Xavier's POV
"Hey," I take the dishes out of her hands, instead grabbing her hands in mine. Everything in me wants to stay here with her. Everything in me wants to never leave her side. Everything in me wants everything in her. But I know that there are forces against us, and I refuse to rest until I can feel assured that we're safe. That my pack is safe. That she is safe. Then, and only then, will we truly be able to start the rest of our lives together. "You are my everything, Celeste." My heart feels as if she always has been and my heart tells me that she always will be. "Now and forever." Her eyes get foggy with tears but I stay steady. I know she has doubts sometimes. They seem to be lesser and fewer as the days go on but I know that they exist. If only she knew. . "Celeste," the words begin to break from my lips on their own accord, "I-"
'Alpha,' one of my warriors' voices breaks through the mindlink. It's Calvin, the head of the patrol I had sent out this morning. I was worried with the growing number of rogues we had been having these last few weeks and then all of a sudden, nothing. Barely any rogues had been spotted shortly after Christopher escaped. A feeling of unease hit me early this week and, after discussing with the guys, I had decided to send out one patrol each morning. They were to go twenty five miles in different directions, and report back any sightings of rogues. 'We spotted a large group of rogues this morning, coming from the west. We think they're on their way to the pack.'
'How long have you been following them?'
'Since the mid morning, Alpha. They've only gotten closer and seem to be on a direct path to the pack.'
'I'll be there in soon with reinforcements.'
"Damnit," I mutter, blinking and clearing my vision.
"Is everything okay?" Celeste. I need to protect Celeste.
"I have to go," I sigh as I move my hands to her waist, pulling her close. I can't help but always have her close. And there's something about her scent right now. . Like I can't get enough of it. I press my lips to her neck. If I had the time. . . "I sent out some scouts this morning and they saw a group of rogues on the path to us."
"Maybe they're. . ."
"It's been a consistent direction, Celeste," I stop her before she gets too far. I know her past and I know that her pack isn't the only pack that such a thing has happened to. However, at this moment; we know that rogues are working for or with Malum and we're highly confident Christopher has joined them. "Besides," I reason with myself, "it's always better to be safe than sorry." She nods and pushes herself up from my hold. My body follows her before my mind realizes that I have.
"Will you be long?" Her voice sounds almost sad and I find my heart hurting. I know she's sad that I've been busy lately. I don't spend nearly as much time with her as I'd like to. I feel like I'm in my office most of most days.
"I don't know," I tell her honestly. She glances down. "Stay in the pack house, okay?" If there's a group of rogues heading our way, then I need her to be safe. "I'll find you when I'm back, okay?"
She looks back at me. "Stay safe." That's all I want for her.
My lip tilts up just a bit. "For you? Anything," I promise. Everything in me wants to stay here with her. My wolf whines in my head. Her smell invades my senses and makes it all the more difficult to leave her right now. I press a gentle kiss to her forehead and force myself to leave her, not allowing myself to look back.
'Jacob,' I mindlinked him, 'Twenty of the rogues are on their way to us from the West. I have Calvin and four others on patrol out there right now. We need to meet them past the border before they can get any closer. Gather however many of our best men and meet me there as soon as possible.'
'We'll be there in ten minutes, fifteen at most.' His swift reply gives me confidence as I make my way out of the pack house.
My wolf whines, urging me to turn back around, ripping away some of the just instilled confidence. I can't help it, I turn back around just in time to see the light in my office being switched off. 'Zay,' I mindlink her to ease my wolf and I, 'Can you be on standby? To make sure Celeste is okay?'
'Of course Xavier,' she sends back almost immediately. That reassurance is enough to convince me to turn back around and run toward the west border.
When I arrive, Jacob is already there as well as seven of our top warriors. "I have three more on their way from the east end of the pack."
"Let's wait for them." I eye the men in front of me, noting he didn't call for Josh. I'll admit, it's been several weeks since I've personally watched over their training but everyone here seems of the more capable variety, being able to hold their own well. Nonetheless, I ask, "Will ten be enough?"
"Don't doubt us or yourself, Xavier," he says with a small chuckle. "You alone could take down five rogues confidently. I'm sure these men can do similarly, if not the same. Plus, you said Calvin is out there with four others and there's the two of us. We can squash these bugs before they get too close to the pack and you'll be home to your mate in no time." I give him a small glare for the mention of Celeste and he holds up his hands in a mock surrender, a smirk on his face. He's right. My wolf has been howling to go back to her, something I've never heard him do to this extent. I shake it off as nerves of the growing situation as I spot the other three making their way to us.
"Thank you all for meeting us here on such short notice," I said to my men. "As I'm sure you know, there's been an ongoing issue with rogues of a different variety as of late. They will likely not be intimidated by our presence and some of them will have notably unusual scents or no scent at all. We do not know what more there is to them at this moment so don't take them for normal rogues. Jacob has called you here as the best of our best and we expect you to do your best. Do not be fooled. We believe these are the same group of rogues that participated in the prisoner escape just a few weeks ago. Do not rely on your sense of smell to locate any who may approach from behind. Be aware. Be alert. Be brutal." The men all nod and I take a breath, shifting my attention back to Jacob. "You and I will be focused on taking at least two alive. I want to figure out where these bastards are and how they work." He nods. "Let's go."
We all shift and take off. It takes us maybe thirty or forty minutes before I'm able to make out the smell of our own pack members. Calvin and four others stand, two in wolf form but Calvin and another man remain in their human forms. "Alpha," Calvin greets me. "Luckily, they stopped to rest maybe twenty minutes ago. They've been sitting a mile out since then."
'And they've been on a straight path since this morning?'
"Yes, Alpha."
'They're not resting, Calvin.' His brows furrow. 'They're waiting.'
"Shit."
'Show us where they're at,' Jacob instructs him. Calvin and the remaining men shift into their wolf forms and the scouting group takes off.
They see us before we fully see them. They're not as mangy as your average rogue; if anything, they seem as though they've already been through a battle. Scars maintained, chunks of fur missing. Two of them have less fur than I've ever seen on a wolf and their skin seems almost blue under their fur. Disease stricken, the words cross my mind. I recall Shia saying that she sensed no magic in the cellars when Christopher escaped and I can't help but wonder if this is a different arsenal of wolf from Malum's supposed collection of rogues. My wondering doesn't last long as the first one gets low to the ground before pushing off with a stride faster than some of my lower ranking warriors.
The men around me launch, Jacob staying back by my side. 'Which one, Alpha?' Growls surround us as teeth sink into fur and blood sprays the air. I see Calvin pin down a wolf before another pushes him off but Basil, one of our wolves, is right behind him, ripping the second wolf off and pulling a chunk of flesh out along the way. I look away, trusting my people to handle this. I survey the group of rogues, none seeming to have any standing over the other.
'Help take down the rog-' a brute force slams into my side, teeth digging into my front leg. I growl as I crane my neck, digging my teeth into the rogues head. It lets go of my legs, rolling away from me. Its ear goes with me as dirt flies up between us. Jacob is on its tail, quite literally grabbing it by the tail and pulling it away from me. My eyes fly around, landing on two more rogues approaching Jacob. 'Behind you.' Jacob's eyes dart briefly behind him before he uses the tail in his mouth to whip the first rogue, throwing it in the other two's direction. They clash together in a flurry of growling fur. I lunge before they can get up, going straight for the death bite on the first of the three. Jacob, also over this bullshit, does the same for one of the other ones. As my teeth sink into a fur covered neck, the taste of copper explodes in my mouth. I feel it pool around my teeth as the rogue goes limp beneath me. I let the dead creature fall to the ground, blood continuing to stay on my tongue. Jacob is already dropping the second of the rogues closer to him as another approaches him. I leap to it. Its eyes switch to me and it pounces. Paws hit chests with aiming claws. Pain momentarily tears through the right side of my chest, I push it to the back of my mind. It managed to get me pinned to the ground. I use my hind legs to dig my claws into its belly as its jaw snaps open and closed, trying to get closer to me but my front nails manage to hold it back. It howls as my claws break skin and I manage to throw it off of me. It flies through the air, twisting itself back around; it manages to get back on all fours. Its fur raises on the back of its neck. Blood drips from its stomach and chest as it advances forward. I lower myself on my front legs, ready to leap any moment. Pain stretches across my chest. I push through as it lunges again. Its aim was too high and it flies over my body. I try to turn to face it only for a set of sharp claws dig into my hip. I kick it off and a stinging pain tells me it took off with a chunk of my own skin.
A howl sounds not far from me and my instincts kick in as I recognize it as one of my own people. The rogue on my tail chases me as I abandon it, instead zoning in on where Basil has a rogue on top of them. The rogue behind me advances. When I'm close enough to Basil and the other rogue, I go left. The rogue behind me doesn't expect it and crashes into the struggling pair. It's enough shock to get Basil back on their feet. They nod to me, blood dripping through their fur starting from their eye that has clearly been swiped at. Then they're back on the rogues. I help, going for the one that was originally after me. I take advantage of its disorientation as it tries to get to its feet, pinning it back to the ground. It growls, attempting to push itself back on. I dig my claws in, pushing more and more force into my front half until my paw is halfway in its back. I'm surprised when it tries to push itself up, ultimately assisting in my claws journey through its body. It goes still beneath me and I remove my bloody paw.
I take down two more rogues as the sun begins to go down around us. I dare to survey the scene. Two of my wolves are down while two more stand guard around their forms, holding off three rogues who jump at them, snapping repeatedly. Jacob is covered in blood and I hope it's not his own as he takes down one of the blue skinned rogues. They seem to both struggle as Jacob tries to get it from between the trees. The rogue struggles to navigate, Jacob struggles in the chase. Two of my wolves stand back to back as four rogues surround them. There's bodies of dead wolves additionally blocking many paths between the trees and I don't take the time to decide if any of them are my wolves. I can't not right now. Several more sets of wolves stand in their own battles, one on one with the disturbed rogues. I decide to help the two wolves taking on four rogues. I snap at a random of the four's legs, yanking it away from the group. I take it several feet before I see my wolves lunge out of their protective stance. The rogue tries to pull free from my bite. I clamp down harder until I feel a bone snap. The rogue yelps, trying to kick me away with its other back paw. Once or twice a swipe gets my face. I use my hold on its leg and swing the rogue at a tree. Leaves shake down around us and I slam it again. My grip on its leg is lost. It tries to get up, seemingly dizzy. I leave it behind, knowing I need to take at least one of them alive and disoriented will do for now.
I step in to help Jacob in his chase, stepping in the rogues path. The slam I take has my body aching but it allows Jacob to secure the rogue. He makes quick work of ripping out its throat, nodding to me in thanks as he spits out the chunk of flesh and fur.
The sun is long gone by the time the growling, snapping, and sounds of breaking bones and rustling dead leaves begins to lessen. 'Alpha,' Jacob says through the link, 'We still need to take some alive.'
'There's a disoriented rogue I left somewhere around here, that'll do.'
'Understood,' he sends as I see him lunge for one of the last standing rogues.
Calvin takes down the last one, letting go and collapsing with a huff. I rush over to him. 'Calvin,' I try to get his attention. 'Are you with me?' He lets out a puff of air through his nose as his eyes catch mine, looking exhausted and in pain. 'C'mon, let's get out of here.' He makes his way to all fours, legs shaking as he does so. 'Everyone,' I send out in a proximity link so I don't have to narrow it down and take up more of my energy. 'Let's regroup.' We all manage to stumble maybe fifty feet away before several of us collapse to the ground. The pain hits me as I imagine it hits everyone else. The wound on my chest has barely healed and the one on my backside is certainly open to the world. The scratches on my face seem to heal but every movement of my head makes known, a crunching sound that I recognize all too familiarly as caked blood breaking in fur.
I count 16 wolves around me and worry strikes me. 'Who's missing?' A growl sounds out my throat as eyes look around, a grown worry in all of us.
'Basil,' Jacob calls out to me. 'Basil is missing.'
'Jacob, with me. Everyone else stays here, rest. We have a journey home.' Jacob follows me. We both have limps, mine caused by the wound on my backside. Jacobs seems to stem from his front left paw. 'Are you okay?' We make it back to the pile of wolf bodies that scatter a section of the forest floor.
'I've gotten worse injuries from shittier creatures than these,' he comments.
I try to sniff out Basil but the scent of blood is too strong in the air. It's hard to make out everything in the dark but I cross the rogue I had disoriented and notice its chest is no longer moving. A pile of blood surrounds its head, seeping into the ground beyond the dead leaves and shining briefly in the moonlight. 'Fuck,' I curse into Jacob's link. 'Fuck! Jacob the rogue is dead!' I growl out into the night air. 'Fuck!'
'Alpha,' Jacob links, his voice sounding monotonous.
'What?!' I know the tone was uncalled for but I curse myself for not having a backup rogue to try and take back to interrogate.
'Alpha, I found Basil.' My attention snaps to him. I make my way over to where Jacob stands by a rock, tripping over a close by body of a rogue as the sight of Basil hits me. There they lay, their back shaped oddly against the rock.