I was scanning over paperwork that a pack member had asked me to review, he had proposed a business deal and wanted to know if I would be interested in investing. My mind could barely focus, I had been working for the past seven hours straight with no break.

It was then that my office door creaked open, Kennedy wrapped tightly in a blanket as she walked towards me, I lifted her up, sitting her down on my lap, her body leaning against mine as she laid her head on my chest. "Not tired baby?"

"No, I don't want to sleep anymore." She replied, her eyes looking down at the mess that occupied my desk.

"Want to colour for a little while? I have a few things I need to finish and then we'll watch a movie?" I suggested, already grabbing some plain paper from the drawer along with some coloured pens.

Kennedy nodded excitedly, moving from my lap and running towards the couch, pens and paper in hand. She stayed there for a while, silently colouring as I continued to work.

My phoned buzzed and I quickly replied to all the unread messages, they had piled up over the last few days.

I had been ignoring the piles of work, text messages and phone calls that I needed to make, I wanted to spend time with my mate and daughter which was why it had managed to build up so much.

I had also noticed that we were having more rogue captures lately, they had been attempting to cross our borders but were stopped by border patrol wolves before they could get too far in.

A few had managed to escape but tractors had caught onto their scent and would remember it if they tried again.

It was beginning to worry me, the safety of my pack and territory were paramount. I couldn't ignore the threat that the young rogue had mentioned that a rogue Alpha had made it his mission to destroy all packs, with mine being next.

I had arranged more border patrols, and as long as my pack members stayed within a few miles of the border they would be safe to roam freely. They could continue their daily runs.

The leader of the rogue pack Marcus had his mate killed by an Alpha, he had sworn after the discovery of his mate's attack that he would take revenge against all Alphas, wanting them to feel the pain and anguish that he felt.

He had been with his mate for over five years and she was over two months pregnant.

When your soul mate dies, half of your soul dies. They shared a part of you, that would never be replaced by someone else. The loss of a mate was the most excruciating thing that a werewolf could go through. Some turn to madness while others manage to control their beast, having to hide them away, to never be let out. Only the strongest of wolves could find peace within themselves after losing their mate.

I wasn't about to allow him to do that to me and my family, to my pack. I had organised more patrols and more training, even wolves who hadn't shifted yet were learning more combat, to be able to protect themselves.

I was just looking through my plans for another extension on the pack house when Kennedy got up from the couch and approached me, a scrunched-up paper in her hand. She held her hand out for me to take it, a large smile on her face as I grabbed it to look at her drawing.

When my eyes roamed the paper, I wanted to pull my hair out. Kennedy had somehow managed to colour in a multi-coloured wolf on some important pack paperwork which had taken me two hours to complete. This unfortunately needed to be sent to a neighbouring pack tomorrow morning.

Because I didn't say anything about her drawing and instead smacked my hands on my face, sighing deeply. Tears had sprung in her deep blue eyes, thinking I didn't like the picture she had drawn for me.

I immediately pulled her onto my lap, telling her that I loved it. I didn't have the patience nor the effort to rewrite a new copy and instead, just sent the neighbouring Alpha the paperwork with a multi-coloured wolf on it.

~*~

Within half hour, I had managed to put Kennedy back in bed and she had fallen fast asleep.

I walked into my bedroom, heading straight for the bathroom to have a quick shower and to brush my teeth.

I was about to exit the shower when I suddenly felt tense, an uneasy feeling flowed through my body. My wolf pacing around my mind, anxious and concerned about the dangerous vibes that our body was experiencing.

I jumped out the shower, throwing on a pair of shorts before racing into Kennedy's room to find her asleep, clinging onto her blankets. Once my wolf acknowledged our daughter was safe, I immediately mind linked Lara but received no reply.

I called through the pack mind link, commanding warriors, and my Beta Dan to attend my house instantly, while ordering others to search the territory.

Within minutes they had arrived, two wolves were to stay behind to guard over Kennedy as the rest of us went in search for Lara.

With the threats of rogues and a deranged Alpha lurking in the woods, I was afraid that Lara could have been taken, attacked, or even killed if I didn't find her in time.

I followed Lara's scent, it ended near the beginning of the woods, close to the clearing besides our house. I shouted Lara's name, my tone desperate, wanting to find my mate safe.

Once I found her, I couldn't see anything but her as I examined her up and down for injuries. She was in her wolf form, looking straight back at me.

I hadn't even realised that she was standing in front of another wolf until the wolf lunged for her throat.

I instantly shifted, my shorts shredding into pieces. I launched forward, snapping my jaw down deep into Olivia's shoulder making her leg snap, yelping loudly from the agonizing pain.

I continued to hold down the grip I had on her shoulder, anger rushing through me as Lara fell to the ground, whimpering in sheer pain. Blood pouring down her coat, her fur clumping into thick spots as the blood began to stain the forest floor.

Wanting to comfort my mate, I flung Olivia to the side, near to four pack warriors, so they could watch her every movement.

I nudged Lara's side gently and watched as she slowly opened her eyes, softly whimpering. I began slowly licking her wound and whined when she closed her eyes not wanting her to lose consciousness.

She needed to see the pack doctor immediately, and as I went to shift back to my human form, Olivia growled.

My snout twitched in anger, my eyes narrowing darkly on Olivia, irritation and fury burning through my beast, all aimed at her.

Olivia suddenly charged again, and before she could reach Lara, I bit down on Olivia's throat, launching her into the tree opposite, listening to her whimper as she dropped to the floor with force.

I growled in dominance, forcing Olivia's wolf to submit to mine. She submits, as her wolf cowered into the back of her mind, no longer willing to continue their assault. I shifted back, chucking on a pair of shorts that a pack warrior had threw to me.

"Take her to the cells, I'll be visiting her later." I demanded, my voice hardening considerably.

Olivia decided to take another chance and gripped her teeth onto an unexpected pack warriors leg that hadn't shifted into his wolf. Dan shifted into his wolf, gaining control of her as she attempted to claw at his face, slashing his snout.

I had enough of her behaviour, she was causing too much aggravation and was enabling me from seeing to my mate's injuries. I let out an uncontrollable animalistic growl, I rushed forward, my hands gripping around her neck as I forced her to shift.

She began to shake, trying to fight for her life as she wiggled within my grip, but my nails conformed into claws, half of my wolf form out as I slit my claw along her throat, deep enough to open her jugular vein.

Within a minute she fell to the floor limp and lifeless.

"Take her body away and get rid of it." I commanded as I secured my mate into my arms, rushing towards the pack infirmary. I had already notified him though the pack mind link, so he could be prepared.

Michael the pack doctor told me to place Lara down on the medical bed, she had already shifted back into her human form. He rushed around the room, injecting, and attaching wires to her body. He had already told me that she would need a blood transfusion from me, she had lost a lot of blood but thankfully, Olivia had missed her main artery.

Michael inserted the needle into my vein before transferring my blood to Lara's. He inspected her injuries, the cut to her neck was deep and Lara's breathing had become laboured.

Michael had begun to bandage Lara's wounds, informing me that she would need to rest. That he would inject her with a medication to keep her asleep, to allow her body to heal properly without being interrupted.

Luckily, Olivia had caught onto Lara's shoulder more than her neck and had missed any main veins. I watched on as Michael slowly injected her, watching Lara's eyes slowly close as she fell into a deep sleep.

She needed time to rest, and Michael allowed me to take her home, so she could rest comfortably in her own bed. He would visit her in the morning, to check on her injuries and told me to keep an eye on her.

My thoughts raced as I carried Lara home, my mind drifting back to the day I rejected her, the lost that I felt and the feeling of losing her all over again, plaguing my entire being.

Whether I had caused her pain by openly rejecting her, or by causing her pain from being with someone else, who felt as if she had the right to take my mates life, that made me feel at fault.