DYLAN ||

My safe word was pickles.

If my nickname was Dyl, then guess what...

Dyl Pickles

Like the brand, dill pickles.

Yeah that shit wasn't funny...

• • •

Today was the day I would be going to scout the nearby rogue camps and saying goodbye to Raiden was one of the hardest things I've ever had to fucking do.

Last night didn't exactly go how I imagined it would after confessing my fears, mainly because my big goofy ass mate thought it was hilarious that I chose a safe word way too similar to a brand of fucking food I hate so much and now I realize, it made my name sound even more ridiculous.

Despite being all kinds of upset at my mate for what happened last night, I couldn't bring myself to let go of him. I didn't want to leave his warm embrace.

Who was going to love me while I'm gone? Who was going to make fun of me or call me out on my shit? Who was going to make sure I wasn't being selfish or being an idiot? Who was going to hold me at night and kiss me and give me cuddles?

Who was I going to give all of that stuff in return?

"Stop crying pups, you're so emotional." Babe whispered as he pulled away from our hug, to cup my face and wipe my tears.

"I'm going to miss you stupid, that's why I'm emotional." I growled, closing my eyes allowing him to continue to wipe my tears away.

"I'll miss you too pups." My mate kissed me. "And I love you so much, so be safe out there or I won't have anyone to love." He smiled.

"Stop taking my words from me." I rolled my eyes before leaning in to steal another kiss.

Babe ran his fingers down my face, gently caressing every feature before kissing my forehead, then the tip of my nose and then my lips again.

"I love you too." I whispered once he broke our kiss.

We waited outside, clinging onto each other until Taj, Gabe and the other warriors showed up from their morning patrols. The moment they showed up, Avery walked out the packhouse to greet his mate, Hunter and Roman came out shortly after.

"Ready to go, Alpha?" Taj asks with a huge smile on his face.

"Yeah, everyone can grab their bags from inside the packhouse, then we can get going." I tell him, wallowing in my own misery about leaving my man.

"I'll grab your bag." Raiden says before he kissed my forehead and walked inside.

Once my mate came back out and handed me the dufflebag I packed last night, I gave him one more kiss and hesitantly left with my warriors in tow.

Looking back one last time, I blew a kiss to my mate who caught it and held it to his heart. Gabe and Avery were waving bye to all of us and Roman was mouthing something to Hunter.

The moment we passed the tree line, we shifted with Maddox grabbing my dufflebag in his mouth and leading the way. Coming up to the eastern portion of our territory, we stopped because there were a pile of rogue wolves with blood everywhere and a note attached to the ruined gate we built a few weeks ago.

Maddox slowly walked up to the gate to get a better look at the message that read..

I WATCHED YOU BOTH FROM AFAR.

I NEVER STRAYED.

I WAS ALWAYS A RIVER AWAY.

YOU WERE NOT THE REASON I LEFT.

YOU WERE THE REASON I COULDN'T STAY.

Fucking shit man! What the fuck does any of that even mean man?!

"Maddox, leave the message on the gate and let's go." I tell him through our link before he growls and shuffles though the hole in the gate, then starts to weave through the forest of the world outside of our territory.

I haven't been outside of our land for years, everything looked so foreign to me and if I'm being honest, a little terrifying. The forest was crazy overgrown out here, the noises of wildlife filled the air and it smelled so unfamiliar. I had to fight the nausea that was easily making its home in the pit of my stomach.

We were halfway to the first rogue camp I wanted to scout before I heard a twig snap. Maddox's ears perked at the sound and swiveled before he turned around, taking a defensive stance after dropping my dufflebag. Taj and Hunter's wolves doing the same on either side of me. I couldn't see the warriors behind us, but I was sure their wolves were on the defensive as well.

Blood.

The scent hit my nose and Maddox crouches down even further. Another twig snapped, the noise sounding like it came from in front of us as we watched the bushes rustle and the wind blew the scent of blood and rogue.

"Rogue!" I yell through the pack link. Maddox lets out a piercing howl as the first rogue comes barreling out the bushes.

Maddox makes quick work of getting the better of it, charging the beast and swiveling his body to grab it by the scruff, throwing it body into a nearby tree before pouncing on it and sinking our teeth into the flesh of its neck. The beast lets out a gut wrenching cry before Maddox snaps it's neck.

"Alpha!"

I turn at the sound of one of my warriors through the link, 4 more rogues had decided to join the party with the scent of more in the air. We were surrounded and this was going to get ugly.

The beasts rush us, luckily we outnumbered them right now, 14 to 4, so it was pretty easy to tear the fuckers to pieces. The others were nearby, I could feel them, could smell them and I didn't want to stick around for the ravage beasts to get the better of us, so I told Maddox to head to the nearest rogue camp as fast as he could, I knew our warriors would follow.

Coming onto the actual camp, he shifted back, giving me control. I quickly put on a pair of shorts and shoes, watching as my men did the same. We creeped up to the gates surrounding the camp.

"Hunter, give me the bolt cutters." I whisper, my gamma dug through his dufflebag before handing me what I asked for. I quickly cut the gate, a section large enough for us to get in and out.

Slowly weaving our way through the trees and up to the first tent, I motion for Hunter and Taj to go first. They head into the tent, I hear muffled sounds for a few minutes before they come out and shake their heads, signaling the wolves inside weren't the ones we were looking for.

The second and third tents we made it to were set up between two trees, motioning for a few of my warriors to go inside. I heard the same muffling sounds before hearing the sound of someone's bone cracking, I didn't feel any pain or death through the pack bond, so I was safe to assume it wasn't my men.

Looking around, I noticed a fourth tent and decided to take this one myself. Creeping along the side of it, before opening the zipper as fast as I could, I rush inside to find a shewolf and pup sleeping. I sniffed the surrounding air, they didn't really smell like anything I was looking for, not that I actually knew what Nicholas and Evan would smell like after 7 years.

I decided they weren't a threat and made my way out of the tent, zipping it closed then nod to my men to follow me. There wasn't much talking during this mission because I didn't need these rogues wolves to pick up anything. Our only communication would be the pack link or hand motions.

Falling onto my stomach, I crawl over to the edge of a small hill and look over. The sight in front of me caught me off guard to be honest, I guessed the 4 tents up here weren't apart of the actual camp because at the bottom of the small hill were a shit ton of man made shelters, fires ablaze, pots with heated water. From what I could see they had a whole community here, I wondered if these were newly formed rogues because of the stories dad and uncle Jake told me.

The rogues I've fought myself were bloodthirsty, savage animals, not civilized like this. It made me think that they're might be a rogue alpha building his own pack, someone with enough power to keep those who were banished from fully transitioning.

"Let's go, stay low, you know who we're looking for. If you find them, kill them, if you don't, move along. Don't kill anyone who doesn't attack you first." I instruct through the pack link before slowly making my way down the hill.

I promise we looked into every single of one the log shelters, every single one. We didn't touch the shewolves or pups as they weren't much of a threat, but the men that decided attacking us would be a good idea, we just simply knocked them out and left them where they lay. Seeing what I have through this camp, I was starting to think that rogues weren't all bad as dad and uncle Jake said.

I mean they're clearly capable of building a community, having some form of strength to keep themselves from transitioning.

After leaving the first camp unsuccessful, I rolled my eyes, knowing we still haven't gotten our hands on those fuckers behind this shit. I took my men back to the outskirts of the camp to grab our duffle bags.

"Alpha, would you still like me to lead the way, alongside Hunter?" Taj asks and I nod.

"Yes Taj, take the lead... you two know the way better than anyone else here."

My Gamma and acting Beta took their position in front of myself and the rest of the warriors and they led the way to the Silver River.

The trip during the rest of the day, we stayed in our forms. My feet were fucking killing me by the time we found a cave to sleep in. I stripped my clothes off before shifting and giving Maddox control as did the rest of the warriors.

Thoughts of my mate ran through my mind. I missed him like crazy. This would be the longest 2 weeks of my life without his presence or his hugs or his kisses.

Fuck, I miss his kisses.

I wished he allowed me to pledge him into the pack so I could link him right now. The better thing would have been to mark each other, but shit I was working through my own mental game of tug-o-war. Now that I've gotten over, well somewhat gotten over, the issues plaguing my sexuality, I wanted to mark my man. I wanted it more than I wanted to be Alpha.

He's everything to me, literally. Like how the hell could one person be so damn perfect? It's not fair.

I can't wait to see him again, then maybe we can start where we left off last night. Only this time, he will be the one to make a safe word.

• • •

Waking up in the cave, my body was beyond sore because Maddox never shut me out, so all the pain he felt, I did as well and let me just say, sleeping on the ground of a cave was not as luxurious as Raiden described it.

My sexy ass leopard back home, may think living off nature was amazing, but this shit was not for me at all.

The second and third day of the trip went without issue, sleeping in and out of caves or the forest ground. There were no other rogue attacks during those days either, it was almost too quiet, too calm, especially for apart of the forest where it's supposed to be the most chaotic.

"Ok, the Silver River is right through this clearing and then we should be able to scout that second rogue camp." Hunter says.

"I know a shortcut to the river, it's the trail I took when I met my mate, trust me, its a lot faster than walking through the clearing." Taj tells him.

"Is there anyway other ways besides through the clearing or the shortcut that Taj is talking about?" I ask looking between my Gamma and acting Beta.

"No, Alpha, those are the only safe paths to take."

"What do you mean the only safe paths? Is there a path that isn't as safe?" I ask.

"Yes, it's not far from here, but it's through the forbidden forest." Taj tells me, I shake my head.

Oh fuck no, I'm not going in there. We've all heard the stories of what lurks in that part of these unclaimed lands, which by the way are unclaimed for a reason.

I'm not in the mood to fight off vamps or witches or elves right now, so I'm passing on that option.

"Ok, so we either go through the clearing that Hunter knows or through the trail that Taj knows." I say, thinking about the best option.

"We can split up, half of us go with Hunter and the other come with me and Taj, whichever group gets to the river first can scout out the area and report to the second group."

"Everyone should drink some water before we split up, who knows when we will see each other again. It could be hours." Taj suggest and I agree to that.

He hands out a water bottle to everyone because he was in charge of carrying the extras along with the belongings he decided to bring. So we all take a minute and guzzle our water before splitting up into two groups.

I felt like Hunter would be able to hold his own with 4 warriors, while Taj and I took the other 8 with us. I figured since Taj said the trail we would go down was alot faster, then we could get to the area first, which is exactly what I wanted.

If anyone was going to find Nicholas and Evan first, it was me because I wouldn't hesitate in ripping their throats out.

Following Taj to the trail he mentioned, I nod to Hunter as I watch him lead his group away and out of sight.

The longer we walked down the trail, the more I noticed that we weren't necessarily heading towards the river. I couldn't smell the water anymore, the brush was getting thicker and I was starting to get a massive headache.

"Taj, are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Yes Alpha, it's not too far."

I continued to follow behind him, ducking under tree branches and weaving through overgrown bushes that made their way into the trail. My headache was starting to increase to pounding levels and my vision was getting a little blurry, I figured it was because of the lack of food for the past few days, so I just kept walking, but then I heard a rustling noise. My head snapped in the direction of the sound and I froze, waiting for what I'm sure was a rogue wolf to come out and attack.

"Alpha, we should keep moving." Taj says, after a few minutes of no movement, I nod, nursing my headache and continue walking, but then there was another rustling sound and I froze once again.

"Everyone stay on alert." I instruct through the pack link, but when nobody responds, I turn around only to find the 8 warriors we had with us, gone.

Panic starts to set in as I turned back around to look at Taj, who was already staring at me.

"Taj, we have to get the fuck out of here. The warriors are gone." I tell him, swallowing nervously as my eyes dart around the now dark forest.

"I know."

His words brought me pause as I snapped my attention back to him.

"You know? You know what?"

"I know the warriors are gone." He took a step forward. "Because I told them to go."

I shook my head as everything around me was becoming more and more blurry. The pounding in my head was now starting to make me feel nauseous, I took a few deep breaths before narrowing my eyes to see in front of me.

"Try not to panic Dylan."

What the fuck?

"That's Alpha to you, Taj and what the fuck is going on?"

"I'm not going to hurt you, just try to relax."

Everything around me were now just smudges in my vision, I noticed Taj was still walking towards me when a very familiar scent hit me. I frowned as I started to look around, then I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind. I try to fight against whoever was holding me, but my body felt extremely weak.

I squint my eyes even more as I watch Taj stop in front of me and he pulls something out of his pocket, then I feel something sharp pierce my neck.

"MADDOX!" I yelled for my wolf through our link, but he never answers. "MADDOX!" I try one more time, yet I was met with silence once again.

"W-W-What the fuck? Where's Maddox? Where's my wolf?!" I yell at Taj, even though every word now sounded weaker than before.

"Try to calm down, the more you fight, the weaker you will get."

"What did you do to me Taj? What the fuck?"

"I gave you a sedative, the same thing you injected Raiden with, trust me when I say, the concoction is an all too familiar thing for me."

PANIC...

How the hell would he know that? He wasn't even apart of our pack then...

"H-how, how do you-"

"I wasn't the only one watching you Dylan... I wasn't the only one in your pack to see everything."

What the fuck? What the fuck does that mean? Oh fuck... I should have listened to babe!

"Everything will make sense soon Dylan."

He told me not to trust Taj! He told me not to give so much information! He told me to be careful, to keep my guard up....

Fuck, he told me not to split up from Hunter..

"Knock him out."

That was the last thing I heard Taj say before I felt someone's fist connect to the side of my head.

DARKNESS.

• • •

I groaned as I came to, the pounding in my head never stopping as I slowly open my eyes, a stinging sensation in my wrists pulled my attention down to see I was handcuffed to a table.

I looked around the room the best I could with the massive pain that was radiating through my fucking skull, before I zoned in on the blurry outline of another person in the room with me.

Blinking a few times, my vision slowly comes to and the image in front of me, begins to clear until I could see the clear and sheer truth of the person that sat on the couch.

Shock and fear suddenly shot through my whole body as I took in the one wolf I never thought would betray me.

The one wolf I've called my friend since we were in diapers.

The one wolf that I trusted more than anyone else in this world, besides my Raiden.

"Gabe?"

"I can explain."

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