17

Warning: This story contains violence and abusive themes. Read with caution and at your own discretion.

Three days is all the time the pack needed. Since they were going through the woods they couldn't take care, but horses and carts would make it just fine. Most of the pack was in the carts, with their beat warriors in wolf form joining Ada and her twelve well trained group. They flanked the carts on all sides, all spread out.

Ada had informed the warriors of the training they had undergone, and they agreed to follow their lead. It made their job a lot easier. Hopefully they would not have to show off their training.

They were making o e more trip at night, having made it look like they would be setting g out the next day. Ada was sure that they had wolves watching both camps, keeping an eye on them and waiting for the perfect time to strike.

They would not be able to do this with the other pack and they would have to go right to them as soon as this pack was safe, but Ada had a plan for that was well.

They set out in a rush, all homes locked down and anything that could be seen as valuable was well hidden or sabotaged in some way to make it useless. Food was packed up and brought with them. The wagons were loaded and they set out at a brisk trot.

At first everything was going smoothly. Ada was co fident in the thought that the sentries that were charged with watching the pack ran back to the main camp as quickly as they could to inform the leaders if what was going on. There was no way they could mobilize the entire army at the moment, so only a dozen or so at most would be able to come.

They were making good time. Half way there ahead of the schedual that Ada had given them. She knew it was only because the leaders would have argued over what to do before just sending out some warriors. Now though, the approaching howls of the rogues let her know that it was time.

Everyone remained in for.ation and they kept the carts moving. The first attack came from the back, like Ada knew it would. Unfortunatly for the two wolves that attacked, they chose one of Ada's students. She was smaller so she looked like an easy target, but she had felt them approach fast and had rolled out of the way. One of the rogues hit the ground hard, the other was tackled out of the air by one of the wolves from the other pack. Fighting broke out after between those two wolves and the three at the very back. The rogues didn't stand a chance with the students leading the fight.

The front was attacked next, like Ada knew it would. The rogues always attacked the back first unless they knew for sure the Alpha was there. It made those in the front run back there to aid those in danger and left the front vulnerable. Ada was ready.

She faced the three wolves that came at her and the three that were with her. Zack was one of them. He rushed forward and grabbed one of the wolves before he could leap and Ada darted in to trip up the second. Fighting broke out here as well.

The fighting at the back was over by that time. One ofnthenrogues lay dead, the other was injured and pinned. One of the warriors still in human form had come forward to bind the injured wolf. They would be put in a cage for now.

Ada snapped her teeth at the wolf she was facing off against and bounded right, the quickly changed direction and went left. This threw the wolf off and she whipped around as he darted in for her and sunk her teeth into the thick fur around his neck. She bit hard and began to shake her head back and forth as hard and fast as she could, growling in a primal manner as the wolf she was latched onto growled and howled in pain

Zack had knocked out the wolf he was fighting and went to the aid of the other two wolves. They were from the other pack and dis not have the same training. They were still fighting for submission, not death. He took over the fight and let them drop back as Ada was shaken off the wolf she was fighting and she watched him take off into the forest, blood streaming from his fur. She had no idea how bad that injury was.

More fighting broke out on the right side of the carts, but again the rogues were turned away or taken down. When there was no fighting, the carts pressed on, ever moving quickly toward their goal. Even with the constant small attacks attempting to break up the group or trying to pick off their numbers didn't work. Ada had trained her students about team work, and how to protect your allies when you were fighting more than once person or wolf at a time.

More fights broke out through out the night, but all they managed to do was wound a few of the wolves, one of them being one of Ada's students. They were taken first to be seen when they fight ally reached the safty inside of the walls. Ada was also seen, but none of the blood on her was her own.

They had two days to rest and recover, though she had to take a less experienced student with her when they left again because the one who was injured would not be healed in time to make the run.

Ada had decided they would run during the day this time, for both runs. The rogues were expecting them to run at night again, so she was not going to. The wolves would more than likely be awake during the day, but she knew thos was their best bet. Catching them off guard was the only way they were going to make it through this.

Most of the preparations had already been done, they just had the act a little and make it seem as if they were going to head out the next evening, when really they were headed out the next morning. Nice and early.

They didn't have long before they

sentries noticed what was going on, so they had to move faster with this pack. They got time to rest before, but they would get nothing else until they all got safly to her pack grounds.

They started out faster than with the other pack, but since this trail was more traveled and they had less time, they started in a run.

The howls came sooner, but they were still making good time. Ada could feel her body aching for a longer rest, but at the moment they had something far more important than that. She had to lead them all to safty.

The first attack came from the front this time, with five wolves. The next attack came from the left and the last from the back. They'd been all but flanked. Instead of turning toward the right, which appeared to be where they wanted them to go, the cart leader charged forward. This was partmof the plan.

Ada and the wolves with her disengaged and leapt out of the way at the cart driver flew past them. The rogues through this was a perfect opportunity to get the lead cart, but Ada was there to meet them and turn them away.

Rhe rogues had to leap aside to avoid getting run over and Ada and her wolves dove on them to take them down a peg or two. Their plans were not going to work here.

The attacks continued the entire way. They could not coordinate these attacks and all of the groups were just attacking randomly. This would never work.

The attacks stopped when they got to her pack grounds. Many of them were injured, one was dead and they had captured seven wolves. Everyone was safe, yet Ada could help but feel as though something were still very wrong.

She knew it was because war was still coming, but she had accomplished her first goal. All three packs were together in one place and the boost in the numbers meant that the three packs stood a better chance of surviving this. The last thing she needed from them was to train the warriors in the other two packs. It would take them all months to learn all that she needed to teach them. She was going to teach them as much as she could in what little time they had.

The twelve best trained and Ada were exhausted. All of them had wounds of some kind and had to be treated and allowed to rest. Ada couldn't. Not that the Alpha and most of the rest of the other wolves didn't encourage it. She had to train the warriors. First blood had been drawn, which meant the leaders were going to push for a sooner attack.

Support was not something she was used to getting. Though Vincent, Zack, and Kessie did suggest she get more rest to heal and recover the energy she had spent, they didn't stop her when she declined and went out to the training grounds.

Instead they went with her and as they approached, Ada was shocked. She had never seen this many people gather at the training grounds before. Warriors from all three packs, ages ranging from time of shift to much older. Even the leaders of the packs were there. All of them. Except the Beta from her own pack. Good. She didn't like him anyway. Something about him just set off alarm bells in her head.

If the training could have been different, if they could have taken their time, Ada would have. The truth was they had no idea when the rogues would attack. Even with boosted numbers the rogues felt they could win against the pack wolves. The training they went through was different and Ada was sure this was to be a kill order. A lot of wolves were going to die.

She hated the idea. So much death for nothing. There was no ideal to follow as a rogue, nothing that they were fighting for other than to kill and take. The pack qolves had one another. They had their families and their way of life. There was no doubt in Ada's mind that the pack wolves would win against the rogues. She just worried what the cost was going to be.

Even a single death meant the cost was too high. They could not back down though. There was no surrendering. The rogues would still kill the pack wolves just because they could. She knew the tortures they would go through before death and knew of the potential future of the pack children if they lost.

None of the rogues could ever be allowed to leave. Either imprisoned or death is all they could get. Ada understood that it sounded heartless, but knowing what the rogues would do, knowing the horrors that were in store if they lost, she could not let them live. None of them.