" Touchy! Touchy! I am so scared! Ohh!!! Look, dagger! Oooo! I am terrified! " The rogues were thoroughly enjoying this. It seemed like they had finally found some real entertainment in their boring life!
Rory stood between Autumn and the rogues, legs trembling but planted firm, dagger held in front of him like it could actually stop the monsters before him.His entire posture screamed, " Touch her and you die! "
Autumn tried to grab his legs.She tugged at his shoe, " Rory, stand down. I said get out of here! Do you have a death wish, boy? What’s wrong with you? "
The Rogues gave them a moment, as if enjoying the banter, before stepping forward, their smirks screamed jeer.
"You come any closer," Rory growled, voice cracking, "and I swear, I will cut you down into pieces."
The rogues still stared at him, blinking, then...Laughed out loud.
One doubled over, clutching his gut. "Oh Moon, this is rich. Look at him. Kid thinks he is a knight."
Another rolled his shoulders and began circling. "You got balls, boy. I will give you that. Shame you won’t live to grow into them."
More leering and laughter followed.
Autumn tried to move...tried to pull him...
"Break his legs. Let’s see how brave he is then."
Rory dodged...barely...swinging the dagger in a wild arc. The blade caught the rogue’s forearm, drawing blood. Not a lot but quite impactful. The man hissed, recoiling.
"Leave him," Autumn rasped, but they didn’t hear her. Or didn’t care.
The other rogue nearest Rory lunged this time.
"DON’T!" Dreck’s voice cut through the fight like a whip. He grabbed the attacking rogue’s arm, pulling him back with surprising force.
The rogue staggered. "What the fuck, Dreck?!"
Dreck’s eyes were locked on Rory. Calculating. Uneasy.
"Wait...just wait!" He grabbed the rogue’s shoulder as he talked. "Look at him. He is not just some stray. He’s got fight in him. What if he is pack?"
The leader scoffed. "He is a goddamn child."
"Exactly!" Dreck snapped. "And what kind of child walks into a fight unless he’s got someone bigger behind him?"
The rogues hesitated.
Rory took the opening. He slashed again, forcing them back another step. His breath came in ragged gasps, but his stance stayed firm.
Autumn’s vision swam. The pain in her abdomen was excruciating at this point...her limbs heavy, her thoughts sluggish.
"Rory, you idiot...run while you still have the chance! " She mumbled but the kid didn’t listen.
One of the others spat at Dreck. "What, you scared of a pack brat now?"
Dreck didn’t flinch. "If they are from a real pack, and their patrol finds us with their female and their pup?" He looked at the blood on Autumn’s legs, her face pale and sweat slicked. "We are fucked."
"She is a rogue," the leader hissed.
The others turned on Dreck like wolves smelling weakness.
"You soft, Dreck?" sneered the bare chested one. "Gonna cry for your little girlfriend too?"
"You traitor," another hissed." We don’t take orders from you! You follow or you die! "
"Try! I ain’t dying for any of your stupid shit. I am saving my ass! You suit yourself!" Dreck growled back, stepping in front of Rory. "You touch him again, and I will gut you next."
The tension broke like a snapped bone.The rogues lunged...not at Rory...but at Dreck this time.
Rory darted to the side just in time as two of them collided with Dreck, slamming him into a tree. Fists flew. Claws tore. Blood sprayed.
But Dreck held his ground.
And Rory...The boy was small, fast, and surprisingly sharp as he defended Autumn from all sides.
One rogue tried to grab him by the scruff...he ducked and jammed the dagger into the bastard’s thigh, earning a howl of rage.
The forest echoed with chaos.
Autumn tried to scream,but her voice wouldn’t come.
More pain bloomed in her gut!
Her eyes fluttered, vision flickering with dark spots. Too much blood. Too much pain.
Then..."Enough of this."
The leader nodded to the others. "Kill the brat."
Three rogues moved at once.
Rory ducked the first strike, twisted away from the second but the third caught him across the ribs with a brutal kick. He staggered, coughing blood.
Dreck snarled and moved, shoving one of the rogues off balance. "I said quit already!"
The rogue whirled on him, eyes blazing. "Shut up...you traitor!"
Dreck bared his teeth. "I said I am not dying for your stupidity! I ain’t your enemy bro! You still got time to save your ass! "
A knife flashed. Dreck barely dodged, but the blade still grazed his shoulder. He roared, slamming his fist into the rogue’s jaw.
Rory, bleeding but still standing, lashed out again. His dagger found flesh...a rib, an arm...but he was outnumbered, outmatched.
A fist connected with his temple. He hit the ground hard, vision blurring.The sound was deep. Heavy.
The rogues looked up, ears twitching.
Rory turned too,eyes wide.
The ground began to tremble beneath them, soft at first, then building like distant thunder rolling closer.It was coming from the east. Through the trees. Dust in the wind. Wind carrying the scent of leather and iron.
Dreck’s head snapped towards the sound
Steady. Rhythmic. Many.
Every single head snapped towards the tree line... including Autumn’s
Even Dreck went still, blood dripping from his split knuckles.
Autumn’s failing vision caught the first glimpse...horses, riders, the glint of steel in the fading light. A patrol.
The rogue leader paled. "Shit."
The last thing Autumn saw was the wall of mounted figures before the darkness swallowed her whole.
Dreck’s head snapped toward the sound.
"Oh, damn," he muttered. "That’s not a patrol."
"What do you mean?" someone hissed.
But then they all heard it...
" Stand down trespassers! How dare you sneak into my territory!"
An Alpha voice boomed, shaking the leaves of the trees.