Chapter 5: Erin POV
1492 Words
Sitting beside Ethan while that damn high-and-prestigious Alpha Kyle escorted Mirella toward the MRI room, I couldn’t stop thinking.
Every instinct I had was telling me to get up, walk over there, and remind the brat exactly who he was standing in front of.
Instead…
I stayed where I was.
Watching.
Waiting.
Observing.
That was how rogues survived.
Legal packs relied on rank.
Rogues relied on patience.
While Kyle busied himself trying to charm Mirella, I’d already linked half my command.
Every order had gone out the second I’d realized she wasn’t just another human.
She was an opportunity.
A future.
A queen.
A weapon.
And, if I played this right…
My chosen Luna.
One by one, the links returned.
Each wolf already carrying out the tasks I’d assigned without questioning a single order.
Good.
That’s exactly why they belonged to my pack.
Not because they feared me.
Because they trusted my judgment enough not to waste time asking why.
If Mirella Carrasquillo was going to become mine, I wasn’t leaving anything to chance.
Not her home.
Not her finances.
Not the legal system.
Not her ex-husband.
And certainly not that damn legal Alpha currently smiling at her like he’d already won.
He hadn’t.
Not even close.
I was going to end up paying every damn penny for that woman.
The hospital bills.
The damage to her van.
Whatever else came from the accident.
By the time this was over, my bank account was going to hate me almost as much as my mechanic shop probably would.
Unfortunately…
Money wasn’t the problem.
The problem was the woman herself.
Mirella Carrasquillo.
Thirty-four years old.
Divorced.
A single mother.
Puerto Rican.
Human.
Every single fact about her should have made me walk away.
Instead…
She was exactly the kind of woman I’d spent years looking for.
Female rogues were rare enough.
Finding one capable of leading beside an Alpha rogue wanted world wide was even rarer.
Finding a human strong enough to survive our world…
Almost impossible.
Yet somehow, life had decided to throw Mirella Carrasquillo in front of my tow truck.
A woman who fought systems.
Questioned authority.
Protected her child before herself.
Stood her ground even while injured.
She wasn’t just stubborn.
She was dangerous.
Not because she knew how to fight.
Because she refused to surrender.
Those were the women history remembered.
The kind that made kingdoms rise…
Or fall.
She had absolutely no idea who had opened the door to her wrecked van.
To her, I was just a mechanic.
A grumpy one, apparently.
If only she knew.
I wasn’t simply another rogue.
I was Alpha Rogue Erin Falkenrath.
The most dangerous rogue Alpha in the United States and German.
A German-born werewolf whose name was whispered instead of spoken whenever legal packs thought no one was listening.
I ruled the underground.
Not just one city.
Not just one territory.
An entire network that stretched beneath the legal world the Alphas proudly claimed as theirs.
They believed they had ended my reign years ago.
They believed taking my territory had broken me.
Instead…
It had forced me underground.
Where I became something far more dangerous.
And now…
One tiny human woman had somehow managed to do what none of my enemies ever could.
She had me thinking about a future that didn’t revolve around revenge.
She had me wondering what my pups would look like if they inherited her stubborn mouth and her will to beat the system for her own gain.
She had a grip on my balls so tight it was honestly embarrassing.
I wanted her.
Not because fate had chosen her.
I didn’t need the Moon Goddess making decisions for me.
I wanted Mirella because I chose to.
Because if there was ever going to be a woman worthy of ruling beside me…
It was her.
And if she agreed…
She wouldn’t just become my Luna.
She’d become the Queen of every rogue territory I controlled.
Eventually…
The world.
Winning her wasn’t going to be easy.
She didn’t trust easily.
She questioned everything.
Good.
I preferred difficult women.
Easy women bored me.
Sitting beside Ethan while the little boy slowly drifted toward sleep, I rested one hand on the armrest beside him.
My wolf quietly released enough calming energy to help him relax without frightening him.
The kid had been through enough for one day.
A mind link interrupted my thoughts.
One of my men.
‘Alpha, her new vehicle is on its way along with everything you requested. Is there anything else we need to prepare?’
I glanced toward Mirella’s room before replying.
She still had no idea I had already started rebuilding the disaster that had become her day.
‘No. Just make sure the surveillance team keeps a respectful distance around her property. I don’t want anyone approaching her unless I approve it personally.’
The reply disappeared the moment I sent it.
A second mind link arrived almost immediately.
This one came from one of my wolves embedded in the banking industry.
The moment I opened the link, every muscle in my body stiffened.
‘Alpha, I have concerning news. Miss Carrasquillo is legally vulnerable.’
I kept hearing the man.
‘The property she’s currently living in remains under a shared mortgage with her ex-husband. Although she’s been able to remain there by using legal assistance programs connected to her son’s disability benefits, those protections are becoming increasingly fragile.’
Another link was send, equally clear and my men sounded concerned for her.
Court records.
Property records.
Financial statements.
Then came the part that made my jaw tighten.
‘Her previous arrest involving another minor has left a permanent trail. Although security footage proved she acted in self-defense and the child was the aggressor, another incident involving law enforcement could easily be manipulated against her in family or civil court.’
I closed my eyes for a brief second.
Someone had spent years trying to break this woman.
The legal system.
Her ex-husband.
Now the ABA center.
They just kept coming.
A slow smile crossed my face.
They’d made one mistake.
Now they had me.
I looked down at Ethan sleeping peacefully beside me.
The little guy had trusted me enough to fall asleep.
His mother hadn’t.
Yet.
That would come.
I opened the link again.
‘Coordinate with our contacts inside the police department.’
My mind paused over the thoughts coming to mind.
Then I continued speaking.
‘I want every interaction with law enforcement to reflect exactly what happened today. No lies. No fabricated evidence. Just make sure the truth isn’t buried under paperwork.’
I added one final line.
‘And if anyone tries to use today’s accident against Mirella or Ethan…’
I smiled.
‘…I’ll break someone’s damn arm.’
The reply came back almost instantly.
‘Yes, Alpha.’
Just as the last link left my mind, I looked up.
Kyle was wheeling Mirella back toward her room.
Right behind her, two police officers walked through the emergency room doors.
Before I could even think about what they wanted…
My wolf caught a scent.
A scent that made every muscle in my body tighten.
Arousal.
Not much.
Just enough for my wolf to recognize it.
A low growl built in my throat before I swallowed it back down.
Damn it.
She was getting aroused by someone.
I didn’t have to be a genius to figure out who.
That damn legal Alpha.
If I’d known today was going to turn into this mess, I would’ve had the accident happen somewhere else entirely.
Xenia.
My territory.
My main pack.
My rules.
There, Alpha Kyle Beaumont wouldn’t have had a single ounce of authority over the situation.
He would’ve been the outsider.
Not me.
Instead…
Fate had decided to make the accident happen in Huber Heights.
Kyle’s territory.
Kyle’s hospital.
Kyle’s pack.
Every rogue I had stationed in the city had to work legally under his jurisdiction to avoid exposing our kind.
It irritated the hell out of me.
I wasn’t afraid of Kyle.
Far from it.
What frustrated me was that, inside his territory, every move I made had to be calculated.
One wrong decision…
One unnecessary fight…
One dead body…
And every legal Alpha in the state would have an excuse to come after my pack.
No.
Not today.
Today required patience.
I glanced back at Mirella.
She looked completely oblivious.
She had no idea her body had betrayed her.
She had no idea two Alphas were quietly waging a war over a woman who still believed they were nothing more than a mechanic and a young medical trainee.
Good.
The longer she stayed unaware…
The more time I had to make sure she chose me.
Because one thing was becoming painfully clear.
Kyle might have fate on his side…
But I had something fate couldn’t control.
Choice.
And I intended to make damn sure Mirella Carrasquillo had every reason to choose me over destiny.
- Writer
