Verdant II

Seven

Grace's POV 

I was walking home from school with Maggie, Carter and Stella when the alert came through.

A group of Rogues has entered the territory.

Immediately our phones began buzzing, and we dropped our stuff on the side of the road and began to run. Amber alert: rogues entered pack territory. This was really happening.

The pack link, which was usually quiet, suddenly became very active. Ten rogues at the north border headed towards the packhouse. Eighteen rogues at the west border, killed three guards to get through. Warriors, take your place. Stay inside until the coast is clear.

We knew what to do, there had been drills over the years. Find a safe place to hide, and let the warriors do their thing. Anyone under the age of 18 was supposed to hide and stay safe while the adults took care of the rogues. Our warriors were some of the best in the world, but we were a large pack. This was the first time we had ever been attacked like this.

"The elementary school," I said to Maggie, and she nodded as we turned in that direction. I wanted to protect my siblings. It was an obvious target for attack, and I wanted to stand in between my family and the rogue wolves.

My heart almost leapt out of my chest as we sprinted towards the elementary school.

We made it there quickly, the doors were already locked and two warriors stood guard outside. I knew one of them, my dad's beta Eddie. He opened the door for us. "Remember; don't shift unless you have to," He said as we passed. I nodded.

A teacher met us. "All the kids are hiding in the locker rooms, and various classrooms and we've locked all the doors. However, a few kids had already been picked up or left for the day."

I thanked her, and Maggie and Carter took off to stand guard at the south entrance while Stella and I stood by the west entrance. Stella stood on my left side, and I could smell the fear and nervousness in the air coming off her. "Your family will be okay," I told her. "Everything will be fine."

"Yeah," she said. "But this is surreal. I never thought anyone would dare attack us. And there seems to be a lot of them"

We both winced at the next message that came through the pack link. Rogues made it to the pack headquarters, fighting ongoing. Losses on both sides.

I sent a quick message to my dads letting them know where I was. The pack link worked similar to text messages, you could have 'group chats' or talk to individuals. It wasn't often used as we tried to blend in with the humans, but in times like this, it was very useful.

Don't leave. Dad responded. His tone didn't indicate anything, but I guessed that meant the fighting was still happening.

The door in front of us rattled as something heavy hit it. Stella and I stilled. I quickly sent a message to Eddie and Maggie letting them know we had company.

The door rattled again. It wouldn't hold.

"Shift," I told Stella, and she complied immediately. I followed suit, and as soon as we were on four legs the door broke. Three rabid-looking rogues were on the other side. I snarled at them, and we pounced.

After the fighting was done and the dust settled, we made our way to the pack hospital. Carter had a broken leg, but we had kept the children safe. Us, alongside some badass teachers, had taken the rouges down. The rest of them had been handled by the warriors.

The pack link was still active, people were using it to update their location to their families. I was waiting to hear more from my parents, but they had been quiet, so I walked quickly toward the hospital. The teachers stayed behind to count the children while Maggie, Stella and I helped Carter. His bones were already healing, but I still wanted my friends to get checked out to make sure.

"I'm gay" Stella suddenly said. "I mean, I'm bisexual. We almost died an hour ago, and I don't want to die without having said that out loud." I smiled and gave her a quick side hug. "Okay, thanks for telling us." 

Once we made it to the hospital, I realized the severity of the situation we had just been in. The four of us looked stunned at the chaos unfolding in front of us. There were people everywhere, carrying pack members and running around. I said goodbye to my friends and ran up to the hospital secretary, to ask her about my aunt Kassidy. I needed to help.

The secretary told me that Kassidy was working, so I grabbed my usual apron so I could assist her and help out where I could. She lowered her voice. "I heard that the attack was led by the disgraced Brown family, so please make sure your aunt is okay. There are many pack members who still remember what they did to her, and are worried about her." I nodded and looked around the room trying to spot Kassidy. The air was thick with iron, it smelled like blood and guts.

The first bed I came to stopped me in my tracks. Knox. 

He had been mauled. There was a huge gash along his stomach, and I could see the muscle and some of his ribs. This was Knox, the guy who made dumb jokes and took nothing seriously. I worked as quickly as I could, stopping the bleeding and setting the bones in the right position so they would heal correctly.

After about 20 minutes he came to consciousness, and I had to hold him down as he thrashed. "Grace" he panted once he recognized me. "It's okay, you're in the hospital, you're safe," I told him.

"Is he safe?" Knox asked. "Did you save him?"

"Who?"

"Sky."