9

Rorie

I glanced around and found a dirt road that led off the main one. I drove past it and pulled off the road, hiding the car behind some scrawny bushes. "Let's go," I told my partner as we climbed out of the car. I popped the trunk and we each pulled out a Remington model 700 XCR II rifle. We loaded the silver bullets into the guns and stuck several in our pockets of our vests.

We stuck to the slight vegetation on the side of the dirt road for some protection. In November, it's still fairly warm here in Arizona, but we don't really feel it with us being from Oregon and whatnot.

I motioned for Joel, my partner, to halt for a few seconds. I had him kneel down behind a sage bush and I went on to hide behind a mesquite tree. I peeked around and gazed down the road. What looked like a fairly tall house sat in the distance. I signed to Joel what I see and he nodded, asking in return if we should keep moving.

I went around the other side of the tree and motioned for him to stay down. I darted back around the tree as a car sped down the road, kicking up a wall of dust behind it. Once it was out of sight I had him catch up to me and we continued on.

The closer we got, the more desert vegetation became thicker. We were able to hide easier the closer the house came into view.

"We check the perimeter first after the Rogues leave," I told Joel. "Once it's secure, and we're certain all the Rogues are gone, we head inside and see if anyone's there. Clear?"

He nodded. "Crystal." God, I love his English accent. No! Focus, Rorie! I scolded myself and focused on the house. I motioned for us to move again.

We were roughly fifty yards from the property line of the abandoned pack house when we had to duck and hide again. The car from before sped off away from the house and us, not once noticing us. The instant it was out of sight, we stood and went separate ways around the house to catch every angle of it.

No one was around. I gave Joel a single nod and he kicked the door in. "Hunters of the Supernatural! Show yourselves, Rogues!" He ordered. We had our guns cocked and ready to fire. I signed for him to check the bottom floor and I went up the stairs slowly, my gun not lowering a fraction of an inch.

At the top of the stairs, I found a door and tested the knob. With a quick jerk, I threw it open and swiveled the gun around. I checked over my shoulders then headed in. It was empty. I checked three others rooms, finding them all clear.

A shriek of a baby reached my ears from the last room at the back of the top floor. I proceeded with caution. At the door, I tested the knob to find it locked. I knocked. "Hunter of the Supernatural! Open the door, or I will kick it down. If you're a Rogue, I won't hesitate to shoot on sight." The cry of the baby got louder as a woman sobbing was coming from the other side of the door.

I checked over my shoulders again. "Miss, my name is Rorie and I'm friend's with Reece Merwin, Asher Kutcher's mate. If you're in there, I want to help you. We're going to get you out of here. Just let me in!"

"Clear!" Joel shouted from the bottom of the steps. He rushed up to my side. "Downstairs is clear. Find anything?"

I nodded. "Someone's in here. Miss, please!" I called again. "We're here to help you! Let us in and we can get you out of here! Get the car." I told Joel. He nodded and took off.

"Last chance, miss." I said as I gripped the door knob. "Either let me in, or I'll kick the door down. I want to help you, so please don't make this anymore difficult. I promise no harm will come to you or your child. We only wish to help you. Please, open the door." There was a small click. I hesitantly turned the knob and kept my gun ready.

I swung the door open and swept the room. A girl was cowering on a bed, a bundle wrapped tightly in her arms and she wept softly. I did a room check and cleared it. I swung the gun over my shoulder and flashed the girl a smile as I held my hand out.

"You're safe now." With a shaking hand, she took mine and I helped her to her feet. "You don't have to worry anymore. Can you tell me who you are and what pack you're from?"

She nodded and sniffed hard. "I-I'm Valerie... a-and I'm from the River Shore Pack in Oregon..."

I smiled and helped her down the stairs. "Are you ready to go home?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yes! Please, anything to get me home! I want to see my mate again!" We reached the front door just as Joel pulled up with the car. I helped Valerie in and placed both guns back in the trunk, the safety on.

I got in the passenger seat. "Let's roll." Joel sped down the road, a cloud of dust spewing out behind us. He flipped the turn heading back to the city and just kept on going. Once we were within cell service, I pulled my phone out and dialed Shelbie.

She answered on the first ring. "Rorie! Find anything?"

"Someone," I told her. "Joel and I found a pack house with a girl in it. Do you know anyone by the name of Valerie?"

"Um..." She thought for a moment. "Hang on. I'll give you to Nyl. Alpha Nyl!" She shouted and I could hear her trying to race down the stairs. "Alpha, it's Rorie and he has news."

"This is Alpha Nyl speaking." Nyl said.

I cleared my throat softly. "Hello, Nyl. My name is Rorie and I have a question to ask you. Who is the mate to Valerie?"

"Brandon Trenton of the River Shore Pack," He answered. "Why? Have you found her?"

I gave a small smile and turned to face her. She gave a small wave. "Yeah, Joel and I have her. We found her alone in one of the abandoned pack houses. Is Brandon around by any chance?"

"As it turns out, I happen to be at the River Shore pack right now." He said. "Give me a few seconds." I passed the phone to Valerie. She looked at me in confusion, but put the phone to her ear.

She gasped. "B-Brandon...?" Happy tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried. "Oh my God! Brandon! I miss you so much!" I tuned them out and let the two speak with each other.

"I'd say today was pretty productive." I said to Joel.

He nodded and took the road that would lead to Sky Harbor Airport. "It was. We found one of the kidnapped girls, and she'll be reunited with her mate soon." His accent... No! Focus! "All in all, I'd say we did enough work for the day to get a break and report back to the hotel."

I nodded. "I agree. First, we drop her off for the private jet to take her home, then we head to the hotel."

"When will we be at the airport?" Valerie asked.

"Soon," I replied. "We're sending you home on a private jet and you will be reunited with your mate." She told her mate what I said, then soon hung up.

"I can't wait to get home..." She whispered as she handed my phone back to me. "You hear that, baby girl? You get to see daddy soon!" She buried her nose close to the baby. "You'll see daddy soon, Bella... So soon..."

Within another half hour, we pulled into the airport parking lot. Joel and I guided her to her terminal and sent her off. She waved and whispered a thank you to us. We waved back, then headed back for the car once she was out of sight.

"I just wish we could have found the others," I said to Joel as he took the wheel again. "From what Shelbie told me this morning, Reece, Ingrid, and Bennie should be together in the same place. I don't know exactly where they are, but we know they're somewhere in southern Arizona, near the border."

"We'll check there tomorrow," He said as we got back on the main road to get to the hotel. "I'll get plenty of gas and food, and we'll spend the entire day looking for them. How's that?"

I nodded. "That works. I seriously hope we find them soon." We remained silent the rest of the trip. He pulled up to the hotel and we headed for our room we shared. All Hunter pairs must be in the same room in case there's a sudden attack. We have each other's backs.

And the best part? Joel doesn't care I'm gay. He says that since I'm the son to one of the greatest Hunters known in America, I must be protected at all costs so I can one day take charge. I've already decided that he'd be my right hand man once I'm given the Hunters to lead.

I climbed into my bed and sighed heavily. "Tomorrow's gonna be a busy day. We should get something to eat, relax, then get some sleep."

"I agree." Joel picked up the phone and ordered room service for us. I flicked the TV on as we waited for our food. Half way through some random channel, a knock came at the door. Joel got up to answer it. A few minutes later, he was holding our ordered food. He gave me mine then flopped on his own bed with his.

After we finished our food and watched hours of random shows, we flicked the lights out.

~~~~

"Where are we now?" I asked Joel. It was his turn to drive to the fifth abandoned place we located.

He glanced at the signs. "Roughly half an hour outside of Yuma. Our turn should be coming up here soon." I nodded and glanced down at the clock. We've been out roaming the southern part of Arizona ever since five this morning. We've been at this for almost seven hours.

I finished my coffee then tossed it in the bag we were using to hold our trash. "The turn should be on the right hand side. I'll keep an eye out for it." He nodded and glanced around.

"There," I pointed to the dirt road rapidly approaching. He slowed down drastically and we hid behind some fairly thick brush. We pulled the guns from yesterday out and we made the hike through the desert. No cars came down this way the entire time we walked, and this made me a bit uneasy. Maybe we're in the wrong spot?

Soon, the house came in to view. I made us duck down at the sight of three cars parked along the front of the house. We half crawled, half walked to where we were immersed in the sparse vegetation. We had full view of the cars and house.

Soon, the front door opened. "This is not how I planned all this..." Came from a tall man standing between two other guys. "None of the girls are supposed to escape!" I made Joel lower his gun, but keep sights on him.

"Mario, sir." One of the men said and pulled him to a stop. "We still have Signih's mate."

Mario, the leader, punched him hard across his lower jaw. "That's not the point! The point is we lost our main objective! We've lost Lana and all chances of me being able to raise her child! I want her back! My mate's Spirit Wolf is inside her and I want her back in my life!"

He stood from the dusty ground. "Yes, Mario, sir..."

"Send out another four-way attack tomorrow." He ordered as he stood before one of the cars. "If Lana isn't in either of the places, pull back so we keep most of the Rogues. Our numbers are slowly depleting. We need them all for the final attack in case they ever do find us. Understood?"

"Yes, Mario, sir." He got in the car and all three drove off. We waited until they were out of sight before we came out of the bush.

Joel kicked the door in and we proceeded with caution. "Hunters of the Supernatural! All Rogues, show yourselves or we won't hesitate to kill on sight when we find you!" There was a great deal of shuffling from the kitchen area. "Show yourselves!" I motioned for Joel to go on ahead.

I signaled that he jump in first and I follow closely behind him after making sure the halls were clear. We crept forward, our footsteps almost non-existent. We nodded, then Joel jumped in.

"Hunters of the Supernatural! Hands where I can see them!" He shouted. I did a quick sweep, then joined him. "Don't even think about linking your leader! I'll know when you are, and I'll shoot!" I observed the four men in the kitchen. Their eyes were clear and not clouded over, letting me know they weren't contacting this Mario guy.

They had their hands raised in surrender. "Where are the girls?" I demanded. They glanced between each other, then looked back to me.

"We won't say." One said. "Why would Hunters want to protect those who are mated to the Supernatural?"

"One of those girls is my closest friend." My eyes narrowed at them. "I want to get her back home safe and with her mate. So, you either tell us where they are, or I'll give you over to the Alpha's of the packs in Oregon."

They remained silent. "Fine then. Joel, if you would?" With fast movements, he had all four of them knocked out before they could register what was happening. We bound their hands and legs together with chains then durable leather.

"Get the car," Joel jogged from the house. I went to do a sweep of the house. The moment I cleared it, Joel came back and we loaded the Rogues into the car.

I dialed Shelbie's number. "Hello?"

"Get Nyl on the phone, please." I said as I glanced back at the still knocked out Rogues.

"Alpha Nyl." He greeted.

"I have four Rogues in custody right now," I told him with another glance back. "I'm sending them back to you so you can do as you please with them. Also, I have some interesting news for you."

"What kind of news?" He asked. There was a muffled voice that spoke. "It's Rorie, Reece's friend."

"Is that Lana?" I asked.

"Yes." He replied.

"Good. Put me on speaker." I said. "This is actually for the both of you."

"What is it, Rorie?" I heard Lana ask.

"Does the name Mario sound familiar to either of you guys?"

Lana gasped. "I traveled with his Rogue pack before I found Nyl! Is he behind this?"

I nodded. "We heard him saying how he wanted you back in his life because you have his mate's Spirit Wolf. He wants you because he thinks he'll be closer to his mate, who I'm guessing is dead, and so he can raise your child."

There was a low growl. "He's not getting my Lana!"

"If he just wants me, why did he have the others kidnapped?" Lana asked.

"I'm guessing it's a cover-up." I said with another glance back. "If only Lana was kidnapped, then we'd know right away that Mario was behind it. But, if he kidnapped the others, then we would be scrambling to figure out who did it."

"That makes sense." Nyl said, a growl still in his tone. "Cover his tracks. Seems like we might have underestimated him this entire time. Thank you, Rorie."

"Oh, and one more thing." I cut in before he could hang up. "Some time tomorrow, there will be another attack on the four packs. I wanted to let you know so you could prepare for it and not be caught by surprise. Also, it would give you the chance to get the important women out of harm's way."

"Again, thank you, Rorie." He said. "We'll be ready. We appreciate you doing this."

"Any time." I smiled. "Is there a specific place you want me to drop the Rogues off at?" He gave me detailed instructions on how to get to the search party and I relayed them to Joel in code, in case the Rogues were listening in.

Nyl and I hung up and we reached the place where the search party was. Joel and I grabbed two Rgoue's by the back of his shirt and dragged them through the dirt and over rocks.

A man stepped out of the pack house the party was staying at. I recognized him as Carson, the Alpha of the southern Desert Willow pack.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

Joel and I pulled out Hunter badges from our vest pocket. "Hunters of the Supernatural. We're working with the Oregon packs to rescue the kidnapped women. On our journey, we captured four Rogues." Joel and I tossed the Rogues at his feet and they groaned.

Carson looked back up at us. "How can I be sure this isn't a trick?"

I rolled my shoulders and put my gun on the ground, then kicked it away from me. "I'm unarmed. I come to you with orders by Alpha Nyl of the Lynspack to have the search party take these Rogues back to him for questioning as to where the kidnapped girls, Reece, Ingrid, and Bennie, are being held captive. I also come with news that a man named Mario is behind the kidnappings."

Carson nodded. Soon, four burly men stepped from the pack house and gathered up the Rogues. "We'll see to it that they are properly taken care of."

I took a slow step forward and held my hand out. "Rorie. You'll be seeing us a lot." He shook my hand.

Joel stuck his out. "Joel."

Carson nodded. "Carson. Best of luck to you two."

We nodded, then departed. I picked my gun back up and slung it over my shoulder. Behind us, Carson was barking out orders to get the Rogues ready for their flight back to Oregon. Joel and I got back in our car, me at the wheel.

"Where to next?" Joel gave me the directions and we took off down the road once more.

~~~~

With an exhausted groan, Joel and I collapsed on our beds. We agreed that tomorrow, we'd take a break for half the day, then meet up with the other Hunter pairs to see where they stand.

"Want me to order food?" Joel asked.

My stomach suddenly sounded like a lion. I haven't had anything to eat since one, and that was eight hours ago.

"Something small." I said. "Don't want to eat something heavy just before bed." Joel ordered room service and I rolled over so I could get the TV turned on for a bit.

All day, we hadn't had another run-in with Mario; it was as if he disappeared off the face of the earth. We did, however, capture another ten Rogues for questioning. They're most likely back in Oregon now.

After a while, our food came up; simple sandwiches. We finished our meal, then settled in for the night so we would be ready for the meeting with the other Hunters.

~~~~

"Where do we stand?" I asked from the head of the long table. All the Hunter pairs sat before me, their name plates sitting before them.

A woman spoke up. "My partner and I have found many places that weren't on the map. We found at least sixteen abandoned pack houses. All were empty, but that doesn't mean they aren't being used for something."

I nodded. "What else have we got?"

A man spoke this time. "My partner and I discovered that the leader, Mario, changes pack houses every day. Just before we came here, we found him stationed outside of Santa Rose."

"Is there anyway we can get a team down there do capture him?" I asked as I leaned forward.

"We can try," He said. "It might be a long-shot, but we can try."

"Alright," I leaned back. "I want squad three, seven, and nine to get down to Santa Rose and see if we can make an immediate action against him, or if we need to follow him before the initial attack."

"Yes, sir." The squads I named said and stood to get on with their mission. Sixteen people left.

"What else have we got?"

"Your father and I found a detailed map," My mom spoke up. "It turns out that it's full of nothing but the other abandoned pack houses. Rorie, there are thousands of places we have yet to check in both the south and the north Desert Willows packs. I don't think even the search party knows about these places."

"May I see?" I held my hand out and the map was passed down to me. I read it over and covered my eyes. It would take us months, even with the search party, to scout out all these places.

"I'm gonna fax this to Nyl," I said as I stood. "He needs to know this." I pulled out a slip of paper and punched in the numbers after I put the paper in. It turned on and began faxing the map to him.

Five minutes later, I got a call. I put him on speaker phone and placed my phone on the table. "Nyl, it's Rorie. You're on speaker phone. We can hear you."

There was an aggravated sigh. "Thank you for sending me this, Rorie... I'll be sure to get this to Krivix."

"Has the attack happened?" I asked.

"Yes," He answered. "We took the Rogues by surprise and was able to kill nearly every single one that came to all four of the packs. The others we captured for questioning. I really hope we're depleting their numbers drastically."

"You're doing great, Nyl." I assured him. "From what I heard yesterday, Mario is running out of men to send. Soon, it will just be him and a little band that the party can take down instantly."

"That's good..." He paused. "Signih, Krivix, and Victoria just arrived. I'm putting you on speaker. Krivix, Signih, Victoria, this is Rorie."

"Hello." I greeted. "It's an honor for the Hunters to actually be working with the packs."

"Hello, Rorie," A female, Victoria, spoke. "Any news on the girls?" So I repeated everything that was said yesterday and to Nyl just a few minutes ago. She let out a shaky sigh. "I had no idea Arizona had so many abandoned packs... but at least we know where Mario is, right?"

I nodded. "That's right. I've sent a team out to see if we can get more information on him and-" I was cut off by mom's phone going off.

"Hello? I- What the hell is going on?!" She clicked her phone to speaker and turned the volume up.

"There's too many!" A male shouted as gun shots and snarls rang out in the background. "There has to be hundreds of them! We can't keep up! They're killing us off! AH! Die, you fucking Rogue! Die!" Three shots of a gun. "Send back-up! Send-" And the line went dead.

I slammed my hands on the desk and shouted at the ceiling. "Damn it! We underestimated them! Nyl, they still have hundreds of Rogues at their disposal and-"

"We heard, Rorie." He said softly. "I'm so sorry... Krivix, Brandon, and Asher will be back in Arizona soon to help out. Then we can get the search party moving to get the girls to safety. Afterwards, Mario is next."

I let out a shaky sigh. "Thank you... We look forward to the day the party will join us. We'll keep sending information your way. Speaking of the search party, how strong are they in numbers?"

"We're close to two thousand, Rorie." Krivix answered. "The Rogue's should be child's play. I'll set-up a full-proof plan to get in, get the girls, then get out. Then, once we figure out where Mario is, there will be no escape for him."

I gave a determined nod. "Thank you, Krivix."

"Bring my Ingrid back home safely," I heard Signih speak. "I'm counting on you and your group."

"We won't let you down, Signih." I told him. "You'll have your mate back soon. This I swear."

"We wish you good luck, Rorie." Nyl hung up and I stared down at the phone. The conference room the hotel let us borrow was deathly quiet.

"Sixteen men and women..." I whispered. "Gone. I should have sent more... I should have sent more!"

"Rorie." I met my dad's eyes. "It's not your fault. We didn't know there would still be that many. It wasn't your fault."

"But I sent sixteen people to their certain death!" I slammed my hands on the table. "We've lost sixteen of our numbers!"

"We still have over two hundred," My mom tried to reason. "We can do this, Rorie. Have faith."

I let out a frustrated growl. A hand was lightly placed on my shoulder. Joel was standing next to me, a sympathetic look in his eyes. "We can still do this. In less than a week's time, those Rogues will be begging for mercy. Just you wait."

I nodded slowly. "Everyone is dismissed. We'll continue our searches of the pack houses tomorrow. I want copies of this map given to every pair." Dad took the map and went to get the copies. "I want us all rested and ready. We leave at dawn."