The Lost Rogue Heiress

TWO - Heir

CHAPTER TWO

Athena had every tree, every fallen limb, every creek, every dip and every rise in the terrain memorized. She was on autopilot as she ran to the location that Lizzie crossed over the territory line at. The smell of pine and earth filled her senses and calmed the inner turmoil that was brewing. The forest had always calmed her; had always made her feel like she was home when nothing and no one else in her life did.

In a very short period of time she had reached the Silver River that would lead her to the meadow. Lizzie must have come this way because she picked up her scent more than once on a nearby tree or some underbrush as she blazed through the dense woods.

Almost there, Liv. Almost there.

The scent hit her like a ton of bricks as soon as she cleared the treeline and stepped into the meadow. She heard the word deep in her soul: kin. Her wolf recognized this scent, and it wasn’t Lizzie’s, it was another, a stranger.

Kin.

Olivia wasn’t sure how to process what she thought she was sensing right now. Every fiber of her being was telling her that someone was near that she shared blood with. It had to have been a pure wolf instinct because Olivia had never been around anyone that she was related to that she could remember. She wouldn’t know what her kin smelled like to even be able to recognize it in the first place.

Athena’s long strides had already brought her to the end of the meadow and up the hill with the Oak tree. She took in long breaths through her nose and turned in different directions to determine where the strange scent was coming from. It was so familiar and yet so foreign at the same time.

In a twist of convenience or bad luck, she wasn’t sure which, it seemed to be coming from the direction she needed to head regardless. She began her trek down the hill, but at a much slower pace. Kin or not, there was another wolf around that she didn’t know and her instincts put her on alert at least until the situation became more clear. Kin didn’t equate to trust.

Athena scanned the shoreline on the opposite side before entering the calm waters of the Silver River. She was a good swimmer in either form, but even a pup could swim these waters. The river only had a few rough areas where rocks and dips in the land made the waters a bit more vicious, but here by the meadow it was at peace and flowed just enough to keep the water from becoming stagnant.

The scent of her kin became stronger as she approached the other side, and she knew she was being watched. There was strength in the wolf that she was near, so there was no way that he hadn’t made her scent by now. Although her instincts were putting her on alert, they were also telling her that she was in no real danger, a feeling she found odd.

Ignoring the stranger's scent and the burning she felt from the stare she couldn’t find, Athena focused on Lizzie’s scent, and trotted over to the nearest tree. Luckily Aries hadn’t been trying to mark anything, so her scent wasn’t as strong as it could have been. It was just enough that she had probably just brushed up against it, which would be easy for Athena to cover.

She made quick work of clearing the area of any traces of Lizzie. Scratching off some bark here, rolling around in some leaves there and suddenly it would be rather difficult to tell if Lizzie had been here or not. She couldn’t completely erase her scent, of course, but she could cover it and mask it enough to the point of being unrecognizable.

Olivia then realized how different this might have gone had she asked a couple of the warriors to come out instead. Blood shed would have been likely, and serious injury or death was always in the realm of possibilities.

I won’t hurt you young pup. I will say, all that pouncing around was certainly entertaining though.

A deep chuckle accompanied the voice Olivia heard through a bond she didn’t know she had. This was definitely not Athena, nor anyone else in the Jadewood pack. She shouldn’t be able to hear anyone else because she had no family. Wolves could speak to several through their bond: their mate, their pack and their blood.

Show yourself then. If you mean no harm then there’s no need to hide, right?

Olivia returned through the bond as she continued to scan the woods for the source of the voice.

With pleasure, young pup. I’ve been waiting for this long enough.

Less than twenty feet from where she was turning in circles to scan the area, the air began to shimmer and wave, similar to the way it looks over a hot flame in the middle of an already hot summer day. Within seconds, an enormous dark gray wolf sat before her with eyes the color of a deep purple morning glory.

Olivia wasn’t completely shocked that magic existed, she had heard stories around the pack house over the years. She hadn’t expected to encounter anything of the sort in her lifetime, however. Normally those stories accompanied tall tales about witches, fae and other shifters. She had never heard of any magic like this residing in a wolf shifter.

Olivia quickly realized it wasn’t just his apparent magic that made this wolf stand out. He was emanating strong waves of energy that could only come from an Alpha of considerable strength. Without meaning to or even realizing it, Athena was angling her head downward in a sign of respect and submission.

There’s no need for that Athena. Come now. Let me speak to Olivia.

Athena lowered her head further and whimpered. Obviously not wanting to anger the Alpha but also not wanting to put themselves at risk by putting themselves in their physically weaker form.

You first, Alpha.

Olivia was shocked by Athena’s ability to withstand the immense pressure that even she was feeling through the bond to shift. He wasn’t forcing them, yet, but he was letting her know that he could if he wanted to and still Athena held her ground.

As you wish.

Another deep chuckle escaped the Alpha before he quickly shifted back into his completely naked human form. The older man before her grinned from ear to ear as he continued to laugh in his deep baritone voice. His hair came to his chin in thick waves that were completely silver which, along with the lines around his eyes, revealed his age. His body was still strong and in shape despite having obviously softened in areas that used to be hard lines.

“Hang on, pup. Trust me, I’m the last one that wants to see you…exposed,” the older man offered before reaching into the thick of some nearby brush.

He pulled out some folded fabric and tossed them in her direction before turning his back to her as he pulled on a pair of sweats and a shirt. Olivia quickly shifted and pulled on the clothes that were offered, too distracted to realize they were a perfect fit and how odd that was.

“Thanks. And you are….” Olivia paused.

The old Alpha turned around, the wide grin still plastered on his weathered face. He had that look that parents have when they taunt their kids about knowing the secret of what’s in their unopened presents.

“Oh little Liv,” his playful smile suddenly turned sad. “My name is Grayson. I’m the Alpha of the Winter Rogue Pack. I met you twenty five years ago, but you probably don’t remember much of that.”

“Much? I was a baby, I don’t remember you at all. Why do you seem familiar though? I don’t understand—”

“I’m glad your recognize me, I was worried about that.”

“Worried about what? What is going on?!” She demanded. Olivia was getting more frustrated by the second. She hated not having control of the situation, and she hated that feeling of being lost. It was like she came in at the wrong end of a conversation and missed a vital piece of information.

“Such a temper, just like your mother. Why don’t you ask Athena. You know you won’t trust anything I say completely anyways.”

At this moment images flooded Olivia’s brain too fast for her to capture many details before they landed on an image of a man, relatively young, handsome, and on closer inspection a much younger version of the man that was before her. He had the same wide smile and was looking down at a bundle of blankets that were wrapped in his arm, tears forming in his eyes.

That’s you, Liv.

Athena’s voice sounded somber, but sure. Olivia blinked and the images were gone. She stared back at the older man, and tilted her head trying to remember things she couldn’t possibly remember. Where did those images come from.

When she looked at the older Alpha, who had the same sad smile, she knew he had put them there. Those weren’t her memories. They were his.

“I know this is a lot, Liv, and it seems very sudden for you. But for me I’ve been waiting a long time to see you again. See, you're my granddaughter, Olivia. Your father was my son…My only son.”

His last three words hit her like a ton of bricks and she wasn’t sure if she was still breathing or even blinking. The burning in her chest finally made her take a huge gasp of air. Her vision got slightly blurry before it started getting dark. She heard two words through the bond in his deep soothing voice before she completely blacked out.

My heir.