Claws (Rewritten)

Nine

Markus

The rogue sighting had both me and my wolf on edge, and Kaden could sense it. The entire pack could sense it.

I was one minor inconvenience away from a breakdown.

I stormed into the house, the others close behind me. My mother was in the hallway, arms wrapped around herself. She guided us into the living room, her face full of guilt. Guilt. "You knew," I stated numbly. Her silence answered my suspicions.

She knew about the rogue. But why was she keeping it a secret?

Everyone was already sat down - apart from Callum, Rosalee and Tyler. They weren't here. My wolf could sense their absence.

Sierra noticed me looking for them. "They're checking the border...making sure that rogue's definitely gone," She said, sending me an apologetic look.

I turned sharply to face Kaden. "What's with all the secrecy? You've been acting weird for weeks. Have you known that long?" I demanded, my voice shaking slightly. Caleb, Chloe and Lyn were in the doorway, looking increasingly uncomfortable with the tension in the room. Everyone else didn't dare speak. I knew why. I was radiating pure anger and wanted nothing but answers. No one wanted to get in the way.

Kaden held my gaze steadfastly. "We've known for a short while. We didn't think it was anything to be concerned about at first - we've handled rogues before," He began. I hated how he said at first. What had changed?

"Who's we?" I cut in.

"Me, Sierra, Callum, Rosalee, Georgia and Tyler," He told me calmly.

My eyes narrowed, glancing at each of them in turn. That just left me, my brothers, Reece, Ash, Renèe and Mariah in the dark. "So you've all known about this rogue, and you didn't think to tell the rest of us?!" I exclaimed, pure fury lining my voice. "You have no idea how close that wolf was to attacking Adelyn! You should've warned us!" My fists were clenched tightly at my sides, and I could feel my wolf itching to come out. Something was wrong. Kaden was hiding something - I could see a battle raging behind his eyes.

He must've known how close I was to losing it. I could feel the anger rolling off him, I could feel his longing for control of the whole situation. He stepped towards me. "I will only say this once," He began, his eyes burning with a golden flame, the energy pouring off him making everyone else in the room drop their gaze to the floor in submission. I held firm, my own energy almost matching that of my alpha. "Stand down," Kaden commanded.

I held his gaze for a few dangerous seconds, and it was as though all of the air was sucked out of the room and we were all frozen in time. Eventually, I let a low rumble escape my throat - courtesy of my wolf - and lowered my gaze to the floor in submission.

At once, the air returned to the room, and the tense atmosphere dissipated.

"We didn't want to worry you." My mum spoke, this time. Noticeably gentle. "The first time we caught his stench, it was barely there. It was weak, Markus. No cause for concern at all. Telling you all would've only caused panic."

"Well it wasn't weak today--!"

"It was my call to keep it from you," Kaden continued, cutting me off with a sharp look. "We thought it had been dealt with a few weeks back, but then...then the rogue came back."

"If there was something else out there all this time, you should've let us know. We can help." Caleb spoke up, and Kaden glanced at him. He knew what Caleb meant. We all did. If the friendship and alliance between Caleb's family and our pack meant anything, then he had to honour it. "What is it about this rogue that's made you so cautious?"