4. The rogue's word

In a dimly lit room, the air hung heavy with tension. A lone figure stood in the centre, his eyes burning with fury. Stephen was tall and muscular, radiating an aura of strength and authority of the most powerful alpha which he was. His jaw clenched tightly, revealing his intense anger as he glared at the rogue who kidnapped Delilah's son standing before him.

They were in his pack's dungeon. The flickering light from a single bulb cast eerie shadows on the cold, concrete walls, emphasising the gravity of the situation. The rogue already had a bad beating from his beta who went to get some information for him right now.

"Why did you kidnap that child?" He seethed, his voice echoing off the walls as he landed the first punch, making the rogue cough out blood.

As Stephen's voice boomed through the room, every word was laden with venomous rage. His voice quivered with the intensity of his emotions, but his tone remained firm and menacing.

The man didn't cower a bit under Stephen's piercing gaze. The rogue had a sinister smile on his face, as if he didn't wish to live anyway, so nothing could scare him anymore.

"I had no intention. I just wanted some money, alpha. Stop wasting your precious time investigating this small issue." The rogue said with a hollow laugh and coughed some more. Stephen's beta did some work.

The tension in the room was palpable, the air heavy with the weight of the situation. Stephen's fists clenched as he struggled to contain his anger. His instincts as an alpha and a protector surged within him, battling against the urge to unleash his wolf and tear the truth from the rogue's lips.

But the man's defiance only fueled Stephen's determination. He had to find out why this particular child had been targeted. Something gnawed at his gut, a sense that there was more to this than met the eye. His mind raced, searching for any connection, any reason that would explain the rogue's actions.

"Your actions have consequences, and you will answer for them," Stephen's voice dripped with ice-cold determination. He took a step closer, his eyes locked onto the rogue's, his dominance radiating through the room.

The rogue's smile wavered for a moment, a flicker of uncertainty betraying his facade of indifference. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by that unsettling grin.

Stephen's patience was wearing thin, his control slipping. He raised his hand again, ready to deliver another blow, almost throwing the man off the chair.

It was indeed a small issue. He was called for help and helped in rescuing the child. He should have just handed over the rogue to alpha Kevin but he doesn't know why he involved himself and started the investigation himself.

Why? Because the child was Delilah's?

"You attacked an elementary school with poor security. You could have kidnapped anyone and as many children as you want if you really wanted money. So, don't fuck with me and tell me why did you kidnap that child?!" Stephen growled as he gave a hard punch to the man but it didn't do anything to scare the rogue or to make him confess anything.

"Why is it bothering you so much, alpha? How are you related to that bastard child?!" The rogue said in a teasing tone, pissing him beyond limit.

A dark and dangerous aura covered him as Stephen looked at the guard standing there. His eyes were glowing. His wolf was at the surface. He felt as if his heart was burning the moment the rogue cussed the child.

Why?

He surely didn't share any bond with that child, right? Delilah must have found someone over the years… but why does that thought bother him so much now? It shouldn't affect him if Delilah moves on in her life after all he was the one to reject her years ago.

He was still angry at her for those events in the past but the thought of her moving on and mating with another male boiled his blood and made him want to destroy everything around him.

"Pass me the tool box." He ordered the guard whose eyes were casted down. He couldn't look at his alpha's face at that moment.

He passed Stephen the 'tool box' and left the room after closing the door. The tool box had all types of silver weapons to torture any wolves. The rogue knew what it was and his eyes finally showed a little bit of fear.

Stephen folded the sleeves of his shirt and dragged a chair to sit in front of the rogue. He looked at the rogue with anger and disgust. He poured a bottle of liquid melted silver on him which immediately started burning the rogue. He cried out in pain and his growls were almost shaking the dungeon.

"You son of a bi-"

Stephen punched him hard with the silver glove to stop the words that he wanted to complete.

"Now, rogue. I would have liked to do some more damage to that already ugly face of yours but I don't have time and my beta already did a great job. Now let's jump into the business." Stephen said.

He was looking at me with fears finally that Stephen loves so much to see in people.

He took a small silver knife from the tool box and held the rogue's hand. He started to squirm. Stephen tightly held his left hand and gave him a big cut on his hand.

He screamed loudly out of pain. The rogue started crying in pain. Stephen remembers the rogue attacking the child when Delilah jumped in between and got hurt. That thought itself was enough for him to see black suddenly .

Her tears...

Stephen quickly got control of his emotions and concentrated back on him.

"This is what is going to happen to you if you use that order for that child once again. I have a lot of liquid melted silver. Understood?" He asked very darkly.

"I am telling you, alpha, you are wasting all your time. The child is known as the 'Bastard child' of the pack. No one likes him and his slut moth-...!" The man couldn't complete his sentence once again as Stephen took a dagger and without thinking anything he slashed the man on his chest.

"How dare you call my MATE that!" Stephen growled which shook the whole building. The guard looked at him with widened eyes. He was bleeding heavily by then.

"Your mate…?" The rogue asked in confusion as he whimpered in pain. Silver has reached his system and he doesn't have much time left. "But…" he trailed off, which caught Stephen's attention.

"But what?" Stephen growled, bringing his claws out, ready to use them when needed. The man coughed out some blood as he looked at Stephen.

"I am going to die anyway even if you let me go. They are going to kill me. But I can say one thing. If that woman is your mate, get her out of there. She is in danger. They are going to kill her son first before killing her." The rogue coughed. His eyes were almost closing and Stephen's anxiety was rising. He needed to know who was going to kill Delilah and her son.

"Why are they?! How do you know it?!" Stephen asked, pulling the almost dead rogue by his collar.

"I don't know… the man who asked me to kidnap her son didn't tell me his name or show me his face. He was from the pack. When I was leaving after getting the order, I heard them talking about getting rid of the child before…" The rogue couldn't complete his sentence as he started coughing heavily.

"Before what?!" Stephen growled as he shook the rogue. He was holding the rogue up by his collar when he suddenly felt the rogue's body go limp.

The rogue was no more… he died and now the most important information was going to get buried with him as well.

"FUCKING HELL!!" Stephen shouted in anger and frustration.

He understood one thing. Something was wrong with that pack. And Delilah was going to get involved badly in that dark web. And he didn't know why but the urge of saving her from that web was stronger than ever.

"Alpha?"

He was lost in his thoughts when his beta and best friend, Damon, entered the dungeon. Damon understood the situation as soon as he saw Stephen's messed up demeanour and the rogue's lifeless body on the chair. But what worried Damon was how Stephen was going to take the information he possessed at that moment.

"Damon, what did you get?" Stephen asked in a cold tone, passing a shiver through Damon's spine.

"It's going to be hard to find who's dangerous for Delilah in that pack." Damon replied in a low tone, making him frown.

"What do you mean?" Stephen growled in anger and frustration, making Damon jump.

"Apparently Kevin is planning to make Delilah the Luna of the pack and everyone in the pack is against the idea of accepting a…slut…as their Luna.." Stephen immediately growled, cutting him off. Damon gulped and immediately added, "Not my word, you know that!"

"So, everyone in the pack is Delilah's possible enemy?" Stephen asked with a frown and Damon nodded, getting serious.

The weight of the situation hung heavily in the air as Stephen absorbed the unsettling information. He clenched his jaw, a mixture of concern and anger churning within him.

Stephen's fingers drummed impatiently on the table, his mind racing as he tried to come up with a plan. The bond between pack members and their Luna was sacred, a symbol of unity and strength. The fact that there were those in Kevin's pack who opposed Delilah's ascension meant trouble on multiple levels. Not like he supported it but Delilah was an amazing Luna so what made those people hate her so much!

"Find out who the key players are in this opposition," Stephen finally said, his voice tight with determination. "I want to know who's stirring the pot and poisoning the pack's loyalty."

Damon nodded, his expression reflecting the seriousness of the task at hand. "I can do that but Delilah is not safe in that pack another second, Stephen. What are you going to do about it?" He asked, his brows furrowed in tension.

The thought of Delilah being in danger didn't settle well with Damon as well. Delilah was a very good friend of his and his mates. Damon adored Delilah as his little sister. He couldn't do anything to stop the tragedy years ago but he was not going to let anything happen to her now. Even if he has to go against his alpha to protect her.

"Yes." Damon answered. "What are you going to do now?" He asked in confusion, curious to know what was going on in his best friend's mind.

"Let's pay alpha Kevin a visit to his glorious pack."