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Healer Rhea's POV

As the expected date of the Enforcers was set to come, Rhea had spent the better part of her paycheck on a secret weapon. One she loathed in the early days of learning what freedom meant not having the title of ruler of the Vrovaria Kingdom. Even if Noria looked at her strangle and her nose twitched ever so often—It was a wonderful deterrent, one that Rhea just claimed she was testing for her burns.

Course, that caused Sadie to question things, and Rhea had to lie once more to cover things up once more. It wasn't a usual habit, but when the amount of Enforcers had spiked in the past two days, Rhea didn't hesitate to pack a bag that was hiding underneath her bed on the off chance she needed to run.

There was a slight pain in her chest, one that she regretted after one too many sips of the pack's brew to really understand her actions just a couple of days prior. Whether it be the stress of work or the onset of Enforcers, Rhea had accepted Alpha Stephen's company last night.

Realistically, it was usually a smart idea to have a Healer at the call when the pack had decided on a large get-together. And the kitchen was cooking up a storm since the Enforcers had started to walk the Pack House's halls. Not to mention that the Alpha had wanted to share the wealth and brag a bit that his kitchens and cooks were better than anything offered in the Kingdom.

Which a few had agreed with, and Rhea would include herself as one.

It hadn't been much more than a few soft kisses and suggestive caresses, but Rhea was under the influence and Alpha Stephen had simply settled her into his bed for protection, it was much too late to bring her back to her home—And not that he wanted to actually admit it, but he was jealous of Cedric's task of escorting her whenever she wished.

Alpha Stephen had thought himself a fair and balanced leader amongst this diverse pack of both wolves and humans, so much so that there were a few hybrids amongst them. All young, of course, but Rhea was doing her best to document the changes—It was perhaps then that Stephen had begun to grow feelings for the beautiful female, as she cared for what she didn't understand.
Rhea wasn't the first human to make a kind introduction, she was simply the one that felt everlasting.

Not to mention his pups adored her to no end, but Rhea couldn't be the female chosen to take their mother's place, no. She had gotten too close to the late Luna, and it was already giving her a guilty conscious in for being so weak—In not being able to hold her booze properly.

Was the herbal blend she made for her skin to ward off wolves? Perhaps. Did the category of wolves also mean Alpha Stephan? It could.

In the midst of everything, Rhea had been packing for a few nightly deliveries—And Cedric's carriage was starting to get rather full by the time Rhea had come forward with the last bundle. "I can stay, Rhea. It's—"

"It's alright, I need to finish brewing the tonic anyhow. We'll bottle it in the morning when it cools. Make sure you give the correct delivery to each patient." Sadie and Noria had looked at one another in question, not at all confident in themselves.

However, it was Cedric who grunted. "I will come back when the rounds are done." Rhea shook her head with another smile. "No need, I know you live off that way. I won't be long back home." The wolf that was tasked to guard her had huffed in defiance, but she sighed in response. Reaching down into her belt and showcasing the dagger she had been carrying since long before Enforcers had come into their pack.

Perhaps when Alpha Stephan slipped that there were other sorts of dangers slipping through the territories.

"I'm alright to walk myself home, Cedric. I've done it for most of my life." It was such a lie that Rhea didn't know how she managed to sound truthful to this wolf. But the dagger must have spoken louder than her words as she was soon left to watch the carriage move forward.

In all honesty, she was glad that she did not have to go and make deliveries. It always took to asking polite questions and stating more than the allotted time that she wanted to.

If she spoke for an hour with each patient, then there would be no time for any of her other tasks to get done. And it was an absolute blessing that she had two pupils doing this sort of work for her.

It gave her time to overlook the things she needs to.

When all was said and done, she locked up the main portion of her stations. But left open the bed area as she had come in on some mornings for pack members already filling it up with aliments that happened in the middle of the night.

Pulling over her cloak's hood, Rhea looked both ways before heading in the direction of her home. Her wonderful estate.

Yet every time she had caught a lingering figure in the distance, her hand had instinctively gone down to reach for the dagger. Rhea didn't want to share the dagger with everyone—Considering it was one of the only things she had remaining from her old life.

Her life of royalty.

Back when she had been brought back from the rubble and ashes of the kingdom's back halls, Rhea had been brought to one of the farms that remained loyal to the late King—And Queen Amory.

It was where a good portion of the Kingdom's humans had run to, and the wonderful folks had asked for nothing in return. The workload of the farm was all in service to the warmth, protection, and food that they gave in this territory.

Everyone there knew of Rhea's true name, and it had taken demand after demand for her to be able to change her name in their eyes. As expected, she'd need a new identity, and it was the easiest time to change them.

It had been within the first few years when one of the helping hands had gone into the kingdom to seek gossip and such, but it was the gift to the late queen that truly sparked hope.

A dagger picked straight from the deity of protection and swiftness. But Rhea hadn't felt all that deserving of such a sacred item. Yet it meant the world to those around her if she held it. And so she humored the rest, and since then, Rhea couldn't get rid of such a prestige item.

It's funny how she didn't feel all protected, not when the Enforcers would turn feral at the idea of her true identity—Anything that threatened the Alpha King would certainly be ended without question.

"Have a good night, Ma'am." The voice had startled her, but when one of the Enforcers in skin had given her a gentle wave, it truly had felt as though her heart restarted. Rhea had offered a smile to both the wolves in skins and fur, though she stiffened at the sight of just how large they were.

It was explained to her long ago that the rank of a wolf came from the size of the wolf. The larger ones were able to have a plethora of work that came with brute strength.

Enforcers were much higher up on the list, elite warriors that were under the King's command. Trained personally by their General. Which worried her and relieved her nerves at the same time. Though that still didn't work well with how damning the rest of her worries were stationed at the moment.

And if she hadn't been so preoccupied, then she wouldn't have caught the lone male in the distance, or not when she was only a few feet away from him.

A warning growl had caused her to gasp, and the fact that she couldn't identify him or spot any type of Enforcer badge increased her heart rate once more. "My my, aren't you a pretty little thing..." Rhea sucked in a breath and took a cautious step away, wondering if the Enforcers she had passed not too long ago would her desperate plea for help.

One thing was for certain, Rogues held a scent so strong that even humans could spot it. And spot it Rhea surely could. It was so strong it nearly burned her nostrils and cause tears to well up in her eyes.

Life had certainly prepared Rhea for worse, but seeing an actual Rogue in her part of the pack's territory had started to cause more than just worry on her account.
Had this wolf already taken another person?
Another wolf or human?
A child?

The scronny male had taken the steps forward and managed a swift attack, one that Rhea had managed a blood-curdling scream to escape her throat—Injecting her own call for help before his hands had clapped around her throat and squeezing tightly to close her windpipe.

"Pretty, but not smart." Rhea was plenty smart, but clearly, she hadn't prepared for this.
If she had, she would've waited for Cedric—She should've waited for Cedric!

With the Rogue assuming she was weak, Rhea had taken to grabbing her dagger and slashing at the male. Allowing her to pull free from his claws at her throat, ones that were just seconds away from managing through her delicate skin.

The male had growled in aggravation, but Rhea refused to be helpless as she continued to slash forward—And the male did his best to dodge them. Yet she nicked him easily, perhaps even tapping into the legendary myth of Syana's blessings imprinted onto the dagger.

What it was, had given Rhea enough time before the shouts and warning howls had commenced.

The Rogue had certainly been caught off guard as his head darted in that direction. Rhea smiled with delight, but the damned beast had made one last attempt. Apparently, his eyes had taken attention to the dagger in hand, an expensive one at that. Yet his last claw to her shoulder had been the last possible strike as a furry beast had taken to sprinting full speed and tackling the bastard to the ground.

Leaving Rhea to gasp in pure shock and delight at the fact that she managed to get enough attention to her current predicament. Yet having fallen to the dirt road beneath her was just as painful. Especially when the sharp stone had punctured her scarred arms.

"Ma'am! Are you alright?!" One of the Enforcers ushered, and she let out a breathless laugh as she looked up at him. But her neck and arms were already quite soaked with blood and the sports of rain that soon appeared.

It seemed to always rain these past few nights, and Rhea smiled at the idea of the cooling sensation as she leaned further into the stone path.

"Ma'am!" The same wolf shouted as he bent down to hold her steady.
"Damnit, Marrow. Of course she's not okay! Look at this Rogue bastard. Who knows what he's carrying." The new voice had caused Rhea to shiver while Marrow had turned to wrap her tightly in her cloak one more. Covering her from the element.

Yet Rhea was glad that the wolf's heat was transferring toward her.

"It's alright, Ma'am. We'll take you to the Healer." The other voice offered, while a few other wolves in fur huffed their confirmation. And Rhea looked towards the different colored wolves.

Wondering if they were going to track down more from that fowl wolf's smell alone.

"I am the Healer." She groaned, turning into her bag with a free hand and popping open a tonic—one for blood loss and the other to stop any infections set to come.

As again, there was no telling what type of diseases Rogues carried.

Instead, Rhea had managed to tell both Marrow and Petilo to properly clean and dress the wound, and by the end of it all. They had all been laughing extensively at the madness.

"Mistress Rhea, we need to take you to the Alpha and explain what happened." She shook her head, knowing full well that Stephen will be livid—considering she not only left without Cedric by her side, but because he was just overprotective as is.

Rhea had assumed it had something to do with watching his mate suffer from an illness, and he was powerless to do anything about it.

"Mistress, please. The Alpha King is here, he wants to find any leads to—"
"The King is here?!" Rhea shrieked in complete and utter panic that had ultimately ruined years of building up a false profile. But the wolves had just taken the assumption that any human was horrified at the idea of their Alpha and chief.

"Come on, Petilo, she's been through enough. This can wait until tomorrow." Marrow claimed, and Rhea had instructed the two to her small home. Inviting them both in as she settled a kettle onto the roaring fireplace one of her patient's children had started within the last few hours.

It was a part of a payment plan a family had decided as Rhea absolutely hated coming home to a cold home. Both males had helped her move about, but she took to the conversation well. Asking questions about the kingdom, claiming that she hadn't been since she was a child.

"Mistress, I have to ask...Those burns on your arms..." Marrow asked, a chipped mug in his hands as he sat on the chair while his partner leaned up against the wall beside him.
"Marrow." His friend hissed, and Rhea smiled.

"It's alright. My mother and father worked in the castle as a stablehand and kitchen maid. It allowed me the chance to attend a royal tutor." Petilo's eyes had widened indefinitely as Marrow looked sorrow-filled.

"You were burned during the war..." He whispered, and Rhea nodded once again. The grin never left her face as she watched their fall in sorrow.
"They don't give me too many problems, just stiff and sensitive some days and near useless on others. I usually have them covered, not very appealing to the eye." Petilo growled in denial. But it didn't take a genius to know that Rhea held her beauty even with her cast out of her home.

"I haven't met a human that tried to fight off a Rogue before." Now the comment had sparked up yet another smirk, and she shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I know they're Rogues because of the smell. We've all been told to be weary nowadays." The conversation hadn't lasted much longer, not when Rhea had explained that her guard would be coming to check on her within the hour. And with the number of patrols out now, there would be absolutely no slipping through their defenses now.

Yet a thought had coursed through Rhea as she felt her side belt. And it was completely lacking her dagger and the rest.

"M-my dagger...I left my dagger." She whispered, followed by a curse as she tried to rise from her seat on her bed. But fell dutifully down as her stomach and the rest of her arm had thought against her movement.

"With ease, with ease—We'll get it. Doubt the Alpha will let us sleep tonight, not with an attack so close by to him."

"This hasn't happened before?"
"Absolutely not. Not when the King is on pack grounds. Before and perhaps after. They're acting more sporadic." Marrow informed while looking off towards Petilo. And the male had only nodded as he sipped the wonderfully blended tea.

He had more curious thoughts, most of them about how a renowned and well-spoken healer like Rhea didn't live in a better home. And the lack of a husband was just as interesting.

Even then, why was she living in a shack?

This one-roomed cabin hardly withheld both him and Marrow, not with the furniture and clutter about. But he figured that Rhea was well in order. She had to be, as head Healer of the entire pack.

Seeing Rhea's panic, both he and Marrow had promised to retrieve it and return it in the morning after their shift. In addition to informing her that there were both local guards and Enforcer control throughout the Red Moon pack, but the way that Rhea smiled suggested her lack of trust in the matter—given that she was attacked within a mile of the last two patrols.

It was as if the Rogues were starting to learn their patterns, they weren't that organized before.

Not in the past months at least.

With a final goodbye, the two set off in skin—Hoping to come across easily in case another human was to cross their path. Little did they know, Rhea was rushing around to get her go-bag in order.

Her time in Red Moon pack had finished, and if that caused her soft sobs to fill the cabin—She could only excuse it for the pain in her side.

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Date: 04/22/23

Time: 8:55

Words: 2908

Author's Note:

Surprise update because I couldn't wait to post these two next chapters!
Give me a few minutes and it should be up in a bit👀✨