My Hateful Mate

5. Naked and dirty

CHRIS POV

On the night of a full moon, a lot of the pack members shift and go for a run. Most of the time, we join them. We being Alpha Adam, Luna Angela, Gamma Jake, and myself. “That’s when we’re not dealing with nonsense like we are now.” Drake grumbled. Hunters attacking Rogues. “To think, not so long ago we were dealing with Rogue attacks and now we are concerned because they are being attacked.” I mused.

In their defense, they weren’t doing anything to merit being attacked. Most of them were out hunting for food or coming back from the local towns where they visit from time to time. More and more rogues are making that a habit and that may be why hunters are able to track them more easily. Whatever the case, we need to figure out how to stop them.

With everything most of the packs have set in place, I doubt the hunters could pull off an attack on a pack. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. With the right weapons, technology, and motivation, anything is possible. That’s why, even though we are more than prepared for an attack of any kind. We are still looking for any possible weaknesses in our set up. Our job is to keep our pack members safe.

The icing on the cake is the added worry over my big sis. She’s somewhere in the Wendell National Forest for some reason. I thought she left home because she wanted to explore different cities. How she ended up there and needed my dad to come get her is a mystery. Then again, it’s Mel we’re talking about here. I’m surprised she didn’t need back up before this.

Since I can’t do anything about that situation, I will have to focus on the other problem at hand. “Commander Jordan sent a few teams to investigate the attacks. They reported directly to my dad since the commander is trying to find the quickest way to Mel.” Adam spoke as he looked at his notes. “They successfully killed five Rogues and wounded two. They appear to be more prepared this time.” That explains their sabbatical.

He proceeded to explain how their attacks were more tactical and less confrontational. They are shooting from a distance and hardly engaging at all. “More like actual hunters. Maybe their first attack was a mistake because they clearly weren’t on their A game. It could be that they were scouting and got discovered.” I pointed out.

Adam nodded, still going over everything that was sent to all the packs. A memo of sorts. “Some of the packs caught the hunters on their surveillance cameras. Leia is leading a team to see if they can use the footage to trace where they came from.” That’s right, they probably had no idea we had camouflaged cameras set up near the roads. They got lucky last time, but since then we’ve added more.

He handed us the pictures of the attack sites. The Rogues who died had a single shot to the head. Silver bullet, not that they needed it with a head shot. I guess they wanted to make extra sure. “Do they know if it was one hunter or a team?” I asked curiously. “Based on the surveillance, one hunter for each attack.” Snipers.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these hunters had military training or were skilled marksmen. They had to be pretty far away from the Rogue’s not to smell or hear them coming.” Jake pointed out what I was thinking as well. “Rob is working with the council on this. Since he represents the human population at the council, this concerns him. He would know if that’s the case.” Adam explained.

Once the meeting was done, Adam sent us to get some rest. We had a lot of things to go over with the Patrol guards and Warriors in the morning. There was no way I was going to get any sleep. Not while I didn’t know what was going on with Mel. s**t, my mom must be freaking out right now. She went to Golden Moon today to visit my niece and nephews, so Dev must have his hands full trying to calm her down. At least she has the pups to keep her preoccupied.

I wish I could go over there and help him. My big bro tends to take the Lyons share of the responsibilities when things go south and right now this s**t is in Antarctica. How can I find comfort in my bed knowing that? I can’t. Not until dad brings Mel’s crazy ass back home and forces her to stay put. “Good luck with that.” Drake chuckled with a snort. “If he cuts her off, she won’t have a choice.” I pointed out.

MEL POV

This has been a very long night and it’s not nearly over. The not so funny thing is that not that much time has passed. It’s the events that occurred that have made the short period of time drag on for what feels like days. I could imagine how I would feel if it was me that was hurt and had to depend on someone else to stop dragging their feet. Not that I want to do that, but I have a lot to consider.

I’m struggling not to laugh at the sight of Diana slithering on the ground while grumbling. If my dying mate wasn’t next to me and she wasn’t hurt, it would be easier to laugh. When she began hissing and complaining I sighed and stood up. “You are going to irritate your wound and make it worse.” I went to help her, but she smacked my hands away when I tried to grab her.

She glared up at me and shook her head. “What do you think is going to happen if he doesn’t report back to his friends? You’re not dense enough to believe he’s working alone, are you?” I hadn’t thought of that. Instinctively I looked around, trying to sense if anyone else was around. If they found us here like this, they would kill Diana and probably suspect I’m a wolf.

Based on his unwillingness to listen to me, I doubt any hunter will be willing to sit down and have a civilized conversation. “I’ve wasted enough time watching while you cater to him, making sure he survives attacking me. I’m not going to sit here and wait for his friends to come finish me off.” She scooted an inch and hissed.

I didn’t have a good argument about why she should wait. Even if I knew my father would be here soon, who was I to ask her to trust me? I was hopeful that Maeve would poof my dad over here. Though, that probably meant Robbie would come with her. There was no way he would let her come here alone, even if my dad was coming with her, with what little information I gave him.

The only thing I insisted on was that he come alone or at least not bring anyone I don’t know. I assured him that there was no longer any danger because I assumed there wasn’t any, but now with Diana’s insight, I’m not sure how true that is. Maybe him bringing one of the guys wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Then again… That would complicate things more. For me.

If one of them did come, they would probably make things worse. “We may have to play interference against whoever shows up and our unconscious mate.” I groaned inwardly and rolled my eyes when Diana took a break, laying on her back and staring at the sky. “They won’t hurt him if they know he’s our mate.” Keyla asserted. That meant I would have to tell them he was my mate. That thought makes my brain hurt.

I wasn’t ready to face all of that yet. It was hard enough to lie there with him since I knew he would push me away if he was awake. The hateful bastard. Just because I didn’t let him kill Diana, he got all sour. Imagine the b***h fit he’s going to throw when he wakes up to find out I’m a wolf and so is he now. When and if he finally turns.

Diana took a deep breath and went to her side to continue on her way. It was obvious to her that she was third on my priority list at the moment. It was sad that that was the case, but true none the less. That didn’t mean I would willingly let her die, but if it came down to Roman or her… we both knew who would end up on top. “Girl stop. I promise you that someone is coming very soon.” I tried to convince her.

She scoffed but didn’t stop crawling forward. “I’m too beautiful to die naked and dirty.” She cringed at her current state. I guess she was more lone wolf than a Rogue. “First of all. You’re crawling in the wrong direction. The road to town is that way.” I pointed in the opposite direction she was going in. She looked up at the sky and then groaned, lying flat on her back in defeat. Today is not her day.... or mine.