Chapter 8

                            Brandon 

As two weeks go by, our days start to fall into a routine now that Brice has started to attend that daycare for a couple of hours every day. Some days I stop by the daycare for a little while to check on Misty and Brice, trying to allow my wolf and I to grow comfortable with that place and the people there to the point where I can trust them enough with Brice without having to worry about if he's safe there.

After Misty head to the daycare with Brice, I head down to the factory and start to deal with some Business calls as shipments of meat are being shipped out and sold to stores and restaurants today.

After taking care of all the business calls I needed to make today, I sit here in my office writing out checks for all of the workers to be paid. 

Once their shift ends for the day, they all make their way into my office one by one receiving their earnings. 

I hand out all the checks until one last check is left on my desk. I watch as the young beta male Mykel walks into the office still wearing those rubber gloves he uses to clean and carrying a garbage bag. 

I'm not always here at the factory every day, but whenever I am he has no problem with starting up a conversation with me when he's emptying the trash in my office. That beta blood running through his vines gives him a bit more confidence to approach an alpha male so casually the way he does. Most common wolves have a hard time with even looking in an alpha male direction. 

He talks and asks many questions, but he seems to know his boundaries, keeping his question simple, never asking anything too personal. I expected him to question these marks on my face, but he hasn't. The first day he came here, he told me that these marks were my business and I guess his words were true because, with all the questions he has asked, he has never questioned these claw marks covering my face.

I hand him his earnings and watch as he smirks down at the check. "And here I was thinking about quitting, but looking at this money I think I can manage cleaning up behind these filthy humans a while longer." He says with a smirk as he takes a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. 

He doesn't act as if I'm his boss more as if I'm an associate or a friend, and apart of me is okay with that. A part of me is comfortable with not having to pretend to be something I'm not to fit in when I'm around him. I haven't interacted with any other wolves for three years and talking to him sometimes is a bit therapeutic for my wolf and me. 

"Where are you from Bossman, you're a bit strange." He asks starting up a conversation as I look over some papers.

"Strange?" I look over at him with a raised brow, wondering what he means about strange. 

"Your accent and the way you carry yourself as an alpha male. It's clear you're not from here." He says.

"America," I say answering his question.

"An American alpha male." He looks at me with a smirk. "You're pretty far from home." He says. 

"Speaking of home, shouldn't you be heading home yourself?" I ask, ending this conversation, knowing it would lead to why I left home to come here.

"Yeah, first I need to empty your trash." He stands up from the chair going over to the trash can next to the desk and pulls the bag out then replaces it with the trash bag he brought into the office with him. "Catch you later bossman." He says before leaving out the office.

Once I finish looking over the paperwork for the shipment that was sent out today, I put the papers inside the folder to be put into the file system.

I frown when I stand up from the chair, seeing Mykel paycheck laying on one of the chairs in front of the desk. With him being so busy talking he must have sat it down and forgot about it. Knowing he's probably long gone from the factory by now, I walk over to the files and grab his paperwork to get a number to call but there's no number listed down on his paperwork, but there is an address.

I look at the address for a second, knowing he's probably in need of this money if he was willing to put his pride aside to clean up behind humans here. I let out a sigh putting his paperwork away before going over grabbing his paycheck and my car keys.

After locking up the factory, I get into my car and type Mykel address into the GPS and start to follow the directions of the GPS.

As I drive, I realize that the GPS is leading me outside of the city. As the sun starts to go down, I take my phone out and text Misty to let her know that I'll be home a bit later than normal. 

Following the Gps, I frown as I drive down the dark road picking up on the scent of wolves. 

Coming up to a gravel and dirt road that's leading into a forest, I stop and get out of the car. The frown doesn't leave my face as I look down the long gravel road not picking up on the scent of an alpha. Wolves are here but no alpha has marked this land letting me know that this is rogue territory. Mykel said he had no alpha basically telling me he was a rogue, but I assume he lived amongst the humans. 

There are two types of rogues. There are rogues who live a normal honest life amongst the humans and then there are rogues who gather together and claim a land as theirs. These kinds of rogues are savages, thieves, murders, etc. They do whatever they want, not caring about the laws.

I reach into my pocket and frown down at Mykel paycheck, wanting to get it to him. He has worked and earned this money.

I get back into the car and sit here for a second looking down the dark gravel road. I take in a breath and start to drive down the dark gravel road until I'm surrounded by thick trees. I continue to drive, following the gravel road wherever it's leading me to. 

I look around knowing no one is going to come to investigate me being on this land. Rogues aren't like packs. They have no border patrol to guard their lands, they just don't care about things like that.

I continue to drive until I start to see cabins everywhere. I frown as I drive through the gravel roads of this place seeing a few dirty rogues walking, some in their human form, and a few in their wolf form. My guard goes up knowing its a bad idea for me to be here. I don't know how many rogues are here, but if one of these rogues see these marks on my face and feel as if I'm a threat or is here to cause them trouble, then this can turn bad quickly. 

As I drive past, a few of them glance over at the car but are unable to see through the black window tint.

I continue to make turn after turn following the faint scent of Mykel as it grows stronger the closer I get to him.

I look around as I drive seeing all these cabins, some bigger than others, and some with solar panels on the rooftop.

Mykel scent leads me to one of these cabins.

I stop the car and get out, looking around at the few people heading into cabins, not paying me any mind. 

I make my way up to the cabin that Mykel is inside. My eyes scan over the fame work of the small cabin. It's nothing too fancy, but it's very well put together. Our pack had cabins similar to these that the unmated female used for when they come into heat. Whoever built these cabins knew what they were doing.

I knock on the door and seconds later the door opens with Mykel standing there.

A frown creeps onto his face looking at me. "What are you doing here?" He asks.

"Who that Kel?" I hear a small voice of a child before I could answer his question.

"Finish your dinner so you can head to bed." He says looking over at the person that the voice belongs to.

"I finished." The small voice of a child says again.

Mykel let out a sigh look back over at me and step back to the side inviting me inside.

I walk into the cabin and see a little girl sitting on the floor in front of a bowl. I look around the cabin as Mykel walk over picking up the bowl from the floor and take it over sitting the bowl on a table. 

"What's your name?" The little girl asks looking over at me. I look at her seeing the similar facial features of Mykel, knowing she must be his little sister. Her hair is a bit messy, looking as if it hasn't been comb in a few days. She looks to be no older than six.

"Go to bed Baylie," Mykel tells her causing her to groan out. I slightly frown as I watch the little girl walk over to a sleeping bag on the floor. I see another sleeping bag next to hers knowing it must belong to Mykel. Is this where they sleep?

"How did you find me here?" Mykel asks walking back over to me standing at the door.

"The address you listed in your paperwork." I go into my pocket, taking out his paycheck. "You left something," I say handing it to him.

"I have been looking for this, I thought I lost it." He says looking down at the check. 

"Wheres your parents?" I ask with a raised brow.

He looks back at me with a slight frown before looking back at the little girl who has to seem to already fall asleep. I watch how his jaw muscle slightly bugles as his jaws clench. "They're dead." He says looking back over at me.

I look at him for a moment, giving him a slight nod. "Sorry to hear that," I say seeing that I've touched a sensitive subject for him. "I should be going, I'll see you at work," I say dismissing myself, receiving a nod from him.

I glance over at the little girl sleeping on the floor one last time before leaving, seeing why he had put his pride aside and is willing to clean up behind humans. He's working to look after his little sister.