‘Phoebe, rogues,’ Máni suddenly spoke up.
‘Where?’
‘They just crossed our northern border.’
Phoebe waded back to shore grabbing her towel and hurriedly drying before pulling on her jeans. She didn’t want to appear panicked as she looked at the warriors, “Rogues.”
“Luna?” Cam immediately jerked to attention.
“They just crossed our border. You should raise alarm with your warriors,” Phoebe said pulling on her shirt. “Pups! Let’s go!”
“But we just got here!” the pups protested.
“Rogues! Now!”
The pups immediately rushed back in without further protest. The lack of panic surprised Cam and Noah as the kids reached the shore, wiped off most of the water before pulling on their clothes leaving their shoes.
“Kyle run to the packhouse and raise alarm. Go!” Phoebe ordered taking back Jack.
The oldest and fastest of the pups immediately sprinted off into the woods. Though Phoebe sent warning through the pack’s link she knew from experience many would ignore it as it didn’t come from a high-ranking wolf.
“How far is the border?” Cam asked as Phoebe swaddled Jack in his towel.
“Roughly five miles,” Phoebe said.
Cam grimaced. For a wolf five miles was nothing but for the pups even half that distance could take awhile. Even as Noah alerted their warriors the pups broke into pairs with older ones guiding the younger ones as they disappeared into the woods.
“Where are they going?” Cam asked wary of leaving the trail.
“Cutting through the forest cuts almost half the distance,” Phoebe explained.
“But the traps…”
“They know where they’re located so they can avoid them.”
Cam stared at her slowly comprehending her words. This was not the first time the pups evacuated the pond. Quite probably Phoebe practiced this drill with them several times. It explained why neither she nor the pups were panicked despite the threat heading their way.
“You two…”
“We’ll stay with you, Luna,” Cam said. “Alpha will skin us alive if we let rogues harm you or the pups.”
Phoebe nodded as she clutched the two-year-old to her chest and took off into the woods with the dedicated warriors close behind her. As she ran she called out warning for traps in their path.
“Stay away from that tree! Avoid that log!”
Behind her Cam and Noah struggled to keep pace. Despite remaining in human form she was fast and agile, flitting through the woods like a fairy and avoiding the deadly traps with ease.
“Cam! Noah! Where are you?”
“Heading south, Alpha,” Cam answered. “We’re taking a short cut through the woods but there are a lot of traps.”
“Phoebe…”
“She’s fine. Luna is leading the way. I can’t believe she knows where all these traps are.”
“Stay with her! We’re headed your way. Keep the link open!”
Jason’s desperation filtered into the link. It had taken their Alpha so long to find his Luna they understood his anxiety at the mere thought of losing her. But they wouldn’t let that happen. Their pack needed its Luna and they would make sure she made it home.
Behind them they heard the rogue’s hunting howls as they reached the pond and found their discarded belongings but there were no answering howls from the Rimrock’s warriors. Where were they? Shouldn’t they have felt the intrusion of the border as well? Unless…
Their Alpha and Beta were concerned Rimrock was not maintaining its borders. If the border markings were weak then rogues could infiltrate without the pack knowing unless they were as close to the breech like Phoebe. No wonder she sent a pup on ahead to raise the alarm.
The howls grew louder and they realized any aide would come too late. Sharing a look the warriors suddenly came to a halt turning back the way they came. Phoebe paused with her escort giving them a curious glance.
“Keep going, Luna,” Cam said. “Take care of the pups. We’ll take care of the rogues.”
“But you don’t know how many there are.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s a warrior’s duty and honor to lay down their lives for their pack and Luna.”
Phoebe hesitated.
“Go Luna!” Noah said shooting her a nod. “Now.”
Phoebe bit her lip before turning and running with Jack still clutched to her chest. Noah gave his partner a look as they faced the approaching howls. Each of them was more than a match for two or three rogues but if they were surrounded they could still be overwhelmed. What was important was to buy their Luna as much time as possible to get to safety.
“Cam! Noah! We’re still six miles out!”
Cam grimaced, “The rogues are only two, Alpha.”
“Reinforcements are on their way!”
“It’s all right, Alpha. Just focus on Luna. She’s gone on ahead. We’ll hold them here.”
“Cam…”
“He’s right, Alpha,” Noah seconded. “It’s our honor to lay our lives down to protect our Luna.”
They abruptly closed their link to focus on the task at hand. Six miles was nothing for their Alpha to cover even in human form. Their Luna would be safe they just needed to buy her a few minutes. The pair pulled off their shirts tossing them aside. They stood in a small clearing giving them some space and ground clear of traps. It was as good of a spot as any. Without a word they shifted, their wolves shredding the last of their clothes as they stood side-by-side.
Ravenous and foaming at the mouth the first of the rogues broke cover before coming to a sudden stop at the sight of a pair of mottled gray wolves. The trained warriors were almost twice the size of the mangy rogues with a clear advantage in strength as well as size but the rogue’s desperation wouldn’t make it an easy fight even for two veterans.
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