48. Enemy pack
Fuck, what now?
Shayde already had more than enough to deal with, with a human mate, procreating, and everyone seeming inclined to kill the woman. He honestly couldn’t deal with any more shit piled atop his head right now.
He took a deep breath, to control his emotions. ‘If you can please handle it yourself or reach out to Justin, I’m in the middle of something.”
“I thought you’d like to know a pack of rogues was spotted gaining access to our territory. Simon reached out to let me know there are at least six or seven, and are heading toward the residence in the north. Kept on saying something was weird with them and they didn’t look right.’
The warrior's statement assured that avoidance wouldn’t be possible. Not this time. Fuck! Whoever was responsible for these fuckers was very determined.
“Protect Danika.” It was the only thought that registered on his mind right then, ensuring that the woman was safely out of the hands of these monsters.
Without waiting around for what Delilah had to say he shed his pants and allowed Caspar to take the reigns’. His wolf leaped to the fore at the thought. The beast was in the mood for a fight; he’d gladly take his frustration out on the intruders in his territory.
They didn’t look right.
He didn’t need to ask to know what the man had meant by his statement. If he got close enough to them, then they would have the scent of dark magic all over them. Of course, it was something he alone would be able to recognize, his powers alone allowed him to see beneath the surface. His people sensed something was wrong with the rogues, but could never pinpoint the reasons.
Caspar was cresting the hill when he saw the rogue wolves as they reached the end of the road.
The warrior was right to be worried; it wasn’t just the scent of these abominations that was all wrong. They had shifted into their wolves and were running down the street together, while in formation. That in itself assured him something big was going on. Rogues weren’t thoughtful or organized. They merely stuck together out of necessity and survival, as a wolf needed a pack, rogue or not. When they went on hunts it was each wolf for themselves, abandoning each other if the mood struck. There was no loyalty, no commitment, definitely no care for each other.
These wolves didn’t behave like the usual rogues he’d encountered in the past. These ones had their heads lowered, teeth bared and ears pulled back as they ran down the street. One of them took position at the front, two sets of two were lined behind them, then one was bringing up the rear. This was a fighting formation he’d grown accustomed to from years of his own hunting parties, but never seen in a rogue before. These wolves weren’t merely hunting for food scraps; they had already run past several houses and hadn’t raided anything.
In fact, the rogues had already run past several of their women and children. All of which who immediately ran for cover, petrified of becoming their meal. There was no need for them to be worried, the rogues ran right past them. None of them even appeared to notice their presence, having a one-track mind.
These beasts had a specific target in mind. This wasn’t just a random run-of-the-mill hunt, these wolves had a purpose. The rogues shifted in his direction, confirming their intentions of heading toward the castle. To him….Danika.
His fear heightened at the thought, Caspar’s large paws hit the ground as he raced towards the wolves. The rogues didn’t slow down for an instant and like the first wolf, he didn’t sense any fear in them. Anyone in the supernatural world had heard his name, aware of what he was capable of. Were wise to fear him. His golden speckled black fur and glowing red eyes were an omen of death and destruction. His teeth and claws could end a life in a second flat. His beast was enormous, he towered over the rest by at least twice the size. The rogues barely reached his flanks. They might as well have been mere pups when up against his own.
Yet, even when faced with the frightening sight of the Alpha King, none of them experienced a shred of fear. Not even a momentary pause on their behalf. As if the sheer enormity of him failed to matter to them.
‘Everyone keep back,’ he ordered the warriors coming out of the woods, intent on surrounding the interlopers on their land. He couldn’t allow that to happen, his people would never stand a chance. ‘They're soaked in Black Magic. Stay back and protect the pack.’
Caspar had gone up against hundreds of enemies on his own, coming out the victor in the end. He’d been alone the night he’d decimated the Blood Moon pack, barely breaking a sweat. But in the face of the dark magic that cloaked them, there was no telling what these rogues would be capable of. Whatever witch had been warping them had always made them able to cloak their scent and shapeshift, at this point he didn’t put anything past them.
A couple seconds later he caught the first of the wolves by the neck. The beast didn’t even fight back as his teeth clamped down hard. A crunch of bone was heard beneath the force of his jaw, discarding the body off to the side. Dead. The other wolves never faltered, didn’t even blink at their comrade being brought to an end. All of them kept running forward, a single-handed focus on what brought them there.
Panic, strong and fierce, surged up inside of him at the thought of what had brought these animals into his territory. Considering he was right behind them chasing them down, it was clear he wasn’t their intended target this morning. That could only leave….Danika. She was what had brought them there this morning, their sole purpose. His mate was their target. They’d come there to kill Danika, his mate, thereby eliminating his chances of a child.
A cold rage like he’d never felt before in his life swelled up inside of him, at the thought of what had brought these beasts to his domain. Leaping into the air Shayde came down on the back of the next, snapping his spine as he tore the head clean from his shoulders. He clamped down, he clawed, he ripped into their bodies, tearing them apart. The wolves didn’t whimper or yelp as his teeth sunk in, didn’t even attempt to fight back as he shredded them to pieces.
Shayde knew that these rogues were nothing but shells of their former selves. Merely a casing for whoever was controlling them, toys to be sent wherever they wanted. So Shayde directed all of his anger towards whoever was controlling them. Limbs flew through the air. Blood splattered his fur and sprayed across the earth. Their entrails were left in his wake. Caspar revelled in the bloodshed, thrived at the violence he wrecked. Even as it fueled his anger.
Why had these rogues really breached his territory if they weren’t fighting back? What was the point of all of this anyway? All of them kept moving on, continuing forward, unmindful of their packmates dropping like flies. It was probably the quickest and easiest battle that he’d ever fought and undoubtedly the least satisfactory. He’d wanted a challenge, but none of them put up a fight.
In the space of ten minutes he’d managed to eliminate all of them, save for one. The ring leader of the bunch. When Shayde finally reached the last of the rogue wolves, it finally reacted to his presence. The wolf whimpered and helplessly evaded his bite, like the dark magic had finally released him from its hold. The wolf whipped around to face him and shifted in the blink of an eye. As fast as any wolf with Alpha blood had ever done.