Runaway Rogue

Chapter Twenty: Caspian's POV

"Pompous fucking prick," Forest hissed to himself as he and Caspian walked towards the small crowd of warriors and guards waiting for them.

"He'll be in and out. There's nothing for him here," Caspian soothed, though his own wolf was ruffed. Pompous fucking prick didn't even begin to cover it.

"I still don't like it. He's throwing his weight around, knowing that he could bully most packs into letting him in," Forest snarled.

"Just this once, then we can make different choices when we have the money and the man power," Caspian pointed out.

They approached the group of muscular men and chiseled women. Each wore matching joggers and black shirts and deep scowls. At their core, Caspian knew these people were softer, that they went home and bounced babies on their knees and binged their favorite shows, but he was grateful for the look they could put on.

"We are going to have limited border control today," Forest announced to the group, folding his hands neatly behind his back. "We will have enough to keep us safe obviously, but I want a show of force in the packlands. The majority of you are just going to be lingering around today. We have a visiting alpha coming and I want to make it clear that we are not to be taken lightly."

A woman with a tight ponytail and even tighter expression frowned. "Is this alpha a threat?"

Forest sighed a little. "I can't say yes and I can't say no. We are just going to have to do our best to make sure we don't look like low hanging fruit."

Everyone nodded in agreement, those who needed to cover the border shuffled off. They would put on the best damn show they could, but their numbers weren't particularly strong.

Forest only had a handful of minutes of muttering his annoyance before a massive, black SUV pulled onto the packlands, moving far too quickly to be adhering to the local speed limit or the children who were outside playing in the autumn leaves. Caspian felt his teeth clench a little harder together.

Alpha Andrew was well put together, Caspian had to give him that. From his luxury car – which he obviously had a driver for—to his suit that must have been tailored, he was a man with a presence. There was not a hair out of place in his salt and pepper beard and his eyes shone despite the crows feet around them. Caspian suddenly felt very underdressed in his crewneck sweater and jeans.

"Gentlemen, good morning!" Andrew boomed, his voice so commanding that the children who had been playing scurried off all the sudden.

Forest remained still and silent until Andrew approached them, refusing to move and inch for the man who had plowed onto his own turf.

"I don't think I've ever been invited out to your packlands," Andrew said, grinning as he stopped before them.

"Unfortunately, we had more concerning matters to deal with than hosting tea parties and such," Forest replied.

Like an actor switching masks, Andrew's face fell. "Razed to the ground, I heard. Such awful business. It's really terrible that something like that happened to your pack. We were so sorry to hear about it."

But not sorry enough to pitch funds or offer support to the rebuild effort. Caspian forced himself to mimic Forest's calm, almost blank gaze instead of running his mouth. His wolf was touchy, not appreciating having another strong leader on his land, that was all.

"Indeed, it was," Forest said simply. "What happened to your mate and your daughter is also a tragedy."

"My mate and my daughter are not dead," Andrew stated, hoisting his narrow nose in the air. "I would know, I'm sure of it. A rogue must have kidnapped them for ransom or they must have runaway after being threatened. But they are not dead."