Taking Down the Alpha

12 I'll Kill Him

Liana and I followed the rogue towards Denise. She was sitting on a log by the fire, and by the time we returned to our campsite he was already next to her, standing awkwardly above her.

"Your name is Denise?" he asked like he was confirming the answer to the meaning of life.

"Yes, it's Denise," she said, a slight tremor in her voice.

"I'm Andrew, but you probably already heard that."

"Yes, I did."

They both stood in awkward silence, made all the worse by the fact he still was just wearing a shoddy checkered blanket toga and Denise looked ready to bolt. I tried to smooth it over. "Why don't you sit with us around our fire, Andrew? We were only going to run because we thought you were a threat at first. This situation is completely different. We don't actually need to leave just yet."

He nodded

"Would you like a sandwich, Andrew?" she asked.

"Uh, sure?"

I led Denise to sit down by the fire. Andrew copied me, sitting as far from Denise as he could while on the same log, although he seemed to want to be closer. She wasn't meeting his eyes even though he couldn't seem to drag his off of hers.

Liana placed one of the sandwiches she'd cooked in one of his hands and a water bottle in the other. He said thanks, but he barely seemed to notice. She came to sit over beside me.

Since Denise seemed reluctant to talk or even meet her mate's eyes, or do anything that would lessen the heavy tension hanging in the air, I figured it was time to put my plan into action.

"So, I should probably introduce myself, too. I'm Jessica, and that's Liana, and you've already met Denise. But, I'm curious, what were you doing out here? The odds of running into your mate where there are no other wolves around seems really unlikely."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I wasn't expecting to find her, and I didn't really believe it. I was just letting my wolf out for a hunt. I live near here, a few miles away with some friends. We're uh..." he trailed off and swallowed before continuing, "We're all rogues, but we're not the attack and murder pack wolves type. We're just three wolves who didn't fit into our packs and want to be left alone, you know?"

I nodded. If we succeeded in finding a champion, but my plan to take down the alpha failed, I'd end up a rogue myself. I planned to avoid it, but it could happen.

"So like I said, I was out hunting, and I picked up the most intriguing scent. My wolf went mental, and I followed it straight to the water. Then she screamed, and, well, you know the rest. I wasn't trying to scare anyone." He looked at me as if pleading for me to believe him.

I nodded, accepting the explanation. "Nothing to worry about, we're fine. So, why did you leave?"

"The alpha kicked me out. I didn't do anything that bad."

"What did you do?"

"I, uh, wasn't that good at respecting his authority, and I kind of questioned him one too many times." He shrugged, like it couldn't be helped.

"Okay. So, I guess you hate packs now?"

"Well, not if they don't bother us. We just try to stay away from them now. And the nearest ones know we're here and are okay with us. It works alright." Another shrug. My questions were obviously making him uncomfortable, but he probably wasn't hiding anything too bad. He kept glancing at Denise, clearly hoping she would look back at him. She didn't.

"So, hypothetically, if you found out there was a corrupt alpha and a few of his pack members were trying to remove him from power, what would you do?"

I had his full attention finally, but he just looked confused that I was asking such seemingly random questions. "Why? What would I want to do?"

That was good enough for me. He wouldn't blow our cover. Even before I had asked, the odds of a rogue siding with a pack against his own mate was vanishingly small. "I'm going to tell you what we're doing here."

"Okay? Besides camping?"

"Yeah, it's a bit more than that. It all started a couple of months ago...well, some of it happened before that, but our alpha started pursuing me. Then one night, I got a bit tipsy, and ended up sleeping with him. The next morning, he kicked me out rudely, then kept hitting on me afterwards."

Andrew's brow furrowed. "Your alpha sounds like a jackass, but...?"

I shrugged. "You're my friend's mate, and I'm sure you wanted to know why we're here and not with our pack."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Just swear not to tell anyone what I'm going to tell you."

"Yeah, of course." The sandwich and the drink Liana had provided were loosely held long-forgotten in his hands.

"Well, I'm embarrassed to admit that experience was a bit eye opening for me. Before that I really hadn't paid any attention to pack gossip or what the alpha did when he wasn't acting in his alpha capacity. Of course, I was vaguely aware that he slept with a lot of females, and I was also dreadfully aware that he wasn't even a good alpha. But that whole experience opened my eyes to the fact of his abuse of power. I wasn't the only one who our alpha had seduced and tossed, and I wouldn't be the last, either. Then I discovered a clause in our pack charter about how under certain circumstances, a challenge could be fought by a representative champion instead of the pack member who issued the challenge."

"So you're looking for a representative?" He glanced around. "I don't think you're going to have much luck out here."

I smiled, glad he had caught on so quickly. I liked him. He'd be good for Denise, once they got past everything. "Yes, and this was just an overnight stop. We're pretending to be searching for our mates. Finding them would be nice, of course, even though it's not our main goal," I reassured him. Denise, as capable as she normally was, was crippled by her fear. But she'd regret it later if she let this chance pass her by.

I was going to suggest that we give them some time alone, but then Liana spoke up. Her voice was as soft as ever, and there was a tremble in her tone but still she sounded certain. "Our alpha did the same thing to me, too. Well, not exactly the same. I don't have a wolf, so I didn't have any way to confirm it when Alpha Hudson told me that he thought I might be his mate."

Andrew's head snapped towards her, frowning but not in anger.

She wiped the corner of her eye before continuing. "I mean, I knew his reputation, but I was really excited at the idea of having a mate. I don't even know if I have one, since I'm wolfless, and I still don't." She sniffled. "He was so nice to me. No one had ever paid attention to me like that before. I guess it's my own fault for being naive, you know? Once I slept with him, he wasn't very interested anymore."

Andrew looked disgusted. "What an asshole."

I'd already guessed he was a reasonably intelligent wolf, and my assessment was confirmed when his brows drew together as he added two and two and got four. He glanced between me and Liana. "If you're both here because your alpha screwed you over..."

His gaze landed on Denise, and her flinch was answer enough. He leapt to his feet. "I'll kill him."

I didn't move, but Liana shifted slightly closer to me instinctively seeking protection. "Slow down there, Andrew."

A growl underlay his tone. "I'll do it, I'll fight him."

I didn't want to be cruel, but I was pretty sure Alpha Hudson could break Andrew into two pieces without breaking a sweat. "I appreciate that you would like to help, but that's not what we need from you, Andrew."

His eyes blazed at my refusal, but I ignored his wolf's clear agitation. "That's not what Denise needs from you," I said firmly, and with my words, he relaxed. "She just needs you to listen to her with an open mind."

He nodded, glancing down towards Denise. She was crying, silent tears welling at the corner of her eyes. She was usually a rock, so her reaction was unnerving.

"We'll give you two some privacy," I said, hoping that Denise would recover herself enough to do so. I wished I could stay and help more, but I'd done all I could. She would have to find her usual strength.

"Yell if you need us." At my words, Liana jumped to her feet, and I quickly followed her away to give them privacy.