Suits and Rogues

Chapter 17

  Odin didn't see any signs of presence as he approached his pack's borders. However, he knows that the patrollers are hidden somewhere. After all, that's part of their patrolling strategy - to patrol while being hidden. That way, invaders won't know what to expect and will be ambushed.

  Thankfully, Odin's wolf is not with him. If he had shifted and came to the border, he would've been easily spotted due to his massive size. And also, they would've sense his presence from 50 ft. away. With his wolf's absence, Odin is hoping that his presence will be as weak as a human wherein wolves instinctively ignore. If not, well...Odin has other ways.

  Hiding behind a tree, Odin quietly squatted on the ground. The tall and thick bushes and plants gave him enough cover. Looking around one more time to make sure no one knows he's around; he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in upon being sure that the cost is clear.

  Letting himself get lost in his consciousness, he let the darkness engulf him along with his spiritual energy. Silver sparks, light, and sequins float around him as his spiritual body stands bare and covered in light. Giving a bit of control to his spiritual being, he made it open their eyes and stretch out his hands. As expected, his spirit did so effortlessly. Next, Odin imagined a glass ball in front of his outstretched hand. Within a second, it appeared. Feeling his spiritual energy around him, he willed them to go into the glass ball in front of him. As he did so, he felt a whoosh as his energy went to the glass ball. Once they are contained in the ball, Odin willed his spiritual body hold onto it. Successfully doing so, Odin gave his focus back to the present.

  His eyes opened and already, he knows he had succeeded in his task. He couldn't feel his presence at all; giving him the feeling of being invisible. In a way, he is.

  Creatures have strong sense of feeling. They can sense presence, energies, and moods of everything and everyone around them. Sometimes, creatures like Odin who are very in tune with all their aspects of being could even predict or hear the thoughts of other creatures and mortal. It rarely happens though and requires a great deal of concentration and control. With that knowledge, Odin had devised a way back when he was training to be an alpha to be stealthy. It's one of the challenges of an alpha since they are born with a very prominent aura. Being stealthy is one of their weakness. But, due to his father's strictness and prompting to make Odin the best and strongest alpha, he was forced to overcome it. And when he succeeded by hiding his aura using his spiritual energy, that's when things turned around.

  Creatures and humans alike were unable to sense his presence and because of this, he was able to find out about the skeletons in the councils' closets and was able to save his pack in time. And now that he needs to sneak back into the pack, this technique had really come in handy.

  Taking a chance to peek at the borders, he still couldn't see any wolf mingling around. He raked his eyes up the trees and watched the bushes intently for any signs of life. He sensed a presence on the tree five feet away from him and he could hear a steady heartbeat a few bushes to his left. Scenting the air, his pack's scents all smell to be away from where he is. That means, his current direction is clear. Now, all he needs to do is move forward without being seen. The problem is, with his build, the bushes will surely rustle and move; alerting the patrolers of his presence.

  He needs a distraction.

  Looking around, he was unable to find anything he could use. If he can't go in on the ground, he'll have to take chances upwards. It's a good thing that his pack borders are surrounded by various types of oak trees and other large trees.

  Using his amazing sense of sight, he tried to decipher once again where his wolves are hiding and he found out that there's at least three of them hiding in the trees around him - each hiding away from at least 10 trees away from each other.

  Straining his ear to make sure there are no more surprises or changes, he leaned away from his hiding spot a bit before stealthy climbing it. He could've used his jumping skills but his weight will surely make noises that can alert the patrol wolves. Because of it, he has to do it manually. Fisting some dirt in his hands and rubbing them across his body to hide his scent, he started climbing.

  It was smooth sailing from then on. He used the trees' branches and trunks to move deeper into the pack, ducking, hiding, staying still, and moving fast as often as needed. When the trees became smaller and more signs of civilization became prominent, Odin has no choice but to leave the protection of the trees. He cursed upon realizing that the sun is shining brightly that day; making it harder to hide and the threat of sweating made him a bit nervous. The dirt he rubbed on his body may wear off from the sweat and his sweat will notify any nearby wolves of his presence.

  His only choices to get deeper inside is to stay in the shadows and move as fast as he can.

  Hiding on a wall of a house, he sneaked around as much as possible and tried to minimize any possible confrontation and view of the pack members as soon as possible. He strained his hearing, sense of smell, and sense of feeling to their maximum capacity as much as his current human form could. Whenever he hears anyone nearing, he turns the other way around. Whenever he scents any pack member, he analyzes his situation before deciding on the course of action to avoid the wolf. And if he feels any nearby presence, he puts distance between himself and the others.

  There were many instances where he nearly bumped into someone and perhaps one of them even saw him. But thankfully, his fast reflexes and enhanced agility allowed him to quickly escape and hide.

  "Did you see him?" A male wolf asked his companion as Odin watches them from the roof and keeping his body as flat as possible against the roof to stay hidden. Many houses in the pack are 2 story high or more. If he stood up, he'll be spotted easily.

  "No. I'm not sure if I just imagined it or not, but I swear something or someone darted through here. I'm not mistaken at that part."

  The other male sniffed the air before sneezing. "All I smell is dust. Damn, it got my allergies acting up. It could be a rat or something."

  "I doubt there's any rat that tall." Said the male.

  "It could be a rat shifter." The other shrugged.

  "Rat shifter? Are you serious?"

  "What? If wolf shifters and lion shifters and all sorts of were humans exist, what makes you think that rat shifters don't exist too?"

  The male sighed. "Whatever. Though I think we should alert the pack, just in case. Who knows, it could be him. After all, he knows the territory better than anyone else. He could sneak in and out easily so we have to report anything out of place."

  Odin cursed upon seeing the male's eyes glaze over - a sign that he's mindlinking.

  'I better get out of here.' Odin thought as he carefully stood up once the males are away.

  As he was about to make a dash for it, something suddenly caught his pant's leg; nearly making him trip.

  "What the f**k?!" He hissed, looking back to see Decker's pup desperately holding on to his legs with a determined look on his face and a pout.

  "Bad alpha!" The pup exclaimed as Odin sighed irritatedly.

  "Let go." He replied calmly but the pup only shook his head stubbornly.

  "No! You are coming with me and I'll take you to the wolf police." The pup asserted defiantly.

  'Wolf police? What is this pup talking about?' Odin asked himself before he realized what the pup meant. "You mean the enforcers?" Odin deadpanned.

  "Yes! The enflowsels! Now be a good alpha and let me take you to the enflowsels...please."

  Odin resisted the urge to facepalm himself. There goes the pup being all demanding then suddenly saying "please." He's Decker's pup alright.

  "And if I say no?" Odin dared. He knows he should be moving already and not entertaining the pup but his instincts told him to.

  "That's not an option! You are coming with me whether you say yes or no!" The pup gave him a glare but it only made him look more adorable and not intimidating as he's probably hoping to do.

  Odin picked up the pup by the scruff of his shirt at the nape with his thumb and pointer. "And what are you going to do if I resist?" He asked once the pup is eye to eye with him in the air.

  "I'll fight you!" The pup said determinedly and for some reason, a sense of pride washed over Odin.

  "You can't beat me." Odin stated in an as-a-matter-of-fact way.

  "Then I'll keep trying until I do! If not..." the pup suddenly clung to his hand tightly. "I won't let go until you come with me! I'll annoy you until you do and I'll keep stealing your stress balls until you come with me!"

  For the first time in a long time, a small smile graced Odin's lips. Putting the pup down, the pup looked at him expectedly. Gently placing his hand on the kid's head, Odin already realized just how small the pup's head is compared to his hand. It would take minimum effort to squash the pup's head in his hand and Odin is reminded why he stayed in the pack and why he kept holding on to the pack no matter how complicated things had gone. He remembered he had something to protect. That something is the pack's future - the pups. No matter what, their future and protection always matters to Odin whether he's the alpha or not.

  "You're a brave warrior. The pack is lucky to have you." Was all he said before turning around to leave.

  "I'm not." The pup's soft voice made him pause just as he was about to jump down. "I'm not brave. I couldn't even stand up to my bullies."

  The pup's confession made Odin's heart ache.

  "Are your bullies an alpha like me?"

  "No."

  "Are they as strong as I am?"

  "No." The pup answered with a confused look on his face.

  "Are they as smart as I am?"

  "No."

  "What's my rank in the Alphas' rank?"

  "One."

  "And what were you doing just a few seconds ago?" Odin turned his head a bit to look at the pup over his shoulders.

  The pup looked a bit unsure as he stared back at Odin. "Trying to get you to come with me?"

  "And more. You disrespected me. You challenged my dominance by demanding that I come with you. You fought me in your own way. You went against me. Do you know what that means?"

  "Am I going to get punished?" The pup asked weakly.

  "No, but even the bravest warriors are afraid to go against an alpha - much less the current strongest one in the world. And yet, a tiny pup such as yourself not only went against me but also demanded things from me. So what does that make you?" Odin asked and from the pup's wide eyes, he already knows that the pup understood what he's saying.

  "You're braver than you believe." Was Odin's parting words before jumping down and disappearing through the maze of houses.

  "Alpha grumpy..." the pup trailed off tearfully as his eyes watered. "...please come back..." but only the wind heard him.

*****

  Odin barged into the alpha's office as the sounds of shouts and thundering footsteps echoed around him. He got spotted after approaching the pack house where most of the pack members usually hang out or gravitate to. No matter how quick he is at hiding or avoiding the wolves, one way or another, someone will spot him.

  And they did.

  After running towards the other direction he was suppose to be going and stealthily redirecting, he was able to lead the wolves astray. He only got a few more minutes of head start before they realize he tricked them and all the wolves will be out looking for him then. For a pack of 10,793 wolves, they could easily find and catch him. If that happens, that will be the end for Odin. He has 5 minutes tops to do all he needs to do before things get way out of control.

  Scribbling a few things in a scrap of paper and slipping it under a notebook before ripping another piece of paper and scribbling things in it again, he kept half of his attention outside for any signs of anyone coming inside the office he's in. After succeeding with his task, he also slipped the paper under another notebook before he crouched down underneath the huge desk. Ripping the carpet off of and breaking the tiles underneath with his fist, he hurried to open the vault underneath as footsteps start to head in his direction. A few more minutes and he'll be found for sure.

  Not having any more time to get past the vault's security, he used all his strength to break through the solid vault of steel alloy and diamond mixture. It's one of the hardest materials in the world and Odin got subjected to it as his hands started to break and tear after 10 punches and only a dent the size of his fist was formed. The door to office barged in and Odin scented guns and silver.

  Crap!

  "Odinson Zacharius Gray! Surrender now and pay for your sins or painful death and the goddess' wrath shall fall on you." One of the wolves growled out but Odin continued on trying to break the vault.

  "Halt!" Another demanded as more wolves started to gather. He has no doubt that he's surrounded and it won't be long until the higher ups come in too.

  Knowing that he's running out of time, Odin put more force in his punches even when his hand is starting to weaken and ache due to the pain.

  Seeing as he's not listening to them, they fired at Odin. A few bullet grazed his arms but thankfully, the desk is big and sturdy enough to shield him from the bullets.

  It won't hold long though.

  With one last punch, the vault broke along with Odin's right hand. He quickly took what's inside the vault before hiding it beneath his shirt and strapped in the back of his pants.

  "I surrender!" He yelled. The firings stopped and Odin put his hands up in the air in surrender. Slowly, he stood up; all bloodied with his arms bleeding from the grazes of the bullets and his right hand lifted and looking deformed. He ignored the excruciating pain from his right hand as he slowly faces his pack members who are openly looking at him in hatred.

  "Odin Zacharius Gray, banned Alpha of the Dark Moon pack, you are hereby sentenced to pack annihilation for betraying your pack members and-"

  Odin didn't wait for them to finish their words for he turned around and broke through the window behind him and jumped off. Somehow, one of the pack members caught up to his legs and stopped his momentum; making him fall onto the wall. He managed to brace himself on time and kicked his pack member's head while muttering sorry before making his escape.

  Through the commotion, the desk toppled over and one of the pieces of paper Odin wrote on fluttered through the wind and got carried outside.

  As Odin was busy trying to escape and the whole pack in a disarray and their focus was on capturing and killing Odin, no one was able to realize that a more dangerous creature is watching from the treeline behind where the commotion is happening.

  Debris and other things flew through the wind but those fiery eyes of the creatures saw the odd piece of paper flying through the air and towards his direction. Scenting that familiar scent on the paper, the creature caught it with his pointer and middle finger as the noise from the commotion starts to fade as Odin makes his escape.

  Turning the paper around, a strong sense of anger overcame the creature as it read the content written on the piece of paper. At first the creature could not believe it but after reading the content for the third time, that anger became hatred as black flames engulfs the creature's hands and almost everything around it died. The plants withered, the trees lost their leaves and vibrancy; making them look like dead and hollow, the animals and insects fell on the ground in the same lifeless state, and the shadows became so dark that the area looked like it suddenly became night time.

  But just as the black flame is about to burn the piece of paper, the creature let it fall to the ground and turned his back - eyes blazing fire in anger and thirst for retribution. Walking back to where he came from, the words in the letter kept revolving around his mind; making him angrier and for his clenched fists to clench tighter.

  "Father, I know that there's no way I redeem myself to you so at least allow me to prove that I was not lying when I said I didn't want him. Just wait, I'll prove it to you by killing him. You can use his head for trophy after it. I swear to the goddess and my honor.

- Odin"