REGINA

18. Rogue leader

"This is scary." I gulped as we walked down the big warehouse that had a damp smell to it. The lighting wasn't proper which made it a bit difficult for me to see. I squinted my eyes to see clearly but Marce and Star were walking ahead without having any problem with the path. I lagged behind with my steps and that's when Marce looked back at me. He was a few steps ahead and he mind linked with me. For the first time!
"You okay? Is there a problem?" Marce asked me over the mind link. It felt awesome to hear someone talk to you without actually speaking anything. I gulped and stared at him for a second and then replied.
"Yes. Actually I can't see well inside this place. It's too dark in here. Vitamin A deficiency."
I saw him smiling at me after I said that. He didn't say anything further but look long strides towards me. He then wrapped this fingers around mine and tugged at my hand to make me walk behind him. I scooted closer to him and grabbed his shirt lightly. Star was a lot more ahead of us so I took to chance to plant a small kiss on his cheek. He looked down at me and kissed my forehead. It felt warm and safe around him and within a few minutes we were at the entrance of a big metal door in green colour. The gate was visible because of the small lights that hung from the roof.
"Tsk. They didn't change the colour yet." Star said with disgust. She stood there for a second and then knocked at the small trap door at the side of the bigger one.
"Who's this?" A male voice boomed in.
"Prestige's future Alpha." Star said and handed him a small card type thing through a slot in the trap door.
"I guess it's high security in here." I whispered to Marce who just nodded his head.
"Granted!" The voice boomed again and the door opened, making a funny sound. Star led the way for us and entering through the door it felt like magic. The place behind the door looked like a barn club! There were beer bottles and mugs, people sitting on the wooden chairs, the place had some country music playing .I saw a few waitresses serving the people there what seemed like fries and meat dishes.
"This place is so rustic." I exclaimed as I turned around to see the place. The place looked amazing and had a carefree environment to it, people were enjoying their food and drinks. I really wanted to taste that frothy golden beer that was being filled into mugs.
"Hmm but we have to go somewhere else." Marce said and tugged me towards another wooden door at the back of the bar. He knocked at it and a small trapdoor was opened for us to enter. The place now we were in was nothing but corridors and cells on its either sides. It really felt like prison only that there were no prisoners in the cells. The place was empty and only our footsteps were being heard.
"Stay very careful with the space between you and the rogue leader. " Marce said with concern in his voice. I nodded at him, assuring him that I will be fine. Star led the way to a far away cell which had only a single light hanging from the roof and there the leader sat with his hands and legs in silver chains. His mouth was also covered by a silver restrain . Silver is poison for warewolves and that's why small pieces of clothes were made as barriers between his skin and the silver metal but if he tried to struggle then his skin would stick to the poisonous silver.
" Open the mouth restraints." Marce told the guard who had thick gloves on his hands. He nodded curtly and then opened the silver mouth restraints. The warewolf flexed his mouth muscles and looked up to eye me with his pitch black eyes. I eyed him with aggression upon which he smirked.
"Have a seat." Marce made me sit on a wooden padded seat while he and Star stood beside me like guards. I crossed my legs and called out to him.
"What's your name? And which pack were you banished form?" I said, my voice low with its pitch. The warewolf scoffed at me and said in his poison like voice.
"I don't answer a woman." He kept his smirk on.
"Well then you need to learn to do that cause that's her who holds power and authority that no one has, atleast in this cell." I said and calmly lean on the back of my seat.
"Open your mouth before they remove the barriers and you know what's gonna happen next." Star said as she signalled the guard to remove the clothes. The man was approaching him which made the rogue leader shrink in his own place.
"My name is Bruce. I was born without a pack." The rouge said with his eyes fixed at me. Star told the guard to back off for now . I smirked as I saw terror in that rogue's eyes.
"Good."
"So your mother was also a rogue?"
"Yes, and my father too."
"Why did you attack Prestige?"
"I can't tell you that." Bruce shrunk in his place and avoided eye contact with me.
"As if we don't know huh!" I scoffed. I stood up from my seat and went nearer to prisoner. Marce mind linked with me to warn the distance between me and Bruce.
"Don't go too near. He can attack."
"He won't be able to attack me."
"Still be careful."
"Yes I will. Don't worry."
"Tell me before you regret keeping quiet." I crouched down to his level, grabbed his chin and yanked his face towards mine. He shivered.
"Who are you?" He asks as he watches me with terror in his eyes.
"You already know that. How old are you?"
"No you are not just the Alpha. You are something different."
I laughed at him. He was trying to change the topic.
"How old are you?" I asked again.
"30."
"Good. Now tell me why did you attack us?"
"We wanted a pack." He said without making eye contact.
"Listen we don't have the whole day. Tell me why you did this and I'll make sure you get a bit less punishment. "
"I can't. It's against the rules."
"Rules? Since when did you rogues start following rules?" Marce said in his low voice.
"Deal rules are meant to be followed." Bruce said eyeing him angrily.
"I knew that you didn't attack our pack just for getting a hold of it to live."
"No. I told you. It was meant to get hold of the pack."
"You can get hold of any weaker packs but Prestige? It's one of the pillars of warewolf community. You don't just attack a pack like that for just living in it. Listen man, we aren't here to hear your shits. Get to the point and vomit why you did that. Maybe we'll think of leaving you."
Upon this Marce and Star both mind linked with me.
"What are you talking about? We can't let him go."
"Who's letting him go? Trust me he'll vomit everything out now."
Bruce looked up at me for a second and then said in his cranky voice.
"I know you'll let me go. Afterall you take after your mum. Okay I'll tell you. Another Pack wanted us to attack you to take you down. The Alpha of the Darkshield pack wanted you finished. He paid us well and even gave a promise that he'll take us in."
"And you thought he'll do that?"
"He promised."
I scoffed, standing up I walked back towards my seat and sat back. After a minute of just staring into Bruce's face, I announced.
"Marce, make sure Bruce gets a little less of the punishments. We can't leave him cause he wasted a lot of time telling us the things he did."
"Yes Alpha." Marce said, bowing a bit.
I stood up and walked out of the cell while Bruce was again restrained in his mouth and limbs chains.
"Why would Darkshield do that to us? The Alpha is like a father figure for us." Star said with confussion in her voice.
"He opposed when dad announced that I'll be the next Alpha."
" Yes, maybe he wants someone else to become the Alpha."
"Yes. Dad needs to know this ASAP."
Both nodded at me as we walked out of that place and sat back in Marce's jeep. I kept on thinking about that day when
Alpha Richard said that I shouldn't be on the throne. He went that far with his actions to prove his point.
I rubbed my temples in frustration. Marce handed me a bottle of water which I drank down. The wind hit my face and made me relax a bit. After a couple of minutes we went back to our pack where dad was standing on the entrance for us. Marce helped me climb down his jeep and we walked towards my dad.
"How was it?" He asks with concern in his voice.
"Found out that Darkshield hired those rogues."
"What the hell? Why did they do that?"
"Dad, they don't want me to be the Alpha. You remember how the Alpha opposed the idea."
"Then why has he called us for a dinner tonight?"
"What?" Marce ,me and Star said in unison.
"Yes, he said he wants to have a bit of dinner with us. " Dad said and rubbed his forehead.
"It does not seem that he has good intentions." Marce said .
"But we can't refuse a dinner invitation. It's rule that we need to go." Dad said rubbing his temple again and again.
"We will go." I said with authority as I removed my dad's hands form his forehead,"don't rub them that way, you'll get hurt."
" We can't. He clearly wants you dead. What if he puts things in your food?" Star help my arms.
"I won't eat then. I can fool him. We need to go there and find out what he wants from us. If we refuse the invitation, he'll become suspicious of us. We'll eye him closely and see what he can do." I said and led them inside the castle. Making them sit down, I poured some tea for each one of them and told them to relax.
" We need to go with some backup." Marce suggested.
"Yes, but the hidden ones." Dad said as he sipped on his tea.