***Tyrus's P.O.V****Back at the packhouse***

        I lept to my feet... Allison! I knew it was her I could pick her voice out of a busy mall in a few short seconds. I felt my heart stutter as my wolf woke up at the impending danger that his mate may be facing. I could feel my wolf become more restless as that scream seemed to tear its way through me entering my very core almost. I cast a quick anxious look towards Felix, Thaddeus and Alpha Rhodes before sprinting down the stairs, not caring if it would piss them off further. My mate was more important than any punishment they desired to enact upon me. As I reached the base of the stairs I was punched in the face practically with the most revolting stench I have ever smelt and I knew what had happened. I shot a panicked glance towards the second floor where the others remained, 'Thaddeus, I smell rogues. They must have breached the house's perimeter or they are close because that's all I smell. I'm going to lock the house down just in case.' I called out quickly as I let the change course through my veins, midnight black fur began to sprout all over my body, and the stench became stronger with the change. I gagged silently and shook my fur out giving my body some time to adjust to the new form. 'Allison gathers the pups and any female that hasn't been trained to defend themself and goes to the cellular now!' I commanded, while searching the main floor to see if any managed to get into the house itself or if they still remained outside the heavy oak doors, while she quickly got to work gathering up all the young children and those who hadn't started training yet.

        Three more wolves emerged from upstairs, I could tell them apart with Thaddeus's sterling gray wolf that had a large charcoal splotch that feathered its way along his spine and a snowy white thin stripe wrapping around his muzzle, then there was Felix with his pure snow white wolf with a few dark smokey gray patches around his toes, and lastly I am assuming the massive jet black wolf with small silver patches peeking through depending on how the light shone on his coat was to be Alpha Rhodes. We slowly crept out of the house, with quite a few warriors trailing behind us, while watching the treeline carefully. I let out a small sigh of relief as I heard the lock slide shut on that heavy oak door and then the louder click of the second door which led to the cellar as it sealed tightly until the code was entered from the inside. We split up into teams with a few warriors per wolf. I had about two following me, Derek had about three, Thaddeus had about four and Felix had four while the remaining warriors broke off and went in the opposite direction to search around the otherside of the house. With all corners of the house covered we advanced towards the shadowy woods, which worked against us in concealing the enemy that was a foot. It wasn't long after we stepped into the treeline until we found the meager grouping of rogues of around twenty that had no doubt slipped through the ranks of wolves that were already out there. Concern bloomed within my heart once more but dissipated quickly when one launched itself at me.

           I let loose a growl dodging the flying ball of fur and fangs with the initial attack. The wolves behind me flanked out clearly ready to start this encounter. I could hear one of the wolves behind me grappling with the rogue that leapt towards me. A sharp whine was all that was heard until the night fell into silence again. I watched as the beady little eyes of the rogues all turned towards me. I braced myself for another wolf to attack as Felix and the others came over to join me but right as the next wolf leapt at me it was blocked by a wolf; smokey gray with sable black markings, Aisling. I blanched for a second. I didn't believe what I was seeing, she was supposed to be with Rae, they left over four hours ago......dread flooded through my being. If she was here then I couldn't bear to think of what must have happened to the others. We all felt the loss of the wolves who had fallen on the battlefield and I couldn't feel Raelynn anymore, or reach her with a mindlink. Without missing a beat we joined Aisling to fend off the stragglers that had slipped through, tearing through the rogues quenched my bloodlust while dulling some of the worry that surrounded my heart With the eighteen of us and twenty of them, well the rogues had no chance of success. Fighting in a pack had its benefits, for one we were all trained extremely well, secondly we were intune with each other and thirdly we worked cohesively as a team. Rogues always failed when fighting in groups due to their own arrogance or greed, they rarely ever worked well as a team. As we were dealing with them I caught the sight of a younger wolf backing away from the fighting and I threw a quick look at Thaddeus to see if he noticed.

            Of course he did and he shot off after him grabbing him by the scruff dragging him back to where we all stood amidst all the blood and gore. Once the others were dealt with and there was one left, the young wolf Thaddeus shifted back to his muscular human form. Aisling shielded her eyes from his bare form while I also looked away. "SHIFT!" He commanded and the whimpering rogue did as they were told, it was clear as day that he hadn't been cast out for very long.

       "Who sent you? Why are you here?" Thaddeus asked darkly, glaring down at the young wolf who quivered in fear beneath his gaze, while changing forms.

       Felix brushed past me and stood in front of Aisling while checking her over for any injuries while also shielding her gaze of the two very naked men that now stood before everyone. The young wolf transformed into a young man, who looked as if he were about to pee himself, it would seem that word has spread about Thaddeus to no surprise the guy scared even me. THe young man coughed trying to clear his throat while staring at Thaddeus's feet.

         "I-I d-don't know.....I only kind of overheard the name once...we were promised a new life. A safe home and food that we didn't have to fight for b-but that alpha who showed up is s-scary. She wiped half of my pack out without any help, we managed to slip through while they she busy......we were supposed to be the distraction... we were supposed to make it to the pack house and delay any reinforcements.......she was supposed to tire herself out........b-but...y-you weren't supposed to be here though. You're the butcher, you were supposed to be out on patrol on the opposite sector of the pack grounds......t-the patrol schedule they sent us......it...it was wrong?" The young man was clearly terrified of Thaddeus, spilling his guts without much effort from Thaddeus. I felt the air become icy as his glare deepened. No wonder they were working off the new schedule, good thing too or else there would've been far less warriors to defend the pack house. The kid didn't even need to be threatened however, if I 'm honest Thaddeus's glare is threatening enough sometimes.

      "Are you talking about Alpha Davis? You clearly failed at your task, the pack house is nowhere close to this location, kid. How many warriors do you think protect this pack? You think a measly twenty wolves would slow down any reinforcements to aid them, because if you do think so you are mistaken. Who sent you a patrol schedule hmm? Last I knew those were private and heavily guarded. And you are very right I am indeed the butcher. Now start talking up." He asked, growling slightly at the end of a few sentences while leaning down into the young man's face causing the rogue to flinch backwards.

        "Y-yeah her, she's fucking terrifying. She-she's so fast and strong......... That- that witch over there was by her side, she wasn't supposed to be there either but she's just as terrifying. K-keep her away from me. The pack house should be a few more feet to the north unless I looked at the m-map wrong" He broke off while pointing towards Aisling shakily causing Felix to snarl, shielding her with his body even more. "I d-don't know where we got the materials. I-I'm not the one who received them. We were all just told to study them for several days to prepare for today. And y-you a-are?"

         "This was a trap for Alpha Davis? We are all terrifying when it comes to protecting our home you idiot. You think we'll be nice and just hand it over you dumbass. And you did look at that map wrong. I wouldn't agree to being something I'm not now would I? Now back to business who the fuck sent you? Tell me now before I run out of patience!" He snarled, lifting the young man slightly by his neck bringing their faces' so close together you could see the spittle splash against the young man's face, while lying through his teeth about the rogue's map reading being incorrect. The pack house was indeed a few feet behind me towards the southeast.

        "I-I d-don't know.......I-I have never done something like this before....I have only been out here for a few months......I swear.......I t-think the name w-was.........C-Callahan...I am.....not sure though........I mean.....l-like I said.....I'm not the g-guy you want.......The guy you want is ......R-Rodco.......He's in charge......I-I don't know anything other than that I s-swear" He cried out, cringing back away from the fuming Thaddeus, trying his best to escape from his grip.

      I watched as Thaddes's brow furrowed in confusion before he shook his head. He swung his arm backward and then threw it forward quickly landing a solid hit on the young man's temple. I knew it was lights out for the rogue. I have been punched by that man before.....back when I broke Rae's heart for the first time. I watched the rogue's body crumple to the ground, like dead weight. "Callahan? As in Isiah Callahan? What did Alpha Davis do to piss off the vampire king's right hand man? Or was it Beta Moore, or did you piss him off? Clearly your reputation precedes you Zeta Black." Alpha Rhodes' voice broke through the silence, causing me to jump. I was so focused on the conversation with the rogue I hadn't even noticed that there was now a third naked man standing amongst the wolves. Rolling my eyes I snorted softly while looking towards the darker sections of the forest.

        "As far as I know nothing. No I haven't had a run in with a vampire in sooo long and even when I did it was nowhere near the pack. Also Beta Moore would have to leave the house if he wanted to piss anyone off, so I don't know why the vampires are targeting our pack. We haven't had a run in with any vampire on pack grounds for nearly fifty years. And that was long before Alpha Davis was born, all three of us,clearly. So it is a mystery that we have yet to solve and I don't like it." Thaddeus mused aloud, tapping his index finger against his chin thoughtfully, before turning his burning gaze to me. "Tyrus, won't you bring our new friend here to my workshop please. And after you finish that task please head back to the house and keep an eye out for any more rogues would you?"

        I felt my eyes widen and my pulse begin to race at just the thought of his "workshop". I have been there only once and once was enough for me. I never wanted to go back there ever again. I felt a bit like he was trying to pry me away from the action so that he could play hero, but I really wasn't in a place to argue with him at the given moment. I instantly shook my head no, causing Felix to groan in annoyance. I knew that they were all secretly laughing at me, even Aisling but that's the one place I will absolutely refuse to go in at any given time and I didn't care about the consequences. I outrank Thaddeus but he is possibly the most terrifying man I have ever come to know, which is why I try my hardest to stay on his good side at all times. After a few moments of silence Felix huffed before walking towards the unconscious man and began to drag the young man off towards the "workshop" located on the northeast portion of the forest not far from the packhouse, for Thaddeus's convenience.

      "I need to go check in with Alpha Davis and Delta Russel, who's coming? You do not have to join me if you don't want to. If you wish you can go back to the house or start up the patrol route we discussed this morning. Tyrus, do you know where she was headed? Actually scratch that Aisling where is she? Can you take us there or tell me an approximate location?" Thadddeus turned to me with his intense gaze, causing me to flinch back away from him, before turning towards Aisling.

       I could tell that they were conversing back and forth as his eyes twitched every so often before he turned to the wolves still surrounding him. Alpha Rhodes immediately stepped up next to him as did Aisling and a few of the warriors while the others broke off to most likely start the patrol route or to go guard the house. I knew what Thaddes was trying to do, they were going but I had to stay and protect the packhouse, because he felt that I had already failed in my duty to protect her once. I felt a bubble of annoyance creep into my heart, was I supposed to ignore my Alpha's commands? I let out a huff before walking back towards the packhouse leaving them to continue their discussion of the current situation. I felt my wolf call out for Allison's wolf trying to check if she was okay so I trotted closer to the pack house while keeping a watchful eye on the surrounding shadowed thickets and brush. I lifted my eyesight ever so slightly to scan for any movement amongst the treetops, making sure to check all of my bases. I still couldn't believe that Alpha Rhodes called me worthless and threw me under the bus when Thaddeus was asking about the current situation at hand, which I feel Raelynn left me out of the loop for a reason. Grumbling to myself I kept a vigilant eye on the forest, while also waiting for any sort of news from the frontlines.

*****Aisling's P.O.V**** Around 4 p.m*****

           Today was a bad day, I could tell. Raelynn locked herself away in her office after receiving the new patrol schedule my Felix and his brother Thaddeus had worked on before their shift ended around eleven this morning, and she hasn't emerged since. Maybe it was the arrival of the visiting alpha that put her in such an awful mood, but it could be that the memories of the past were starting to catch up on her. Apha Rhodes hasn't been here for almost six years, and I know there were unresolved issues there that she only ever let me in on. I knew she didn't dare tell Tyrus with their on again, off again puppy love romance that never blossomed into anything stronger than that. I pondered lost in thought, while wandering through the pack training grounds. Felix's schedule conflicted with mine almost daily, he wasn't supposed to be up for his patrol shift until six this evening and Thaddeus wasn't due back until twelve in the morning. Hopefully Stephen can handle the border of our territory for the next two hours.

           However even if there was an issue that may arise I knew Felix and Thaddeus wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Growing up with Raelynn, I knew that she would go out and personally deal with it herself instead. In all reality it should be Beta Moore's duty to handle any situation if the delta, gamma, or zeta were compromised but he's about as useful as a wet rag. He had problems....deep rooted problems concerning his wolf but he was working on them is what he told Rae but I didn't know if I believed that he was working on it. It seems like he just lurks around the packhouse while Raelynn shoulders all of the pack's issues and concerns unless Felix, Thaddeus or myself have time to help her. After the last incident four years ago when he lost all control over his wolf, luckily us wolves heal faster than that of an ordinary human but I don't know if we really put faith into Tyrus after it was all said and done, sure he's a good guy once you get to know him but that temper of his was a force to be reckoned with. I continued to wander because I didn't want to go back home and run the risk of waking Felix. I really am trying my best not to bother Felix. It was his turn to be on the overnight shift and he didn't come home until about six thirty this morning, right about the time I normally wake up. Since Tyrus was out of commission and Raelynn's been devising different strategies to keep the pack well protected I decided to take up training the male and female members of the pack to keep them sharp and help ease the stress put on the boys and Rae. I typically ended my classes around three thirty in the afternoon, which gave me some time before I had to be anywhere. I began to wander further into the pack grounds looking over towards the misty forest, which surrounded our beautiful pack house, occasionally I felt almost paranoid by always being on guard but today just felt off. I couldn't explain the feeling that welled up inside of my being as I gazed into the depths of the thicket.

           Just as I was about to head back towards the training grounds to finish cleaning up the equipment I had brought out for the training session. I grabbed a dumbbell and almost dropped it on my foot as a jarring sound broke me out of my train of thought. The blood-curdling howl from one of the men out on patrol broke the eerie silence that had enveloped me as I was lost in thought cleaning. I froze in place, my eyes darted towards the origin of the sound,desperately seeking the reason as to why the patrols were calling in so early, they weren't due for another hour and half if what I had read this morning was true. My pulse quickened as the grove of trees in which the sound resonated swayed in the gentle breeze, revealing nothing to ease my burning curiosity. I slowly began creeping forward, ready to investigate the sound myself, before I felt the annoying buzzing in the back of my mind as someone reached out mentally to get a hold of me. I silently prayed to the moon goddess that it was the poor soul who'd called out but it turned out to be someone I had not expected with an even more shocking command.

        'Gamma Summers, this is Beta Moore, Alpha Davis requires your assistance. Please gather as many warriors as you can that have yet to go out on patrol preferably those who aren't due to go out until the overnight shift and meet her at the front door' Tyrus's voice rang through my head causing me to freeze in pure shock, he has never reached out to me before until now so I knew it must be serious. Especially since Rae wasn't asking for me herself, I almost reached out to Felix in fear but I trust Raelynn and knew she'd keep us safe.

       I ran towards the house leaving the equipment behind and took a small detour once I reached the main part of the pack house to go find Thomas, David, Annalise, Parker, Anna, and Marie, who were all standing at attention in the rec hall. I could only assume they had also heard the cry which made my task a little easier. I knocked lightly on the wall to get their attention, " Hey guys are you interested in coming with Alpha Davis and I? She called for some help investigating the call that we all heard a few seconds ago" I asked softly, not wanting to force them into anything.

        They all nodded in agreement and cast aside whatever items they had in their hands down, ranging anywhere from controllers for the game systems, to pool cues and even a can of soda or two. With their confirmation I lead the way with a slight jog making my way back down the hallway to the main room. 'Okay I'm going to take six warriors that I found in the rec room and we'll meet up with Alpha Davis at the door. Do you know what's going on by chance or not? Do you know if Felix and Thaddeus are awake yet or if they know about what's going on?' I shot back a quick reply as we ran down the hallway, toward the main hall once more.

            'Alright thank you. I believe she said that some rogues broke through somewhere on the northern border and that Stephen called for aid but that's about all she told me. And I am unsure if the howl woke them or not, I haven't seen them yet though.' He replied and I shut him out of my mind and quickly turned to the group of warriors following behind me giving them a quick run down as to what was going on. As we kept a steady pace jogging towards the door I could hear the hurried footsteps of someone running down the stairs. As we rounded the corner under the stairs Raelynn ran in front of us causing our stride to break ever so slightly as she rushed out the door, her strawberry blonde mid-length hair flying wildly behind her. I started to sprint towards her as she threw open the front door harshly and was about to catch up to her when she leapt off the porch and a silver wolf emerged from her medium sized frame. I watched helplessly as the silver wolf sped off into the woods, while kicking up clumps of the soft earth. So I let go of my control on my wolf, letting the change begin and with the tremors that began coursing through my body my wolf as with fur as white as snow emerged from the depths of my soul coating my body with the coarse hair. I began sprinting as fast as I could trying to catch up to her while avoiding all the debris she was kicking up as well as all of the hidden natural traps the branches created, ignoring the other wolves trailing behind me at a slower rate. I needed to catch up to her and try to get the details about the situation we are heading into that she kept from Tyrus.

      I pumped my legs to go faster, my breath coming out in short huffs, but I managed to catch up to her with a few long strides. I slowed down slightly, catching my breath. After I managed to catch up to her it wasn't hard to keep pace with her, we have always been faster than the others, maybe it was the extensive training we both went through or maybe it was our roles within the pack order. She shot me a quick glance with a slight smirk on her lips before asking, 'Did you manage to grab a few of the warriors on your way out here?' I took my place at her flank, letting my tongue loll out haphazardly. I decided to give a brief nod before replying 'Yes Alpha, we are just much faster than they are' We laughed a little at the mention of our speed compared to the others but I could. It was a forced laugh, I could see the worry etched on her expressive face. I hated seeing her so worried, I haven't seen her this worried in a long time....not since the moment I found my Felix. She lost her mother and father that night, and not long after she lost her brother Blake as well. I still couldn't shake that feeling that something was off, wrong I could feel it crawling under my skin and I knew she probably felt the icy tendrils of it as well. As the awful icy burn wormed its way into my heart the fear I'd been trying to push down seemed to overflow the barrier I had locked it behind and seep out. The forest's many obstacles slowed us down slightly as it held many nature made traps. The low hanging moss blinded us, the low branches threatened to smack us at a wrong turn and the upturned roots dared us to trip over them but I put my trust into my alphas hands.

******Author's Note******

      I hope you enjoy this new chapter at 4,311 words. Again I do apologize for the slow updates, my life is really crazy. My car was damaged in the parking lot a few nights ago while I was at work so I 've been dealing with all the stress that has brought about while also working my late shifts. Thank you for understanding while I continue to work on the next chapter. I actually had to split this one in half so it wasn't too long. I hope you have a good day or night.