Heart of a rogue

* Chapter 15 - mating pull

Somewhere else

The messenger stood before him, rigid with attention, watching as the Alpha's smirk twisted into something darker, almost dangerous. He'd seen that look before—the one that promised retribution, control, and a hint of something fiercer: possessiveness. It wasn't simply the allure of a defiant she-wolf that drove him. No, this was about reclaiming what he believed was his.

"Alpha, do you have a strategy in mind?" the messenger asked, voice laced with a mixture of anticipation and wariness.

The Alpha folded his arms, still wearing that dangerous smirk. "Patience. We need to ensure our timing is precise. I want no mishaps, no risk of losing her in the chaos of a rushed plan." His tone was steady, calculated. "We'll strike when they least expect it. Let her think that she's escaped me." He leaned forward slightly, a glint in his eye. "Let her feel safe behind their walls for now."

A quiet tension filled the air as the Alpha's inner circle exchanged glances. They all knew what this mission would require—a stealth and ruthlessness only the Alpha of Rogues could pull off. But the stakes were high; this was no ordinary rescue. This was an act of reclaiming, and by the Alpha's standards, it would be a lesson. A lesson for her. No one runs from him.

"And when we do retrieve her, Alpha?" one of his advisors questioned, his voice cautious.

The Alpha's gaze darkened, his smirk settling into a cold grin. "Then, we remind her precisely what happens when she defies me. This isn't just a rescue mission. It's a reclamation. And she'll learn what it means to be mine."

...

Lucille's pov

Since the incident last week, I've been avoiding Declan like the plague. The day after it happened, I even heard rumors of him agreeing to mate with that woman, Charlotte.

Just hearing her name makes me want to throw up.

How did he have the audacity to kiss me when, only hours earlier, he was apparently making mating arrangements? The nerve. Typical Alpha behavior. Just because he wants a few heirs.

When I'm frustrated and angry, I bake. Sure, I still wanted to bash some heads in, but baking helped, too. So every day, I found myself back in the kitchen, unable to make eye contact with Stella, the baking instructor, but still showing up. She'd assured me that my "secret" was safe, but nothing about it felt safe.

She didn't want her pack to find out that their Alpha had almost been caught making out with the rogue mate on her kitchen counter. It was understandable, especially now that he was supposedly agreeing to mate Charlotte. The pack would be in an uproar.

Abel had practically forced me to shower five times and scrub myself until Declan's scent—and the scent of dairy—was mostly gone. Of course, my senses are limited by these cuffs, but Abel's nose is sharper than mine right now, and he insisted he could still smell traces of it even after my coconut-scented body wash. He demanded I shower a sixth time, but I refused. I was done with it.

At least one thing was going right in my life—my new baking skills were improving, and somehow, my friends had shown enough good behavior to move up a rank. We all wore these dull gray uniforms, but moving up means they'll have orange details next. It's the second of five total ranks you can achieve here.

Moving up also means they earn the "right" to see family members. But, like most rogues, my friends all refused that option. The only one who accepted was Mia; she still has a sister she's desperate to see. Sam was born rogue, raised by his rogue mother, and has no connection to his original pack. Maybe that's why he's still relatively sane—he never knew the reality of a traditional pack life and always stayed close to me. Belle wouldn't even speak her parents' names aloud, so there was no way she'd take up the offer.