Chapter 8

Vince's POV

To no surprise, I woke up with a massive headache again. Blame it on this stupid bond thing with the rogue or the alcohol, it was getting on my nerves. The morning light peeking through the semi-closed blinds seemed like the bright headlight setting of a car at night. The unfamiliar bedsheets and smells was a reminder that I had spent the night in some random person's bed.

No surprise there, this wasn't the first time I had decided to carry on with the fun from the bar.

It took some effort, but I eventually made it to the bathroom to wash up, when the sound of kitchen appliances started beeping. I tried to make sense of my disheveled hair and put on the clothes that were thrown haphazardly on the floor the night before, before walking into the kitchen.

I'd be lying if said I had remembered the blonde's name from the bar yesterday.

"Mornin' sunshine," she gleamed, placing two cups of coffee on the counter next to the freshly made toast. She got awfully close, before placing her hand on my forearm. "I'd check your phone."

I hummed, scooping the coffee up and cradling it with both hands before sitting down. I pulled out my phone to see the slew of messages, voicemails, and missed calls, mainly from Sarah and Xavier.

The blonde leaned over my back, reading over my shoulders. "Seems someone's a bit obsessive."

I had noticed from the bar that she was the clingy type, something I'm glad Sarah wasn't. The blonde was starting to get on my nerves. Before she could caress me further, I stood up and dumped the untouched coffee down the sink, before reaching for my shoes.

"That someone's my wife," I huffed, heading toward the door.

She grasped my arm and whined, "oh stay a while, why don't you? It's not like you were thinking about her last night."

"Enough," I shouted, shoving her arm off of me.

"The least you could do is compensate me you jerk!" I heard as I slammed the door.

By the time I got to the pack, it was already a little past noon, and Xavier had been waiting for my car like a hawk. Sarah was standing near him, but it was Xavier who was waiting to chew my ass out about being late to the morning meeting.

"Lucas, of all people, had to inform me of what needed to be done. Where the hell were you?" He was shouting before I had even exited the car. "You know what, nevermind. We decided we needed to do more patrols, and agreed that you should be the one to lead it for today, alongside Sarah. There have been numerous sightings of rogues near the northern border, and I think we should start from there."

"Where are the betas now?"

He gestured toward the northern border. "They're at the RCPP, most of them anyway. We have the regular betas stationed where they need to be. The betas that normally do patrols will act as our backup. It's best we stay near the neutral territory. Can't risk injuries in this weather."

"Alright, I'll meet you there," I said, before reaching for Sarah's hand.

She seemed a bit standoffish, but I grasped her hand tighter. She looked at me through her dirty blonde hair bangs before nudging me.

"I might not get to experience the bond pain like most, but I still know where you were," she lectured before pinching her nose. "The least you could do was spray some cologne."

I kissed her cheek in apology. "At least I brushed my teeth this morning."

"The least you could've done was not have done something as stupid as sleep around when the pack could be facing a rogue attack," she punched my arm. "You still reek of alcohol."

I rubbed her arm and pulled her closer. "I'll make it up to you."

"Sure," she said incredulously.

We walked toward the packhouse, where she started packing the necessities for the patrol, while I helped myself to a sandwich the cook had made for lunch. Unlike smaller packs, we had our own cook for the top betas and me to eat within the packhouse, and the other pack members made most of their own meals. Occasionally Sarah would spruce up a quick bite to eat if we decided to wake up late or miss a meal.

Once we got to the rogue control center, about twenty betas hovered around us, curious as to the plans. I let Xavier take care of explaining, as I looked out into the forest. While some packs took a more direct approach to map out pack grounds, we've kept most of the area unfenced, with posts marking approximate locations of our boundaries. A few fences near the more vulnerable places were made, but for the most part, we kept patrol betas on border watch.

Most rogues obeyed the boundary lines due to the mere sight of our betas, but often some young ones would sneak up close to peer inside. The rogue territory extended where the heavy brush began, and most of the in-between space is often regarded as free/gray area territory. I hadn't gone past into rogue territory in probably a few months, mainly because there was no need to, and because it would pose a risk to the pack if a rogue attack were to occur. Even with guards and hunting parties, it was still considered their territory, and they could get pretty unruly.

The last time I had been on a hunt myself was close to a year ago, and it had been a terrible experience. Luckily the closest betas and I were together, but as much as I hate to admit, the pills had made shifting quite painful. Chase called it a side effect, but I didn't want any more lectures from him. So instead, I made an excuse whenever the betas wanted to hunt.

As Xavier was breaking up people in teams, I pulled Sarah aside to head into the center to shift. She didn't know about the painful shifts, but I needed to shift away from the rest of them. Luckily, Sarah didn't ask and instead looked around.

"I'm going to see Tammy real quick, okay?" She practically skipped her way over the main doctor's office, where Tammy and Chase usually hang out.

I headed to one of the vacant patient rooms where I left the lights off. Stripping down, and getting ready to shift.

Albeit painful the last time, the pain as my bones contracted and shifted into its wolf form was almost unbearable. I wanted to howl in pain but knew that these doors would do nothing to soundproof the sounds of agony. As the bones settled into place, the sharp, excruciating pain almost intensified until slowly reaching a dull pain. I laid on the floor for a good five minutes until I felt like I could finally breathe comfortably and move.

Hesitantly, I slowly moved my paws, then worked my way into a sitting position. Once I felt confident to stand, I slowly stood up, almost like a newborn calf. I was shaky at first until I found my footing and walked towards the door.

Sarah was waiting by the entrance of the center, almost expectantly. She looked amused that I had gone to shift, but she shrugged and said she'd shift as well. It only took her a minute, and I wondered how her shift was surprisingly easy considering she was taking the same pills as I.

As soon as I was about to ask, I could hear Xavier yelling for us.

The patrol party was about to begin, and Xavier decided to partner up with us along with our cousin, Dwaine. He was a silent one, even growing up. We weren't that close, but Xavier and he had been close ever since they were little. Even as a beta, Dwaine didn't exude that authoritative figure like the rest of the betas. Lucas and I had always teased him saying, if it weren't for his bloodline, he'd only be a theta rank, given how passive he was.

Xavier led the way, followed by Sarah, and Dwaine behind us, watching our rear. Since we were approaching rogue territory, there was always a risk that a rogue could attack us.

We were monitoring closer to the pack near the foot of the mountains given our status, while others ventured further out closer to the lake. The forest was fairly dense in this region given the mountain range, but because it was almost winter, much of the forest was lacking its usual lush and green treetops. Still, it proved difficult to traverse with the exposed roots and accumulating snow. Occasionally we would stumble upon some wolf tracks, but for the most part, this part of the forest was dead silent.

We continued trekking, getting closer to the base of the mountain when Xavier stopped in his tracks. The scent then hit us, a fresh one. It was faint, but we could smell it, even in the light snowfall. Eventually, we stumbled upon some paw prints headed West, away from the mountain. We walked slower, tracking down where it was leading.

As the snow got heavier, it was getting harder and harder for us to keep up with the tracks, when a distant, yet short bark rang out in the distance. Immediately we froze, before continuing on it what appeared to be the direction. In the distance, an old massive willow tree with it's dropping branches stood out amongst the tall skinny trees. And underneath, two rogues, one much younger than the other, sat underneath the slumped branches, almost shocked to see us approaching.