The Alpha’s Little Rogue

Mate

Raine’s p.o.v.

The scent of blood clung to my skin, mixing with the damp earth beneath my bare feet. My breathing came in ragged gasps as I wove through the towering trees, my muscles burning with exhaustion. I had been running for hours or days, perhaps. Time blurred when survival was the only thing keeping me moving.

The Blackwood Pack’s border loomed ahead, an invisible line I swore I would never cross. No rogue made it out alive once they trespassed on Alpha Kade Blackwood’s land. His reputation was legend, merciless, brutal, a man who saw rogues as nothing more than vermin.

Meanwhile, I was out of options. A low growl rumbled behind me, deep and menacing. I forced my aching legs to push forward, darting between thick trunks and underbrush. My wolf howled inside me, urging me to fight, but I wasn’t stupid enough to take on an entire pack alone.

The moment I broke past the tree line into an open clearing, I knew I had made a mistake.

Shadows emerged from the darkness, bodies moving in sync, surrounding me in a perfect trap. Warriors, strong, disciplined, and lethal.

My heart slammed against my ribs as I turned, scanning for an opening, at that moment, a deep, commanding voice cut through the night.

“Well, well. Look what we have here.”

I spun around, and my breath caught in my throat.

‘Alpha Kade Blackwood.’ He was even more terrifying in person, towering over me, his broad frame cast a shadow in the moonlight. Dark hair framed a face carved from stone, a sharp jaw, piercing silver eyes, and an expression that sent a shiver down my spine.

Power radiated from him, thick and suffocating as if the air itself bowed to his presence.

I clenched my fists, forcing my body to stay upright despite the trembling in my body, yet, I refused to show weakness.

His eyes darkened as he stepped closer, gaze locked on mine.

In a split second, a flicker of recognition, and disbelief crossed his gaze, at the same time his nostrils flared slightly, and a muscle in his jaw ticked.

“Mate.” He blurted and I froze, ice shooting up my veins.

‘No! No! No! No!’ I stumbled back, shaking my head. “You’re wrong.”

His lips curled into a slow, predatory smirk. “I never am.” Just as he said those words his pack closed in, and at that I knew my fate was already doomed.

Panic surged through me, sharp and electric. ‘Mate.’ The word echoed in my head, a cruel joke from the universe. Of all the alphas in the world, it had to be him, the ruthless Blackwood Alpha, the man who saw rogues as pests to be exterminated.

I took another step back, but my legs wobbled as I had been running for days on starvation, exhaustion, and blood loss.

My vision blurred at the edges, but I forced myself to stay upright, I couldn’t afford to collapse, not in front of him.

Kade tilted his head, his silver eyes locked onto mine like a predator toying with its prey. “You don’t look happy, little rogue.” His voice was smooth, laced with quiet amusement, but there was something dangerous beneath it.

I bared my teeth. “That’s because I’m not.”

His smirk deepened. “A shame.”

His warriors stood motionless, waiting for his command, I recognized a few, Damon, his Beta, watching me with wary curiosity. Ivy, the dark-haired healer, glowering at me like she wanted to rip out my throat.

My body screamed for rest, but I gritted my teeth and forced myself to remain standing. “Let me go,” I demanded, my voice hoarse.

Kade took another step forward. “You crossed into my land, that makes you mine.” My wolf snarled at the possessiveness in his tone.

‘I belong to no one.’

I lifted my chin, even as my legs trembled. “I didn’t come here to be claimed, Alpha.”

His gaze dropped, taking in my torn clothes, and the dried blood on my skin. “No? Then tell me, little rogue, why are you here?”

I hesitated as I couldn’t tell him the truth or tell him that I was running and I had nowhere else to go. That someone was hunting me.

A flicker of impatience crossed his face when I didn’t answer. Then, faster than I could react, he closed the distance between us.

A gasp ripped from my throat as he grabbed my wrist, his touch sent a violent shock through my system, heat, power, something primal that made my wolf still in stunned silence.

Kade’s grip tightened slightly, his expression unreadable. “Weak, injured and alone.” His voice was quiet, but each word was sharp as a blade. “You won’t last another night out there.”

I jerked my arm away. “That’s none of your concern.”

His eyes darkened. “It is now.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but the world spun violently as my legs gave out, and before I could hit the ground, strong arms caught me.

The last thing I saw before the darkness took me was Kade’s silver eyes, burning with something I couldn’t understand.

‘Warmth.’ That was the first thing I noticed, soft weight of blankets, the steady crackle of a fire somewhere nearby and it felt safe, for the first time in years it felt like home.

However, the minute my eyes snapped open, panic surged as I jolted upright, my muscles tensing for a fight.

The room around me was unfamiliar, large, dimly lit as the scent of cedar and something undeniably male wrapped around me like a cage.

Suddenly, I remembered that this was Blackwood territory, and had been subdued by Kade.

At the same time, a growl rumbled from the other side of the room, I turned sharply, finding him standing near the fireplace, arms crossed, his gaze locked onto me with an intensity that sent shivers down my spine.

“Comfortable?” Kade asked, his voice smooth as silk but edged with something unreadable.

I swallowed hard, my pulse rising and beating rapidly. “Where am I?”

“My house,” he said simply. “In my pack.”

‘Of course it is.’ I huffed, and shoved the blankets off me, ignoring the way my legs still felt weak. “Let me go.”

“No.” He didn’t move and stood like a rock.

I gritted my teeth, feeling devastated. “I didn’t ask for your help.”

His silver eyes flashed. “You collapsed at my feet, what did you expect me to do? Leave you to die?”

‘Yes, that’s exactly what I expected. No one had ever saved me before.’

I swung my legs off the bed, willing the dizziness away as I had been in worse shape before, and I could push through this. But as I tried to stand, my body betrayed me, my knees buckled, but before I could hit the floor, Kade was there, catching me with ridiculous ease.

My hands pressed against his chest, and the next moment, heat shot through me like wildfire. His scent was everywhere, earth, pine, something dark and intoxicating.

I shoved against him, but he didn’t let go. “Stop fighting me,” he murmured, his breath warm against my temple, I forced myself to meet his gaze, ignoring the way my heart pounded. “I don’t belong here.”

Something flickered in his eyes, but it was gone before I could name it. “Too bad. You’re mine now.”

I bared my teeth, rage surging. “I am not yours.”

His grip tightened just enough to remind me of his strength. “You are my mate, Raine.”

I flinched, hearing him say my name as I didn’t remember telling him my name and I hated how it sounded on his lips, how right it felt.

Kade exhaled sharply, his frustration evident. “You can hate it all you want, but it doesn’t change anything.”

I clenched my jaw. ‘I had to get out of here.’ I said internally and before I could plan my escape, the memories of the past I was running from came crashing back.

Blood, fire, screams, my mother’s voice was razor sharp and desperate, ‘Run, Raine! Don’t stop!’

I had been just a child when I lost everything, my pack was slaughtered and I was forced into a life of solitude, a rogue without a home.

My stomach twisted as I recalled what happened in the past. ‘No one can know who I really am, especially not him.’

On the other hand, Kade studied me in silence, as if trying to read my thoughts, but I didn’t give him the chance.

I shoved him away, stepping back until the bed was between us. “I don’t care what you think, Alpha. I’m not staying.”

His jaw tightened. “We’ll see about that.”

Saying that, our gaze locked against the other a silent battle of who would give in, the atmosphere suffocating and unfriendly.