Once Rejected, Twice Denied.

Chapter Twenty-Two

BRETT POV:

My black paws hit against the muddy earth of the forest as I lead a whole elite pack of warriors with my father and my brother at my side. I can smell the disgusting, putrid smell of rogue flesh nearby, which doesn't surprise me considering the amount of rogues we have killed to get this close. It's been five days already. Five days of fighting, blood, strategizing, sleeping, hunting, fighting, blood, strategizing...

"You remember the plan?"

Nick's voice comes through in the mindlink. My eyes zone in on the heart of the Rogue territory. It's pack house. We have been quick and strategic in how we have gotten here, so our arrival will be a surprise I am sure.

"The plan stays the same. Father, you come with me through the front and we will go straight to the Alpha. Nick, you lead ten of our men around the back and, Damon, you lead ten to surround the house."

I can hear a humming of agreement through the link.

"And stay on alert, everyone. I don't think we have seen anything yet."

We finally hit the road and our wolves turn in sync to run towards the enormous pack house. It's impressively dilapidated and old looking. Typical rogues living in filth. A howl sounds from the distance and I hear the siren going off.

"Looks like they know we are here now."

"Have fun, boys!"

Damon snickers with a hint of pumped-up testosterone and I push my wolf to run faster, not stopping until I have burst through the front door of the house. I have expected there to be wolves waiting for me for a fight. My father and I look at each other with confusion as our wolves sniff over the space. It is empty in here. Quite and calm.

"You think he got word we were coming for him?"

My father asks now through the link.

"Impossible. We were so careful and there were no survivors to spread the news. He couldn't have f*****g escaped! I planned this down to every detail for years now."

Even just the thought that my plan failed sends my mind into a frenzy. It cannot fail. This is the final thing I could do to say goodbye to Julia. It is the final thing I could do to finally lay that chapter of my life to rest and to focus on the future I have ahead of me. A future with Tessa. I owe this to her too, because Goddess knows I won't rest until it's done. It's been almost a week already and I miss her, weirdly enough. When I get back, I am going to do everything in my power to show her just how much. I could almost chuckle at her little idea of being friends. She has a lot more strength than she thinks herself capable of and I know she is just wanting to make me suffer a little. I will admit, I deserve it and so I will go along with her little game. Besides, getting to know my mate is not a bad thing, so if this means being friends first, then sure, but Tessa underestimates the bond with an alpha and she's got something coming for her when I get back and she starts to feel the pull. We will see how long "friends" lasts then. I walk through the empty space now. Dirty, brown couches covered in dust make up the lounge and there are so many pots and pans in the kitchen that I hardly know where to look. I feel the oven now and it's warm. I look at my father now.

"Warm."

Weird. It means they were here not long ago.

"Let's check the other side?"

We carry on moving. Every room is empty on this floor.

"We got nothing here. You guys?"

I hear Nick.

"Same."

"Same."

I reply and so does Damon.

"I can smell these fuckers somewhere, though. That siren tipped them off."

Damon admits.

"Eyes and ears on alert."

My father says and almost as if on queue, the rancid smell increases along with a droning sound before what feels like an explosion of wolves swarms the space.

"f**k!"

My father swears through the link and it is like one force erupts against another as we all start to fight our way. It seems like a blur of blood as I take out one vogue, two, three, four, five, six...

Evil laughter fills the air from behind me and I see a rogue dragging my father's unconscious body. When the rogue turns around and I see him in full light, I get a cold shiver down my spine. Oily and matted brown fur, red and piercing eyes and the same, crooked smile from before. The rogue alpha.

"I WILL f*****g KILL YOU!"

I shout as I run towards him, my eyes only flickering for a second at my father, who is covered in blood. f**k! He dodges my first attack, but I manage to nip his ankle, causing him to yelp.

"FATHER!"

I hear him whimpering. The rogue alpha uses this moment to bite into my leg and I return the favor. It feels like we are rolling in circles, our claws crashing against one another. Where the f**k did this guy learn to fight? I manage to untangle myself.

"You fight like a rodent!"

My insult makes him cuss out. We have shifted to our humans now because our wolves are too injured. I can feel blood dripping from my leg and side, but now isn't the time to worry about it. The rogue wolf also looks like he has been chewed up.

"Your little mate didn't think so when she took her last breath!"

His words make me see red and I run towards him now. I feel something cold go into my side, but forget about it as I grab him Dina choke hold. From my side, I see another wolf coming at me and I use my arm to fight him off, giving the rogue alpha a moment to roll away. My f*****g arm is being butchered, but I have no choice. Nick comes out of nowhere and tackles the wolf. My eyes go back to my purpose of the mission and I see him dragging himself across the floor. I stand now on his hands.

"Come to get revenge, have you?"

He smiles up at me now evilly.

"You are just as bad as me, you know? I heard you have been nothing but pathetic since I took her from you. Your sweet and oh, so wonderful little Luna. Man, she had a filthy mouth, I could have just..."

I managed to claw at his neck before he could finish the sentence. My eyes zone in on his chest taking its last breaths and just as it stops moving, I feel myself falling to my knees in relief.

"He's dead."

I say in victory through the mind link. Damon says a "HOORAH" and I laugh, only blood comes out my mouth at the same time and I feel a sharp pain in my body. When I look down, I become plea at how much blood is dripping from all over me. s**t.

"Brett, your father..."

I see Nick speaking to me and I look now at him sitting with my father. Is he dead? My vision starts to blur now as I blink through a weird and heavy feeling. No, no, no, no! I cannot lose consciousness now.

"Nick."

I try to say and I see his eyes flashing at me. I look back down at the rogue alpha dead in front of me. I finally did it. I finally killed him. I got the justice I needed. So, why does it feel like I am fading from happiness? Another splutter of blood escapes my lips and I lean down now in pain.

"Brett?"

I can hear Damon and I see a shadow running towards me.

"D-Damon?"

"BRETT!"

I feel arms picking me up.

"SOMEONE FETCH ME A f*****g STRETCHER NOW!"

I smile at how serious Damon sounds. He always sounds weird when he is angry. It must be because he has always been the joker-type.

"Stay with us, Brett. We are going to get you sorted, okay?"

"Our father."

Is all I manage to say as I feel myself floating in the air. As I am placed down, I feel something pricking me.

"What the..."

I try to get up and someone pushes me down.

"It's okay, Brett. Have a good sleep and we will heal you up, okay? You need to let your wolf heal you."

Well, f**k me. Whatever they gave me must be strong, because that voice sounded very muffled and before I can respond, my mind turns off and everything is black.

_________________________________________

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

I open my eyes quickly at the sound of the heart machine and people come running from all directions.

"WHERE THE f**k AM I?"

I roar now as the machine goes crazy. I see Nick and Damon, but I can smell I am not home and everything feels like an absolutely s**t dream. I pull the pipes out of my arms and a doctor comes running.

"Whoah, whoa, Brett, it's okay, you are safe!"

My eyes look around in panic. It's Damon speaking to me and him and Nick look...clean?

"Well, Alpha Brett, you sure know how to wake up from an eight-day slumber."

My eyes widen.

"EIGHT DAYS!"

He nods and checks my heart eyes.

"Yip. You were pretty beat up, but you are a strong wolf and you healed up perfectly. You are free to go."

The doctor says. I look at Nick and Damon now, who are waiting around awkwardly. They seem a bit tense. My mind lingers back to the day it all went down and my body tenses.

"My father?"

Nick looks away now. Damon comes closer. No.

"He is in hospital and pretty bad."

"I need to go see him then!"

I try to stand up and Damon pushes me back down.

"He's back in Moon Shadow."

I look at him with confusion.

"He has internal bleeding, multiple deep wounds, a fractured skull, multiple fractures across his body and his wolf was choked to a point where he lost air supply for a substantial amount of time. We aren't sure what this might mean for his brain activity or his wolf."

I blink a few times at what the doctor has said. The energy in the room is glum and I have to stop myself from getting too emotional at this news.

"This hospital wasn't equipped enough for his wounds and we thought his wolf might respond better with his Luna around."

`The doctor says and I have to understand what he just said. My father is so bad that the bond would have to heal him f**k! I run my hand through my hair now as I remember the way the rogue filth dragged him across the floor like a sack of potatoes. Where the hell did they all come from like that? One minute there was nobody around and next it was blood and gore.

"Okay. Well, good thing he is back home then."

Everyone nods at what I have just said. My skin pricks up though. He is home, so that means...

"Where am I now, if my father is home?"

Nick gives Damon a weird and tense look and they both look away. The doctor is scribbling something on his little notepad.

"Is someone going to answer me?"

Damon hangs his head now. What the f**k? The doctor quickly scribbles his signature on the paper and looks up with a smile I grab the note and it's a list of vitamins.

"Sorry, Alpha Brett, how rude of me! Welcome to the Full Moon Pack."

I have to blink a few times at him to actually understand what he just said to me. The Full Moon Pack? I look at Nick and Damon for confirmation now and their guilty and tense expressions say it all.

I am in Tessa's old pack.