Overhead I could faintly hear the sounds of the surveillance drones. Only a couple more rogues were left here; Jess and Violet taking them out one at a time, making sure no one escaped. The last of the members from the packhouse and hospital were now in the tunnel and Greg closed the lid, slamming his fist on it twice and a latch from the inside secured it. Violet announced as my mate walked to the main driveway, her aura blasting. Greg and Daren now shifted, their silver teeth glistening. The other guards who didn't have time before shifted back long enough to snap in their teeth. I could hear Violet laugh in my mind. Even though I learned this technique in practice, I still didn’t like it. Lure the attackers into a false sense of security and cut off all retreat access. We could hear loud barking and howling in the background and all of a sudden a large group of rogues rushed in. The largest one in the lead looked around, confusion clear in his eyes as he only saw the 4 of us standing there. And one of them was my mate, to them a helpless young woman in human form. He slowed down and the others behind him did the same. He laughed as best he could in wolf form. “That is rude, you know.” Samantha stated, barely keeping the bulk of her power in check. “Coming by to visit this late at night without so much as a phone call.” The largest wolf bowed in mock respect before he shifted back. “Well, we heard that the uh, ‘Demon of SilverFang’ found his mate.” The other rogues laughed now too. “We uh, wanted to pay our respects. Ya know, congratulate him.” He spoke in a thick Brooklyn accent, where did this bozo come from? “Oh, really?” Samantha put her hands on her hips and rolled them, “And where is my gift then?” Her eyes were glowing silver while her rage and mine played off of each other pumping me up. The whole crowd bellowed. “Well, you see.... we were hoping for a gift! You see we came a long way.” He walked up closer to my mate and I growled slightly. “And what would that be?” She growled now. “Be careful, you don’t want your last words to be meaningless. Like you.” The rogue roared. “Look here, you little LUN-” He couldn’t finish his sentence as Samantha closed the gap quickly. She grabbed him by the jaw with one hand and with the other she reached into his mouth and ripped out his tongue. “That’s ALPHA. Ya bitch.” She glared as he writhed in pain, the silver of her claws doing massive damage as the blood from his open mouth flowed freely. His veins extending out as the poison worked its way through his body before ending his life. “SO NOW WE ARE GOING TO PLAY A GAME.” She announced to the remaining rogues who stood there in shock. “I AM A FORGIVING ALPHA...I AM A MERCIFUL ALPHA....” She broke down in a sadistic laugh, “I can’t even say that shit with a straight face.” She stopped. “Hmmmm......well, now we are going to have a lottery.... who will win?” She flipped two fingers into the air towards the packhouse. All of a sudden, a shot rings out and one of the rogues go down as a bullet grazed his leg. Violet missed? No....the wolf is immediately attacked from the woods to our side and he is dragged by two of our guards. “STOP STRUGGLING AND SHIFT BACK!!!” Samantha commanded and all of a sudden, a man in his thirties laid there, shock was evident on his face as he was not expecting a command to force him to compel. “What is your name, rogue?” “Daniel.” He replied in another Brooklyn accent. I felt Samantha’s anger flare again. “Not anymore! Now your name is Sue!” She commanded. “So, what’s your name???” Her eyes narrowed. “S-s-sue! Ma’am!” “ALPHA!!!” “AL-pha!” She turned her attention back to the group who stood there dumbstruck, a few looked behind them, obviously considering running away. Too bad they don’t know about the firing squad awaiting them in the trees.... Samantha asked through mind link. I’m almost afraid to ask what she meant. Daren spoke. A bullet rang through this time taking most of the leg. Again, guards drug him away towards the dungeons. Three bullets rang out. Violet responded. Again, those who were marked were drug away, screaming and trying to fight. Another command from Samantha stopped their resistance. “I know what you are thinking, 'we can take them, its only 4 of them!'” Samantha glared, “BUT YOU WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO ATTACK US!!!” She commanded and all of the group looked down in submission. “Now you are thinking, 'we can run! If we scatter, then somehow I can get away.'” She mocked them. “And I ask you to run....it makes the chase all the more fun.” She laughed in a chilling laugh. “You came to pay your respects to me, the Demon of SilverFang....and as your reward....me and my pack.... we will escort you to hell!!!” She crowed as she shifted into her wolf. The next few minutes were a blur as all of the waiting wolves attacked, ripping the rogues into shreds. The few that made it back into the woods were quickly dispatched by one of the silver bullets fired by the wives and elderly members of the pack who were positioned in their homes. It was over quickly and definitively; all the attacking rogues lay in pieces across the pack lands. Greg had started getting some bonfires ready and clean-up had started. The pups were to stay in the safety of the bunker until the carnage was cleaned up; we don’t want to traumatize them anymore than they already were. Lily and some of the other women were keeping the pups happy by playing games and singing. “I want my best trackers out tomorrow, find out where they came from. There were no women with them, they must have left them behind.” Samantha was instructing Daren. I walked over to her and put my hand on her back, just needing to touch her. She tensed again noticeably and walked away a few steps towards the main gate. Her eyes were unfocused as I figured she was getting a message. Suddenly, she spun around. “Get the doctors and nurses into the hospital! Daren with me!” And she shifted and started to sprint away towards the main gate, Daren right behind her. I stood there, dumbfounded. Someone must have gotten seriously hurt...I prayed to the Moon Goddess my mate got them back in time to be saved. Violet made it back to where I was standing with her sniper’s rifle in her hand. “Ben, you okay?” She looked at me worriedly. “You did good tonight.” She looked around. “Where is Samantha?” “She ran to the main gate, I think someone got seriously hurt.” Just then Samantha and Daren sprinted back, a bloody figure draped over my mate’s back. I barely caught a whiff of his scent and my brain recognized it but couldn’t place it. Was it someone from our pack??? It was then Violet gasped and grabbed my shirt sleeve, my attention snapped to her and I saw the tell-tale sign in her eyes. “Violet? You okay?” She gasped again, dropping her rifle as she ran to the hospital...to her mate. I stood there dumbfounded, my brain knew the answer, but my heart refused to admit it. It wasn’t until my mate hurried over to me and brought me into a hug that I started to function again. “Hey Sam... was that?” My heart got stuck in my throat as I couldn’t say the next words. Samantha nodded, confirming it. “Yes, Ben. That was your brother, Jake.”

Chapter 39