Rogues Don't Belong In Packs

Part 7

Dean:

I was happy that no one let it slip that her parents had sent us. They didn't want her to know.

She stood next to a tree once we were outside where they trained.

I asked, "Do you want to go human or wolf first?" Kane had followed us along with Mayson, Jamie, Olivia, and my whole clan.

She said without hesitation, "Human." I nodded. I already knew she would choose that but I always gave her the option, even when she was a kid and couldn't fight very well against Demetrius and Eric. Oh my god. That was like ten years ago.

She asked, "Still up for this?"

I nodded, "Oh yeah, just remembering back when you couldn't fight for crap." A smile lit up her features as she remembered it too. I said, "Don't hold back."

She replied, "Never." We had already started circling each other. She was watching me but I kept seeing her glance at my feet. She was watching for any indication of when I might lunge. I was about to when she did. I barely dodged. I turned quickly as she slid through the dirt. I chuckled. She made a face at me. I tackled her as she started to get up. We rolled around a few minutes and she ended up on top. She had my arms pinned down and her hair was falling around her face since it had come out of her hair tie. She asked, "You give?" I took the slight give in pressure as an advantage and I tossed her off.

I said, "Not even close. You're holding back." She was holding back majorly.

She said, "I don't want to hurt you, Dean."

I said, "It is better me than someone else. You know, someone who could get you killed." She was watching me closely. I said, "You know, somebody like Estella." I watched as her eyes narrowed. I knew what her problem with Estella was and I understood it. That is why I knew it would get her fired up again.

Sure enough she shifted, lunging at me. I jumped, landing on a tree branch. She caught my leg, yanking me down. I hit my chin on the way, splitting it open. I knew she wasn't holding back now. I grabbed the fur of her neck and threw her over me so we were both on our back on the ground. We both recovered quickly, jumping up to go for another round.

Each time it ended in us both on the ground. We hadn't stopped for about an hour and I knew that most, but not all, of her anger was gone. The part that was left was the part of anger she had at herself for what happened to Zaire. She didn't want to let go of that anger. So, I was going to have to force it out of her.

So, when she snapped at my face I threw her into a tree. She hit three branches on the way down. Kane went towards her but Mayson and Jamie grabbed him. They knew what I was doing. I had done it many times in front of them and even more when they didn't even know she existed.

She whimpered a moment but when I took a step forwards she shot up. She sprinted, head butting my stomach and sending me flying. I knocked down a tree on the way from the sheer force and the second one I hit was the one that stopped me. I stayed there a moment, letting myself heal almost immediately since I was a vampire.

I saw Jamie hand her some clothes. She hid behind a tree. She came back out dressed. She had an already fading bruise on her arm where I grabbed her to throw her into the tree but other than that just looked like a mess. I would never understand how she still looked pretty as she was all sweaty, her hair was a mess and she was limping a little bit but not enough for anyone else to notice.

She came over and helped me up. I chuckled and she chuckled with me.

I commented, "You're getting stronger. That actually hurt a little bit."

She said, "You were the one that told me not to hold back."

I nodded, "That I did. One day that is going to get me severely hurt."

She chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Thanks for that. It helped." I nodded. I knew it would. We joined the others. Kane was gaping while everyone else seemed mostly composed.

She slipped passed them and inside.

Mayson said, "Thank you for that. It helped a lot."

I smiled, "I know. I figured you didn't want the shit beat out of you again." He shook his head instantly.

He said, "It is so different being on that side of her anger." He shuddered, "Never again." I couldn't help but chuckle.

I said, "Let's go inside. It is getting late." They nodded and we went inside. Kane was still shocked so he just kind of stumbled along. Zaire was still out.

Josie was sitting on the loveseat alone. No one was in here except Axle, Zaire's mate, who was half asleep next to the couch. Olivia checked on Zaire's vitals before calling it a night. Josie allowed us to stay in the spare bedrooms which we gladly accepted. My clan all headed to their respective rooms while I sat in the recliner. Kane was sitting with Josie on the couch.

Within fifteen minutes Axle was out and Josie was getting there. She laid her head on Kane's lap and put her legs over the edge of the small sofa. It was obvious she wasn't about to leave Zaire. Kane was running his hands through her hair, picking out little twigs and other grime that didn't belong there. By the time another fifteen minutes passed she was out, snoring softly just like when we were kids. That left Kane and I still awake. I wouldn't sleep.

Kane asked, "How do you two know each other?" I contemplated not answering this.

Instead I settled for being vague, "We're old friends." He continued to run his hands through her hair gently.

He asked, "How'd you meet?" Well shit. I can't be vague with this one.

I said, "My clan was allied with her parents a long time ago. They were forced to fight some witches in a war they didn't want. All of my clan died except for us five. They elected me a leader and I've been leading them ever since." I was hoping my story was enough of a distraction to get him to let it go. It wasn't something other werewolves were supposed to know. They would think that she used her parents' influence to get all these rogues together and try to make them a pack.

He caught me though, "You never answered my question." I settled for my last resort.

I said, "We met through her parents. That was sort of the point of that story." He nodded slowly.

He asked, "So I'm sure you know how she became rogue." I nodded, my memory instantly popping up. I wondered if she had told him. Wait, of course she didn't. He asked, "Will you tell me?"

I shook my head, "Never. It is Josephina's story, not mine." He nodded slowly in acceptance.

He asked, "Will you at least tell me how long she has been rogue?" I guess it couldn't hurt.

I said, "Four years."

He said, "Thank you." I furrowed my brows. Why was he thanking me? He continued, "Thanks for getting rid of her anger. I wasn't sure what to do."

I smiled, "No problem. I've done it plenty of times." He nodded. He was still petting Josie's hair.

He said, "It seemed like it. So, I take it you don't have anything against wolves then?"

I shook my head, "My beloved was a wolf." He furrowed his brows before realization crossed his features.

He said, "I'm sorry. I can't even imagine."

I shrugged, "She died protecting three kids from a witch during the war. Her father helped me through it." He nodded but I knew he understood. Even though he had Josie, she had been mad at him. He knew what it was like. Not to mention he was an Alpha and his parents wouldn't even let him tell his pack that he was mated to Josie.

It isn't like Josie is a normal Rogue. She didn't choose this. She did choose to change the image of rogues though and her parents were so proud she was. They offered to let her come join them but she denied, even after she was exiled. She swore to help the rogues that didn't want to be. The runaways, the sick, the injured, even the exiled. She was the true definition of a good alpha and I knew she would make Kane's pack proud when the time came.