The painful howl of a wolf and the shattering sounds of the window glass were heard throughout the Packhouse. 

Liam abruptly got up from his seat. " Adele seems to be upset. We should go after her."

Liam was about to shift into his wolf, but Chris didn't move from his place. " Why are you just sitting there? Let's go," says Liam, annoyed.

" I think we should give her some space," replies Chris nonchalantly.

" Space? Are you serious? We can think about that later, but right now, we should go and check her. What if she's injured?" 

Chris was still hesitant, so Liam insisted, " For God's sake, she's pregnant, Chris."

Once Chris realizes Adele being pregnant, he shifts into his wolf and jumps out of the window, Liam following right behind. 

Alexa dashed towards the trees, tears flowing from her eyes nonstop. She was in pain, a lot of pain both physically and emotionally. Shards of glass from the broken window had pierced into her skin, but she didn't care about that because the pain she felt in her heart was even worse. Her heart felt like it was breaking into thousand pieces. 

Alexa had an urge to get away from this pack and see her family. It was already way past sunset, and the forest was dark, exactly like how her life felt right now. Though it was dark, she could clearly see through her wolf eyes. She kept moving, slipping past the intimidating expanse of trees in the hope of reaching her old pack.

Suddenly she could hear the sound of someone approaching her, and she knew that scent very well. She increased her speed as she was not in the mood to see her mates, but a huge black wolf blocked her. She tried to move in the other direction but was stopped by another big brown wolf.

Alexa got frustrated and howled, " Move; why are you here? Just leave me alone."

" Calm down, Alexa. You shouldn't be running around the forest right now; it's already late at night," says Lex, Liam's wolf.

Alexa huffed, "As if you care." 

She tried to move again when Chris's wolf Conan stood in front of her. " Get back to the Packhouse now, don't forget you are carrying our pups."

Alexa gave a sarcastic laugh. " I should have guessed. Now move aside; I can take care of myself and my pups."

" I am not asking you; I am telling you to go back. If you don't go back quietly, I may have to use force," growled Conan.

"I don't want to see your face right now," Alexa growled back.

Conan was agitated. He was about to retort, but Liam stopped him and spoke instead. " Alexa, you are angry right now, we can talk it out later when you have calmed down, but first, we must leave from here. We are already at the pack border; it's not safe."

Alexa was about to reply when they all heard a few wolves howling in pain. Suddenly everyone was alert, and Lex said to Conan, " You take care of Alexa, I will check it out."

Conan nodded, and Lex sprinted in the direction of the sound. Conan stood in front of Alexa protectively, keeping a careful watch on his surroundings. Only a minute had passed, and Lex came back towards Conan and Alexa and growled, " Something's wrong. Four of our patrol guards are dead. I have sent a message to Trevor asking him to come here immediately with a few warriors."

Before Conan could reply, many rogue wolves emerged out of the bushes from various directions. They could see there were at least 25 wolves. 

Conan pushed Alexa towards a safe spot between two trees and said, " Don't move from here; I am warning you. We will handle them, and you do not interfere. Defend yourself only if a rogue attacks you" 

Lex was already fighting the rogues, and Conan dashed towards a rogue and kicked him fiercely, sending him flying towards a tree.

Alexa watched her mates fighting the rogues from her hiding spot and was amazed at their skills. They were like beasts. No wonder they were called the strongest werewolves. 

Alexa wanted to help them, but it didn't look like they needed any help. She did not enter the fight as she did not want to risk her pups getting hurt, but she was on high alert. 

Conan gripped a rogue by its neck, digging his sharp claws into his throat. Blood started to pour out of the rogue's mouth, and within seconds, he was dead. Conan threw him away, and another rogue attacked him from behind, but Conan dodged him and fiercely struck him with his claws multiple times. The rogue fell, blood oozing out of his body.

One rogue had managed to scratch Lex on his arm, but Lex punched him forcefully, grabbed his neck, and banged his head on the tree, crushing it at once. He saw a rogue attacking Conan, so Lex pulled him by its hind leg, held his head, and tilted it, instantly snapping his neck.

Alexa observed the behavior pattern of the rogues and felt something odd. None of them even tried to come to her even though they knew she was there. They didn't even bother Lex much; it seemed like they were focused explicitly on Conan.

The rogues were not a match for Conan and Lex. They couldn't even manage to stand for a few seconds in front of the duo without being harmed. Within a span of few minutes, around 25 rogues were either dead or passed out on the floor. 

Conan and Lex looked around for a few minutes to see if any rogues were left out. When they don't hear any sound, Conan goes towards Lex and asks, " Are you alright?" He was checking Lex for any injuries when he saw his arm bleeding. Conan starts licking the wound to ease the pain. 

Alexa could see the love in their eyes for each other. She felt a pang of hurt as she was never the one to receive that look from either of her mates. 

As Alexa watched Conan and Lex engrossed in each other, she saw a silver dagger flying from the bushes towards them. Before Alexa could warn them about the danger, her paws moved on their own towards her mates. She stood in front of Conan, blocking him, and tried to dodge the dagger, but it sliced through her shoulder, earning a painful cry from her. 

Conan and Lex held Alexa as she fell to the ground. At that exact moment, Trevor and a few warriors had also arrived.

Lex pointed towards the direction of the bushes and said to the warriors, " There's someone there; go and check now."

They all sprinted towards the bushes, looking for the attacker.

Lex was holding Alexa when Conan went towards a tree, shifted into his human form, and wore one of the boxers tied to a tree. He also took a long T-shirt for Alexa and asked her to shift. 

Adele's shoulder was still bleeding, and she winced in pain while Chris helped her wear the T-shirt. " I told you not to interfere," Chris screamed at her.

Adele was feeling very dizzy, and she suddenly fainted in Chris's arms.

Chris was anxious. " Why did she faint? It's just a small cut."

Lex stared at the dagger which was on the ground and sniffed it. "It's a silver dagger, and it smells weird."

Chris picked up the dagger and sniffed it. " I am taking her to the Pack Doctor," saying this, he dashed towards the Packhouse with Adele in his arms. He mind-linked to the pack doctor to be ready, and within no time, he was at the pack hospital. 

He placed Adele on the bed, and the Doctor asked, " What happened to her?"

"A silver dagger hit her."

The Doctor observed Adele's wound and then checked everywhere on her body for any other injuries. He was relieved and said, " The wound is not very deep. It's already started to heal."

" Then why is she still unconscious?"

" Do you have the silver dagger which hit her?" 

Chris nodded and gave the dagger to the Doc. He thoroughly observed and sniffed it for a few minutes. " This dagger is laced with a strong sleeping drug."

"Is it harmful? Are my pups safe?" asked Chris with worry.

" It's just a regular sleeping drug. The Luna and her pups are perfectly fine. She will be awake within a few hours once the effects of the drug wear off."

Chris was relieved and sat on the chair, releasing the breath he seemed to have held for a long time. He was already very exhausted by the fight.

After a few minutes, Liam arrived at the hospital. " How are Adele and the pups?"

" They are fine. Alexa fainted because the dagger was laced with sleeping drugs."

" Why would the rogues lace the dagger with drugs? Did they not intend to kill us?" asked Liam, confused.

" We will know that once we interrogate the rogues," says Chris with disdain. " So, did you get all of them?"

" Yes. Four more rogues were hiding in the bushes. We got all of them. Trevor and the warriors are checking the whole perimeter once again. I even instructed a few warriors to stay on guard at the border."

Chris scoffed. " These bloody rogues have some nerve to attack us out of the blue. They truly have some agenda, and we need to make sure to know what it is."