Heart of a rogue

* Chapter 17 - stirring trouble

Declan's pov

I'd never seen her break down before. Or even cry like this. Never mind begging me for anything. But now she was terrified and wanted me to find that tiny male, Sam.

A lot was going on, half of which I didn't understand. For instance, how a silver knife managed to get onto the property. Something was happening, and I had to get to the bottom of it. These rogues were causing me more headaches than any I'd had before.

Lucille seemed devastated when we found Sam. His heartbeat was faint, and I called for medics right away. Joshua acted on her intense grief too, not able to help but comfort Lucille.

Usually, the Beta takes care of the Luna when the Alpha can't, making sure her basic needs are always met. The Beta is the Alpha's hand, but the Beta can form a very close bond with the Luna too.

Abel had been acting like this towards her as well, and as I said before, my pack had started to split into two sides. Two camps. One side desperate for a Luna—one who was my destined mate but not ready—and the other, ready but not my mate. I could never truly love her.

And they knew that too.

But my destined mate was clear when she said she wasn't going to become Luna, leaving me no choice. My arrangements with Charlotte were close to done, both of us agreeing to certain aspects of a relationship.

After the devastation, Lucille became enraged. This was the rogue she'd become, and I had to stop her before she killed Geoff. Every time, it was her against him. But I noticed the look in his eyes—he knew more than he let on.

Lucille screamed threats about being ready to kill his Alpha. When, in reality, rogues shouldn't have an Alpha; they're solitary. Except for one individual who, for the past two years, had been creating havoc and fear among packs.

A former Alpha became rogue and now formed a pack of outlaws. His name was Leonardo Creeding. I had tried tracking him, and with nearby packs, he was on our list of troublesome missions.

We'd send a party out, and they'd never return. Those that did were poisoned and dead within hours of their return, left with a single message: send more and they die.

What was Lucille's connection to him?

She was outraged when she saw Geoff, screaming all sorts of threats at him. And neither I nor Joshua managed to calm her down.

Abel had asked me through our mind link where we were. He knew something was up when Lucille had bolted in search of Sam. Can you get here, Abel? We're in front of the main building. She's losing control.

Through the mind link, he said he'd be there in a minute, and he was true to his word. He was still beaten up, but he wanted to perform his duty. He saw Lucy as his Luna. I had appointed him as her guard, more for the safety of others, but now he saw himself instinctively as Luna's guard.

Abel could have been Beta if Josh wasn't my best friend. Abel exceeded in a lot of qualities.

After she calmed down, she wanted to see Sam. I prepared her for the worst. It wasn't looking good—he was poisoned by silver, and his organs and heart were already failing.

I told her this, but she insisted on seeing him. I told Abel to get some rest and Joshua to guide Geoff to a cell so I could personally ask him some questions later.

I guided Lucille through the medbay towards the room where Sam was. She was exhausted and scared—I could smell it on her.

My pack was inside mind-linked to me. We were still operating as Alpha, and she needed to wait.