Blood and Bonds II - Salvation's Prey

1. From the Ashes.

In the dark, bleed silence of his office, the air stale with self-loathing and pity, Dominic growls and grunts over maps of his pack lands. Large red crosses, different intensities of red, added time after time he has searched his land for a trace of Isabella. 6 years feels like 6 hours. Isabella still plagues his mind as much as the day she fled from him. His pack lands covered completely in crosses. There is not a inch he has not personally explored. No sign. No trace. No feeling of her death or life. Nothing but regret and torment for bed fellows. He growls frustrated and stalemated again, prowling angrily towards the window of his office. He hunches over the window sill, gripping the pane roughly. As he searches the view, his mind is flooded of the memory of Isabella at the lake with him waiting for the surprise he organised. Her smile at him; the way she looked so happily at him. For the briefest of moments, Dominic's skin dances with the heat and electricity it was once ignited with as her skin pressed on his. He pines for that feeling again. For years he has cried to the empty recesses of his cold heart, screaming what he would give to feel that again.

Dominic tears his eyes from memory lane and back to his office. He tosses patrol reports over his map and groans reading the dismal results. Rogue attacks almost every week; countless injuries and damages. Although, promising that the loss of life has plateaued around his pack. As strong as his army is, they are unable to improve the security and safety of their borders. The Blood Diamond pack is still as strong as ever. Dominic has made every effort to protect his pack. Rogue Nation has only gotten stronger and stronger, with an endless supply of wolves to keep flooding the land with death and carnage. The plague sweeps across their forests and lands with no vaccine or antidote. The leaderless, murdering, savage hounds are no respecters of packs or bloodlines. They attack whomever they want. Dominic's scouts have been able to keep tabs on the largest pack of Rogue Nation. Gratefully, they are all the way over on the other side of Luther's territory; more than a weeks worth of constant running from his pack border. They pick off the weaker packs; the surviving ones from previous attacks. All over the land packs are being overrun and eradicated. All except the packs belonging to 3 old Alphas. Dominic smiles at the reports that Alpha Landon, Keith and Tristan still defend their pack lands; none of which have surrendered any land to Rogue Nation. "Interesting." Dominic smirks to himself. "The old dogs survive another season." His smirk fades and his eyes sharpen on their lands on his map; his brows furrowed angrily. "But, How?! How can 3 small packs with stand Rogue Nation's onslaught year after year?"

Interrupting his thoughts, Jasper, Tucker and Koda trudge into his office without knocking. He watches them casually walk in, complete disregard for etiquette. "You heard of knocking?" He grunts at them.

Tucker and Koda slump into chairs opposite the table, unaffected by Dominic's growl. Jasper stands opposite side of the desk to Dominic, folding his arms across his chest, glaring at him with less and less concern for the etiquette Dominic seems to deem himself worthy of. "We always have a morning meeting. Anything new?"

Dominic has struggled to get any of his former friends back onside. They have all reduced him to their Alpha. Not his friend or his Brother. Their loyalty is to the hierarchy and the members of the pack, not to him. Dominic sighs heavily circling the three small packs that refuse to surrender at all to Rogue Nation. "These three. They have shown incredible resilience for ones so small and without a formidable army. Have you been able to figure out why?"

"They have their shit together. There has been no activity along those borders." Tucker says spitefully, getting up and moving for the window.

Jasper and Koda share a knowing look as Tucker moves across the room. Dominic ignores the attitude and continues to paw over the maps of the region. Jasper watches Dominic ignoring the obvious and slams his fist down over the Silver Lakes Territory. "You're looking in the wrong place!" He sneers circling the territory harshly. "We need to talk to the wolves running the patrols in THIS pack. The other three are not doing it alone and we know for sure, Charles isn't doing it." Jasper remarks pointing to the best patroled borders in the country and they all are around the Silver Lakes pack. "You want to know why, that's where you start. It's where you've always needed to start." Jasper chides stepping back, glaring at Dominic.