The Rogue King's Daughter

Chapter 6 The Car Ride

Enya

I wake up at 6 a.m. after hardly 2 hours of sleep. To say I'm exhausted is an understatement. I had a night patrol again, even though it wasn't my turn. It's never my turn unless I do something recklessly, piss off the wrong people or get in trouble. So my night shift was Max's way of punishing me for yesterday's incident with Prince Kellan. He didn't break his word to me and made sure I was left unharmed, without being suspended or punished.

I have about 15 minutes before leaving to be on time in front of the palace. I do my morning business and take a quick shower. I don't bother with breakfast. I don't have enough energy to prepare anything and my brothers are still asleep.

Taylor has a day off and Tom probably has a hangover after his game night where he got shitfaced drunk as always. I came home to our living room looking like from those apocalyptic films. I had to take several deep breaths to control my temper, and not go all ballistic on Tom and wake him up and f*cking yell at him to clean his mess.

Then I remembered I was leaving in the morning, so I let it be. It's not my mess and they will live in that for the next week. I will be away and they can rot in it for all I care. Okay, that is too much. I still love my brothers, even Tom.

I drag my tired *ss to the parking lot behind the palace, trying not to fall asleep behind the steering wheel. I yawned probably a hundred times, and I'm not joking. This day already sucks.

'You look like sh*t!' Luke greets me. Thank you, Captain Obvious!

'I feel like sh*t, but thank you.' I tell him back, yawning again.

'Did you have a night patrol?' Luke asks me, looking at me intently. Maybe he thinks I'm not in the right state of my mind for this mission. He should have known better. He saw me in worse conditions, and never have I failed.

'Sure did, with that sh*thead Jacob of all people! It was Max's way of punishing me for my behavior yesterday. He knows very well I hate Jacob, *sshole.' I say frustrated. That was the worst part of my night patrol, working with Jacob. He is the worst. I hate him with the intensity of a thousand suns.

When I first met Jacob, he thought I was not good enough to join the Special Forces. The reason? I was a woman. I was not as strong as men were. That was my first day. Then I put him in his place, or better say, I broke his nose and his rib cage and dislocated both his arms. He never said I was not good enough after that, but he started flirting with me, which is even worse. I said no to his invitation to date numerous times, but he hasn't gotten the message yet and is still trying. In the meantime, he's f*cking everything that has at least two legs. Disgusting f*cker!

'*sshole you say? I think you need another lesson on how to behave in front of your superiors. And towards your superiors.' Max appears out of nowhere. His specialty.

'I didn’t know you were listening.' I tell him, not one bit remorseful. He should know his choice of a patrol partner for me has caused damage to my mental health. And almost to Jacob's health, but I'm trying to become a more controlled person. Plus, you know, my next assignment.

'Here, you probably need it.' Max says and hands me a cup of coffee and a homemade sandwich. So he feels remorseful for pairing me up with Jacob.

'Thank you. Do you know how much I love you?' I take the cup and the sandwich and flash him my best smile.

'From *sshole to your love in a heartbeat. And they say women aren't moody.' Luke deadpans. I flip him off and take a first bite of the sandwich. It tastes amazing. Max's mate makes the best breakfast. Sometimes, I'm invited to them, spending time with his family. Other times, he brings me food directly to training grounds or before my missions. Max doesn't have children, so I was kind of adopted by him and his mate, even though he isn't a lot older than me, only around ten years.

'Attention, warriors. We are going to split into three cars. Enya and Luke are with me and His Highness. The rest pair up and take the two remaining cars, one in front of us and one in the back.' Max instructs us. I'm thankful I'm with him and Luke. I'm not glad I'm in the same car as His Highn*ss, but I don't have a choice, do I? Our task is to protect him and that's what I will do to the best of my abilities. When I get a rest, that is.

'Go to the back and take a nap.' Max whispers to me when he is about to get into the driver's seat. Did I already tell you I love him? I sure do.

'Thanks.' I tell him and head to the back seat, slumping on it.

'Are you going to sleep during your mission? That's not very professional.' His Highness, the *ss himself, asks me. I contemplate whether it's the right time for a truthful answer or a society-acceptable one. I should probably go with the last option if I don't want to piss off Max so soon into our long journey.

'If I may say something, your Highness. You should go on patrol with us just once so you'll have a better understanding of how tiring it should be. Also, you should go with that… warrior… Screw that, I'm too tired to do this the good way. You should go on a patrol with that sh*thead and then tell me about being unprofessional. I wanted to punch a hole in his head like a hundred times and that's just my humble guess. I was tired of the sh*t that came from his mouth even before our shift started.' I say and see Max glaring at me. Well, that didn't go as planned. In my defense, my brain isn't working properly. I need rest or I'll be a b*tch.

'I'm surprised he's not dead.' Luke says and looks at me with amusement, engaging in a conversation.

'What can I say? I'm changing for the better.' I tell him and roll my eyes. We both know it's bullsh*t. Jacob is still alive because I hate paperwork. I will definitely make it look like an accident and that means a lot of paperwork, a lot of explaining, questioning,... Nah, still not worth it. But maybe, one day... My train of thought is interrupted by my phone vibrating.

'Oh, that's Taylor. We have a clear way today.' I inform the rest of the people in the car after reading a message from my older brother.

'I thought he had a day off.' Max says more to himself than to anybody specific. Max, being the Gamma, knows about almost everything happening with warriors, about our missions, and so on.

'Of course, he has. That's why he's in the commander's center monitoring our every step and looking for possible problems.' I tell him like it's a given he's not at home, slacking. Or sleeping, since it's still freaking early!

'He's worried about his little sister.' Luke says, taunting me. He knows I hate it when he calls me little. Or when my brothers call me little. I'm nothing near little. I may look tiny besides these giants, but I'm a little over average tall for a woman.

'I'm not little, I'm younger. There's a huge difference between these two words. You should check the dictionary, *sshole. Now shut your mouth, I want to sleep.' I bark at him. I'm done with this conversation. I wanted to tell them we didn't need to be on high alert during our ride, and that our ride should be without any inconveniences, but he's getting on my nerves quickly, and I'm tired.

'Just promise me you'll behave in Alpha Hunter's pack. He's one of the strongest Alphas, he's not going to put up with your sh*t. He will deal with you before you say 'Sorry, Alpha.' and I won't blame him. Try not to piss him off, Enya.' Max looks at me through the rearview mirror. At the mention of Alpha Hunter, the corners of my mouth twitch. Oh, I know exactly how to piss off Alpha Hunter. It's not my first time, after all. Max saw me hiding my amusement and is now looking sternly at me.

'Enya, I mean it!' He warns me. How I wish he knew. This will be so much fun! When they find out about me and Alpha Hunter Blackfur. It was a secret until now. Secret for my colleagues and the rest of the world, because at the Blackfur Pack, everybody knows how good I am at pushing their Alpha's buttons.

'Oh, maybe he'll like me pissing him off. He'll have a little fun in his boring life. I bet he's working his *ss off, not taking a day off. What a day, a minute off! Like most of the overly responsible Alphas.' I tell Max and can't help the grin spread on my face. I didn't lie to them, I told them the truth. I know how Hunter is when I'm not around. Always consumed by his work. He likes when I come and have some fun with him.

'I don't know why you like to always provoke people.' Max inhales deeply and exclaims, rubbing his temple with his free hand. The hand that isn't on the steering wheel.

'I don't know, it's one of my best qualities.' I flash him my best smile again.

'Enya, I'm serious!' He isn't, he is amused, I can tell.

'I'll see what I can do about that, Max.' Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

'Yep, we are screwed.' Max closes his eyes and Luke chuckles, shaking his head at me.