New Arrivals

After I finished the list, at three in the morning may I add, I lay across the couch in my office after I make sure its locked. I close my eyes, hoping for at least two hours of sleep. Nope. The alarms begin wailing throughout the house, alerting me to trouble at the wall. I check my monitor, bolting to the southern wall. When I get there, my soldiers are trying unsuccessfully to take down a Feral that got too close to our outer perimeter. I grab a knife from the hilt on one's side, throwing it and hitting the Feral square between the eyes. It keeps coming. Damn things are like boars; don't know when the fuck to die. "Two damn hours of sleep, is that too much to ask," I grumble before launching myself at it, Wynter coming forward to help. The damn thing focuses on me. Of course, why wouldn't it? Nothing else is going right why should this? My soldiers try to attack it with their swords, met only with being thrown back like they weighed nothing. To a creature like this they probably don't. I pick up a discarded sword when I feel my foot brush it in the grass. I stand up in time to be knocked on my ass by the Feral. I cringe from the stench of death and decay on its breath, its flaming red eyes boring into me. It bares its jagged and yellowed teeth at me, leaning down. I gag and choke on the warmth of its breath. "Holy shit, I will never get used to death breath," I growl.

When I look up at the eyes though, there's something faintly familiar. But am I going to sit here and think it over? Like hell I will. I drive my sword into its lower abdomen before kicking it off of me. The Feral howls and snarls in rage and pain, clawing at its body around the sword as though digging it out. I twist the sword until the Feral finally stops moving. I heave out a sigh and collapse to my knees, trying to slow my heart rate back to normal. What do you call a werewolf with asthma and depression? Dawn.

Ashton comes out and hands me my inhaler, crouching down beside me to help keep me sitting straight up. I shake the little L-shaped canister, pressing down and breathing in deeply. "You, my dear, have got to learn to be careful," he says. I roll my eyes, taking another huff of my inhaler. I get up when I feel normal-ish again and walk over to the corpse, looking at it carefully. I sigh, recognizing some markings. "Oh Millie, what happened to you," I say softly. "Call the cleaning crew. Make sure she's burned and the ashes spread out in different places." Ashton nods and walks away, pulling out his cell phone but staying near the body. I head back to my office, closing the door once more and resuming my ppace back on the couch. It takes a couple of hours, but eventually Ashton comes in around five in the morning. "Got the list ready," he asks. I nod and point at my desk, not leaving my spot on the couch. I hear him rifling through papers until he finds it. Nosy ass. It was on top and he knows it. I hear him grunt and I open one eye to see him looking at me, arms crossed. "What did I do now?" He waves the sheet at me pointedly. "Why is Vlad's name on here?" I sigh, sitting up. I should've known he'd be a pain about it. "Because like it or not, he's a Rogue in the surrounding area. We said all Rogues. Not all Rogues except the ones we don't like." He grunts but doesn't reply immediately. He knows I'm right. "Go ahead and send your boys out now before everyone else wakes up. I'll call a pack meeting around ten," I say. He nods, loosening his stance. "Dawn, if he becomes a problem for you-"

"You'll be the first to know," I cut him off. He nods, turning on his heel to walk out. I sigh, hanging my head as a headache blossoms in the left side. I lay back on my couch, pulling the blanket off the back of it and curling up, closing my eyes to rest for now.

ASHTON

I know her. Whether she admits it or not, the idea of him being on her territory hurts. She's tolerated him being on the outskirts because he's outside the wall. He can't get to her. But bringing him in means he's closer. I step into the entry hall, all twelve of my top soldiers standing at attention. "Alright boys. Our pack is facing a threat that the alpha would rather keep as quiet as possible." I pull the messenger bags full of notes up for them to see. "These notes are addressed to specific Rogues in our area. Attached to each one is another bundle for them to give to their friends and whoever. We're splitting into six groups of two. Be careful out there. I don't need any of you going Feral on me." They all nod. I hand six of them a messenger bag and assign their pairings before dismissing all of them. I sigh, sitting on a nearby bench and resting my head in my hands. Dawn is many things, but above all she's stubborn. I should've known she would allow him in. Because it's the right thing to do. But is it the right thing for her, a voice whispers in my head. My snake, Rex. I remember when Dawn found me. My entire home had been destroyed. Snakes, unlike wolves, don't live in huge groups, but rather small secluded villages and even then, many times you wont know your own neighbor until it's time for a village meeting. We prefer the comfort of our families. When we find our mates, many times we live with the Male's family until he finishes building a home for him and his mate, at which time they become independent. But that day, we heard the screams. We'd never heard our neighbors before that day. To this day I have no clue what or who did it, but when I went back, everything was broken or burned. Bodies were littered everywhere, some torn apart, but most were just broken. Limp forms that once held life but were only shells now. There were even bodies of snakes who tried to shift and escape the notice of whatever attacked them. But they were not successful.

When Dawn found me, I had been on my own for two years and I was in an alley surrounded by pack wolves that despised a snake being on their territory. She forced all four of them into submission and brought me home. That was after her home had been destroyed as well. We bonded over our losses, both understanding the pain the other endured. Both knowing how horrifying the nightmares could get. And, as does happen when people grow that close, we began an intimate relationship physically. But we both know it can never escalate beyond that. But that doesn't mean I don't love her in my own way. I want her happy with her mate, whichever one that may be.

DAWN

I woke up to my alarm playing the IMP jingle from Helluva Boss. Groaning, I pick up my phone, hitting dismiss before sitting up. I run both hands through the roots of my hair and stand up when I'm satisfied my curls are as cooperative as they'll get. I open the office door just as Ashton is preparing to knock. He grins and holds out a hot Starbucks cup. "Venti chai latté at a drinkable one hundred and thirty degrees Fahrenheit," he says. I take it and smile thankfully, the hot liquid burning my throat as I drink it, but not painfully. "Let's get this over with," I grumble. He laughs and nods, following me outside where the whole pack is gathered, Julianna and Misty standing on the dais. I join them, handing Ashton my drink.

"As all of you are aware, we seem to have developed a Feral problem as of late," I start. Murmurs and whispers ripple through the crowd. I hold up a hand to silence them all. "As such, my Nexus Number and I, as well as General Ashton, have decided to bring any Rogues willing to into the pack. They will be quarantined as normal. But we do not presently have all the housing necessary to fit them all. A problem that we intend to rectify as soon as possible. In the meantime, I would ask that I have volunteers that would be willing to take these Rogues in after they are released from quarantine." Yelling immediately ensues just as we knew it would. I growl loudly, shutting them all up. "I will not force anyone unwilling to take these people in. I said volunteers for a reason," I snap. An older woman with smoky hair and soulful gray eyes steps forward. I recognize her as Mildred, one of the few that survived the attack that killed my family. "I will take in as many as I can, alpha," she says firmly. I smile thankfully at her and nod as another woman, probably close in age, steps forward. "I can host up to five, alpha," she says, raising her chin. I nod at her in thanks as well. Slowly, one by one, the older generation steps forward and offers their homes as temporary lodgings. A few of the younger ones, probably their children, offer their homes as well. None of the members my age do. Regardless, the ones that did should be plenty. Our homes are large enough they can house plenty. I dismiss the meeting and let out a breath of relief. Stepping down off the dais, the first two women to speak up approach me. I straighten, smiling at both of them. "You likely don't remember us, but we were friends with your grandparents before. I'm Mildred and this is Holly," the smoky haired one says. "We want you to know your grandparents would have been so proud of you," Holly says. I smile sadly. "Thank you. That means so much. And thank you for opening your homes," I say sincerely. They both smile and hug me tightly before turning and walking away, heads bent together discussing how best to make their guests feel welcomed. "I have at least six spare bedrooms I can use," I tell Ashton. He hesitates for a minute. "I'd prefer if you didn't keep them. It's a risk," he says eventually. "He's right, D. I have at least four spare rooms in my place," Misty says. Julianna pipes in offering her two spare rooms as well as empty office room. "And I can keep remaining ones in my three spare rooms. Any that don't have a place after that can stay in the barracks for now. It isn't fancy but it's a place," Ashton says finally. I sigh quietly. "How can I ask my pack to do something I'm not willing to do? No, some will stay with me. I'm not saying we won't use your spare rooms as well but I will house some," I say firmly. They all sigh but nod. I dismiss each of them before going back home to straighten up a bit and clean my guest rooms. After the attack, the entire Alpha house was redone, built from the ground up back in its splendor with touches of my own added in to make it more homey. Clearing out the guest rooms, my mind drifts to all the doubts and worst case scenarios and, not for the first time during my reign, I wonder if I'm doing the right thing. I wonder if this will come back to bite me in the ass later. Goddess please let this be successful.