tw: this chapter contains themes of violence and assault.

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For the past few weeks, both Matthew and Nathan had been very busy. The rogues near their territory had been attacking more often, and there's a lot more of them they expected. It was evident that a war between them was inevitable, and very imminent.

"I'll come talk to you again later, I have a meeting with my Beta right now," Matthew said, glancing at his watch.

"Alright. Also, if you can, bring some chocolates for Maddie. She really appreciates them during this time of the month."

Matthew did not quite understand what Nathan meant by 'this time of the month', but agreed nonetheless. He enjoyed buying gifts for his mate, especially when he got to see her angelic smile as she received them.

This time, however, she did not smile. She did not even get up from the couch to greet him like she normally does. He stared at her worriedly while she ripped open the chocolate bar wrapper and took a bite, her other arm tightly clutching her stomach in pain.

"What's going on?" His eyes suddenly widened as an unusual smell hit him. Blood.

Before he could say anything, Nathan quickly pulled him to the side. "I know what you're thinking. Don't say anything about it."

"What? She's injured-"

"She's not, trust me. She's just... bleeding."

"That's what I just said."

"No- Can we get out of here so I can explain? She'll get embarrassed if she knows what I'm talking about." They moved to a different room. Madeline was still enjoying her chocolate bar, not paying attention.

"Will you tell what's wrong with her now?" Matthew demanded impatiently.

"There's nothing wrong with her. Bleeding is normal for female humans. It's like, their version of a heat, I think."

"She's in heat?"

"... No. She's just- I'm not an expert on humans, alright? All I know is that they bleed for about a week, once a month. And they like to eat chocolate during that week."

Matthew pondered for a while. He knew many things about humans, but he had never heard of this before. "Bleeding for a week? Where do they even bleed from?" He decided to do more research about it once he gets to his office. For now, they both figured it would be best to just leave Madeline alone during the next few days.

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"Sergeant Nathan! You're positioned at the North border. Your squad is already on the way there," The Beta's loud voice boomed, before he turned to the next man in line to instruct him.

Several days had passed; the war had finally commenced. Members of the Pack had been training hard, willing to put their lives on the line and defend their land.

As Nathan neared the border, he noticed how multiple rogues already made it quite far into the territory. He joined his fellow warriors, trying to protect their Pack from the invaders, but the situation was quickly getting out of hand. What they had expected to be an easy victory was turning out to be quite a challenge.

"This is only the North Border. They're invading from every direction, how many of them are there?" He thought, getting more discouraged by the minute. A rogue leaped across the border, landing right in front of him.

He tackled the creature down, who responded by shifting into his wolf form and flipping them over, baring his canines at him. Nathan's eyes widened as his jaw surrounded his neck, preparing to bite down.

Bang.

The rogue froze momentarily, before limply dropping down on his side. Nathan hastily pushed him off and got up, discerning a gunshot wound on the side of his head. He looked to the side to see a Pack member, slipping his gun back into its holster.

"Thank you." Nathan gave him a curt nod; a sign of gratitude.

"Be careful, sergeant," The warrior replied, returning the nod before running off to look for his next target.

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At the East, Matthew defended the border alone. Direwolf abilities were considerably more refined than werewolves'. He could smell rogues from miles away, sense their exact location, and detect their every movement. His injuries healed in seconds, even gunshot and stab wounds. The Alpha was practically invincible, any rogue who dared appear in his sight met death in a matter of seconds.

He scowled, sensing how poorly his Pack was doing. Rogues were getting further into his territory, he could feel it. "When this war is over I'll have to give them all a punishment for being so incompetent." Some saw his punishments as cruel, but he wanted the best for his pack, and needed to make sure they were able to defend themselves properly.

Shortly thereafter, he could not smell any more rogues coming towards the East border. He began heading North to help his warriors out, but stopped as his mate came to mind. "Is Madeline alright?"

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Nathan had the same concern as his Alpha. Something in his heart told him to make sure his sister was okay. He ran back to their house, paying attention to spot any rogues on the way there. Once at the house, he stiffened when he heard three voices coming from the front:

"Do you smell that? There's a human in there!"

"I heard they're super easy to kill. They can't even smell us coming!"

"And it's a female too. Might as well have a little fun before killing her." The rogues snickered, revelling in the idea of ravishing a young girl.

Nathan felt his blood boil as he listened to the conversation from the other side. Nobody could touch his sister, certainly not some filthy rogues. He was unsure if he could take on three men at once, but when he heard them break through the door, Nathan could no longer hold himself back.

Madeline was in her bedroom, praying that the war would end soon and her brother would be safe. With her weak human senses, she could not smell the rogues entering her home, or even hear them walking upstairs.

Her scream resonated through the house when they barged through her bedroom. She tried to run out, but one of them grabbed her by the waist, throwing her onto the bed.

"Where are you going, cutie?" He smirked menacingly, hovering above her. The young girl froze in fear. Her arms were pinned back, preventing her from defending herself as she felt his hand trailing up her leg. "Oh, aren't you a pretty one. This is going to be fun."

"S-stop!" She tried kicking him away, but her strength was no match for his. He only made it up to her thigh when Nathan shoved the door open, growling in anger.

In a flash, he grabbed the rogue on top of her and rammed his head into the wall, forming a dent. He sensed the other two approaching him and sent them both tumbling back with a kick.

"Don't. Touch. My. Sister. Understood?" He snapped, slamming the rogue's head through the wall with each word. The other two rogues ran out, rushing back downstairs to escape. "I didn't forget about you guys!" Nathan chased after them, dragging the third one down the stairs behind him.

Madeline sighed in relief when they finally left. Her entire body was shaking badly. She was eternally grateful that Nathan came to save her in time. Although she was petrified, she crept out of her room to observe the fight happening downstairs.

The rogue Nathan had plowed into the wall was now unconscious; there was only two left to defeat. While he was distracted fighting one of them, the other snuck into the kitchen. He grabbed sharp, gleaming object and approached Nathan, who was facing the other way.

Madeline's eyes widened when she saw him pull out a huge santoku knife.

"NATHAN WATCH OUT!"

Her brother looked up, their eyes briefly locking. She saw the pain flash through them as the knife pierced through his back. He fell to his knees as she screamed once again, rushing downstairs. The rogues did not matter to her anymore; she had to make sure her brother was okay.

"Do you smell that?" One of them whispered. "It's getting closer."

The rogues froze in place when they realized who the scent belonged to. Alpha Blade. They slowly turned to the door, and visibly paled at the sight of him standing in the doorway.

The Alpha's attention drifted to Nathan's wound. His condition seemed critical, he was losing blood too fast.

"I-It's in my h-heart," He choked out, gasping for air.

"Hang in there. I'll take care of these three and take you to the hospital." Matthew grabbed all three rogues by their shirt collars and brought them outside. He felt their heart rates accelerating in pure terror, making him smirk. Let's just say, within the next minute, they no longer had a heart rate.

"Nathan, you won't die right? Please don't die," Madeline whimpered, holding his hand tightly. His vision had started to black out, but he managed to give his sister a weak smile.

"I l-love you M-Maddie. Remember t-that it's n-not your fault," He stammered breathlessly.

Tears welled up in her eyes as her lip quivered. "I love you too. But don't die, please. Please Nathan." She sobbed loudly, wrapping her arms around her brother's neck. She was getting covered in his blood, but couldn't care less at the moment. All she wanted was her brother's safety.

Matthew walked back in, frowning at the grievous scene. It was clear that Nathan would not survive. The knife had damaged his most vital organs, and the amount of blood lost was irrevocable.

He kneeled down in front of his fallen soldier, lowering his head to show his respect.

"P-protect her, please," Nathan whispered, before he breathed his last.