Shadow of the Wolf

A/N:

First and foremost I'd like to thank all of my readers who have waited patiently for this chapter. Thank you for sending all your encouraging feedbacks and messages. It helped me get off my butt and continue Rance and Alex story.

And of course, I want to thank my ever helpful and awesome editor Lunarosa. Thanks for your time and help with the story, and for injecting your own brand of humor.

Thank you Willie for proofing SOTW.

Enjoy!

-BD

Chapter Eleven

Even the dark of night could not hide the wretched appearance of the ramshackle house that might have been a large homestead, had neglect and nature not taken its toll on the property. The house, or what was left of it, stood almost fully covered by ivy, thick weeds, and small trees. Several sections of the roof had caved in and one side had a large, gaping hole. Some previous owner had added pillars to the front of it, probably an attempt to make it look more like an Antebellum plantation house. However, just like the rest of the house, the verandah was rotting and barely holding up the roof to which it was precariously attached. The outlying barn and buildings were overgrown with vegetation and looked as dilapidated as the house.

The place looked abandoned. Only the unmistakable stench and the sickly miasma of evil that permeated the location and the worn trail in the tall grass indicated it was inhabited by the rogues. Rance was confident, however, in the accuracy of the information the captured rogue spilled in the face of his, Alex's and the baby's combined essence and the power of the

Promised One

exuded by his pup

in utero

.

Rance and Damian waited at the edge of the forest as the betas and enforcers got into position. His scouts had counted at least ten different rogues come and go in the past two hours prior to them getting there. He was alarmed at the proximity of this lair to the Estate. Admittedly, thousands of acres separated the properties, but still, Rance's previous ignorance of the rogues' place, so close to his family and his Pack, grated on him.

The occasional call of the nocturnal birds and animals foraging in the forest were the only sounds to be heard. The

weres

moved stealthily and quietly as they waited for the signal to swarm the place and commence their attack.

The scents carried by the slight breeze confirmed that the rogues held female humans. The strong metallic smell of human blood worried Rance. He hoped like hell that the female humans were not too far gone to rescue. Based on Grace's condition when she first reached the Estate, these rogues did not deserve any leniency. For her grevious injuries, physical and emotional, they merited the just desserts he and his Packmates was eager to mete out.

Knowing that the element of surprise was on their side, the Pack soldiers made sure they approached the isolated house downwind. Rance didn't want them to be sniffed out by the rogues even before they were in position, making it more dangerous to the female human captives. After ascertaining that everyone was in position, Rance looked up. Above them, Jake and Andrew were perched on a tree branch. Alex's brothers were camouflaged and ready with powerful rifles to pick out rogues who might try to flee. Jake gave Rance and Damian a thumbs-up, while Andrew tilted his head in acknowledgement.

Giving the signal, they swarmed the building. Running with fleet and sure feet, they made their way down to the basement. Most had already shifted in hybrid form in preparation for battle. Rance and Damian remained in their human form. Being the Alpha and Prime, they were powerful enough to partially shift when needed.

Rance led the attack, followed closely by Damian. Encountering two rogues immediately after entering the house, Rance dispatched them quickly with a slash of his shifted hands, severing their jugulars in a spray of blood.

Not even slowing down, Rance ran down the rickety stairs that led to the bowels of the house.

The basement was empty and dark as night, but it was not a deterrent for the shifters who could see clearly, even in the dark. Rance saw a narrow tunnel dug on one of the basement walls on the far side of the room, leading away from under the house. Using his senses and tracking the stench of unwashed bodies and cloying air of misery, he signaled his betas to follow as they broke into a fast lope.

Soon enough, after rounding a corner, the tunnel branched into two. The smell of human despair was strong on the left, mixed with the faint scent of the rogues, while the stench of rogues came from their right. Not wasting precious time, Rance instructed three of his betas to free the frail female humans and escort them safely out of the lair, while the rest of them continued on to confront the rogues.

As they got nearer to the heart of the den, Rance's acute hearing picked up an argument between the rogues.

"...that is bullshit! How much longer do we need to wait?" one rogue growled in anger.

"We wait as long as we need to until the right time presents itself!" another answered brusquely.

"We've been in this shit hole forever! I want what was promised to us! We were promised money, pussy galore and freedom to do what we want against those who think they are better than us," yet another broke out aloud.

"If he was truly the Promised One, why have our attempts to snatch those female mates been a complete failure?" another continued, snidely. "We've lost a lot of our soldiers. And now there are only a handful of us left."

"Shut your mouth!" the second rogue continued. "All you are concerned about is your damned promised money!" He spat in disgust. "Why do you complain so much when you get to fuck those sniveling females anyway?"

"There's no satisfaction in dipping your dick in holes already soiled by another," another interjected. "There's no challenge when all they do is whimper and cower! It's like fucking your own hands. Human females don't give us the fight we want like

Were

bitches do."

Someone snickered nastily, "Yeah, no challenge in pounding into a bitch who lays limply on her back. I'd rather fuck one of the wild real wolf bitches while in my pelt anytime."

Laughter broke out among the rogues.

"Our Alpha has enhanced us. We are stronger and more lethal than an average shifter. And there's more of us...more and more are joining our ranks in our quest. We just need to have more faith in our Alpha."

"You're delusional if you think that," another muttered snidely.

"Not all of us like what we've become," another voice broke in, "we look like freaks! We've become a mishmash of parts that neither resembled any known animal, who'd want that?"

"You knew what you were getting into," the first rogue asserted. "You were nothing but a puny human before the alpha bestowed you with our gift." His voice dripped with disgust.

"Not much good it did us...." Sounds of scuffle ensued and meaty thuds heard, as the rogues tussled with each other.

A satisfied smirk appeared on Rance's lips. From the sound of things, some of the rogues were already questioning the validity of this Pretender's claim. Nodding his head, he signaled for his team to rush into the room.

"What the fu----?!," exclaimed one rogue who saw the betas rushing out of the tunnel.

The surprised rogues didn't have the chance to adequately defend themselves. Besides being caught unaware, they were outnumbered three to one. A token attempt at breaking away was quickly thwarted.

One even rushed with head hunched down at the betas blocking the exit. His headlong dash ended when Rance stepped into his path and laid him out with a clothesline move. The rogue hit Rance's extended arm hard. His feet flew up as his body was propelled backwards by the force. The crack of bones was extraordinarily loud in the confines of the cave-like room. The pained howl of the rogue echoed out even before his ass touched the earthen floor.

With an evil smile, Rance stood over the fallen rogue and cracked his knuckles.

"Who's next?" He taunted the rogues. "I really thought you would give us more of a challenge."

Scanning the faces of the rogues before him, he noticed that they all looked scruffy and dirty. Most had a starved and desperate look.

A furtive movement on his left snagged Rance's attention. With surprise, he noticed a rogue who looked barely out of his teens trying to hide behind the bulk of a much older rogue. The lanky youngster's timid demeanor was completely out of place in the midst of the company he was keeping.

Walking slowly towards the kid, Rance noticed that not only was he scruffy looking, but he was also covered in bruises and welts.

"What do we have here?" Rance murmured.

The kid seemed to shrink in stature as his eyes looked wildly for an avenue of escape. He was trembling and the acrid smell of fear exuded from him strongly. The rest of the rogues were staring at the hapless kid with disgust. One rogue actually spat in his direction, "Piece of shit!" Rance watched the situation with interest. With a nod, he let Damian and the betas secure everyone with the handcuff specially made for shifters.

Make sure to keep the young one away from the rest of them,

Rance caught Damian's gaze and nodded his head towards the boy

. I want to know how he ended up with this refuse

.

Canting his head slightly, Damian acknowledged his Alpha's instruction.

Emerging from the dilapidated house, he noticed Jake and Andrew dragging two other rogues between them. After dumping both on the ground, they looked up and waved at Rance.

Rance approached the brothers.

"What's this?" Rance asked the two.

"We saw them coming in right after you guys went inside," Jake said.

"They were bringing in another human girl," Andrew said in disgust. "She looked barely out of her teens."

With a dark frown on his face, Rance looked around, "Where is she?"

"She's over there," Jake pointed at a tree about five yards away. A sprawled form lay unmoving on the grass at the base of a tree. "She's unconscious, but doesn't look hurt. Her breathing and vitals are good. Of course, for a clear assessment, we should take her to a doctor."

Grunting, Rance turned to the brothers. "Great job," he nodded, approvingly, "I sure could use you guys in my team." The brothers just nodded quietly.

All three watched grimly as the betas rounded up the rogues and led them past. All were handcuffed with silver to keep them from shifting and utilizing their preternatural strength. The kid brought up the rear. His unfettered state brought a questioning frown to both of the brothers' faces.

"What's the story with that kid?" Jake asked, while Andrew continued to silently track the progress of the rogues and the betas.

Andrew kept his eyes trained on the group as they were loaded into three unmarked dark vans that would take them to the Estate. His hand on his rifle remained relaxed, but the minute any of the rogues tried to make a break for it, he would be ready to take them down.

"Not sure yet, but I aim to get to the bottom of his involvement with this scum. He doesn't look like he belongs with them." Rance ran a cursory gaze over the kid being loaded in with the rogues. "We could use him if he cooperates."

Damian walked up. "There are fifteen rogues altogether..." pausing when he saw the rogues at his feet, "make that seventeen including these two," he nudged the unconscious rogues with his booted foot. "Eight human girls are now being transported to the Estate. Two looked really bad and smelled 'off'. I'm not sure if they're even going to make it through the night." Damian's voice was tight with anger at the condition of the human females.

"What of the other six?" Andrew asked.

"They are badly beaten, but with care, will hopefully fully recover."

"Any luck on finding the head honcho?" Jake asked.

"No," Rance replied grimly. "I hope that the other teams had better luck. We will find out soon enough after I've talked to the other Alphas."

"This is all kinds of fucked up," Jake softly grumbled.

Rance threw him a frustrated glance, but nodded his head in acknowledgment

"It's imperative that we find the mastermind behind all this. He poses a great threat to the community. The lunatic doesn't care that he's in danger of exposing us to the humans. The human authorities are not stupid. They might connect all the dots and soon they'd be camping outside our Pack lands trying to pin all of the kidnappings and deaths on us," Rance said. "We need to do a thorough clean-up here. We cannot afford to leave any evidence for the cops to find out. I want that house razed to the ground and the pieces set on fire."

Jake's brows drew up, "Wouldn't that draw attention? After all, a fire being set out here in a farmhouse known to be abandoned might get the authorities sniffing around."

"Sure, but by the time they come it will all be ashes; No trace of what happened here or any chance for them to zero in on us." Turning back to Damian, Rance added, "Make it look like vagrants set it on fire. Leave two betas behind to make sure everything worked as planned."

Damian nodded his head. "On it, Alpha," he said gravely.

"Alpha!" Everyone turned to the approaching shifter.

"There's something you need to see at the northern edge of the property."

"What is it?" Rance asked, as they dashed to the place the young beta indicated.

"The kid who was with the rogues told us to check on that side of the property. Malik is there right now..."

"And?" Damian asked with raised brows.

"There are roughly a dozen or so freshly dug graves over there. As soon as we ascertained what they were, Malik sent me to get you. We have not counted them all yet..." The young beta spoke starkly. Repugnance over the rogues' cruelty painted his words.

This day just keeps getting worse, thought Rance. Grim faced, they followed the beta to where the unfortunate victims lay decaying in shallow graves.

**********

"Everything settled in the clinic?" Rance asked Alex, as she quietly entered the study and watched him pour himself whiskey.

"Yes. All the women are being seen to and are now resting in their hospital beds. Those who are in a bad way are being monitored by Dr. Armand and his staff. They did everything to make them comfortable and hopefully alleviate some of the trauma they've experienced."

The Estate had been a hive of activity after the vans arrived bringing in the wounded women and the rogues. Now, after the bustle, the place was finally settling down. Thank God Alex's parents were deep sleepers, otherwise she would have found it difficult to explain all the commotion.

When she saw the appalling condition of the women, Alex was horrified. They were filthy and stank to high heaven. It was obvious that they'd been kept in squalor and deprived conditions. All of them were beaten and sexually abused and kept naked by their captors.

It made her cry when she saw the youngest one brought in. She looked so tiny and fragile. The girl, because in Alex's estimation, she could not be older than fifteen, looked so pitiful. Her face was bruised and the right side of her jaw was swollen. Both of her eyes were swelled shut.

The girl was unconscious and they feared that she might have sustained some brain injury that kept her from awakening. Her injuries were displayed starkly in contrast to the whiteness of the sheets covering her. Visible bruises and lacerations covered her body. Her chest slowly rose whenever she breathed in through her oxygen mask. Dr. Armand had her hooked up into several machines to monitor her through the night. She was not the only one in critical condition; two others were immediately taken to the operating room in a race to save their lives.

Turning, Rance lifted his whiskey and swallowed a generous amount of it. He relished the burn of the alcohol as it travelled down his throat to his stomach. It washed away the sick feeling he had since seeing what awaited them in the northern end of the property. He wished he could easily expunge the repulsive image left in his psyche.

The clean-up was brutal. They found fifteen decomposing bodies buried in shallow graves. They were not all female, nor were they all humans. Half of the numbers were males in varying stages of shifting and two of the bodies were kids barely out of puberty. The other raiding parties, as he just learned from the other alphas, had encountered the same heinous thing: decomposing bodies buried in shallow graves.

Rance sighed and opened his arms. Alex immediately walked to him, looping her arms around his waist and breathing in deep his unique scent. She took comfort in his warmth.

Rance hugged Alex close. Resting his chin on top of her head, he briefly closed his eyes and thanked

Luna

once again for his mate.

"Thank you for helping in the clinic," he rasped.

Alex smiled as she nuzzled his chest. "No need for thanks. It's my job as your mate to help in any way. You must remember that you are not alone anymore, Rance. For better or worse, we stick together. I'm here now to share your burden."

Alex lifted her head and saw the tired lines bracketing Rance's eyes as well as the grimness of his visage. She lifted her hand and caressed his jaw. With a tired smile, Rance captured her hand and kissed each knuckle.

"You truly are a gift from Luna." He said tenderly, " I love you Alex."

"I love you too, Rance." She stood on tiptoes and laid a gentle kiss on his lips.

The kiss lingered only for a moment as they took comfort from each other.

"So tell me the worst of it." Alex pulled Rance onto a comfy chair and made him sit down. He had been busy in conference with the other alphas immediately after they arrived in the estate.

She knew he arrived only an hour ago when she felt him touch her through their link. The betas who brought back both the women and the rogues wouldn't comment why Rance, and some of the enforcers and her brothers had to stay behind.

Whatever it was they did, it must have been a really grim task since even now at nearly five in the morning, Rance's aura was awash in negative light. His big body seemed to vibrate with unleashed violence, not directed at her, but to the unseen enemy who proved to be as slippery as eel.

"I don't really want to burden you with the ugliness of it. It's better that you remain untouched by the carnage I saw tonight." Rance leaned and sank deeply into the cushion.

Sitting next to him, Alex watched quietly as he breathed in deep and slowly released the tension from his body along with his breath. "You think that will work with me?" she asked with a serious mien. "I need to know what is going on Rance. I want to be prepared for whatever this is that is coming our way."

"I know, I know." Rance looked deeply into Alex's eyes. Regret and a touch of hesitancy showed in his face. Sitting up from his seat, he faced her fully. Picking up both her hands in his, "It's bad," he said baldly.

"Whoever is leading these rogues is obviously demented. Not only does he thinks he is the Promised One, also all evidence points to the idea that he is also attempting to raise his own army of shifters. The property we raided was not the only one. After I talked to the other Alphas, I found out that what we discovered on our raid is not an isolated case."

"What about it?" Alex asked, puzzled. "There are more humans kidnapped in the other hide outs besides the women here? We knew that that may be the case already."

Shaking his head, Rance smiled grimly. "We were prepared for that. What we were not prepared for was to discover more dead bodies in advance stages of decay. Almost all of them were newly turned," Rance locked eyes with Alex, "they were humans experimented upon who did not make it during transition."