In a Heartbeat (MxM)

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Vince's POV

I didn't recognize either of the wolves, and neither had tracker collars, indicating that they had not sought help from the RCPP. They didn't move from their spot, aside from their ears that moved forward in alert.

To no surprise, Xavier stepped forward first, cautiously and slowly as to not spook them off. He crouched down lower, almost crawling toward them in an attempt to seem less threatening. The two didn't move, and shockingly the older wolf had straightened its back to appear bigger.

We waited with bated breath as Xavier got within their personal bubble. The older one let out a small growl, which fizzled out once I sent a glare back.

As much as I wanted to attack and sink my fangs into the rogues neck, it was merely a search party we were having, not a hunt. It was best to ask questions, or we weren't going to find Sally at all.

My hatred for rogues went way beyond just Simon, as much as I didn't want to think about it. The whole reason why I had become an alpha sooner, was because of a rogue that attacked my father a decade ago. It's what made my mother basically a vegetable since his death. She could talk and carry on a conversation, but her memory and physical capabilities had been completely wrecked. She was wheelchair bound, and her Alzheimer's was getting worse. Granted, she could remember me and Xavier, but she had a hard time remembering our past.

Rogues were the bane of this packs existence and it would be foolish to keep the RCPP the way it was, as my father didn't realize how dangerous it was. His will he left told us that getting rid of it completely was not desirable but he didn't say anything about changing the policies or rules he imposed.

Helping rogues never turned out well. It had always left us vulnerable and it offered us with nothing in return.

Looking at these two rogues only made my blood boil. They weren't necessarily close to our borders, but the confident and almost defiant look in the older wolf's eyes was like a taunt, wishing to challenge us.

Xavier had waited until the wolves reached out first, sniffing first as we waited, ready to pounce if they dare lashed out. The young pup seemed restless but the older one nudged him behind him.

Next to me, Sarah didn't move a muscle except for her nose, which was sniffing frantically at the air. I hadn't smelled anything off, but she seemed confused before she stopped sniffing and settled on staring at the older wolf.

"They mean no harm," Xavier announced, taking a few steps away from them.

"Yeah, right," I scoffed. The older wolf locked eyes with mine before staring at Sarah. He kept staring even after I growled at him, before looking at me and then the ground in front of him.

"They're passing through, looking for someone before the storm blows in," Xavier explained.

"They haven't spotted Sally"

"Just our luck," I humored. I watched as the little pup seemed to squirm behind the older wolf, occasionally nipping at the older one in boredom. "What are your names?"

The older one hesitated before replying, "Aspen, this is Cedar"

"Like the trees," I scoffed, looking up at the willow tree we were under. "How creative, is the one you're looking for named Willow?"
The older one, Aspen, growled lowly when the young pup interrupted.

"His name's S-"

Aspen nipped Cedar's ear harshly enough for the young pup to let out a sharp yelp. He gave him a glare before looking at the rest of us.

"It doesn't matter, we'll be out of your pack's way.  If you'll excuse us, the storm will roll in soon, so it's best if we both continue searching for our missing party," Aspen stated. I couldn't help but notice that instead of looking at me or Xavier, he was staring at Sarah, almost as if in a trance. I made a note to ask Sarah what that was about, and continued to stare at the older wolf.

As much as I wanted to keep interrogating them, Xavier made a gesture indicating they could leave. They seemed to hesitate, giving us one last look before Aspen nudged the younger one to walk away. I watched as they would turn back every so often as if afraid we'd retaliate them, which I didn't blame them. If it had been up to me, I would've gladly gone after them, but Xavier and Sarah had been pretty adamant about not attacking rogues unless they were on our territory.

We continued on our trek to look for Sally, noting that the weather wasn't looking too promising. The snow was getting heavier, and although it was only a few inches of it, the visibility was getting poorer. We carried on though, scoping out small burrows, under large fallen logs, anywhere that Sally could've taken shelter. Any scent tracks we could pick up we're getting fainter and the fresh snow was hiding any foot trails that we could find. At one point Dwaine has caught a whiff of what seemed to be her, but it led nowhere.

We circled back to where he had found the scent and began searching around again, hoping to catch even the slightest scent of Sally anywhere. Dwaine has suggested heading East towards the mountain, given the amount of tree coverage and caves there were, when suddenly every fiber in my body froze. I felt extremely cold, and every muscle refused to move. I hadn't experienced quite anything like it. It was worse than the times I got stuck trying to shift for a few seconds. It was too cold, like I had taken a dip in attic waters with hurricane force wind blowing from every angle.

"Vince?" Sarah nudged me, her nose feeling like a hot iron prod on my skin, even through the dense fur.  "You alright?"

Trying to speak was even more difficult, it felt like my entire jaw had been drilled shut. I didn't want to concern the rest of the group, especially given my status, it would be a sign of weakness if I couldn't even move a muscle or talk.

"Alpha?" Dwayne approached me, and despite feeling his body heat nearby, the icy feeling just continued to spread, as if it all my veins were freezing over.

And like a switch, insurmountable pain spread like wildfire, my muscles unlocking and suddenly convulsing the same way it did when I couldn't shift. My legs gave out, my body spasming as the others hovered over me with worried looks. I could feel my fur and nails trying to retract and then extending out again, the pain of the bones shifting back and forth shooting up and down my spine. I probably had been howling in pain, but I was too much in shock to. Even process everything around me besides the pain.

That icy feeling had subsided a little, or had simply been overshadowed by the pain, and I shortly blacked out, with my brother, mate, and beta staring down at me.