Taking Down the Alpha

11 Don't Hurt Her

I woke up early to the sound of birds singing in the trees, feeling very optimistic. Tiptoeing across the dew-wet ground with my clothing in my mouth, I transformed and washed myself up in the lake quickly. The water was ridiculously cold, even for a wolf, so I wasn't tempted to linger.

When I returned to the campsite Liana was already busy making grilled cheese for breakfast. I'd argued that it wasn't a proper breakfast food but gave in because she'd seemed really excited about the idea. It was hard to say no to those huge pleading eyes. After a couple of charred mishaps she produced the first couple of sandwiches. I burned myself with the first bite, a slight wound that my wolf quickly healed, before I decided that campfire grilled cheese was a genius idea and possibly the best food ever.

Denise shifted and opened her eyes, probably awoken by my breakfast raving.

"Good morning," Liana said with a smile. I continued chewing.

Denise nodded as she stood up and shook herself. She transformed into human and retreated to dress. Returning, she said grumpily, "We should have bought coffee. What were we thinking?"

"We have nothing to brew it in," I pointed out with a shrug. "We'll get some at the first gas station we see."

"We should have bought a kettle. Or even a pot. We could have managed."

"There's not room in the car for everything we want," I pointed out.

She huffed a sighing sort of sound and grabbed her towel before heading to the lake.

Liana was still cooking a few extra sandwiches for the road, and humming while she did it. I was about to beg for another since my mouth was watering, but the words died in my throat with a shriek from Denise's direction.

Liana's head shot up as I jumped to my feet.

"Stay where it's safe, Liana," I ordered as I ran towards the water and Denise's scream.

Denise was completely submerged in the lake with only her head poking out, but she appeared unharmed. Following her gaze, I found a naked male on the bank a few feet away from the water's edge. He was staring at my friend, apparently so fixated he didn't even notice I was there. One whiff of his scent was enough to tell me that he was not only a werewolf, but also a rogue, and my wolf was instantly alert and watchful, not trusting the peeping intruder. He was larger than me, and I doubted I could take him in a fight, but the only thing I could do was try to bluff my way through the encounter.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked, keeping my eyes fixed on the rogue. His attention finally snapped to me, then he growled as he turned to face me. I watched him warily, but I spoke to Denise. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she said, although she sounded uncharacteristically shaken.

The rogue bristled. "This territory is unclaimed." His response was terse.

"Well, maybe, but you're the one startling my friend while she's bathing, which is pretty creepy behaviour."

"I wasn't—"

"You were," Denise said, apparently finally getting more angry like I would have expected her to be, judging from the glare she was sending the intruder.

He held up his hands. "I'm not looking for trouble. I was just following a scent, that's all. I never meant any harm."

"Well, you can follow it back wherever you came from. This might not be formally claimed territory, but we're using it right now, and you aren't welcome." I crossed my arms.

"I'm not leaving." His gaze kept shifting in the direction of Denise. How she kept her sanity with males everywhere harassing her was a mystery to me.

"Oh yes, you will." I doubted I could take him on my own, but working with Denise we could manage. We had to protect Liana.