by Emilia Rose
And… I could’ve been just like that woman, just like Michelle if I hadn’t been careful.
“If we don’t get our money, then I’ll have to keep them, kill them even. They’ve been so fucking annoying anyway with all that lovey-dovey shit.”
The rogue was talking about Jane and Raj. Were they mates? Maybe they were acting that way to get out, maybe Raj had a plan.
A branch snapped, and I turned around to see a rogue standing behind me about to leap at me. Drool was dripping from his bare teeth.
Before I had the chance to kill him, he stuck his nose to the air and gave the most vicious howl, alerting the others.
My heart pounded. Everyone could hear it. Every single rogue around. Even Ryker.
He would know that I followed him.
He would know that I really knew.
He would know that he would have to kill me.
So, I leapt into the air, sunk my teeth into the rogue’s neck, and pulled out his throat, then I sprinted through the woods as fast as I could. Knowing that I needed to run for my life.
Isabella
The thunderous echo of hundreds of paws hitting the ground followed me through the forest. All coming for me. All wanting to kill me.
I knew that they would find me and that they would, in fact, kill me. Ryker was the one leading them, lying to me, lying to everyone about the rogues. He had countless alphas being tracked and hunted like animals—hurting them instead of protecting them.
And I was about to be next.
My heart beat against my chest wildly. Beads of sweat matted my fur. I ran faster and pushed myself harder, letting my wolf take control. She had trained for this moment forever. And although Roman didn’t believe in me, although he lied to me to protect me, although I made the stupid decision anyway to join the Lycans, this was not how I would go out.
I would not be stopped by a pack of rogues that I had been trained to kill. I would not be stopped by a man who betrayed us all for whatever selfish reason he had.
The trees stopped any moonlight from hitting the forest floor, but I ran in the dark, focusing on the path in front of me—my self-made path—jumping over branches and running between trees.
The rogues’ faint pungent scent drifted into my nose. Moon Goddess, help me, please. All I wanted was to see Roman, the only man that I had ever loved, the man that I wished I had stayed with weeks ago. This wasn’t how I wanted my life to end. I wanted to see him one last time.
A tree branch cut into my fur, and I whimpered, but I didn’t stop. I ran for another mile, sprinting right off of Rogue territory and toward the familiar scent I had always called home. Mint.
When the pounding slowed and became fainter, I paused behind a tree and shifted into my human. Blood spewed out of my side, and I put as much pressure on it as I could. I rested against the tree, muffling my whimpers with my hand.
Then, when the rogues became louder again, I gathered all of my energy and ran—in human form—to Roman’s packhouse. The next mile was longer and harder than the miles I ran through Rogue Territory. But I trudged on through and let out a cry once I was fifty feet to Roman’s property.
Pain shot up and down my side, making me dizzy, making my vision blurry. Derek—one of the border guards tonight—caught my arm before I fell to the ground and mindlinked Roman. “Rogues.”
I stumbled out of his grip toward the packhouse. Roman. I wanted to see Roman. I needed to see Roman. I loved Roman.
After throwing the backdoor of the packhouse open, I sprinted into the room—naked and covered in a mix of blood and mud. I couldn’t believe this was happening. What was all of this for? Every single day that I spent getting to know Ryker was all a lie.
“Roman!” I shouted. “Roman!” My Roman.
A light turned on upstairs, and someone shuffled around. I sprinted up the stairs, taking two at a time. Roman appeared at the end of the hallway, rushing out of his room and wearing nothing but some sweatpants. When he saw me, he hurried to me and pulled me into his chest. “Isabella? Isabella, what’s wrong?”
“Rogues,” I breathed out, glancing out the window. “Rogues—they’re coming.”
My first instinct was to kiss him, so that’s what I did. I pressed my lips to his, feeling comforted in the feeling of him, wanting him and wanting us and hoping that this wasn’t the last moment that I would be with him.
He pushed me away slightly. “You’re covered in mud, Isabella.” He gazed down at my body. “And blood. You’re hurt. Wh—”
“They’re coming to kill me,” I said. I knew that they would try to kill me, that they would try to take this whole pack out with them. And again, this was my fault. I should’ve run to the Lycans… not put Roman in more danger.
But I wanted him, I needed him, and I didn’t know who I could trust anymore beside him.
If Ryker didn’t know who I was before, he knew who I was now that I ran directly to my mate. The man he hated. The man who hated him.
Roman furrowed his brows together. Then his ears flew back, hearing the howls of the rogues. They were approaching the borders, quickly. My stomach tightened. Roman’s eyes glazed over as he spoke to his warriors through the mindlink.
When he turned to me, his teeth had lengthened into canines, his eyes were pure gold, and his minty scent was stronger than ever. “Why are they here?”
I grabbed his hand and squeezed lightly. “Because I know why they took your sister. I know how they did it too.” I brushed my hand against the side of his face. “You were right, Roman. You were always right.”
“What do you want me to do?” he asked. It was such a simple question, and I knew exactly what he was planning to do to that man when they caught him.
I grabbed his chin, pressed my lips to his, and pulled away. “Be that alpha that I’ve always loved. Lead this pack. Kill them.”
“We’re not ready to take a whole pack of rogues alone,” he said. He pulled me down the stairs to the door. The forest was dark, yet so damn eerie. “You’re going to lead us, Isabella.” He clenched his jaw and turned toward the woods. “Now, I’ll ask again. What do you need me to do?”
Roman wanted me to lead.
The thought made me feel butterflies, but I couldn’t think about them for long. I tapped into the disorderly pack mindlink, trying to sort through the million and one things being said in it.
Give me the damn strength to figure this out, Moon Goddess.
After stepping into the forest, I gulped. “Don’t attack them,” I commanded through the mindlink. Roman and I walked further into the night to see the whole pack of warriors standing at full attention in front of the packhouse. “They’re here for me.”
I stepped forward, but Roman grabbed my wrist. “What are you doing?”
“What I need to do. Trust me.” I removed myself from his grasp. “You want orders? I order the whole pack to stand down. Don’t attack unless I tell you to attack.”
The warriors parted for me to walk through them. Ryker stood at the edge of the forest, watching and waiting for me, with the whole pack of ferocious rogues behind him.
He stepped into the moonlight, but none of the other wolves moved. They all stood there, staring. And I stepped toward him. He took a defensive stance, not nervously but cautiously.
“I already contacted the Lycans,” I said. “They know where their hideout is.”
Nobody spoke a word, and then he stepped forward again. “You’re lying.”
“You don’t intimidate me, Ryker.” My nails lengthened into claws. “Is Michelle at that rogue’s place?” I asked.
He tensed, his jaw clenched. “How do you know about her?”
My teeth lengthened into canines. “Or did you kill her?”
“Stop.” His voice was low, and he was shaking with anger.
“Michelle, the woman who used to be a Lycan before me, the woman who you let stay in your packhouse, the woman you marked when she was going through heat, the woman who gave you a child.”
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He growled.
“It was all inside of your desk. Everything that I needed to figure it out.” I shook my head and actually let out a laugh. “You know, that’s not even the funny part. The funny part is that she tried to kill you.” My fingers brushed against the side of my neck, mimicking the scar on his neck. “Too bad she didn’t succeed.”
He shifted into his wolf and ran at me, sprinting full force. The wolves behind me got into their stance, but I didn’t move. Instead, I let him leap in my direction and then I swiped my claws right on his scar. The weakest part of him.
They cut into his skin, shredding it almost instantly. He leapt back. His wound was bleeding profusely, and I held my side tighter to stop my blood.
“You always told me not to fight when angry, Ryker. You should’ve listened to your own advice.” I shifted into my wolf and sprinted at him.
The difference between him and I was that I wasn’t angry. I was a protector, born under the Second Wolf Moon to keep people safe, and that was what I would do.
Leaping at him, I latched my teeth into his shoulder and somersaulted over him, taking him with me. Ryker sank his teeth into my arm, and I howled. Roman inched his way closer and closer to me, and when he heard my cry out, he shifted and snatched Ryker by the neck.
Like they had done in the hallway a few days ago, they fought but this time claws were scratching, blood was spewing, flesh was flying.
Roman’s pack started for the rogues, though I told them to stand down, but the rogues wanted no part in a war that they were bound to lose. They ran through the woods, and Roman’s pack followed.
Before I could react, Ryker bit into Roman’s thigh and tore a hefty piece of flesh right out of it. Roman shifted back into his human form and cradled his leg. My heart raced, and I growled loudly, sinking my teeth into Ryker’s thigh and tearing his muscle out of it too.
A thigh for a thigh.
Ryker shifted into his human, stumbling into a tree.
I bared my teeth at him and jogged to Roman who struggled to stand. After shifting, I pressed my hand to stop the bleeding. And when I turned back to Ryker, he was gone. Roman shook his head, standing strong and trying to follow him. But I knew that it was too late.
I wasn’t leaving Roman like this just to chase Ryker. We would destroy him tonight, but not before finding our friends.
Isabella
Though the path to Rogue Territory was difficult to find, the trail of my blood made it easier. I led Roman’s entire pack through the forest so we could save Jane and Raj before the rogues killed them.
Hundreds of paws pounded against the forest floor, thunderous like the sound of the rain. But this time the paws belonged to Roman’s wolves, wolves from my pack, wolves that I trusted.
The closer we got to their territory, the more stray rogues were walking through the forest, rogues so weak that I picked them off one by one and didn’t stop until we were near their borders.
About half a mile ahead of us, the stone wall was guarded heavily. I stopped, and everyone behind me stopped, even Roman. He wanted me to lead because—I was assuming—he wanted to show me that he trusted me, that he wanted me back for good. The frightened look in his eyes told me that this was the most difficult thing he’d ever face, but he didn’t complain about it.
We ducked behind some trees to stay out of sight. Just like I had done so many times with Ryker, I commanded that the group surround the borders. There weren’t many of us as I had hoped since we still needed to protect the borders at home, but I had to make it work.
When everyone was in position, I turned to Vanessa. She was not the person I wanted for this job; she would probably fuck it up for me, but Roman insisted. “You know what to do, right?” I asked her.
She gulped and gazed over at the wall. She had drawn Moonflowers on her arm with sharpie before we had left, pretending to be a Lycan. “Yes,” she said quietly. “Anything for Jane.”
I gazed over at Roman who stood a few trees away. “You sure she’s the right person for this. I can—”
“She is.”
I raised a brow at him. She was the fastest runner in the warriors, according to Roman. I didn’t believe it, but I needed to believe it. She was our only hope. I pushed her toward the wolves and watched her walk toward them.
Slowly, she approached the rogues. She was to get their attention, get them to chase her, so I could kill each one of them. When she was a few trees away from the stone wall, she intentionally broke a branch under her foot. “Oops.”
Oops, my ass.
Every rogue at the borders turned in her direction. They paused for a moment, then saw the Lycan tattoos on her arm and immediately raced her way. She better be fast and not fuck this up.
All she had to do was run all the way back to our pack and not stop once.
She stood there, waiting, then just as one was about to snatch her, she turned on her heel and ran through the woods as quickly as she could. She whizzed by me, and I listened to that pounding of paws against dirt.
When they all passed me, I waited a few moments. Then I hopped out from behind the tree, slapped a hand over the slowest rogue’s mouth so he couldn’t scream, and cut his throat with my claws. Killing him instantly.
I followed behind the group. Picking them off one by one while the rest of Roman’s pack moved into the borders to fight anyone inside of the stone walls. Through the mindlink Roman gave the orders to the pack, the exact ones I had given him earlier, leading like the true alpha he was.
Vanessa ran faster than I thought she could without faltering. After fifteen minutes of running through the mud, the rogues began to notice that their friends were missing. One turned around, saw me kill his friend, and howled. The rest of them stopped chasing Vanessa and turned on me.
She looked at me with fear in her eyes. “Go!” I said to her, she would get killed this way. She shook her head and sprinted at one of the men. Then she jumped into the air and sank her teeth into his neck.
In a moment of pure chaos, the rogues turned to and sprinted at both of us. Foam dripped from their mouths, rainwater matted their ratty fur, corruption flared within their dark eyes. I bared my bloodied teeth at them and latched onto one as he leapt toward me. Slamming him into the ground, ripping out his neck, watching—only for a moment—as he cried out to the Moon Goddess and shifted into his human; dead.
While Vanessa took on one rogue by herself, I took on the other two. Throwing back my hind leg, I kicked one straight in the jaw and sunk my canines into the one in front of me. They both whimpered, but I wasn’t finished. They would not only pay for their sins, but they’d pay for Ryker’s too.
My claws dug into one of their undersides, swiping over and over, creating gash after gash, soaking my paws in his blood. It was what I had trained for since I was four, since Luna Raya believed in me, since old man Beck used to tell me his war stories.
Vanessa spit out a jugular, growled in my direction, then leapt over me to kill the last rogue. She tore his ear off, smacked her paw into the side of his face, and murdered him in cold blood.
Vanessa stood over one of the dead wolves and looked at me, gaze lingering on my side. Though it was still bleeding profusely, I couldn’t feel it anymore. All I felt was the potent urge to protect. Protect myself. Protect Vanessa. Protect my mate. Protect my pack members.
When we shifted into our humans, she clamped down on my wound to stop the bleeding. “How can I help you?” she asked, brows furrowed. I smiled at her and winced. Despite everything, she was actually improving as a warrior. And a small part—a very small part—of me was actually happy that she was training. She could protect herself now.
“Find me some pine-sap, I’ll be by the stream fifty-yards ahead washing the wound out.” I grasped my side. With fresh stream water and pine-sap, I washed and sealed the wound as best as I could. At least I learned something when I worked at the hospital. Dr. Jakkobs would be proud.
Growls from Rogue Territory echoed t
hrough the woods, and my stomach turned. The rogues that Vanessa and I killed weren’t nearly as many rogues that chased us earlier. There had to be hundreds of them, hiding out in this darkness, that Roman and his pack were fighting.
“I need you to go back to the packhouse and ready Dr. Jakkobs and my Mom for our arrival back home. Make sure they’re waiting at the borders and make sure the hospital has as many free beds available.”
She widened her eyes and drew her brows together. “You think that there are more rogues?” she asked, grasping my fingers. “Do you think Jane is okay?”
“I don’t know, Vanessa. I just need you to go, please.”
She gazed toward the rogue’s hideout. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
She pulled me close to her, her strawberry scent comforting for once. “Bring Jane back.”
I nodded my head and watched her run toward Roman’s property. When she disappeared behind the hundreds of trees in the distance, I shifted into my wolf and ran back to the stone gates.
Outside of the borders, the forest was completely empty. I pushed the cold gate opened, to find a sea of dead rogues, soaking in blood and gore. After navigating through the bodies, I followed the sounds of Roman’s growls into a two-story stone house. People were yelling; rogues were falling; pups were running through the house.
My heart raced, just taking in the pure chaos. Roman walked into the foyer with a skin and bones woman in his arms. Her arms were around his neck but kept slipping down his bare chest. I had the urge to growl at her, but I stopped myself.
Roman was just doing what I had asked of him. Saving the people here.
“Did you find Jane?” I asked him, brows furrowing together.
The woman looked severely malnourished, her lips blue and her ribs poking out of her abdomen. He nodded his head and gazed back into the room. “Someone is unlocking her cage.”