The Rogue

II

*Rian*

Everyone was unsettled. I heard murmurs about some of my wolves doubting my leadership. Some were saying Rosco never would have allowed this to happen. They were calling me weak.

I drilled my fists into the punching bag, and sweat flew off my face, arms, and shoulders in little round beads. Even though I never expected myself to be a good Alpha, their doubts still frustrated me. I couldn't stop myself from feeling like I'd let everyone down. Especially Faye.

Her face crossed my mind, and my heart fell. I let her go. I let those savages take my anima, my girlfriend, the one person on this planet who I swore to protect with my life. And I'd let her down. Without realizing it, I sank to my knees.

Everything had gone to chaos in the last twenty-four hours. The Rogues had come, taken Faye, and left. Then the pack erupted in dissension. Ten elders came to me, demanding I explain myself. We weren't supposed to let ourselves look weak in front of our enemies, yet I had rolled onto my back for these monsters.

So I did what I do best. I fled. Only for a few hours. But I ran nonetheless. I needed to think through my plan. I needed to construct a contingency plan. Part of me wanted to storm the Rogue territory, slaughter the vicious rebels, and take my girl back. The other part of me knew it would never work. There were far too many Rogues for my pack to take down. We could only take them if they were on our turf, the land we knew better than ourselves.

"Alpha," a voice called.

I jumped at the sound, having been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't heard my father's voice. It was weird to hear him address me so formally. Leaning up onto my feet, I turned to face him.

"You don't have to call me—" I stopped myself.

    His face was drawn together in concern. I'd never seen my father look that worried. The muscles in my stomach twisted anxiously. There couldn't possibly be more bad news. Every bad thing that could happen to someone had happened to me in the last five days.

    "What is it?" I demanded.

    "We have a visitor," he replied, eyes turning downcast.

    "Is it Maxen?" My blood boiled. "He better be prepared for—"

    "No. It's not Maxen. It's...it's Faye's father."

    Every molecule of air seemed to get sucked out of the room. My heart skipped a beat.

    "What?"

    "Brian Derby is here for his daughter," my father continued. "He's furious. He brought people with him. Wolves."

    That was one more mystery I hadn't yet solved. It looked like I was finally about to find some answers.

    "Terrific." I wiped the sweat off my face with a hand towel. "Take me to him."