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10

10 - Crossing Charred Lines

HADEN

Seated around a table with four Alphas and Betas of neighbouring packs wasn't exactly how I wanted to spend my Saturday morning. Our closest allies were the ones that sat in this room and it benefited them by having the Alpha of the largest pack in their pocket.

"I'm tired of these attacks!" Cannon shouted angrily as his fist slammed on the table, his piercing hazel eyes gleaming with rage. Cannon Berusa was the Alpha of the Silverclaw Pack and, as his name would ironically suggest, he was known to be impulsive and a hothead. Nevertheless, he was still a close ally that we would call upon, especially because we all share the same problem.

The Rogue King.

"We're all tired of these attacks, Cannon," Stephan, the Alpha of the White Storm Pack, calmly said. Unlike the man who sat beside him, Stephan was the thinker among us. His hair, a deep shade of ebony, was pushed back and held up by a hair tie and his eyes were a striking shade of green as he narrowed them at Cannon. Both he and I shared the upper regions where our borders connected and, last winter, I helped him with a murderous wolf within his pack.

I said nothing as they quarrelled between themselves, giving James a look as he chuckled from beside me.

'What? Seeing two Alphas bicker like children is the highlight of my day,' James mind-linked me. Despite my agreement, I kept my mouth shut and folded my hands on the table as I looked at the Alphas blankly.

"That's not even the case! It's the fact that thing madman has been running through packs like wildfire, leaving nothing in his wake but destruction. I'm sick and tired of it. He wouldn't dare come to my pack; I would end him personally," Cannon growled loudly.

"Oh yeah, and looked how that turned out for Trent? Or Danton?" Bryon said from my left. With the second largest pack in America, Bryon Chambers was a close personal friend of mine, one of the best I had, and I knew I could depend on him for anything. He led the Redwood Hills Pack with determination, strength, and excellent leadership, traits I knew he got from his father. My father and and his were best friends growing up so we were around for each other growing up.

"They were never true Alphas to begin with," Cannon sneered.

"Okay, this is going nowhere," I finally said, glaring at Cannon for that low-blow remark. He only rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath and stood to look out the window.

"We need to formulate a plan in the event that things get worse than it is," I started, "we know that the Rogue King is closing in. The last pack he took out was the Anemty Pack bordering on the east coast. He's taking his time and we don't know what he's after."

"Word is that he's looking for someone," Bryon offered.

I shrugged.

"I haven't heard anything of late but I'll keep my ears to the ground. The one thing we do have, however, is a bracelet. James," I nudged my head.

"There was a raid a couple days ago. Rogues attacked one of the communities in our territory and after the fight, we found this," James stuffed out the bracelet from his pocket to pass around the table. The Alphas and Betas inspected it closely as it went around, no one saying a word while James continued.

"One of our lead researchers, and mate to the Gamma of the pack, found out that it's connected to the Rogue King. You'll notice that the symbol has the word HELIOS engraved in the back, which she connected to the Sun God, an ancient being - just like our Moon Goddess."