Oh Hell No

Chapter 20

Chris left her once she shifted back and got dressed, so it would be even easier to get out onto the battlefield then she could have hoped for. They were idiots if they thought she'd simply stay here while people got hurt, even if she didn't particularly care for these people. Also, if they were using scent blockers they'd need someone who knows how to think like a rogue if they're going to find them all.

She had experimented with the things in the past and knew that, while they did a good job of hiding the potent nature of a wolf's scent, they failed to make the scent blend in. If you could systematically block out every identifiable scent, such as that of other wolves and of nature, then it was actually pretty easy to trace them. So, while everyone else "of use" was handling the main group, Jamie could target the stragglers. She wasn't a helpless pup; she could hold her own in a fight. That last fight with the rogue didn't count, she had been distracted and he caught her by surprise.

There was no point in lying to any of the people still in the pack house, if she got caught then she got caught, so she didn't even try to exit sneakily. It was very possible that someone might attack her, but by now they'd hopefully be able to recognize that she'd been around Ryder, a lot. If not, she always has her amazing conversational skills and charm to fall back on. Yeah, because those have never failed her before.

A lot of people gave her strange looks outside, but none of them stopped her yet. Just to be safe, she sped up, in case they decided to tell Ryder that she wasn't sitting complacently in his room. He would probably order them to drag her back inside if that happened so she wanted to put enough distance between herself and everyone here so she could have enough warning as to whether or not they were going to come chasing after her.

Apparently none of them cared about, or more likely recognized, their future luna as most of them barely glanced her way. If her sense of smell was to be believed, it was probably because she was getting closer to the group of pack warriors that were sent out to meet the rogues, so they probably thought she was going out to help. And, in a way, she was. They didn't need to know how exactly she planned on helping though, so as soon as she was out of their sight, she shifted and took a hard right.

If the rogues were here for a reason, then they'd probably know to avoid the houses. Dealing with an angry, protective parent or two would probably interfere with their plans, whatever those plans may be. The further away from the others she got, the easier it was to block out their scents. It wasn't too hard to pick up the "off" scent, the one that didn't seem to belong anywhere or to anything, but she couldn't be sure how many of them were over here.

Rogues didn't get along well when it came to group work, so it probably wasn't more than three. Any more than that and they'd be too busy fighting each other to get anything done, especially if there's a female in their group. After being packless for a while, rogues become lonely, and are less likely to wait for their mate. It doesn't take a genius to understand what will happen when you put two touch-starved wolves of opposite genders together for a revenge plot they probably don't care about. Threat or not, if she caught two naked werewolves making out in the woods she would just leave them there for someone else to deal with.

She followed in the general direction of the scent, placing more focus on listening to her surroundings though. She was not going to let another wolf sneak up on her, even if it meant tracking them down slower. As far as she knew, there was no rush to find however many wolves were out here.

If someone were to ask Jamie if she thought about going back, she wouldn't hesitate to lie. It had crossed her mind once or twice, but the idea was quickly shot down by her pride. How many werewolves had she kicked the crap out of at her old pack? A lot, the answer was a lot. She could handle herself, so there was no point in getting backup or chickening out like a scared little pup. Besides, if she did go back then she'd no doubt receive a teacher-rivalling lecture from one of the pack elders.

Before she could properly imagine the self-righteous look they would give her, she ducked behind a tree when she heard a quiet whimper. Despite her better judgment, she eventually peeked out, spotting a small girl in the clearing she was about to enter. She had a large cut on her leg that she looked too scared to touch.

Jamie slowly stepped out so as not to scare the girl, sympathy tugging at her heart. The girl tensed when she spotted the reddish wolf, but didn't scream like a typical human would. Her unidentifiable scent was a dead give away that she knew what Jamie was, because she was one too. Even worse, she must be with the rogues that were attacking. Then again, Jamie couldn't hear any fighting, which was a bit unusual since the main group couldn't be more than a few miles away. One thing she knew for sure was that if this little girl was an orphan, she would make sure that Alpha Mason let her into the pack.

For the sake of the girl's innocence, Jamie decided not to shift back right away. The girl might not care all that much about seeing her naked, but she wasn't going to risk it. From up close, the wound looked a lot brighter in color, but it wasn't gushing out or anything so she wasn't too worried. The little girl drew her attention away from the injury by putting a hand on Jamie's head. She pulled her the slightest bit closer.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, causing Jamie to immediately tense.

A dart buried itself into her side; a tranquilizer. All the slightly strange details clicked. The girl wasn't injured at all, that's why the "blood" was so bright. That supposed group of rogues were baiting the warriors out, not genuinely attacking them, that's why she couldn't hear any sounds associated with fighting. This wasn't some desperate attempt at gaining power, it was something else. They had planned for someone to find the girl, they had planned to take a single person out quietly without the pack knowing.

It had been a trap, and she fell for it hook, line, and sinker. 

A/N: Told ya it'd get interesting! To anyone that made it this far, thank you for bearing with the kinda boring, slow pacing thus far. At least, it felt kinda slow to me at first, but we're finally getting to the interesting stuff. Now, who do you think set Jamie up? Was she even their real target? Can Ryder save her before something goes horribly wrong?