Kaden POV
We are all sitting in the living room. Raven is pacing the middle of the floor, talking out loud. I am not sure if she is talking to us or herself, but I listen intently anyway. Everyone's eyes are following her carefully, but my mother is grumbling under her breath in defiance.
"Between what Tish told Mae and what Mae has seen, we know someone is coming for the South Pack," Raven mumbles. "The only problem is Mae couldn't lock down a day or time within her vision. So, we need to be prepared starting today."
"I need to go and get my mate," Kai says loudly.
Raven looks at him with kind eyes. "Of course, you and Kaden may follow Cedric to the rogue pack house. You may also take one of my mates if you believe it is necessary."
"I should go too," Kieran says. "Mae will never forgive me if something happens to Tish."
My mother jumps to her feet. "Let me get this straight. Our pack is supposedly under attack because the Luna Queen is on our territory, and you are sending both of my sons on a rescue mission for some human."
"Yes," Raven replies curtly. "If we work quickly, we can prepare the pack and the warriors for whatever is coming. I will be here to help."
"No!" She shouts. "My sons will stay here and protect the pack. Both of them."
"I am going after Tish," Kai says with certainty. "I owe it to her after what I have done."
"How do we prepare the pack?" My father asks Raven.
"With Leo's rogue intelligence and combat history, he would be the best at setting up your defenses," Raven beams at her mate.
Leo takes his place beside Raven and begins to ask questions about our warriors and how well they are trained. My father hangs his head in shame as he answers the questions. He never expected the South Pack to be attacked because of his lax policies about rogues. He never thought they would turn against our pack. Our forces are woefully undertrained.
Leo sits down on the couch and presses his fingers to his temples. "You aren't ready," he finally mumbles. "We can't afford to have the twins, Oliver, and Kieran leave. We need them to fight."
"We wouldn't be in this mess if you all wouldn't have called the Luna Queen," Mom shouts. "We didn't have these problems until SHE showed up."
Mom is storming across the room toward Raven. Her claws are extended, and she is ready to strike the Luna Queen. None of us can move fast enough. Mom raises her hand to strike Raven, but Raven catches her wrist in the air.
She tightens her hand around Mom's wrist, and it forces her claws to retract. "Emotions are high right now," Raven growls. "I understand that you are worried about your family and your pack, so I am willing to let this slide. But this is the last time you cross me. You have been rude to me since I stepped foot onto your territory. I am sure you are a recusant sympathizer, and I will deal with that later. Right now, our number one priority should be the safety of the South Pack."
Raven drops my mother's arm and steps away from her. Oliver and Leo step between them and bare their teeth. Mom slinks back to her chair. She has always prided herself on being a formidable warrior, but Raven put her in her place quickly.
None of us have time to dwell on what just happened. The alarms blared through the pack house for the first time since Father took over the pack. Dad looks panicked. His hands are shaking, and his face is pale.
"Where is the safe house?" Leo demands to know.
"We don't have one," Dad stutters. "We have never had need of one."
Leo looks at Raven. Holding her by the side of her face, he kisses her deeply on the lips. When they break away from the kiss, they are breathless. "Don't leave this pack house," he attempts to command her.
"I can handle myself," she whimpers.
"No," Oliver buts in. "Not this time. Not in your condition."
Raven nods her head lightly and promises to stay in the pack house. Both of her mates place a kiss on her lips before racing out the front door. Kieran pecks Raven on the cheek and rushes out after them.
I am left stunned. These three men aren't part of our pack, yet they head out ready to fight for us. Kai growls in our mother's direction before stripping off his clothes and shifting in the middle of the living room. His wolf, Fang, huffs in my direction, letting me know that it is time to fight.
I don't wait to see if Mom and Dad are coming to protect their pack before I follow my brother's wolf out the door. Surprisingly, Cedric is at my side. I cock an eyebrow at him as he pulls off his shirt.
"I may not be the wolf I once was, but I have one last fight in me," he says before shifting into his wolf.
I am the only one standing on the porch. Despite being the older twin, my wolf isn't as strong as Fang. I have always dealt with the paperwork, and Kai dealt with the muscle. But seeing the carnage taking place in front of me, I can't stand back and watch.
'Are you ready?' I ask Apollo.
Apollo only growls in my mind. He doesn't wait for me to give him control. Pushing me aside in my mind, he forces the shift, ripping through my clothes.
I don't know where to begin. There are rogues everywhere, but they don't smell exactly like rogues. It is as if their scent is shifting into something different. I find it hard to distinguish between the two groups fighting, but Apollo has it under control.
He spots Fang in the fray. A group of rogues is surrounding him. Fang has nowhere to turn. Apollo barrels toward the group, determined to save his brother. He sinks his teeth into the hind leg of rogues and rips him away.
Shaking his head from side to side, Apollo rips the rogue's leg from his body. I am grateful not to be in my human form because the sight has me gagging.
Eventually, I retreat into the recesses of my mind and let Apollo kill rogue after rogue. He is much stronger than I realized, and I feel bad for underestimating him.
Suddenly, the smell of smoke fills the air, and the rogues begin to retreat. I sigh, thinking we were victorious when I hear screams coming from the pack house.
Flames are engulfing the pack house, and panic rushes through my body. As Apollo rushes to the fire, Raven stumbles out, coughing on the smoke. Leo carries her away from the pack house and sets her on the ground. He lays his ear on her stomach and sighs.
"They took them," she cries.
"Who did they take?" Leo asks her.
"Alpha Fred and Luna Scarlett," she sobs. "They left me to die in the flames."