The Rogue

XXII

*Rian*

While Maxen continued to hover over Faye, she tried pushing him off. He clearly had no intention of moving. My blood boiled. What had happened in the days we'd been separated? Would Faye even have the courage to tell me?

I demanded what was happening. Faye's head snapped around, but Maxen just slowly lifted his gaze to acknowledge me. He'd known I was coming. He could've smelled my approach before I'd even rounded the mound.

"Get off!" Faye hissed, this time successfully rolling out from beneath him.

My hands were shaking. I clenched them to seem less unstable. Meanwhile, Faye was scrambling to her feet and dusting off her back. Maxen rose to his feet, unrushed. Our eyes met, and I could've sworn there was a challenge in his.

"Rian, are you okay?" Faye closed the distance between us to wrap her arms around my neck.

"What are you doing outside?" I growled.

She was quiet.

Our companion, however, was not. "She tried to run. I had to catch her."

"I didn't ask you," I hissed. Pulling Faye back, my eyes studied hers. "I told you to stay inside. It's dangerous out here."

"Why?" she demanded. "Why is it so dangerous?"

"Because..." I shook my head. "It's a wolf thing."

"That's what I figured." Her cheeks reddened in an adorably frustrated blush.

"You are mad at me? You are the one trying to get yourself killed."

"You're so vague all the time! All of you annoying beasts are!" As she moved to smack my chest, I caught her hand.

"Annoying beasts?"

"Yes," she muttered, avoiding my gaze. "Now, I have to go make sure you haven't killed Mr. Nick yet. Get out of my way. Please."

Deliberately rejecting her request, I pulled Faye back into my arms. She squirmed for a moment before relaxing into me. I took a whiff of her hair. Everything about her felt, smelled, and looked like home. I couldn't wait to get her alone. We had so much catching up to do.

"Rian, please," she pleaded. "It's my fault he got hurt in the first place. I need to make sure he's alright."

"It's not your fault," I told her, strumming her back with my fingers. "It's his fault. It's his pack's fault. It's even Maxen's fault. But it's not your job to take the blame."

Maxen let out a low growl. I ignored him. What was he even still doing here?

"Just let me see him," she insisted.

"Want me to go check on him and see how he's doing?"

"No!"

My lips pressed together disapprovingly. "What's the big fuss, Faye? He's hurt, but he's going to heal."

"The fuss is that I made him a promise to keep him safe, and if he's hurt—"

"You did what?"

"Maxen was keeping me in a cave," she explained, shooting the said subject a foul look, "so I told Mr. Nick I would make sure nobody—not you, not Maxen, not my dad—would hurt him."

"And why would you do that?"

"Because I didn't have anything else to negotiate with! If I hadn't done so, you would still be looking for me. I would still be in that freaking cave."

That prick put her in a cave. My pulse started pounding in my ears. One more reason to rip his heart out of his chest.

"If you won't take her," Maxen grumbled, "I will."

"You aren't going anywhere with her." I sent him another lethal glare.

"Rian, come on," Faye pressed. "This is important to me. Please."

I was still thinking there was no way I would ever take her out there, where my wolves were still drooling to get their paws on Maxen's, when he took a step closer to us. It was a slight shift in his footing—perhaps even in a subconscious motion—but it was enough for me to notice.

The transition ached in my bones. I wanted to shift right then. Faye grounded me back in my humanity as she usually did. Her hands lifted to my face, her thumbs brushing my lips. The sweet aroma of her body recaptured my focus.

"Come on," she said. Taking my hand, she began to lead me away.

Once I'd thought about how we would do this, I decided to let her in on my game plan. Especially because she might not like it.

"Faye, wait." I pulled her to a stop. Her eyes filled with doubt. "I have an idea."

"I'm all ears."

"The safest way to do this is if I'm a wolf. You are going to hop on my back, and I'll take you the rest of the way. This way if things go bad, I can get you out quickly."

She bit her lip. "Well, that's great and all, but I rode Maxen and it's not very comfortable—"

"You what?"

"I..." Surprise and concern flickered across her face.

"You rode him?"

"It wasn't like however you're picturing it. We were in a hurry. He was trying to get me to safety, because he thought I might get hurt when my dad's pack moved in."

A rod of heat shot down my back. I spun on my heel and started towards the housing complex. Maxen was going to die. Now.

"Rian, wait! Where're you going?" Faye shouted. "Leave Maxen out of this! He's not worth it, Rian. He's not worth it."

Maxen heard and growled loudly. He must have already transitioned. Perhaps he had expected this. Good. The harder he fought back, the better this would feel.

From out of nowhere, Faye popped out in front of me. I tripped over her and landed on my knees. Hair was already sprouting down my spine as I got back up.

"No! Rian, no!" She grabbed my shoulders and pushed against me.

Just when I was ready to push her aside, a familiar scent caught my attention. My head automatically cocked to the side. A man came riding in one of my wolves. Titus. And that was Brian on top of him?

Faye noticed this too. Her voice came out weakly in disbelief.

"Dad?"