This isn't exactly what I had in mind.

The Alpha stared down at the still figure in his arms. She had a fragile beauty about her - so pale that only her soft, almost imperceptible breathing reassured him she was still alive. Red hair framed her face, highlighting impossibly long eyelashes. The tangled locks flowed down her shoulders and pooled amongst the autumn leaves on the forest floor.

Despite himself, he found his eyes drifting across the thin sundress that reached no further than her knees and left her arms bare and exposed to the cool autumn breeze. His body automatically responded to her soft curves, and he closed his eyes, berating himself.

His wolf growled within him.

As his senses adjusted to her sudden proximity, the sharp tang of iron reached his nostrils, and he registered the myriad of scratches that criss-crossed her exposed skin. Red lines, so thin and light they barely shed any blood at all. The rusty, metallic tang came from the drops of blood falling slowly from the cuts to her bare feet and, most worryingly, the nasty-looking head wound that was still oozing into her hairline.

The strange scent that had drifted through the forest toward them surrounded her like a perfume making his wolf whimper in agitation. But he could sense no signs of rogue on her, nor in the surrounding area.

He spared a glance towards Marcus, still in his wolf form and trying to contain a low growl as he stared at the unconscious girl in his Alpha's arms. The cloying cocktail of blood and unnatural scent screamed danger, and his lips had raised into the first hint of a snarl, fur bristling as tension rippled from muzzle to tail.

Careful, Rothan warned.

Realising that his Beta was close to losing control, Blake carefully twisted his body away from him, shielding the girl from view, all the while keeping his eyes trained on the huge wolf. "Back away," he ordered the grey wolf quietly as he watched its eyes flicker from gold to black and back again.

Females were protected and nurtured in Blake's pack, it was his number one rule. Although all the pups learned some level of fighting skills at a young age for their own safety, the boys were taught that it was a part of their duty to protect and care for the females of the pack - future mates and the producers of the next generation.

His wolf's natural instinct to eliminate the source of potential danger to the pack was warring with Marcus's urge to seek out and tear apart the cause of the girl's injuries. It was an overwhelming assault on the senses as the wolf's basic instincts battled against the law of the pack.

A little help here? Blake appealed to his wolf.

Blake could feel Rothan pacing back and forth in his mind, firmly on edge, but while the Alpha wolf was channelling their fiercesome self-control and keeping himself in check, Marcus was snarling as he fought against his wolf, Akoni, for dominance. Once unleashed, Akoni would be in complete control, and might even attack his Alpha in order to get at the girl he was shielding.

"Marcus! Stand down!" Blake snapped, utilising his wolf to bring the full force of his Alpha voice down on his second-in- command. Though his voice never altered in volume, the forest seemed to shudder under the weight of its power; a sudden gust of wind whipping the leaves from the floor and back into the trees, disturbing several nuthatches that burst through the branches and into the air, protesting noisily as they flew away.

Marcus whimpered and Akoni was forced to back off, bowing his head in submission.

"Sorry, Alpha," he apologised over the link, trying hard not to breath in. "It's the smell. It's driving Akoni crazy, he says it's all wrong. I would never--"

"I know. Rothan doesn't like it either." Blake stood up carefully, grateful once again that his Alpha blood gave him the ability to shift back and forth without losing his clothes.

His sister, who had been looking between the two of them in bewilderment, crept forward to sniff at the girl's feet. Unlike the males, neither she nor her wolf had enough experience to recognise how out of place the new scent was - or be particularly disturbed by it, but they knew the smell of blood, and blood meant danger to both of them.

She scrambled back with a distressed whine, her eyes wide. Whimpering, she communicated her own internal struggle to her brother, her ears back and her belly low, tail between her legs. Her wolf wanted to run away and was itching to gain control.

Blake looked at her sharply and allowed his wolf to start talking to hers, whispering words of calming reassurance. Then he glanced down at the girl in his arms, a trickle of blood steadily making its way down her temple.

We need to get them both back to the safety of the village as quickly as possible.

"Marcus, head back to the pack house and find the doctor, let him know we're coming," he ordered. "Take my sister with you," he added, a second glance at the smaller wolf convincing him it would be best for both wolves to travel ahead.

For a moment Marcus looked like he might protest but, seeing the expression on his Alpha's face, thought better of it. Instead, he lifted his head and his eyes glazed over as he reached out through the pack link to locate the nearest patrols. He relaxed slightly as he located their Gamma - Blake's third-in-command - less than a mile away, and called for assistance, explaining as much as he could as quickly as possible.

Blake looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Marcus flicked his ears forward in agitation. "I'm not leaving my Alpha out here alone and unprotected. Especially when we know nothing of this girl or how she got here."

Blake heard the mild disapproval of Akoni coming through in the last half of that sentence, and Rothan flicked his tail in a rare moment of approval. He's right, she's dangerous.

"We'll stay alongside you until Alex arrives, then I'll run on ahead with Sky." Marcus retreated from the disturbing scent currently surrounding his Alpha, and started padding down the trail back the way they'd come, attempting to nudge a still-trembling Sky along with him.

"Stay with Marcus," Blake confirmed in a firm tone, well aware of his sister's tendency to ignore orders she didn't wish to obey.

Sky nodded vigorously; her brother's safety was more important than her own, and she shook all traces of fear from her bristling fur, stepping confidently along the well-trodden trail in the vague direction of the pack village.

Blake indulged in a small smile as he watched his determined young sister lead the way - eager to show that she could handle herself and help her brother - then turned his attention once more to the girl in his arms. Her breathing was low and shallow and she was cold to the touch. Even unconscious she seemed to huddle into his body, seeking out his warmth the occasional shiver making her whole body tremble. Once again, his body reacted and he felt an undeniable attraction towards her.

Do you feel it? he asked his wolf, but Rothan was silent, radiating distrust.

She weighed next to nothing, and he was able to jog at a steady pace while being careful not to jostle her too much. A wolf could travel at a comfortable ten miles per hour so, even in his human form, he was able to move easily through the undergrowth, Marcus keeping pace ahead of him.

Around them, the gold and rusty red hues of autumn mingled with the evergreen pines as they moved swiftly through the forest. The only sound; a gentle rustle from the fallen leaves they kicked up as they passed by the scattered oak trees on the edge of the trail.

Stop! Rothan barked without warning.

What is it? Blake came to a halt and sniffed the air carefully.

At the same time Marcus tensed beside him, a low whine escaping him.

"Somethings wrong --" Blake started hesitantly, then his eyes widened with realisation. "Back!" he snapped. "Run the other way. There are rogues in the trees!"

They're masking their scents, Rothan snarled.

Marcus took one startled look at his Alpha and took his word for it, bolting towards the east, herding Sky along with him.

Blake veered to the right hoping to lead the rogues away; he knew they'd target the Alpha once they picked up his scent, giving Marcus the chance to out-manoeuvre them and lead his sister to safety.

"Rogues!" he called out over the link, alerting his pack to the danger even as he heard Marcus do the same. The responding howls of the eastern and southern patrols echoed through the trees as they closed in on their position.

"We're nearly with you, hold on!" his Gamma's shouted in his mind, and Blake turned, veering towards them, still clutching the girl carefully in his arms. As he reached the natural clearing in the forest - a brook running between the trees with wide banks either side - the feeling of being watched increased, and he knew he had only moments to act before they were upon him.

He lay the girl down carefully and partially concealed her under some fallen branches then whipped around towards the water.

He was swiftly joined by Alex, flexing his muscles. Flanked by two powerful looking warriors, the Gamma flashed his Alpha a wicked grin. None of the new arrivals had bothered to shift, all eager for a good fight. "Show yourselves!" the big warrior roared.

Then, with a hoarse shout, a gang of rough, burly men burst from the edge of the trees and splashed across the brook, their claws extended, several brandishing small daggers.

As Alex and the warriors moved forward to meet them in human form, Blake shifted, all flashing eyes and dark fur as he allowed his wolf out to play. The four of them moved so rapidly they seemed to blur as they switched from one rogue to the next, making short work of the still-human intruders.

With a choked cry, one of the attackers stumbled back as Blake leapt at his throat. The small dagger he was carrying slashed futilely at the wolf's shoulder as he crumpled beneath it.

Another doubled over sharply, clutching at his stomach and fell to the ground groaning.

A third, quite young and still with the start of a fuzzy pale beard on his cheeks, dropped heavily and sat clutching the gaping wound in his chest where a well aimed set of claws had ripped through him. Then he sighed and slumped over on his side with a stream of blood coming from his nose.

The ragged-looking men faltered under Blake's fury, a fatal mistake.

Alex and his warriors were upon them instantly, taking full advantage of their hesitation. With a great sweep Alex let loose his claws and crunched down in between the neck and shoulder of the man who rushed towards him.

The female warrior, Amara, smoothly decapitated a pock-marked ruffian with a vicious looking blade of her own. The head bounced across the floor before landing in the water at the feet of another, who barely had time to react before she ran him through as well. The man stiffened and a gush of bright blood burst from his mouth as she removed her blade from his carotid artery.

They could hear more small skirmishes kicking off further into the forest as the other patrols caught up to the stragglers, dispatching them with a ruthless efficiency, and the remaining rogues realised that their chances of survival were limited if they remained human much longer.

Reluctantly, they began turning one by one, some choosing to take their chances with the other patrols by fleeing back into the trees towards the border, others leaping into the fray, fully committed to the fight.

Blake dodged and rolled, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, working together with his wolf to keep the fight controlled and away from the still figure lying hidden just a few feet away from the carnage.

Everything was going as planned until two of the rogues, who'd managed to sneak around to flank them, cottoned on to the strange aroma and moved purposefully to investigate.

Distracted by the fight, Blake failed to notice them pulling at the branches to expose the girl beneath. The movement sent a fresh wave of her scent into the air enveloping the two rogues and eradicating the tenuous control they had over their wolves.

Eyes as black as coal, the tallest of the two, his face half-hidden behind a shaggy brown beard, reached out to grab a handful of the girls hair, the red locks lying forlornly in his filthy hand. He reached to his side seeking his still-sheathed blade, a look of murder in his eyes. He may have succeeded, had his companion not lost control completely and dropped to his knees, letting loose a howl of anticipation.

Blake's gaze landed on the two rogues and, with a roar of fury, Rothan took over completely, running directly at the newly shifted wolf in anticipation of a kill.

At the last moment he dived forward, rolled his body under the wolf's legs and ripped his teeth into his enemy's belly. His teeth made a wet, tearing sound as they sliced upwards and the stricken wolf screamed and collapsed on the floor.

He continued the roll and came to his paws above the girl, snarling viciously as he crouched into a protective stance.

Alex ran up behind him, jumped over them both and turned mid-air, striking the other rogue full in the chest with his feet. He finished the job quickly with a thrust of his claws, before looking around for more to fight.

But there were no more.

The clearing was empty. Amara and her brother, Issac, had chased those that tried to retreat into the forest and they could hear the howls of triumph as each one was tracked down. Only the Alpha and Gamma remained panting in the cold air.

Alex looked into the black eyes of his fully dominant Alpha and lowered his head, baring his neck in submission and respect.

Rothan reluctantly handed control back to Blake who blinked, and sniffed at the girl to reassure himself she was unharmed. Then he shook out his bloody fur and waded straight into the icy water, lying down to fully submerge his huge wolf in an effort to clean off.

The chill cleared his head and soothed the growing ache in his shoulder, the water running pink as it cleaned the small wound. In a sudden panic he remembered his sister:

"Marcus?" he called over the pack link.

"We're okay, Alpha," he responded immediately, "Your sister is with Sarah, and the hospital is on alert." There was a moment of silence, then: "Are they all dead?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Blake replied, relief in his voice. He trusted no one better to keep Sky safe, but he knew how disappointed Marcus would be to have missed a chance to take on the rogues for himself.

"Good fight," Alex remarked, crouching down by the water's edge and gingerly washing off as much blood as he could, wincing at the cold.

Blake rolled his eyes. "There shouldn't have been a fight!" he snarled in irritation. "Where the hell were the border patrols Alex? Rogues shouldn't have been able to penetrate this deep into the territory - especially in these numbers!"

Alex ran his fingers through his shaggy blonde hair and sighed in frustration. "I don't know what to say Alpha. Every time they attack they pick a different area to cross over, it's like they're deliberately testing our defences. Three days ago it was a mile further south, last week they crossed over much further north than this - they've never been this organised before!"

They turned to look toward the sound of movement on the other side of the brook. The two warriors were returning to the clearing side by side, congratulating each other on their individual kills.

"Did you run them off?" Blake asked, his voice harsh, even brutal.

"Those that could still run," Amara answered, her voice a bit excited and her ice blue eyes bright. "They seem to have left a few behind." She pointed at the still corpses littering the ground.

Blake grunted and waded back out of the water and over to the trees to shift, knowing that his clothes were likely to be soaked through when he turned. He sniffed out one of the hidden bundles of spare clothing that were always scattered around the territory and returned a moment later dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a slightly-too-large grey sweatshirt.

He tossed a second shirt over to his half-naked Gamma who caught it deftly in one hand and grinned.

Amara was moving among the dead, checking them over one by one, her silver blade always at the ready in case she found a survivor. Issac followed behind her, dragging the bodies into a neat pile to be burned later.

When they reached the girl, still half buried under the dead branches, Amara backed off a little, her nose wrinkling at the smell. "This one's still alive."

Issac took another step forward, curiosity overcoming his aversion. "It doesn't smell like the others..." He shrugged and reached for the knife. "Better safe than sorry."

Blake growled at him, a deep warning sound that carried with it all the power of an Alpha. It was something he rarely had to do with his own warriors, and they all backed quickly away.

"She's not one of them," he said softly. The warriors exchanged looks of surprise, but he ignored them and, without further explanation, he gathered her into his arms and turned to walk back towards the village.

Over protective much? his wolf reasoned.

oh, shut up.

The Gamma shrugged, absentmindedly kicking the dead leg of one of the fallen rogues. "Good fight," he murmured to himself once again before jogging after his Alpha who was already disappearing through the dense canopy of trees.

Blake remained silent as they made their way carefully through the autumn landscape, deeply preoccupied with his renewed contemplation of the girl in his arms. He couldn't figure out why he felt so protective of her, especially when every instinct within him marked her scent as a potential threat.

Alex fell in beside him and glanced over at the girl. Blake caught the flash of surprise as he registered the scent drifting off her but he didn't comment on it, choosing instead to look at his Alpha speculatively and ask:

"Where did she come from? The nearest human town is twenty miles away, and in the opposite direction from where you found her."

We should find the border patrol that missed her and tear them apart, Rothan advised quietly. Whether he was finally showing some concern for her wellbeing, or still irritated at how deeply she'd wandered into their territory unchallenged, Blake couldn't tell. Why wasn't she found sooner? he continued to grumble.

"More importantly, how did she get here?" Alex continued, unaware of Rothan's input. "She can't have travelled far on foot in the middle of the night with no shoes on. I mean, how long would it have taken her to get this far into our territory?"

"Good questions," Blake said out loud, answering them both. "Let's find out."