2

~Iris~

I woke up the next morning to Blake and Ryan arguing over something while Sadie just teased them and made it worse. I rolled my eyes, grabbed their ears, and dragged them both outside. Sadie followed silently behind me, trying to keep her laughter.

"Ow! Iris, what was that for?" Blake whined, rubbing his ear.

Ryan scowled at me, "That hurt."

"It should! You guys are twenty years old! Start acting like it!" I scolded, placing my hands on my hips.

"I'm actually nineteen." Ryan grumbled like a child.

I raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"

"Sorry."

"What were you fighting about anyway?"

"Well, Ryan grabbed the toy from the cereal box." Blake started sarcastically. "And-

"Ryan, the truth." I said, cutting Blake off.

I shifted my gaze to my Gamma who was flashing Blake an irritated glare. "He said Mona was hot."

"Blake, really? You know they're practically mates! I mean, they throw themselves at each other every damn second. I wouldn't be shocked if Ryan snapped your neck." I scolded, trying to hold the smile off my face.

"Hey, we do not throw ourselves at each other every second." Ryan defended, standing up.

Sadie laughed, "Pa-lease! She walked in, said hi, and then you two went into a lip fight against the wall."

"Hey, she was gone for the whole weekend, I couldn't help myself."

"Yeah, well, whenever you guys want to lip wrestle again get a bedroom." Sadie taunted.

Ryan glowered at her, but didn't say another thing. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, this is what I deal with almost every morning. Blake and Ryan being foolish while Sadie only taunts them.

"Blake, go train the warriors like you were supposed to ten minutes ago. Ryan, can you please figure out the date and time for that Alpha meeting in two weeks? And Sadie clean your room! It's a mess!" I scowled at her, folding my arms across my chest.

Blake and Ryan snickered as they both ran off, leaving a slightly miffed Sadie. She groaned, "But I'm fifteen! I'm being a regular teenage girl and trashing my room! You cannot tell me you didn't do the same." she retorted.

I opened my mouth, ready to scold her again, but then closed it. She smirked, "Thought so."

I chuckled, "You're a real pain in the butt, ya know that?"

"I know, but you love me." she smiled, walking beside me as we walked back into the packhouse.

"Yeah, I do. So, did you have breakfast yet?"

"No, I busy teasing Ryan and Blake. You know, they're like the older brothers I never had."

"To me they're like my younger brothers, always arguing. Every. Single. Morning." I sighed.

I started to search through the cabinets, not knowing what I wanted. Sadie plopped herself down at the table and sighed. An awkward silence took place, my focus on finding something for breakfast that I actually wanted. Damn Blake fills up almost every cabinet with fruit loops! I groaned, slamming the cabinet close.

"Remind me to not let that wolf get fruit loops the next time we buy food." I breathed out, yanking the fridge door open.

Sadie chuckled, "He likes his fruit loops."

"I can tell." I grumbled.

"So, can we go on a run after breakfast? I'm bored sitting in the house all day and we're not training today."

"Sounds good, but then I'm doing paperwork for the rest of the day. Ryan's cousins are joining the pack, there's twenty of them. Not including their mates."

"Ew, sounds boring."

"Tell me about it."

After five minutes I finally found some eggs, cheese, and sausage. I cooked up two omelets and handed one to Sadie. While we ate she brought up our parents, for the fifth time this month. I know why, it's because their wedding anniversary is coming up in a few days. Ever since our parents passed we would visit their graves on that day and place a thing of roses or daisies there. However, this year Sadie wanted to put a variety of flowers there. She also wanted to put white roses there, the type our mother held on her wedding day.

I felt a sob trying to make its way up my throat, but I swallowed it. I smiled and told her we could look at flowers tomorrow. Her eyes brightened up when I said that, causing me to grin. We put our dishes away and got changed into workout clothes then ran outside.

We walked through the forest, enjoying nature. I took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of the forest. I allowed myself to sink into nature's beautiful grasp. I could only hear the birds singing, squirrels scurrying through tree branches, the wind whistling through the leaves, and the sound of the river that isn't so far away.

When we reached the clearing we both shifted into our wolves and took off. My black paws splashed through a puddle of muddy water, spraying it all over Sadie's face. She growled playfully and chased after me, both of us barking. Her light brown wolf blended in with the forest's trees, making it hard for me to spot her. However, I could easily hear her. She isn't the quietest in her wolf form.

I ran up the side of a cliff, spotting her wolf diving through trees. She looked around, her blue eyes searching for my black wolf. I dug my claws into the soft earth and propelled myself forward, gliding through the rocks and trees on the cliff. I then climbed down and tackled her, taking her by surprise. She yelped in shock as we tumbled down a hill and into the river.

I swam up the surface and searched for Sadie but didn't see her anywhere, panic settled in my chest as I frantically scanned the area for her. Suddenly, someone grabbed my back legs and dragged me under the water. I spun around to see Sadie watching me with frightened eyes. She then looked behind us and that was when I saw red water. I grabbed her by her scruff and yanked her up. We both shifted back and gasped for air.

I grabbed a branch hanging over the water and pulled her to the bank with me. We sat there for a few moments, gaining our breath. I then looked back over to where there was red water and gasped.

Struggling to stay afloat was Achilles, blood pouring down the side of his face. I swallowed and ordered Sadie to stay put. She furrowed her eyebrows, but didn't ask any questions. I shifted and sprinted down the length of the river, jumping into the freezing waters. I shifted back into human form and swam towards Achilles. I frowned, noticing that he was staying in the same place.

"Achilles!" I yelled over the roaring of the water.

He turned his head, his eyes widened when he saw me. Relief flooded into his hazel eyes as I grabbed his elbow.

"My foot is caught." he breathed, exhaustion evident on his face.

I nodded and dove under, shifting into my wolf form once again. I dug my claws into the bottom of the river, using all my strength to make myself stay in the same spot. I pulled on the rope that was tangled around his ankle, when it was loose enough I swam back up. I then swam in front of him and with one shove, his got loose. He collapsed onto my back; I quickly swam back to the branch, tired from the strength I'm using to not float down the river. I grabbed the branch with my teeth and pulled us in. Achilles' grip on my back become tighter as the river waters tried pulling him away. Sadie poked her head out from behind the rocks and grabbed onto Achilles. She pulled him onto land while I jumped onto the rocks above. I shook out my fur and climbed down to check on Achilles.

He was panting and dazed as he laid there, the blood still gushing from the wound on his head. Not only that, but there were three large claw marks on his chest and abdomen. Sadie's eyes were wide with fear as she knelt beside him.

I shifted back and ran over, gently placing his head on my lap. "What the hell happened?" I gasped.

He coughed a little before answering, "Rogues...th-they were huge. I think they're Alphas."

"Alphas? Why would Alphas be rogues?" I asked, bewildered.

He sighed, "If I knew, I would tell you."

"This almost sounds like Teen Wolf." Sadie chirped, helping me apply pressure.

I glanced at her for a moment then shifted my gaze to his head wound. "Teen Wolf?"

"Yeah, there was a pack of Alphas or something. My friend tried explaining it to me but I zoned out after a while. It's kind of a boring show for a werewolf." she explained.

"Oh, are you talking about Zelda?"

"Yeah, she's obsessed with it."

"Well, I would be shocked if a random group of Alphas decided to become rogue."

"Th-their eyes were the same colors though." Achilles whispered, his eyes fluttering as he tried keeping them open. "Red around the edge and orange around the pupil."

"Hey, keep your eyes open, Achilles. If you have a concussion and pass out there's a chance you can go into a coma." I ordered, my voice slightly panicky.

He frowned, "You a doctor?"

"No." I chuckled. "I just asked the pack doctor a lot of questions when I was younger."

"Oh."

It was silent for a little while as Sadie and I worked on his wounds. I frowned, why aren't these healing?

"How far is your packhouse?" I asked, scanning the area around us.

He groaned as I applied pressure to the wounds again. "F-far from here. This is...Silver Sun territory."

"Well, then we'll have to go to my packhouse. These wounds aren't healing and you can't walk home alone. Any rogue would gladly take the chance to attack an injured Alpha, especially a hated one."

"You say that like you care." he teased.

I rolled my eyes, "Alright, let's go you clown."

Sadie and I gently picked him up, he struggled a bit but managed to walk. I sighed, maneuvering them towards the left side of the bank. There's a bridge about a mile down, luckily, the bridge is close to the house's backyard.

Achilles winced as we walked towards the bridge. I glanced at him, his face becoming paler. I clenched my jaw, turning my attention back to finding the bridge. Sadie seemed a little uncomfortable as she kept glancing at the river beside her.

"Sadie, do you want to switch sides?" I asked.

She snapped her eyes over and nodded quickly. I chuckled; we carefully moved around Achilles before settling beside him again. He started to lean a lot of his weight on us, his eyes becoming droopy.

"Hey, you have to stay awake." I barked.

He looked at me, "I'm trying, but I'm tired."

"Well, suck it up, Alpha." I smirked.

He chuckled a little, "I honestly didn't want to meet you again...like this. I feel weak."

"Hey, right now we're on good terms, so I'm going to help you. However, you better not do anything stupid or I'll throw you back into the river."

"Damn, tough love I see."

"Love? You two a couple?" Sadie asked, looking at us.

We both blushed a little, of course Achilles tried hiding it. "No." we said quickly.

She only smirked, a knowing look in her eyes. I internally groaned, why do I feel like she's going to play match maker?