Sapphire Moon

Rogues

Oliver's POV

After Lila passed out from her spell, the guys and I talked and agreed that Lila will be bunking with Devin. I would've liked her to stay with me, but I still had my Alpha duties to attend to. I felt like I hadn't been here for my pack the last few days, and I need to get back to it. Lila had already been out for eight hours and hasn't woken up yet.

I walked into my office and went to work. After finishing the paperwork I had, I started to dig into James' case. When one of our own has been attacked, we always open a case if the perp got away. Since James was a pack warrior, that meant he had been on patrol or checking on something when he was attacked. This lead me to believe the attack was intentional and thought out.

I needed to talk to James and find out anything he can remember. "James, where are you right now?"

"Good morning Alpha. I'm on my way home. They just discharged me from the pack hospital. Did you need anything?" James asked when he linked me back.

"Actually, I was wondering if it would be ok to come over and have a chat with you? I mean, if you're up to it. I'm just trying to piece things together."

"I understand, Alpha. You're welcome to swing by. We will be home shortly."

"Great. I'll see you in 20, James. Thanks." I pushed my chair back and stood up, only to fall into a big yawn and stretch. I guess fighting and taking care of a sprite is tiring. Who knew? I walked out of the pack house and headed for James and Kate's house. As I walked, I had the sudden urge to shift. It's like my wolf hasn't been let out to run. The last few days have been mostly running or fighting in wolf form, so I know there is something putting him on edge. I resisted the urge to shift and decided to jog the rest of the way. When I got there, James was already sitting on his porch waiting for me.

"May I sit?" I asked as I gestured to the chair opposite from him.

"Of coarse Alpha, have a seat. What was it you wanted to speak to me about? Was it about going back to work? The doc says I need to rest a few days before he will clear me, even if I feel fine."

"No James, take all the time you need before you come back. I was actually getting paperwork done when your case crossed my desk. You know how these things go." I said as I tried my best to put him at ease. "I wanted to talk about what happened to you. Normally, these types of cases are because of rogues. Since you had silver in your system, I don't feel that to be accurate with yours. Do you remember anything? Can you walk me through your day?" I could tell that James had thought about this moment because he shifted in his seat as he stared at the ground at his feet.

"Well, I guess let me start at the beginning of my shift. It was a normal day like any other and I was scheduled for patrol on the South boarder. I had just reached it when I felt a presence that was in our territory just East of where I was. I linked more warriors to aid me in the search for the trespasser, but the next thing I know I have a silver arrow sticking out of my shoulder. I tried to run, but got another arrow and a bullet to the back. Everything went black from there, until I woke up in the pack hospital." James had tears in his eyes and wiped them quickly off before saying, "If it wasn't for that sprite, I wouldn't be here. Kate wouldn't be here."

"Thank you James. That was a big help. Her name is Lila and she will be staying with us. I'll relay your thanks. Take the week off and spend some time with your mate. She needs you right now." I suggested before leaving. 'Great, hunters are just what we need right now.'  I thought as I walked back to my office.

"Alpha! The South boarder has been breached by rogues!"  A pack warrior had mind-linked.

I sprinted toward the South border and shifted into my wolf form. "Shawn, Devin! We have a breach. Round up the women and children and get them to the safe house. Shawn, you're tasked with staying with them and to ensure no one gets in. Devin, when they're safe, South Boarder."

'Rogues, that's just what we need right now. Impending war, hunters, and now this!' I thought to myself as I approach the fight.

I could see one of the warriors fighting a rogue twice his size and a second one was charging toward him. I sprinted as fast as I could and slammed the rogue against a tree with a loud crack. Another rogue had jumped on top of me knocking to the ground. They thought they had the upper hand but as they snapped at my throat, I used my back legs to launch him over me and managed to slice his stomach with my claws. I quickly got up and snapped his neck before he could move. Better to be safe than sorry. I looked around and saw at least ten rogues still fighting my warriors. Beta Devin had managed to show up, so I'm guessing the rest of the pack is safe.  It looked like he was fighting a huge looking rogue. I could tell he had been an Alpha at some point because he was bigger than the rest and barely smaller than me. When a ranked wolf goes rogue, their wolf starts to shrink to the size of a regular pack member the longer they're rogue. This wolf was just as black as mine and also had white tipped ears. The only difference between us was that his eyes were a neon green.

I ran toward them and leaped into the air landing a couple feet away. My landing making a thundering sound as my paws hit the ground, then I growled loudly. Everybody that was fighting had stopped to see what was unfolding in front of them. The rogue shifted into his human form at the sight of me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I shifted back to speak. Yeah, it leaves me vulnerable, but I didn't feel threatened any longer. 

"Jareth?"