The Twin Alpha Rogue Mate

Chapter six

Sapphire's POV

The lock clicks.

I'm on my feet before the door finishes opening, Julia shoved behind me, my broken arm screaming in protest. The pain is a white-hot spike up my spine, but I don't care. I can't care.

They're coming. They're finally coming for us.

But it's not guards.

It's him.

Derrick fills the doorway like a storm cloud—all broad shoulders and lazy smile, but his eyes are sharp. Hungry. They rake over me, head to toe, and I feel it like a physical touch.

I hate how my skin warms under his gaze.

"Relax," he says, stepping inside. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"You're here." My voice comes out ragged, torn from a throat raw with screaming. "That's enough."

He tilts his head, studying me the way a wolf studies wounded prey. Calculating. Patient. The smile never leaves his face, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"You've been crying."

It's not a question.

"I don't cry."

"Your face says otherwise." He moves closer, and I press back against the wall, my good hand splayed flat against the cold stone. Julia whimpers behind me. "Your sister's been crying too. I could hear her through the door."

Through the door. He was listening. He was outside, listening to us, and we didn't even know.

My stomach turns. "What do you want?"

"To talk."

"We have nothing to talk about."

"We have everything to talk about." He stops just out of arm's reach—smart, because if he came closer, I'd claw his eyes out with my teeth. "You're our mate, Sapphire. That makes you my business."

"I didn't ask for this."

"Neither did I." The smile finally drops. "You think I wanted a rogue for a mate? You think I wanted the girl who smells like dirt and desperation and revenge?"

His words hit like a slap. I feel them in my chest, sharp and stinging.

"Then reject me." I lift my chin, refusing to let him see how much it hurts. "Problem solved."

Something flickers in his eyes. Pain? Anger? It's gone before I can name it.

"I can't."

"Can't? Or won't?"

"Does it matter?"

"It matters to me."

He's quiet for a moment. Then he moves—not toward me, but toward the small cot in the corner. He sits, long legs stretched out, and pats the space beside him.

"Sit."

"I'd rather stand."

"Suit yourself." He leans back, arms crossed. "But you look like you're about to collapse. And your sister needs you upright."

I glance at Julia. She's pale, her small body trembling against my back. She hasn't eaten in days. She hasn't slept. She's running on fumes and fear.

He's right. I hate that he's right.

I don't sit next to him. I sit on the floor, my back against the wall, keeping myself between him and Julia. It's not much of a defense, but it's all I have.

"What do you want?" I repeat.

"Answers." He leans forward, elbows on his knees. "You said you saw me eight years ago. At Black Cove. During the attack."

"I did."

"You're lying."

The word is flat. Certain.

"I know what I saw."

"You were twelve. You were terrified. You were running for your life." His eyes bore into mine. "Memories are unreliable, especially under trauma. You could have seen anyone."

"I saw you." The words tear from my throat, raw and jagged. "You were standing at the edge of the farm. You were covered in blood. You looked right at me."

He doesn't flinch. Doesn't look away.

"I was seventeen when Black Cove fell," he says quietly. "I wasn't there. I was here, in Blood Moon territory, training with my father."

"Then who did I see?"

"I don't know." He pauses. "But I intend to find out."

Silence stretches between us, thick and suffocating.

"Why do you care?" I ask finally. "Why does it matter what I saw?"

"Because someone is lying." His voice hardens. "Someone started a war that killed my father, destroyed your pack, and left both our territories in chaos. And I want to know who."

"You think it was someone from your pack."

"I think it was someone from ours." He leans back, jaw tight. "Someone who benefited from the m******e. Someone who's still here, still whispering in ears, still pulling strings."

I stare at him, my heart pounding. "Who?"

"I don't know yet." His eyes meet mine. "But I'm going to find out. And when I do, they're going to pay for what they did to your family. To my father. To everyone."

The conviction in his voice catches me off guard. He sounds like he means it. Like he actually cares.

But I've been fooled before.

"Pretty words," I murmur. "But words don't mean anything."

"Then let me prove it." He stands, moving toward the door. "Stay. Help me find the truth. And I'll help you get justice for your family."

"I'm a rogue. No one will believe me."

"They will if I back you." His eyes are intense, burning with something I can't name. "Help me, Sapphire. Help me find the truth."

The offer hangs in the air, tempting and dangerous.

"What's in it for you?"

"Peace." His voice is quiet. "For my pack. For my brother. For myself."

I stare at him, searching for the lie. There has to be a lie. No one does anything without wanting something in return.

But I don't see deception in his eyes. I see exhaustion. Frustration. Something that looks almost like hope.

"I need to think about it."

"Take your time." He opens the door. "But don't take too long."

He leaves before I can respond.

The lock clicks back into place.

Julia crawls out from behind me, her small hands gripping my arm. "Saph?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't like him."

"Me neither."

"But..." She hesitates. "He brought food. Before. When you were asleep. He came every day and left food outside the door."

My heart stops. "What?"

"He didn't want us to starve." Her voice is barely a whisper. "I heard the guards talking. They said he was the one who told the doctor to take care of you. And he punished the guards who hurt us."

I don't know what to do with this information. I don't want it. I don't want to feel anything but hatred for the pack that destroyed my life.

But the image of Derrick—the wild, reckless Alpha who kills without thought—sneaking food to a rogue girl and her sister...

It doesn't fit.

It doesn't fit at all.

---

Derek's POV

I'm waiting when Derrick steps out of the cell.

"Well?"

"She's thinking about it." He runs a hand through his hair, frustration etched into every line of his face. "She doesn't trust us."

"Can you blame her?"

"No." He slumps against the wall, suddenly looking every bit as exhausted as I feel. "But we need her. Without her testimony, we have nothing."

"She'll come around."

"You sound sure."

"I am." I push off the opposite wall, falling into step beside him as we walk toward the office. "She's a survivor. She'll do whatever it takes to protect her sister. Even if that means working with us."

"That's not exactly comforting."

"It's not meant to be." I glance at him. "You're getting attached."

"What? No."

"Don't lie to me. I know you." I stop, turning to face him. "You've been checking on her every day. You brought her food. You punished the guards for touching her. That's not strategy. That's emotion."

Derrick's jaw tightens. "She's our mate. Of course I'm—"

"Don't." My voice is sharp. "Don't pretend this is just about the bond. You feel something for her. Something real."

He doesn't deny it.

I should be angry. I should be jealous. But I'm not.

Because I feel it too.

Every time I look at her, I see someone broken but not defeated. Someone who's been through hell and clawed her way out. Someone who deserves more than the life she's been given.

She deserves someone who will burn the world for her.

And I'm not sure I'm capable of that.

"I'm going to check on Julia," Derrick mutters, pushing past me.

"Wait." I grab his arm. "There's something else."

"What?"

"The rogue we captured last night. He talked." I lower my voice. "He said the rogue leader knows about Sapphire. Knows she's here."

"What else did he say?"

"That's it. He wouldn't talk after that." I pause. "But it means someone's been feeding information to the rogues. Someone inside the pack."

Derrick's face darkens. "We need to find out who."

"And we need to protect Sapphire." I meet his eyes. "If the rogues know about her, they'll come for her. And when they do, we need to be ready."

---

Sapphire's POV

The hours pass slowly.

Julia falls asleep on the cot, her small body curled into a ball. I sit beside her, my back against the cold stone wall, watching the moonlight shift through the small grate near the ceiling.

I can't sleep.

Every time I close my eyes, I see him. Derrick. His smile. His eyes. The way he looked at me like I was something worth saving.

He brought food. He punished the guards. He wants to help.

It doesn't make sense.

None of this makes sense.

I've spent eight years hating the Blood Moon pack. Eight years dreaming of revenge. Eight years telling myself that they were monsters, that they deserved to die for what they did to my family.

But now...

Now I'm not so sure.

You're being stupid , Wendy growls. * They killed our pack. They destroyed our lives. You can't trust them. *

"I know," I whisper.

Then why are you hesitating?

Because Julia is hungry. Because my arm is broken. Because I'm tired of running, tired of fighting, tired of being alone.

Because for the first time in eight years, someone offered me a choice.

The door opens again.

I tense, expecting Derrick. But it's not Derrick.

It's the other one. Derek. The scarred twin.

He doesn't say anything. He just steps inside, sets something on the floor, and turns to leave.

"Wait."

He pauses.

"What is that?"

"Books." He doesn't turn around. "About Black Cove. I thought you might want to read them."

"Why?"

"Because you deserve to know where you come from." He finally faces me, his expression unreadable. "And because I want you to understand that not everyone in Blood Moon wanted your pack destroyed."

"The attack was led by your father."

"It was. But not everyone agreed with him." His jaw tightens. "My mother argued against it. My uncle refused to fight. There were those who saw it for what it was—senseless slaughter."

"And you?"

"I was seventeen. I didn't have a voice." He pauses. "But if I had, I would have stopped it."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I expect nothing from you." He turns to leave. "But I hope you'll read them. There's more to this story than you know."

He's gone before I can respond.

I stare at the bag, my heart warring with my mind.

Don't trust them. Don't trust anyone.

But I reach for the bag anyway.

Because I need to know the truth.

Because I need to understand.

Because for the first time in eight years, I have hope.

---

Derrick's POV

I'm standing outside her door when Derek finds me.

"You're getting obsessed."

"I'm being careful."

"You're being emotional." He leans against the wall beside me. "What did you tell her?"

"The truth. About the attack. About our father."

"Not about Natalie."

"No." I turn to face him. "Not yet. She's not ready."

"She might never be ready."

"Then we keep trying." I close my eyes. "We need her to trust us, Derek. Without that, we have nothing."

Derek is quiet for a long moment. Then: "The rogues know about her. We need to move fast."

"I know."

"We need a plan."

"Then we make one." I open my eyes, staring at the closed door. "But first, we need to earn her trust. No more secrets. No more lies."

"You think she'll believe us?"

"I don't know." I pause. "But I have to try."

---

Sapphire's POV

The books are old.

I open the first one carefully, my fingers tracing the yellowed pages. It's a history of Black Cove—the pack's founding, its growth, its culture.

I read about my ancestors. The Alphas who led us. The wars we fought. The treaties we signed.

And I read about my mother.

Beatrice Weston. Daughter of the Black Cove Alpha. Married to a guard named Marcus Weston. Banished to the omega village for reasons unknown.

For reasons unknown.

I stare at the words, my heart pounding.

Why was she banished? What did she do?

I keep reading, searching for answers. But the records are incomplete, the details vague. It's like someone deliberately erased the truth.

Someone doesn't want you to know.

I close the book, my mind racing.

What are you hiding, Mama?

What are you hiding from me?

A sound echoes from the corridor. Footsteps. Heavy. Deliberate.

I tense, pulling Julia closer.

The door swings open.

And I see her.

A woman with sharp eyes and red hair. Claire. The Beta's daughter.

She stands in the doorway, her arms crossed, her expression cold.

"So," she says, "you're the rogue."

"What do you want?"

"To talk." She steps inside, the door closing behind her. "About the Alphas. About the bond. About your future."

"I don't have a future."

"That's where you're wrong." She smiles, but there's no warmth in it. "You have a choice to make. And I'm here to help you make it."