply about Penn. He'd had his mate. So, whatever this was, it wasn't a mate bond.

But, if that's not what it was, then why did he have such powerfully protective and possessive feelings about her that only seemed to increase as the knowledge that her life might be in danger increased. He really needed to talk to the elders. He couldn't delay. He would have to organize a meeting the following day.

An ache settled in his chest when he could not come up with a satisfying answer. And suddenly, he felt more tired than he had since the night he fought Alpha Kress for the pack. They had gone all out that night. Kress wasn't giving the pack up to anyone who was not worthy, and at the time the two men were fairly equally matched despite the 20 year gap in their ages.

It was the longest lasting single battle of Troy's life and he almost failed to win. When he did take Kress down it wasn't by much and so his victory, though hard fought, felt small in a way. It had also left him feeling emotionally and physically drained.

He felt much that same way right now as he left his office and headed for his bed chamber on the second floor. He'd sleep if he could and in the morning perhaps things would seem clearer to him.

He prayed to the Moon goddess, as he took the stairs to his room like an old man, that the elders would have some answers for him when he did get a chance to meet with them in the next day or so. He prayed for good answers.