Axton POV

Protect pup! My wolf, Knox, keeps yelling at me.

What? I ask him, confusion crossing my face, What are you talking about?

We must protect this pup, under any circumstances, he answers me.

Why? I ask him, clearly not understanding the need to protect one small child.

It's important. You must trust me, he tells me, clearly hiding his reasons.

Alright, I tell him to calm his agitated behavior over my hesitance to automatically agree with him.

"Alpha Axton," a voice pulls me out of my daze. I move my eyes to Luna Layla.

"Luna Layla," I greet her. Her face and clothes are covered in dried blood. Mud plagues her skin as she clutches the child closer to her when she sees my immediate fascination with her, "Come in."

I hold the door for her as she hesitantly enters the house. Walker leads her deeper into the house and back to my office as I follow behind them. I stare into the blue eyes of the little pup she holds and the pup stares at me with the same fascination.

"Right in here," Walker says to her as he opens the door and waits for both of us to enter.

"Please sit," I tell her. She immediately takes a seat, placing the child on her lap.

I come around the desk and sit in my chair as Walker takes the seat next to her. Before either of us cam say a word, the door opens again and my Gamma, Reid, enters.

He doesn't take more than five steps in before he plasters a grimace on his face the second he sees me. Most thought he should be my Beta. He is stronger and bigger than Walker, but his gentleness towards those in need made him a perfect Gamma. His job is to protect the Luna, but there is no longer a Luna to protect.

His dark hair covers his eyes, but I know what they hold. Anger.

Ever since I lost my mate, he has been different. They had been as close as siblings. He had been one of the first to step up in the hunt to find her. But after six months of searching, he came back changed. He was no longer the same man that left to find her. He refused to be in the same room as me for more than five minutes without making an excuse to leave. He seemed as angry with me over the loss of our Luna as I was. As I became darker and crueler, he became even angrier with me.

He closes the door silently and stands in the back of the room, holding his contempt for me in silence.

I draw my eyes away from him and back to the matter at hand, "Can you tell us what happened?" I ask Layla, trying not to focus on the little girl.

She clears her throat before answering, "We were attacked by rogues. Madden and I were at our home when the first warning signal sounded."

Her head dips as she tries to hold back the tears that threaten to flow, "What happened next?"

"They came from everywhere. They were attacking everyone, not just the warriors. Women, children, they went after all of them," she says as a single tear escapes.

Before she can lift her hand, the little girl in her arms reaches up to her cheek and catches the fallen tear. Layla gives her a small smile as she stares down at the little girl and whispers quietly, "Thank you."

The little girl just nods slowly back at her and goes back to staring around the room in wonder.

"Is this your daughter?" Walker asks her, trying to get her mind off of the attack for a second.

"This is my Aunt Layla," the little girl speaks out before Layla even has a chance to say anything. The girl's laughter jingles out as Walker starts to mess around with her, allowing her to escape from any horror she witnessed.

"What is your name?" he asks her.

"Zea!" she yells out loudly. I smile slightly at her hearty response. This little girl as so much joy and love despite what she most having seen the rogues' atrocities against her pack.

Out of the corner of my eye, I swear I see shock cover Reid's face as he starts to take a step toward Zea. But the second I turn to look at him, his features returned to his blank composure as if nothing had happened.

I'm confused by his actions, but decide to let it go for now.

"Zea, do you want to go play a game?" Walker asks her. The second the words reach her ears, she is nodding her head violently at the idea of fun, "Alright, let's go."

Walker picks her up from Layla's lap and leaves the room with the little girl. Layla watches nervously after them as if afraid of what would happen to her niece the moment she looks away.

"I'm going to send some pack members to your territory to drive the rogues out," I look back to Layla, picking up the conversation again.

"No!" she says automatically, "As much as I wish for this, just a few pack members will not be enough. These rogues will tear apart anyone you send."

"I'm sure we can handle it," I tell her reassuringly, "I will send some men over to help with the rogue problem immediately."

She shakes her head violently, standing up to make her point clear, "You don't understand. It was as if they were in a frenzy. It was if all they wanted was one thing."

"What?"

Her eyes are cold and haunted by the memories she witnessed, "My pack's blood."

*****

After Layla's declaration about the rogues earlier, I gave her a guest room for her and her niece and sent them to bed. I promised her we would talk about it after she had gained some rest from the ordeal.

Her story baffled me as to why a werewolf, even one as low as a rogue, would want the blood of pack members. Rogues could do nothing with the blood of those they had killed, so what was truly going on?

I sit in silence in the pack library, away from the prying eyes of any other pack member as I scour the pages of old pack history books. There had to be something in these stories that described what Layla saw. Frenzied, red-eyed rogues after blood had to have been seen before.

After looking for almost two hours, my wolf and I are as frustrated as ever.

"Ugh!" I let out as I throw the book I was currently looking through at the wall near the door, the pages shattering on impact.

"Sorry," a small voice whispers. I whip my head to the quiet voice that spoke out to me.

A pair of blue eyes stare up at me as mine connect with the little girl. The one Layla had brought with her. Zea.

"I didn't mean to disturb you," she says, seeming a bit hesitant about intruding.

I gives her a slight smile as I walk around the chair in front of me to stand before her, "It's alright."

She nods her head slightly before looking back to the book I had shattered against the wall. Confusion covers her tiny features, "Why did you do that?" she asks.

"Um," I'm at a loss at how to answer her.

"Did the book do something wrong?" she asks, clearly confused by my behavior.

Running my hand through my hair out of habit, I think of a way to explain an action that is not exactly one easily explained. After a second of thought, I kneel in front of her, so we are on eye level, "Well you see, the book did nothing wrong."

"Then why did you throw it?"

"I was very angry with myself because I am having trouble solving a problem," I tell her.

"What kind of problem?" she inquires. The curiosity in her eyes reminds me of my past.

"The one your Aunt Layla has brought to my attention. The rogues that came to your home."

She nods her head in understanding. She looks to be no more than five or six years old, yet she seems to understand everything I said without much difficulty. After a moment, she looks back at me, "May I help you solve the problem with the rogues?"

It is a bit shocking that she knows what had happened back at her pack, but I can respect a child who is mature enough to not break down in the situation, "Very well."

She shakes her head up and down as she walks past me and heads to the table I had been sitting at. Grabbing the first book that she comes across, she pulls if off the table and skips over to one of the plush chairs. Pulling herself up, I watch as she opens the book and begins to scour the pages. I'm not sure she is even aware of what she is looking for, but her adorable face she is making as she concentrates makes me smile.

Constantly taking glances at the small child, I walk back to where I was sitting before and begin to go through another one of the books I had placed on the table. It was only five minutes before Zea spoke up.

"What about the magic people?" she asked. I put down my book to look at her. She is watching me as she points to a picture in the book she had picked up.

"Warlocks," I tell her.

"Warlocks," she repeated, "Is this what you are looking for?"

I gently take the book from her and read the pages. Warlocks can use shifter blood in certain spells.

"This is exactly what I was looking for," I tell her, smiling at her.

She smiles back at me before jumping up from her seat, "Well my job is done then," she shouts happily as she skips out of the room, hollering back to me, "Good-bye Alpha!"

I laugh slightly as I watch her leave.

She is the perfect pup, Knox comments as we head back to my office.

I'm a bit shocked at his sudden input, Where have you been? I ask him.

Around, he says secretly, I had things I had to do.

Like what? I ask him.

I can't tell you yet, he answers cryptically, You aren't ready yet.

I am confused by his secrecy towards me. Knox never keeps things from me since we are the same person. He is protective and possessive, but never secretive. I start to wonder about all the things he would keep from me.

My thoughts are interrupted by Layla's voice, "May I come in?"

I stare up at her, taking in the woman I met so many years ago, "Of course."

I gesture to the seat across from me and she sits down.

"How are you feeling?" I ask her.

She gives me a soft smile, "Better. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," I answer automatically.

"Of course you are," she nods her head, but bites her lip as if to try and hold back what she wants to say, "I would be too if I didn't have my mate with me. Oh wait, I don't," she snaps.

"Layla-"

"Don't give me that bullshit Axton," she scolds me, "I remember the first time I met you. It was the Christmas party you threw for your mate."

I smile slightly at the memory of how happy my mate looked when she came down those stairs to see all of our family there to celebrate the holidays with us, "It was a great day," I breath out.

"Yes, it was," she says, "You were the happiest person I had ever seen. All it took was for you to look at her and you would instantly have a smile on your face."

"Things change," my tone is cold, overshadowing all the memories she is trying to make me think of.

"Yes, they do," I am a bit confused over her sudden harshness, "Some things are just not fated."

"Why are you here?" I snap at her, annoyed at the disrespect and hostility she has started to show me without a just cause.

"I was told you would protect us. I needed to make sure Zea was safe?"

"Who is she?" I ask, wanting more information on the little girl my wolf is begging me to protect as if she is our own.

"She is my niece," Layla says quickly, but I could hear a bit of hesitation as her voice quivers in the slightest way that I almost thought I imagined it.

"Why is it I don't believe you?" I question her abruptly.

"Believe what you want," she states, "What have you found out about the rogues?"

I could tell she's trying to change the subject, but I'll along with it for now. I will get to the truth soon enough. She'll slip up and I get the answers I want, "I believe they had help from a warlock," I hand her the book I got from Zea.

"Warlocks," she replies. I watch her reaction closely. She seems deep in thought as if she's thinking over the possibility when something seems to dawn on her. The second she puts together the pieces, fear strikes her, "This is not good."

"Do you know which warlock is after your pack?" I question her, "They would be using the blood for a spell of some kind."

She nods her head, "It isn't a warlock. The blood and the warlocks are being used to keep him alive, but it won't heal him."

"Heal him? Who?" I ask, confused on why a warlock would attack an entire pack only to get one she-wolf.

"He's a rogue and he isn't after my pack. He is after one person and now he has her. He's going to kill her," she rambles as she starts pacing.

I walk over to her, placing my hands on her shoulders which causes her to stop moving, "Who? Who is the rogue after?"

She gives me a sullen look before answering, "Zea's mother."