#10

Sable watched Snow run the forest in great bounds, working off a rage she could not help but understand.

She was pregnant.

Pregnant! With one of those vile wolves' pups!

Snow was now not the only one who wanted to kill someone. However, it saddened her to watch him run without a bright ending in sight. She began to shift, her tawny wolf coming out. She laid down and began to whine, wanting her mate to come back, wanting to be safe, wanting to just run to that cavern and rip them all apart.

But the pup...

While it was not Snow's, it was still an innocent being who had no blame. She would protect it. With her life. It was not given to her, as she would have wanted, but forced. But it wasn't the pup's fault. Sable rolled onto her side and curled in on her stomach, protecting the being inside her, whining softly.

'Sable?'

She felt Snow lie beside her, but did not move.

'We will kill them for this. All of them.'

'Them, yes. But not the pup.'

A roar made her ears flatten. 'I do not harm pups! Do not believe that I would harm this one!'

'I just want it safe, White Wolf. I want the pup safe from them.'

'And it will be. I will make sure of it.' Snow licked her muzzle, then pressed his nose into her belly, sniffing around. She batted his head, but he continued, and also began licking, as if kissing her belly and the pup inside. 'It is my pup, Brave Heart. I will allow those bastards no opportunity to claim it as they have no right to it or you!'

She whined, licking his cheek. 'I want my father to know, but to also know you're claiming it.'

'Everyone will know. The public will only know about me. Kenyan will only know about me. Only our pack and your father shall know the truth.' Snow met her eyes with a fierce gaze. 'If anyone should say otherwise, I will put them in their place.'

They returned to the den and Sable went to the nursery for a while. Snow knew it was to allow the pups to distract her and make her happy. He, on the other hand, went to the security room and spoke to Inigo, who was great with tech and schemes.

"Is there a way I can set up cameras in another pack territory and have them only connected here?"

Inigo hummed for a moment, then rolled over to a filing cabinet and brought out a small box. Opening it, he pulled out a tiny bug-like thing and placed it in a corner of the room. "These are easily invisible unless you know they're there. They are also satellite powered, so no batteries included." He pulled out a chip. "This connects them to my computers and voila! I can watch anyone and anything."

"Audio?"

"The best!"

"How many do you have?"

Inigo read the box. "Each package holds about fifty." He glanced at Snow with raised brows. "Why?"

"I need to take out someone and need a way to prove a wrongdoing he committed."

Inigo was silent before nodding, understanding lighting his eyes. "Be careful, Snow. Once someone knows about these guys, you're out of luck."

"Good thing, then, that I plan on not telling a soul."

Inigo gave Snow two boxes, enough to cover Kenyan's territory efficiently as well as a camera to put in the cavern where both Mazelina and Sable were held captive. It was not as efficient and needed new batteries once a month, but Inigo figured that Rudi or Turk could sneak in and change them. Once Snow had the cameras, he went to his room and pulled up a layout of Kenyan's territory, mapping out exactly how he wanted to set up said cameras.

Sable said goodbye to the pups and was out of the nursery when Dezra stopped her. "Sable, can I talk to you?"

Sable turned to the female and nodded.

She must have shown her nervousness because Dezra smiled softly. "Don't worry. You aren't in any danger here. I just noticed how careful you were today. Is everything alright?"

Sable didn't know if she should say, but linked Snow and asked him. He confirmed she's a trusted member and Sable explained her situation. Dezra listened attentively, also listening to the wild pups inside the room, but when Sable was done, Dezra pulled her into a hug.

"Darlin', I am so sorry for everything you've been through. Snow is a wonderful male and will do everything in his power to put this to right. Trust in him. Tell him anything that could help. You're in wonderful hands."

"I don't want him hurt," Sable said simply.

"Snow? Hurt?" Dezra laughed. "Honey, the only way those wolves could hurt him is through you or the pup." Dezra gave Sable a warm smile. "Snow is a strong wolf, Sable. Don't take his quiet nature for a weakness. When he's quiet, he's thinking, planning. It's what he does best. Maybe he'll share his plans with you if you ask him?"

"What about my father? He is in the middle of everything. He's with Kenyan. Could be hurt at any time!"

"Snow will get him out somehow." Dezra hugged Sable again. "Just remember that Snow would never let those wolves roam free for longer than it takes him to make his move. And he will make his move. When he does, they won't see it coming."

Sable smiled. "Thank you."

"We should hang out sometime. Away from pups' ears. Let me talk to Luna and I will plan a special day for us."

"I would like that." With that, Dezra disappeared. Sable began to walk down the corridor, putting a hand to her belly, imagining a pup growing within.

'Sable?' It was Turk's voice in her head.

'Alpha?'

'Please, just call me Turk,' he said, chuckling. 'Can you come by my office? I want to run something by you before dinner.'

After letting Snow know where she was going, she went to see his father, having asked Lass to remind her where his office was. The female escorted her there with all the cheerfulness of a princess. Her joy was infectious, and by the time they knocked on Turk's door, Sable was in a lighter mood.

She entered Turk's office, saying farewell to Lass as the female bowed to Turk politely. When they were alone, Turk smiled at her. "Sable, I have some photos here. I want you to tell me if you recognize anyone in them."

"Who are they?"

"Some, I believe, are in Kenyan's pack. Others are rogues. What I want to know is: 1, who were the rogues who took and tortured you. 2, who might be Kenyan's closest pack members. And 3, anyone else that might have had a hand in what's happened."

Sable nodded and sat down beside him behind his desk where dozens of photos waited. Immediately, she pointed out a few faces. She continued to look after Turk made a pile to one side. She picked out a few more then froze.

"Sable?"

She blinked. "I'm sorry." She looked away, blinked hard. "Can you have Snow come here?"

Two minutes later, arms wrapped around her. "Brave Heart? Talk to me."

She clutched him. "I can't look! It brings back memories!"

"Do you remember the placement of the photo?"

She thought for a long time. "There were three. One was just below your father's left hand. The second was above that. And..." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "And, the other was right in front of me."

There was some shuffling around, then she felt Snow caress her face. "Okay, they're gone. It's alright. You did good."

She wiped her eyes and looked at the desk. There was still a few photos but she shook her head. She looked at Turk and said, "I don't see any more. But you're missing five people."

"Do you know what they look like or their names?"

"I know two of the names, but don't know the others."

Turk grabbed a pen and paper and handed them to her. She wrote down the names and handed it back. Turk read them. "Okay. Let me do some research and see what I can do. What about the other three?"

"I can't..."

"Don't do anything, Sable. If it hurts too much, then I will find more photos and see if we can find them that way. For now, you've done enough," he said gently.

She nodded, stood and followed Snow out of the room. But she turned back at the door and asked, "Will you tell me when you have more? You already have the worst of them. The other three shouldn't be as bad."

He smiled. "I'll call you. Go with Snow and get ready to eat. Have the rest of the night to relax. There is much to do still, but I don't want you to be overwhelmed. Thank you, Sable."

She nods and leaves the Alpha to searching for more photos of who could have been part of her capture.

When they entered their room, Snow went to the closet and brought out some jeans and a tshirt, handing them to her. She raised a brow. He smiled. "We're doing a game tonight. Some of my father's friends and my siblings are going to join us. We have to be prepared.

"What game?"

"I don't know, but Rudi said to be prepared to get dirty, so casual clothes for you."

She took the clothes but didn't move. "I'm not wrestling."

He laughed. "I don't think it's that. I think it'll be more running around than rough housing. But trust me to keep you safe from all that." He ran into the bathroom and closed the door, his white hair shining in the light.

Sable looked at the garments and wrinkled her nose. Up till now, she had worn shorts or skirts while in the den. She didn't like jeans. They made her skin itch, but she waited until Snow came out so she could go dress, putting on the offending piece of clothing with a grimace.

When she stepped out, she was looking down at the jeans and so hadn't noticed Snow watching her, a smile on his face and something in his hand. "I don't like these," she grumbled.

"You'll forget about them as soon as Rudi starts the game," he chuckled. Sable looked up, scowled at him. He laughed. "I promise! Now, come on!" Sable took his hand and let him lead her to the dining room.

After dinner, Snow took Sable outside and let her breathe while the others made their way. He watched as she took in lungfuls of the forest air and let it out again. While she may have seemed relaxed throughout dinner, he saw the tension in her body, all from finding out the information about her Alpha. She was scared. For her father and for herself. If Snow could do anything to help her right now, it was to get her distracted and playing with his pack, to let loose until the time came for her to be on her guard. Which would be soon.

"Alright!" Rudi called from behind them, a grin on his face as the others filed out after him. Sable turned to face him too, scowling a bit. Rudi ignored the look and put an arm around her shoulders. "Sable, we are going to see just how strong you are and how well you know our buddy, Snow."

"Why?"

"We do it with every new wolf who enters the pack," Anju says. "However we switch it up a bit and some do this in wolf form while others do it in human form."

Sable raised a brow. "What kind of a game is this, anyways?"

"Well, since Mazelina arrived and mated our alpha, we decided to make things more interesting. So, we're giving you two tasks. Both involve Snow. Both involve seeing what you will do."

Sable looked to Snow. "I will not hurt him."

Snow grinned. Kortan laughed. "No, Beautiful! Nothing like that!"

Sable snapped her head to Kortan. "Don't call me that."

Anju stepped forward and smiled at Sable. "Don't worry. You won't be hurting Snow, but helping him."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you can't shift," Inigo said, arms crossed over his chest. "It means you will fight each of us, and whoever draws first blood wins each fight. However, you must hurry. Because while you fight, the rest of us drag Snow farther away."

Sable met eyes with Snow. "Won't you fight?"

"Oh, he will!" Silas said with glee. "But he won't get passed all of us at once. He will probably wait until the odds are in his favor. Then he'll hide."

"Why?"

"So you can find me," Snow said softly. "Once you get passed all of them, you'll have only a few minutes to find me. You'll have to use your knowledge of me and what little of your senses your human form has to help you."

Sable glared at them all. "That's not fair!"

Rudi chuckled. "DOn't worry. We aren't allowed to shift either. Fair game!"

With that, Rudi, Kortan, Inigo, and Shiba grabbed Snow and hauled him away. Lass, Silas, Joey and Noreen cackled as they followed, which only left Anju. Sable crossed her arms and glared at the other female. Anju chuckled. "It's how every wolf becomes accepted, Sable. Don't take it personal."

"Snow is my mate," she hissed.

"And he is my pack member. I wouldn't want him to have a weak mate, would I?"

This made Sable bite her lip, look away. Before her capture, she'd have thought herself strong and capable of playing this game, capable of providing Snow with strength. But she knew better now. She stepped back from Anju, hugged herself. "Then there's no point."

"Sable, of course there's a point."

Sable shook her head. "I'm not strong like you or Snow."

Anju shrugged. "I'm not so sure about that." Sable looked at her with surprise. "You snuck out of the house when I was right there. You made it very near Snow, was able to calm him down. You have adapted to changes wonderfully: from new wolves to new environments. You are willing to give Snow and Turk information that might help end this. Not a lot of people would."

"But I can't fight."

"You can. You just have to learn your way." Anju stepped towards Sable slowly. "All females must learn. I was not always confident in myself to defend others, let alone myself. It took a long time. Rudi helped with that. Turk helped. I didn't have all the support you have now. So I know if you try, you will win, no matter what. Because Snow won't let you lose. Snow won't let you fail."

Sable nodded, then took a deep breath. Before she could ready herself further though, a howl broke through the trees, making her gasp.

"That is Snow, calling for you. Better hurry. You never know what the others might do with him."

Sable charged.

Snow howled for his mate while Rudi still half dragged, half carried him over a stream and through a thicket. He believed in her. No matter what others say about her, he believed. He wanted her to know that.

"Stop howling like a dying wolf," Inigo said. "She'll come."

Snow grumbled under his breath right as a whistle made him look up. "Better move a little faster," Kortan said with a grin. "She's coming!"

Rudi ran, uncaring of how Snow was getting scratched by brambles and branches. Joey and Silas stopped following, giggles overtaking their bodies as they prepared for a fight. "No!" Snow growled. "She's only supposed to face one at a time!"

"Oh calm yourself!" Kortan said. "They're not as good of fighters as Rudi and I. She'll be fine!"

Inigo snorted. "As long as she doesn't go soft hearted on them."

'I can feel your anger, Snow. What's wrong?' his father asked.

'Nothing. I can handle it.'

Three hours later, Sable had gotten through each member of Snow's captor team except Rudi and Noreen. She was panting and ready to end the game where she stood, but then she heard another howl from her mate, and it made her continue, as if he were really in danger. She knew he wasn't, but she wanted him back. She wanted no more obstacles. No more wolves keeping her from him.

She ran.

Ten minutes later, she found Rudi, lying on the ground, a scratch along one side of his face. He grinned at her and nodded her to continue. She did.

Fifteen minutes later, she came to Noreen, who was sitting in a tree, eating an apple. When the girl looked at Sable, she sighed. "You look like a zombie, Sable! Had too much? Ready to quit?"

"Where's my mate?" Sable asked in a low voice.

Noreen shrugged. "I honestly don't know. He knocked me out and took off." She finished her apple and threw it away, jumping to the ground. "But you have to get through me first before you go and find him."

Sable sniffed the air, scenting the wind and a hint of Snow North. But she wasn't paying attention to Noreen and got knocked to the ground. She cursed and rolled before Noreen could get another hit. Sable got to her feet and growled at the female. She was out of patience for anyone. She ducked Noreen's next blow, then swept the female's feet from under her, taking her knife from her boot and slicing her leg open. She sneered, "Snow is my mate. Anyone who keeps me away from him will pay for it with their life."

For a moment, there was fear in Noreen's gaze, but Sable ignored her and took off.

Sable searched for Snow for five minutes when Rudi and Anju appeared. Both healed. Sable readied herself to fight them, but they held up their hands. "You have fifteen minutes," Rudi said.

Sable growled at him, seeming feral, but took off again.

She had run for only a few minutes before she was circling a large area where Snow's trail ended. She searched the ground behind trees then the grasses. He was not there. She stopped in her tracks and breathed deep. All around her, Snow's scent was fresh and reassuring, but he was nowhere to be seen. She was starting to lose hope. She knew it was a game, but it felt as if he had been taken from her for real.

Frantically, she searched.

Found nothing.

She saw the others watching, felt stupid in her panic. She wanted to rage at them for making him play this game. For making her play this game. For making her feel this way. He was hiding from her. His mate. And they were likely laughing at her.

Sable paused, remembered how Snow said he liked playing hide and seek. Remembered how he used it to learn where others would hide. But he never said where he hid. However, she had a feeling that Snow wasn't normal to the others. Snow was different. She knew this by the way everyone talked about him. He liked to observe, stay out of huge gatherings and groups.

This was not a huge gathering, though. It was only her...and her audience.

She looked up a tree and narrowed her eyes. A tree would be one place he could watch and not be seen, be out of the way, out of sight.

Sable could not climb trees.

"Five minutes," Rudi said from where he was.

She snapped her head in his direction and growled, "If you want to keep that pretty face of yours, you'll shut up!"

Anju laughed as he scowled. Sable turned back to finding her mate. Felt a pull to her right. Followed it until she came to a tree with low hanging branches. She reached up and grabbed one, hauled herself up and began carefully climbing. A few times, her foot would slip and she'd cling onto a branch, praying she didn't fall, and she eventually steadied herself again. She got halfway up when a hand grabbed hers and she looked up. Snow was there, pulling her up beside him, his face was smiling at her as he took in her ragged appearance.

"Brave Heart," he whispered. "I knew you could do it."

She looked down to the ground and held onto him a little tighter. "Why are you up here?"

"I like it."

She scowled at him but he only chuckled. Sable looked around and sighed, thinking that maybe she could learn to like it too with all the beauty around her.

"You won," he said suddenly.

Sable shrugged and wrapped her arms around him, safe and content for now. "I do not like that game!"

"Luckily, you only have to endure it once in your life, then." He kissed the top of her head. "I didn't like it either, but I knew you could do it."

She hummed and stood there with him for a while longer.