Cecilia's Wolf {Rewritten}

Prologue | Cecilia's Wolf

Jackson

I was running along the edge of the territory when I noticed a foul scent lingering in the air.  After analyzing it for only a moment, I knew the trail wasn't much more than a couple minutes old.  The scent was still strong.

    Eli, there's rogues on the territory, I mind-linked my elder brother, Eli.  He's the alpha of our pack while I took on the role of Beta when my father was ready to step down and hand his title to us.

    How many? Eli immediately responded.  His voice was aggressive and angry, a natural response to a territory invasion. 

    Rogues aren't always bad, but more often than not, they enter a territory with the intent to cause some sort of damage to the pack.  Most are fueled by rage and a desire for revenge, even if the pack they are attacking isn't the one that caused their anger.  Many are fueled simply by the desire to wipe out packs in general, not wanting to take orders.

    One, I responded as I headed in the direction the scent was stronger in.  Smells male, age undetermined, he's not in sight.  I'm going to track him and I'll get back to you with the details.  I can handle him on my own.  Tell the others to keep patrolling.

    I could handle one rogue on my own and by the scent, he was definitely alone. 

    Keep me updated.

    I didn't respond to Eli, cutting off the connection and focusing on the task at hand.  I needed to find the rogue and figure out what they were doing on our territory and I needed to move fast.  The scent was heading towards town and if he made it there before I found him, he'd be long gone.  There were too many scents in town to pick out the rogue and track it.

    If I couldn't catch up with him in time, the pack could be in danger.  I needed to know what he was doing here if I wanted to protect my pack.  I poured on the speed, racing after the scent and praying that he didn't have enough of a lead to leave the tree line before I was able to catch him.

    I skidded to a halt at the edge of the trees, overlooking the main road into town, and cursed.  He'd made it out of the woods and was most likely in town.  I could clearly see the alley behind the eastern side of Main Street and the scent was heading in that direction. 

    I knew that I had clothes stashed somewhere near here, I just needed to find them.  I hadn't been to this side of the territory in a while as I mostly patrolled the northern border where our pack lines were the closest to our enemy, Drabek's pack. 

    After wasting a precious few minutes, I picked up the faint scent of clothing and made my way to a tree a couple yards away, right up against the alleyway.  Shoved in a knot hole was a wadded up pair of work out shorts.  Before I could shift and grab them, I was jerked to a halt by a flexible, metal chain around my neck, causing me to growl.

    I spun around to see who I was dealing with and cursed.  Holding a sturdy metal rod was an animal control officer, the wire collar around my throat firmly attached to the rod that he was holding in both hands.  I couldn't risk changing and getting out of this situation.  The animal control officer was completely human.

    I could practically feel my wolf, Rafe, laughing at me in my head. How did you not smell him? he asked me, practically panting in hilarity in my mind.

    I growled at Rafe, not appreciating his unhelpful attitude, but that only caused the animal control officer to yank harshly on the pole.  The painful pressure exerted on my trachea was enough to take Rafe from laughing to feral in moments.