Their eyes burn into me—fear from Cara and anger from the two rogues. The rogue who I successfully struck earlier lifted himself up, gazing up at me with the most maddening fire in his eyes. His wound disappeared as fast as it was inflicted.

The shirtless man growls at me and flashes his canines at me with the most roguish way possible. I imitate his actions. This was a rogue communicating with a rogue.

After a few moments, I begin to wonder when this staring contest would end. Tired of this stupid game, I broke eye contact and flaunt my fakest smile.

"So," I begin. "How's your day going, young gentlemen?"

The three rogues look at each other quickly before the shirtless guy responded, "It was great but now that I met you," he pauses and I raise an eyebrow. "It's quite outstanding, if I say so."

"I believe you'd maybe want to take back that statement," I say.

He smirks and takes a step towards me. Cara's eyes dart between him and I in panic.

The stranger cocks his head and questions, "And why is that?"

I nod to the direction behind him. "Look back."

Foolish.

All four of them, including Cara are idiots. A part of me believed that their brain capacity had reached its limit as they aged out of 4 years old.

When I said that, all four of them turned their bodies and snapped their heads behind them, searching for an answer—only to be met by the vast space of emptiness. I almost gasped in disbelief. How could life be this simple?

I take advantage of this and station my already loaded bow before shooting the same guy. This time, the arrow had been tipped with silver (I stole it from the pack's storage). Fortunately for me, silver is a strong poison that will leave said person immobile for a time.

To my demise, though, this arrow only had the amount of silver that would knock out a wolf for only 20 minutes to an hour, depending on how strong the wolf actually is.

It was my greatest of luck that these rogues were not of high position or strong enough to withstand the effects of such poisons.

Like I expected, he drops to his knees before he face-planted on the ground once again. I cringe, imagining the feeling of wet dirt on my face.

Three heads snap to me—two bared their canines at me and extended their claws, while the other darted to me and all over the place, as if uncertain.

Cara looks at me with the most unsettling and doubtful expression that even I couldn't interpret it. Before I could say anything, my eyes catch movement at my peripheral.

'Thuck.' I was quick to process it and completed the motion that seemed indented into my nature, shooting another wolf with precision.

The man groans and clutches his chest as he slowly drops down to the floor.

Easy peasy.

The last rogue dared to not miss one single fraction of a second before lunging to my direction. I almost stumble, feeling startled.

Stop underestimating people, Alexandria.

I prepare myself to dodge any forms of attacks, when suddenly, the angered man shifts direction and charges towards were Cara was.

Reload. Aim. Release.

The arrow hits his back just like I wanted it to. But what it didn't do was knock him out like I wanted.

The arrow digs into his skin, causing dark red blood to drip down his bare back. Although, I was facing the inevitable: he did not fall down or even stumble one bit. A painful groan was the only thing telling me that he felt even an ounce of pain.

This guy was strong enough to withstand the silver effects for a small duration. Still, that doesn't mean he could resist it forever—the beads of sweat and heavy breathing told me so.

The man continued to march towards Cara in undeniable speed and wraps an arm around her neck.

If you weren't gonna help me, at least run away. Goddess!

Cara's feet remain planted to the ground, refusing to make a single movement.

The rogue looks up at me, his brows furrowed. Still, he sported a satisfied smirk on his cocky visage. He releases a shaky breath before speaking, "I suggest you drop that puny little weapon of yours before I slash my claws on scared little Missy's neck."

Cara whimpers, contributing to the rogue's pride. With his arm still around her neck, he sniffs her neck and drags a wet tongue along the nape of her neck.

I scrunch my nose in disgust, but Cara definitely was at the worse end of the situation. She looks at me with pleading eyes, tears forming.

The man chuckles and eyes me in a challenging way. Getting the memo, I place my quiver and bow on the ground beside my feet.

Pleased, he commands, "Now get closer. Get over here, you damned woman."

I scoff and glare at him, dismissing his command.

"You ether move or Missy here," he glances at Cara. "Will end up dead in a snap of a finger."

I roll my eyes and say, "Never said I wanted her alive, anyways."

At this, Cara's eyes widen, her tears finally released as it fell down her cheeks. Her mouth trembles before a small sob sounds through the forest.

"Oh yeah?" The man challenges, flashing his canines and glazing then at the surface of Cara's skin. She closes her eyes, controlling herself from panicking.

I wave my arms up in surrender. "Fine! Fine!" I shout as I take wary steps towards them.

"Pick up your legs. You're goddamn slow."

"Okay, you slow-minded freak."

He narrows his eyes at me and growls out, "Say that again, weakling."

"Oh? Are you deaf now, too?" I question in an intention to rile him up.

C'mon, keep talking. The guy's speech was starting to wobble and sweat covered his forehead, implying that the silver was starting to get to him. Just a few more minutes.

"Yeah, you're shrilly voice caused me to turn into this, sweetheart," he growls.

"Awww," I coo. "Do I make you tremble and sweat, too?"

He growls lowly at me.

"Well, someone's a little mad today," I mutter loud enough for him to hear.

"I suggest you zip your mouth shut and surrender, cupcake," he demands. His grip on Cara tightened and she releases a shaky breath in response.

"No can do," I sing.

He grins at this and questions, "You know what?"

"What?" I question blankly.

"I'm tired of this bullshit. If I can't kill two birds with one stone, then I must at least get one. Say goodbye to Little Miss Scaredy Cat, little girl," he rambles as he extends his claws and canines.

No way am I taking responsibility for her death.

I push my legs to run as fast as they could towards Cara, watching as the sharp tip of his claw touched the surface of her neck.

Before he could fully graze unto Cara's skin, I charge towards him and headbutt him. I feel my cheek sting as his claws scrape my skin. We both fall unto the ground, struggling for the upper hand.

Unfortunately for me, he earns it.

I wrestle underneath him, struggling to release my wrists that were held down by strong forces from both his hands.

Constantly, he wastes a second releasing my hand in an attempt to swipe at my face. He was only met by my hands holding them back to stray away from my face.

"Give up, weakling," he snarls.

"I believe I should be the one saying that, old man," I retort. I pant as I put up with his hold on me.

"Funny," he mocks.

I scoff and add, "We all know."

"Dead is what we'll know of you soon enough."

I release a groan as he grazes my cheek once again. It's okay, it's whatever. I'm still pretty.

"This ain't Hollywood, grandpa," I continue. "We don't steal lines here."

He bellows in laughter before saying, "Good gracious!" He exclaims. I follow his eyes as it moves to the object close to the back of my head. Oh no. "Because the only thing I'll be stealing is your life."

I was no way in hell dying without telling everyone how useless Cara has been.

Before I knew it, pain pierces through my head followed by a loud ringing in my ears. I groan and feel wet blood fall down my face. I would have clutched my head if not for the heavy arms that made sure to keep it planted to the ground.

"Not gonna lie," I ramble as another wave of pain forced me to shut my eyes close and squint in agony. He hits pretty hard. "That kinda hurt, old man."

He tries to force a smirk, only to be stopped by a strong discomfort—the silver effects was finally completing its use. Fucking finally.

He drops beside me, clutching his head as he groaned in pain. His eyes rolls to the back of his head before slumber forces him down.

I laugh despite the equal pang of pain I felt.

I bring myself up to sit on my butt, glaring at Cara's useless self. Her gaze drops to her feet in shame.

Rushed footsteps enters my eardrums and soon enough, bodies of people come out of the tall trees. One of them was Theo.

Painfully, I force myself to get up on my feet.

"Theo—," I start, only to stop myself when I see him rush to Cara in panic, searching for any signs of injury. So much for a mate. The ringing in my ears seem to keep getting louder and louder.

After a light grip on his sister's shoulders, he wastes no time searching for me. When his eyes land on me, he grimaced and hurried to me.

I sigh peacefully at my mate's presence and grin. Then, I open my arms wide open as I wait for my deserved hug, only to be met by the familiar rush of air as I fall.

Thankfully, my head lands on a pair of comfortable arms. I engulf Theo's scent and snuggle into his chest as he raises my legs with another arm before raising me to carry me bridal style.

"Rest now, dear mate," I hear Theo's intoxicating voice lull me into sleep.

"Took y'all long enough, slowpokes," I make sure to add before a well-needed sleep overtakes me.