What a glorious sight to see him flee in terror. I take a moment to revel in it before a gasping Nick captures my attention. I speed over towards him as his hands clutch his chest. He looks up and tries to smile. I put his arm over my shoulder while placing both arms underneath him. His eyes widen when he realizes what I'm going to do and he shakes his head. Ordering him to shut up, I lift him expecting him to weigh a ton but fight off a smile when he feels lighter than a feather.

"Speak nothing of this." I boom out and they bow their heads in submission. "Get back to patrol, and clean up this mess." I order with a nearly unconscious Nick in my arms. Running through the forest with impossible speed, I reach the medical center.

"Alpha." Gasps a nurse in shock as she takes in my bloody appearance. "Oh my goodness!" She says before hitting the silver button on the wall. The entire building goes on alert as one of the pack doctors comes rushing out with a team of nurses and a gurney. I place Nick down as he coughs out blood. He grabs my hand tightly and I look into his frantic brown eyes. Placing my forehead on his I close my eyes and try to send him all the warmth in the world before he is rushed away.

"Alpha are you okay?" Asks Nurse Joy.

Am I okay?

I nod and she bows her head before scurrying away from me. I sigh and shake my head as I try to wrap my head around tonight's events. I died today. I turned into a vampire today... sort of. The vampires were already a nuisance before but now they've become a pain in my ass. Seems like dear old Emerson had a bastard son he neglected to tell me about and a vindictive crazed baby momma on the loose hell-bent on getting her hands on the Kynda.

Clutching my pocket, I feel the small box pressing against my leg. What the hell is so important about it? Up until tonight, I'd never even heard of it.

"Alora?" Jocelyn says as she rushes in and her eyes widen. "What the hell happened are you okay? Julian reported an attack a few miles outside the border. I deployed a small group to clean up the mess."

"Good." I say with a nod and she stares at me expecting an explanation.

"So..." she begins and I sigh and cross my arms.

"Spit it out, Jocelyn."

"What the hell happened out there? Julian reports an attack and then you come back with an almost dying Nick and you smell different." She accuses rather loudly, causing several pack members to look up. One stern look from me and they quickly return to their tasks.

"Keep it down will you?" I growl out lowly. "I don't have time to explain right now. What we need to do is get the warriors ready. Tomorrow the training begins. Those wolves are merciless and are coming straight for us. We need to be ready. Which means we can't be distracted by idiotic rogue attacks like the one from yesterday or the one that happened this afternoon while Nick and I were away." I say with a pointed look.

Her eyes widen "I was going to tell you but I didn't want to interrupt the meeting. We handled it."

"You think that I don't know what happens in my pack? I'm the alpha. I'd be a lousy one if I didn't know when my pack has been attacked." I state as I watch her fidget under my gaze "You didn't have it handled Jocelyn. You let the rogues slip through your fingers. Now they believe that they can attack us and get away with it. You've made us look weak."

"I'm sorry. I thought I could take care of it without you."

"And therein lies the problem. You are not Alpha Jocelyn, and if you keep this up you will no longer be Third-in-Command." I state and her eyes widen "Prep Warrior Group One for tomorrow morning to march on the rogue camp. Thanks to you we have a reputation to uphold. I want everyone else training and the children to memorize their escape plans."

"Yes alpha." She answers as she studies me with curiosity.

"What." I spit out, my patience wearing thin.

She purses her lips as she cocks her head to the side. "What the hell happened out there? You smell like one of them."

"Let it go." I snarl. "You are testing my patience, Jocelyn. It would be in your best interest to remember that I can be very cruel when I'm upset." Her head snaps down and her body coils away from me as her wolf submits.

"Yes, Alpha." She whispers and I dismiss her with a wave of my hand. I know the pack deserves to know what we're up against. They deserve to know what those wolves really are, but if I tell them how I know they'd see me as the enemy. I can't handle that on top of everything else. I can't.

After almost two hours nurse Joy comes to get me. "Alpha." She says with a bow "The silver made its way into his heart and stopped twice during the procedure. He's stable at the moment but we aren't sure how long it'll last. We've done all we can Alpha."

Rage burns in my heart and I walk past her, down the corridor, and through the double doors. Doctors and nurses press their backs against the walls and bow their heads in submission as I push open the door to Nick's room.

My eyes land on a very weak looking Nick. His complexion is sickly pale and his veins thump against his skin, a silver undertone present. His eyes snap open once I enter the room. He tries to get up but I push him back down. My wolf whines in my mind at the sight. We both care for him.

"Alora." He rasps out "It's not as bad as it looks."

I scoff and sit down on the edge of the bed as he grabs my hand in his. I stare at our hands and feel my anger begin to dissipate. "I'm sorry Nick."

He shakes his head and winces at the pain the movement causes "It comes with the job." He jokes.

I shake my head and caress his face. His eyes close and he leans his head against my palm. My heart flutters and I pull my hand away. His brown eyes open and the look in them leaves me breathless in their intensity. His hand tightens on mine while the other pulls me down to meet his lips.

The kiss is so tender it shocks me. I pull away, giving him a lasting glance before walking out. Spotting nurse Joy, I order her to watch him like a hawk and notify me of any changes. Racing towards the Pack House and into my room, I walk into the connecting bathroom and strip off my ripped and bloodied clothes. Throwing them onto the ground, I hear a clatter of something solid.

Bending down I realize it is the mahogany box containing the Kynda. Placing it next to the sink I look in the mirror and my eyes widen as I see the subtle differences. My skin is a shade lighter, my hair a darker red. My red eyes now resemble the same shade as the blood-red moon. The same shade as my grandfather. The same shade as Emerson. I growl and see my canines sharpen like fangs. Snarling in rage I smash the mirror with my fist and watch as the glass explodes like confetti, clattering onto the bathroom tiles like the pitter-patter of raindrops.

My chest heaves unevenly as I try to calm my shaking hands and step into the shower. Ignoring the shards of glass now embedded into my feet. I let the water run down my body and watch it circle down the drain, a mixture of blood and water. Some of it is mine, but the majority is not. I scrub my skin raw and don't leave the shower until the sun shines through the clear bathroom window and Jocelyn reports that the warriors are ready.

I get dressed and make sure to grab the lighter fluid and my matches from the top drawer. Jogging towards the border I smile as I see them lined up in four rows of ten. Fallon grins from the front row as I stand in front of them. I survey them and nod in approval when I see the grenades filled with silver tied onto their ankles.

When Nick and I built this pack we decided to stray from traditional pack dynamics. Tom, the farmer, had taught us a lot of military tactics from before he retired that we now use. The other packs don't understand our ways but that makes our attacks even more lethal. We have the mindset of soldiers with the strength of a pack. A deadly combination.

"Alright team, how are we doing this morning?" I begin and they all nod and smile, excited for the task at hand. "That's what I like to see. As you well know, there was another rogue attack while Nick and I were away and Jocelyn here let them get away. That is why she will be joining us today on our little excursion and why I will be leaving Julian in charge of the pack while we are away. Terrance will temporarily run border patrol until we return. " Julian's sandy blonde wolf nods at me in respect as well as to Jocelyn. Jocelyn's eye slightly twitches and I try not to smirk. "Julian, you are now interim Third-in-Command. Go on, off you go."

His large sandy blonde wolf nods once more before heading back to oversee the training. I nod at Terrance's black wolf and he trots off towards the border.

"Alright. Now Jocelyn here will lead the way to the rogue camp. I want this slow and painful okay? Come on let me hear it."

"If they don't scream or sob then we didn't do our job." They state in unison. I nod and smile at them. Jocelyn sighs before shifting into her white wolf while the rest do the same.

We run through the forest soundlessly, a difficult task when our wolves are so massive but we succeed. After a while, Fallon's brown wolf playfully nudges me as we run. I grin and nudge her back as we weave through the trees. Jocelyn begins to slow and the rest of us follow suit.

'Alright, team it looks like we're closing in. Follow Jocelyn's orders.' I mind link them and they come to a halt immediately as forty-one pairs of eyes land on me. Jocelyn's brown eyes staring at me in question. 'You want to prove that you can handle things without me. Go ahead. Prove to me that you deserve this title.'

I shift back and lean against a tree while crossing my arms. Jocelyn huffs at me before charging into the rogue camp at full speed. The others look from me to where she ran off in question and I nod at them to follow. As I watch them burst into the clearing I resist the urge to groan out loud. She's already made a mistake by not checking to see how many rogues are in the clearing. There are roughly twenty tents, each one can hold five rogues which means we're looking at about one hundred of them. For any other pack, this would be a problem, not for my little soldiers. We could be outnumbered but never overpowered. That is... if they are being led by Nick and me. With Jocelyn? This could get ugly.

My assumption is proved correct as not even two minutes in, a rogue howls signaling the rest to come trampling in through the forest. I hear as Jocelyn orders them to tackle the rogues from the side and keep them out of the camp. Rolling my eyes I begin to inspect my nails and almost gasp at how uneven they look.

'There's too many of them!' Jocelyn shouts through the link 'We have to fall back!'

Sighing I push myself off of the tree and make myself known. 'Jocelyn that is enough. You are no longer in charge of this team.'

The entire camp comes to a standstill as I stroll into the clearing. The rogues immediately shift their attention to me, sensing the power.

"Which one of you led the attack yesterday afternoon?"

One rogue steps forward and shifts into his disgusting human form with a wide grin on his face "I did."

I study him and nod.

'Attack protocols six and eight. Now.' I order the team and they spring into action immediately. The leader looks at me with amusement as he sees his rogues get ripped apart. That's the thing with rogues, they band together against a common enemy but they show no loyalty for one another. They are selfish creatures with no regard for pack laws.

I smile with pride as my wolves mercilessly tear into the rogues two at a time.

"What is it that you want? Why attack Ember Territory?" I ask as I walk closer towards him, avoiding the battling wolves.

"I hear that you have something that the vampires want. But it's also something that Valatieri wants and if Valatieri wants it then I want it." He answers.

"And who is Valatieri?"

He smirks and I can see in his eyes that he won't be saying anything else. I cock my head to the side and smile wide as my fangs extend. His eyes widen and he shakes his head.

"No. It's not possible." He whispers as he backs away but Drake's charcoal grey wolf pushes him back to me. The team begins to herd in the few remaining rogues.

"I'll ask you again." I say as I come to stand in front of him "Who is Valatieri?"

He remains silent in an attempt to appear fearless but his trembling hands and accelerated heartbeat give him away. After moments of silence, I purse my lips and nod. With a flick of my wrist, the team launches the silver grenades and the ground shakes with the explosion. The silver covering the area causes the rogues to scream as they shift back into their human forms. I smirk as the silver burns my skin.

My chest swells with pride when my wolves don't even flinch against the burning silver. The rogues however, scream and convulse, begging for us to release them. I grab the lighter fluid from my belt and spray it all around. My team begins to back away to the edge of the forest. Smirking at the look of absolute terror in the rogue's face, I light the match. He shakes his head and weakly launches forward just as I toss the match onto him and he catches fire. I turn and walk away as the screams intensify and the crackle of the fire matches the cackling in my mind. Jocelyn stares at me with a look of awe and defeat.

~~~A/N~~~

Surprise!!! An update? On a Tuesday!?! I know I know 😬 I was feeling murdery today so 🤷🏻‍♀️ you're welcome 🤣