The Rogue

Author:

"Riam!"

The said young man turned around upon hearing his name. He let out a shaky breath, swallowing his agitation.

Riam stood six-foot-two, his messy black hair fluttering along with the wind. His features are strong, chiseled, and masculine - very, very masculine. 

His azure eyes glistened in worry as he stared at his brother before him. "Alec," He breathed out a sigh of relief.

"The others?" Alec took a glance around, noticing the eerie atmosphere of the trees. He ran a hand through his blond hair, his olive-green eyes taking in Riam's appearance.

He's okay. He reassured himself, Physically, at least.

"They went after momma. I waited for you here. What about the - Wait, what happened to you?!" Riam gripped Alec's chin and faced him sideways, examining the deep gash on his left cheek.

"When did that happen?" He further questions, glaring and frowning.

Alec sighs. "Earlier when I was investigating. I didn't notice him." He stretched his cheek, caressing the area around the cut.

"How, Alec? And that should've healed by now!" Riam stressed out. 

"A werewolf, Riam! That's what did this to me." Alec gritted his teeth, glowering at his brother. He was already in a bad mood because of it, and having to relive the moment all over again was just not it for him.

"Look, I'm fine. See? It's starting to heal," He showed Riam his left cheek, the tear already starting to close up. "And we have more pressing matters that need our attention. Mom needs us right now."

Riam cursed. "Alright. But we're not done yet, Alec. Don't think you'll get away from me later. Now, come on." He patted his little brother on the nape, ruffling his hair before sprinting further deep into the trees, tracking Diane's scent.

~~

"Fuck, her skin's fucking smooth," Aman grunted, his lustful eyes staring hungrily at Diane's sleeping face, unconscious still. He lowered his head to her neck - sniffing, licking, and kissing all over as he put his hand inside her dress, caressing from her legs to her thighs.

"Shit. Do it faster, Aman!" One of his lackeys complained, heavily breathing as he watched his boss touch the woman.

"Fucking shut up!" Aman shouted, carelessly ripping Diane's gown around the private part, flipping her over, and

hurriedly unhooking his belt while grinding his lower body to her behind. He groaned in pleasure.

Diane stirred.

Unable to watch anymore, Aman's men stepped in and settled on touching Diane's legs, hands, and face. They surrounded her, rubbing their clothed male part on each part of her body.

Aman pushed away all of his guys, taking off his pants. "I get to do her first, shitheads!" 

Right as he reached down for her underwear, the van shook and suddenly stopped abruptly. 

Aman and his three men roll around, bumping and hitting the driver and front passenger seat. Aman's member lay on one of his men's faces, and the others beside them.

"Fucking look at where you're going, newbie!" He shouted.

"Shit, Aman! Get your dick away from me!" 

"Damn!"

"Th-There's a person in front!"

"What do you mean, there's a person in front? Fucking avoid them then!" Aman stood up, wearing back his pants.

"H-He showed up so suddenly I didn't see him! I swear he wasn't there until just now!" The newbie defended himself, horror in his face as he pointed upfront. 

No one was there. The newbie looked around, bewildered.

Meanwhile, Diane woke up feeling dizzy, her face planted near the sliding door. She shakes her head, only noticing how her hand and feet are tied tightly with a cable tie. She whimpered lowly, biting her lips in pain when the bind deepened.

She looked up, staring straight into one of the men's eyes. 

"Hey, she woke up!"

Diane forced herself to move, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her wrist and ankle. She crouched up, crawling fast and as far as she could - the rapid stomps of footsteps ringing in her ear.

"Aah!" Diane yelped, the man dragging her back by the hair. She wriggled, trying to break free from the searing pain of her scalp.

"L-let go!" She gasped out.

Right as the man was about to throw Diane, both the sliding and rear doors opened at once. Everyone stilled, craning their necks to see the intruder.

Three handsome young men stood by the sliding door and another two by the rear, a brooding expression prominent on their faces. The one in the middle of the three catches a glimpse of Diane's pained look, and he growls threateningly.

"Ezekiel. That's our momma, hurt and crying. Everything I do from now on will be because of the bastards who laid their hands on her," A young man in his late 20s stepped foot inside the van through the rear door, his canines showing. His dark brown eyes, almost black, turned bright red full of fury.

"Protect, Keir," Ezekiel commanded, and in one swift movement, already had Diane in his arms away from anyone else. Safe. 

The man pulling Diane's hair fell to the floorboard, shouting in pain while clutching his broken forearm. "I-It hurts! Aaahhh!"

"W-what--"

"Where did he go?!"

"W-what just h-happened?"

"M-monster!"

"Hey. Where are you running to, back to your daddy's cat?" Keir blocked Aman, his curls covering his red eyes as he looked down on the trembling man with intent to kill.

"It's dick, Keir, not pussy. Get your facts straight." Keir smirks at his brother, Kleaton, sends him the finger before punching Aman straight in the face.

"Where are Riam and Alec? They're missing out on the fun." 

"Where's the pleasure here, Hugo? We're only beating up the scum of the Earth for touching our mom, and I'll bet on your shitty red hair they're lost somewhere shitty right now."

"Fuck you, Aiden! As if your wavy brown hair is any better!"

"At least it's natural, bitch." Aiden snide, breaking the legs of one of Aman's men and piercing his claw on the man's neck, dragging it until the collarbone. 

The man let out a sharp cry, blood pouring out from his neck like a river, much to Aiden's satisfaction.

"And I'm born ginger, you little shit!" Hugo dragged another man of Aman's lackeys by the leg and threw him to a tree ten steps away. 

The guy groaned from afar, coughing out blood.

"What the fuck are you both doing?" Kleaton asked, dumbfounded.

"What?!" Hugo and Aiden replied simultaneously, snarling at him.

What the actual fuck? Kleaton raises one of his eyebrows, mouth agape, before smashing the head of the man he's holding to a rock.

"You're both crazy as usual," Kleaton shakes his head, chuckling.

"Oh, yeah? And you're boring, as usual, Kettle." Aiden teased, high-fiving with Hugo.

To their right, Keir laughed a belly laugh while pointing to Kleaton. His voice echoed past the trees. "Kettle~ Pfft."

"What did you say, you ass?!" Kleaton shouted, picking up the unconscious - almost dead- man below him and throwing the body to the person beside Aiden.

"Holy shit!" Hugo dodged, running to Keir and clinging on his back. "It was Aiden, you ho-hum petty person!" He punches the air as he yells.

"Have some respect for the dead man, bro!" Aiden whistles, nudging the insensible man with his black boots nonchalantly.

"You think they deserve it, Aiden?" 

The four brothers turned around to the sound of the voice, catching sight of Ezekiel supporting Diane with her weight. The woman had a black denim jacket thrown over her shoulder, the rip on her dress noticeably long and torn.

She walked barefoot and smiled at them, the wound in her ankle and wrist now bearable. She limps a little.

"Momma!"

The four sprinted towards Diane and embraced her, kissing her cheeks and forehead.

"We're sorry we're late," Keir mumbles softly, looking dejected. The others nod in agreement.

Diane laughs lightly, shaking her head. She patted them each on the head. "No, you all did great."

"Is this him, ma?"

Ezekiel lifts Aman by the collar and faces him towards the five people looking his way. He strangled him.

Aman choked, and despite his beaten-up body, he wiggled, tapped, and tried punching Ezekiel, who tightened his hold.

"Don't, Zeke. He's to lead us somewhere, so keep him alive." 

~~~

"Please! No, no, no, please! I ask of you. My mistress is still inside. I need to find her!" Jiezel explains quickly, shouting while she tries to pass through the panicked crowd trying to reach Stan as the fire alarm goes off.

Stan cursed under his breath and looked back. He pulled Jiezel to the side, squeezing her shoulders. "Look! It's dangerous here. We'll look for her, so find yourself someplace safe outside!"

Jiezel immediately searched her pouch and fetched her cellphone, showing a picture of Diane from a random conference. "T-This is her," she gulped, "Um, she's wearing a red nightgown that falls past her feet, body tight. And she's very, very beautiful. You'll notice her instantly. Her hair - her hair is loose, reaching down to her--"

"Hey, hey," Stan shook Jiezel and rubbed her shoulders, shushing her softly. She didn't realize she was talking so fast. She nodded her head to herself, wiping her tears and breathing deeply.

"I get it. I saw the photograph. I'll find your mistress, safe and sound, and back to you," Stan added with a reassuring smile, his stare sincere as he left.

Jiezel then got dragged by the crowd until the exit door, losing sight of the man. "Wait!" Jiezel called out over and over, tripping a little bit. She rubbed her face in worry and frustration as she leaned by a car - praying to anyone above to keep Diane safe. And a little bit of part of her, for the mystery man.

In the meantime, up North, Diane giggles.

She looks up at the bright moon and sighs, closing her eyes as she feels the wind. 

"Isn't the weather lovely for a bloodbath?" She dreamily asks, twirling around in place.

The seven brothers chuckle, looking fondly at their mother. Riam and Alec - who arrived a little bit after Diane and her five boys were about to take off to war - dragged Tray and David by the hair and tossed them in front of the woman.

"Mama, they ain't biting," Alec gazes over to Diane, his olive-green eyes brightening at the sight of her. He cleared his throat and looked away.

"Y-you are a monster, after all! I-I've always known you had that dark air around you from the moment I met you! Diane!" Tray shouted angrily, falling back down when he tried to get up.

Riam kicked him in the face and stepped on his back, crouching down and pulling his face close by his hair. Tray groaned.

"D-dad!" David exclaimed. He kneels and walks to Diane, tugging on her dress. 

Blood drips from his head as he looks up, staring at the woman's cold, dull eyes. "P-please! I'll - I'll tell you where the money is, so spare us!"

"D-don't! They're just playing with you, David! They won't kill us." Tray uttered confidently.

Riam pressed his knee harder on Tray's back, earning a pained grunt from the man. His eyes glistened in amusement as he watched the old man struggle under him. 

"You should listen to your son more, baldy. He seems to be brighter than you in terms of surviving. Look in front of you - your predator is hungry."

Diane, for a moment, stares at Tray with an unreadable expression. In one swift movement, she stepped on the back of David's right hand with her heels.

"Aaargh!"

"David!!" Tray exclaimed, horror in his eyes as he gaped at the blood seeping out from his son's hand. He trembles in rage.

"Diane! Let go of my son, you evil!"

The woman twists her heel on David's hand, stepping deeper.

David let out an agonizing scream, the sharpness of his voice echoing through the dark forest. Tears sting his eyes as his lower lip starts bleeding from biting too much in pain. 

Diane relishes the boy's cries for help, a sinister smirk slowly takes form in her mouth, and her golden-brown eyes glow. 

"More. Scream for me more," Diane mumbles, longingly staring at the blood gushing out of David's hand. 

"Ma, your scent. It's changing." Ezekiel called out, looking at the sky - specifically the moon, worriedly. He signaled his brothers to encircle Diane and the father-son duo.

"Ah, yes. Do you want to know something, Pota?" Diane crouched down and forced Tray to look at her. The man shakes in fear at Diane's psycho, murderous expression. 

"When the clock hits midnight, I don't know what will become of you. Or your son. So why don't you tell me where the money is?!" Diane gripped his hair.

"Fuck you!" Tray groaned when the woman slapped him, spitting out some blood.

Black veins start to appear on Diane's side of her neck and around her eyes as they change from golden-brown to eerie black. Fangs started to show along with the woman's perfectly aligned teeth, her nails slowly forming a claw.

David, in instinct, retreats as fear spreads in his veins. His eyes widened in dread, and both his hands trembled involuntarily.

"D-dad," He reaches out to Tray. When the father didn't budge, his son glanced at him to see him shaking terribly with his eyes glued to Diane.

Suddenly, Diane felt like burning up. Her body quivers at the warmth as it flares, startling her.

"W-wha--" She stumbles back, holding her throat.

David slowly crawls back, pulling along Tray with him.

"Mom!" Kleaton calls, alarming his body to a protective stance.

"Don't! It's past midnight, and someone's here!" Ezekiel scans their surroundings, detecting some noises-like-shuffles not far from them. He looked at his mom and inhaled her changed scent, flashing over to her side.

Ezekiel takes the denim jacket with his scent off Diane's shoulder and throws it to Riam. He squeezed the woman's shoulder reassuringly, "Ma, it's the full moon and past midnight. You know what that means, don't you?" 

Diane nodded her head, the burning sensation in her whole body not settling. "I know. Now, go! Take your brothers with you and them," She motioned to the Pota's and Aman, "Lock them up where I can find them. I'm not yet pleased."

Diane's black eyes peer at Ezekiel's marble gray ones, oddly feeling the comfort of its gleam that stares at her with adoration.

"Now, go," She whispers, sensing the darkness within her surface. The woman pushes the young man away as she turns her back on him. 

Ezekiel pecks Diane on the top of her head and picks up the unconscious Aman, leading his brothers about fifteen meters away and up in the trees (Alec picks up Tray and Hugo with David).

They all sent their mother one last look and took off. However, Riam stayed and walked over to Diane. He embraced her and swore, "I'll make sure it's to protect, momma. I will make sure of it."

Diane pursed her lips and forced a smile, patting Riam on the back softly. She pulled away and caressed him on the cheeks, her black eyes dull and emotionless. 

"I know that what I'm asking of you and your brothers is utterly cruel, Riam, but," Diane sarcastically laughs, "It's what I am. I am the evil, so when the time comes where you don't have a choice, don't feel bad. Hmm?" She smiles sadly.

"B-but this was not your choice, too, ma! Every single time this happens, I dread the thought of you gone. Is there really no other way?" Riam cries, holding Diane's hand tightly, "And what if you'll be gone? Forever? How do I survive?!"

Diane didn't reply. She didn't utter a single word and, instead, pushed Riam away. She walked forward - her silence was her answer.

"Fine, then. I'll follow you if that happens."

Diane gasped. "Don't--" She turns around but finds no one, only hearing the howls of the wind.

"A vampire."

Diane huffs - the warmth in her body suddenly in a frenzy. The black veins in her neck spread over to her chest and both arms, her claw hardening. The black veins around her eyes reached her cheek to her forehead, too. She snarls lowly, saliva dripping from her canines and the side of her lips. 

The woman turned around slowly and came face-to-face with a man in a dark blue suit, his poise noticeable and his muscles bulging under his clothing. He stood proudly in an estimate of six-foot-three to six-foot-five.

Diane backs away, the realization hitting her speechless.

Mate, She thought.