Chapter 171 The Rogue Village

Chapter 171 The Rogue Village
Chapter 171

DARIUS

After telling Ravenna goodnight, knowing fully well I would go back to snubbing her the following day at school after sending her my near-nude pictures, I clicked my phone shut and turned to Dorian.

He was grinning like a fool.

My friend was madly in love with Samantha, and I could not help but feel jealous. How I wished I could be like this with Ravenna.

Atlas grunted in my head. "It is pretty easy for you to be with her. But your ego will not let you."

I sighed internally. "I thought you said you were not going to interfere."

"I am not," Atlas replied smoothly. "Just stating facts."

I shook my head and turned to Dorian. "I need to tell you about the rogue letter."

Dorian dropped his phone immediately, his expression shifting from lighthearted to serious in an instant. "A rogue gathering? Again?"

I shrugged. "That is what Marcus wrote."

"Does this have something to do with Ravenna?" Dorian asked carefully.

I shook my head. "A rogue gathering would not have anything to do with Ravenna. If they so badly wanted to know about her wolf, they would send someone disguised as a student to ask questions and probably get closer to her."

Dorian frowned, thinking it through. "Could this be Daniel's doing?"

"No," I replied immediately. "He is after my father and his pack. Not the academy full of students."

Dorian nodded slowly. "So, what do we do?"

"We need to investigate this ourselves," I said firmly. "Make sure it is real. And if it is, we alert the school before we get attacked again."

"When do we go?"

"Tomorrow morning," I replied. "We will skip the first class and head out."

Dorian nodded. "Alright."

I leaned back against the headboard. "Get some sleep. We have a long day ahead."

"Goodnight," Dorian muttered, already pulling his blanket over himself.

I closed my eyes, but sleep did not come easily.



Morning started with a practice session.

Bonn had brought several new skills drills, and it took all of us, including me, several minutes before we could master them. The entire team was sweating and frustrated by the end of it.

Bonn clapped his hands loudly. "Listen up. We will be cleaning the stadium this evening. Everyone must assemble here. Failure to do so will result in a bench for the upcoming match."

A few groans erupted from the team, but no one argued.

We left the rink, and instead of going to class as usual, Dorian and I took a shortcut. We cut down to a hallway that led us to a back staircase. The air was cooler here, quieter, and the walls were lined with old storage lockers that no one used anymore.

We climbed down the stairs until we reached a door at the bottom.

I pulled out a pin from my pocket and worked on the lock carefully. It took a few tries, but eventually, the lock clicked open.

We stepped outside into the open field behind the academy.

"We only have five minutes before security comes to this area," I warned Dorian. "We need to be out of that iron fence and into the streets before then."

Dorian nodded, his jaw tight. "I am ready."

We ran down the field together, our footsteps quick and silent. It took three minutes to climb the iron fence and jump over to the other side. We landed hard on the grass and quickly ran toward the trees, hiding behind a thick trunk.

We watched the field carefully.

Soon, a security guard appeared, whistling casually as he walked his usual route. He had not noticed the door. He was just doing his duty.

Dorian exhaled slowly beside me. "If he finds the door opened, we are doomed."

I grabbed his arm. "Then we need to hurry up and come back before he decides to check it himself."

At the end of the field, my bike was parked exactly where I had left it the night before. I handed Dorian a helmet and put on mine before we drove away.

We drove north of the academy, following the main road until we came to a signboard that pointed toward a settlement.

"We are entering the village now," I muttered, keeping my voice low even though no one was around to hear us.

I kept driving down the trail. The place was surrounded by bushes on both sides, thick and overgrown, and I could not help but wonder if this was really a pack village. The trail opened suddenly, and I turned sharply. We came to a large building.

I parked the bike and cut the engine.

We both got off and entered the surroundings carefully.

Everything was quiet and it reeked of rogue.

The smell was unmistakable. Sharp and sour, like unwashed bodies and stale anger. It meant they were present now or had gathered here not long ago.

Dorian came beside me. "We should stick together."

I nodded. "Best idea."

I looked up at the building. It looked haunted and abandoned at the same time. Leaves had grown on the walls, crawling up the sides like vines. Some of the windows were missing, either plucked out cleanly or properly broken with shards of glass still hanging from the frames.

We entered through the front door, which was already open.

We nearly coughed out immediately at the stench of alcohol. It was overwhelming, thick in the air, mixing with the smell of rogue and something else I could not quite place.

We combed through the building carefully, checking each room one by one. All of the rooms were empty.

"Rogues were recently gathered here," I said quietly, my voice echoing slightly in the empty space.

Dorian nodded, pointing to the corner of the room. "And they partied too."

He was right. There were crates of alcohol still filled up, stacked carelessly against the wall. Empty bottles were scattered across the floor, some broken, some still intact.

I signaled for him to follow me, and we walked toward a room we had missed checking earlier. I kicked the door open.

Inside, there was a dead man sitting on a chair, his head bent forward onto the table.

We entered cautiously.

I kicked the body lightly with my boot.

It was already rotting. The smell was worse here, thick and nauseating.

On the table were papers scattered everywhere. I picked one up carefully and examined it.

It was a drawing of the academy.

My heart raced.

I grabbed another paper. This one showed escape routes marked clearly on the east, west, north, and south sections of the campus.

"Dorian," I said quietly. "Grab these papers. Put them in your bag."

He did not argue. He moved quickly, gathering the papers and shoving them into his backpack.

"We need to leave," Dorian muttered, his voice tight. "This place screams danger."

I nodded, but as we turned to leave, I stopped.

I looked back at the body.

I grabbed my phone and took a picture of it. Then I crouched down slightly and took another picture of its face, making sure the details were clear.

We left the building quickly and got back on the bike.

My eyes scanned the area as we drove out of the weird village. It was a pack settlement, but why was it empty? Where were the pack members? Why were rogues gathered and partying in the building, which I deduced was the pack house? And why was there a dead body in the building's office?

None of it made sense.

When we arrived back at the academy, it was lunch period. The security guard was not at his post. Probably off taking his snack.

We jumped the iron fence quickly and ran to the door.

Luckily, it was still open.

We got in and locked it back carefully behind us.

As we turned on the stairs and came out into the hallway, we came face to face with a figure sitting cross-legged on the floor, hands spread out in front of her, eyes closed.

Ravenna.