Rogue Hearts

Chapter Three

(Kanyon's POV)

"You can’t just leave her there," Jace protested as I walked out of the hospital. I didn’t want to. But I had things to attend to. "I can't wake her up with my voice, Jace," I explained.

"She needs someone beside her."

"That's why we have Doctor Tim and the nurses."

Jace grumbled before staying silent. I mind-linked one of the warriors to come pick me up.

We got to the pack house. Athena was standing in front, arms folded. Her piercing gaze stayed on me, watching till I stopped in front of her.

"It's midnight. What's going on?" She loosened her arms. I took a deep breath. I didn’t respond. I just headed for the stairs. "Our guest refused to speak. Eric didn't want to take further measures till you arrived," she reported.

I stopped, turning around.

Nikolia appeared. He draped his arm over Athena's shoulders, giving her a kiss on her cheek before turning his attention to me.

"We've gathered the bodies at the outskirts. Apart from the marks, there was nothing unusual."

"Burn them."

Niko nodded, walking away. I shifted my gaze to Athena. "You should be asleep."

"Speak for yourself, Kanyon." She walked towards me. I smiled, patting her hair. She swatted my hand away, frowning slightly. "Stop that."

"We'll talk more tomorrow." I turned, going to my room. I heard her curse under her breath before she disappeared into the kitchen on the left.

I got to my room and immediately entered the bathroom. I stripped down, getting into the shower. I felt my muscles relax as the warm water touched my skin.

No matter how hard I tried, my thoughts returned to the woman lying unconscious in the hospital. Who was she? How did she end up like that?

Was she really our...

I shook my head. The Moon Goddess hadn't blessed me yet.

But her scent. Lilies.

I'm thinking too much about this. I turned off the shower and got out. I grabbed a towel and dried off before changing into a pair of shorts and a tank top.

"Eric," I mind-linked. "We'll try again with the prisoner tomorrow."

He responded a few seconds later. "Okay. Niko said you're back at the pack house."

"Yeah."

Eric was silent for a moment before I heard his voice again. "How's she?"

"She's alive."

"That's good. Till tomorrow then." He disconnected the mind link.

I got into bed, staring up at the ceiling. Sleep didn't come easily. Jace didn't help either. He kept bringing up the woman from the hospital.

I let out a tired sigh, turning onto my side.

There wasn't anything special about her... at least, that's what I kept telling myself. I'd met countless women before. Yet, for some reason, she was different.

I didn't remember falling asleep. When I opened my eyes again, dawn had arrived.

I dragged myself out of bed and within minutes, I was already seated for breakfast with Eric, Nikolia and Athena.

Athena kept on giving me suspicious looks but I ignored her. Niko spoke first, breaking the silence. "I'm sure everyone slept well."

Eric snorted a laugh before composing himself. Athena gave him a questioning look before rolling her eyes. "I need someone to tell me what's going on."

Eric and Niko exchanged looks.

Athena turned to Nikolia. "Niko."

"I have border patrol this morning and then training..."

Eric joined in. "Actually, training is on Athena today."

"Then what are you doing?"

I stood up, drawing their attention back to me. "He's coming with me." I answered Niko's question. "Right, the prisoner." Eric pushed back his chair and followed me.

I stopped one of the maids and asked her to bring a plate of food. She hurried back moments later, handing it to Eric.

We headed for the holding cells in the basement. "Is he restrained?" I asked. "Iron chains. He tried to attack Athena yesterday," Eric replied. I nodded.

The rotten scent of rogues hit me as we reached the bottom of the stairs. Years of living as outcasts had a way of clinging to them. He had his head down, his long dark hair falling over his face. His wrists were bound with iron chains.

Eric held his breath as he opened the cell, sliding the food in. The prisoner raised his head. His gaze shifted from the plate to Eric before settling on me. Eric stepped out of the cell and locked the door behind him.

I stepped forward, holding his gaze. "What's your name?"

The rogue let out a dry chuckle, the iron chains rattling with the movement. The sound echoed in the basement. "You think playing nice will get me to talk?"

Eric gave me a look. I sighed. So much for the easy approach.

"Who do you work for?"

He shifted, crawling towards the food. My eyes caught on the huge gash in his calf. I turned to Eric. "Why didn't you call a nurse to—"

"I don't need your pity. If you're going to kill me, just do it," the rogue interrupted, picking up the fork and poking at the food. Eric folded his arms. "The silver mark on your neck. Someone put it there. Your leader, wasn't it?"

The rogue smiled. "I work alone."

Eric watched him. "There's a mark on your neck. Same one we found on the others."

"Your point?"

"This is useless. Just kill him. He's wasting our time," Jace groaned.

"He'll crack."

I stared at the rogue. He was noticeably older than the other rogues. "Is it just me or he looks like one of the rogues we got last night?" Eric muttered. That's when it clicked, the young wolf I examined.

The rogue's gaze immediately locked with mine. A flicker of panic crossed his face before he scrambled toward the bars.

"Where's Josh?" he demanded.

Eric and I exchanged a glance.

"Josh?" I repeated.

The rogue gripped the iron bars so tightly his knuckles turned white. "The young one. Where is he?"

There was a brief silence before Eric spoke again. "He didn't survive. We burned the bodies last night."

"Eric." I frowned.

The rogue's grip loosened, his head dropping. "He was going to turn eighteen next week."

The silence that followed was heavy.

"What now?" Eric mind-linked me.

"We'll come back."

I paused, glancing back. He was still kneeling by the bars, staring at nothing.

We got back to the hallway. Eric and I didn't say anything. He just headed to the training field while I got into the car. Whoever the rogues leader is, he doesn't seem to care how young they were. He'd throw them into the front lines.

More importantly, why was he attacking my pack? Rogues didn't wage wars. They stole food, clothes, whatever they needed to survive. They didn't launch coordinated attacks against packs.

"We couldn't get anything useful out of him," Jace sighed, frustrated. "Not everything can be solved quickly," I reminded him, parking the car.

I got out and headed for her room.

Room 47.

I opened the door. Her lily scent calmed something inside me. A nurse was already in. She lowered her head slightly, muttering a greeting.

"How's she?" I looked her over. Her hospital gown had been changed. The blood bag was gone, replaced by a clear IV bag dripping fluids into her arm. The oxygen mask still covered her face.

The nurse glanced at the chart. "Her vitals have been stable all morning. The transfusion was completed a few hours ago. She's responding well physically."

"But?"

"She's still unconscious. Doctor Tim wants to keep monitoring her neurological responses. With head injuries, it's difficult to predict when a patient will wake up."

I ran my hands down my face. I walked over to her bedside. She's really a fighter. For a moment, I simply stood there, listening to the steady rhythm of the heart monitor.

"She has to wake up," Jace murmured.

I ignored him, turned, thanked the nurse, and left the hospital.