Sebastian’s POV
I never thought it was possible: rogues organizing, fighting together, and actually winning against a large pack like Nightshade. I couldn’t believe how well my mate, man that felt good to say, could fight. If Barrett hadn’t gotten two pack members to hold her down, he would be dead. She had a bloodlust unlike any I had seen before, but it made sense.
“Your parents are going to shit themselves not only when they find out we came here, but also when they find out the rogues have organized,” Sammy linked me.
“What about when they find out my mate is the rogue that organized them?”
“Are you actually going to accept her?” He asked incredulously.
Diede, my wolf, growled low at that. “Yeah. I mean I want to. She seems incredible.”
He snorted, but didn’t argue. We watched her as she bumped into the wolf that saved her; they looked to be the same age. They both went down on their front legs before jumping up and chasing one another. I felt a twinge of jealousy as I watched her play with this wolf for just a moment then suddenly, she was back to all business. She trotted up to the alpha pair, Abelina and Nathan, good people, and greeted them. Abelina fell into Pluto’s arms crying as they both shifted.
“Pluto, thank you so much. I never thought we would see you again. We heard about Barrett attacking you in No Man’s Land, and he said you were dead,” Abelina said between sobs.
“I’m glad we were able to make it and that we were able to make a difference,” she pulled back and looked at Abelina with a smirk, “As for the attack in No Man’s Land, I gave him a permanent limp, and he ran away with his tail tucked between his legs.”
Abelina laughed while wiping tears away, “How is Bennie?”
“He’s a mischievous little shit. He shifted for the first time a few months ago. If I let him, he would never shift back into his human form. He absolutely loves it.”
Abelina laughed again, “You were the exact same way when you shifted for the first time. If I remember correctly, Lara had to bribe you with sweets to get you to shift back.”
I watched as sadness clouded her face but it was gone in a split second, “I want you to meet someone.”
I sat up straighter, but slouched back when she walked over to the wolf she was playing with earlier and two others. Sammy bumped my shoulder, and I couldn’t help feeling embarrassed for my hopefulness that she would introduce me to people as her mate. Diede growled low when the wolf she was playing with wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He was only quieted when the wolf gave her a noogie and she shoved him away. “This is Jonathan, Harriet, and Dex Parker. They took Bennie and I in when we got to No Man’s Land that night.”
“Do those wolves look familiar to you?” Leo, one of the warriors that met Pluto in the clearing, asked.
“Not to me. Why?”
He hummed. He was one of the older warriors in our group, so it was possible that the wolves were from one of the packs Nightshade had taken over and he knew them before they became rogues. “I think they might’ve been Nightshade pack members.”
I didn’t get a chance to respond before a wolf came streaking through the field, heading straight for Pluto. I ran as hard as I could to intercept the strange wolf before it could hit Pluto, but I wasn’t fast enough. Pluto turned just in time to catch the wolf, but they still fell to the ground. I slammed against the wolf, pushing them off of Pluto and putting myself between the wolf and my mate. The large wolf stood, shook off, and shifted. As she tried to step toward Pluto, I let out a low growl.
Pluto pushed past me, not even giving me a second glance as she moved to embrace the woman who had just attacked her. I let out an annoyed huff and watched a tearful reunion between Pluto and this new wolf. I sniffed the air, the girl had the scent of the Nightshade pack, but I could only assume she was part of Dawn Crescent. I sat down, watching the interaction.
“Man this is just sad,” Sammy’s voice entered my head.
“Fuck you, man. Who knows if this girl is going to attack her,” I reasoned. “I’m just trying to protect her.”
“Mhmm. I think she’s proven she can take care of herself,” Sam countered.
I blocked the connection, annoyed with my best friend, and focused on the conversation. “What are you doing here, Zara?”
“Noah told me he spotted you. I had to come and see for myself.”
Pluto’s head tilted to the side, “Barrett let you leave?”
Zara nodded, “We came out of lockdown once they returned, and we’re not prisoners. He just absorbed the pack. We stayed confined to the territory the first few years, but after that, we were free to come and go as we pleased.”
I saw Pluto’s back stiffen slightly, “Right well. It was great to see you. We need to head back, and you should too. I don’t want you to get into trouble on my account.”
Zara nodded sharply, “Of course. It was really good to see you.”
I watched as Pluto walked back to Abelina, wiping a tear away as she went, “I’m going to head back. Jonathan can give you our information if you need us again. Hopefully we can get here faster if there is a next time.”
“Can I give that out to our allies? I have a feeling once they’re done licking their wounds, Nightshade will attack another pack.”
She nodded, “Of course. We’re happy to help those that need it.”
“Sam, can you speak to Abelina and Nathan? Make something up as to why we were here. I don’t think it should be mentioned Pluto and I are mates,” I linked him.
Pluto shifted and took off, “You haven’t exactly been subtle, but sure I won’t mention it,” he linked back as I took off after Pluto.
Pluto’s POV
I couldn’t be there anymore. I didn’t know if I believed Zara or not, but I couldn’t deal with it. I pushed until my body and lungs burned. I heard the Prince behind me, but chose to ignore him. Instead of going home, I ran to my favorite place in the territory. When I reached the shore of the large pond, I plopped down on my side, breathing heavily. I wasn’t alone long before the Prince laid down beside me, breathing just as heavily. Eventually our breathing returned to normal, but I wasn’t interested in shifting back into my human form just yet.
The Prince however shifted, sitting up to assess me. “What did my warriors do that made you ask for me?” I rolled my eyes, and ignored him. “Come on Pluto. We need to talk. Please,” he choked out, causing a pang of sadness to go through me.
I sighed, but instead of shifting there, I trotted to the end of a nearby pier and jumped in, shifting as soon as my body hit the water. “Come on in, Prince.”
I admired his strong, muscular body as he made his way to me. He gave me a small, knowing smile as he waded into the water. “So what did they do?” He asked once he was close to me.
“Bennie spotted a rabbit, but didn’t realize it was across the border. He darted across before I could warn him, and your warriors attacked him. There’s no telling what might’ve happened if I wasn’t there to get them off of him.” I leveled him with a glare, as he started to argue, “Ben’s ten. He’s only been shifting for a couple of months. He doesn’t scream threat.”
“We have to keep our border with No Man’s Land tight. If we let rogues, even kids, just cross our borders willy-nilly, they’ll start thinking what’s ours is theirs and that’s not how it works.” He shrugged, “It’s how it’s always been. Besides, they didn’t hurt him did they?”
“That’s not the point. The point is one of them could’ve shifted and let him know he crossed the border. He clearly wasn’t a threat and clearly made a mistake.”
He looked at me shocked, “For someone who has been through so much, you are incredibly idealistic, bordering on naive.”
My entire body went rigid with anger. Instead of responding, I swam to shore, shifted, and disappeared into the underbrush. “Owen, can you and a few other wolves please escort the Prince from the pond to his border? Don’t use force. Just tell him you’re there to make sure he doesn’t get lost, or distracted, on his way out of the territory,” I mind linked him, hoping he didn’t ask too many questions.
“Is he your mate?”
“Unfortunately,” is the only thing I linked back before breaking off the connection.
Author: Kailan Counahan 