adjective ~ intensely irritated and frustrated

PHOENIX

"How's your wolf?" I wondered.

"How do you fucking think?" Charlie snapped.

Okay, so not good.

"I was just asking a question." I grunted.

"Stupid question." Charlie huffed.

Sean eyed me with a slight smirk before leaning back in his chair. "Why were rogues in human land? That's what we need to figure out."

"It is the less populated area of our lands." I suggested. "The furthest border, with the least patrol."

"Then you should move patrol all over instead of focusing elsewhere." Charlie cocked his head.

I glared at him as he challenged me head on, holding my gaze. Charlie only knew the basics of patrol; Sean was the man in charge. He was testing me today, but it's not like any of this was my fault. The patrols are great everywhere; this happened outside of our borders.

"We have upped patrols everywhere." I insisted. "The western border has no trouble."

"So, they figured that out." He shrugged. "Easy to realise where the least action is if you are observant enough."

"But like I said, how did they get close? Gaia's border rejects those that aren't welcome." Sean interjected.

"What's the distance?" Charlie asked.

"About five-hundred metres." I muttered. "You were attacked four-hundred-fifty-one metres from the border."

"If they charge headfirst at full speed, then you could get a little closer?" Sean frowned. "But it is strong. If they were feral, or at least had a bad motive, they would have been pushed away."

"Not unless they had help." Charlie exhaled. "We all know how much the witches are coming out of hiding. What if us killing the bitches upset the rest of them?"

"It is a possibility they had a witch." I agreed. "But that is saying that they had a deeper motive than just attacking for food or fun. Why would they target Calida, a human, and only maim her when help came running?"

At my very words, a realisation dawned on me. I wasn't sure if the others recognised it too, because they eyed me warily. It wasn't one I was happy to come to, and internally felt myself dying inside.

"What? What is it?" Sean asked.

"He looks like he's just pushed out a massive shit." Charlie muttered.

I snapped out of my thoughts, glaring at him. He was smirking, highly amused with himself as he relaxed in his chair.

I sobered my glare, looking away from the temperamental beta wolf. "I realised something."

"No, shit."

My eyes closed for a moment of bliss before I focused them on Sean. His lips were quirked, but he ignored Charlie, concentrating on me.

"They target Calida the night the two of the idiots leave the pack grounds." I explained. "They were close to the border, but not so close it would alert us or Gaia until they crossed it. If they were watching, they could've been doing it for a while. If they had a witches' help, they could've been right under our noses."

"They could've seen anything." Sean agreed.

"But one dragging Calida rather carefully, for a rogue, is suspicious, and then the fact the other two did not attack her until Charlie came is more so. The moment he appeared, they tore into her in retaliation." I explained. "Rogues don't tend to group-

"Yeah, we all know the fucking story." Charlie sarcastically drawled.

I growled, far too agitated by his incessant sarcastic interruptions. He tensed at the sound and dropped his gaze like a scorned child. I was tense, too fucking annoyed at his damn comments to hold back from punching him in the jaw. My hands tensed at my sides, glaring into the side of his head.

"There is more than just you here, Charlie." I growled. "I get it. I understand they attacked your mate, but she is safe now. There is more than that. We need to sort this shit out before anything else happens again. If you do not want to be involved, then fucking go, but stop interrupting me with these damn remarks. This is serious!"

His nose wrinkled with a frown, but he actively avoided my glare. Fuck! It was like I had another child sometimes.

Silence echoed around the desk, and Sean cleared his throat after a solid ten seconds.

"What were you getting at? You think they wanted to target Calida?" He wondered.

"They made her scream just enough before silencing her." I sighed. "They knew you and Nova were running nearby. They knew Charlie was nearby."

"You think they wanted Nova instead?" He frowned. "Again?"

"No." I shook my head. "Wolves are getting brave with their threats. I think it was a test."

"For what?"

"To see who would come running." I stated, leaning back in my chair. "Killing her was the most sporadic thing they could've done, and I think that is why they only did it when help was on the way."

Sean hummed, nodding slightly. "I understand."

We both glanced at Charlie, who was still sitting in his chair with a stubbornness. Only this time, he crossed his arms and pursed his lips. Cocking an eyebrow at his lack of concern, it only took a few seconds for him to roll his eyes.

"Oh, so now you want me to fucking talk?"

We spent the rest of our time together trying to bring together people and reasons. Sean was not fully aware of the threat on our pack, but I made sure he knew as much as Charlie did. Together, we scanned the entirety of letters and demands from various packs as we tried to figure out who could be against us.

When only a few would have strong motive, I fell back into my chair with a sigh. Sometimes I wish we could all just work in harmony. It would make pack life so much easier. But every wolf out there had to prove they had the bigger dick.

"Looks like we're going to have to move up the pack checks." Charlie muttered.

Finally, he actually said something that was not condescending. I agreed wholeheartedly, searching my desk for the paperwork about it. Charlie eyed me with amusement, and I ignored him. I preferred having two copies of everything, despite his disdain for my paper-keeping. If the systems ever went down, then what? What if we lost electricity, and we needed contact numbers of someone else for help?

He'd be screwed.

"We will move up the date." I agreed. "Let's not tell any of them."

Nova's pack had a sketchy background, and being the first on the list could help us cross off any suspicions. Supposedly the beta was in charge as alpha, but I doubted he was doing such a grand job of it.

I just hoped we figured it out soon, because I hated having the threat of my pack and family's lives hanging above my head out of reach.

"Is that all?" Charlie wondered.

"No." I shook my head. "The full moon is in five days."

His jaw hardened as he visibly swallowed. "I know."

"We have witnessed nothing like this," Sean murmured. "What are we going to do?"

"I think we should place her in the cells." I stated.

"You want to put my mate in the fucking cellar?" Charlie snapped.

I glared at his emotional one-eighty again. "Yes. I do."

"You fucking bas-

"Because she is a threat, Charlie!" I snapped back. "We do not know how this will go! What if she does not gain a wolf consciousness and shifts into a blood-thirsty beast? What if she loses herself to the wolf and kills pack members? She won't have a consciousness, and she would not be part of the pack until I take the blood oath with her. What happens if it goes wrong?"

He was shaking, having a hard time reigning in his wolf. I stared him directly in the eyes, challenging him. I was certain about my decision, having spent most of my morning thinking about how to go around it. The cells were the safest option.

"We can put a bed in there, a fan, a fridge. Whatever we think is needed." I insisted.

"You still want to put my mate in those fucking horrid cells." Charlie hissed.

"Would you rather she shift in the woods and run away? Would you rather chase her in a place with no end and potentially never get her back? One with other wolves that could hurt her back?"

He didn't answer, staring right back at me. I felt the malice in his gaze, and my wolf reared its beastly head and growled right back.

"Well? What would you rather do?"

"I think it should be up to my mate." He insisted.

He didn't look away, challenging my gaze with a glare of his own.

"Fine. So be it. But we will both meet with her, so she is aware of the consequences." I snapped.

"Fine." He huffed, finally looking away.

Sean cleared his throat, and my head snapped his way. He raised his arms in defence, and I exhaled, reigning in my agitation.

"You guys need to go for a run." He muttered. "That, or get laid."

"In case you forgot, my mate is in a hospital bed." Charlie rolled his eyes.

"So, take it out on the trees or weights, not each other." Sean shook his head. "Goddess, it's like two brothers having a scrap."

I cleared my throat, my mouth dry from gritting my teeth. It was nearing lunchtime, so it was time to wrap this up, anyway. I had an hour spare to search for my mate,. I was looking forward to spending it with her and the twins.

"What were you going to say?" I asked.

Sean's grey eyes were amused, but he shrugged nonchalantly. "You should ring one of Nova's relations."

"Which one?" I rolled my eyes. "All the ones that have turned wolves are dead, and Dawn is suspicious."

"Yeah, cause her damn mate is in some kind of anti-wolf cult." Charlie agreed.

"What about the weird one?" Sean wondered.

My lips quirked. "Cors?"

"It isn't bloody Cors, is it?" Charlie rolled his eyes. "He ran away and, uh, he can't talk?"

"Not Cors, you dumbass." Sean glared at him. "Aldren or his mother. She's Nova's maternal aunt, right? She's bound to know more than anyone else."

"That could work." I agreed. "I would rather speak to them in person, though."

"You have a private jet." Charlie waved his hand my way. "Brand new, in fact. Send it out and bring them fucking back."

"I also have a witch friend." I quirked an eyebrow. "Less damage to the ozone."

The beta wolf snorted. "Says the guy who bought another damn jet."

Exasperated, I shook my head. "I will speak with both Aldren and Avani before finding Gaia. If Gaia agrees, I will bring them over tomorrow."

"Great. More magic wolves!" Charlie chirped. "Is it lunch yet?"

I sighed, grateful that the meeting's adjourned. "Yes, it is. Please, go."

He was out of his seat without another word, scurrying out of the door. I knew he was going right back to his mate and hoped that he would mention their mate bond to her before I had to speak about locking her in a cell in a few days.

Sean hummed, rising from his chair. "We'll figure this out. Nobody will get to Nova or the pack."

"We said that last time." I murmured. "They attacked when we least expected it."

"But you killed the witches against us."

"That still left a lot of witches, wolves, and vampires without leadership. Killing them was bound to piss some of them off." I shook my head. "The ones we captured still live in the cells."

Sean nodded softly. "Like I said, we will figure this out."