A New Dawn

Chapter 6

With his new mission in mind, he began combing the battlefield to find the Rogue leader. He continued to fight through the battle and managed to make his way to the cliffs. He looked towards the cliffs and noticed the same Rogue who killed his father, sending him a smirk. Aiden glared daggers at the man and growled in disdain as he walked toward the Rogue with full intent to kill him. He approached the Rogue, who continued smirking and pulled out his knives. “I don’t know who you are or your problem with my pack, but it’s time for you to leave.”

“I guess I could always introduce myself before I kill you,” the Rogue said arrogantly. “My name is Trevor Swanson. I am the Rogue that will take over your pack. Don’t worry, little Alpha, and I’ll treat your pack members well.”

Aiden growled in anger and charged Trevor as he swung his knife. Trevor dodged just in time and swiped his knife toward Aiden’s side. The slice connected, though it only managed to cut through his shirt. Aiden quickly tackled Trevor and began to slam his head against the ground with all of his strength. A sharp pain in Aiden’s ribs broke him out of his trance when he looked down and realized Trevor had stabbed him. As Aiden tried to regain his bearings, he was then thrown off by Trevor, who unsteadily jumped to his feet. Trevor looked at the Alpha on the ground and sent one strong kick to his stomach. The groan of pain coming from Aiden caused Trevor to chuckle in amusement.

“What’s the matter, Alpha, at a loss for words?” He followed that with one more kick when Aiden quickly grabbed his ankle and bent it, knocking Trevor to the ground. Aiden stood on his two feet and watched Trevor rise; they subconsciously began to circle each other. Finally, Trevor broke the stalemate and began to throw punches and kicks at Aiden. They both continued blocking each other’s kicks and punches for a while, and it was apparent both men were tiring out. Finally, Aiden managed to land a roundhouse to Trevor’s face, which knocked him to the ground. Aiden stood over Trevor and fell to his knees; he straddled Trevor and held a knife tightly against Trevor’s throat.

“Any last words?”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Alpha,” a voice was heard as Aiden looked up. What he saw made his heart jump out of his chest. A black-haired Rogue held Roxanne by her hair and had a knife to her throat. “Now would be a good time to drop the knife and get off my Alpha,” the Rogue ordered.

Slowly, Aiden climbed off Trevor and stood to his feet. He threw down his knife and held up his hands in surrender. He looked at Roxanne with defeat when he noticed the smirk she had on her face. Suddenly, she threw an elbow at her captor’s chest, causing his grip to loosen, turned around, and gave him a knee to the groin, then took off running towards Aiden. These few minutes caused Aiden to remove his eyes from Trevor long enough for Trevor to grab the knife that Aiden had dropped.

Trevor jumped to his feet, glared daggers at Aiden, and began to charge him when suddenly he was forced to stop. Jumping in between the two men, Roxanne threw her hands up in a protective manner. “WAIT PLEASE STOP!”

“Roxanne, what the hell are you doing? You need to get to safety. This guy won’t think twice about killing you!” Aiden screamed at his mate in sheer disbelief and panic.

Roxanne turned to face Aiden when her facial expression changed from panic to smug almost instantly as she smiled at him. “Well, if I let him kill you, I wouldn’t have the chance to do that. So, therefore, I, Roxanne Messick, reject Aiden Lockhart as my mate and Alpha. I want nothing to do with or have further contact with him.”

His face distorted in pain as he looked at her in disbelief. She was laughing; he couldn’t believe that she was doing this. “Why,” was all he could ask in horror.

She ignored his question and looked at Trevor; she wrapped him up in her arms and kissed him passionately. Once they broke apart, she sent him a wink and turned back to Aiden. “Oh, one more thing,” she added as she smiled deviously at him. Suddenly he felt immense pain as she jabbed a knife into his stomach. “It’s ironic; the same knife I used to kill your mother will be the one I used to kill you.” Giving him a small peck on the lips, Roxanne winked and smiled at him. “You probably should have listened more carefully to your friend... David was it?” she said as she laughed at the look on his face and then pushed him over the edge of the cliff. As he fell, Roxanne turned to Trevor, smiling proudly. “Shall we go see our new home?”

Trevor nodded in agreement, grabbed her hand, twirled her around, and they cockily strutted towards the pack house. “Ladies and Gentlemen, My name is Trevor Swanson. You will now refer to me as Alpha.” The look of dread on the faces of the remaining New Dawn pack members had them both giggling in delight.

Aiden couldn’t feel anything; he had just lost his parents, best friend, mate, and pack in 24 hours. He closed his eyes as he continued to fall and hoped that the Moon Goddess would spare him and take his life when the feeling of the cold river took over his body. He just lay there floating, allowing the water to carry him where it may. He didn’t even bother trying to come up for oxygen until his world darkened.

Aiden slowly opened his eyes and instantly froze in fear; he had no clue where he was, what day it was, or if he had even survived that fateful night. Although he looked around at his surroundings, he did notice that the location was currently dark. He was lying on a blanket with a pillow. He took a few breaths to help him relax and calm his nerves, then thought back to what had happened before he woke up there. The memories of the past came rushing back to him in waves, the fact his parents were killed, finding his mate, and the party where he was to become Alpha. The pain of the rejection, combined with the fact that, because of Roxanne, he lost his Alpha title and his pack.

***

Aiden carefully began to sit up when a painful reality struck him and struck him hard. I can’t feel my wolf, he thought to himself as he sighed deeply and began to look around. The musty smell of the earth and the wet smell of mold helped him realize he was in a cave. Aiden continued to look around, and he noticed the light in the cave was coming from a small fire that burned in the corner a short distance away from him. The blanket covering him was dry and clean; it smelled newly washed.

“I see you are finally awake.”

Aiden quickly turned his head to the source of the voice, and he noticed a girl standing in the mouth of the cave. Her emerald green eyes were focused on him as she looked at him cautiously. She stood close to 5′7". She was thin and muscular; her dark brown hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. She had a blank expression on her face as she gazed at him in a mixture of curiosity and fear; she was probably unsure what he would do once he got to his feet.

He turned his body to face her almost instantly; the smell of Rogue overwhelmed his nostrils. He glared at her in pure hatred. “What do you want, Rogue,” he demanded as he shot daggers at her with his eyes.

The girl’s eyes instantly switched from curiosity to anger, and she rolled her eyes at the discourtesy of this wolf. She sharply glared at him and roughly threw her hand on her hip. “This Rogue saved your life, so I’d show a little more respect if I were you. If you do not have the decency to do that, then you see where the door is you are more than welcome to leave. However, one thing I’d consider here is that a pack-less Alpha is also a Rogue; so how are you any better than I am right now?”

Aiden gasped, eyes growing wide with shock. The realization of her words caused his breath to buckle in his throat. This Rogue was correct, he had lost his pack, and quite possibly his wolf, and he was a wolf-less Rogue. He said nothing, only looked at the fire in despair and drifted off in thought. Eventually, he found the nerve to ask the one question he had been wondering since he woke up.

“Who are you, and how did I end up here?”

“My name is Misty, Misty Stephens. I found you when I went to collect water for my dinner. You washed up in the stream and were barely alive. So I brought you back here and nursed you back to health the best I could. You have been here for three weeks; honestly, I didn’t think you’d ever wake up.” Misty sat down on the ground near the fire and began adding wood to it. “I’m not going to ask what takes a displaced Alpha to my cave, but I suggest you stay here until your wolf can come back and help you heal.”

Aiden nodded and gave her a small smile; he shifted uncomfortably as he was unsure what to do or say next. He wanted to attempt to get to his feet, but he knew he would probably collapse as soon as he tried. The fact that the cave was spinning slowly proves that he wouldn’t make it. He disregarded that idea and scooted his body so his back leaned against the cave wall for support; he closed his eyes and rested his head back, trying to regain his bearings. The quiet sound of a plate being sat down next to him caused him to open his eyes, and the smell of meat traveled to his nose. He looked down and noticed a plate of meat next to him, and Misty returned to her seat by the fire.

“Eat; without your wolf, you need as much as you can get to help regain your health,” she ordered him as she poked at the fire.

Aiden stared at this girl with sheer confusion, he was rude to her the second he met her, and she was still helping him. However, he was unsure as to what her motive was. “Why are you helping me, Rogue? What could you possibly gain from this?”

Misty chuckled and shook her head. She didn’t even bother to turn and face him. “Man, I knew Alphas were self-absorbed, ignorant assholes, but you are the poster child. The growl from his direction reassured her that she had struck home with that insult. Misty took a deep breath and turned, and glared at him. “Does it ever occur to you that not all Rogues are bad people? Some of us had bad luck or were hated by the wrong people. I don’t want anything! There was no reason to leave you to die in that stream, just as there is no reason to let you starve now. Eat, sleep, and then get out of my cave.” She rolled her eyes, stood to her feet, and stormed out of the cave into the night.

Aiden sat in surprise and regret as he watched her leave. He was at a total loss about what to do. Should he apologize to her? Should he follow her wishes and leave? He knew this girl had saved his life, but his mistrust of Rogues kept interfering with his judgment. He groaned in frustration and lightly knocked the back of his head against the cave wall, then looked down at the plate. He carefully grabbed the meat she had left him and sniffed it for any potential position or potions that were added. He smelt nothing out of the ordinary, so he decided to pull off a piece and place it in his mouth. The taste of this food was the most unforgettable experience, it was so good, and he choked down the rest so quickly that he barely chewed it. Then, with his belly full, he hurried away from the cave wall and lay down, staring at the small stalactites hanging from the ceiling.