He didn't respond to her. His eyes were glued to me, analyzing every inch of my body, until finally, our eyes locked again. I instantly got goosebumps looking into those red eyes of his. That intense feeling of unfamiliar emotions was starting to drown me just like before, and it kept getting worse by the second. As often as I cursed Apollo's name, I hoped he'd show his grace on me just this once in my life. If he got me out of this, I'd never have another snarky remark to say about the bastard.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked the Alpha, never taking my eyes off the woman.

"Because he's an idiot!" she spat at us before looking back at me as if she were sizing me up.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, finding myself becoming defensive of him, or rather, irritated with her. "I am his mate," she said smugly.

"Yuriko!" he snapped at her with a look of warning, which she ignored.

"The Omega is better off knowing the truth! No need for him to get any futile ideas," she said nonchalantly, checking her nails as if they weren't perfectly polished with red paint and then looking back at me as if to gauge my reaction.

I could tell she hated me, and I didn't even know why, but hearing those words from her mouth sent an irrevocable sense of wrath through my body. I was immediately incensed, and I think, territorial? The anger was so potent that my head began to boil, and I almost buckled at the knees. "Argh!" I hissed, struggling to hold the gun steady, and they both looked at me with uncertainty. The pressure of some unknown force exploded, and I lost focus. In that moment, the doors to the mansion burst open again, and five Betas came into the foyer one after the other, all with their purple eyes staring at me. They all wore black and purple combat outfits, except for the one who entered last. He wore red and white like the Alpha.

"Alpha, Lady Yuriko," he said while slightly bowing; he seemed to be the Beta in charge of the others.

"Take Yuriko and go," the Alpha said, leaning down toward me as if he wanted to say something only I could hear, but Yuriko had other plans.

"Like hell!" she said, grabbing his arm, and at that moment, I snapped.

It was as if my body moved on its own, and before I knew it, my bare foot was planted into her face, throwing her back. The rage felt like an uncontrollable virus, spreading and infecting the entirety of my being. My actions were no longer my own, and I threw the gun aside as I walked toward her slowly. Everyone seemed to be so stunned that none of them intervened, and that woman, Yuriko, stood back up on her feet with glowing purple eyes, rubbing her jaw. She stared at me with a detestable look of disdain. If my presence hadn't clearly offended her before, that definitely did—but the feeling was mutual. I hated her with every cell in my body, and it felt as if I were simply a bystander watching like everyone else.

"You'll regret that, you damn Omega," she said in a low growl of disgust. "No man has ever put his hands on me and lived!" She hunkered down before charging at me.

She was fast—faster than I'd ever known any Omega wolf of the Luna to be. Maybe it was her small size that allowed her such agility. This woman, something about her was different. She wasn't the same nagging woman she had been just moments before while talking to the Alpha. 

Now, she was a monster, I could feel it, and like I said, my instincts are never wrong. Barely dodging constant swipes from her, she didn't let up on her assault. I took a defensive stance toward her once I was able to regain my bearings, and she swiped again. Grabbing her arm, I redirected it toward a large wolf statue in the middle of the foyer, and it split into four sections as it fell to the ground with a loud boom. Without hesitation, I punched her in the stomach, then the jaw, and flipped her over my shoulder, using her weight and momentum against her. She was smaller than me, but she was heavier and had more muscle.

She slowly stood back up, taking off her suit jacket and tossing it aside, wiping a drop of blood from her mouth. "Not bad..." she chuckled as if she enjoyed it. "You're not going to ruin my life by showing up again. You should've stayed dead!" she said ominously. 

I still never responded to her because I had absolutely no clue what the hell she was talking about.

She lunged at me again, but this time it was faster, and I could finally see why she made me uneasy. Her arm was now covered in black fur—she had shifted! I had mistaken her for an Omega, but Omegas of the Luna can't shift if they're not mated; this woman was also an Alpha! Now what I felt earlier from her made sense. I was no longer able to dodge her attacks completely like I had before. She somehow cut the side of my neck with her long claws, and moments later, the pain of her venom began to sting, even from such a small scratch.

Her assault was halted the moment she shifted fully, as another wolf charged at her. That's when I realized it was the same white wolf from earlier today; Tsuki had defended me again. Taking advantage of the confusion, I ran past the Betas, grabbing my gun and jumping through the kitchen window while they fought in the foyer. It was just my luck that the mansion was on a ledge overlooking the city above a flowing river. I could hear the Betas coming out of the house in my direction, followed by Tsuki, still in his wolf form. There was no escape in either direction of the cliff, so I was left with one possibility: the only thing I could do... was jump.

——

~Izzy~

We had made it back to the base in one piece and were just about done putting the last of the supplies away. Roselyn still hadn't shown up or gotten in contact with us to let us know he was okay. It was so late now that the sun had gone down, and I started to wonder if letting him go by himself was a mistake. This wasn't the first time he'd taken on a few wolves from the Luna alone, but it was the first time they had chased us beyond their territory. They seemed oddly determined for some reason. The fact that we had even made it back without coming into contact with them again was also weird. I grew restless at the many troubling scenarios playing out in my mind.

"Can you guys finish up without my help from here?" I asked the young dormants helping me with the supplies.

"Sure thing, Izzy. Go find him, please. We're all worried," one of them replied, her words echoing through them all as they nodded in approval.

Without another word, I rushed toward the armory and then to the exit of the base. I tried to find Jodi before leaving, but no one knew where she was. The moment I stepped outside the door of the base, my heart sank into my stomach. Jodi had almost knocked me over while carrying a body—a body that I soon realized was Roselyn. He was wearing different clothes, bandages covering his body. His clothes were soaking wet, and he was covered in snow, as if he'd been outside for quite a while.

"What happened?!" I asked, rushing after Jodi.

"I found him like this on the edge of our perimeter, by the river. He's barely responsive!" she said frantically, kicking open the door to the infirmary.

I grabbed all the blankets I could from one of the shelves as she laid him down on the gurney near the nurses' station. I covered him with the blankets, tucking them underneath him, while Jodi lightly began tapping his cheek and moving the stray hairs aside that were stuck to his face. "Lyn? Roselyn, can you hear me?" When she lifted her hand again after brushing his hair back, there was blood in her palm. We both looked at each other simultaneously, panic written all over our faces. I stormed into the hallway of the barracks, looking at all the dormants crowding around as my vision turned red.

"WHERE'S THE MEDIC?!" I shouted, my voice echoing through all the corridors.

"I'm here! I'm here, Izzy! Calm down, my boy!" the stout old man shouted as he came rushing through the crowd of dormants. They parted without hesitation to let him pass as quickly as his stubby legs would carry him.

Senex was our head doctor in the facility. He used to be the caretaker of a rich pack back in his youth but was exiled for reasons he never disclosed to me. Not that it mattered in a group of dormants, and he was always kind to us all. He wasn't much of a threat to anyone, standing at only 5'2". He had golden eyes encompassed by crow's feet, thick eyebrows, and a round face. His copper skin was covered in sunspots and wrinkles, signifying his old age. Grey hair highlighted his thick beard and his small black curly afro, which he managed to keep in a circular form. He wore a white lab coat with red scrubs that swished as he walked. He was somewhat revered as the patriarch of our makeshift pack, especially since he took responsibility for all our well-being.

"What happened?!" he asked, frantically grabbing his stethoscope from a tote bag he carried while looking at all the bandages on Roselyn.

"I—I found him like this by the river. We were chased by five Betas from Moon City earlier today, but he volunteered as bait so that we could get back here with the supplies, and we let him," Jodi said, sounding ashamed to admit the truth.

"FIVE?!" Senex said, his eyes wide as he looked between the two of us. He walked back to the infirmary door and closed it on the onlookers before turning to us, looking furious. "I've told you three that this business is getting too dangerous! Every time you go on one of these excursions, there's someone who comes back worse for wear!" he lectured, sounding like an upset, worried parent before he returned to inspect Roselyn's breathing in silence.

Jodi and I stood there, feeling like children who had just gotten in trouble, but we let him focus until his silence became unbearable. "How bad is it, Sen?" I asked, stepping forward. 

He looked at me with a disappointed expression, as if he wanted to continue giving us both a piece of his mind but decided against it. With a heavy, heated sigh, he put the stethoscope around his neck forcefully to show his anger. "It's not good," he said in a low tone.

"What does that mean?" Jodi asked, sounding worried.

"He's unconscious for now, but his heartbeat is irregular. In his current state, it should be a steady rhythm, but it's almost beating out of his chest. Not to mention these bandages and the blood. He was clearly hurt but also cared for. The blood from his head is his, but I can't find any wound on his scalp. None of this makes sense to me, and I'm also not sure what caused his current loss of consciousness." He shook his head with a furrowed brow, running his hand over his beard.

"Will he survive?" I asked, feeling a lump in my throat.

"The hypothermia, yes, but there's something else wrong. Until he wakes up, the only thing I can do is monitor his condition, get him into some fresh clothes, and change his bandages." He walked to the medicine cabinet, pulling out a number of supplies. "Don't worry, pups; he's a stubborn lad. All of you are. This won't be the death of him, but you three will most certainly be the death of me." He chuckled with a jiggle while placing his hands on his hips. "Now get out of my infirmary. I don't need either of you hovering," he said sternly, motioning his hand toward the door. Jodi and I shared a look of concern before reluctantly leaving the room and explaining his condition to everyone outside.