Aiden POV

As soon as Cecily was out if sight, I turned toward the man, or more accurately, werewolf, and growled in warning.

"Stay close," I instructed Leon, making sure I was shielding him with my body.

The man looked at me with a mixture of distrust and hatred. "Let's go find somewhere more private to talk," he said, voice low. "We wouldn't want to stay here and involve any innocent young ladies, now would we?"

My growl only escalated at the veiled threat. After all that Cecily had done for us, I wouldn't let him harm a hair on her head.

Leon picked up on the threat as well, his body tensing.

"It's okay, Leon. She'll be okay. We'll be okay."

Staying here wasn't an option. I knew he couldn't harm us in public, but I couldn't risk Cecily coming back and getting tangled up in this.

"Whatever happens, you must do whatever I say," I commanded Leon. "Promise me."

Leon let out a low whimper. "I-I promise. But you have to promise you'll be okay too."

I gave him a subtle nod in reply.

As we followed the man, I noticed the area becoming less and less crowded until there were only a few humans passing by. He suddenly turned into an alley where three other men were waiting for us, none of them moving as they stared us down.

"Shift," the man standing in the middle of the trio commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument.

I complied, finding no reason to argue. I needed to be able communicate with whoever these men were. Best case scenario-- they were part of the local pack and would hear us out, worst case scenario—they were from the Dark Moon pack, meaning we had already been found.

Leon and I shifted, my body still blocking him mostly from view from the men in front of us.

"Now... what are filthy rogues doing in our territory? Do you have a death wish, or are you just stupid?" the man asked, his calm voice etched with disgust.

"We're not rogues," I replied as I simultaneously took off the collar still wrapped around my neck and signaled for Leon to do the same. "Our pack was brutally attacked, and we came here for our safety."

The men looked at each other for a moment before turning their attention back on me. "That's a story we've heard before," the man replied sarcastically. "I don't know why I bother asking, all you rogues do is lie through your teeth."

I clenched my fist, trying to remain calm. "It's true. Your pack will probably hear about it soon from those traitors. I've actually been meaning to talk to your Alpha regarding an alliance."

One of the men snickered. "You're stupider than we originally thought if you think we'll take your filthy ass to our Alpha," he snidely remarked.

"Though, you have a point, we do need to take you to the Alpha to be tried. We just don't promise you'll arrive in one piece," another man added.

"We're not lying!" Leon said from behind me, stepping out from the cover of my back.

I immediately stepped to the side to cover him again, my body tensing as the men stared at where Leon had been visible moments ago. The man in the center smirked. "A rogue child is still a rogue. We won't make any exceptions, even for you."

I reluctantly concluded that this was futile. These men obviously had already made their mind up about us and didn't have any plans to listen to what I had to say. I wouldn't let them hurt us, so I'd have to find another way to get in contact with the local pack's Alpha.

One of the men took a threatening step forward and I immediately braced myself for a fight.

"Shift and then run as quickly as you can as soon as I give the signal," I whispered to Leon.

A moment later, one of the men launched across the narrow space, shifting mid-air. I met the attack head on, not able to dodge while Leon was still behind me.

"NOW!" I yelled to Leon as I struck out with my fist, managing to connect with the side of the wolf's head. One of his claws raked across my arm but I hardly felt the pain as adrenaline coursed through me.

I glanced behind me to confirm that Leon had escaped before turning back to the men who had all shifted. Knowing my best chance was in wolf form, I shifted as well.

The time for talking was over.

Two of the wolves charged at me and I struck out at one, catching it in the chest with my claws while evading its jaw. The man went down with a howl. The second wolf managed to latch onto my back with its teeth.

I felt a piercing pain as blood seeped from where the wolf held on, but I pushed through it, knowing it wouldn't be long before the other two joined the fight. Pushing back with all my strength, I rammed the wolf against the wall.

The wolf let go of me from the shock of the impact. I quickly turned as the third wolf joined the fight.

The wolf I had rammed against the wall shook himself off, but I took the second of distraction to grab him by his shoulder, swinging my head to throw him against the wolf who was almost on top of us. Both wolves landed in a heap a few feet away.

The last wolf, the one who had been in the center of the group when I had entered the alley, approached slowly. Knowing I was bleeding out and that my energy was quickly fading, I closed the gap between us, launching myself off the two wolves still on the ground.

The wolf met me in a snarl of teeth and claws. Almost instantly, I could tell this wolf was stronger than the others.

I managed to catch the wolf across its back but he swiped, slicing me across the cheek. Warm liquid seeped into my mouth from the wound as I took a step back. I could hear the two wolves I had knocked down shaking themselves off and I knew that my only hope now was to escape.

I made a split decision.

I rushed the wolf before changing course at the last second, turning around and slamming against the two wolves who had gotten back up on my way out of the alley.

As soon as I was back out on the street, I ran the way we had come, assuming Leon had followed our previous path. I ran at full speed, not risking slowing down just in case the men decided to pursue.

My body screamed for rest so that I could begin to heal but that would have to wait. I had to find Leon!