Crimson Moon

Seventeen

The rogue just whimpered and didn't answer. Cain snarled and the male jumped in fear. Fortunately, they were hidden from the view of the humans ambling through town, otherwise, this could be considered "make a scene."

"Answer me," Cain snapped, his eyes flashing. Joey's boot was still planted on the rogue's shoulder, which was trembling in fear of Cain. Lou's wolf was a little irritated that he hadn't crumbled in fear when she had drowned him in her Alpha aura, but Lou knew that Cain was far scarier than she would ever be.

"I-- I meant no harm, Alpha, none at all."

Cain's voice was scary calm as he continued. "You laid your hands on one of my females. I consider that 'harm'."

Had Cain really just referred to her as one of his females? As much as it should have bothered Lou... it didn't. She liked knowing he considered her a member of his pack, for however long that would last. Especially now that Joey was here, he could take her somewhere safe. Somewhere that wasn't the Crimson Moon pack. She glanced up at her brother, who looked completely shocked that Cain had called her one of his females.

"N-no harm to you, or the rest of your pack. I was just told I'd have a pack again if I found her," the male told him, completely crumbling under Cain's gaze in an embarrassingly short amount of time.

Lou gasped and stepped closer to Joey, who growled. It hadn't been an accident that he'd found her; he'd been looking for her. Cain snarled and his eyes began a steady glow as his claws extended. He grabbed the other wolf around the neck, his claws digging in and drawing blood. 

"Who sent you?" he barked

The rogue just whimpered, shaking his head. He was obviously incredibly afraid of whoever sent him, but Lou thought that at the moment he should be more afraid of the man whose claws were closing around his jugular.

The door to the general store opened as the four women from the pack stepped out, smiling and talking happily, at least until they saw Cain about to rip out the throat of a man on the street.

"What's going on?" Kristine demanded, almost dropping her bag. "Who is that?"

"A rogue we're bringing home with us, where he might be more inclined to talk," Cain growled, pulling the rogue to his feet and pushing him against the hood of the green truck. "Kristine, there's some rope in the bed of the truck, would you grab it for me? And Caroline, Ryland and Vince are in the bar, could you please tell them it's time to leave? Make sure Bill doesn't follow them out. I'd rather not explain why I'm throwing a man in the bed of my truck."

The human women nodded their heads. Lou took Caroline's bag from her as the older woman rushed down the street, presumably in the direction of the bar. Kristine came back a moment later with some rope, which Cain quickly used to tie the rogue's wrists to his ankles behind his back in a hogtie fashion. It was slightly disconcerting how quickly he was able to execute that maneuver.

"Joey, help me get him into the bed," Cain commanded, in full Alpha mode now. Lou understood the stress that was radiating from him. His pack was threatened and now his wolf was looking for an outlet. Joey, an Alpha male himself, complied easily. Joey was dominant, but it was nowhere near close to what Cain himself emanated, so it made sense Joey was willing to follow orders.

With lightning speed, the rogue was taken care of and loaded in the back of the truck. A moment later, two strong hands grabbed Lou and spun her around. She would have been afraid had her wolf not smelled him immediately and relaxed. Ryland did a quick look over her, his brown eyes wide in worry as he cupped her face. "Caroline said there was a rogue. Are you okay? Did he touch you, hurt you? What did he want?" His mother-hen attitude should have annoyed her, but it actually made her love him even more. How many people were lucky enough to have a friend like him after only knowing him a few weeks?