Elegantly Rogue

C H A P T E R 2

Pushing my body forward, I charged at the Alpha. As I had expected, the two wolves who were closest to him started charging at me. Using the little momentum that I had gained from running, I pounced over the first one and skid beneath the second one.  

It all happened so fast. My mind was running a mile a minute and my heart matched it. I was vaguely aware of the pain in my arm and the fact that it was burning—undoubtedly because of the dirt that was now getting into it. It took me a second or two to regain my senses and realize that the Alpha was now reaching towards me. 

My flight or fight instinct kicked in and I rolled to the side, praying to the moon goddess that I'd survive this encounter. My father always said that when all else fails, the goddess will prevail. I pushed myself upright and started running. I didn't care where I was going, as long as I got away. 

It felt as if my heart was about to break from the confines of ribcage. Every inch of my body felt like it was on fire, begging me to stop. But stopping wasn't an option. This was training. This was life or death.

And my father would turn over in his grave if I went down without a fight. 

Matthew

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath in the process. I didn't have it in me to watch two of my fastest wolves struggle to keep up with her. She was fueled by fear. They were just following orders. 

     "I warned you all about underestimating a rogue. And yet, she's getting away." 

I didn't bother raising my voice, knowing that my lack of reaction would have a bigger effect on them. A few whines echoed through the air, but none of them made a move to follow her. I pulled my shirt over my head, clenching my jaw in the process. They were going to get a serious talking to once this situation was dealt with. 

I started running in the direction she had gone and I couldn't help but realize that we'd be able to track her for miles. There were droplets of blood decorating the floor, leaving a visible trail and a scent. I had faith that the wolves chasing her wouldn't give up easily, but I told myself to be prepared for a disappointment. 

Many of the wolves who had been rounded up to come along today had been the ones who had chased the rogue last night. Many of them believed that we had no business tracking this woman. She had done them a favor, but to me she was just another rogue that needed to be dealt with before she caused trouble. 

I shifted, knowing that I wouldn't catch up to them in my human form. Once my paws touched the ground, I found myself re-energized. The burn in my calves was no longer there. Only a burning desire to catch the rogue. There was thrill in the chase. 

My eyes focused on their forms in the distance and I was slightly disappointed to see that she was still ahead of them. I felt my eyes narrow as she skid to an abrupt halt—allowing her palms to scrape on the ground—before turning around and running in the opposite direction. Despite my distaste for her kind, I had to admit that that had been a smart move. 

Knowing that my wolves wouldn't be able to turn around fast enough without making the distance between them even larger, I pushed my body to go faster, deciding to give in to the chase. Part of my mind was wondering how she was still able to go at such a pace, but it was probably just good genetics.

Her hair was whipping around wildly, her body moving in a way that an Olympic sprinter had been trained to do. My eyes registered the faint sheen of sweat covering her body, a trail of blood running from her arm to her elbow. The bleeding was worse than I had initially thought it to be—her speed being the reason for the large distance between the blood droplets. 

Common sense told me that losing so much blood was far from good for her body. I knew that given time, she would tire out and have to stop. But I knew I'd be able to catch up to her without that happening. She lost her footing and stumbled, but she caught herself as fast as it had happened. I pushed myself to go faster, which proved to be a mistake when she turned once more, kicking up a storm of dust in the process. 

I let out a growl of frustration, changing direction as fast as I could. My muscles were starting to tingle from the physical exertion they were going through and I knew that I would need to catch this rogue, and it would have to be soon. My wolf was starting to get annoyed with this cat and mouse game. 

Everything went black and I was pushed into the confines of the darkest part of my mind. I had made the split second decision to give my wolf full control—I just hoped that he wouldn't do more than catch her. I knew his bloodlust was rarely matched by anyone else, and the fact that she was a rogue would only make it harder for him to control himself. 

                   ~•°•~

I blinked a few times, giving my eyes time to adjust to the light. I was laying on the ground, the sun warming my fur. One of my pack members was carrying the rogue—who did not look conscious. I knew that if she was alive, she would be taken to the Cellars and someone would question her on the events of last night. 

Knowing that it would be inappropriate for me to waltz around naked, I started making my way to the cellars, knowing that there was bound to be a pile of shorts available for when I shift. One of the guards must have seen me approach, because a few moments later a pair of shorts was thrown my way. 

I nodded my head in a way of thanks and turned around so that I could shift and put them on. Once I felt decent I started walking back home. My muscles felt tense and overworked—something that was a common occurrence after a good chase. But that wasn't my main concern at the moment. 

Now that the rogue had been captured, I needed to follow the appropriate steps to deal with her. I didn't want news of her capture spreading and then have the Royal Council breathing down my neck about my lack of formality. 

It came as no surprise when I saw my mother standing on the porch. I had expected nothing less from her. I picked up my pace, knowing that she would have another thing to complain about if I took my time getting there. 

     "You can't expect me to believe that it took the entire day to track down a rogue?"

I smiled up at her, the fact that she was standing in the porch giving her a height advantage. I didn't blame my mother for her harsh words. Instead of just having to worry about where I am, she had to worry about what she'd say to the girls if I was out to long and what she'd have to tell the girls if something were to happen to me. 

     "We went in the complete opposite direction from the one that she had gone in. Lucas found us and said that she was up near the river bank. But she's neutralized. She's in the cellars—"

I had no time to finish my sentence, a rather harsh smack on the side of my head stunning me to silence. I forced myself to look at my mother. Really look at her. The darkened hue to her eyes was impossible to miss and I had no idea how I hadn't noticed the frown covering her features. She was angry. Really angry. 

     "You better go have a talk with your daughter about everything that happened last night. Now. Because that rogue has no business being in those cellars. And you had no business hunting her down." 

My mother turned her body and pointed a commanding finger towards the door. After all my years as Alpha, she still hadn't lost her motherly bossiness. I nodded, lifting my legs and climbing the two porch steps before slipping past my mother into the house. 

It came as no surprise when I found the girls playing with their toys on the living room carpet. Once I had succeeded in capturing their attention, both of them let out a cheer of excitement and started running towards me. My heart swelled with love as I crouched down and hugged them both. 

     "How're my girls doing today? Have you guys been listening to grandma?" 

My tone was mockingly stern and I barely had a moment to prepare myself before Ivy launched into a narrated retelling of her day. This was the usual occurrence. Ana would be quite until she was sure that Ivy had finished her discussion. It was as if they had an unspoken agreement. 

Which was why it came as such a shock when Ana cut Ivy off mid-sentence and asked me a question—a question that I had been expecting. 

     "Daddy, did you find the lady from last night?"

I nodded, standing up and going to sit on the couch. Ivy seemed to realize that this was a discussion that she had no part in and went back to playing with her toys. 

     "It took me the whole morning, but yes, I found her. She's in the cellars—"

    "Why?"

My mouth slackened slightly at the question, not expecting it. Ana had never so much as sneezed wrongly, and here she was, cutting me off as well as her sister. It was a sign that this situation was affecting her more than I thought it would. 

     "Why is she in the cellars if she saved me from the bad man?" 

As if to prove a point, she gestured to the sling that supported her arm. An odd feeling started blooming in my chest, forcing me to look at my daughter with much more seriousness than was needed. 

     "But I thought the patrol saved you?"

I didn't want her telling me an adjusted story. I knew that she would correct me wholly. I just prayed that she didn't form some kind of hero attachment with this rogue. A situation like that would prove to be complicated. 

     "She fell from the tree like poof, and-and-and then the bad man just fell. I think she cut him."

My eyes focused on her uninjured hand that lifted and perfectly imitated someone slitting a throat. I frowned, thinking that she shouldn't have witnessed a killing of such caliber. 

She held out her hand, looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to take it. Not knowing what her intentions were, I enfolded her hand in mine, but her next words made me tense up. 

     "Are you going to take me to see the lady?"

I shook my head, watching the way the light drained from her eyes. It wasn't a common occurrence for me to say no to the things my daughters wanted. 

     "Not now. There are still some things I need to discuss with her before you can go see her."

Her shoulders slumped as she let out a sigh, but she seemed to accept my reason, because she turned around and went to join Ivy.