Not again.

Roxy flew from her bedroom and rushed down the staircase, taking two at a time. When she burst from the front door, she was met with the sight of other pack members rushing towards the forest, stripping themselves of whatever clothes they wore with haste before leaping into their magnificent wolf forms. Roxy quickly followed, pulling her jumper over her head and shimmying out of her shorts. Her legs charged beneath her, her toes cooling around the coolness of the dirt. She closed her eyes, imagining the world around her through the eyes of her wolf. When she opened them, she was higher up from the ground, watching her furry golden legs stretch out in front of her. Everything was enhanced. She could see every individual leaves in the willow trees and hear the sounds of sparrows hopping between branches.

The strong scent of an intruder flooded though her nose; the metallic stench of blood which would be on their flea-riddled fur, their rotting teeth. There was only one thing that smelt like that. The scents that made every decent werewolf nervous and immediately defensive.

Rogues.

Roxy urged herself to gallop faster, even though the anxiousness building up inside her made her want to turn and run back home. The wolves of the pack powered alongside each other, a sea of blacks, browns and greys moving together as one. Normally they wouldn't need so many members to go after a single intruder but the Alpha, Trent, had put everyone on high alert. They weren't taking any more chances. He wanted to capture a rogue, to hold it prisoner and get answers as to why they were constantly visiting the Saltwater Woods pack.

Orders were being thrown left, right and centre through the mental communication link each werewolf shared when in wolf form. Thankfully, they also had the ability to block other wolves out, a vital key when they had an intruder. Like trying to tune an old radio, Roxy picked the conversation of her pack and tried to concentrate on who was saying what.

'Nobody try to be a hero and take it on alone, okay?'

There was no mistaking Trent's authoritative voice.

'Look after one another.'

That was her sister, Cleo's, softer tone.

Roxy spotted her soft brown wolf charging alongside Trent's glowing white one at the head of the charge, being the ever-dependable Luna. While like most Alphas, Trent had to be the strong and tough part of the leading duo, Cleo had easily filled in the shoes of being the sensitive and motherly part after raising Roxy most of her life. She was the one the Omegas came to with their problems no one wanted an Alpha to know. The supportive arms of Saltwater Woods.

'What are they after?' asked the worried voice of one of the Omegas. 'This is the tenth visit we've had from a rogue just this month!'

'They've got to be after something, but what?' said another.

'Everyone! Let's not think about that right now and just focus on capturing this one so we can hopefully get those answers!' boomed Trent's voice. 'Now split off in pairs! I don't want this one getting away!'

The wolves obeyed their orders, darting off in all directions through the woods with their partners. They were like ghosts, their coloured coats blending into the scenery. Roxy quickly latched onto Kenny, one of the boys her age. They ducked and weaved through trees as they ran, their paws leaving large prints in the soft soil behind them. She held her nose high in the air, feeling it twitch as all different smells swirled around her; sand, salt of the nearby ocean and the earthiness of the woods. But there was one which didn't fit.

'Kenny, stop. It's close.'

Kenny's dark wolf came to a skidding halt before backing his rump against Roxy's. The two of them slowly moved in a circle, their eyes scanning for any flash of movement while their ears were tuned for any sounds. They froze when there was a snap of a twig nearby. Suddenly the sound of thundering paws approached them, followed by the strong smell of rogue. Roxy dug her paws into the dirt deeper and let rip with a nasty snarl. Suddenly there was a flash of grey. Her eyes darted about but the rogue was like a ghost flashing through the trees of the sunlit woods.

It was playing games with them.

Silence descended over them. A nervous feeling filled Roxy as she waited with baited breath, trying to silence her racing heart. While she'd watched other pack members take on a rogue, she'd never had to take one on herself. She hoped her training would save her. There was a rustle of a tree branch above but she had no time to react before a painful cry shot out from behind her.

Her eyes widened when she turned to see the rogue on top of Kenny's back, its yellowing and sharp claws dug deep into his flesh to drag him to the ground. Without a second thought she lowered her head and charged towards the rogue, sending it flying from Kenny with a sickly crunch of its ribs. The rogue gave a yelp as it crashed into a nearby tree, sending leaves twirling down to the ground.

The strong smell of Kenny's blood assaulted her senses and she was horrified to see just how much was oozing from the deep wounds, causing his fur to mat with thick clumps of blood. With her wolf standing protectively over his, she watched as the rogue slowly rose to its feet and shook itself. It readied itself to pounce. She reciprocated its stance, her muscles taut like loaded springs. A low and warning snarl rippled through her teeth. She stared at the rogues' yellow eyes, waiting for it to attack. Challenging it.

But it never came.

She watched as something flashed in the rogue's eyes. Its body language became nervous with its tail tucking between its legs and its ears pinning against its head. Then with a flash it darted into the shadows of the woods. Stunned, Roxy watched as it disappeared. The only traces of it was its scent leaving a trail through the dense woodlands, heading towards the cliff faces. She went to chase it before thinking twice and turning back to Kenny. He was bleeding even heavier.

'The rogue took off towards the east. I need help in the south side of the woods. Kenny is suffering major blood loss!' she shouted panicked into the mind link the pack shared.

The ground became closer as her body morphed back into its human form. Quickly, she scurried over to Kenny who had also shifted into his human form, now curled into the fetal position. The sight of the large claw marks which travelled from his neck to the small of his back made Roxy's stomach churn. Blood loss was one problem. Another was the large risk of the wounds becoming infected by the rogues' unsanitary claws. It sent good-natured wolves rabid. Some cases were so bad they had to be put out of their misery.

'Oh my goodness, Kenny.' Roxy forced the dark thoughts away and reached out to gently give his shoulder a squeeze. In the distance she could hear other pack members running towards them. 'I'm here. You're going to be fine.'

Later that day Roxy was standing outside the office, chewing at her bottom lip nervously. She hoped she wasn't in trouble for not going after the rogue. But how could she have left Kenny in that state? Trent had asked to speak to her about her encounter with the rogue. Not that she knew what to tell him. She'd been as baffled as anyone as to why it suddenly ran away. And why were they coming individually? They usually travelled in packs, destroying good werewolf packs so they could claim the land as their own. So they could monopolise the harmonious werewolf world. To create bloodshed and utter chaos.