Chapter Four (Edited)

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By the time Blake was released from the ward, the door to the examination room had been firmly closed behind him

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By the time Blake was released from the ward, the door to the examination room had been firmly closed behind him. He knew he should walk away. His time would most definitely be put to better use elsewhere. But his instincts wouldn't let him leave.

As Alpha he had a duty to protect his pack at all costs and the rogue attack this morning, especially so deep within the territory, was a danger he couldn't afford to overlook. The arrival of this girl that triggered so many mixed emotions, was no less dangerous. He just hadn't figured out how yet. She was just one piece an increasingly large puzzle.

Are you sure the rogues and the girl are even the same puzzle? his wolf asked in a tired voice.

He didn't know. But, either way, he still couldn't leave her.

Scowling at the closed door, he turned and went in search of his lieutenants, hoping they weren't too far away. He had no intention of leaving a stranger unguarded inside his pack house, he reasoned with himself.

He found them both in the comfortable waiting room at the front of the hospital.

Marcus was hunched over one of the coffee tables, a hand-drawn map of the territory spread out in front of him. It was already covered in arrows, crosses and shorthand notes and he was glaring at it in frustration. His brows furrowed and his shoulders knotted in tension as he swore under his breath and scrubbed out one arrow, only to redraw it elsewhere on the map.

Alex, in stark contrast, was splayed out across one of the sofas, completely relaxed, eyes closed. Looking for all the world like he had settled down for the afternoon in his own home, he hummed in pleasure. A bottle of beer even sat on the coffee table within reach.

"Comfortable?" Blake asked as he walked in, scratching the bandage on his shoulder.

Alex opened one eye and grinned up at him. "Exceptionally - I must ask Doc where he got his furniture from."

Marcus looked up and shot Alex a look of irritation, then spotted the bandage sticking out from under the neck of Blake's shirt. "What happened? Why isn't that healed yet?"

Blake perched himself on the arm of the sofa and pulled down his neckline to show them. "It's fine. It would appear some of the rogues have started using poison on their weapons. The nurse took a swab but it's probably wolfs-bane or belladonna. Maybe a mix."

He scratched at it again. The wound was healing slowly, and itching a lot.

"They've never done that before," Alex mused, sitting up. "They're taking a huge risk using something that's deadly to them as well as us. Especially with all the backstabbing that goes on in rogue circles... literally, in many cases."

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