Runaway Rogue

Chapter One: Indigo's POV

Indigo didn't want to believe it, didn't want to even consider it. Every time she thought it might be true, something changed. One of the girls would be found out, someone would forget to take their medication, or they would be spotted by someone out in public. It took something so small to derail them all over again.

Indigo fought it with all her might, but it was true. She felt her smiles come easier, heard her laugh get louder and louder. Normal wasn't something she was entitled to, especially not when she had powerful suppressants running through her, but who needed normal when she was free?

"You're in a good mood today," Sasha commented, her hands working as they dried a cocktail glass. The two of them manned the bar together. A bubbly blonde and a storm cloud of a person.

"I'm in a good mood every day," Indigo replied, feeling a smirk tug at the corner of her mouth.

Sasha was one of the few that knew the reason for Indigo's often sour moods. Sasha had experienced some of the same cruelties that Indigo had, just on the other side. Joined together by some of the worst circumstances, they knew they could rely on each other.

"It's just starting to feel better, like home," Indigo confessed when Sasha raised a blonde eyebrow at her.

The curiosity in Sasha's expression vanished, her soft features on her round face sharpening. Her bright blue eyes darkened a shade then, her hands pausing their work. "Indigo, that's dangerous."

"It's normal," Indigo countered, though she could feel something dark twisting in her belly. It was the feeling that reminded her that she was not entitled to joy like everyone else. She was not entitled to a stable life or simple comforts like time spent with family.

"Listen, if you want to be excited about something, be excited about how much money we are making in tips. That means whenever shit hits the fan again-- because it will happen -- we can pay out the rest of our rent and have a little buffer to find a new place," Sasha said.

She was right and Indigo knew it. After everything they had been through, she really should have been grateful for the smaller things, like good tips and a healthy tourist season this year. More than once, they had to hop houses and skip town with almost nothing to their names. Every sleepy town meant starting over from scratch, living tightly, ignoring the hunger pains in the belly and the tears in clothes. Moving again wouldn't be comfortable, but at least they would be able to eat.

Indigo threw herself back into her work. It was nothing special, just a small run-down bar in a slow mountain town that only perked up on long weekends and holidays. On a Thursday night, she would stand behind the bar and serve her regulars, slinging gimlets and paralyzers all night, smiling prettily until they gave her an additional tip on top.

Sometimes, at the end of the night, Indigo stared at the money she earned, flimsy bills and heavy coins, and wondered how much it had taken for her father to give her up. Had it been thousands? Less? More? How could one put a price on a human? How could someone be satisfied with a dollar value when it came to family?

She used to get sick from the sight of money, just like she used to get sick at the sight of herself in a mirror. Back then, she had wondered if her nose had been too small for her face or if she had some graphic awful wound that she might not have been chosen. But now, she saw money and her beauty for what it was: power.

She would never be sold and married off again. She didn't care about mate bonds, about shifting into her wolf, or the status of alphas.

It had all been ruined for her.

Now, she only cared about her tip payout at the end of the night, mixing damn good drinks, and taking care of the girls who had become like sisters to her.

After closing, Sasha and Indigo made their way home, smelling like spilled alcohol and sweat. The braid that had been silky and smooth was now a black nest on Indigo's shoulder and Sasha looked like she was two blinks away from falling asleep.

While Indigo drove their shared car home – a much-loved Toyota Corolla with far too many kilometers on it and not enough oil changes—she marveled at the affection and love she could feel for Sasha.

When she had first met the sweet-looking blonde, she wanted to kill her. And Sasha had wanted to do the same to Indigo, the strange woman who was just two years older than herself who had suddenly become her step mom.

Indigo could never really identify where the turning point was. One day, she hated Sasha, hated the old alpha she had been married off to—though everyone was convinced that her silent wolf had chosen him – and the next, she told Sasha she was leaving and gave her the chance to tag along.

They had been together for two years now and after all this time, there was nothing that Indigo wouldn't do for the girl.

The two women ambled into the house that they rented, sleepily rubbing their eyes as they slugged back the vile pills that they took every single night. They were disgusting little pellets laced with silver. They sank down to the bottom of the stomach like a rock and made both of them ill every single night. But living as a sickly human was better than living as a trapped werewolf.

The silver was powerful enough to suppress even the strongest of wolves, which neither of the girls had. When Indigo had been married off to Alpha Andrew, he claimed that she was his beautiful mate, that he had been blessed with a second chance after his first -- Sasha's mother – had passed away suddenly. Her parents had protested, at least until the money showed up. Her wolf was silent through it all, no denial, no acceptance. She had only shifted once in life and it had been painful and slow and brief. Within the span of three minutes, she was back in her human form again, aching so badly it felt like a punishment, not the reward everyone else seemed to get.

Indigo decided a long time ago that if her wolf would not serve her, she would not serve it.

Indigo and Sasha readied themselves for bed. Indigo undid her midnight hair which had become a knot on her shoulder, brushing it until it became silky again, and washed the makeup off her pale skin.

She should have noticed the first sign in the shower, when the temperature she normally favored felt like it was burning her skin. She should have noticed how thirsty she was. She should have been alarmed when she kicked off the blankets less than ten minutes after she got into bed.

But why would she be worried? She was taking the most effective medication to keep her wolf away.

She faded in and out of sleep.

"It must just be a fever," someone whispered. Paris. The third girl in the house, a rogue they had found last year.

"This doesn't look like a fever and she's throwing a big enough fit that I could hear her in my room," Sasha argued.

Indigo didn't have the strength to open her eyes or even speak. All she knew was that she was very hot, as if she were burning from the inside out.

"We have to get her out of here," Sasha said.

"We can't—"

"We have to. If this is a heat, she going to bring werewolves here. And god forbid my father was right and they are mates. We can't risk it. We can't have him or any werewolf come here."

"But—"

"We'll find her in the morning, I promise. Now help me, we need to get her into the car."

~~~Distraction Section~~~

Hello everyone and welcome to my newest werewolf book!!! Are you screaming? I'm screaming. I feel like I haven't written a proper werewolf book in forever and it is good to be home y'all. 

If you're new here, this is the part where I normally ask a question to get to know you, to create connections. But today, I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself. I'm K, previously known as Sid. I've been writing on Wattpad for a long time and I'm from Canada. I'm excited to see you in the next one. Check back tomorrow ;)