**Soren’s POV
For days, I had been searching for Rosalie and had still co up empty-handed.
It hadn’t been easy to track her while avoiding all of the other parties running amok in the woods.
All of a sudden, the northern territory was crowded with different forces. Besides the mysterious Winter Forest pack, not only were there guys from my uncle’s kingdom, who would’ve gladly had my head if they were to co across , there were also King Jas’s secret agents as well as all sorts of rogues.
On the way to the frontline, I caught word of the Rogue King. The mont I overheard so villagers talking about the handso, muscular man with the red eyes who was undefeatable in battle, I knew who it had to be.
My half-brother Ethan. The Alpha who had been thrown out of the capital by his very own cousin. Who else could it be?
But I didn’t want to have anything to do with them, Kal, Jas or Ethan. None. I simply wanted to find Rosalie and make sure that she was okay. Jas was after her for her blood. If she wasn’t careful, they would find opportunities to approach her and take her back to Mirage.
However, regardless of trying my best, I was still too late.
By the ti I got to the frontline, unfortunately, I got word that Rosalie was already taken away by the Rogue King. He ca and left like a ghost. No one knew how he did it, but we were not able to locate him after his short appearance.
The Winter Forest pack had been searching for their queen for days. Even if the scout got a glimpse of the Rogue King, by the ti the reinforcents arrived, Ethan and his group would just disappear again.
No one was able to get in touch with Rosalie, so we had no way of knowing whether she was there with him because she wanted to be or because he wouldn’t let her go.
I needed to find that out. If she did want to be liberated, then no matter how strong Ethan was, I would do everything I could to set her free.
I was frustrated with the progress Cerina and Seraphine made in searching for Rosalie and decided it would be best if I acted on my own. I realized that I could guess so of Ethan’s plans when I put myself in his shoes. After all, we were brothers. A lot of tis, we would think alike.
After almost a week, I’d managed to spot a campsite that I thought had to be Ethan’s. I spent a day or two in the woods nearby without being detected, but just when I thought I saw soone walking around who looked a lot like my half-brother, I realized that the sll of wolves was growing stronger by the second.
Part of wanted to stick around to confirm whether that was Ethan, but the alarms in my brain were going off, telling to run.
They must’ve detected and were on my trail.
Abandoning my initial goal, I took off, running through the forest as quickly as I could. Hearing the sound of paws hitting the forest floor near behind , I dodged behind a tree and stripped in order to salvage my clothes before I shifted, taking them with .
In my wolf form, I was faster than in my human form, and I was also quicker than Ethan’s soldiers.
He wasn’t the only brother who got speed and agility as part of their good genes.
I circled back around the battlefield that they’d all been fighting on a few days ago, letting the mixed scents from the various packs mask my sll. The aluminum odor of blood and a hint of death hung in the air as well, mingling with the usual fragrances of the forest. Together, they helped to hide my trail.
Still, I could feel them behind , even if they weren’t right on my tail anymore. I circled around again, going much wider and heading for a nearby village. Perhaps I could find a place to hide there or at the very least use the scents of the others in the village to mask my own.
I dodged between buildings and down alleys, drawing a few eyes from passersby who were probably wondering if I was a rogue myself.
But my eyes were not red, so they didn’t stare for long at the stranger, assuming I ant no harm.
I kept running, making loops, heading back into the woods a distance from Ethan’s camp.
Once I reached a thicker section of forest, I slowed down and listened. I didn’t hear them anywhere. I couldn’t sll them anymore either.
I thought I’d lost them.
I decided to take a breather. I shifted back into my human form and got dressed. I sat with my back against the trunk of a pine tree and considered my next move.
How was I supposed to get into the camp all by myself to find out whether or not Rosalie was truly there?
If I still had the troops I had before, it would be so much easier. I wasn’t used to being on my own. I had people who worked for , and I had Thomas, but now... it was just .
Closing my eyes, I let my exhaustion from running around the woods overtake . Before I knew it, I was asleep and dreaming of Rosalie, of finding her, liberating her, and running away with her to a place where she and I could start a life together with the baby. It was a pleasant dream, one I never wanted to end.
But then, a strange noise woke , and when my eyes flew open, I was looking into a pair of dark eyes only a few inches from my face.
I leaped backward, wanting to get into a defensive position, but I was trapped against the tree. I swung my fist around, which seed to startle the person in front of . And in a flash, I noticed a knife was pointing at my throat.
However, the person holding the knife was trembling, obviously not a seasoned fighter. I narrowed my eyes and dodged the knife easily. With a few tussels back and forth, I gained the upper hand and snatched the knife from my attacker.
It didn’t take long for to pin him down and point the knife back at his throat, but then I realized that he was a young wolf who had fear in his eyes.
"Who are you?" I growled.
"Wait! Don’t hurt him!" an elderly female voice said, "I ’pologize for that, son!"
I looked up from the young man and saw the face of an old woman. She said, "We ain’t sure whether you’re a rogue. Sorry, we needed to be careful."
I didn’t move and evaluated my situation. It was true that they didn’t attack in the first place. Had I not waved my fists around, the guy probably wouldn’t have pulled the knife. They probably didn’t intend to really hurt after all.
So I moved the knife away and released the young n in my capture.
I got a clear view of the leader. She was probably in her mid-seventies with gray hair and wrinkled skin. She was covered in dirt and leaves, as was I, no doubt, and it appeared as if she must live out here in the woods.
"We’re all good," I said. "I didn’t an any harm either. I was just very tired and took a rest here."
I wasn’t afraid of them, but I’d rather conserve my energy by avoiding any fighting at the mont.
"Yes, we see it now, son," she nodded. "You look half-starved, too. You hungry?"
I hadn’t eaten much of anything for the last several days, so I found myself nodding before I even considered why she was asking.
"Well, why don’t you co on over to our camp with , and we’ll fix you up with so stew, huh?"
"Camp?" I repeated, not sure what she was talking about. Who was the "we" she had referenced?
"That’s right. I’m Wanda, and we live in these parts. Ain’t many of us, but we’re close. Co with ."
"Hi, Wanda," I said, nodding at her kindness. "I appreciate it." I had no idea if I should trust her or not, but if it was a pack of old and weak, I thought I’d be fine.
Pulling myself up off of the ground, I followed her about a quarter-mile to the camp she’d referred to. It was small, only a few huts and a firepit where a pot was heating. The sll told this was the stew she’d referred to.
As we entered, a few others ca out. Not all of them were old, but none of them looked intimidating. One was a young girl. She had to be about Rosalie’s age, I imagined.
Wanda told their nas. The girl, Becca, nodded at , but she kept her distance. She looked frightened. I stayed away from her out of respect. The young man who initially approached was her brother.
Afraid to tell them my real na in case they had heard of , I said, "I’m Shawn." They gave friendly nods to welco my arrival.
"What brings you out this way, Shawn?" a middle-aged man nad Henry asked .
"I lost my pack during the war and I escaped with only one woman. When that battle was going on the other day, we split up to avoid the conflict." It was a lie, but not much of one. "I haven’t been able to find her since then, and I’m afraid she might’ve been captured by the Rogue King." That part was true.
"Your mate?" Henry asked.
I wished, but I shook my head. "No, but she’s most important to ."
As Wanda passed a bowl of stew, she smiled, "Ah, young lover."
Not exactly. But I didn’t deny it either. "Thank you," I took the bowl over and sat down to eat the stew with them. "What brings all of you here?" I asked.
"Most of us here lost our families to those d*mn rogues or the war," she said, and during dinner, I heard more of their stories.
Wanda had lost her ho and her husband. With nowhere to turn, she’d ended up here. Becca’s parents had been killed when she and her brother were younger, and now, this was their family. They didn’t have a penny to her na. Henry had deserted his post with the army because he was afraid of dying, and now he was on the run.
I’d always looked at war from the military perspective, and rarely knew what it really ant for the normal civilians.
What would they think of if they knew my role in the conflict and that I had been sending resources to the rogues? I shook that thought out of my head.
As the sun began to go down, Wanda asked, "You got a place to sleep tonight?"
"No," I told her. "I’ll probably just find a tree sowhere."
"Oh, no! You can’t do that! Rogues are everywhere," Henry said. "Stay here. We’ve got plenty of room."
I tried to turn it down. "Nah, I still need to go find her. But thanks."
Wanda frowned, "Ya’ said you’ve been runnin’ ’round for a few days. Why that be?"
I shrugged. "They knew my scent by now."
Becca, who had been quiet, lifted her head. She whispered sothing into Wanda’s ear, and Wanda discussed it quietly with Henry.
"Son," Wanda said, "why don’t ya’ stay the night with us, and we’ll go with ya’ tomorrow? It’d be slower, but we may be able to help cover your scent."
I didn’t know that was even possible. However, I rembered when they approached , I didn’t sense anything.
"How?"
"We got our ways, son. Ya’ know, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to survive."
My eyes widened. That, indeed, could be a great help. However, I was wary, "Why would you do that?.
Wanda chuckled. "Easy, son. All of us here know what it’s like to lose soone. If we can help, as long as it won’t put us in danger, we’ll help. We’re all a bunch of misfits, but we know how to take care of one another."
Her words touched a soft place in my heart.
Misfits... more and more often lately, that was how I felt too. I didn’t belong to any pack any more and I’d lost pretty much everything. This group was a bunch of outcasts, yet, I fit well here.
I laughed at myself bitterly.
That night, lying in a hut with a few other n, including Henry who snored like a grizzly bear, I stared up at the thatch roof and thought of Rosalie and her baby. I had to find a way to get them back.
These people were kind enough to offer help to a stranger like . I didn’t want to put any of them at risk, but I needed it, and they seed to be confident about keeping themselves safe.
In addition, if they helped get to Rosalie, it may give them an opportunity to join the pack of the north and not have to be outcasts anymore, so it would be worth it.
Rosalie was kind and forgiving, she would welco them with open arms, especially if she knew that they helped to find her....
When I finally fell asleep, there was a smile on my face.
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