3rd person’s POV
With each passing days Kate work hand in hand with Dimitri and Louis.
They have implement the intensive training to their training sessions.
Sir Gareth had detected the kind of poison that the rogue took to kill himself, it was Moonstone Dust .
The rogues hasn’t shown up at their border but Dimitri ensures the security at all their borders are not slacken.
They had sent report of their findings to the Werewolf Council, Dimitri ensures they keep them updated.
Dimitri took Kate suggestion and they implemented the herb therapy for their Warriors this has really helped their Warriors become stronger.
Kate also feels changes in herself, as if something is awakening in her, something she couldn’t place yet.
***
The Full Moon is here already, some of the young Weres will be transforming tonight, excitement fill the air.
The young Weres are in anticipation, some will get to know their Fated Mate, tonight.
While some are just focus on making it through their first shift.
This is the first Full Moon Kate will be spending with the pack members, the previous Full Moon has always been her focusing on her own transformation process but today she is going to be witnessing what seem to be a Mass transformation,
There seem to be quite a number of young Weres who have come of age to have their first shift.
As the Evening approach the Moon revealing itself, howls filled the air.
Kate stand by the window she gaze into the Night, the brightness of the Moon cast glow across the forest already dressed waiting for Dimitri who is also getting ready.
She felt Dimitri’s hand around her waist, his touch send a sudden spark through her body, then he pressed a kiss on her neck.
Let’s get going, Dimitri said in his deep voice
Dimitri held her hand and they both head to the forest just behind the Pack house.
Isolde and Lia were their already, some Young Weres have transformed and went for a run while some are in the process.
Louis and Diana also joined in.
They all watch the Weres transform in silence.
Dimitri was happy with the transformation process, most of their young Weres are turns out to have a strong Lycan Wolf.
With excitement in the air was cut short by a sudden alert from the Eastern border.
Everyone became alerted,
Without a second thought, they all rushed toward the Eastern Border, their hearts pounding in unison. As they reached the Eastern border, the scene that greeted them wasn’t a pleasing one.
Their guards were met engaged in a fierce fight with the Rogues.
Dimitri joined in immediately, at the sight of Dimitri the Rogues started retreating.
But Dimitri was able to pin down the one he faced.
Have him chained Dimitri ordered.
He looked around his heart pounding so fast as he couldn’t find Kate.
He had remembered they all arrived together,
Where is she, he asked turning to Louis who hadn’t noticed.
Dimitri felt his world crashing down before him, his heart pounding against his chest as if it’s about to fall out,
He ran into the woods in search of Kate,
As he take a step further he heard a soft howl in a distance.
Kate’s scent feel the air,
He followed the scent and saw Kate in her wolf form panting and standing above a body lying Dead on the floor.
Dimitri felt a wave of relief rush over him.
He ran to Kate’s side as she transformed and uses his shirt to cover her body.
He looked at the rogue body lying on the floor battered and bruised.
He carried Kate and head back to the pack house.
Diana followed them closely behind.
Louis stayed back at the border, and joined the patrol guards.
Only two of their Men who young warriors got injured,
they were able to capture two rogues,
Check their mouth for the poison and take them to the dungeon, Louis ordered.
****
As they entered the room, he placed Kate on the bed,
Then check all over her body,
There were only few scratches, he let out a loud sigh.
Don’t you ever get yourself involved in a fight, he said.
Kate looked into his eyes, she sees fear and worry well written over his face.
I have no choice than to engage, everyone was engaged in the fight, I can’t just stand there looking and besides the rogues were coming for me.
They?
How many rogues did you fought with, Dimitri asked, his eye widened.
“Two,” Kate said. but one of the guards was able to get the first one off me and then another one came, and I just have to put in all my strength to fight back.
And how did you end up away from where everyone is, that is a very dangerous move.
I was so engrossed in the fight that I didn’t know when that bastard lured me away into the forest.
What did you think would have happen if he had overpowered you,
Please be careful next time,
You need more training before you can be engaging in fights, he said.
He paced round the room, Kate could feel the weight of his responsibility weighing down on him, the burden of protecting everyone within the Pack.
“They’re testing us,” he muttered finally, breaking the silence. His voice was brisk and clipped, They are trying to penetrate us, master our moves and see our weaknesses.”
That is why I need you to be more careful, Dimitri said.
I will, Kate responded with a nod, “But they’re not just rogues. They were organized. Someone’s leading them.”
Dimitri’s gaze shifted to her, keen with agreement. ” Yes I know. This isn’t some random attack. They’re probing our defenses, looking for the perfect opportunity to strike.”
They had thought we would be focus more on the Transformation since today is the Full Moon, but they thought wrong.
Kate’s pulse quickened. The rogues are growing bolder, and that meant one thing: they had found a new leader powerful enough to unify them and they are after something.
She glanced at Dimitri, her face filled with worry. “Do you think… do you think it could be Zeus?”
Dimitri’s eyes tightened and his countenance hardened at the mention of the rogue leader they had defeated not long ago. “No. Zeus is dead. We made certain of that,”
He died right in front of me. However, even as he spoke, there was an edge of hesitant in his tone.
“Then who?” Kate pressed further. “Who would want to challenge us now?”
Dimitri was silent for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought. “It could be anyone,” he acknowledged. “But whoever it is, they’ve been keeping an eye on us for quite some time. They are really bent on penetrating into how pack.
“We need to be ready,” Kate said, her voice steely. “We can’t let them take us by surprise.”
Dimitri looked to her, his eyes softening slightly. “We will be. I won’t let them destroy what we’ve built.”
As they were discussing, a knock draw them out of their discussion and the door opened, Diana came in a first aid box in her hand, let me help treat the wounds, she said.
I need to get the those sly bastards to speak, he said and left them in the room,
He mind-linked Sir Cedric, “I want you to get the rogues to speak,” he ordered as he head up to his office.
At the dungeon, the rogues have been placed in separate cells.
The guards greeted Sir Cedric as he entered,
Don’t even think you would get anything out of me, the rogue said with a wicked grin.
We would see how that goes, Sir Cedric said with a smirk.
It didn’t take Sir Cedric much stress before he gets the rogues to talk.
Did I get you to talk of not, he smirked.
****
The sudden attack caused unrest within the pack, no one could sleep.
Dimitri mind-linked Louis, leave the guards to it let’s meet in the hall.
The Pack Elders were assembled at the pack hall already, they are all waiting for Dimitri, the air thick with expectancy.
Kate had also come to the pack hall, she is also sitting in her chairs just beside Dimitri’s chair her gaze searching the faces around the table- All the Pack Elders, Sir Cedric, the head warrior, Sir Roland, the second head warrior and a few other key members of the Bloodmoon Pack leadership, she give a slight nod as her gaze meet with them and they also responded with a nod.
Dimitri strode in, his brow furrowed as he sight Kate.
He took his seat, and bent close to Kate’s ear,
You should be resting, he said.
Kate shrugged, and gave a slight smile.
Louis also strode in and took his sit.
“We should expect more of sudden attack like this,” Louis said grimly. “We need to heighten our security at all borders. The rogues are really bent on penetrating our border and they kept coming stronger, they’ve been lurking around the Northern Border before, this time around they attacked at the Eastern border, this means we must not loosen on our security anywhere around the territory.
Murmurs of agreement resonated across the hall. Kate could sense the strain on their faces-exhaustion and concern. Everyone knew the truth, the attack will get stronger now and they need to be ready for anything.
“What do we know about these rogues?” Dimitri inquired, his tone harsh. “Who’s leading them?”
Sir Cedric, who had been silent until now, leaned forward.
I was able to get the two rogues we captured to talk and according to what both of them said, they are not a random group of outcasts. There’s a new rogue leader…
He is said to be a brother of Zeus, he was able to escape and he is now gathering more rogue forces from across the region.”
“Zeus had a brother?” Kate inquired, her stomach tightening with dread.
Sir Cedric’s eyes darkened. “His name is Maksim “He is said to be ruthless and intelligent.”.” They were both expelled from their pack years ago. He was working alongside Zeus in assembling the army of rogues composed of outcasts, exiles, and those seeking vengeance against the werewolf kingdoms during the last battle. And he has contine assembling more rogues to avenge the death of his brother and take back the Silverwood Trees.
“How large is his army?” Dimitri’s voice was tense, full of anger and concern.
“We don’t have an exact number,” Sir Cedric confessed. “But it’s large enough to pose a serious threat.”
But why are we their target, we are not the only one that took out his brother and we are not the one that took over the Silverwood Trees Territory, Sir Gareth said.
They’re planning to take out the Werewolf Council also and then packs after packs. And we pose threat to them first, because with our Pack standing they will find it hard to take down the Werewolf Council and other packs, so they’re looking to attack us first and destabilizing our pack.” Sir Cedric explained.
A chilled shiver ran through Kate’s body. The rogues are led by a vengeful Alpha wolf? It was worse than she had feared. Since Maksim’s goal was to take down the Bloodmoon Pack and the entire Werewolf Council, then they were all in serious danger.
“We need to take the fight to them,” Sir Roland said, his voice filled with determination. “If we wait for them to come to us, we’ll be at a disadvantage. We need to strike first, catch them off guard.”
Dimitri shook his head, his expression hard. “We can’t afford to be reckless. We don’t have enough information about them yet and we can’t just rely on what those sly bastards said. If we rush into this, we could lose everything.” Leaving the pack to go to battle could be disastrous, they might divide themselves into groups, one group to distract us in battle and one group to attack the vulnerables at the Pack.
A tense silence followed his words, the weight of the decision weighing down on everyone in the room.
Kate felt the tension crackling in the air, her mind racing. They couldn’t sit back and wait for the rogues to strike again. But charging into battle without a plan could be just as dangerous.
“There has to be another way,” Louis said quietly, drawing the attention of everyone at the table.
Dimitri turned to her, his eyes searching hers. “What are you suggest?”
Kate hesitated at first but leaned forward and begins to speak, choosing her words carefully , “Some weeks ago when the rogues first appeared at our border, I could remember he disappeared into thin air with no traces and then the second on poison himself.” This shows that they are planning an extreme attack which I feel is more than just what the rogues captured confessed to, there must be more reason why he is targeting us now. It can’t just be because our pack is a strong hold in the kingdom. We need to figure out what he wants, why he’s doing this, where there location is, the power they are using and who is funding them. Maybe… maybe there’s a way to stop this without it escalating into a bigger battle that will bring about losing our men.”
Louis frowned. “You’re suggesting we negotiate with a rogue Alpha? That’s suicide, Kate. Maksim as described and with our previous encounter with his brother Zeus, he doesn’t care about diplomacy. He wants power.”
“I’m not saying we trust him,” Kate clarified, her voice steady. “But if we can understand his motives, maybe we can find a way to weaken him. Right now, we don’t know enough about him or his army. We’re fighting blind.”
Dimitri nodded slowly, considering her words. “You’re right. We need more information. We can’t fight an enemy we don’t understand.”
“But how do we get that information?” Sir Leonard asked, his brow furrowed. “Maksim isn’t going to just hand over his plans.”
We could send out our scouts across our territory, and we could also have our Ally packs to help with the finding out his location, as well as more information about his activities, Louis explained.
Everyone nod in agreement, to the sending out of scout.
And we could perhaps, try to get this Men to talk further, regarding their location, who is helping them and how they are getting their magic, Sir Gareth suggested.
Dimitri nodded agreeing to the suggestion.
Doctor Collins rushed in, everyone turned their attention toward him.
They are dead, he blurted out.
Dimitri stood up immediately, how it was just a small injury, he enquired.
Following the Doctor out of the hall down to the Clinic, the Elders and the rest followed his closely behind.
The two young warriors who got injured from the attack are them.
“The cause of their death is poison which got into their Bloodstream through the injury,” Doctor Collins explained. So anyone who has an injury at is not healing yet should be brought to the clinic right now, so we can check them, before the poison spread through out their body.
But how did they get our Men poisoned, Sir Lucas asked.
The rogues had poisons under their claws and anyone with injury which the poison can penetrate through into their Bloodstream will be affected, and the tolerance of the poison will be determined by the Strength of the person.
“Are your wounds healin-,” Dimitri said turning to his side and he realized it wasn’t Kate standing beside him.
Kate… , he called out in his deep voice,
Everyone turned and realized Kate isn’t there with them.
Dimitri turned on his heel and ran out of the hall and head to the pack hall.
His heart pounding loud as he runs.