ALPHA AMBROSE'S POV
"So? What was that rogue doing on the hill?" I scrolled down the new report on the number of rogues who have arrived near the pack regions in the last month.
"Racing with some humans for the prize money. Many rogues these days indulge in these activities to sustain their living costs. It's good, no? At least they don't use illegal measures," George muttered, and I looked at him.
"It's unlikely for you to be impressed with someone. What am I missing?" I closed the flap of my laptop and looked at him.
"Her beauty,"
"Her beauty?" I raised my brows.
"I mean, the way she was riding the bike. Though she was a rogue, I was amazed. You know I have a thing for bikes, just like you. So it was a little unexpected to see a female riding like that," he looked ahead dreamily.
"The way her long brown hair flailed when she screeched the bike to stop and - *cough*, *cough*. The bike was awesome," George quickly covered, and I laughed at his reaction.
It has been so long since I saw him embarrassed and shy like this.
"Anyway, why are we going to this cafe? Is it good?"
"Come on. Don’t tell me you don’t remember. It is one of the branches your family owns. It has the best reviews in the area, and I am craving coffee. Shouldn't you take care of your beta as a responsible alpha?" George grinned, and I rolled my eyes.
"Shouldn't it be another way around? You are supposed to take care of me," I sighed, not minding his words.
After my parents left me in this cruel world, George and Lucas have been the only people who understand me more than I do. They are more than what we call a family to me.
They have seen me in all of my phases. My happy phase, in-love phase, the heartbroken phase when my mate died, my hurting phase, my vengeful phase, everything.
"Do you sense that?" I asked as soon as we got down from the car.
"Sense what?" He squinted his brows.
"A rogue," I gritted my teeth, not liking how we were being interrupted in all the places we were going.
It smells familiar.
"Your alpha senses are top-notch," George said, and I looked at the long line of college students in front of the cafe.
"Are you sure you are still craving coffee?" I asked, and George grinned.
"Come on. You are the owner. Show some attitude. So what if these are humans who don't know you are the alpha? You still ooze those vibes," George deliberately tried to boost my ego, and I glared at him.
I know what he was doing. If I didn't love him enough, I would've never gone through the hassle.
Walking inside the cafe, I looked at the side profile of the rogue working behind the counter.
It's a girl. I shook my head.
"Can I get a cold coffee with extra coffee powder?" I ordered before sitting at the table.
I could see the girls fanning over George and me from my periphery, and I pressed my lips into a thin line when I saw George basking in the glory.
"I bet this is like heaven for you," I mused before looking at the manager, who came to greet us.
“How is the work going?” I asked, and he smiled before showing me the report.
Though this was Caesar's work, since I was here, there was no harm in checking things myself.
“The sales went up this month,” I nodded.
“Yes. It’s all thanks to our new part-timer. She is a diligent worker, and the college students like her a lot,” The manager said, and I hummed, uninterested in the girl he was talking about.
"Well, these girls are not heaven for me, but something else is," George's words made me look at him before I followed his gaze, looking at the girl, or should I say, the rogue, who approached us.
My gaze first fell on her boots before it traveled to her long legs, hourglass figure, and attractive curves before my eyes met her wide ones.
This is the rogue? I thought before looking at George, who was gaping at her openly.
"What are you doing? Keep the coffee and go," the manager said, and I saw how her cheeks turned red, making me quirk my brows at her innocent behavior.
Innocent? A rogue? This was quite shocking.
As she walked back and started taking other orders, I understood why there was a line of college students.
"VK! How long will it take?" A guy shouted, and I looked at the girl making a peace sign as her gaze flickered to mine.
I know I was staring, and I wasn't ashamed of that at all. This rogue was mysterious, and well, intriguing.
"Isn't this destiny? She is the same rogue I met on the hill," George murmured from behind me, and I hummed before pausing.
"Wait. The rogue you met on the hill? The one who is the mother of a two-year-old boy?" I asked, and it was as if George remembered it only now, he sighed.
"Yeah, she is the one," He nodded dejectedly.
"What a waste of beauty!" George said, but I didn't want to hear anything else.
I walked to the counter to talk to her myself. I could hear her fast-beating heart as she tried her best to not mess up the orders.
She might be having this because she is a rogue, and I am an alpha, but it was amusing nonetheless.
"Hey, you can't cut in line, bro. I know she is hot, and you want to meet her soon, but there is -"
"Jake," The rogue shook her head at the guy, who immediately sighed.
"Just because I love you," that human boy flirted, and the rogue smirked before smiling widely.
"I know. Now go," She placed the coffee on the counter before looking at me confidently, making it hard to judge.
What was this? Does she have a dual personality? She was nervous just a few seconds ago, acting all innocent, and now she was like the ace player in this game.
"What's your name?" I asked, coming straight to the point.
I have to check if her name is on the list of rogues or not. She was beautiful, but a procedure was a must. I can’t let anyone jeopardize the safety of my people, regardless of who it is.
"Kate," she answers before taking another order.
"Sounds like a mate to me," I said before I could control my mouth, and I widened my eyes.
What the hell, Ambrose? Seriously?
'Hahahah, oh my god. That was such a cheesy thing to say. I didn't know you had it in you,' my wolf, Cyrus, howled in laughter, and I gritted my teeth.
I was shocked too, but I wasn't the only one. I looked at the girl in front of me, whose hands shook a little as she poured coffee, her ears turning completely red.
"Valerie. That's her name," One of the girls said, probably to suck up to me.
"Thanks, but I don't need your he -" I turned to look at the girl, but her eyes were not on me.
She was gazing at this rogue dreamily?
'Hahaha, today is seriously not your day, Ambrose. This is the second time you got embarrassed,' Cyrus’s laugh made me sigh.
"There you go, beautiful," the rogue winked at the girl, and the human squealed, making me raise my brows for the umpteenth time today.
This rogue is such a flirt! Not only boys, but she has the girls smitten too!
This wasn't the time to think about that. Why was this rogue lying? I squinted my brows.
Is there something she is hiding? Something illegal? Time has made me realize beautiful things are the ones we need to worry about the most. Most devils come disguised as beautiful people.
"So Valerie, hmm?" I looked at the rogue, who coughed before looking at me with wide eyes.
"No,"
"No?"
"That's not my name," she still tried to hide.
Amusing.
"Yeah? Then what is it?" I leaned towards her, and she walked around before signaling me to go over to the side, and though I was amused, I still complied.
She thinks an alpha like me would listen to a rogue like her.
'But aren't you?' Cyrus commented, and I noticed how she looked around like a thief like most rogues are.
"My name is Valeriana," She whispered, and I honestly wanted to check her head to see if she thought I was some fool.
"Valeriana? Is that how you are going to play? Do you think I don't know what it means?" I quirked my brows at her.
"What do you mean?" She was still trying to be innocent.
"It's a plant used as sedatives," I answered, and she nodded.
“I know, right? Isn’t this shocking, and well, unappealing?” She asked.
"Well, you see, my parents were into botany, and they were studying this particular genus of plants when I was born. That's why they named me after it. I deliberately let people call me Valerie because this isn't exactly something to boast about. It decreases my coolness and popularity among the humans," the girl hushed like she was sharing some trade secrets with me.
Seeing her leaning toward me to whisper, I couldn't help but notice how though she smelled like a rogue at first, her smell was quite unique.
I wasn't able to pinpoint what exactly it was, but it felt like home. The mixture of citrus and woody notes with sandalwood and Jasmine. A perfect mixture for her to trap people.
"I heard from my beta that you are a mother of a two-year-old kid. How do you manage with him? You have been out for so long," I asked, observing her reactions, trying to find any loophole I could.
"He stays in daycare till I return. I need to earn our livelihood, no?" She went back to the counter, and I walked to my beta.
"That was quite a long talk," George commented.
"It was," I didn’t elaborate.
"I want to know all the details about her. Her name is Valeriana, VK, or Valerie. Find everything you can with these names. She isn’t what she is pretending to be. Let's go," I said, and George nodded, making me throw one last look at the rogue.
She has this allure to her that I have never felt before, and this wasn't good in any way.
Valeriana. Let's see what kind of secrets you are hiding behind that beautiful smile. I thought before sitting in the car.
"I will go to inspect the forests tomorrow. Will you be accompanying me? We need to prepare everything before the council members arrive,"
"You are an alpha. Do you need to go and see it yourself? I will ask Lucas to do it," George suggested.
"No. I want to do it myself. I will also get a gist of hidden or dangerous places that might need some work. It would be refreshing for Cyrus too," I looked out of the window towards the forest where the increasing cases of werewolf attacks have been reported by the local police.
Maybe we will get some good hunt tomorrow.