Chapter 1

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.