The Rider of Rosewood
Brutal

"So the secret to creating the most epic meal of all time is stuffing a corn dog from Sonic into a Taco Bell burrito, and then you put Nutella on it," Heath explained.

Theo had been hearing tales of the unholy abominations Heath called food all evening long. All Theo could think about was a quote from the movie Jurassic Park. "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." That's how he felt about Heath's choice of snacks. Did Heath ever think twice before creating the culinary equivalent of Frankenstein's Monster? Theo didn't think so. Bizarrely he envied Heath, he didn't seem to have a worry in the world, apart from coming up with new edible monstrosities. Life must be happier for the unintelligent.

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of screams coming from the other side of the stone wall. Theo pressed his ear against the wall in an attempt to discern what was happening on the other side.

"Control yourself at once, Rosalind." Pack Mother Luna shouted.

Her demands were met with the sound of a fearsome growl.

"This is your final warning Rosalind, shift back to your human form, or I'll have no choice but to incapacitate you."

The sound of growling grew louder and the council erupted into chaos.

Theo stood up and ran towards the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Heath called after him.

"Rosalind needs me." That was all he said before he sprinted out of the room.

"Hey, wait up!" Heath jumped up and ran after him.

Theo rushed down the hall, even though he wasn't sure where he was going. He ended up in the room Rosalind had been staying in. Something silver caught his eye. He raced into the room and grabbed it. It was a silver bow and a quiver full of silver arrows. All werewolves were weak against silver. He could feel it slowly draining his life force every moment he touched it. If he was about to face The Council of Alphas, he was going to need any help he could get.

Heath barreled into the room after him. "Damn, you're fast." Sweat dripped from his brow and he panted heavily.

Theo seized the opportunity and held the sharp tip of one of the arrows to Heath's throat. "I'm leaving this place, and I'm taking Rosalind with me. If you stand in my way, I'll carve open your throat."

Heath raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Please keep that silver away from me! Ooh, I have an idea! You should let me help you escape. I know every inch of this place, and I will personally escort you out of here."

Theo refused to back down. "You would betray your pack? Why?"

He shrugged. "Because I hate Pack Mother Luna, she's always treated Chandler and I like trash, and I want to spite her."

Theo glared at him as he lowered the arrow. "No funny business."

Heath nodded vigorously. "No funny business, understood."

Theo signaled for Heath to lead the way, and he happily obliged, leading the way through the winding corridors of the den.

Things were going well until they reached the outside of the banquet hall, where they were confronted by one of the alphas. "Halt Mixedblood. You are under arrest in the name of the Silver Huntsman."

"Move aside!" Theo shouted as he aimed an arrow at the Alpha. Theo didn't trust his archery skills enough to fire an arrow, so he hoped his empty threats would be enough.

The Alpha bared their fangs. "I'd rather die than yield to a worthless Mixedblood."

Theo pulled back the bowstring. "That can be arranged."

The pair entered a staring match that seemed to last an eternity. The alpha made the first move and pounced at Theo. In the heat of the moment, Theo recalled everything Rosalind had taught him about archery. He widened his stance, relaxed his muscles, and released his grip. The arrow flew into the alpha's shoulder. Theo didn't stick around to see if they were okay. He pushed past the wounded alpha and sauntered into the banquet hall, with Heath trailing behind him.

The banquet had erupted into chaos. Rosalind stood on the table in her werewolf form, growling at Pack Mother Luna. She had knocked most of the food onto the floor during her frenzy. Half of the werewolves were trying to evacuate, the other half were preparing to fight.

"You guys missed one hell of a party," Chandler said by way of greeting. His speech was somewhat slurred. This could be a good thing. It'd be easier to overpower him if he was intoxicated. Theo hoped it wouldn't come to that, he wanted to avoid harming anyone else tonight, but he wasn't leaving without Rosalind.

Theo inched towards the end of the table.

Several of the Alphas whispered among themselves.

"Is that a Mixedblood?"

"What is a Mixedblood doing here?"

"What is it doing?"

"Should we try to stop it?"

Theo ignored them. His only goal was getting to Rosalind. He wasn't far now. "Rosalind, I need you to relax."

She jerked away from her mother and faced him. She peered at him with a look of fury in her eyes and let out a low growl.

"Rosalind, I need you to relax." He extended a hand towards her. There was a high probability of her biting his hand off, but it was a risk he was willing to take. She inched closer and sniffed his hair, then she pressed her forehead against his. "I knew you wouldn't hurt me." He entangled his fingers in her thick brown fur. "I'm going to get you out of here, but I need you to work with me, okay?"

She let out a sharp wince and passed out.

He shook her. "Rosalind!" There was a small tranquilizer dart buried into her dense mass of fur. Theo looked up to see Chandler holding a tranquilizer gun.

"Excellent work, Chandler," Pack Mother Luna raised a brow and smirked. "It's about time you did something useful for once in your life."

"I'm not going to let you abuse me any anymore, mom." Chandler's voice quavered, but he didn't back down.

Luna let out a humorless laugh. "Stop being dramatic. Me? Abusive? Please, I've never laid a finger on you."

"You criticize everything I do, and you belittle me in front of the pack, I can see it in your eyes, you enjoy humiliating me!"

"Sticks and stones, Chandler. If you're not tough enough to handle a little criticism, you're certainly not fit to lead this pack. If you were less of a failure, I wouldn't need to correct you so often."

Chandler fired a tranquilizer dart into her neck.

The remaining Alphas gawked at him in disbelief.

"The party is over, assholes!" Chandler announced. He slung Rosalind's unconscious body over his shoulder. He motioned for Theo and Heath to follow. He guided them through a secret passage within the walls, which lead them outdoors. The full moon greeted them as they ascended from the underground cave.

"The Pack Mother is totally gonna kill us when she wakes up," Heath remarked.

"Which is why we'll need to outsmart her." Theo said.

Chandler scoffed. "That's not possible, no one can evade the Pack Mother for long. Congratulations, boys, we've irrevocably screwed ourselves. I hope you've both completed your bucket lists."

Theo crossed his arms. "Well, I've managed to evade her for twelve years and counting." He argued.

"Yeah, well now she has a vendetta against you personally. Let me tell you something about my mother, She never lets go of a grudge."

"You should listen to him, Mixedblood." Duke stood in the center of the path, holding a pistol fully loaded with silver bullets.

"Get out of the way, Duke," Chandler said, not a bit intimidated.

"You've both lost your damn minds! I could picture him pulling a stunt like this," Duke pointed an accusatory finger towards Heath, "but I thought you were better than this Chandler."

"Oh, you want to tell me how much of a disappointment I am? I'm sorry, but you're going to have to get in line."

"Don't try to make yourself the victim here! You betrayed your pack! You betrayed me!"

"This isn't about you. This is about me protecting my little sister."

"From her own family?"

"Yes!" Chandler gestured around them. "She deserves a better life than this. She deserves a better mother than the one she was born with. She deserves a father who's willing to stand up to mom. She deserves a brother who's not a total screw-up. I can't give her any of those things, but I give her a life better than mine."

Duke's hands shook, as he moved his finger towards the trigger.

"Run away with us, Duke."

"I can't," His voice quavered. "My loyalty is to the Silver Huntsmen, and I have a duty to fulfill."

Chandler shook his head. "I don't think you really care about hunting rogue werewolves. I think you want something else."

Duke clutched onto the gun tighter. "Like what?"

"Validation. I think what you truly want is to be told that you're enough. I'm sorry your father has never told you that you're good enough. I know you think my mother's approval can fill the void your father put inside you, but it can't." Chandler took a step towards him. "You're good enough for me, Duke.

"Shut up!" Tears sprung to his eyes. "You don't know anything about me! You're nothing!"

Chandler gently removed Rosalind from his shoulders and handed her to Theo. He took another step towards Duke. "If I'm nothing, stop being a coward and put a bullet in me, already." He strode forward. "I've officially gone rogue, so complete your duty as a member of The Silver Huntsmen and kill me."

"Chandler no! Don't do this, man!" Heath wailed.

Chandler shot him an icy stare, warning him to stay back. "Deliver my body to my beloved mother and become the Alpha you were always meant to be." Chandler took two more paces forward."

Duke's entire body trembled.

"What are you waiting for? This is the final step in your journey. If I'm dead and Rosalind is gone, you're guaranteed to get promoted." He took one final step. The pair were only inches apart. The tip of the pistol rested against his forehead. You can kill me, but please let everyone else go." He said in a hushed whisper. "Do it."

Duke lowered his head. He released his grip on the gun, and it clattered to the ground.

Chandler squatted down and picked up the pistol. He pointed it towards the sky and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. The safety was on. He let out a loud cackle. "I knew it!"

Duke gave a sour, disbelieving laugh. "No, you didn't."

You may have a superior sense of smell, but you're not the only one who can smell a lie," Chandler winked. "And I was pretty sure you were bluffing."

"How sure?"

"Like sixty percent."

Several wolves howled in the distance.

"They're coming for us," Theo whispered.

Duke reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of car keys. "Try not to shed in my jeep."