Drake
"Drake!" the patrol called through the mind-link, making me hiss as I looked at the time. 1:53am…
"What is it?" I snapped a little harsher than I had intended, my mind slowly waking as I flipped the sheets back. It had only been 6 hours since my father had me start taking over Beta duties, and I still had 8 more hours before they would officially be mine during my 19th birthday party later.
"Rogue, Northern border near 'No Man's Land'. "Luke replied. He was a young wolf, only 17, but seemed to be the most attentive of the patrol.
"Have they crossed?" I asked, grabbing my shoes, and making my way outside the packhouse.
"No. They…um. They are sleeping on a park bench." Luke sounded confused as he answered me.
"I'll be there shortly. For now, encircle them, do not let them leave." I ordered, pulling off my sleep shorts and letting the twisting of bones take over as I shifted, my wolf Sam taking over and grabbing my shorts and shoes in my muzzle before racing off.
The run took less than a minute, Sam's claws scoring over the logs as we bolted for the park. Just as the playground came into view, Sam began to slow his pace and force me back into control. I winced as my still hurt shoulder blade snapped back into place before tugging on my clothes and walking toward the bench my men now surrounded.
"Should we wake Alpha?" Luke questioned as I approached, looking down at the sleeping wolf on the bench. She was a young-looking she-wolf snuggly curled up on the bench sound asleep. Her golden-brown hair swayed with the wind, muddied with blood and dirt. Compared to the size of the bench, the wolf seemed too small to be on her own, only about 3 feet in length and slender. A chuckle rose from my chest as Sam began to laugh at the sight.
"Has she stirred?" I asked Luke watching the slow rise and fall of the wolf's slumbering chest.
"No, she hasn't even moved." Luke replied, keeping one eye on her as he glanced towards me. Half of the patrol wolves faced away, watching our backs while the rest had their eyes keen on the girl.
My nose twitched and pricked up as I caught her scent, making Sam go crazy in my head. A slight aroma of ash wood and cherries mixed with blood. I wondered at her wolf's ability to sleep so soundly while being surrounded as she was. Surely the sense of our presence should have been enough to wake her, much less our talking.
"Wake her." Sam barked at me.
I shook my head; I knew better than to do what he asked. You don't wake a sleeping she-wolf. But this, wasn't a normal moment, and before I realized what I was doing, I reached my hand out and shook her shoulder softly.
Her crystal blue eyes fluttered open before she sprang up, looking around at the pack of wolves surrounding her. Almost tripping over the back of the bench and falling to the ground, she tried to back crawl away from me. Taking a moment to survey her surroundings, I could have sworn I heard her swear.
"You need to shift, or we will have to force you." I told her, looking into the scared eyes as she counted the men. "I only want to ask you a few questions."
"Bullshit." She growled, making me stammer backwards. Had she just spoke without a mind-link in her wolf form?
"Please, I don't wish you any harm." I told her, putting a hand outstretched gently as if she was some lost puppy.
"Kill." She replied, almost in a whimper as she pressed her body as close to the ground as she could, making her small frame appear even smaller. I felt a sense of unease come across the link from my men as they watched on.
"Fine. Since you want to talk this way, we will do it your way." I told her as I sat down on the grass in front of her. "Let's start with, what is your name?"
Silence.
"Okay… How old are you?" I continued, Sam growling in irritation.
Silence.
Great, now she refused to speak. Her blue eyes never once changed, clouded, or even seemed to shift. The crystal water-like iris' remaining steady as she starred me down.
"I just need to know what you are doing this close to our border." I sighed, hoping she would at least answer that. She was on No Man's Land, technically untouchable, but had staggered too close for me to just leave her alone.
"Sleeping." Her voice was strained like she wasn't sure how to answer, or if she even should.
This time, I held back the chuckle from Sam but felt the edges of my lips turn up into a smile. "Sleeping? Yes, we could see that." He bellowed in my head.
"I mean, why here?" I asked, suppressing his laugh from my voice as much as I could.
"I…" She started, looking around again at the park. "I didn't realize I was close to a border. I apologize for the intrusion." Her words left her muzzle as easily as if she were in human form. The surprise of such a lengthy response echoed in my men's shock.
"Are you intending to stay in the area?" I asked as my mind began to wonder how she could do this so easily.
"Yes, I work nearby at the hardware store. I just." She replied before finally shifting into her human form. "I meant no harm."
I nodded, trying not to glance at her slender frame. Her ivory white skin was littered with scars, her long brown hair covered her breasts as she looked up at me. She had shifted so quickly and so easily that I almost missed it. My eyes caught on her hands, still curled into the ground in front of her, a set of stark black nails digging into the earth.
"Alpha," I called through the mind-link. "Patrol found a rogue in No Mans Land. Newly local residence. Threat Level, Three. Orders?"