Rogues

King Cole’s POV

The meeting with the elders had been dragging on for what felt like hours. They sat around the long wooden table, their voices rising and falling with complaints about how rogues were overrunning our distant lands.

They whined about territory losses, fights near our borders, and how our pack’s reputation was slipping because we hadn’t dealt with the problem swiftly enough.

I leaned back in my chair, fingers drumming against the armrest as I fought the urge to tell them all to shut up.

It wasn’t that they were wrong—far from it—but I had bigger things on my mind.

Greg and Anna, for one.

The spy I had planted wasn’t telling me everything I needed to know, and it was becoming increasingly clear that my brother was up to something. His magic, his insubordination, his very existence was a thorn in my side, constantly testing the limits of my patience.

One of the elders, a particularly shrill old wolf with a man for dramatics, was in the middle of recounting some rogue attack on a trading outpost when the doors to the chamber swung open with a loud bang.

I turned sharply, my eyes narrowing at the intrusion. It was one of my generals, his face pale and drenched with sweat.

“What is the meaning of this?” I snapped, my voice echoing through the room as the elders fell silent. “Can’t you see we’re in the middle of something important?”

The general bowed hastily, his breathing ragged as if he’d run all the way here. “My king, forgive the interruption, but this is urgent. An army of rogues is heading straight for the pack.”

My irritation flared. First Greg, then Anna’s defiance, and now this. The entire world seemed intent on testing my limits today. “How many?” I demanded, already standing from my chair.

“At least a hundred, maybe more,” the general stammered, his eyes darting nervously. “They’re moving fast, and they’ll be at our borders any minute.”

I glanced around the room at the elders, their faces a mixture of fear and concern. Normally, I would have summoned the entire army, made a show of force, and crushed these rogues under the weight of our pack’s might. But that would take time—time I didn’t have and patience I wasn’t willing to waste.

I gritted my teeth, my decision made in an instant. “Stay here and wait for further orders. I’ll handle this myself.”

The elders gaped at me, and the general looked like he was about to protest, but I didn’t give him the chance.

I turned and shot out of the room with my super speed, the air around me whipping past as I sprinted toward the pack’s edge. I could already feel my blood boiling, my anger boiling just beneath the surface, begging for a way out. Today, the rogues would feel the full wrath of the king.

As I reached the outskirts of our territory, I saw them. The rogue army, a mass of snarling wolves, each one ragged and wild-eyed, more beast than man.

At the front stood their leader, a hulking wolf with scars criss-crossing his chest and a sneer that spoke of disgust. I stopped a few feet away, the ground trembling under my power as I glared at the intruders.

“Turn back,” I growled, my voice low and deadly, echoing across the field. “This is your only warning.”

The rogue leader chuckled, his laugh grating and mocking. “Turn back? I’d rather die than bow to you, King Cole.”

“What are you all doing here? You know you will all die.”

“You and what army,” he chuckled.

“I am the army.”

I was already mad at Greg and Anna—angry that my brother was defying me at every turn, angry that Anna’s loyalty was questionable, and angry that everyone around me seemed to think they could push me. I was done holding back.

With a snarl, I launched myself into the men, my body a blur of speed and strength as I crashed into the rogues.

My claws tore through fur and flesh, my teeth snapping with brutal precision. I was a force of nature, unstoppable and unrelenting.

Every rogue I touched fell before me, their bones snapping like twigs under the weight of my fury.

I grabbed one wolf by the throat, lifting him off the ground before slamming him down with enough force to shatter his spine.

Another lunged at me, and I met him with a savage punch that sent him flying, his body crumpling as it hit the ground. I could hear their pained howls, feel the heat of their blood splattering against my skin, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.

The leader came at me, his movements slow and lumbering compared to my own. I sidestepped his attack effortlessly, my hand shooting out to grab him by the chest. For a moment, his eyes met mine, wide and full of fear as he realized just how outmatched he was. I felt nothing but contempt.

“You should have turned back,” I growled, and then I drove my fist through his chest, ripping his heart out in one gruesome motion. His body went limp, and I tossed him aside like he was nothing.

The remaining rogues hesitated, their resolve crumbling as they saw their leader fall. But it was too late for them. I wasn’t in the mood to show mercy.

I tore through the remaining wolves with the same brutal efficiency, each kill a hefty release of the anger I had been bottling up. I was king, and this was my domain. No one challenged me and lived to tell the tale.

When the last rogue fell, I stood amidst a field of broken bodies, my chest heaving as I surveyed the carnage.

Blood stained the grass, the metallic scent thick in the air. I turned to see my army finally arriving, their faces filled with awe and horror as they took in the sight of hundreds of dead rogues scattered before them.

“Clean up this mess,” I ordered, my voice low and commanding. I didn’t bother to look at them as I walked past, wiping the blood from my hands. “And make sure this never happens again.”

I strode back toward the palace, my mind already shifting back to the real problem—Greg. He was a loose cannon, a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. And now, with Anna caught in the middle, things were more complicated than ever.

As I walked through the gates, the guards stiffened, eyes wide with fear and respect. They knew better than to speak when I was like this, boiling and ready to snap. I climbed the steps to my chambers, my mind replaying the scene of the battle, the satisfying crunch of bones under my hands.

I reached my room, slamming the door behind me as I tried to calm the storm brewing inside.

I stood in front of the mirror just as a knock came on my door.

The door opened with a maid in a seductive clothing entered. She must have been sent my Raxon to calm my temper but I wasn’t in the mood for these games.

“I’d like to be alone now,” I said with finality as I started to get rid of my bloody clothes.

While I did that, I heard something fall to the ground as I turned and saw the maid naked.