Warrior Luna - Fighting for Survival

The Wanted Rouge

Matteo POV

We had just finished training and I was about to hop in the shower when I heard a knock on my door. Annoyed I jerked the door open to find an Omega standing in front of my door, shifting his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably.

“What?” I barked.

“Alpha Lopez has requested your presence at his study.” The Omega bowed his head slightly.

“I’ll be there after my shower.” I went to close the door, but his slender hand reached out and stopped.

“I do believe the matter is urgent, an official from the court had arrived to see the Alpha.”

I furrowed my brows searching for an explanation for the visit. Our quarterly meeting had already taken place in late June, so there was no need to come again in August because we weren’t due another visit until at least another month. Something big had to have happened for the Council of Elders to send the courts chasing after something or more likely someone.

I put on a fresh shirt and some deodorant and hoped my half assed attempt at hygiene would pass as acceptable, and then jogged up to the tower of the pack house where my father’s office was on the third floor.

I knocked on the heavy oak door. My father opened it, and gestured to the armchair next to the sofa which was currently occupied by an older, elegantly dressed man sipping a scotch on the rocks.

“Good afternoon.” I nodded at him before taking my seat.

“Thank you for joining us Matteo.” My father said as he closed the door. “I’d like you to meet Elder Sebastian Albrecht. He has kindly come to discuss with us in person a recent” father hesitated “how should I put this…”

“The Lone Silver pack has experienced a public calamity at the hands of a rouge.” Sebastian cut in. “The individual in question has not yet been found, the pack had has asked the council to intervene on their behalf.”

I narrowed my eyes at the elder. “In other words the Lone Silver pack let a rouge escape and you are mopping up their mess.”

Sebastian’s blue gray eyes darkened as he studied me, “You are not entirely mistaken. They did not manage to apprehend the rouge. However the council’s concern is the wellbeing of the pack, not dragging names through the dirt.”

My father cleared his throat. “Yes, exactly and as the Alpha I assure you the Vermillion pack is more than happy to assist in the apprehension of this dangerous wolf.” He said as he sat in his own armchair and took a sip of his scotch. “What can you tell us about this rouge and how can we be of assistance?”

“Before we discuss the details I just wanted to express my delight at your interest in helping the council to find this perpetrator.” My father nodded with a smile.

‘What a f*****g circus.’ I thought to myself.

“The rouge is actually a female, and she is very dangerous. She had committed multiple offences in her pack, the most notable however were attacking a beta and then attempting to kill him. Thankfully he had not been harmed.” The Elder sighed, his features creasing with anguish

“the female’s brother had died, gruesomely, while protecting the beta’s life.”

“That is…” my father stared in shock at the elder.

“Yes. That was my reaction as well when I found out that she…” Elder Sebastian cleared his throat “she quite literally ripped out her own brother’s throat.”

Silence fell in the office, the elder and the alpha lost in thought, pondering the possible consequences of the rouge’s actions.

For a moment I felt guilty about smart mouthing the Elder. Despite hating the ass kissing charade, the issue did appear to be quite serious for both the pack and the council’s iron fisted reign.

If the rouge had attacked the beta more than once, she clearly did not care for authority, as a result the Elder’s Council did not care to approach her, rather they just wanted to get rid of the nuisance. The chain of command could not be questioned, and years of tradition as well as the superior physical strength of the ranked pack members dictated respect, the rouge had broken both of those laws.

Though I still did not understand the reason for the elder’s visit, this was British Columbia. Our territory was large but we rarely had any trouble. If the mountains didn’t kill intruders, the wildlife or the hunters would, the council couldn’t possibly think a dangerous rouge would come into our lands to hide.

“Elder Albrecht, why is the council looking here for the rouge? To my knowledge the Lone Silver pack’s territory is hundreds of miles away, why is the council looking halfway across the country?” I asked trying to sound as respectful as I could.

“An excellent question young man.” The elder said, the corner of his lips turning up into a smile. “The rouge had shown her disdain for tradition and not only refused to respect her superior but attempted to harm her beta, she has also chosen to run and hide. The murder was the most vicious c*****e I have witnessed in a very long time. And this cowardly and malicious abomination will not be tolerated. She is a threat to our way of life!”

“She is also unlikely to be hundreds of miles away from her pack.” I said, trying to reason. My father glared at me before I could say anything else.

“Where do you think the rouge had run away to? Could she have gone as far as our territory?” Father rephrased my point into a more kiss ass rhetoric.

“It is quite possible, but the warning has been extended to all packs. As for the whereabouts of this rouge I am not overly concerned, we have one of our best trackers her tail.” The elder waved his hand dismissively. “He will find her.”

“Now, as for the other topic we were to discuss, your retirement… I assume you are grooming Matteo to be your replacement?” the elder said as he made himself more comfortable on the leather sofa “How is that coming along?”

“Yes, of course. It’s still a few years I anticipate.” He got up off the armchair and poured himself some more scotch “Another one for you?” father asked raising the bottle of scotch towards the elder.

Thankfully I was able to excuse myself shortly after. Ass kissing wasn’t my favorite game and unfortunately it was necessary with all aspects of governing. There was the other issue that always came up, my sixth year of being a bachelor always came up and getting hounded about weather I had felt my mate and when I was going to become alpha was always a topic that soured my mood.

 I still haven’t told father that I might have a mate now and I did not feel comfortable around Elder Sebastian, so telling him now was out of the question.

I searched the pack house for Tyler, but he was nowhere to be found. I tried to reach his mind but he was blocking me out, most likely too busy chasing some tail in town.

I decided to play some video games as it was still a while before dinner and this was the first time in a long time that I had a moment to myself.

I ended up switching between games restlessly not able to focus or really enjoy anything so I went to the kitchen for a snack. I made myself a sandwich from the left over pulled pork and turned on the TV for background noise.

“Wow, the wolf has finally emerged from his pigsty of a room.” My cousin Maddy threw over her shoulder as she went into the kitchen.

“Who s**t on your parade today, huh sunshine?” I mumbled with my mouth full.

I heard an exaggerated groan came from the kitchen. “Thank you for asking how I am you asshole.” She yelled slamming the fridge closed. “Believe it or not the new chick at work is actually friends with the old man, Joe. You remember him right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Okay so he like he actually LOOOVES her” she exaggerated the word “ like he actually got her a coffee after they came back from the patrol and she was totally filthy!” Maddy scrunched up her face in disgust.

“What do you mean filthy?”

“Like she rolled around in mud before coming into the office! Totally revolting.” She put her hand up to her chest “I wouldn’t be caught dead looking like that. But somehow the guys totally loved her for it.” She sat on the sofa next to me with a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream, shoved an entire spoonful in her mouth and crunched on the chips.

“Like really Andy? f**k you and your nice girl bullshit. I can totally see you’re hitting on everyone.” She pouted as she smushed up her ice cream the spoon ringing against the bowl.

I couldn’t help but laugh at her theatrics.

“Hey Maddy?” I chuckled.

“What!”

“Jealousy isn’t a good look on you.” I winked as I got up, leaving her to pout and fume by herself.

I just made it to my room when I was called up to my father’s office a second time that day. I already knew I was going to get chewed out for the attitude I had with the elder.

I wasn’t disappointed.

“By the look on your face I know you know exactly what you did.” Father didn’t yell, he didn’t have to.

He was the Alpha, and as a member of the pack I couldn’t help being submissive, it didn’t stop me from feeling however. And I felt wronged.

“I know. And I won’t apologize for refusing to kiss their pompous asses.” I gritted out.

“Matteo! This is serious!” He slammed his fist on the wooden desk. “You’re going to be Alpha when you mate, you need to learn to be respectful. You need to have social skills and negotiate...”

“Yeah I know! Spare me the lecture.”

“Then act like it!”

I growled. “I am not going to be a bootlicker. And I am not going to get involved in their politics.”

“You already are involved, so smarten up!” He growled back, standing up to meet me eye to eye.

 I felt a tingle of fear pass over my spine urging me to submit. I ignored it.

After a moment my father finally released my gaze. He sat in his chair and looked… tired. I knew visits from the court were always stressful for him and everyone else but I didn’t notice how haggard he had become.

“I need you to listen to me very carefully.” He wearily rubbed his brows. “Lone Silver pack is definitely not the biggest, and not the strongest. But they have a long reach. Elder Sebastian is a cunning old bastard who got where he is because he a vicious manipulator, you get me?”

I nodded. It’s nothing I didn’t already know. But I didn’t interrupt.

“Elder Sebastian’s daughter married the Alpha of the Lone Silver pack, it was an arranged mating.  So? What does this tell you?” he c****d an eyebrow.

“So the bastard has his own agenda.” I gritted out. It felt like I was being called on by a teacher.

“So the Elder” father corrected with a stern look “has his own motive for getting us involved, he knows I know that, but he trusts that I will do as I am asked. You need to adopt the same attitude and gain his trust.”

“I’m not going to…”

“Before you refuse to be a ‘kiss ass’ did you consider that,” he pointed at my chest “your brazen disrespect might mean us getting placed under surveillance? Or worse?”

“Aren’t we already!?”

Father rubbed his eyebrows with both hands in exasperation. “Yes. We certainly will be now.”

I went to bed early after dinner hoping to get some sleep, but the events of the day kept replaying in my head. The visit from the Elder made me uneasy and I felt like vomiting.

The conversation with my father was grim. I knew he was right, and as much as I hated politics they came with the Alpha title. But there was something brewing, the Elder was acting squirrelly and I had a strange feeling that none of this was a coincidence.

Restlessly I watched the clock, until the sun rose and I gave up on sleeping entirely. I rummaged through my closet for some semi-clean clothes and got into my truck and drove the 20 minutes to the city to get some coffee.