Alpha Rebel

Chapter 4

Music blared from the musicians' corner. Rouge enjoyed every moment of it. In spite of what you might think, Rouge loved to dance. She hadn't danced since the last time she had been with Kit, but her gentle moves hadn't yet rusted. It wasn't long until everybody else stopped to watch the most graceful dancer among themselves.

While she was dancing, she caught a glimpse of Kit between the crowd, far from the noise. Time stopped for a heart beat. He had been watching her. Kit loved to see her dance. In fact, he claimed that her dancing was one of the things that had charmed him to fall in love with her. He smiled. The general snapped his attention, and Kit's grin instantly vanished, focusing on his work. Time kicked back in and Rouge went back to dancing. Although it wasn't as joyful, she tried her hardest to put a smile for the public.

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Volf listened to every single word individually, jumping from one conversation to another, trying to make some sense out of anything.

He gave up. "What are they doing?" He asked his father.

His father delayed a few seconds before he answered. "They're celebrating their hunters' successful return...They're having a feast."

"While we're dying of hunger." Volf muttered under his breath. He looked over to the long tables of food. His eyes lingered from plate to plate, until they landed on the hunters' recent catch. Volf's jaw dropped. "That's-that's the deer we were hunting earlier today!" Volf almost yelled.

"Don't worry...revenge is ours now." His father smoothly replied.

"Won't the party affect our attack?"

"No, it only makes it easier. Look, the soldiers have left their guard down. They will all be at one place, too entertained in their vain little pleasures. They won't see us coming." He looked up at the sky. "But if this wind keeps it up, we'll have to change plans."

Volf trusted his father, since he didn't have the slightest clue about war or its strategies. The only thing he was sure of was the wind problem. It could carry their scent and blow away their cover.

"Go tell your brother to be ready for my orders." The Alpha shuffled and began to crawl down the hillside, closer to the city.

Volf felt stunned. "Wait, I'm not coming with you?"

"No, you'll be safer on your brother's squadron. It's too dangerous here."

"Which is why I'm coming with you." Volf stated, hoping that talking brave would make him feel less scared.

"That's an order from your Alpha." His father wasn't giving him a choice.

Volf simply nodded. "Yes, sir." He replied bitterly and left.

"Be careful." His father called after him.

But Volf was already long gone, too late for a preoccupied response.

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Rouge stood next to one of the long serving tables. Her eyes were full of delicious plates; making a decision was overwhelming. A sudden gust of wind threw her hair in her face. She suppressed a giggle at her own self, hoping nobody had seen her, and swiped her flowy hair back in place.

Rouge frowned. Along with the breeze had come something strange. She couldn't quite grasp it, but she thought it was a scent. She sniffed around. Only the smell of food rose up to her sensible nostrils, but something really had seemed strange. The wind was gone, and she guessed it must have been her own hunger playing tricks on her. She was starving! But how could she possibly choose just one plate! A strong squeeze in her arm startled her.

"You were amazing!" Kora squealed with her mouth half full. "I haven't seen you dance in...ages!"

Rouge smiled at Kora's exaggeration. "What are you eating?"

Kora shrugged. "I have no idea, but it tastes awesome!"

Rouge resignedly shook her head. Kora was prone to being greedy when it came to food. Not in a gluttony way, more like a...'I don't want to miss out on anything good' kind of way. Another thing that Kora was used to was to eat without asking.

Kora swallowed hard. "It's a little hard to swallow, though." She looked around for something to drink and found a large bowl with sparkling, pink liquid. "Oooh, that looks refreshing!"

Without hesitating, she served herself a glass full to the brim and took one big gulp. "Oh, stars! You should try this!"

She finally caught Rouge's attention. Rouge frowned. "Kora, that's punch."

"Really?! It tastes soo good!" Kora gushed, oblivious of its contents.

"It has rum." Rouge said flatly.

Kora stared wide-eyed at her, not knowing wether to spit or swallow.

"As in alcohol?"

Kora made sure that no one was looking to return her mouthful back to her glass, and then, very casually threw the glass behind a bush.

"I have never tried alcohol in my life,ok? This never happened!" Kora cried out in alarm. Rouge howled with laughter.

"This is why you should always ask!"

Kora held up her hand solemnly. "I swear I'll be more careful of what I eat from now on..." She gasped. "Oh, that looks so delicious!"

Rouge tried to follow her gaze. "What is?"

"I dunno, but I'm gonna go find out!" Forgetting about the promise she had just made, Kora stalked off to the farthest table.

A gentle tug on her skirt pulled Rouge's attention in a different direction. A little boy of about ten stood behind her, wearing a particularly familiar cap.

"Are you the pretty ballerina?" The child asked.

Rouge smiled and bent down in front of him. "Yes?"

The little boy saluted, military style. "Lieutenant Fennec demands you save him the next dance."

Rouge slightly blushed. She had the feeling Kit was watching her from somewhere nearby, even though she was unable to spot him. She turned back to the child. "Thank you. Would you deliver a message to him for me, please?"

"Ok!" The boy answered eagerly, dropping his soldier act.

Rouge laid a gentle kiss on his cheek and fixed his cap lower down his ears. The child blushed at least three different shades of red before he ran off giggling, clearly not thinking of delivering her message. It didn't matter. She'd deliver the message herself later.

The wind kicked back in. Again, Rouge felt something in the air was wrong. She sniffed around, trying to catch an unfamiliar scent, to prove herself that she wasn't going crazy. She glanced at the bushes ahead that marked the beginning of the still distant forest. Her suspicions arose. Something was off. She squinted her eyes for a better look, her stare intensifying with every heartbeat. The wind played again among the tree branches, causing the moonlight to dance over the shadows, revealing a frightening scowl staring back at her.

"Wolf!"