Broken Blades

TEN

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Ares

"Come on, slow poke. You are too strong to be taken down by a few miles." I smirk, staring down at my beta Roan who is definitely out of breath as he heaves, his breath growing short. He looks completely done and ready to give up on life after the few miles we have run. Or a few hundred, I lost count.

He scoffs, " A few? I've always known you wanted to kill me." He rolls on the grassy field, his chest rising and falling at an alarmingly first rate.

"You are a werewolf. One of the strongest and here you are whining like a child." I stare at him, amused by the expression on his face.

"Not all of us have your stamina, alpha." He mocks, shooting me a glare.

His eyes widen briefly and he groans.

"Definitely not what I meant."

"Sure." I grin, "You've been in love with me for a while. This just proves that."

Horror takes hold of his face and my face splits into a grin before laughter escapes my mouth.

"Man, you are so easy to rile up." I reply.

Roan gets up, his breath having evened out. Too quickly if you ask me. He must have been faking it. It's not the first time too.

Roan walks and stands next to me as we both stare at my gigantic land where most of it is occupied by thick trees that hide the beasts that lurk underneath it. The beasts that belongs to my pack. One of the largest ones that exists. Right now, early morning, I can see clearly the bright orange rays from the sun that reflects through the thick trees. Standing at an elevated point, I am able to see the pack in quite a long distance, the diversity in the colors that surround it warming my chest. I can see a few lights are still on while a few houses are bustling with activities, a few are empty. My heart warms. It had taken a few years to build this pack from what it had been before when my father was in rule. He wasn't a bad alpha but he had his weaknesses that  I improved on and completely erased some.

"This place is beautiful." Roan whispers and I hum agreeing. It is indeed.

My territory expands so widely that sometimes it is quite hard to keep track. Experienced and highly skilled warriors guarded the borders of my pack with extra vigilance. With my territory being this huge, some idiot may assume I would have blind spots. I did, but I ensured they were tiny and they wouldn't make it past one mile before they are caught and dealt with. Pack safety was one and the most top priority of my pack. I guarded it like a child.

"Did you find anything about the missing pack members?" I ask.

I had requested Roan to look into my pack wolves who have been missing for a while now. It occured a few months ago when two young wolves completely disappeared. They were young and naive and I thought they wanted to explore the world. I had let that go knowing I couldn't truly cage wolves, they are free creatures. However, when five parents and two mates reported their children and mates missing respectively, I knew then something was off. I wasn't going to sit still while my pack begins to deteriorate. I had put too much effort into this pack to just watch it go down the drain.

"No but I called a few of our neighboring packs and you wouldn't believe it. Over the past few years, almost a decade, wolves have just gone missing. Disappearing without a trace. Our pack is the most current one with missing members." Roan explains and I'm lost. Why weren't this cases ever reported? If they have been happening for a while now, why wasn't anyone doing anything about it.