The road to the northern border is not as fascinating as some people might think it is, Infact Jax pitied the recruits there. How can someone survive in such poor conditions?
But his reason for going there is to resolve the issues with the rogues – a group of hazardous wolves without a pack. They are ferrous and rebellious, always threatening and attacking packs. This is why he doubled his pack’s security because once the rogues accidentally overpower him, his pack is gone.
He braces himself for the worst, he is aware that they might strike again if they learn that he is there. There is no way to avoid those crazy wolves rather the best thing to do is to fight them all and stop them. Jax worries about Emily, his cousin. Although he is confident that Conrad will protect her, he can’t help but wonder how she moved on so fast.
He is happy that she found happiness in a reliable partner, Conrad has always remained one of his best persons. He thinks about his mate and what could be taking her so long to meet him, she is one of the reasons why he has not taken any relationship seriously. He believes that as an Alpha, his Luna should be his fated mate.
However, his belief is what led Emily to be heartbroken by Louis’s actions, choosing a total stranger only because they are mates. Jax does not want to hurt anyone else in the process of making a decision, a reason for his singleness.
“Alpha Jax, we are here,” Scar, his gamma, says as soon as they arrive at the port of the border.
Jax alights from the car and they trek down to the base which is a narrow pathway.
“We will stay for a couple of days to ensure that the issue is resolved before leaving,” Jax speaks.
“This is the work of a gamma, you should leave later and allow me to do my job,” Scar says to him.
“If you’re doing your job so well then this shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” he scolds her.
Scar bows her head lowly as she follows him behind, regretting speaking out to him.
They arrive at the base and head directly to the captain’s office, the captain is surprised to see the Alpha in the base.
“Alpha Jax, it’s such a surprise to see you here.”
“I got reports from my source that this border has been under attack by rogues. why did you cease to inform me about this, Eli?” Jax questions coldly.
“I thought… we… are handling the situation just fine,” Eli stammers.
“You dare to lie to me?” Jax raises his eyebrows at Eli who shrinks in fear.
“I’m sorry, Alpha Jax. I did not want you to be worried about the recruits that’s why you were not informed, but the situation is getting out of hand. The rogues are attacking rampantly for no good reason,” Eli admits at last.
Jax sighs, “Are there any injured recruits?”
“A few of them were brutally injured but none is dead.”
“Take me to them.”
Eli leads them to the small clinic where the injured ones are being treated, the sight alone makes Jax recoil in his shell. The younger recruits that he sent out recently are the ones who are badly injured, does it mean that they were not ready to be sent out on duty?
He sees the red-haired girl that Conrad disliked a lot, she is sitting on the bunk bed with a broken arm and bandages on her face and body. Jax pitied her and felt guilty for sending her to this place.
“What’s your name, young girl?” he asks her.
“Freya,” she replies, her voice cracking as she speaks.
“Freya, I hope you’re feeling better now?”
She shakes her head, “It hurts so bad. My hand is swollen and numb, my face and body hurts and I can’t even walk properly. I’m in pain every day!”
Jax’s heart pierces as she says this, a lot of them are in the same situation as she is. He can even hear some of them groan in pain as they try to adjust their body on the bunk bed.
He turns to look at Eli, he has to do something about this and handle this issue with care.
“Prepare a good vehicle for the injured ones, they’ll be taken to the pack’s hospital for proper medical treatment. Until then, let’s prepare ourselves to hunt down those rogues tonight.”
Eli nods and leaves while Jax goes to the operation room to get some weapons for himself, Scar follows him behind.
“I don’t think attacking the rogues is a good idea, Alpha Jax. This might cause them to declare war and attack us publicly without fear or concern about the outcome of it,” Scar warns him.
Jax is filled with so much hate and anger toward the rogues, that their attack on his recruits is unjustified and unacceptable to him. They’re young adults without an iota of what is going to happen, they should have spared them at least.
“You saw what they did to the recruits, you saw how brutal they were injured and you have the courage to say this,” Jax says.
“I know that they were injured badly but think about the implications of attacking the rogues, how brutal it will end up. Instead of blood to blood, let’s find their leader and make peace with them,” Scar suggests but her suggestion only gets Jax more angry.
“How dare you make such a stupid statement, Scar? You said you wanted to do your job as the gamma of this pack, this is an opportunity to do your job or you step down and allow someone else to do it,” Jax snaps at her.
Scar shuts her mouth and watches him pick out a weapon, he leads a few older pack warriors in raiding the woods in search of rogues to attack. But Jax is not prepared for what is coming, the moment he splits with the others, the rogues creep out of every side and begin to fight with him. Their attack came as a surprise to Jax, they outnumbered him and soon, he started to feel weak because he couldn’t keep up with them.
Jax feels like this is the end for him, his weapon is yanked from his hands and he is injured severely. An opportunity comes for him to run and he does that but his strength is not matched with theirs, he is beginning to feel worn out when he sees a cave hidden amid trees. He sneaks into there and watches with relief as the rogues pass the cave without second thoughts.
Jax is glad that he is still alive and breathing after the brutal fight, he wishes he had listened to Scar when she tried to stop him. Luckily for her, she stayed back and refused to join them.
What Jax did not expect was for a wood to collide with the back of his head, he falls to the ground and loses consciousness.