The sun had barely risen when paws thudded across the ground, resembling the sound of a galloping herd of wild horses. Breaths puffed. Rows of teeth were bared, emitting eager snarls from them. The pack of wolves ran across the flat plains, a moving sea of shimmering coats.

Isaac Winters was leading the pack in his mighty black wolf form. A vicious snarl tore between his bared teeth when he sensed them getting closer. The patrol group had announced an intruder had been spotted crossing the northern boundary line of the Moonlight Ridge territory. Constantly sniffing the air as he ran, Isaac came to the conclusion that it wasn't a rogue. In fact, he struggled to smell anything at all. It was strange. With Moonlight Ridge being such a widespread territory, it was impossible to know every wolf and human that went in and out of it. It must be a lone wolf who'd stumbled too close to the pack houses. Still though, it should still have a scent, it was how werewolves recognised one another after seeing each other in only one form.

Unluckily for this wolf it'd made the mistake of crossing onto Moonlight Ridge territory. His territory. Snapping his jaw, his wolf panted for the wolf's blood to be on his tongue. The bloodlust made him charge faster, growing the distance between the Omegas behind him. He'd heard the whispers between his pack members and other packs. They were afraid that after building himself up to be the most renown Alpha that his way of showing his dominance was inching him closer into becoming a rogue. While most werewolves refrained from going on hunts, instead letting the rogues cruise by in the underground world as to not start a war, Isaac had been the one to search for them. To hunt them. Then, without a flicker of remorse, he would kill them.

Unfortunately for this wolf he didn't sympathise for lone wolves either. Every werewolf knew the risk of crossing onto an Alpha's territory. He didn't accept excuses. Or prisoners.

Running a tongue along his teeth, Isaac's eyes narrowed onto a white wolf in the distance. He let rip with a long howl, making the white wolf's head snap to him in alarm. Isaac gave a vicious growl when it spun on a dime, its legs scurrying in a blur of white and its fluffy tail bouncing along behind it. Agitation grew inside of him when the distance between himself and his intruder grew. The wolves behind him faded away. It was just the two of them. Digging into his reserve tank, he forced his legs to stretch further, wincing at the way his muscles ached with the action. Two years ago he would've been on top of the wolf tearing its throat out by now, crimson blood staining its white fur, but things were different now. As much as he hated to admit it, the big bad Alpha persona he'd created for so long was beginning to fade.

Isaac stretched his neck to its limit, snapping his jaw at the fluffy bud of the wolf's tail. White fur filled his mouth. Getting a taste of small victory, he was about to pounce on top of the wolf before it crossed the invisible boundary line, making him dig his paws into the ground and skid to a halt. Spitting the fur from his teeth he let rip with a monstrous roar, one that resounded against the mountain ridges in the short distance. His angry wolf paced back and forth along the invisible line as the white wolf stood on the other side panting heavily. There was a glimmer in its eyes, as if it were mocking him. This enraged Isaac further and deciding to throw caution to the wind he readied himself in a pouncing stance before an Omega crashed into his side, sending them tumbling into the grass.

Isaac was first to recover, quickly jumping to his feet and shaking his fur free of dirt and grass. If his wolf wasn't already angry enough, then now he was seething. The blood that coursed through them was bubbling like red hot lava when he glowered down at the Omega who was now standing to its feet. The wolf's courage which had led to its decision of going against its Alpha had obviously fled as it scurried back from him, its brown eyes downcast.

'Who do you think you are?' roared Isaac through the telepathic link he shared with his pack.

'I-I'm sorry, Alpha, truly.' The Omega continued staring down at the ground, his steps back matching Isaac's steps forward. 'I was just worried that you were going to cross the line – metaphoric and physical. You know the punishment of a wolf who attacks another on no man's land.'

'Well I don't see anyone else around, do you?' spat Isaac. He regarded his pack steadily. 'Would anyone else have dared dob me into the Royals?' When there were murmurs of nervous 'No's' and shakes of large heads he slid his gaze of disgust back to the nervous wolf. 'You've just let a potential threat escape, Omega. Do not disrespect me like that again. Do you understand?'

'Y-Yes, Alpha. I'm sorry, Alpha,' rambled the Omega, scurrying to the protection of the other wolves. Isaac didn't miss the judgemental and frightened looks he received.

Turning back to the lone wolf, he gave a low growl of annoyance as he watched its white fur move across the flats in no man's land. The Omega had been right. The last thing Moonlight Ridge needed were more hidden scandals. With a final snarl he turned around and began trotting towards the houses hidden from the rest of the territory by a thick tree line before breaking into a jog. He had to go to the quarry. After the way his morning had started, he wished luck to anyone that pissed him off.

Isaac's hand was clenched tightly on top of the steering wheel as he drove his truck along the gravel road towards the quarry which was made up of four pits – North, East, South and West. A dirty and worn hard hat sat on the dash and a high visibility vest was draped against the back of the passenger seat. He'd only been heading out to check on the quarry's progress after they'd been awarded the largest contract of its history. The machinery was working around the clock in all four pits and the workers were doing seventy hour weeks rather than the fifty five they'd do in the quieter season. It seemed though luck hadn't been on his side when he hoped his day would only improve. His Beta, Tobias, had called not long after he'd gotten in his truck with the news that one of the diggers was leaking oil. With them needing to be trucking out tonnes of blue rock each day to fulfill the contract, having a digger down was not ideal.