Chapter 3

Aiden grasped Roxanne’s hand in fear, and he quickly pulled her in the direction of his parents. “Mom, Dad, what is going on?” He frantically asked as his dad was shouting orders to the warriors.

“We are under attack by Rogues Son,” his father answered matter of factly.

Aiden clenched his teeth and turned to face Roxanne, “I need you to stay with Mom, go hide out in Dad’s office if you need to we will take care of this.”

Roxanne nodded in agreement as Mary grabbed her by the hand and began to pull her towards the office. The women walked further away, Aiden grimaced at the look of worry in Roxanne’s eyes. He knew he needed to mark her soon, and regretted not doing so before now. At least if he had done that then he could have been assured that she was alright. Aiden sighed deeply, and turned to his father, “what do we know about the Rogues? Are they after something in particular?”

“I don’t know all I know is that they are being held at the border by the guards and we need to get out there,” he answered solemnly as he shifted into his wolf and ran towards the border.

Aiden remained in human form and began to run behind his father. He ducked limbs and jumped over fallen trees until he finally reached the border where the war was taking place. Once he got to the battle zone, he gasped in shock, hundreds of Rogues were on the battlefield locked in battle with his pack mates. Aiden grabbed a set of knives off of a dead Rogue and ran into the fray so he could help anyone he could. He noticed a female warrior who struggled to protect her throat from one of the Rogue wolves who had tackled her. The girl had a firm grip on the Rogue’s jowls and she pushed him away from her with all her might, however, she was beginning to tire. Aiden knew he had to hurry because this wolf’s teeth continued to get closer to her throat. He sprinted up to the wolf, and quickly stabbed him in the head which caused the wolf to release a loud pained yelp before falling down dead. Aiden kicked the dead wolf off the girl, and quickly pulled her to her feet. He gave her a nod in respect as she turned and reentered the battle.

Aiden turned to face the battlefield again and began to scan the field. Through all of the chaos and fighting, he continued to try to locate his father and David. However, he was focused so much on the scene around him, that he never heard the Rogue sneak up behind him until he was wrapped in a bear hug. Aiden tried to pull free of the Rogues grip, however, he was stuck. He knew he needed to break free somehow and he began to panic when he saw another Rogue coming upon him with a knife. Aiden knew he needed to take care of the Rogue with the knife first. So he braced himself, using the man holding him as a crutch, he picked up both of his feet and threw a kick as hard as he could to the Rogue’s face. The Rogue he kicked screamed and crumpled to the ground as Aiden shifted into his black wolf. The shift broke the grip the Rogue had on him and allowed him to break loose. Once his four paws hit the ground, he quickly bounced towards the Rogue who was holding him. His teeth and claws connected with the Rogue, and Aiden managed to get a deep bite on his throat and killed him instantly.

After he released the corpse he began to work with the other warriors to assist in killing the Rogues. Once the Rogues started to retreat he smiled a wolfish smile and joined the others in their howl of victory. Suddenly, the internal pack link felt the breakage of a specific link and that was the link of the Alpha, Aiden’s father was dead. Aiden quickly shifted to his human form, and Aiden grabbed some shorts, and sprinted around the field looking for his father’s body. Eventually, he found him lying on the ground as a Rogue stood over him. This Rogue had long brown hair which was pulled into a ponytail. His brown eyes were filled with disdain and anger at the dead Alpha, and a smirk of satisfaction was imprinted on his face. A growl of anger permeated the air which caused the Rogue to look up at Aiden; he threw a wink toward Aiden as he left the field. Slowly Aiden walked to his father’s corpse, he had no words. His heart was breaking into pieces and he knew he would have to help his mother get through this.

Aiden bent down next to his father and looked into his lifeless green eyes for the last time. He took his finger and slowly pushed his father’s eyelids closed and followed with a howl of mourning. Numerous howls filled the air as the entire pack mourned the loss of their Alpha. It was then that he realized David was kneeling next to him with his arm around him. Looking at his friend in sympathy, David nodded. “We will get his pyre ready and we can send him off tonight.”

Aiden nodded and began to stand when suddenly another link broke, a link as important as the Alpha. New Dawn members released another mourning howl, a howl for the loss of Luna Mary. Aiden and David looked at each other with panic and ran as fast as they could for the pack house. They needed to get to their Luna’s before someone else died. They continued to sprint as fast as they could, and they didn’t bother to stop and check on anyone. Both David and Aiden knew that the circumstances would be much more dire if Roxanne was killed too.

They ran up the three flights of steps and down the hallway until they stopped at the door to his father’s office. Once the door to his dad’s office opened, they instantly gasped at the sight that awaited them. Luna Mary was lying on the floor with a large stab wound in her heart while Roxanne sat next to her pushing on the knife wound crying hysterically. As she looked up at the men, Roxanne’s eyes grew in a mixture of relief and fear. “I didn’t see the Rogue until it was too late, he jumped out the window.”

Aiden grabbed his crying mate and wrapped her in a hug; he gave her the time she needed to cry out her fears. He spent the time reassuring her that everything would be ok. As the soldiers came in and removed the Luna’s body for her sendoff, Aiden had no words. He took solace in the tingles that the mate bond gave him and the fact that his mate was still alive. Finally, David knocked on the door and informed them both that they were ready to send off those who they lost this evening.

Aiden and Roxanne stepped outside the pack house and walked hand in hand to the side yard where the once happy graduation party turned into a funeral. Aiden wiped his eyes and looked around the crowd; he knew he would have to keep his composure for this part. “Tonight, what was supposed to be one of the best nights of my life turned into one of the darkest nights for the New Dawn Pack. Due to an attack by Rogues, we lost our treasured Alpha, Luna, and Beta, as well as many wonderful members of our pack. I would like to offer a moment of silence for all those who lost their lives protecting our pack house, women, and pups. May they find their way to the Moon Goddesses’ side.”

A few minutes of silence passed, and Aiden nodded his head at David, who lit the pyre for the warriors, followed by the pack Beta, and finally the Alpha and Luna. The silence was deafening as the pack mourned the loss of their family, friends, and leadership. Aiden cleared his throat and looked around again, “please take this evening and hug your family members extra hard. You never know when they may be called to the Moon Goddesses side.” The group dispersed silently and they began to make their way back to their homes. Aiden grabbed Roxanne and carried her into their room lying her down on the bed. He placed a kiss on her forehead, covered her with the blanket, and whispered to her. “Get some sleep; I’ve got pack stuff to handle.”

Aiden quietly left the room and made his way to his father’s office; thankfully, the Omegas managed to remove the bloody rug before he got in there. He took a seat at his father’s desk when a knock was heard on the door. David entered the office followed by Elder Otis both men took a seat and gave Aiden a sad smile.

“Good evening, what can I do for you Elder?”

“Alpha, I know this is horrible timing especially given the circumstances of the evening, but we need to get your Alpha ceremony completed.” Otis, one of the pack Elders, was a family friend for as long as Aiden could remember. Aiden nodded in agreement and turned towards the window. “Plan it for tomorrow night; let’s get this out of the way so we can work on rebuilding.”

“Will the Luna Ceremony be tomorrow as well?” Otis asked curiously.

“It will,” the men looked up in surprise at the woman standing in the doorway. “That is, of course, if you have no objections Aiden,” Roxanne questioned as she looked shyly at her mate.

Aiden smiled proudly at his mate as he looked at her with love and adoration. “You know I wouldn’t have a problem with that Roxanne.”

“Very well, I will make the arrangements for the ceremonies to happen tomorrow then,” Elder Otis acknowledged as Aiden and Roxanne left the room hand in hand.

As David sat in his seat and stared, something important weighed on his mind from the events of the evening. He watched the future Alpha and Luna leave the room and sighed deeply. “It makes you wonder how a man could jump out of the third-story window into two large rosebushes and not be seen or heard by a soul.”

Otis’s eyes grew huge in the realization of David’s statement. He said nothing in response, only stared at the door with a blank expression. He was just as lost with the answer as David was.