Runaway Rogue

Chapter Thirty One: Indigo's POV

Indigo wasn't quite sure what Caspian thought of having two nearly random girls also pile in his car, but he seemed to be a pretty good sport about it regardless. Especially when he offered to stop at a cafe with a drive-through.

"Oh, we can't afford that. Now, with only two of us covering the rent and barely getting any hours, we are surviving solely on food that is heavily discounted or is made where we work," Sasha said, wrinkling her nose. "Besides, coffee is...frivolous."

Indigo knew the feeling too well of having to inhale the scent of grease all day and then having to eat food from the same deepfryer just to save a couple bucks. She didn't have to be reminded how grateful she was to have fresh fruit and vegetables in the home. It shouldn't have been a luxury, but it was.

"I can buy," Caspian offered, "just tell me what you want."

"This isn't going to magically make me like you," Sasha warned, narrowing her eyes.

"I didn't think it would," Caspian said with a chuckle.

They arrived at the packlands before they could even finish their coffees. Caspian was kind and patient, but ushered them into the house with a little urgency. Indigo understood immediately. Rogues were still not welcome here, even if the pack had started tolerating her. But, just after the two girls went into the house, Caspian grabbed Indigo's wrist gently, causing her to pause.

"I can't tell you how happy I am that you invited me along today," he whispered, his emerald eyes moving as if he were trying to memorize her features. She thought her confession would have weighed him down, but somehow, it almost seemed to have made him lighter.

She wanted to grin up at the raw tenderness in his gaze, but the heaviness was still wound so tightly around her heart, making it hard to even breathe. "I can't promise you forever. I can't even promise you tomorrow. In situations like this, I have to make decisions that I think are the best for everyone." She hesitated, chewing her lip before she added. "Caspian, we are not even fully mated and I would die if anything happened to you."

His smile was sad and soft at the corners. "I feel the same, Indie. And I understand, even if I hate it. Anything, any time you can give me, it's a goddamn honor."

She rose up on her toes, pressing a slow and easy kiss to his mouth, wishing that the world was different, wishing their story could be written kinder. When she pulled away, he had a hard time tearing his gaze away from her mouth.

"I have to go talk to Forest before some nosey pack members tell him I'm starting to move rogues into the pack," he murmured.

"I'll talk to the girls, maybe I'll even get Sasha to soften you a bit."

"You are a talented woman, Indie, but I have to say I have my doubts," he teased.

Sasha and Paris were waiting for her at the kitchen table.

"I was so worried for you," Paris blurted to break the silence. "I didn't know what had happened to you. I wanted to come back, but I was terrified and I knew that these people wouldn't let me go twice."

"Now you can see that you didn't need to worry. I'm being well taken care of," Indigo assured.

"It's a small pack," Sasha said, toying with her empty takeout cup. "Too small to face down someone like Andrew."

"They are in debt, too." It did feel like a bit of a betrayal to say it out loud, especially when it was so clear that Sasha was one second away from dragging all of them out of there. But there was no sense in lying. It would only put them in more danger.

"Well, my dad can fix that pretty easily, can't he?" Sasha sighed. "All they have to do is hand you over."

"Caspian wouldn't do that," Indigo stated, then added, "But the others might. I can't promise you that you will be safe here for very long. And now that Andrew has circulated a photo of me to all the alphas, I'm not sure I'll ever be safe for you to be around."