Kane was about to drop to the ground when the huge wolf turned. They locked eyes. Both Kane and Adam froze in their places, waiting for the next move. Kane prepared for the fight, he felt his muscles tense as he was about to drop, but something in the rogue's eyes stopped him.

The wolf turned away from them and ran, his giant paws hitting the ground hard. The wolf disappeared into the darkness of the tree line within half a second. Kane stood there with his jaw open. He glanced at Adam, who looked just as dumbfounded.

"What just happened?"

"I don't know," Adam whispered.

"Do we chase him?" Kane asked. His eyes were stuck on the spot where the giant wolf had just disappeared into the tree line. He hadn't expected that.

Adam shook his head.

"We must look pretty fierce if a wolf like that is prepared to run from us," Kane joked out of nervousness. Adam's return expression implied that it wasn't a time for jokes.

Adam sent one last glance at the tree line. "I don't get that," he muttered as they quickly made their way towards the street. "Rogues come looking for fights. Why didn't he try to come for us?"

"He could have been injured or something and knew he wouldn't win against two wolves?" Kane offered.

"He didn't look too injured to me. There must be something else."

"Maybe he was after something specific," suspected Kane. "They might not be here to terrorise."

Adam didn't say anything in reply. Instead, he started jogging. "We need to get to the town centre."

They jogged with observant eyes, Kane watching for any more wolves lurking in the shadows. It was only a few minutes later when Kane heard people in the distance. He recognised them instantly as the pack's response team. They were a group of more experienced pack members, who, under the direction of the Alpha, did their best to protect the town where necessary. Since Kane was a child he looked up to this group of wolves. He always wanted to be one of them, but they had a rule in their pack, no one under the age of twenty-five was allowed to join.

The group saw the boys instantly, and waved them over. As they jogged up to them, Kane looked for Phil. He ran this group, and he had been friends with their fathers since they were children. He spotted Phil quickly. He was standing to the side, a phone pressed to his ear.

Kane and Adam stopped right next to Phil. Kane wondered if the man had been in bed before all of this. He was wearing his signature army pants and black shirt, but his hair was a little pushed up to the side and he was wearing his thick glasses instead of the usual contact lenses.

Adam started to ask for a report, but Phil interrupted him. "Does your father know that you're here?" he asked.

Adam straightened his shoulders. "No, he does not, but-"

Phil put his hand up, a clear signal for Adam to stop talking. Not many people would feel comfortable interrupting an Alpha, but Phil was different. He always had one goal in mind, the pack's safety, and everything else came as second to him. It's what made him perfect for the job. It's also why Kane knew that Adam wasn't too fond of the man. He wasn't exactly an advocate for having the two boys involved in things like this.

Phil spoke into his phone. "Sir, your son and Kane Moore are here...Yes in town centre....No they aren't injured...yes Sir."

Adam sent Kane a desperate glance. He spoke to Phil, "We have every right to be here, we just want to-"

Phil ignored Adam, and instead motioned for one of the other men to come over. "Take these boys to the Alpha."

Kane and Adam groaned in harmony. Kane could already feel the looming sense of the consequence of this impulsive decision. He had acted in good faith, but he was suddenly acutely aware of the times his father had told him not to leave the house in a lock down unless Adam was in danger. He remembered the time Victor had warned the two of them that their combat classes wouldn't be enough when faced with an actual threat, that they needed more training before they were involved in emergencies. He wished that these memories had chosen to grace his mind fifteen minutes ago, and not now.

The man lead them into their small town hall, where a few desks were set up in one of the meeting rooms. Victor sat at one and Sebastian at the other. When they entered the room, both men looked up at them. Kane could already feel the anger radiating off of his father. Victor, on the other hand, seemed calm and composed, as always.

The Alpha waved them over to the desk he was sitting at. He put the phone in his hand down. "I hear that you two were wandering the streets during a lock down, is that correct?"

Kane didn't dare oppose the Alpha. Instead, he looked at Adam. Adam shook his head. "We went to see if we could help."

"That was irresponsible of you," Victor replied simply. "You do not have the appropriate training."

"You two could have been killed, all alone out there," Sebastian added. He stood from the desk he had been sitting at and walked to be beside Victor. "I thought you two had more sense than this."

"I'm sorry, okay?" Adam replied to them both. "This is our pack too. We just wanted to help. I didn't want to just sit back there and wait while my pack is put in danger."

Kane wanted to add that he was sorry too. He wanted to explain that they thought they could have helped. Their intentions were good. Yet, the stern look on Victor's face and the anger in his father's eyes, told him to stay quiet.

"You boys are the future of this pack," Victor told them.

Adam took a long stride towards the desk. "The pack wouldn't have a future if our people were killed by rogues. We could have helped."

Victor's eyes locked with Kane's for a minute before flickering to his son's. "The pack also wouldn't have a future if the two of you were dead."

That was enough to quieten Adam.

"Go sit in the hallway and wait this out," Victor instructed.

Kane followed Adam out through the large wooden doors. The hallway was lined with historical artwork and long bench seats. They sat at the edge of one of the seats, close to a window. Kane could feel the anger radiating off of Adam.

"Why did we just do that?" Adam asked. Kane wasn't sure if the question was rhetorical or not. He answered anyway.

"We had good intentions," Kane told him. "We thought we were helping the pack. Instead we just ran into a weird wolf and then got reprimanded by our fathers."

"I just want to protect the pack," Adam told him. "I'm allowed to attend boring meetings and read old paperwork with my father but I'm not allowed to help when our own pack mates are in actual danger. Where is the sense in that?"

Kane knew where the sense was. They were teenagers. They had no place fighting off rogues. Yet, he couldn't tell Adam that and a part of him didn't want to admit that either. He remembered the overwhelming sense of purpose he felt when he thought he was protecting the pack. He didn't want to admit it to himself, let alone Adan who was an Alpha and his whole worldview was based on the fact that he was supposed to protect the pack. "I don't know, Adam."

"I'm going to ask my father to organise for us to have more training, so that next time he can't turn us away," he stated with determination.

Kane nodded. "That's a good idea."

A few minutes past. Kane kept expecting to hear growls and screams. It was so quiet that he could almost forget that there was an attack occurring outside those walls. He was in need of a distraction, but he wasn't sure if Adam was up to talking.

As if reading his mind, Adam spoke. "Who was that guy who wanted to come with us?"

Kane wanted to smile. He didn't know where Mason had gotten the balls from to stand up to an Alpha. "That would be Mason. He's new to the pack."

"Does his mate live here?" Adam asked. He shook his head disapprovingly. "I can't wait to find out who got mated to that prick."

Kane had to stop himself from laughing. He hoped that Adam wouldn't hold a grudge against Mason. It was quite noble of him to offer his help. Stupid, but noble. Hopefully Adam would see that one day. "He moved here to live with his aunt. I don't know why."

"What is he anyway? Does he wear contacts?" Adam asked.

Kane suddenly had a deeper understanding of what Mason had been talking about. People really did want to know his ancestry before much else. "Half Omega, half Beta." He likes to paint, Kane added in his mind. He likes running.

"That would be interesting if he wasn't so rude."

Kane nudged him. "Don't be too harsh on him. He did just want to help." Kane almost didn't say it, but he added, "What you're upset about with him is the exact same reason as why our fathers are upset with us."

Adam took a second to process that. "You make a good point," he replied with a small smile. "Why were you two out in the woods together anyway?"

"We escaped the party after what happened."

Realisation hit Adam's face. "I almost forgot, what the heck happened with Wyatt tonight?"

That wasn't exactly the topic of conversation Kane wanted to discuss. "We almost kissed," Kane admitted, his voice but a whisper.

Kane's mind was suddenly brought back to Tyler's house and to that room upstairs, where he and Wyatt had almost kissed. He expected a wave of love and desperation to overwhelm him, but there was only guilt. He was surprised by that. He didn't wish that Wyatt was in his arms, the way he had only a short time ago, but instead he wished that he could say sorry.

Kane wondered what had changed. He had been desperately in love with Wyatt, or he thought he had been, back in that room, but now he felt differently. The realisation hit him. That kiss with Nora may have uncrossed some mismatched wires after all.

Adam's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

Kane nodded. He didn't know how Adam was going to react. He needed support, but he wasn't sure if he'd find it here. He wasn't left with a choice, however, as he wouldn't lie to his best friend. "I didn't mean for it to happen. We were arguing and I told him that I loved him and it just got emotional. I tried to kiss him but then-"

"What were you thinking?" Adam asked. There was anger to his words. Kane could tell that he was trying to keep his voice at a reasonable level. "You tried to kiss your ex-boyfriend with your own mate just down stairs?"

There was no reasonable explanation for what happened. Kane couldn't even come up with an unreasonable one. "Yes."

Adam sighed loudly. He shook his head slightly as he spoke, "I don't even know what to say to that, Kane."

"It won't happen again."

"I really thought that once the shock of it all wore off that you would get over this."

"Get over what?" Kane asked. He knew his words were defensive. "Get over being gay?"

Adam drew in a quick breath. "I don't know, Kane. I don't know."

"I can't change who I am overnight. All I can say is that I'm trying my best here. It was a mistake to kiss Wyatt, I know that now. I said it won't happen again, and it won't."

"It better not," Adam told him. He sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't want to make you feel bad, I really don't, but you're being a horrible mate right now. Nora is the one you should be declaring love for. Nora is the one who spent all day getting dressed up for this and making an effort with your friends. Nora is the person who the Moon God's, in their infinite wisdom, decided that you were perfect for, and you act like this in return?"

Adam had successfully made Kane feel like the worst person in the world. He sighed. "I know. I'll be better, for her."

"I want you to be better for you too," Adam said.

"What do you mean?" Kane asked.

Adam blinked at him. "Don't you want to be happy with your mate? Don't you want a future with her?"

Kane didn't know what kind of future he wanted, but it didn't seem to be the time to be discussing formalities. He did want to be happy. He wanted a future where he was happy. He hoped that's what the future held for them. "Yes."

"Then don't kiss boys at parties."

Kane nodded.

"Oh," Adam added, "and stay away from Mason."

That shocked Kane. "Why?"

Adam seemed to think for a moment before answering. "I saw the way he looked at you tonight."

"What does that mean?" Kane asked.

He had gotten so used to the silence around them and so he jumped a little when a loud howl sounded from far away. He and Adam's conversation was stopped in it's tracks and they both turned towards the window, but there was nothing unusual outside. The response team were still at their stations, some speaking quickly into their phones and others just watching.

A few minutes past, and then a different siren sounded around the town. The lockdown was over. Sebastian came out of the room.

"The town has been cleared," Sebastian told them.

"How many are injured?" Adam asked.

"None that we are aware of," Victor replied.

"What did they want?" Kane wondered.

His father shrugged. "From our team's reports, it seems like they were looking for something. The wolves were mostly alone or in pairs, covering the ground of the town. They ran as soon as they were spotted, and when a wolf in the forest howled, probably their leader, they all deserted the town."

"We saw one of them looking in someone's window. It ran the second it saw us," Kane told them.

"That's consistent with the team's report." Sebastian turned to Adam. "You should apologise to your father."

Kane expected a repeat of Adam's speech on protecting the pack, but instead, the alpha just nodded. "I know."

Adam stood and walked back into the room. That left Kane alone with his father. Kane could already hear the haranguing in the back of his mind. You're too young to be fighting off rogues. You need to be more careful. He knew exactly what his father would say.

"Before you get mad," Kane said, "just hear me out."

Sebastian smiled. "You're not going to find a good enough excuse."

Kane pleaded with his eyes. "I'm sorry, Dad. I really am, I just-"

His father interrupted him. "No you're not."

"Yes I am," Kane argued.

Sebastian sat down on the bench. He patted the spot next to him. Kane felt oddly like he was being lured into a trap. "What?" he almost whispered as he sat down.

"You aren't sorry," Sebastian told him. "You aren't sorry and that's okay."

"You aren't mad?" Kane asked, a little too much hope in his voice.

"I'm mad alright," Sebastian replied. He turned so that he was facing his son. "I'm mad that you broke lock down and you could have been killed out there, but I'm not going to hold it against you because that's exactly what Victor and I would have done if we were your age. In fact, that's exactly what we did."

"Really?" Kane asked. He didn't pick Victor or his father as rule breaking types.

Sebastian laughed. "Really. We were just shy of nineteen when we broke lock down. Rogues attacked the town and we ended up saving a couple of our friends. Victor broke his arm in the process. I got a concussion that left me throwing up for a couple of hours after. So yes, we did what we did, but we know damn well the consequences of it."

Kane didn't know what to say. He felt connected to his father in a way he hadn't felt before. He had always seen his father as so different from himself, but it turned out that he didn't know him as well as he had thought. "You two sound pretty bad ass back in the day."

Sebastian smiled, his eyes looking over Kane's shoulder almost as if he was reliving the day in his mind. "We did a lot of good for our pack that day, but we could have died that day, son. In different circumstances, you could have died today. So, you have to promise me that you'll be more careful."

"You're saying I can break lock down again?" Kane asked with a tilted chin.

Sebastian shrugged. "I'm saying, if you plan on fighting a pack of wolves, please have more people on your side than just one other wolf."

"I should drag all my friends into it, is what you're saying?"

Sebastian laughed. "Go home to your mate. This conversation didn't happen."

Kane couldn't help but smile. He couldn't wait to tell Hunter what he had just found out. He considered waiting for Adam, but he wasn't sure how long he would be with his father, and Kane had a new number one priority. Nora.

He had really taken what Adam said to heart. He was going to put Nora first. He made his way out of the building, every step leading him to Nora.

Remember to vote and comment!