Queen of Rogues

Dehlia’s POV The rain seemed neverending. It hadn’t bothered to let up since six this morning but Dehlia was fine with it. The constant drizzle seemed cozy and warming to her. The soft pa ta pa ta sound brought her peace. She wished the weather would stay like this forever, but that wouldn’t be possible. Slowly her eyes turned away from the window to the front door as the sound of a bell grabbed her attention. “Hello Mr. Ruppert.” Her voice was lithe and delicate, leaving a sense of warmth and welcoming in the air. The disheveled older man looked at her and weakly smiled. “Hi Doc.” He said while hobbling over to her. She could tell Mr. Ruppert needed extensive care. She could see the gashing wounds on his arm and shoulders and rose quickly from her seat. She wasn’t a doctor. Everyone that came in called her that. A series of high pitched whistles left her lips. “Let’s get you to a room quickly. I’ll have Tavia tend to your wounds.” Worry filled her words as she slid old Mr. Rupperts arm over her shoulder. The scent of him would send many running away, but Dehlia could relate. It sucked to be homeless and worse to be a rouge. Wolf packs never took kindly to rouges. She had seen so many come in hurt or near death due to those clique bastards. Her brow frowned in anger. “It’s okay doc. I’m okay.” He told her. It almost felt like he could read her mind. “I know, but still.” She felt herself sigh out in frustration at the thought. “You don’t deserve this. No rouge does.” She mumbled and heard him laugh warmly at her. “For being so young you do take on a lot of worry.” He smiled warmly every once in a while, wincing in pain. “But even as young as you are you have given us all a home.” Those words caused a misting in her eyes. “I try. No one deserves this.” She shook her head before coming to a vacant room with a nice single bed made up for any welcome guest. “Make yourself comfortable Mr. Ruppert. Tavia should be here in a minute. The bathrooms are to the left and the showers are ready to use whenever you feel comfortable. I’ll have clean clothes brought for you and some food as well.” She smiled at him. He had always been one of her favorite wolves. “Hiya!” A cheerful voice chirped at the door. Dehlia turned to find her best friend with a grin. They were two opposite forces joined together at the hip. She watched the rainbow-haired girl wave to everyone in the room. Her bright colored clothes were a drastic contrast to Dehlia’s black. “Tavia Mr. Ruppert needs to be seen for some extensive wounds.” She spoke softly. “Alright. Let me have a look at ya. Thanks Lia.” She nodded and elbowed Dehlia as the girl walked out the door. “Thanks Doc.” Mr. Ruppert mustered up a bushy-mustached smile. Dehlia lingered back a bit in the hallway. There were days this job was hard. She had seen more than one rouge die on the premise but was thankful that today was calm. Mr. Ruppert and two other guests had come to Hashi Haven. A safe house for any rouge that needs a place to get healed, get food, or just a place to stay. She had learned that her haven was one of a kind if not the only of its kind, but her pride resided in the fact that so many of what were considered the wretched had a place to call home for a night or get food and a fresh set of clothes. Some have even integrated into human society. Dehlia was one of the few to do it. It wasn’t like she would be claimed by a pack. Not that she really wanted to. She had seen so many prejudices within their ranks that the thought alone left bile building in her throat. Finally, she walked back to the front. It seemed that day would be quiet. She was fine with that. She planned to watch the rain fall and read a book before her shift would end and her second job would start. We should get that little joint down the street for dinner. A voice whispered through her mind. A smirk grasped her lips. What do you want to eat in Phoenix? She asked the voice. A meatloaf sandwich… And that thought alone had her stomach growling. To think about that it all she had for the day was a cup of tea and a few glasses of water. Truthfully, it was still hard for her to remember to eat even after being able to support herself after three years. Fine. But no gravy. That was gross. She laid down the rules. The taste was always strange to her. But her wolf had a strange taste that she couldn’t quite stand. “Lia!” Tavia called.l while walking down the hallway. “Yeah.” She called from her desk while looking back from where the voice projected from. “Mr. Rupperts fixed up. He seemed pretty content. Netta brought him some food and Aflie a set of clothes.” She smiled. “He wanted to know if he could stay a week?” She asked before leaning on the desk and sliding down to lay her head on her hands. The rainbow of color fanning out around her cupid face. “That should be fine. I think Mr. Dancy will be leaving tomorrow and Ms. Rostic won’t be staying the night. She just went to get some food and clothes.” Dehlia nodded her head. Before she turned her eyes up to the window and falling rain. “Ehhhh I hate the rain.” Tavia complained as she watched it as well. Her dull turquoise eyes watched with dismay. “I think its nice. I think we need more days like this.” Dehlia countered. “Only the goth child would want that.” Tavia knocked at her with a smirk. “Preferably I would like it to be snowing and shut in at home due to a blizzard.” Dehlia piped up. “Knowing your luck, the power would go out and so would the heat.” Tavia giggled. She glared at her colorful rainbow of a friend. “Thats besides the point.” Not like the girl had been wrong. Murphy’s law seemed to be intertwined with Dehlia’s life. “Lets go eat. Khai and Leef are in for the night shift and you have to work in about two hours. So lets get moving. I need food!” The girl pleaded dramatically. Dehlia laughed while gathering her belongings and rose. “Lets go. My subconscious won’t stop nagging me for a meatloaf sandwich.” She locked arms with her friend as they waved over to Khai and Leef as they walked in. She felt a blush spread across her cheeks as Khai regarded her with a shy smile and a light brush of her hand in passing. They had taken a quiet liking to each other. A unique relationship seemed to blossom shortly after Khai confessed to liking her and even now Dehlia couldn’t help but feel pleased with the way things were progressing. “By lover boy!” Tavia screamed out as they stepped out the door while Dehlia punched her in the arm. “Shut up!” She giggled and shook her head but quietly agreed with her friend. She gave up on the idea of mates a long time ago. Very few rouges had mates. And by very few she had only ever seen two pairs in her life, but both partners had been rouges. Nearly all rouges were rejected if their mate happened to be in a pack. That had been the only reason she had settled for Khai. She had never found her mate and hoped to never meet them. She was happy where she was at and the rejection would destroy what she worked intensely hard to achieve. ********** Matthias’ POV He breathed in slowly. The finances were a mess. The situation as a whole seemed to be a mess. How could his father leave this pack in such a mess was beyond him. His fingers digged through the dark strand of hair and pulled in strict frustration. He had been trying for the last five years to fix this pack but almost everything had failed. He didn’t want to go to other packs to ask for help. He couldn’t face the other alphas of the pack nor did he want to look so weak to them. He sighed out feeling cornered. What was he to do? "Hey Boss.” A voice spoke up at the door. “What am I even doing here Fitz?” He muttered into his own hands that now covered his face. “What do you mean?” Fitz spoke up. His arms crossed over his chest as his dark blue eyes started at the man behind the desk. “What am I doing? I’m killing myself trying to fix generations of messes and yet it feels like nothing has been done.” Matthias sighed out in frustration. “Look, it’s a lot of work. You knew this when you took on the role. You put your mind to it to change it and I applaud that, but you were warned about this." Fitz said while staring him square in the eye. Matthias huffed in irritation. His Beta was right. The man had been by his side since the beginning. They didn’t always see eye to eye, but they both wanted the same idea of trying to change their pack. It was in shambles after years of abuse, the finances had dwindled due to the older Alphas long passed, and it seemed impossible to provide care for everyone. The pack was on the brink of poverty and teetering towards homelessness if Matthias couldn’t figure out how to fix this issue and soon. “Matt, you have this but you still need help with it. It's rough trying to fix this on your own,” Fitz said. “I haven’t found her if that's what you mean.” He even felt frustration mount at the thought of his mate. He had searched high and low and thought out various packs but still nothing. “I don’t even know if I have a mate.” Maybe this was the Moon Goddess’s way of punishment through karma. “I’m not just talking about your mate, Matt. You can’t do this by yourself. The burden's just too too great.” Fitz chimed in lightly. “I’m trying where I can but we’re not in the place where we can keep giving.” Matthias could hear the pleading in his friend’s voice. The man was right but he didn’t want to look weak to other packs even though they seemed to be the laughing stock of all the American packs. “Lets grab a bite. I have some cash but it's not much. We can hit a dinner in town before we make it to the summit meeting for the solstice.” Fitz offered a little. “We shouldn’t waste your money.” Matthias added, while looking at the man and shaking his head. “Shut up and come on. I don’t offer often and you damn well know this. Lets go before we end up late to the summit again.” Firz rolled his eyes and walked away. Matthias watched his best friend walk out of his office. He shook his head before rising up and grabbing a lightweight jacket because of the rainfall, but didn’t bother to put it on. He stood outside for a moment feeling the cool drops of water hit his skin. He loved the rain. He would almost consider it great weather to run in. “Earth to Matt get in!” Fitz yelled impatiently. It was apparent that he had been yelling at him for five minutes. Matthias felt a blush spread across his cheeks as he lowered his head and climbed in. His hands ruffling the red curls of his messy hair before running down along the side burns and a well trimmed red beard. His green eyes turned to watch the scenery pass by. His thoughts only contained worry about the summit meeting. After a good two hours of driving, they pulled into a small dinner. The mom and pop joint looked just like that. Old and family owned but at least it smelt good. He would give it to humans that at least their food smelled good at times, but it was nothing like pack food. He stepped out of the car and closed the door behind him while looking up to the sky. The clouds still hadn’t dispersed but at least it was still drizzling. He stretched out his hand to catch the rain drops that were falling. “Come on. We don’t have all day.” His friend chirped. He walked in from the rain and the scent seemed almost heavenly. Lavander and Anise filled his senses. He breathed it in again and Atlas surfaced. She’s here. Atlas’s curiosity was peaked. Are you sure!? Matthias found his eyes searching. There. Awran said the moment they passed the table with two drastically different styles girls. But it was the one dressed in black. The one who sat across from some girl that looked like a rainbow threw her up. This girl looked content listening to the girl blabber on. His hand darted out and he stopped Fitz at the table right behind him. “ Let's sit here.” He felt himself eager to see the girl. To be near her. “Alright.” Fitz gave him an awkward glance and just shook his head before sitting down. “What can I get y’all?” The waitress walked up and asked them. Fitz smiled, “Give me the special.” He winked at the woman who blushed. Matthias could care less about the girl before them. His mind was focused on some way of talking to the girl behind him. “Earth to Matt!” Fitz said while flicking the man in the nose. Matthias whimpered and glared at his friend. “Really!” He complained before looking at the waitress and apologized before asking for a meatloaf sandwich. “With gravy though please.” The worst sound he ever heard came from the table behind him. A gagging sound that made him cringe. “Shut up Lia.” One girl said. He perked up at the name and voice. Who was who! He felt on edge with the need to frantically turn around and look , but stood his ground. Fitz, on the other hand, yelled, “That was gross.” He watched the guy’s face screw up from the sound. “Don’t roll your damn eyes!” Fitz yelled. At this point Matthias had to turn around to find the girl, who Awran believed was their mate, flipping off Fitz. “What the f*ck!” Fitz rose up from his seat. “Whoa calm down big guy.” The color of the rainbow quickly got up watching the man before her. “Calm your s**t down. Don’t get her in a mood.” “The control you damn friend.” Fitz hissed. “She can’t. We ain’t married.” The girl named Lia grinned. “Damn it.” Skittles muttered while pressing on the bridge of her nose. “Lia!” She yelled. Matthias watched the girl and found her staring back at him before her own face screwed up in what looked like anger. “Let’s get out of here Tavia.” Lia snickered. Something's wrong with her. Atlas whimpered.