Chapter 2: Rebel

Chapter 2: Rebel

~Wren~

I slink in through the loose shingles on the roof, softly landing in our makeshift hideout loft. It isn’t much, honestly, it looks like a child’s playhouse, but when all the outliers are beggars or thieves, it’s hard to come by nice things for a rebel headquarters. We are lucky that Ms. Grayford is deaf and never travels upstairs. Not that she would care if she did. She hates Alpha Alden as much as we all do. 

The illustrious Alpha Alden, leader of the Black Moon Pack and royal asshole of the surrounding lands. He hates all things happy and makes it his mission to destroy all heavenly bestowed gifts, like true mates. Rumor is that it all started when his heart was broken. He couldn’t stand for anyone else to be happy when he was miserable, so he made everyone’s life as shitty as he felt.

I don’t give a shit how it started, I just care how it will end. With Alden dead and the missing mates, he has as slaves in his packhouse, reunited with their families and loved ones. My mother included. Alpha asshole took her in a fit of rage when my father refused the offer of the Beta position. When he realized he could control my father with threats to my mother, he harnessed this great weapon. 

The mate bond gone bad. 

The one thing all outliers now fear instead of seeking.

Sure mates still exist and people still find them, but not out here. Not in the slums of the city where the unwanted laborers lay. Nah, we aren’t good enough for love and happiness. Be it our misfortune of standing up for what we believe or who our parents are, we are outcasts stuck on the outskirts. I stay for my dad, others stay for their family members or their mates that have been taken just out of reach.

The only thing we have going for us is that the mate bond requires two things for it to be acknowledged. Physical contact like a handshake or brush of a cheek and direct eye contact. So the only two rules we have in the outliers are: always wear long sleeves and gloves or never make direct eye contact. 

Avi, my right-hand man, and best friend can’t stand the heat, and it admittedly gets hot as hell. He opts to wear sunglasses. All. the. Time. It’s how he got his nickname. Avi is short for aviator, the style of sunglasses he wears religiously. We all have our ways to avoid the one thing that could complete or completely break us. Better safe than sorry.

The light thuds of everyone showing up and dropping through the roof are enough to make me sweat. I may be the appointed leader of our tiny rebellion, but I am the one sent on the missions. Mostly because I have a mouth and a knack for disappearing easily. I can talk my way out of anything and be gone before the person knows they have been swindled. A sweet little trick of the trade, I suppose. Unfortunately, today I failed in one of our most important tasks. 

The fucking peace treaty. 

What kills me is that it was in my hands too, but I got cocky. When I was invisible, someone saw me. No, they stalked me. I could feel their eyes on me, which is why I chose to be less invisible. Take the bold approach to assert my authority. Clearly, that bit me in the ass. Lesson learned, Wren. You ain’t all you’re cracked up to be. A little humbling has never killed anyone.    

A heavy hand pounds down on my slim shoulder and I glare up at Avi, who just grins. I know he watched the entire exchange. Every mission he is always watching from somewhere, protecting me. It’s like having a super annoying, overprotective big brother.

“How ya feeling there, bud?” he grins, his perfect white teeth on full display making his dimples work their magic and I push his hand off my shoulder with a laugh.

“Fuck you, Avi.”

“Oh, hard pass on that one. You aren’t my type” he lifts his glasses for a quick wink as he plops down onto a pile of old worn-out pillows.

“Oh, my, what a shame.” I mock him and he just chuckles deeper.

“So? We going to war or not?” Jude asks, walking over, danger gleaming in his deep green eyes.

Jude has been itching to take Alden out since his mate was killed two years ago. He isn’t from the outliers like Avi and me. He came from inside the city, but they took away his mate when a guard picked a fight with him. After a couple of months, he felt the bond break and he came seeking revenge.

He can’t utter her name without breaking down, so we eventually stopped asking what it was. His fiery red hair is a wild mess as he takes a seat next to Avi, reaching over and stealing a book that he had picked up and looked through.

“Wren got her ass handed to her and lost the treaty.”

The others hanging around and chatting suddenly stop, and all eyes are on me. I toss Avi a scowl and he looks away from me, eyes to the ground. Little Snitch. 

“You didn’t get it?” Lacey asks, sounding a little peeved. “You said you could do it.”

“I believe you said ‘easiest grab I’ll ever do’” Another rebel tosses out, though they hide like a coward.

“How many of you volunteered for the fucking job, hmm?” I ask, looking around as they all look away. “Right. And I did snatch it. I just got caught and had to fight off the biggest man I’ve ever seen. But you're right, how dare I fuck up for the first time?”

“We need it to get the other packs to go to war! If Alden signs that treaty, we have no one coming to our rescue.” Jude reminds me.

“So what’s new? No one has ever come to our rescue,” Avi scoffs, tossing an elbow into Jude’s chest.

“The actual signing is days away. And after watching him take it from me, I noticed he checked to see if the seal was still intact. All we have to do is break the seal. No need to steal it. Just take it for a moment and break the seal.”

“What if we all stormed in and held them up, broke the seal, and left?” Reid asks from the far corner of the room.

“Don’t be a moron.” Lacey shoots at him with a scowl, effectively making him squawk at her confrontation.

“They can’t know who we are. You all know this.” I groan and roll my eyes.

“Yeah, I get that, but since they caught you stealing it…” Reid pipes up tentatively. 

“Yes, which is why I think it would be best for someone to offer to be their guide. Show them around out of the kindness of their heart.” My eyes find Lacey and she instantly shakes her head no. Fuck. It needs to be a girl and since Cynthia and Gwen both got new jobs, the only other person qualified is me. 

“They have seen my face,” I say, looking around at all the eyes pinning me in place.  

“You and I both know you look completely different when you do your hair and makeup and dress like an inner wall girl,” Lacey says.

“She is right, Wren,”

I groan, putting my hands on my hips, thinking about it for a moment. I really would love another chance to take on the big guy. And the pretty boy is the opposite of hard to look at… it could be fun pretending to be something I’m not.

If I’m being completely honest, I’m not all that convinced that the big guy even told the others about me being the one who took the treaty, not sure why he wouldn’t but he didn’t strike me as the type of guy who blabs too much about how things happen. So the bonus point is I could dress pretty and if I get recognized, I can easily just claim that I was working or something.

“Fine. Lacey, we need to dive into your closet. I know your shit is nicer than mine.”

“That’s because I steal my shit from the inner wall.” She says with a smirk.

“Yeah, whatever. Just. let’s get this over with. I have some boys to go make a pass at.”