Blaze

One

(Sapphire's POV)

"We have a problem, Alpha," the head warrior, Josh, mind-linked me. Knowing him, he wouldn't mind-link me unless there was a threat to the pack.

​"Where are you?" I asked as I closed the contract I was reading.

​"Near pack borders," he replied instantly.

​"Stay right there, I'm coming," I ordered and left the office in a hurry. The pack members bowed their necks in submission as I walked past them. I nodded in acknowledgment.

​"Continue your work," I ordered the kitchen staff when they stopped working to greet me. Young pups were waiting for their breakfast after training, so I didn't want to make them wait any longer. They must be pretty hungry by now.

​I had to travel a good few meters away from the packhouse before I could shift into my wolf. My bones cracked and bent into awkward positions. Hair sprouted from my pores. My nails turned into claws, my hands converting into paws. All too soon I was standing in my wolf form, proud and confident.

​Sunlight bounced off my fur as I ran, and the light made my coat warm. If I didn't have responsibilities, I'd run all day long under the heat of the sun.

​We should go for a run, my wolf suggested. I didn't miss the hope lingering in her voice. I felt bad for us. My wolf loves to run and go on hunts, and it had been a while since we had done that. She must be feeling caged because I hadn't let her out as much as I should.

​Later, I promised. She sighed and silently made her way to the back of my mind. My heart ached for her, but there was nothing I could say to console her right now; the only thing I could do was go on a long run to satisfy her urges. But only after I finished the work for the day.

​I took off at full speed as I didn't have time to waste. Josh looked rather concerned when I reached the border. I looked around for clothes to wear and changed before going out in front of him.

​"What happened?" I asked without wasting any time. He bowed his greeting before replying to me.

​"A rogue's smell has been discovered here," he answered. I raised my nose in the air and took a whiff. Sure enough, the scent of two rogues hit my senses.

​"Did they do anything suspicious?" I asked as I scanned the area around us, my wolf eyes searching for any possible danger.

​"No," he said. I sighed.

​"They are probably traveling and crossed the territory by mistake. Don't dwell on it anymore." In other packs, they kill rogues right on the spot, but in this pack, the rules changed ever since Dad handed me the duties of Alpha. I don't want to kill any innocent person, rogue or not.

​Only those who deserve it receive punishment, be it a pack member or a rogue. I am strict about that rule. I don't show mercy to those who have done wrong, and I never punish those who haven't done any harm. And I will never break my rules. Or so I thought.

​"Go back, there's nothing to worry about," my gaze swept around the area once again.

​"Yes, Alpha," he nodded. I nodded back and shifted into my wolf before sprinting off.

​"Alpha, Luna is on the phone. She wants to talk to you," one of my pack members, Riley, said when I entered the packhouse. I took the phone from her hands and made my way toward the office.

​"Mom," I breathed out.

​"How is my baby?" Mom's excited voice came from the other side. I rubbed my forehead, knowing she wasn't going to hang up soon. Don't get me wrong, I love her, but I didn't have time for a chat now.

​I had to prepare the contract for a deal with the neighboring pack. Their Alpha thinks just because I'm a female, he can fool me into giving some of the pack lands to him. He is highly mistaken if he thinks I'll give up on our lands. The land belongs to this pack, and it will always be ours. I will not let any cunning Alpha take it away from us.

​"Sapphire, are you listening?" Mom questioned from the other side of the line.

​"Yes, Mom," I replied absentmindedly. Mom continued with her banter, to which I didn't pay any attention.

​"Mom, I need to work. I'll call you later." I didn't wait for her reply and hung up. Yes, I felt bad for being so rude, but there was something else I had to deal with.

​What's the matter with you? I growled at my wolf. She was anxious and was clawing at me to set her free.

​I don't know, she growled back and started pacing around. I'd get a headache if she didn't stop pacing soon.

​Let's go on a run, I suggested to her. I wouldn't be able to work if she continued to be this anxious. At least a run could help her calm down. I'll finish this later, I thought, eyeing the piling work. Before I could change my mind, I left the office and made a beeline for the forest.

​I shredded my clothes and transformed into my beautiful beast. My pack members often comment on how beautiful my wolf is. With platinum blonde fur and sapphire blue eyes, she is bound to look beautiful.

​And do I look similar to my wolf?

​The only similarities between us are our eyes and hair. Otherwise, we are different, both in nature and looks - which should be obvious, considering I'm human and she is a wolf. While I feed on emotions, she feeds on her instincts, and her instincts are never wrong.

​Let's go, I said and gave full control to her. I moved to the back of her mind and sat down, silently looking through her eyes.

​She happily took off when I gave her full control. It's rare for us to give full control to our beasts; that's why when they get the opportunity, they make the most of it.

​My fur glowed under the sun, giving it the illusion of light gold. If my wolf looked beautiful before, I could bet millions she looked regal with that illusion.

​The smell of nature was heavenly. The soil under my paws felt like I was walking on a cloud. The crunchy sound made by leaves sounded like music to me. The distant sound of a river added to the symphony.

​Wait... We don't have any river near our pack lands. My eyes snapped open. I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I hadn't realized we had crossed the pack boundary.

​I immediately took control back. My wolf growled in protest, but I forced her to the back of my mind.

​What the hell? I cursed when I realized we were far from the pack. Everything was foreign to me. The trees, the lands, the scenery - it all looked unfamiliar.

​I'm sorry, my wolf apologized sadly when she realized what she had done. We were alone here, and from the smell, it wasn't pack land, which meant we could encounter rogues. I may not kill innocent rogues, but there are bad rogues too. They are sociopaths and take pleasure in killing. They are a danger to humanity. They kill without any remorse, and I sure as hell didn't want to become their next meal.

​Why the hell did you come here anyway? I asked my wolf as I surveyed my surroundings for any possible threat.

​I don't know, something was pulling me, she murmured. I closed my eyes and sighed.

​Why would you feel a pull to come here? I asked her.

​Not here, we are only halfway... She trailed off. I scoffed at her. So she would have wandered to God knows where without thinking that maybe she was putting us in danger?

​I shook my head. I was highly disappointed with her. She had never placed our life in danger before. She whined inside my head when she felt my disappointment.

​"We should probably go back," I muttered and turned to the opposite side. I sniffed out my scent and started following it back. That was the only way I could come up with that was effective and would work. It would take longer, but we would reach our destination.

​I hadn't traveled back far when I heard a ferocious growl behind me.

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