Layla faced off against our enemy as we watched him transform into his wolf.

The fighting continued all around us as the other four Alpha's worked on defeating the rogues and protecting the fire wall I had erected to protect my packs escape. Never would I allow to happen to them what had happened to the other packs. I would give my life to defend them.

The Rogue king's wolf towered above my own as he shifted fully into the beast. He was a dirty grey colour and there were patches of baldness on his fur which gave way to old wounds and sores which had begun to develop on his skin. The sores oozed and pulsed as the blood beneath them converted to one of absolute unadulterated power, his grotesque red eyes bored into Layla's with rage. His teeth were the size of just one of Layla's paws. She stood her ground regardless and I was proud of her for it. Our enemy was twice our size but we had to buy time.

Keep him preoccupied for as long as possible.

The Rogue King's wolf howled a guttural sound which damaged Layla's sensitive hearing. Her reaction and split moment of distraction was all he needed to make his move. He pounced, claws extended and at the ready towards our wolf. His claws made contact with our fur and Layla howled as his claws drew blood.

The weight of his wolf propelled us off of the platform where his 'throne' had been and we landed heavily on the floor with a loud thud. Lying on our back as the Rogue King lay over us, Layla kicked into his stomach with her hind legs but her efforts were futile, he was too heavy for us to shift him. He removed one paw from our chest and placed It over our throat, further pining us into the floor and crushing Layla's windpipe in the process.

Her oxygen was thinning out and I had to think fast before we both perished. Trevor's voice swam into my head as Layla eyes began to loose focus.

"You must not just rely on your own eyes but on your wolfs senses. When we give ourselves fully to our wolves, that is when we reach our true potential. But you must draw on your wolfs abilities in human form".

That's it!

When in human form I rely on Layla's wolf's super strength, eyesight and hearing. But in Wolf form Layla relies on my power. The power comes from me!

Concentrating solely on Layla's paws I directed all my energy and power towards them. Her paws shone brightly and seared into the underbelly of the beast above us. He sneered and retreated his paw from our throat quickly, allowing Layla a moments reprieve to catch her breath. He moved back a few paces and began to prowl back and forth, not satisfied with our willingness to fight him. His stomach, I noted, had already begun to heal with my mothers blood coursing through his veins. His wounds sinching together and removing our hope along with it.

How will I ever kill him?

My mind blanked.

Layla jumped to her feet and we began to move clockwise. Forever keeping our eyes upon the predator in front of us. A few stray rogues behind me attempted to jump us from behind but Alpha Cain kept them at bay. The Alpha's were standing their ground and it was paying off, but for how long? There were far too many of them. Sooner or later we would be overwhelmed and I had already begun to notice that the Alpha's were sustaining quite a few injuries in their fight.

Turning back towards the prowling beast, Layla growled low in warning. A promise to keep fighting right to the end. He opened his jaws and his teeth dripped with his saliva. His need to 'kill' ever strong and growing. Running in a circle around the Rogue King we began to pick up pace, he attempted to swipe at us but Layla's nimble wolf avoided every strike. Her paws burned with our power and when she finally stopped, the Rogue King was trapped within the circle of the all consuming Violet flame. Imprisoned in it's fiery power. His own power began to eminate from him though as he stepped easily out of our circle. His red power burnt a hole straight through our wall and Layla's ears dropped back in fear as he approached. His wolf grinned at us.

Before we could react,his paw swiped out towards us and sent us hurling away from him and into the onslaught of his rogues still fighting behind us. The pain which followed dulled slightly as we noticed him charging towards us rapidly. We managed to roll away from his attack just in time. A few of his wolves caught the tail end of his fiery paws and they incinerated on the spot instantly.

Our eyes widened as he rounded on his 'missed' prey with contempt in his eyes. His malicious intent only increased and his need to kill us intensified as Layla continued to dodge his jaws and the swipes of his red powered claws. We were riling him and his snarling turned feral. I heard an unexpected howl to my right and saw my father and Richard fighting one another.

No!

They slashed and tore into the other like meat and my heart twisted painfully in my chest. Alpha Byrant was being held down by almost ten rogues and Alpha Jullian was not holding up much better. I looked over towards my protective 'wall' and spotted a few of the rogues jumping across it In pursuit of my pack. I howled in my wolf. A howl I hoped would reach the ears of my pack in warning. They had to escape!

Without realising the Rogue King had crept upon me and sent a lecherous blow towards my wolf's face, Layla was sent scattering towards a nearby tree and our back snapped when we hit the base of it. The blow sent us into a temporary daze, so much so, that the Rogue King no longer believed us to a threat to him anymore. He shifted into his human form and his confidence grew with each step he took towards us. Eyes still glowing the shade of crimson red, fixated on the 'kill'. As he approached, my wolf's injured form he kicked us in the stomach and Layla whined in pain at the prospect of our pup being injured.

"This is the end for you little white wolf!"

He snarled with glee. I watched his right hand raise high above his head. I knew there and then that he was about to land a fatal blow. One which would end my life. I closed my eyes tightly.

Waiting for the final blow.

All I could think about was that I was breaking my promise to Dimitri. A promise that myself and our pup would survive this.

**********

Dimitri

"Alpha... please ... wake up. The Luna needs you"!

My eyes opened to look directly into the eyes of Gavin. His face looked anxious and next to him was a nervous Kieron. I blinked a few times to focus and took in my surroundings. I was no longer on the training field to RedFang.

Instead, I was in....

the forest?

Sitting up I took note of the pack and our warriors who had stopped close by. The male warriors were protecting the outer rim of the area we were currently located in. The women looked worn and their faces showed their fear. They were on the look out for someone or something following them which only confused me even more. My wolf detected we were on the Eastern border of our pack. But why?

My eyes locked with Gavin's as uncertainty clouded my thoughts.

"What happened?" I asked.

Gavin's face crumbled slightly at my line of questioning so Kieron answered for him.

"Your warriors and your remaining pack members are going to take refuge in the mountains. Appatently you have a tunnel there which can lead them out and away from the Rogue King and his army".

Grabbing his arm fiercely my eyes turned stormy.

"Where is my mate? Where is Violet"?!

With that, I heard my mates howl in the distance. One of warning. My chest constricted and my eyes widened. Our pack shuffled restlessly at her howl. A few of the women whimper at her warning. Turning my accusing stare towards Gavin I asked..

"You left her? You left your Luna"? My voice increased with my anger and my pack turned in fear at my outburst. They could feel my emotions turning dangerous and I stood on shaking legs to push passed them. Gavin jumped to my aid to help me stand but I pushed him away with brute force.

"HOW COULD YOU LEAVE HER"?!

I made an attempt to grab Gavin's throat in my rage but Kieron jumped between and to Gavin's defence.

"She told us to leave, to protect what was left of your pack. Her and the remaining Alpha's are buying us the time we need to escape. Her howl was a signal. I don't think we have much time to escape the Rogues, some might have even slipped through their defenses. We have to keep moving".

My eyes widened in disbelief.

"Moving? I won't run from my duty to protect her or my pup. Take the packs women and children and I will lead my warriors to protect their Luna and their territory"

Turning a look of total disgust towards Gavin I said..

"Our warriors should never have left in the first place".

"You cannot blame him Dimitri, he was compelled to follow the order of his Luna, you know this" admonished kieron.

Pushing passed a few of my warriors one of them tried in vain to pull me back ...

"Alpha, you can't! It's a lost cause. There were almost two hundred rogues when we left. Its suicide".

Pushing him and his weakness aside, I stared into the faces of my other warriors who stood a little taller as I approached them.

"Who will join me in returning to face the rogues"?

Only around thirty or so of my warriors stepped forward to my chagrin.

"What will you do"? Asked Kieron.

Looking towards the direction my mate was in, my mate bond slowly returned to me.

I could feel her pain now.

She was losing the battle.

The fight for survival and she needed me. Our pup needed me.

"I'm going to save her". I said

**********

Violet

I closed my eyes.

Waiting for his strike.

That's when the ground began to shake.

I opened my eyes to sneak a peak up towards towards the Rogue King but his focus was now solely on the woods to his left. The ground vibrated and Layla's ears plucked up as our head turned towards the sound too.

Paws.

They were paws and werewolves approaching our position quickly in a tight formation. The Rogues had already stopped their fighting with the Alpha's as they too turned their heads to the direction where the sound was coming from. Apart from those approaching, no other sounds could be heard.

Like lightening, werewolves burst out from the woods cover in attack. Their paws galloped relentlessly along the forest floor. They attacked the confused Rogues and the Rogue King looked on in disbelief. Layla stood on all fours as we both took in the magnificent sight around us. There must have been the same amount of werewolves in the resistance as there were in the Rogue King's army.

Luck might finally be on our side. Layla turned to look at the wolves surrounding us as the chaos ensued. Wolf against wolf, jaw against jaws. Layla's wolf grinned as we caught sight of the 'Rogue King's' panic.

I guess the Beta's came to our aid after all! Now the fight can truly begin, I smiled to myself and caught sight if the Rogue King staring at me in suspicion. Shifting back into my human form I felt behind my back to where my fathers dagger once lay. My smile dropped.

Gone!

I tried to wrack my memory as to when I had last had it, but I came up empty. The Rogue King snapped his head towards me a moment before his hand shot out to grip my throat.

Choking the life out of me.