Hate to Love

14

Julian

I could see Alice's mind working at full speed. She was trying to make sense of all we heard and so was I. Finding rogues was the hardest thing to do, especially if that Javier guy was an IT expert. He could make them inivisible. Damn it.

I refused to see this like a dead end though. We had a lead and we would need to use it.

"Did your brother leave with his papers?" I asked.

"As far as I know, no." She answered.

"So he must have needed Javier to create a new identity..." I frowned. "Maybe he did go to the Royal Guard but we would not know because he used another identity."

"How can we know who he is right now?" She asked. "And what did he do between the year he disappeared and the moment he reached out to Javier?"

That was an excellent question. I did not know who to ask but I was sure that he tried to reach out to other packs, made other rogues. That was a list I could find.

I typed quick into the werewolf database. As Beta, I had access to the one about the rogues. Every Alpha could write down the name of the rogues in this list so we could keep track on all of them.

I entered the date when Charles left until today. That was a lot of rogues and we could not be sure that they were all linked to Charles.

"Can we only look at the ones who left their packs? Not the ones that were banned?" Alice asked.

I put the filter on and the list was small now. Only ten names if we counted Charles. Why would he need these wolves? What was he up to?

"Can we compare these names to the names of the new Royal Guards?" She continued.

Did she think that one of them was... What? A Royal Guard now?

I obliged and put on the list of the Royal Guard. One face matched. He used to belong to a Pack near ours and was since almost two years, a Royal Guard. He had changed his name but it was definitely our guy.

"We should try to contact him." She said. "He might know something about Charles."

"I'm not sure that he will be willing to speak to us." I said. "But we can always try. We should ask Jasper tomorrow if he can do it because I'm not sure that the General will want to speak to Betas."

"You're probably right..." She said avoiding my gaze.

She seemed scared somehow. Was she afraid that it would be a dead end? We had to try. It was the only lead we had so far.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

"I'm... Worried that it might be a waste of time. What if that man only left his Pack to become a Royal Guard and he never met Charles in his life?"

"What are the odds? Your brother disappeared for two years, mentionned the Royal Guard and a man that was declared a rogue, turns out to be one?" I said calmly. "I don't know what's in your brother's mind or what he's trying to do here but... The coincidence is a bit too much."

She locked gaze with me and I could see that she was afraid to believe, afraid to be disappointed again. I did not want to stress her much so I decided to call it a day.

"Let's eat something and get to bed. We still have work to do for our pack tomorrow." I continued.

She nodded and we put the laptop away to prepare our dinner. Alice was a great cook and I liked to be able to eat what she made. It felt like we were acting a bit more like a normal couple.

"What is it?" She asked, looking at me quizzically.

"I'm glad that we're doing something... Normal for mates. Eating dinner, coming home after work... I don't know... I never thought that it would be possible for us." I said.

"I like it..." She said softly. "I never imagined that it would feel... Good but... I like it."

I almost stopped breathing right there. Did she really say that she liked it too?

"Don't gape like that." She frowned, blushing. "You're making me self-conscious..."

I embraced her tight from behind and she gasped. I could not believe that she was feeling the same thing. I was too happy right now.

"Do you think that... We will find him?" She asked softly.

"I'm sure we will." I said determined. "I promised you and I'll give it my all."

She turned around to look at me and I could see a million emotions cross her face. I put my hand on her cheek and her eyes started to shine with an emotion that I thought I would never see directed at me, lust. Her eyes were full of desire and it was for me.

I was almost stunned by what I was seeing but I could feel just like her, the soft tingles of our bond. That electricity between us that made her desire me as much as I desired her. We were made to be together and it was normal for both our bodies to crave the other.

I never dared think about s*x between us but it was in our genes to endulge in it. Werewolves were highly s****l and very much intent on having pups, especially with their true mates. I never cared much for it with the other females but... Alice was my mate. She was truly beautiful to boot, her body was hard since she trained so much but still curvy in the right places.

Feeling her so close to me for the first time was making me hard. I saw the surprise paint on her face and I had to admit that I was as surprised as she was. That had never happened before. I did not even know what to do.

I wanted to move away because I did not want to make her uncomfortable but she cupped my face in her hands. Her expression was hard to read right now but I did not dare move.

She leaned into me but we received a mind-link from her father. Way to kill the mood.

Rogues at the border.

Damn it. I was furious but Alice moved first.

"We should go." She said.

I sighed but she was blushing. That was proof that this moment affected her as much as it affected me. Babysteps.