Alpha Female - Book 1 -Under Major Editing-

Chapter 9

They made it to Nightshade in record time, mainly thanks to Aldrich's driving. He sped the whole way to the pack, silently praying that his gamma and warriors could fend off the rogues until he arrived. Nicole had taken it upon herself to remove all her jewelry and heels, knowing that as soon as they arrived in Nightshade, she would have to shift. Her wolf was reaching out to Aldrich's, feeling how tense and worried he had become.

Aldrich slammed on the breaks to his car as they crossed into his territory, and without wasting any time, he threw open his door and jumped out the car. Nicole watched as he shifted into his wolf and began running into the forest, before jumping out herself, shifting, and running after him. She followed after him, letting her wolf take over as they ran towards the pack house. Growls filled the air as the alpha couple ran out the woods, the massive pack house's yard filled with different wolves.

Aldrich let out a booming snarl, charging towards a rogue who had a member of his pack pinned down. He caught the grey wolf by the scruff on his neck and threw him off the warrior. The warrior looked up at his alpha, bowing his head and giving him a quick thanks. Aldrich nodded once, taking off towards a group of rogues who were surrounding another warrior. He tore into the group, tearing out the throats of each rogue. They bit and nipped at him, but he didn't notice. His wolf had one thing on his mind, and that was to kill.

Nicole had jumped straight into the fight also as they ran into the yard, not wasting any time as she began tearing the throats out of different rogues. The rogues were sloppy, but their numbers made it more of a challenge. Nicole's couldn't help but smirk in her mind at the rogues daftness. Surely they knew that they wouldn't win?

Minute by minute, Nicole fought along side her mate and their warriors, ripping out the throats of the rogues that dared enter their land. Only a couple of rogues were left, and the warriors formed a circle, blocking them in. Aldrich shifted back to his human form, his nude body glistening in sweat as he stalked towards them, a naked Nicole following. Alex, Aldrich's Gamma stepped forward, offering a pair of shorts to his alpha, and a long shirt to his Luna.

Once Aldrich and Nicole's bodies were somewhat covered, they stepped into the circle fully, sneering down at the three rogues who were held below them.

"Who are you?" demanded Aldrich, his voice full of contempt as he addressed the three wolves.

"You'll know in due time." answered one of them. He had light brown hair that was dirty and matted. He looked like he hadn't bathed in days, and going off the scent he gave off, he hadn't been a rogue too long.

"What is your reason for attacking this land?" tried Nicole, stepping to stand beside her mate.

The rogue smirked at her, looking her up and down as he licked his lips. "Look boys, she's unmated. Shame that she's marked tho, Nico was looking forward to doing it himself."

The other two rogues began to chuckle, going silence as they were hit in the face by the two warriors holding them.

Aldrich's heart began to race, his wolf pushing forward, begging to be released so he could rip the man in front of him apart for disrespecting his mate. "Shut up rogue. Who the fuck is Nico and what does he want with my mate?"

The mans smirk deepened as he tilted his head to the side a little. "Your mate. Enjoy the little alpha while you can. Nico wants her, and he'll have her."

Aldrich's wolf pushed past him, his eyes turning almost completely black as he snarled. "Take them to the cells! I want to know who this Nico fucker is by any means necessary. I don't care if you have to beat it out of them, do it!"

The warriors nodded, dragging the three rogues to the jail as they were commanded. Nicole stared after them, her face contorted in confusion as she pondered on their words.

"Alpha?" Her thoughts were interrupted by Lance's voice, which was filled with concern. "Do we even know a guy named Nico?"

Nicole racked her brain, searching for anyone she knew who might be named Nico. She sighed as she shook her head, glancing at Lance with a solemn face. "Not that I know of."

Lance let out a breath of annoyance as he nodded, stepping away as he pulled his phone out, calling James to give orders.

Nicole turned her attention to her mate, who was barking orders to the remaining warriors and his beta and gamma.

"Let the woman and children out the cells. A group of you escort them back to their homes. I want double the amount of people on patrol, do you hear me? There's no fucking reason they should've gotten into the territory. Josh, go to your office and be looking up wolves with the name Nico. Try to find any connections and report back. Alex, go with the warriors."

They all nodded their heads, going off to do as their alpha said. Aldrich sighed and ran a hand down his tired face. After a moment, he noticed Nicole staring and went to her. Pulling her into his arms, he buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent from her mark. He felt goosebumps form on his females arms as a shiver ran down her. "I promise, whoever this fucker is will regret the day he messed with our pack."

Nicole glanced up at Aldrich, a smile on her face at his words. "Our pack. I can get used to hearing that."

Aldrich chuckled and leaned down, placing his lips against hers. They moved in sync, raw and strong passion flowing through their mate bond. After a moment, they both pulled away, Aldrich moving his hands from her arms down to her waist.

"Would you stay here for a few days? Just to get a feel of the pack and meet some of them before we begin to make moving arrangements."

Nicole let out a breath, nodding at him, blushing as Aldrich's smile grew. "I can't stay too long. I'll have to get back to Shadow Cave and start figuring out how we're gonna combine the packs. Now with all this extra shit with the rogues, I have no clue what to do." She paused, feeling her wolf nagging at her. "Also, you were right, about the the rogues. If you're pack could barely fend them off, my pack surely can't handle them. I'll have Lance send some of our hunters to help find more of the rogues. Just make sure nothing happens to the three prisoners, they'll need to get her scent to find any others they've been around."

Aldrich nodded, reaching and grabbing his mates hand, beginning to pull her away from the pack house.

"Let's go for a run." he said, leading her into the woods behind the pack house.

Nicole giggled, letting him drag her along into the woods. "You're pack was just attacked by rogues, and you want to go run in the woods?"

Aldrich rolled his eyes, stopping once they got to a certain stump in the ground. "Put your clothes in there. And if I try to interrogate any of my warriors about the attack right now, I'm liable to hurt them. I need to cool off."

Nicole nodded in understanding, stripping her clothes off and laying them inside the stump. "Makes sense. What will happen to the warriors responsible for letting them through?"

Aldrich sighed as he threw his clothes in after her. "I don't know yet. I'll have to think on it. This can't ever happen again."

Nicole nodded, agreeing with him as they shifted into their wolves. The two began running, letting their wolves take over and enjoy each other's company. Little did the two alphas know that a storm was brewing.