#6

“YOU’RE going to die here. We all are….”

Emily turned her head toward the prisoner inside the cell next to her. The man was already skin and bones due to starvation and appeared to be just waiting for his death.

His words echoed through her head a thousand times, making her quiver as she sat on the cold metallic floor, taunting her soul. Hot tears fell down her cheeks, and yet she was quick to wipe them all away.

“It feels so wrong for my life to end this way,” she whispered, gritting her teeth until her jaw ached.

She envisioned death as way more terrifying than what she had experienced with Jacob, so she could never allow it to happen. Even if it was the fate that the Moon Goddess prepared for her, Emily wanted to dodge it with all her might.

Mustering all her courage, she stood up and went to the locked gate, trying to pull the lock off, but to no avail. She screamed in frustration, her chest going up and down.

“Dirt like us will never have a chance to escape this hell, young lady. You should have accepted Alpha’s offer. That would have spared your life.”

“Why would I want to become his mate? He’s a beast who killed so many lives!” she yelled, running her fingers through her hair.

Primordial Lycans were never kind to regular werewolves. That was a motherfucking legend about them. It was said that they practiced cannibalism, performed attacks to their satisfaction, strengthened their powers, and conquered so many lands to expand their territories. Most of all, they were born monsters. Even if that beast was the last shifter in the world, Emily would never consider marrying him. She couldn’t be mated to someone who showed no mercy to innocent and powerless people.

“If he finds you useless, you will die….”

She shook her head. She must find a way to escape the fate that awaits her in this hellish pack. This was the wrong she had to right, no matter what happened. She banged the cell and screamed for help, tried to pull the lock off, and even gathered her strength to kick the locked door, but it didn’t flinch a little.

“Only a key will make it open,” said a man who emerged from the darkness.

She turned to him with a curious expression.

Compared to the beast she encountered a while ago, the shifter who had just arrived seemed a bit more friendly, soft, and kind. But looks could be deceiving. Emily gave him a deadly glare. The man adjusted his eyeglasses as he walked in her direction, swirling the key with his index finger and giving her the impression that she still had hope.

“Who are you?” she asked firmly.

He pushed his dark hair back before he sighed. “Someone who’s going to save you from this rotten, cold cell.”

Emily sucked in a breath when the man started to unlock the door of her cell. Her heart rate picked up suddenly. This must have been the chance she had to escape. Her hands formed a twist. As soon as the door opened, she pushed the man away and ran—no, sprinted—as fast as she could.

‘Run faster, Emily… Run for your life!’

A loud whoosh of air happened, and the man instantly blocked her way, snorting a laugh.

“It will be best if you try not to escape,” he said with a genuine smile.

“Move!” she said firmly.

But the man shook his head. “I apologize. This is just an order.”

Emily was about to fight him, but his hand moved to strike her back, and the next thing she knew she was falling into his arms. Her sight slowly filled with darkness.

***

Tyler could only sigh as he scooped up the rogue and carried her into his arms. His forehead creased as he looked down at her. Two things happen whenever a rogue trespasses their territory: death and slavery. He could not help but wonder why the Alpha would want her into his home and said that she could be useful.

But like Lucian had ordered him to, he went to the Alpha’s house and opened a guest room for the woman. He mind linked with the pack doctor, whose name was Mika, and was quick to arrive at the house to tend to the wounded and unconscious rogue.

“Aren’t you going to explain what exactly is happening here?” He asked Lucian, who was standing at the door with crossed arms and watching Mika tend to the rogue’s wounds.

Lucian ignored his question and asked Mika, “How is she?”

“It appears that her body got beaten up so badly, Alpha,” Mika responded after putting gauze on the rogue’s arm. “I can’t feel her wolf. She might be a late bloomer. It will take a while for her bruises to heal.”

“I need you to come over every day and take care of that girl,” Lucian ordered.

Mika nodded her head. “I will do so, Alpha.”

“Shut your mouth and block anyone who will try to mind link you, Mika. No one should know that I’m keeping a rogue at home,” Lucian said wryly.

“I’ll obey your orders, Alpha. This will be a secret.” The pack doctor assured him.

It did not take the pack doctor long to leave the room. Tyler took a deep breath and turned to Lucian, still waiting for an answer. But the stubborn Alpha didn’t say a word and only shrugged.

“Who is this rogue?” Tyler asked, more determined than ever.

“A nuisance,” Lucian finally answered with a straight face.

“You said she would be useful. What do you mean by that?”

“Do I really have to tell you everything?” Lucian asked in a dangerously low voice.

“I’m the Beta of the pack, Lucian. I have the right to know,” he urged. “You’re not going to treat a rogue the same way you’d treat a visitor. What’s the catch?”

Lucian cocked his head. “You guess.”

Tyler looked at the unconscious rogue. “She looks like trouble.”

“Exactly.”

“So why keep her?” Tyler looked totally confused.

“Argus wants her….”

“What?”

“Apparently, she’s our second-chance mate,” Lucian answered with a straight face before he walked near the bed.

He was shocked to hear it from Lucian. He knew their kinds were blessed to have one mate, unlike werewolves, who could have two. But a rogue as a second chance mate? He doubts the Elders would actually accept that.

“Yes, the Elders will find it hard to accept it,” Lucian said after reading his thoughts. “So keep your mouth shut in the meantime.”

Tyler wondered why it felt off. Being the Beta and the closest friend of the Alpha, he knew how the man reacted in front of his mate. He’d seen that when Elena was still alive. Lucian had the tendency to be very intimate, possessive, and smitten. The mate bond pull drove him crazy when he first met his mate, but Tyler couldn’t see the same reaction from Lucian. Instead, the Alpha stared down at the rogue with repulse, as if he truly hated her.

“Are you sure that she is your second chance mate?” Tyler paused, glancing between Lucian and the rogue. “You don’t look like someone who’s mated.”

“That’s because I don’t feel connected with her. My beast can feel the mate bond pull, but I don’t.”

Tyler forced a laugh, trying to conceal his confusion. “It doesn’t make sense. Do you think it’s a mental glitch or something?”

Lucian gritted his teeth. “I’m not sure exactly. But I will hold her captive for now. No one should see her. Even if I don’t feel any connection with her, I need her to be safe.”

Tyler could only rub his head, totally confused and having a hard time processing the shocking news he learned. However, Lucian was right. The rogue’s safety must be one of their top priorities. If someone within the pack found out about her being the second chance mate of the Alpha, she’d be in trouble.

She didn’t look fit in the role… even the former Lycan King and Luna could easily break her just to fulfill the initial plan—to arrange Lucian into someone powerful like Scarlett.

“Alright…” Tyler sighed and tapped Lucian’s shoulder. “But you have to come up with a plan as soon as possible. We can’t hide her for too long, and you don’t have much time to waste.”

Lucian’s jaw twitched. “I’m aware of that. You can leave, Tyler.”

When Tyler left, Lucian locked the door of the guest room to make sure that the rogue would not be able to escape once she woke up. He still hated the fact that he had to keep her in his home, but what choice did he have? Worse things could happen if he defied Argus.

“I hope you’re satisfied now,” Lucian grumbled as he walked into his bedroom and into his cellar to pour some whiskey into his glass.

‘Not yet. We have yet to mark her,’ Argus groaned in his mind.

“Don’t make it sound so easy. First off, I’m not interested in her, and secondly, the Elders have planned something else for me.”

‘We are the Lycan King! You know that we can do anything we want. You’re just defying fate!’

Lucian released the breath he was holding after sipping on his glass. There was no doubt his wolf was way more stubborn than him. It spoke as if it would only take a little effort to convince the Elders to allow him to marry a cheap werewolf rogue.

His beast’s spirit didn’t know it would bring chaos to the pack.

‘There’s nothing wrong with marrying a werewolf. You have to get everything in order as soon as possible, Lucian. I can’t wait to claim her…’ Those were Argus’ final words, which then disappeared from his mind.