Heart of Blue Crescent: Aurora and Rowan

Chapter 2: Rogue Attack

As if Magnus had spoken too early, the rogue attack was reported.

The three of them were mind-linked by the border-patrolling team about the rogue attack from the east end. They stood in shock and were about to leave the room when they received additional news of attacks from the west, south, and north ends as well. They understood that their pack was under a massive rogue attack. As strong leaders, they did not lose their composure. They instructed the border patrol to keep updating the situation and sent warriors in batches to all four sides. Lucian decided to go to the east, sent Alaric to the south, Finn to the north, and Ethan to the west. Ethan, Lucas, Finn, and Levi are top-ranked and senior warriors of the Sapphire Claw pack.

Lucian mind-linked Elara, his soulmate and Luna, to take care of the women and children of the pack along with their two kids. His Gamma, Magnus, was assigned to protect the Luna and his future heir. Lucian and Elara had two beautiful children: their firstborn son, Victor, who is four years old, and a one-year-old daughter named Lyra. Elara mind-linked the entire pack and advised all women and children to go to the pack's underground safe house.

The Sapphire Claw pack house is one of the largest, accommodating most of the pack members along with the Alpha and Gamma's families. Alaric's family used to live in the pack house as well. However, as their family grew, they decided to move out to an independent home since Isolde always wanted a private garden and backyard, and the kids needed their own space.

The pack house has four floors. The fourth floor contains a large home with four master bedrooms, a guest room, kitchen, and living area. The right end of the floor has both Alpha and Luna's offices. The third floor consists of the Beta and Gamma families' houses on the left end, but the Beta's house is empty and used as a guest house whenever the Alpha from a neighboring pack visits. The right end contains the Beta and Gamma's office rooms. Alaric still uses the same office room as it is more convenient for dealing with pack affairs. The second floor houses some of the top-ranked warriors and a few omegas. The first floor has a fun room, playroom, home theater, and a women’s gossip room (Elara’s idea). The ground floor contains the kitchen and dining area. The kitchen is open 24/7 and always has food available. Most members have breakfast in the pack house. The underground safe house is prepared for emergencies, equipped with supplies to last 15-20 days, including cradles for newborns, food, a gaming zone for kids, sufficient bedding, clothes, and other basic amenities for the entire pack.

The pack has a rule: during an attack, the safeguard team must ensure the safety of women and children, headed by none other than Gamma Magnus, as he is also the protector of the Luna. The safeguard team consists of twenty warriors. As soon as they heard about the attack, the members of this team started gathering the women and children and leading them to the underground safe house. Luna Elara oversaw the entire process and ensured everyone was present. Amidst all the chaos, everyone had forgotten about Isolde. Gamma female Magnus's mate, Astrid, who is pregnant and due in a month, noticed Isolde was missing during a headcount. Astrid, who is Isolde's best friend, turned pale. With her face still pale, Astrid walked out of the safe house and found Elara. Elara was shocked to see the pale-faced Astrid and scolded her to go inside and rest as she was pregnant. However, the news Astrid delivered made the ground beneath Elara’s feet crumble. As they were close friends, they quickly knew where Isolde must have gone.

They informed Magnus and asked him to leave immediately to find Isolde. Magnus refused to leave the side of his Luna, mate, and unborn child. He said, “Alaric will take care of her. Whatever the situation may be, he will not forget his mate, and his first priority will be Isolde. Being her protector, Alaric will keep her safe. Do not worry; go inside the safe house and don’t open the lock until I say so.” He pushed both of them inside and tried to mind-link Alaric.

On the other hand, as soon as the duties were assigned, Alaric apologized to his Alpha, saying his priority was to save his mate and unborn child first and that he would go to the lake. Lucian understood Alaric’s decision and asked him to take a few warriors with him, as Isolde was pregnant and they might need help. He assigned Alaric's duties to Lucas. Alaric asked the fellow warriors to follow him and turned into his wolf, Grayson. His wolf is huge, nearly the same size as Lucian's Adrian, with a brown-colored mane and a white patch on his nose. He started sprinting toward the lake, constantly trying to mind-link Isolde.

At the lake, Isolde took in the serene beauty of the blue waters, the lush green trees adorned with colorful flowers, the melodious songs of the birds, and the setting sun casting a blood-red hue across the sky, as if foretelling the danger and bloodshed to come. Humming softly to herself while conversing with her wolf, Valeria, she suddenly caught a faint whiff of a rotten odor. Understanding the imminent danger, the birds abruptly stopped their singing and took flight, leaving the once peaceful scene filled with an eerie silence. The shift in the atmosphere made Isolde tense, her instincts heightened as she scanned the surroundings, alert to the threat lurking nearby. She soon realized she was being watched by rogues. Panic surged through her as she instinctively clutched her stomach, her protective instincts flaring to shield her unborn child. Valeria helped her calm down and suggested mind-linking the pack members and border patrol. She tried to mind-link Alaric, Elara, and Astrid but to no avail. She attempted to contact anyone and everyone but had no luck. Being a strong woman, she resolved to protect her child. Valeria, although unable to transition due to pregnancy, lent all her strength to Isolde and prayed to the Moon Goddess to keep her child safe. Valeria knew the baby was a girl and wished for her mate Grayson to meet their child.

Rogues started approaching her from different sides. There were five rogues attacking her. She picked up a fallen branch and assumed a fighting stance, though it was difficult to hold because of her baby bump. The first rogue smirked and lunged at her suddenly, but Isolde was a warrior. She anticipated this move and was prepared. As the wolf was mid-air, she put all her strength into hitting it on the head, causing it to fall. She swiftly moved towards the wolf and plunged the sharp edge of the branch into its heart. Seeing her fight even in her state made the rogues nervous, but they were not fools. The remaining four attacked at once. She dodged blows from three wolves, but the fourth one caught her hand, causing blood to ooze out. Due to her pregnancy, her recovery was slow. Yet, she only cared for her baby. She covered her child with the injured hand and continued dodging blows with one hand, but it was not enough against fully grown wolves. One wolf managed to knock the branch out of her hand and throw her to the ground. As she fell, she prayed to the Goddess to save her child, and everything was suddenly blinded by white light. For a few minutes, she could neither see nor hear anything. Then she suddenly heard something that made her smile, and tears rolled down her face without her knowing why.

As Grayson, Alaric's wolf, neared the lake area, he could smell the rotten odor of the rogues. His fear for his mate and child intensified. Just as he was about to reach them, his sight was blinded by a white light making him howl in pain....