"This emergency conference looks to address the alarming rates of rogue activity," my dad announced to the crowded room.

The Alpha, Nic, and I all sat at the table, surrounded by other Alphas, Betas, and officials from other packs. Even though this meeting was super important for my pack's safety, I was struggling to pay attention. My eyelids kept threatening to close, no matter how much I tried to keep them open. I missed the first hour of the conference, dozing in and out of my mind.

"Have there been any casualties?"

"Surprisingly, only a few, and most of them were accidental. Most of the damage was done to the properties, and there are some injured, as well."

"Why are they doing this?" Nic asked.

"We don't know," General Sawyer of one of the Sherbrooke packs stated. "Their intentions have not been completely identified yet, but it appears as though this is territory-based. These rogues are targeting packs located on optimal pieces of land. Smaller packs have been spared, although some have reportedly been pillaged."

My family members exchanged a glance. Our pack, without a doubt, would be among the targets. We were much too powerful and influential to be ignored, which meant that we had to be prepared.

"Could these rogue attacks possibly be a result of the border changes that occurred a few weeks ago?" my father questioned.

"Possibly, but again, there is not enough evidence to support that theory," Sawyer continued. "Only some of the affected packs have been attached. Others have not been touched at all."

"Yet," Nic intervened.

"Speaking of border changes, the Council has elected the possibility of changing the borders of your pack, Alpha William," Alpha Juliette from the Gatineau pack spoke up.

"Border changes to our pack," my father mused thoughtfully.

"Indeed," she nodded. "With all due respect, Alpha, your numbers are growing quite quickly, perhaps even too quickly for one pack leader to sustain."

"It is definitely an intriguing phenomenon, but that is a matter we can discuss later," my dad shook his head. "Right now, we have more pressing concerns. We have speculations that these attacks are only just the beginning, and that their technology will be improving tenfold. Mademoiselle Rosalie Dupont, could you inform everyone of your latest discoveries?"

"Of course, Alpha," the young woman stood up. The Duponts, from the Soleil du Nuit pack of the Ottawa/Gatineau region, were the leading engineers in werewolf technology. If anyone could develop a weapon to take out the rogues, it would be them.

Clearing her throat, Rosalie began to speak. "We've been carefully analyzing each rogue weapon that's fallen into our hands. Typically, rogues will use leftover weapons or human ones."

"But these ones we've been collecting so far are something else, beyond what we've ever seen. We're talking high-technology weapons that couldn't possibly have been lying around, since they've never been seen before. Hand grenades the size of grapes that can wipe out acres of land. Bullets infused with psionic magic of some sort that have rendered their subjects involuntary slaves. Advanced hacking technology that even breached The Lunar Bank, one of the most heavily guarded organizations in the werewolf world. And much, much more."

"Where are they getting these weapons from?" Nic demanded.

"Unknown," Rosalie sighed. "But they've definitely got their connections, and we've been trying to track their suppliers ever since. It's likely that they're trafficking these weapons from illegal stores. Unfortunately, we've got no leads yet."

"Our pack members are also investigating this weapon trafficking," General Sawyer announced. "We suspect that these weapons may even be coming from out of the country, since none of these weapons are registered federally."

"It's not even just a federal issue," another old werewolf piped up. "These weapons aren't even registered by the International Werewolf Committee."

Everyone at the table began speaking in hushed whispers. This was most definitely not a good sign. If the rogues were aligning with international forces, this meant that our battle could be much, much bigger than we originally thought.

-

Once the conference was over, I bolted out of the room to check up on my mate. I walked into the pack house to see Mark and Frankie completely engrossed in a card game, with a couple of soldiers standing around them for protection.

As much as I wanted to keep Frankie by my side at all times, I knew he tended to get anxious whenever the topic of rogues came up. So for his mental well-being, I let him sit out of my pack meetings, although not without supervision.

I observed how the two were interacting with each other. Frankie definitely seemed to have opened up to the younger wolf, and they were even having full conversations with each other.

"...because I pulled the crescent card again, I get another turn. Okay, see what I did there? I swapped out these two cards, doubling my points, because that's what the instruction card can do. Now, it's your turn! Put down one of your playable cards."

"So...I'm supposed to put down this card?" my mate asked, looking as confused as ever.

"No, no, you can't put down a moonstone card in this round," Mark tried to explain. "It's not playable because we're in the phase round now."

"This game is truly perplexing," Frankie remarked.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Mark beamed. "Can I see your cards? I can see which move would be the best one for you to take. Oh moons, Frankie, you've got the super rare Lunar card and the super rare Solar card in your hand! You know how rare that is? That's so cool!"

In his excitement, Mark transformed into his wolf, knocking into the table and spilling some of their cards onto the ground.

"Hey, guys," I called out to them. "What are you up to?"

"Bennett," Frankie greeted me. "Mark was showing me how to play this card game called Celestial. He says your pack invented it."

"Ah, the iconic card game," I nodded. "Yes, my grandmother was the one who created this game, during the Second World War. She released a few copies of this game to the neighbouring packs. Today, the game is an international best-seller."

"Wow. That's really cool."

"Yeah, my grandma was a great wolf," I smiled. "You know, I think she would've loved you. You two are very similar."

"Would've?" Frankie's eyes turned sad. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Is she...?"

"She passed away a few years ago. But it's alright, she went out peacefully, surrounded by her family. She lived a good life."

"Yeah," he murmured quietly. "I guess that's not a bad way to go."

Our slightly depressing moment was interrupted by a gnawing sound. Looking over, we noticed Mark loudly chewing a suspiciously large bone.

"Uh, Mark?" I questioned. "Where did you get that bone?"

'Oh, this?' he responded nonchalantly. 'I always carry some bones on me.'

"You do?"

'I mean, we always carry around our phones when we're in human form. Why can't we carry around bones for our wolf form?'

"Touché," I nodded before turning to Frankie. "So, are you hungry? We can always go grab something to eat."

"Sure, I guess." Frankie stood up and stumbled. I was immediately behind him to catch him in case he fell, but he shook his head and brushed me away.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm good, just a bit tired," Frankie mumbled.

"We should get you into bed, then. So you can rest. We'll see you later, Mark."

The large wolf padded up to us, and rubbed his fur against our legs as a way of saying goodbye.

Frankie didn't protest when I started to guide him back to the Alpha house, my hand resting on his back. I had to admit, maybe a nap wouldn't be so bad after all.