The Rogue

VII

*Faye*

The knock on the door pulled me from my dreams. As my sleepy eyes looked around the room, I remembered I wasn't home or back in Oregon. I was still stuck in Maxen's world.

Without permission, the door swung open. Maxen occupied the entire threshold with his enormous frame. He was dressed in dark jeans and a forest green v-neck with well-worn oxfords.

"Can I help you?" I grumbled.

"No, but I can help you." He approached my bed, hands on hips. "Do you want breakfast or not? I'm walking over to the Commons now."

Although I wasn't actually hungry yet, I knew I would be soon. Nodding, I said, "Okay. Can you give me a sec to change?"

"Make it snappy," he replied as he headed back to the door. On his way out, he glanced over his shoulder with a smirk. "Oh, and wash your face. You're looking a little rough today."

I rolled my eyes and slid off the bed. He was such a brute.

A simple, cotton shirt and yoga capris made for my quick outfit. I minded the brute's advice and scrubbed my face. In fact, a zit had emerged in the center of my right cheek. That's oily skin, stress, and hormones thrown together for you.

When I emerged from the bedroom, I followed the clamor of male voices into the foyer. Maxen was discussing something in a very serious, deep voice with two other men. Or wolves. Whatever they were.

They continued for a minute, not noticing me, until Maxen's head suddenly snapped around. His eerie green eyes were dark and brewing with anger. I found myself backing up, filled with the terror of one staring into the eyes of a wild animal.

"The trouble never ends with you, does it?" he snarled.

Blinking, I returned his sharp glower with a confused frown. He pushed his men aside on the way to the door. A growl was rumbling out of his chest, giving root to a bad feeling in my gut. One of the men left immediately after him. The other lingered to eye me suspiciously.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Do you know where the Commons are?" he replied instead.

"Yes."

He nodded coldly at me. "You will get breakfast and return here directly after. Do you understand?"

"I—"

"You are to make no stops and talk to no one."

Sighing, I resorted to a simple nod. The man held the door open and motioned for me to step outside. We walked down to the main sidewalk and parted ways.

"Remember," he told me, "no stops. No talking."

Blah, blah, blah. "Got it."

I walked in the direction of the Commons, eyes trained down on my feet. My thoughts and feelings were distracting me when I bumped into something. As I lifted my head, my gaze locked with a pair of soft blue ones. Mr. Nick.

"Faye," he greeted gently.

"Mr. Nick! We still need to talk," I reminded him.

He took a deep breath. "I know. Come with me."

"Well...I'm not supposed to talk to anybody. Maxen might kill me."

"Kill you?" Mr. Nick asked, snorting. "The man wouldn't dream of it."

"He might hurt you, though."

"He might." But he shrugged. "I don't think he will. Come on."

It wasn't like I had anything better to do, so I followed him into one of the apartments. The interior seemed like a carbon copy of Maxen's. A few voices carried from the kitchen. Mr. Nick directed me around the kitchen, practically sneaking me into one of the back bedrooms.

"Where are you—"

He silenced me with a look. My lips pressed together in doubt. Was he sneaking me around? This felt like every lame movie I'd seen with teenagers trying to escape their parents' prying eyes.

Once the door was closed, Mr. Nick herded me to the closet. Was he going to put me in there? One firm shove confirmed my fears. I jammed my heels into the carpet and wrestled against his strong arms.

"Shhh," he hissed, clamping a hand over my mouth.

Panic blasted through my veins. I squirmed and screamed against his damp skin. Instinct forced me into my last resort. My teeth sunk into his palm. He cursed and almost let me go but managed not to. I didn't realize I was crying until I felt the tears drip off my nose.

The terror broke as he pushed aside his clothes hanging on the rack, revealing a small, square door. It couldn't have been more than five feet tall or so. I was too astonished to keep fighting. The door probably led to a cellar or something. Mr. Nick was going to torture me. Maybe kill me.

Yet all of my assumptions were wrong. He hugged me against his chest and opened the door. Sunlight illuminated a short, curved tunnel. Before I could react, Mr. Nick was carrying me outside. He carried me until we reached one of the tall dust mounds behind the apartment complex.

"I'm going to put you down," he told me. "Don't scream, Faye. I brought you out here to talk without anyone knowing. If you scream, they'll come for us and we might never have the chance to speak again. Do you want that?"

I shook my head. Slowly, he retracted his hand from my mouth and arm from around my body. My eyes narrowed.

"Was that really necessary?" I demanded.

"Yes. We can't have anyone know that you're seeing me."

Wow. I rolled my eyes. Why were all the men in my life so dramatic?

"You bite hard," he remarked with a chuckle.

"Well, I thought I was fighting for my life. It seems I wouldn't have stood a chance against you anyway."

"Don't beat yourself up about it. I have supernatural strength."

"Right. So, are you going to tell me about my dad and how you're a wolf and I never knew?"

Nodding, he replied, "If you want."

"I would like to know, yes."

"Okay. Let's start with the day I enlisted into the army."