Leona
To kill or be killed. That is all it is for Rogues—was for me. No alternative. No say in what I was, where I was and how I was. One path, choice, way and life. Bloodshed. Now, however, I am to be grateful for breathing air in the open and that alone. The tide grows weak every second indicating the sun's arrival. The salty, cold breezes are continuous and harsh. I snuggle closer in the warmth of my jacket, ignoring the buzz of my cellphone. Seconds stretch into long minutes. Sighing out loud, I push myself off the side-walk's railing, seize my cellphone out and with much reluctance, pick up the call. "Yes?" I answer dryly. "Did it help?" the voice is deep, threatening and filled with pent up rage. "What helped?" "Being an idiot and going out in the open at this time." I roll my eyes, knowing the new Alpha can't see me in the least. "Seri sea wall. Taking a stroll." "Your location is the least of my concerns, Leona," he says. "I am the least of your concerns, Rey." Reylik barks out a harsh laugh. "You are my responsibility and thereof my concern, whether you or I like it or not." There's a pause. Maybe he is waiting for me to say something. To address the events that have come to take place in just a few days. When I don't, he continues. "It has been more than a month since father's funeral, Leona." I wince. "And you haven't been seen since. People are asking questions. And questions are dangerous. Especially for you. So instead of ambling some vacant seashore and risking a bigger problem, come back home." "Home?" I repeat. "Don't talk like that, someone might mistake it for concern." My voice is low and threatening, lined with bitterness, but no matter how much I hate it, a little bit of helplessness as well. "That is quite idiotic of you. Is it not, brother?" He sighs, "I know what is going through your head, but father made you a part of this pack and that will not be undone simply because he is gone." Alpha Renier is dead. He was ill for a very long time. Everyone was braced for it. I thought I was. But after feeling his cold hand slipping from my fingers, something broke. I became scared. Terrified of the future. He was my anchor in this world. And now that he is gone, it will only be a matter of time before I am swept away by the merciless waves of truth. I was half sure his son and wife would kick me out on the streets to be devoured by the rogue, so I left on my own. Now, I cannot deny the tiniest shock that seeps into me. And as much as I hate Rey, he is the new alpha and the only one who can get this dealt with. "Leona?" "I'm listening." "You can't stay in Altev. I can not protect you like my father did. I admit that. You of all people know the position I am in right now." The position he never wanted. "So do not expect me to sacrifice the pack for your secret, Leona. Twenty thousand people, they are my responsibility too. The least I can and will do as your legal brother, is help you escape. Your blood on pack land is not how I will let it end." A pregnant pause. "Now listen to me very closely." The sun is rising. It is beautiful. "I do not know what deal my father made with the rogues, and I do not care. But it has become null with his passing. Rogues are rising in Altev. They are hiding within us. No one knows how but they are in plain sight. Their scent is untraceable. Their identities registered. They are attacking without fear or caution. Numerous wolves have been taken prisoner and numerous humans killed. The rogues we take prisoners kill themselves with wolfsbane within minutes of arrest or are killed by command." So they are not tortured or compelled for information. "Sighting of the kalhai have been reported as well. The Union is stepping in. Which means more rogue hunters in Altev, more security and stricter checking." He pauses. There's something even worse coming. I can feel it. "Our city is next on the map, according to reports. The Utrifian delegation is coming to our pack, for the Union conference. They have the best rogue hunters in the world with them. Even with my father's thoroughness with you, there is a chance that you could be found out." Utrif. The werewolf kingdom of Utrif. A hellhole for Rogues. A haven for packs. With a shadow blessed king, they are one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world—if not the most. This is bad. "I need to get you out of here before they arrive." I am scared. If I am found out, I will be put on trial, all my past missions will be exposed. Even if they are not, my identity will be proved with nothing but a single trace of my blood and that will be enough to have me end up at the plight. And I will be hung, like the majority of rogues on Utrif's sham of trials for rogues. "When?" I ask. "The delegation is set to arrive in a week, a day before the Union meeting. But you're leaving today. We cannot take any chances. Everything is ready. Come to my office." The line cuts. I hung up, I realize after a few moments of blinking rapidly. You can't stay in Altev. Of course I cannot.Longing roils in the pit of my stomach as I set foot inside my pack building after weeks. Everything reminds me of him. Every single detail screams of his absence. Death is unforeseen and unsought. It comes knocking at your door and suddenly life doesn't make sense. From the moment I was found by Alpha Renier half dead at the outskirts of their vacation home's hunting grounds, he considered me his own. The pack wasn't given much of an explanation about how the Alpha family suddenly had a new daughter. Most considered me to be an illegitimate child. This made Aria, Alpha Reiner's wife hate me even more. And she made her disdain pretty evident, further feeding the rumours until they became half truths for everyone. Rey, on the other hand, simply did not care. It was like I was never there. Like I didn't matter. I am shaken out of my trance when a there's a sudden pick in my heart beat. It thumps rapidly and continuously. I suddenly feel heavy for some reason.
My feet are stuck in place. My heartbeat is fast. But not because I am scared. I... am happy. There's a certain dizziness that envelopes me whole, heightening my senses. I can feel everything. I can hear everything. My wolf is at the surface. I only feel excitment even though death is directly knocking at my door now. My wolf howls in delight. I feel heavy. Almost as if something is pulling me. "Where are they?" Rey asks. "They are at the embassy," Haze replies. The wave of relief that washes over me and Rey is shared. But then he adds, "however, the head of delegation, along with ten others is here. He is in an audience with the elders right now." Rey swears under his breath. "The meeting is in a week. What is their purpose of coming a week prior" "Due to serious threats to the delegation, there was a sudden change in plans as a security precaution. The Union has decided for the meeting to take place tomorrow. We have just been notified." "Security
"Mate," he says, his voice a silent thunder, a command. As if, he knows who I am, he is just making sure everyone else does either. I have heard stories about this. How you just know. A blessing. No matter who you are, how you are, what kind you are, a blessing for all. But somehow I led myself to believe I was an exception. I have never been so happy to be proven wrong. I raise my hand. He can't be real. I breathe in. I have a mate. I breathe out. My palm touches the fabric of his cursed mask and everything falls into place. I sigh, a wave of gratification rendering me breathless for a whole minute. He's real. "Mine," I gasp, more shocked than joyful. My mate likes that. The slight crinkles under his eyes show that. His eyes are sharp, sweeping through every inch, every corner of me. I do the same. Though, there is not much to find. A dark cloack, a dark mask and a dark cap. All I can see is his eyes. A part of me screams to rip the cloth off his face
Fate plays with you in funny ways. A single look, a single moment, that was all my luck could give me with my mate. I start towards the end of the basement, where Haze mentioned the car would be. Its not there so I wait. The basement is empty. No one in sight. Only their cars. I catch my breath for a second. In just a few hours I will be in Utrif. A place of death for rogues. It doesn't leave me. The reminder that my home is no longer my home. I never belonged anywhere. I had a home. It went away. I found my mate. And I had to walk away. Everything I get, I only get so I can see it being taken away. Pain swirls up my palm. I loosen my nails from there and only then realize the crescent moons reddened in my palm. Within seconds they start to subtly stitch themselves up. Tissues connect slowly. The red dissolves into pink and then finally into its pale tone. But it is for the better— I stand. Scents, bitter and wrong surround me. Rogues. They're here. But I am not sca
Valis lunges forward in less than a moment. I sidestep, movement fluid and precise, and dodge him with no effort. I may have been resting here for seven years but that does not mean I would let the torturous training I endured go to waste. Valis barely has time to react before my fist connects with his jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. I spin on my heel, my movements a blur, and deliver a swift kick to the other rogue's midsection. He doubles over, gasping for air. Valis lunges again, his claws extended. I dodge, feeling the rush of air as his claws slice through the space where my head had previously been. I counter with a powerful punch to his ribs, the impact reverberating through my arm. Valis staggers but remains standing, his eyes blazing with fury. "You'll pay for that," he snarls, spitting blood on the rough pavement. I aim a kick at his knee but Valis catches my leg, wrenching me off balance. I twist in mid-air, landing awkwardly but on my feet. Pain flar
I am a fast runner. But the kalhyi are faster. I don't count how many of them are there. But they are a big number. And all of them catch up to me in no time. One of them lands a slight blow to my leg. I don't falter. Show pain and you're as good as dead. With a swift, decisive motion, I drive my elbow into its throat. It falls back, immediately going still. I don't stop to monitor its ability to move again and bolt through the endless rows of cars. That's when it happens. Something rakes across my front, sharp and swift. Claws. A loud roar renders the place silent and only when my legs buckle and I come face to face with the ground do I realise it was my roar. Heavy weight pushes me further into the ground. My vision swims with stars. With a single thundering growl, I heave out my claw from under me and dig it into the weight's side with all my might. An even more tremendous wail is let loose at my gesture. I hoist myself up from t
"Let me see your face." His voice sounds like safety. Powerful. I shake my head. My wolf is a slobbering mess, screaming in true delight at the sound of our mate out loud. We stay still for a few minutes. "Are you alright?" he asks in a whisper. The three straight cuts throb, reminding me I am not. I finally pull back, looking up. His face is still covered under the strange looking mask I couldn't decipher in the darkness of the ballroom. But now, in the dim basement lights, I see it and instantly a chill runs down my body. It's an eerie black skull, gleaming ominously with shadowed eye sockets and delicate silver-highlighted cracks. Sharp cheekbones, a jagged nasal cavity and a chillingly realistic grin of teeth enhance its lifelike, unsettling texture. Only the azure of his eyes pokes out. "Take off your mask," I say so, so softly that even I am surprised at my tone. He gives me a half smile. And then one of the men behind him takes a careful step forward. His eyes g
The moon grows distant with every lingering moment I sneak glances at my mate. He catches me at my twenty-seventh try and I not-so-subtly turn to the window. The abruptness of the movement causes an agonising shiver to run down my back. I grit my teeth to not hiss. The world rotates a little faster for me, my vision a little dim and my body a little numb. I clench and unclench my fists, willing control in my cold body as I watch trees fade into the misty night. We're driving through the outskirts of the city, into the forest. If it were anyone other than my mate, I would have jumped out of the car by now. With him. . . I feel trust. It scares me. "Are you okay?" my wearisome mate asks for the hundredth time. "Yes," I lie for the hundredth time. I don't get why he is asking me this time and time again. I am hurt, yes. But it is not that serious. The cuts weren't