Author’s POV (Rosa)
Back in Bloodbath, the people had started setting up and rebuilding from where they had stopped. Burnt wood and ash were moved away from living areas, and many had finally found closure regarding their dearly departeds.
Rosa, now saddled with the responsibility of Luna, often found herself outdoors, orchestrating every single action taken by the people. If she wasn’t at the edges of the territory pointing those interested in guarding where to stay, then she was at the villages helping families settle into the more habitable areas of the pack. It had looked like things would have never been able to get fixed, but as the days went by, Bloodbath had started to look more and more like the home she had once loved.
Rosa still hadn’t understood what it was that Lucy saw that guided her decision into selecting her as the new Luna of Bloodbath. She hadn’t wanted to accept it, but something had lulled her into taking the responsibility of her people. Lucy had grown attached to Moongrowl, despite what she had earlier faced there as a result of Daven’s cruelty, but it had been evident to all the bond growing between her and Shaun. Even if Lucy had chosen to return, Bloodbath would have had to deal with a leader who wasn’t wholly committed because a part of her would have remained in Moongrowl.
A new day dawned. The early morning sun had just started to peek through the crowd of dense trees within their territory as Rosa stood on the tallest point available in the vast clearing. She took deep breaths, as she often did when she found herself on the verge of losing control.
Unfortunately, rest was not hers to claim that morning.
Below her meters away, members of Bloodbath faced off in the open grounds, growling and barking insults at one another.
“You keep asking for rations as though we have plenty,” Kai, one of the warriors bellowed, looking ready to leap unto his opponent.
Garron, the other wolf, retorted, “How do you expect me to work properly as a Warrior if I barely have any food to eat?”
They growled at each other a moment before throwing themselves at one another. Their fur bristled as they traded blows that left deep gashes. Around them, other members voiced either encouragement or disagreement, forming sides in what had turned from a mere misunderstanding into a brewing battle.
“Stop this nonsense!” Rosa’s voice cut through the noise, sharp and commanding. She stepped into the chaos in an undeniable presence, eyes flashing with impatience. “I will not have anarchy growing right underneath my nose. What is the matter?”
The wolves froze mid-fight, the air growing thick with almost palpable tension. Kai released Garron reluctantly, and both turned to face their Luna, blood streaking their jaws as they returned to their human forms.
“What in the Goddess’s name is this?” Rosa demanded, her eyes bright with fury. She didn’t wait for an answer. “While you’re busy tearing each other apart, there are people in actual need of your help. And let me not get started on the looming threat of rogues since we are mostly defenseless and out in the open!”
Kai growled. “With respect, Luna, maybe if you told us plainly about your plans, we wouldn’t have to be fighting for scraps.”
Rosa’s jaw tightened, nearly shattering into pieces. So many things had been building up day after day inside of her, but now she was just fed up with everything.
She had expected people to disagree with her, but not outright disrespect. “Scraps? Is your mind so shallow that all that fuels your actions is food or territory? This is about survival! Divided, we are nothing. United, we can rise again and rebuild. We can make something out of nothing!”
A murmur rippled through the gathered wolves as they chewed on her words. Rosa turned her gaze to all of them, her voice softening but losing but still retaining its piercing edge. “I know you’ve lost much. We all have. But turning on each other will only make our enemies’ victory complete. Is that what you all want?”
The wolves shifted uncomfortably, guilt and understanding flickering in their eyes. Garron lowered his head first, looking down in near embarrassment. Kai did the same, and soon the others followed suit.
But Rosa’s relief didn’t last for long.
As the crowd separated, led by her fervent orders, she felt the weight of leadership press harder on her shoulders, nearly making her weak in the knees. She had envisioned struggles, yes, but seeing it play out right before her eyes was another thing.
The division couldn’t be allowed to fester, but she also couldn’t deny the truth in Kai’s words. Truthfully, the pack needed more direction, and a little more hope. They had taken a bold step by deciding to come back to uncertainty to rebuild, but now, they needed more reason to continue.
Later that day, alone in the quiet of the sad remains of her home, she pondered. She picked the place because she still felt an attachment to it, and since she had returned, sometimes, it felt like the spirits of her loved ones were still there, telling her what to do, and how to go about it.
“We’re running out of time,” she whispered, looking up at the sky. “If ee don’t get things in order soon, this place will fall apart even more tna it already has. I can’t fail these people.”
Although the leaves shifted and whispered, they didn’t outrightly give her an answer. But a distant, faint roar piqued her interest. It didn’t sound like it came from within the pack territory, but rather, somewhere just beyond it-from the dense collection of trees surrounding them.
She had thought it merely a figment of her imagination at first, but when she heard it again, she was certain that it wasn’t just that.
By nightfall, Rosa set out alone, her wolf prowling beneath her skin as she navigated the dense forest. Her aim was to locate the strange sounds that seemed to have only been evident to her own ears.
Long moments passed as she searched and searched, not knowing what exactly she was looking for, but propelled by a feeling that there was something she just had to find.
Soon, fatigue started to set in, and it wasn’t exactly safe for her to keep roaming uncharted territory all alone. It wouldn’t have amounted to anything if she got attacked by a rogue and was murdered oit in the cold, dead night.
Just when she was about to turn around and leave, something caught her attention. Ahead from where she stood, was a small encampment of rogues, or so they appeared, lay hidden in a clearing, their voices carrying through the trees.
Rosa crouched low, her sharp ears catching snippets of conversation.
“. . . Alpha still doesn’t know . . .” one rogue murmured.
” . . . keep it quiet, or they’ll strike too soon . . .” another hissed.
Rosa’s blood ran cold. They weren’t talking about her or even the pack. They were talking about someone-or something-else.
Were they even aware how close they were to the pack? Or were they simply communicating in code and what she was hearing was actually them planning how to attack them?
The energy she felt from then was undoubtedly sinister, and only a fool would have thought otherwise. If they were good, what reason did they have to be speaking in hushed tones amongst themselves?
She crept closer, her breath steady, until she had a clear view of their camp. At its center stood a rogue that stood out from the rest, with a commanding aura all about him.
“Enough talk,” the rogue leader growled, his voice deep and chilling. “The packs think they’ve won. Let them revel in their delusions. When we strike, they’ll be begging for death.”
Rosa’s heart thundered in her chest. This wasn’t just a group of disorganized outcasts; this was something calculated, something far more dangerous. Were they even truly rogues if they still retained such level of intelligence? She had always known rogues to be wolves gone wild.
Before she could retreat, the wind shifted. The rogue leader’s head snapped up. His notstrils flared as he sniffed the air.
“Someone’s here.” He pointed to one of the other rogues seated on the floor nearby. “You, go and check it out.”
Rosa cursed under her breath. That was her cue to bolt. Her wolf took over as she raced through the forest, the sound of pursuit close behind. Trees blurred past her, her lungs burning as she pushed herself to the limit. She couldn’t afford to be caught, but she also couldn’t endanger her pack as well. She took a longer route for just the sake of throwing off her pursuer, and hoped to the goddess that her plan worked.
She burst into the Bloodbath territory just as dawn began to break. Marcus was the first to meet her, his face a little worried as he watched her make her way into the stronghold.
“What happened?” Marcus barked, eyes blazing with a mixture of concern and irritation.
Rosa looked at him, her eyes wild with light despite the exhaustion chewing at her skin. “There are rogues out there,” she said quietly in order to prevent panic from spreading too soon. “And they seem to be planning something against all packs.”
As she recounted all she’d overheard, the gravity of the situation settled over her like a storm cloud. The path ahead looked treacherous, but something was as clear as day.
There was something terrible coming, and if unity didn’t come to the packs before it struck, all hope was going to be lost.
That, she was absolutely certain of.