THE ROGUE HE DENIED

NOELANI POV PROLOGUE I came back home from visiting my grandpa’s grave. I stay by his grave and rant even though I know he can't reply. He was so loving while he was alive. He was the alpha before he handed over to my father. The whole pack loved him. I walked into the house. Normally, I would have been greeted by the omegas–they were the lowest of ranks and are considered helpers as they are the weakest–but i didn’t see anyone, didn’t hear a thing either. I called out to my parents and older brother, all to no avail. I went towards the staircase and to my horror I saw blood flowing down the stairs. My heart raced, louder than my footsteps up the stairs, the closer I got towards the direction of the blood flow. I pushed aside Lana’s whimpering voice in my head–Lana is my wolf, she stays in my head while I'm in my human form– Her whimpers tried to tell me something but i refused to believe it as I pushed open the solid oak doors to the library, and it creaked with every movement it made. The blood smell became more pungent, my legs trembled with terror beneath me, barely holding my weight. Never in my life did I think I'd see a pool of blood. I rounded the shelf and walked towards the sofas, gasping at the sight of three unrecognizable bodies. So I got closer. The bodies were my father, my mother and then my older brother. I froze. I should have screamed, cried, moved, anything. But all I could do was stand there. My emotions overflowed and hollowed all at once, as if my mind refused to believe what my eyes were seeing. I heard a footstep sharp and deliberate, it was close. My head snapped toward the direction of the sound, but no one was in sight. Nothing but stillness and shadows stretching too far for comfort. The air felt heavier suddenly, like it knew something I didn’t. I didn’t move. Couldn’t. I stared into the empty space, my heart thudding louder than the silence that followed. The person wasn’t visible because they hadn’t rounded the shelf. My gut sank and at that moment i knew the feeling wasn’t good. I backed away from my family's body towards the window walls, almost slipping from the blood-slick floor just as the figure became visible. He was dressed in black, his face covered with a patch dark scarf, leaving only his eyes. My hollow feelings had instantly turned to fear. I leaned against the window as I watched him take step after step as he approached me menacingly. I shook my head with each step he took, my head hot with terror and tears pouring down my face as he signaled me to come closer with a devilish look in his dark evil eyes. My eyes caught a glimpse of the window behind me which displayed a dead end. There was a sword in his hand with blood dripping down the edges which gave him away. He killed my family. He didn't have guns, so this demon before me wasn't a part of the Royal Guards. Papa said to always carry guns. I searched the pockets of my pants frantically for my gun. I was frightened when I realized my gun wasn't with me. I looked back at him, and he made advances towards me. Ever so quickly, I slammed myself into the window without thinking, ready to throw myself into the fall. But pain sliced through my back, sharp and burning. I didn’t see it happen, but I knew. He’d swung his sword. Silver. Had to be. Nothing else burns like that, nothing else slows the healing. My family died because of that same metal. We wolves recover quickly...unless it’s silver. Then we bleed like the rest of them. The fall wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I let out a groan as I rolled on the grass and tried to stand up. A sharp pain shot through my left ankle given that I had just jumped from the third floor. I stood still when I heard him sniffing the air for me. He tried to mind link with me, but I blocked it to make him believe I was dead. I jumped into the river that flowed from behind my house. Not a ripple followed as I slipped beneath the surface. That's how we were trained. His shadow passed over the surface of the river, my eyes following every step he made away from the river. Slowly I lifted my head above the surface of the water. He was gone. I couldn't sense him anymore. I struggled with my broken ankle and tried to come out of the river. My wolf Lana whimpered with every movement I made. She's not usually weak, but the death of my family must have weakened her, considering she hadn't healed me, not even tried and that scared me more than the wounds. I scratched my back hard against a tree, dragging it down the bark, trying to tear the silver out with flesh if I had to, to prevent it from seeping in deeper. The sting was blinding. I knew it wouldn't heal much and would leave a scar. It was better than dying. I limped back into my house, up the stairs to the library. Upon seeing my family's corpse again, I fell to my knees and broke down into tears. I cried until the sky darkened, until night swallowed the world and left me with nothing but silence. My senses picked up a smokey smell accompanied by screams of agony not too far from my house. It was the pack members–they all have their respective homes. My father, who was the alpha, allowed it because he wanted there to be a little privacy within families rather than a pack house–The shouts of victory were louder than the screams of agony. Amidst the shout of victory, one voice sounded so familiar it sent chills that resonated down my spine. Reality checked as I realized it was the voice of my uncle, my father's half-brother Anthony. Who had always sought war with my father on common ground. He must be taking the pack members hostage. I had better run before he figures out that I'm alive. Frightened with no sense of defense, I quickly got to my feet as the shouts of victory got closer and took one last glance at my family's corpse before I went for the run. I ran away from the pack as fast as my throbbing ankle could handle, the wind clawing at my face. I had no problem navigating my way through the dark nights. I knew the moment I crossed my pack’s border I'd become a rogue, unclaimed, unwanted, erased. A name no one spoke. A life no one protected. Out there, the law was simple: rogues are threats. Kill on sight. No questions. Me, an alpha female. The daughter of an alpha reduced to nothing more than prey.