The Duty of an Alpha (Book 2)

Borders

Chapter 15

Arden POV*

Roman pulled out a map showing the areas surrounding Silver Creek and smoothed it out over his desk. When I leaned over the desk to see if anything made sense to me, I was shocked at what I saw.

Silver Creek Pack borders ended several miles from the River that separates two states, but what surprised me most was what was on the other side of the river. There was a small area of forest that was unclaimed by any humans or supernatural creatures, but next to that was the far border of Ash River Pack.

My pack, partially named for bordering a river, was so close to Roman’s. The whole time we had been fighting the mate bond, it was because there seemed to be no option for us to be together without our packs suffering.

But looking at the map in front of me, our packs looked so close together, separated only by the River and a few miles of unclaimed land.

“Did you realize this?” I asked Roman breathlessly.

He looked at me in confusion before leaning over to look at what I was pointing out. It took him a little longer to realize what I was pointing out, but I could see when the realization struck.

“That’s… Ash River Pack isn’t it?” he whispered and locked eyes with me.

I nodded in response. Neither of us had anything to say, so we just continued to stare at each other. The realization that we had been so close to each other the whole time was enough to make all other thoughts flee from my mind. We had spent so long avoiding each other, avoiding the mate bond, and I wanted to kick myself for not having even bothered to check if there was a solution.

“Eh-hmmm.” Sita cleared her throat, bringing our attention back to her. “I’m all for you two finally getting together and all, but we have more important things to be focused on right now.”

I shook my head, trying to clear my head and focus back on what was important.

“You’re right, Sita.” I said, ducking my head in guilt. “Ok, back to the map.”

I looked over the areas between our packs, trying not to think about ow close we had been for so long. Aside from the river, there was over a dozen miles of wooded area that could easily house rogue wolves.

“There is a lot of area on both sides of the river. Both of our packs could form a search party to see if there is anything that would indicate a group of rogues hiding out.” I suggested, pointing to the group of trees bordering the river.

“That sounds like a plan.” Sita agreed, “But how would they be getting across to attack both packs?”

“So far, no attack has happened in the same day, so it’s possible they could be travelling the long way around.” I answered, trying to make sense of it as well. “Or, there could be two separate groups that are working together.”

“Maybe.” She agreed. “But why target our packs? Is there a chance we are dealing with two groups that are unrelated?”

I stopped to think it over. There had only been 3 attacks total so far. After the first two, we were so quick to decide that it had to be the same group of rogues, but maybe that was just wishful thinking. Maybe it was my subconscious hoping to give me a reason to spend more time with Roman.

The only thing linking the attacks was the fact that each time, the rogues seemed to be stronger than what was considered normal, but that really doesn’t mean anything. There is a well-known stereotype that rogues usually are weaker and more feral than those in a pack, but just because it was well known, doesn’t mean that it would be automatic truth across the board.

When I had heard that Roman’s pack was attacked so soon after my pack was, we both automatically linked the attacks together. At his suggestion that it was the same wolves, I easily agreed. We had just seen each other, and he had held me when I cried on his shoulder. Our mate bond was getting stronger since we had just spent time holding each other. Maybe that influenced both of our assumptions over the attacks.

“You’re right, Sita.” I sighed, admitting I was probably wrong. “We haven’t had any proof that the same wolves attacked both packs, and it isn’t like there has been much of a pattern. They could easily not be connected at all.”

“Well, either way, I think working together would be for the best now.” Sita reached over and patted my shoulder. “If they are the same group or totally unrelated, we will at least be able to do our best with two packs working in tandem instead of trying to figure it out on our own.”

I knew Sita was trying to make me feel better, probably having seen how guilty I felt over making assumptions. She was a smart person, and sees a lot more than most.

“How about you call back home and tell them about searching the woods, and I’ll get started on this end.” Sita suggested. I nodded numbly at her, and she left the room.

I picked up the phone and called Ashton. When he didn’t answer, probably busy with either patrols or Teo, I called Andrea instead.

“’Lo.” Andrea answered.

“I’m over at Silver Creek Pack.” I started.

“Oooo. Finally decided to get with your mate, then?” She teased, making me blush a little before I could get to why I actually called.

“Not now, Andrea.” I scolded. “Roman’s pack was attacked again today, so I’m here trying to help figure something out. Listen, I need you to check the maps of the surrounding areas. Just outside pack borders, next to the river, you should be able to see a big spot of unclaimed woods.”

“Uhhh.” I could hear her flipping through papers, probably looking for the map. I appreciated that she was able to jump into Gamma mode so quickly, even when she wanted nothing more than to tease me about my mate. “Ok, I’m looking at it. Yeah, I see what you’re talking about.”

“I need you and Ashton to get a group together. We need our best trackers to scour the area. It might not be anything, but I’m hoping there might be some clues on the rogues that attacked our pack.” I explained and could hear he humming in agreement over the phone. “If you find anything before I get back, send me a text. Try not to get into any fights if you come across the rogues.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I could practically see her rolling her eyes. “I got you, boss. When will you be back?”

“I’ve got a little bit more to get done here, then I should be back later tonight.”

“Got ya.”

“See you later.” I said before hanging up.

I turned around and looked at Roman. He hadn’t said anything since I pointed out how close our packs were, and he still looked dumbfounded.

“Roman?” I called out gently. “Are you ok?”

He looked up at me and caught my gaze. The look on his face was a mix of distraught and joy.

“You’ve been so close for so long.” Roman said in complete awe. “We have a chance.”

My heart skipped at his words, and I could feel how happy he was at the prospect of us being together.

“We do.” I breathed and closed the distance between us. “We have a chance, but first, we need to make sure these attacks end.”

Roman nodded his head and steeled his expression. He knew what was needed to be done, but even so, he grabbed me and pulled me into a hug, burrowing his face into my neck, making me shiver.