I didn't even think as I ran up to the gates. Thankfully, Trevor noticed my quick approach and opened the gates before I could slam into them. I didn't stop to thank him, as I continued to sprint towards the sound of wolves growling. As I advanced, the thought that I should have shifted already crossed my mind, but it was too late.

Five wolves were fighting among a cluster of trees. It appeared to be a three on two situation. I recognized one wolf to be Asher, my third in command. He was trying to fend off three considerably larger wolves while pushing back a smaller gray wolf. My heart ceased its beating momentarily, but I realized the wolf Asher was defending was much too big to be Izzy.

The small wolf was limping, and his left hind leg was bent at an unnatural angle. If it weren't broken, I would be shocked. Asher wasn't fairing much better. His coat was matted with blood most of which seemed to be his. He was one of the best fighters I had, but in this situation not even he stood a chance. My sudden arrival drew two of the rogues' attention towards me. The other was still trying to get the upper hand on Asher.

'Don't start the party without me,' I heard his voice in my head moments before I heard the crunching of leaves. Griffin was closing in on our location. The sound of him approaching distracted the two wolves just long enough to allow me to shift. As I let my wolf take over, I felt the excitement building in my gut. I don't know if it was a werewolf thing or maybe just an alpha thing, but my wolf was always up for a fight.

The bulky brown wolf to my right was baring his teeth at me as drool dripped from his mouth. He was looking at me as if I was an all you can eat buffet. Now, I have never seen an overweight wolf in my life, but I was sure if this guy shifted into his human form he would have had substantial beer belly. My wolf was larger than his, but he probably outweighed me by a good sixty or more pounds. I knew taking him head on would not end well for me; I needed to use my agility if I wanted to stand a chance. I briefly wondered how Asher had managed to fend off all three of these wolves until now.

I made a fast dash for the wolf's left flank, but I must have underestimated the rogue's speed. He launched me into the air with a mighty buck of his hind legs. I felt like I had been hit by a small car. My jaw ached something awful, but I didn't have time to worried about that. The wolf's black eyes gleamed with bloodlust.

It wasn't until I heard Asher whimper that my blood began to boil and my wolf let out a furious growl. No one hurt my family. In a blind rage, I launched myself at the wolf in front of me, our heads meeting with a resounding crack. I couldn't see straight anymore; everything was a bit blurry now. I shook my head trying to get my eyes to focus, but that movement only seemed to worsen everything. My head throbbed, and my neck was sore.

I pushed through the pain and lunged at the dazed rogue one more time though I was sure it looked more like a stumble than a lunge. He didn't even seem to register my presence until my teeth were locked onto his neck. I wasn't intending on killing him. I was hoping he would concede so we could question him, but with a violent whip of his body his neck broke and his body fell limp. Had he purposely killed himself rather than be captured? Why?

I turned in the direction I had last seen Asher and the gray wolf. It took me a moment to discern what was happening before me. Griffin and Ryan were standing over Asher's lax body. The other two wolves laid dead a few feet away. When had they shifted back to their human forms?

'Is he...?' I couldn't bring myself to say the word. Griffin looked up at me and shook his head.

"He is not dead if that's what you are thinking," Griffin clarified. "Dr. Havers and a few other wolves are already on their way here; they should be here any minute." I slowly trotted over to where Asher lay unconscious and surveyed the damage. He had a large gash along his right ribcage, and his front paw had a nasty bite mark on it. There were several other minor injuries, but it was the wound on his side that had me worried. It was deep, and blood continued to seep out of it.

"How are you doing?" Griffin asked me as his eyes raked over my body searching for injuries.

'Fine,' I huffed. I wasn't concerned about myself. Yeah, my head hurt something awful, but I would live. Asher, on the other hand, looked as if he was struggling just to breathe. The way his chest staggered as it rose and fell had me thinking he may have had a punctured lung or at the very least a few broken ribs.

"He'll be okay," Griffin reassured me. "He is a fighter." I only grunted in response, not taking my eyes off our injured friend. I am not sure exactly when Dr. Havers arrived, but soon I was being pulled away as the doctor went to work.

"Are you going to shift back so we can talk?" Griffin asked as we walked back to the pack house. It amazed me how comfortable he was walking around without an ounce of clothing to cover him. I mean all wolves were use to seeing each other naked from time to time, but most tended to avoid it when possible. Griffin, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy how uncomfortable his nakedness made others.

I turned and gave him an annoyed looked or, at least, the closest thing to annoyed that a wolf could manage. He seemed to get the idea because he stopped following me.

"I'll just check with the doctor and meet you in your office when I am done."

I walked into the house and headed for my room. Once I was alone, I started to wonder what the hell happened out there. Why were Asher and Ryan even out there together? And how did the rogues manage to get into our territory in broad daylight?