~Knox~

"Where did you go?" Jaxon grunts, looking over his phone as his question pulls my attention away from the front door.

"Uh, just a trash motel. I just needed to reflect before finalising the report." I respond biting down on my wolf's need to go after her, he'll have to wait, even if I grant him that time with her.

I can't trust him right now, he's completely thrown me with his need to be around her. I thought I had suppressed him for the past three days but one look at her and I can feel him pushing against my restraint again. Horny bastard. "Report?" Jacob looks up from his phone, his face taking on a surprised look.

"Yes, I'm leaving Jaxon."novelbin

"Already? Why?"

"I have to get back and prepare for my next intake." I knew this would hit him hard, he still had concerns about his wolf's self control. I suppose I act as his safety net and being here he's been able to relax a bit more.

"But without Jace..." He is cut off as Alpha Kaia walks down the stairs towards the office area.

Her face lights up as soon as she sees me, another person that hasn't been told what I did then.

"Knox, we missed you. Where have you been?" She walks over to me, placing a kiss upon my cheek in a warm greeting.

"Just as a motel..."

"A motel? Let me guess take out...a man's dream I'm sure but you need proper food. Go make yourself something to eat for breakfast."

"Thank you Alpha, I will. But first Alpha Hector has asked me to attend a meeting."

"Ah, yes okay...see you inside." She smiles before heading into her shared alpha office.

"Jaxon, Knox..." Alpha Hector calls out to us both just as Alpha Kaia walks in to the office. With one last glance at the front door I turn, heading towards the office, swallowing down the guilt at Alpha Kaia's warmth towards me. If she knew the truth I think she'd toss me out by my ear.

"We'll talk about this later." Jaxon states, his eyes holding a fresh level of panic within them, before we both head into the office.

Once inside, Beta Riley closes the door behind us, a tray of coffees and pastries already prepared. Meaning this was likely going to be a long meeting.

"I've asked Knox here to join us to get his thoughts on the situation." Alpha Hector starts before reaching behind his desk to the window curtain rail, pulling down a projector blind that I didn't even know existed.

As soon as the blind is down the lights in the room are turned off and the windows are automatically covered with blinds. An unsettling sense of dread washing over the room.

"This was captured on one of our cameras last night...it's at the north east border." Alpha Hector's eyes find mine in the dark before he presses play on the video footage. I take a step closer towards the screen before leaning in slightly to ensure I do not miss any small detail.

Watching the footage everything seems perfectly normal until in the top right corner of the video...movement behind a tree.

At first it looks like some kind of nocturnal animal...a squirrel or something just playing around a tree until the camera focuses in more and it is unmistakable...the tail of a much larger animal...a wolf.

"Was anyone patrolling the area that night, in wolf form?" I ask out, my eyes fixed on the footage.

"No...keep watching." Alpha Hector responds, his shoulders tensing as he must be rewatching this footage for the hundredth time. Even so, it still gives him the chills. It would me, if I had a pack full of people to protect.

I reach behind and bring a chair closer to me before sitting down on it, continuing to not take my eyes off the screen. The tail disappears back into the treeline, only for a few seconds later my heart to drop into the pit of my stomach. Five wolfs step out.

They aren't wild, it's obvious. They aren't playing in the woods, they haven't stumbled across the area by accident...they were sent to gather information. Key security information on the Dark Phantom pack. But for what purpose.

The biggest give away is how they all look up to the camera. Their eyes glowing in the dark as they look up at the camera, my own wolf coming forward to stare back at them. An eerie sight as they hold the stare of the camera as if knowing we would be watching them. These are a threat, these have been sent on a clear reconnaissance mission.

"Rogues?" Beta Riley mutters out but all the alphas watch my head as I shake it side to side.

"No...they were sent and with a purpose. You were right to put the borders on lock down. Any movement during the day?"