Xander could only feel the intense pain on his shoulder where the wolf has latched its fangs. He had blanked out for short while before he was finally aware that he was lying on the ground. The smell of blood assaulted his nostrils and he could not move because of the heavy wolf on top of him. There was a ringing in his ears and he could vaguely hear the snarls and growls of the wolves surrounding him.
He could vaguely remember pushing one of his team out of the way and placing the sharpened end of the staff on the wolf direction before he was bitten hard then they went tumbling down a slope hidden behind the bushes. He did not know if the wolf had died but he was sure that he on the other hand was dying. But none of these matters to him at that moment, all he could think about was his sister. He had promised to come back but it seems that it will not happen because he might die there and be eaten by the wolves circling him.
He opened his eyes only to see the vague silhouette of the wolf that had bitten him. The large wolf stood up and swayed but it was still letting out a growl. He could see the staff embedded on the wolf's body but it was still alive and was not willing to share his prey to the others. 'Ah, the irony, I'm being protected by the wolf who bit me but, in the end, it will still kill me.' Slowly, Xander's vision turned blurry and he could feel that his eyelids are getting heavier and heavier. He knew that he was losing too much blood and without any help then he will surely die.
He was about to let the darkness engulf him but at that moment a woman's silhouette appeared. He could vaguely see that she was speaking to him but he could not hear it clearly, he wanted to reply but he could not and finally darkness came as he lost his consciousness
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She was supposed to be at the pack house and dealing with papers but she got bored so she decided to join the warriors on their patrol around the southern border as promised to the mayor. Since the appearance of the rogues, they have implemented daily patrol around their territory and its surrounding areas to make sure that there were not surprise attacks from rogues. Amber could not turn down the mayor's request since she considers him one of them, even though the wolf blood in his veins was diluted and besides, he was one of the reasons why their existence was yet to be discovered.
"Are you sure about this? There are still some papers you need to read so you cannot leave just like that," Zael mumbled while following their alpha out of the residence. The thought of being the one to deal with the mountain of documents that the alpha was supposed to deal with was not appealing to him.
"You don't have to worry too much. I'll deal them after the patrol so you should take it easy. My body has become stiff because I am always sitting in that chair all the time. I need to go out and stretch for a while, joining the patrol is a good chance to do that." Amber brushed off her beta's mumbling and instead gave him a pat on the shoulder.
"Do I have your word then?" His eyes narrowed because he did not believe the alpha's word since it had happened all the time.
Amber laughed after seeing the doubtful look on her beta's face, "Yes, you have my word."
Together with five of her pack warriors, they went to the location of the site. The mayor specially requested that they add the place to the areas they were guarding since the clearing operation has now started and there would be more humans in that place which will attract rouges and they don't want any of them becoming a victim of these wild wolves. If that happens, it will only bring more attention to their place, the construction was already a heated topic and they don't want to add more to the headlines.
She personally doesn't approve of the construction because it will only bring unnecessary attention to the town but the mayor explained that the resort was privately owned and when the vacation was done only family and some selected visitors will be able to visit the place. He had talked in length with the owner to make sure that the vacation house will only be used by specific people. Amber could only compromise since they needed to get along with the humans in order to avoid any conflicts.
They've just arrived at the site when she immediately smelled the foul smell of enemy. "Rogues, prepare for combat," she commanded after sniffing the air and making sure of the numbers of wolves they would have to dispose. Using the mind link, she contacted her gamma and ordered him to bring more pack warriors to their location.
Another sniff and this time Amber could smell blood and something that smells like spring, sweet and fragrant like the smell of her favorite flower. She frowned because as far as she knew, those flowers don't grow in this part of the mountains because the silver moon flower only grows inside the sacred grounds of the Ceurian Pack.
After giving instruction to her warriors, she ran through the woods and followed the scent that kept getting stronger the more she got nearer. She could also hear the growls of rogues until she came to a shallow ditch surrounded by these hungry predators. At the center of the crowd was a bigger rogue that was snarling at the others that were surrounding something and as Amber sniffed the air once again, she confirmed that the scent was coming from behind the rogue.
She stood in the shadows and watched as the rogues started to tear each other fighting over their prey. The larger rogue was stronger even with a metal stuck on its body but not long after it was outnumbered and it sustained injuries. Snarls and growls filled the place as one by one the smaller rogues fell down dead on the cold ground while the larger rogue was panting hard. It had lost too much blood from the fierce fight so she took that moment to get behind the beast and killed it by piercing through its heart.
Once everything died down, the atmosphere suddenly changed but to Amber, time seemed to have stopped as the scent assaulted her after the rogues were dead. Her eyes involuntarily turned into gold as her wolf howled in joy at the unexpected discovery.
"Mate!" she snarled as she moved to where Xander was lying down. The sweet scent was overwhelming as her wolf slowly took over but once she saw the blood and the wound on his shoulders, a deep growl emanated from her throat. The pack warriors who attempted to get near them took a step back after receiving a menacing growl from their alpha she then took a defensive stance with her mate behind her.
Zayier came only to see this situation, he could also see some of the warriors lying on the ground. "What happened?" he asked with a frown.
"The Alpha had found her mate. We tried to approach her but she growled and suddenly attacked us. We wanted to help the man because he was wounded but the alpha won't let us," one of the pack warriors answered. The first time they tried to approach, they were growled out. They tried to talk sense to their Alpha but she was not listening, she was on full alert mode and would not let anyone approach them.
Zayier looked at Amber and there was no recognition on her eyes, she was fully in her protective mode and as long as she was looking at them like a threat, they won't be able to approach her. He tried to connect with the Alpha's mind link but he was pushed out and blocked. As a result, he received a zap and a headache as a result of their Alpha's mind attack. He shook his head to slightly abate the pain before he decided to call for a person more suitable for the job.
"I'll contact the Beta. He might be able to calm the Alpha down. For now, clear the area and do not approach her. She's aggressive right now because she thinks that her mate is being threatened." Zayier connected to Zael through the mind link and explained to him what had happened. After hearing the situation, Zael transformed to his caramel-colored wolf and dashed through the forest to their Alpha's location.
After a few minutes, they heard a rustling and Amber's growl became fiercer. Her eyes became brighter and alert as she looked in the direction where the sound was coming. Zael's wolf immerged from the bush followed by the loud ripping of clothes coming from the Alpha's direction. They did not expect that Amber would fully turn into her werewolf form and brandished her fangs against them.
"Return to your human form," Zayier ordered after seeing the intense reaction from the Alpha. Zael acquiesced and returned to his human form. He also accepted the clothes handed by his brother.
"Well, this is not good," Zael was surprised at first but right now, the situation had turned worst. Even if they all fight the alpha, they might end up dead before they could even subdue her. They were now in a stalemate.