The kids were as hyper as ever as they splashed around in the pool. I couldn't blame them, they were curious little pups with short attention spans and the need to be constantly on the move.

Still, even though I was supposed to be instructing them, I couldn't keep my mind off the mysterious rogue that had showed up.

"Bennett, watch this!" Zoe told me excitedly. "I can do a handstand in the water for like, 5 minutes!"

I watched out of the corner of my eye as the 8 year old dove underwater, kicking her legs up into the air, and resurfacing about 10 seconds later.

"Ta da!" She gave me her jazz hands.

"What? Oh, wow, Zoe, that's great."

Her face fell. "Benny, you weren't even watching!"

"I was, I was," I said, giving her an enthusiastic applause. "You stayed underwater for a really long time. I'm so proud of you!"

She shrugged, content with my answer. "I know you are. Now, do you think I can hold it for 6 minutes?"

"Do it! I believe in you."

I dozed off for the next few moments as she did her underwater tricks.

"I saw that," I lied. "Good job, Zoe."

"Thanks! Oh, by the way, I saw you earlier today with a rogue."

That got my attention. "What?"

"Yeah, I saw you dragging some wolf down the street while my mom was driving me home from school."

"Ooh, Bennett beat up a rogue?" Curtis had butted in from where he overheard our conversation. "Really? That's so cool!"

"Did you karate chop him in the head?" Another student of mine, Tyler, said eagerly.

"Scratch off his fur?" Samantha asked.

"What? No, no. Guys, I did not beat up a rogue. He was found in the park like that, and I took him to the hospital."

"So...who beat him up, then?"

"We don't know. The Alpha's talking to him right now." A thought occurred to me. Were they really just talking? What if my dad decided to kill Frankie while I was gone? What if he really was guilty?

"Is he going to hurt us?"

"N-"

"What if this is like, a rogue attack or something?

"Thi-"

"The rogues are attacking!" Curtis grabbed his throat and mimicked walking around like a zombie. "Help us! They're going to pick out your eyeballs and eat them!"

The rest of the class began giggling at his dramatic demonstration.

"Maybe he's just lonely and wanted to visit," Karina said quietly.

"Nah, I think he's a rogue who died and came back to life as a zombie or something."

"Yeah!" Curtis agreed with Tyler. "Maybe he's trying to eat our organs."

"Alright, class, that's enough," I raised my voice, and they all turned to me. "Listen up. The rogues are not going to hurt us, and there is nothing to worry about at the moment. The Alpha is currently resolving the situation. We are safe here in the pack."

"What if we step outside the pack?" Curtis asked innocently. "Like, if I stepped a centimetre outside of the territory? Would I still be safe?"

I mentally sighed. Kids were adorable to work with, but I had to admit they could be quite the handful at times.

"Okay, break time's over!" I announced loudly. "Time to get back to our laps!"

-

As soon as my shift was over, I bolted out of the recreation centre and went straight to the hospital. Would I find his body lying on the bed? Would his body already have been sent away to be burned? The thoughts of his mutilated, lifeless body pushed me to run even faster.

Within 5 minutes, I had arrived at the hospital and ignored the nurse's disapproving statements as I stormed straight upstairs and into his room.

He's dead. I feel as though he's dead.

Much to my relief, however, Frankie was still very much alive when I arrived at his room. He was sitting up in bed, rubbing his bruised wrists with a blank look on his face.

"Hey," I said breathlessly. "How's everything going?"

"Good," he said quietly.

"Did my dad come and talk to you?" I observed his face, trying to catch a read on his expression, but it was hard to do so. I couldn't tell if Frankie's conversation with my dad went smoothly, or somewhere else.

He nodded in response to my question.

"Well, what did he say?"

"That's none of your business."

I snarled at his disrespect. "It's every bit of my business when you're trespassing on my pack and refusing to answer any questions. Who knows, maybe you're a rogue spy or something?"

"I'm not."

"Then what are you, then? You're terrible at answering questions."

He pressed his lips into a straight line and refused to meet my gaze.

"You know, you shouldn't get this defensive if you don't have anything to hide," I said. I was now starting to wonder if little Curtis had been right about attacking rogues. Then, I remembered how Karina had piped in to defend Frankie. The thoughts of my students were enough to get me to calm down slightly, and I forced myself to stay collected.

"The Alpha didn't...hurt you, or threaten you, did he?" My voice softened a bit, trying to get him to open up a bit more.

"He said what he had to say to me," Frankie said rigidly.

"Well, I hope everything's been settled between you two, then."

I let the air hang heavily in between us for a few moments. I couldn't quite bring myself to leave him in this state, as I did care about his health.

"You didn't tell me you were his son," Frankie's voice came quietly.

"You didn't tell me what pack you came from, so I guess we're both keeping information from each other."

Frankie only remained silent at my remark, and I shook my head, frustrated.

'What did you tell Frankie?' I mindlinked my father.

'I told him he was welcome to stay for the next few days to get back on his feet.'

'What? He's innocent?'

'We don't know for sure, yet. We'll be doing some further investigations. He'll be released from the hospital tomorrow morning.'

'So...where is he staying, then?'

'He'll be at the pack house, in the supervised section.'

'Oh. Okay. Good.'

"How's your leg doing?" I asked Frankie.

"Healing." He had closed his eyes, so I figured he was pretty tired. I decided I would let him get some rest

"That's cool, then. I'll let you go, then. See you tomorrow."

As I exited the room, I heard him say something. It was faint, and I had to strain to hear it, but the words he spoke were clear in my mind.

"Thank you, Bennett."