~1~

Thyrious growled at the rogue wolves in his dungeon, scaring the four of them so much, they pissed themselves. All four had red eyes and patches of fur on their malnourished bodies. Two of them were gray while another was brown and the last was a mix of gray, white and black. 

Thyrious had a call from one of the allying packs nearby that rogues were sniffing around. One had even braved the horrible trenches they built to ward off intruders. There was an entrance, but it was near impossible to spot and only a select few knew it's location. 

Now, three days later, Thyrious had captured the rogues and was questioning who passed through the trench into pack territory. Each of them looked away, knowing something but saying nothing. Thyrious believed none of them had made the crossing because their stench was bearable, nothing unlike the other rogues he'd meet in the past. But now he wanted to know who had and why and they weren't talking.

"I'm going to give you all one more chance before I start killing one by one. If I do, I won't bother with mercy. Talk now or deal with the consequences." The brown one growled defiantly. Thyrious shrugged. "Embry, will you hand me the shears?"

A moment later, Thyrious held his hand out and a large pair of silver shears were placed on top. Using both hands, Thyrious opened and snapped them closed. The rogues flinched. A gray one whined softly, but the brown one growled at it, as if in warning. 

Thyrious pursed his lips thoughtfully. "What are you arguing about?" he asked with a small smile. The two lowered their eyes, again, not willing to talk. Sighing, he nodded his head at Embry who went forward to the brown rogue and held him still. Thyrious opened the shears and held them at the throat of the wolf, threatening to chop off the head. "Tell me who crossed the trench or watch your friend die"

The same gray wolf began to shift, but the brown growled again. Thyrious tightened his grip on the shears as Embry said, "Silence. I would behave if you don't want his hands to slip together."

Now, the brown wolf began to struggle only to yelp at the cut Thyrious made by pushing one blade hard against its neck. "One more chance, fellas. Who crossed the trench? Who were you with that would be dumb enough to jump into that stink pit?"

The three wolves not being held down finally bowed their heads in submission and shifted. The one who was the whining gray wolf looked up at Thyrious for a second then back down at his feet. "It was a female," he said in a barely audible tone. 

"Who?"

"We don't know her name, just that she was new to the area."

Thyrious and Embry glanced at each other, both caught off guard that a female would do what most males, no matter how prideful, could not. "How do you know she wasn't from the area?"

The boy who was the black and white wolf answered, "She didn't smell of a pack."

"So?" Embry asked.

"So Volga knows all the rogues in this area and he didn't know who she was," said the first, gesturing to the brown wolf in Embry's arms. 

Thyrious stared them down, discerning they were telling the truth. Each of the boys had nothing to lose, except their lives. Plus, these three looked up to Volga for some reason, and it would seem they'd do anything to save him. 

Thyrious pulled the shears away from  Volga's throat and nodded for Embry to release him. "There's clothes in the chest. Dress then make yourself comfortable. Someone will bring you food and water, but I still have questions so you'll be staying a while longer." 

With that, Thyrious and Embry left the cell.

Once they were far enough away from the cell, Thyrious turned to Embry. "How does a female jump into that trench without knowing something was wrong?"

"Maybe she was in trouble? Or maybe she had to get somewhere?"

"Why would a rogue need to get somewhere?" Thyrious said, brows furrowed. 

"I don't know, but there has to be a reason." Embry paused for a moment. "Since when are there female rogues in this country anyways?"