Page 26 of Little Red and Her Creatures of Chaos
“I don’t know. Let’s track it. Stay close.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
We walk the perimeter, sniffing every inch. When we get close to the road, the smell gets stronger, and they aren’t alone. Nash’s hackles are raised, and I hear a growl rumbling up his chest.
“Go get Luther.”
“But I don’t want to leave you alone,”I argue.
“Now, Beta.”
With a whine from the reprimand, I take off back toward Luther’s cabin. He sees me coming toward him and is already walking to meet me halfway. I shift back and stumble on my human legs in my haste. “There are rogues close to pack lands.”
“What?” Luther barks and yells for Teddy, Cruz, and Marcus. They come running out of the cabin, and they all shift as if on cue. Luther’s wolf looks so much like Mason that if they didn’t have a different smell I would have gotten them confused. I shift back and run toward Nash with them hot on my heels. When we get to the edge of the forest, he’s pacing in tight, agitated steps, his eyes never leaving the other side.
Luther walks to his side and jerks his head for us to follow. We’ll get Mason if it turns into anything. We slowly walk across the road, keeping a close eye on our surroundings. Rogue wolves are ruthless and don’t fight fair, which is why they’re rogue. They have either chosen not to be in a pack or been kicked out of one. We get to the other side of the forest, and something hits me hard from the side. The wolf hits me, and I tumble from the force while I’m blocking them from going for my neck. I hear Luther bark and then the thundering of paws. The wolf lunges for me again, and then it’s gone. I jump back to my paws in time to see Nash pin them down, snarling in their face. What the hell is going on? We haven’t had a rogue attack in years. Rogues have yellow eyes instead of red, and I see them glowing all aroundme. They don’t usually run together, so the fact that there are so many isn’t good.
“Go back home,”Nash barks at me, still holding down the wolf that attacked me.
Before I can move, another wolf comes at me full force, but it’s hit by Luther before it can touch me. The other wolves are starting to pick up on the fact that I’m a beta, and they’re starting to circle me, blocking my path home. One lunges at me, and all hell breaks loose. Luther and another big wolf collide, and I swear it shakes the fucking ground. I back up from the wolves in front of me, trying to figure out my game plan. Betas can fight, but not when we’re outnumbered, and from what I can tell, these are all alphas and twice my size.
I shift to the left, and one follows me. I don’t have to move before it sinks its teeth into my flank. I howl in pain and try to get free. They pull back and lunge again. I’m already preparing to run when Mason’s black wolf skids to a stop at my side. His teeth are bared, and he’s licking his chops, already tasting the blood. I see several more wolves from the trees and know the rest of our packs heard my cry of distress. The rogue wolves notice and start slowly disappearing into the woods. The one that was fighting Luther is much slower than the light brown wolf that bit me.
To my surprise, the big wolf shifts, and I can feel the anger rolling through Mason. Luther shifts back, and he’s pissed. “What the fuck are you doing here, Rogue?”
“Who is that?”I ask.
“The one my mom ran off with.”I move closer to press my body against his in comfort.
“Just checking the scenery,” the rogue wolf answers. “No need to be hostile.” He’s shorter than Luther and not as fit. His hair is long, shaggy, and unwashed.
“You attacked first,” Luther growls, taking a step forward, not caring about his nudity. We see it all the time, so most of us are used to it. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Nice place you have here. We thought about setting up camp on the other side.”
“Over my dead goddamn body,” Luther responds, and Teddy steps up beside him.
“That can be arranged,” the rogue wolf grins, and Cruz growls in warning. “We’ve come with a warning. Don’t interfere in rogue business, and we won’t burn your little camp down.”
“A warning from who?” Luther hisses. “I don’t take orders from anyone.”
“You have a lot of helpless wolves in that camp, don’t you, Luther? I would hate to see any of them die because of your pride.” His eyes shift to me. “I see you still house useless betas, too.”
Mason shifts, and Nash walks up behind him, still in wolf form. “Who the fuck are you calling useless?”
“Ah, Mason? I thought that was you. I get you and your dad confused. Watch out. I might make a mistake and rip your throat out instead.” I keep my eyes on the brown wolf behind this guy, and they’re shifting from foot to foot, watching us just as close. “I figured you’d learn from your dad’s mistakes, Mason, and get a stronger pack.”
“My pack is strong, you piece of shit. You have no right to be here.”
“I do, though. This isn’t your land.”
“It’s too close,” Luther replies. “Leave, or there will be no one left.”
“You think this is it?” the guy asks. “This is just the beginning.”
“Since when do rogues form packs? You’re too self-centered for that,” Luther says.
“We’ve learned a better way.” The rogue wolf motions to the brown wolf, and their body starts to shudder. When they shift to human form, it’s a beautiful woman with long brown hair and mean green eyes. Mason sucks in a breath beside me, and I feel his hurt rolling through the bond. He takes a step forward and says something that I never expected.
