Soren's P.O.V
I dodged another wolf as it jumped to tackle me and kicked another one in its snout when it tried to take a bite out of me. I restrained some of the others with vines. I was trying to keep my power usage to a minimum. The more of their memory that we had to wipe the more painful it would be.
These rouges were annoyingly persistent. They kept getting up. They were like roaches. You think you killed one and then another shows up just to learn you never killed the first one. I had to resort to knocking them out completely. 'Shiraga, I need your help.' His response was immediate.
'Are you okay?' I chuckled. 'It's not me that's hurt.' In a split second, Shiraga was at my side. I only got a glimpse of the portal he used to get here before it closed. "That was quick." He embraced me in a hug. He was extremely protective of us. We were on our own for thousands of years before Sakura and Shiro appeared in our lives. We only had each other to rely on. We had our fights here and there, but we always had each other's backs.
If our family could be described as anything, loyal would be the best word. No matter what, we stuck with each other. Through thick and thin. "Shiraga, I have been your sister for too long for you not to know that I can handle myself." My words were muffled in his chest. "I know, but after...That, I cannot shake the fear of losing you." My eyes glossed over. I remembered those times and treasured them dearly. If only it did not end in such tragedy.
I would give my life to go back to that day and fix everything. Those years were hard for both me and Shiraga and a heavy deal of trauma came from it. Shiraga developed separation issues and every year I dealt with the grief of loss.
"We were kids back then. We did not even know how to use our powers. You know I do not blame you for what happened. It was because of you that I experienced one of the best things in life."
I did not like tears. They made me feel weak. Every time I cry, I am transported back to that day. Emotions I would rather not face.
"It was also because of me that...You went through everything." The emotions building up inside of me were starting to get annoying. I lightly pushed Shiraga away. "That was thousands of years ago. It is in the past. Leave it there." I turned back to the rouges.
"The events may be in the past, but the damage is still with us Soren. I am afraid if you keep avoiding it..." Shiraga cut his sentence off. I knew what he was thinking. "That won't happen. Back to the topic at hand. These rouges were following me and another wolf from this pack. They were going to attack us until I did this. The weird thing is that they were barely detectable.
They do not smell like rouge, and they did not mask their scent. A cloaking spell was cast over them. The only reason I noticed is that I heard them and our ability to sense magic. I do not think they are visible to the average eye. I have a theory, but I think we should discuss it with Sakura and Shiro first. I don't want to have to repeat myself."
Shiraga nodded, taking in what I just told him. "Do you think it has to do with that witch?"
"I think they are getting help from a witch, whether that witch is ours or another is something I am still deciding. I think It's time I and Sakura talk to her."
"So, what do we do with them?" Shiraga said, gesturing to the rouges lying unconscious in front of us. I groaned. "We need to do another interrogation. Question them and see what they will let slip. If anything, we will wipe their memories regardless. Let us take them back to the field, tie them up, and have a chat once they wake up."
Shiraga opened a portal to the open field we raced in not too long ago. I tied all the rouges up with vines and tossed them through the portal. "You coming?" Shiraga asked me over his shoulder.
"I am going to get Sakura first. I will call when we are ready." Shiraga nodded and stepped through the portal. It closed shortly after.
With a heavy sigh, I made my way back to the school.
Sakura P.O.V
"You want to hang out with us after school?" Catalina asked. She was so excited that it hurt me to turn her down. I had to meet up with Soren and the rest of my siblings before any word got out about potential rouge sightings.
"I would love to, but I have to meet up with my sister." Catalina's eyes that were once filled with joy turned into eyes of disappointment. "That's okay I understand."
As we exited the school, I saw Kate and Laurence round the corner. Laurence looked frazzled. "Where is Soren?! I am so sorry I did not mean to leave her." He looked so distraught. From the way he looked, you could have sworn this man committed and crime and landed himself a life sentence.
The expression on his face was foreign to me since the little interaction I had with him was him smiling. "She is fine. Laurence calm down." I put my hands up in a calming gesture.
'Tell me you are near.' I say to Soren via mind-link. 'Approaching. What is up with Laurence?'
I turn away from Laurence and look straight to see Soren approaching in her wolf form. In a few seconds, she had reached me and now stood in front of us. Her disguised wolf reached only to my head. Our natural wolves were two times bigger than that.
Her light grey fur rustled in the wind while her piercing golden eyes stared at Laurence in confusion. "Thank god. I am so sorry for leaving you in the woods. I thought you were on my back. My mate was in distress, and I took off I did not realize you were not with me."
Soren nodded her head as an approval to his apology. She looked my way with expecting eyes. "It was nice hanging out with you guys. We have to go."
I reached up at Soren signaling her to let me climb onto her back.
'Just shift.' She said, annoyed with my actions. I pouted. 'No.' She rolled her eyes and laid down so that I could climb onto her back. "Where are you guys going?" Seth grabbed my hand.
"For a run," I responded. "We can come with. I haven't stretched my wolf in a minute." Kate said with a yip. As much as I admire their desire to hang out with me it was becoming an inconvenience.
"Later. This is a sister hang-out. We will catch up later." I embraced Seth and kissed him on his cheek. Still holding him I asked, "Okay?" A light blush tinted his cheeks and he suddenly smiled. The look in his eyes was raw and full of admiration. "Okay," he said. He kissed me on my forehead, and I leaned into his embrace.
We must have stayed like that for longer than I thought because I felt a tug on my shirt. I looked up to see Soren nudging me away and all eyes on us. Some were filled with envy, others a playful disgust, and some a look of happiness. I blushed and climbed onto Soren's back. With one last goodbye to my new friends, Soren stood up and dashed away.
Her tail slapped Seth as she turned away. "That was unnecessary." Soren bared her teeth in a grin and ran faster. After running deep into the woods, a portal appeared in front of us. It was only after we entered the portal that I realized that we were in the field we usually go to hang out.
"Why are we here?"
'This is where we brought the rouges for interrogation.' It was an innovative idea. The place was discreet and had no distinctive landmarks for anybody to recognize. Not that anybody should recognize it. Soren made it herself.
We ran a bit farther into the field until we came upon Shiraga and Shiro. Soren sat down so that I could slide off. We walked over to our two brothers. I looked at the rouges to see they were unconscious. "Have they shown any signs of waking up?" Shiro shook his head.
"Is anybody going to explain or are we going to sit here?" Soren took a deep breath and sighed.
***
I had a lot to think about after Soren explained the entire situation.
"It's clear that the witch is working with the rouges," Shiro says.
"That doesn't make sense. Why help the rouges invade your mate's pack? Not to mention it's now her pack too." Soren retorts.
"Maybe she's being threatened?" Shiraga adds. There were too many questions and too few answers.
"The only way to find out is to ask directly," I say, finally contributing to the conversation. "What if you end up provoking her?" Soren adds.
"The truth is our plans have not changed. We gently approach Ela and get information out of her. You guys keep looking into any witch huntings that have been happening recently. The only new piece of this never-ending puzzle is these rouges. I doubt they will say anything."
We all looked back at the rouges. They were awake and looking at us with great disdain.
"Then we had better make this quick before anybody wonders where these guys are." Soren frowns upon our guest.
Her eyes turn green as she unwraps the vines from their mouths. We talked about everything and planned out the situation yet none of us knew what to ask. After a minute or two Soren spoke up first.
"What were you guys doing in Bloodlust pack territory?" They said nothing. I spoke next. "Are you working with a witch?" Silence met our ears once again. "What are your intentions?" Shiro asked. Nothing. "What are your names?" It was Shiraga that spoke this time.
"Where are you from?" It was back to Soren again. "It is obvious we are not getting anywhere with this. Let us stop right now so it won't be more painful when we wipe their memory." I spoke. That caught their attention. While we managed to pique their interest there was no way we were going to expose more of ourselves just to see if they would attempt to talk.
"I am sorry about this," Shiraga said before a white flash of light covered them. Their brows creased with pain, and they wriggled in the vines. Shiraga started to smile. That was weird. "What is wrong?" I asked, a bit concerned. "There is a barrier. Like a shield to protect their mind. It is used to stop compulsion and other kinds of mind-tempering actions. Including memory wipe."
Shiro raised his brow. "That is funny why?" Shiraga smirked. "Because they made this shield intending to block me out. It is cute that they thought that would work." It was not every day you see Shiraga acting overconfident. It was not a look he liked to wear. He pushed harder. The rouges squirmed and one of them let out a howl of pain. They were fighting like hell to not display weakness.
Eventually, they passed out one by one. Shiraga finished and stood from the crouching position he had been in. "If they did put up that barrier to block Shiraga out then that means they at least suspect us and our identities. Wiping out the barrier proves that there is somebody here powerful enough to wipe out a high-ranked spell." An idea suddenly popped into my head.
"That means our identities are compromised or in the process of being compromised," Shiro said.
"Not exactly. What if they were not gunning for Shiraga but Ela? If the rouges are working with the witches that mean they have a similar goal in mind. Ela must be a high-ranked witch if she was able to conceal her identity for so long and even fool me and Soren for a few seconds. She would be powerful enough to get past the spell."
Soren nodded. "The chances of them knowing about us are slim. I say Sakura's idea is more reasonable but just to be safe we should not contact each other for a while unless it is through the mind-link. No more portals out of nowhere and no more meeting up."
We all looked and nodded at each other in agreement.
"If we are going to run with the idea that this Luna is being hunted then I think being straightforward would be the best solution. A Luna has a physical and mental connection to her pack so she would not risk putting them in danger. Maybe if we explain the situation, she will tell us something."
The idea that Soren proposed was good but also tricky. "What will we tell her? We cannot explain how we know all of this, how we saw the rouges, how we knew it was a cloaking spell, or how we fended them off and questioned them. If she finds any loops in our story or discovers that we are lying, then we will lose all her trust and any information we might have acquired. It is better if we play the long game." I try to reason.
"I agree with Sakura it is too risky," Shiro adds. "We don't have time to play the long game. These rouge sightings are getting more frequent and there are more of them each time. We have an invasion going on and if we do not stop it your pack will be lost. We are dealing with an enemy we know nothing about. All we have are theories. I think we should tell her the truth. About everything. Including us."