Sebastian was completely and utterly bored. The rogue in front of him was huffing and swaying, trying to keep on his feet as blood dripped from his fresh wounds. The rogue was no challenge whatsoever, one of the children in his pack could put up a better fight than the disgrace in front of him he thought. No longer prolonging the inevitable, he lunged at the dirty wolf and clamped his jaws around its neck until a loud *crack* was heard and the wolf stopped struggling. He let the limp body fall to the ground with a thud.

Sebastian looked around to see that the fighting has come to an end, with hardly a scratch on any of his pack members. He shifted and gave them a nod of approval. "Throw the bodies out of the border, let their own deal with them." He heard both vocal and mind linked "Yes, Alpha" as they started to do as instructed. While walking toward his Beta someone handed him a pair of shorts and he thanked them.

He was about to open his mouth to speak again when his sensitive hearing picked up the sound of a gun being drawn from its holster. He didn't have any time to react when a second later a loud *Bang* rang through the air.

Caleb, a pack warrior, fell to his knees while clutching his chest. Sebastian quickly shifted and jumped into the bushes where the cowardly rogue was hiding. He pinned her down and growled in her face.

The woman struggled. She tried to reach for the gun that was knocked out of her hand when she was tackled, but it was just out of reach. Her red eyes glared daggers at the very large black wolf that was holding her down and spat in his face. She had gotten the revenge she desired for her deceased mate and now there was nothing left for her.

He recognized the look in her eyes immediately. He shifted back and she let out an audible gasp. "So you know wh I am I take it?" Of course, she knew who he was, everyone in the werewolf and supernatural community knew who he was. He was Sebastian King, the Alpha of Shadow Pack.

His name was feared by those all around as he was the star of the most horrific stories. The only person who had a worse reputation was of his father, the late King. The one he killed.

She nodded numbly, not being able to speak. She cursed herself on the inside. Before she had been blinded by rage and grief, revenge consumed her entirely that she hadn't sensed and/or smelled the powerful werewolf on top of her. And now she was paying for her careless mistake.

He got down low and whispered, his voice deep with malice and a promise he intended to keep, "You just made the biggest mistake of your life. I'm going to make sure you suffer. You think you know pain? Soon you will be begging me to have mercy and end your worthless life, but I won't. I will enjoy watching the life fade from your eyes fade as you become nothing but a shell of the person you once were."

Her eyes widened in fear and silent tears fell from her eyes. "What they say is true, you are a monster," she said barely audible, but he heard her. He didn't care what she thought of him, it was quite possible that she was right. He knew the stories that clung to his name, but he never disputed them. They could think what they want. "Take the rogue to the cells!" "Yes, Alpha!" He got off of her and two warriors were instantly at her sides and dragged her away while she kicked and screamed.

He walked towards his men huddled around Caleb. He kneeled down next to his friend and checked over the wound. The bullet was silver, and his friend was bleeding ou too fast, he wasn't going to make it. "I'm going to lift you up ok? We have to get you back." He was sliding his hand underneath his legs but Caleb grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "It's ok Alpha, you and I both know we won't make it in time." he choked out.

"Don't be stupid Caleb, we have to at least try to get you help!" Sebastian was getting angry, they shouldn't even be arguing about this. He lifted him up effortlessly and started running back to the packhouse, trying with all his might to be gentle. "Keep pressure on the wound Caleb, and for goddess sakes, don't close your eyes."

"Alpha, If I may," Sebastian gave him a slight nod for him to continue. "Please make sure my little Charlie is taken care of, I'm all he has left and I don't want him to be alone. Please tell him I'm sorry I had to go and that I love him so much." his voice wavered as he spoke.

"Caleb, stop. You'll be able to tell him all this yourself! We're almost there!" He picked up his pace, but they still had a ways to go. "Just please, promise me."

Sebastian was hesitant but he nodded his head, "I promise."

Caleb sighed in relief, a rough cough rose to his throat and began coughing and choking on his own blood. Sebastian let out a long howl and called out to the pack doctor in the mind link to meet him outside, but it was too late. Caleb went limp as he let out his final breath.

Sebastian stopped running and began to do compressions on Caleb's chest, trying to continue his heart. The doctor came running by his side and took over but after a few minutes of CPR, she stopped and hung her head, "I'm sorry Alpha."

Sebastian scooped up Caleb's body in his arms once again and called for his Beta James through the link, "Prepare the passing ceremony for tonight."

"Of course Alpha," James replied solemnly back. He wasn't that much farther behind them but he had hoped that they would have made it in time.

The rest of the walk was a silent one. Sebastian set Caleb's body down to be prepared, then went to look for Caleb's son Charlie.

---

"No! No no no no! He wouldn't leave me! He can't leave me! Please, Alpha bring him back! He promised he wouldn't leave me! He promised!" The boy tried to run passed the Alpha but Sebastian caught him before he could run out the door, "Let me go! I need to go find him! He wouldn't leave me! Let me go!" he yelled as he tried with all his strength to break out of the Alphas hold.

"I'm sorry Caleb." He tried his hardest to try to explain to him that his dad wasn't coming back.

Little fists rained down on Sebastian's chest as Charlie continued to scream, begging to be released. Eventually, the screams turned into heart-wrenching sobs. Charlie held tightly onto Sebastian and dug his face into his shirt. He cried and cried until his throat hurt, and he had no more tears to shed.

"Please daddy, come back. I promise I'll be good, just come back. You said you would never leave me. Please...

I don't want to be without you."

Too tired to keep his eyes open, he fell asleep on Sebastian. Mia, an Omega who usually took care of the children, came in a few moments later and took Charlie out of the Alpha's lap to go lay him down.

When Sebastian got to his office he stood in front of his desk. He could still hear the little boy's cries and please for his father, one that he would never see again. He growled and pushed everything off of his desk. His anger was getting the better of him as he had the urge to destroy the whole room and go spill the blood of the pathetic rogue that was sitting in the dungeons.

"It's not your fault."

James watched as his best friend was taking deep breaths, clenching and unclenching his fists, and glaring daggers into his desk as if it was the root of all his problems. He repeated himself even louder this time, "It's not your fault Sebastian. What happened today was unfortunate bu-"

"Unfortunate?!" Sebastian growled, "It shouldn't have even happened!" He slammed his fists into the desk and swiftly turned towards his Beta. His eyes were pitch black, "I should have made sure that there were no more of those fucking rogues before letting my guard down, I should have reacted faster when I heard the gun being drawn, I should have sensed the rogue was fucking there, I should have ripped it to shreds and pissed on its grave before it had time to even think about pulling out a gun! Now there's a young boy out there who will have to grow up without his dad by his side! So don't tell me it isn't my fault because it is!"

Sebastian glared down at his friend, challenging him to dispute him. He wasn't angry at his friend, he was angry at himself. It was his fault. He was the Alpha and it's his job to look out for all his people, but he had failed, and now someone else was paying for his mistakes.

James shook his head, "Then I guess I should be blamed for Caleb's death as well." Sebastian raised his brow in confusion. "I was closest to him. I should have pushed him out of the way or jumped in front of him, do you hold me responsible for his death?"

"No, of course not."

"Then why should you blame yourself? None of us had any time to react, we were all powerless in that situation." James placed a comforting hand on Sebastian's shoulders "I have to go get things ready for the passing ceremony, but I just wanted to come and let you know that no one faults you for this and you shouldn't either."

Sebastian gave him a firm nod but he still had immense guilt built up inside of him. Once James closed the office door behind himself Sebastian could not stop but dwell on the pain of losing a pack member on his watch. After all, he was the Alpha, sworn to protect and lead his pack, his family, the best of his abilities, and with his life.

Sebastian tried to reel in his guilt and anger but his wolf was still very much on the surface, demanding blood for blood, specifically, the blood of the rouge who sat in the dungeons. with determined steps, he made his way to the cells. Everyone made sure to keep their heads down and keep out of his way when they sensed his mood.

Just seeing the rogue made his blood boil. He wanted to kill her, but another part of him wanted, no needed her to suffer. She needed to feel as much pain as she inflicted on the innocent child who had cried himself to sleep in his arms.

---

The passing ceremony was beautiful and brought tears to the eyes of those who watched. Saying goodbye was always a hard thing to do. It still weighed heavily in the Alpha's heart, but he had to stay strong in front of his pack members. They watched Caleb's body disappear into the red flames of the bond fire, as the pack witch said a prayer to the moon goddess.

When the prayer was over and the flamed died down, the pack went on a run in the woods that surrounded their home, per tradition as the last run for their fallen pack member.

Sebastian led his pack members on the run while a little boy clung onto his back. Charlie silently cried as he dug his fingers into the wolf's fur. When the pain became too much for the young boy, he let out a long sorrowful howl. The wolves behind him answered his heartbreaking howl with their own, crying out into the night.