Arthur lifted his nose. Daphne was getting closer. He had been waiting at the door of the house they’d been given in since she left, half-fearful that she shouldn’t return and on edge about how long it took her to return.She smelled nice, clean, and relaxed. There was a hint of medicine in the wind that made him relax a bit. Daphne’s injuries had been treated. Arthur stood and headed towards the scent at a light run to meet her on the road.In the distance, he heard a struggle and the sharp snap of metal coming from the prison. He hurried toward the ridge that overlooked the prison as the wall burst open with a snarl.The stench of the rogue pissed him off, but the anger turned to fear as Daphne’s scent caught his nose. The rogue twitched and turned his head towards where Daphne was. She turned to run as it lurched into a run and Arthur roared, rushing forward as Daphne screamed."Arthur!"The rogue snarled mid-leap as Arth

Rex had been the alpha of the Sharp Armor pack for a long time, yet he didn’t think he had ever faced an issue like this. Rogue attacks were becoming more frequent, and several of the packs in the area were finding themselves having to deal with them, including his. In the past, there weren't many losses as his patrolmen usually outnumbered the rogues in the area, but lately, there had been casualties.The other packs had complained of the same issue.His patrolmen came back saying that the rogues had moved with purpose as if they were organized, and their organization had only been increasing over the past few months.It had been horrifying to hear and unbelievable, but he couldn’t ignore it. Rogues were supposed to be unorganized and lost to their passions and instincts. They were dangerous because they had no reservations against slaughtering anyone in their way and were made stronger by their bloodlust. Having such power become organized was a pr

Just before dawn, as promised, Daphne sent Arthur off to the training field. It was nerve-racking to let him go alone, but she did because Arthur was adamant that he wouldn’t risk her getting hurt again. She made him promise at least three times to keep in control of his anger, behave, and remember that they needed the safety the pack could give them.Despite the promises, she was still uneasy. She spent the morning cleaning the house and organizing things to keep herself calm, but the cottage wasn’t that large. She wandered around the house and took stock of the little bit of land behind the house that was fenced in. Maybe it had been a little garden.She poked and prodded the earth and weeded the area. Soon, she lost herself and her worry to the work. It was about lunchtime when she heard the front door open.“Daphne?” Arthur called.“Coming!” She washed her hands and hurried around the side of the house until she ent

Arthur woke up alone on the ground. The ground was wet as if it had rained or water had been spilled nearby, but his fur was mostly dry. The scent of blood mingled with something spicy and flavorful. Whatever it was, it made him turn over with a little growl of hunger and open his eyes slowly. Something sizzled in a pan and he heard the rustling of clothing. He frowned and looked toward the source of the sound, before rising to his feet and shifting to his human form so he could open the front door. Daphne turned to look at him, looking a little harried as she stood at the stove.He frowned, “Daphne?”She blinked at him, seemingly uncertain before turning back to the stove. She turned again with the skillet and set out breakfast on the table.“How are you feeling?”Arthur rolled his shoulder and walked to the table, “Good.”“You didn’t come back…” Daphne met his gaze, “What…

She gasped, choking on her scream as emotions stormed through her, fierce and unrelenting like a raging river rushing towards a great fall. She was hot, filled with a desire she had never felt before. A lightness and overwhelming joy was breaking through it. She didn’t know how to make sense of any of it, so she clung to Arthur as if they were going over another waterfall.Her blood was rushing in her ears as her heart pounded against her ribcage.Were they her feelings? She didn’t think so. With shock, she realized that they were all coming from Arthur and a little glimmer of hope was twinkling at the edge of her mind. She wanted to reach for it, but it was swept away in all the other emotions.She was pulled into the darkness of unconciousness.“Daphne!” Daphne groaned awake, turning over in bed as she opened her eyes. There wasn’t a lot of light coming in through the window, so she guessed it was close