Still defending him?
DECLAN
“I say we raid his Pack while he's away and dominate it. That's the only way we'd ever win this war.” One of the elders said.
There were three of them and they were anxiously eager to convince me to send an army to raid Vince's Pack now that he's away.
I don't know these elders well enough. My father's elders died in Vince's explosion. These ones are more like ancient elders, in charge of the entire rogue clan. They live deep in the west woods, caves, or something.
Father meets up with them thrice a year. He's never taken me along so I'm not acquainted with them. This is our first meeting and they're already breathing orders down my neck. It's pissing me off.
“Listen, elders. I appreciate the concern, because that's what this is, right? A mere concern? You're not here to bark random orders down my neck, right? I'm just imagining that, right?”
“Hey, calm down,” Beck whispered to me. He's standing at my right hand, and one of my soldiers is on my left. I'm itching to ask him to get rid of these elders but I'm holding back because of the little respect I have for the friendship they had with my father. But I hope they don't go any harder than this.
“It's not just a mere concern. It's what you must do. It's your obligation to your people.”
“My obligation?” I was amused by their guts. “Who are you guys to remind me of obligations?”
“We're the elders of the clan.”
“Well, keep being that. Don't cross the line. I'll handle Vince how I want. You don't get to tell me what to do.”
“Are you being serious?!” One of them flared up. “He's gone unhinged! He slaughtered your army in those woods. If you don't attack his pack now, you might never get the chance to!”
His words aroused a new set of confusion in me.
“Wait. How did you know that?”
“That's not important. I'm begging you, son. You need to act fast. Before everything gets out of hand.”
“Is Vince Walker really a rogue descendant?” I asked. I didn't wanna believe it. I’d give anything to hear them say it's a lie. But they just exchanged guilty glances with each other and fell silent.
You've got to be kidding me.
“It's true? He is? How is that even possible? He's been hunting and roasting our asses all our lives.”
“And he'll always do that. Even though he might look like us, he's not one of us. He's never gonna be.”
“I don't understand. What's the story behind it?”
“You don't need to know the story. It all happened long before you were born.”
“Did my Father know about this?”
“Of course, he did.”
That left me utterly speechless. So my father knew about Vince's real roots and never mentioned it to me. Why?
“He didn't mention it to you because you were too young to bear the weight of that secret. But now he's gone and you need to step up and do what you must do. Take over Vince's Pack. Win this war. Your father's gonna be proud of you.”
“But Vince is a rogue. Doesn't that make him one of us in some way?”
“He's never gonna be one of us. His father made sure of that. Just do what you should. Take his Pack. End his lineage. That's what you must do, Declan.”
I wasn't quick to argue anymore. My mind was messed up with thoughts. They weren't explaining the situation to me in detail, but I think I got the hang of it.
Vince might be a rogue descendant but he's not one of us. He's not pure blood either. So the man's alone. A fucking one-man army. An outcast.
They left after making more demands on how I should go about usurping Vince's Pack.
I took a stroll through the hallways and my legs unconsciously led me to Elena's room.
She was on the bed, sobbing. Does she ever run out of tears?
“Are you crying because you miss your family or you're crying over the beast?”
She spun around and quickly sat up. “What do you want?” She demanded in a hostile tone.
“Did you know what he was or are you just finding out?” I asked, stalking that bed. I'd give anything to be on it with her. To be on it and she wouldn't try to fight me off.
“It's none of your business-”
“The hell it's not.” I seethed, dropping onto the bed. She tried flying off the bed but I was quick to grab her and pin her down.
I locked her in with both my arms but she wouldn't easily give up. Her hands flew in my face, staining my cheeks with brutal slaps.
This bratty bitch!
“I’m never gonna forgive you for trying to kill me and replace my soul with your whore of a mistress!”
“I'm not asking for your damned forgiveness!” I retorted, punching the bed. She gasped. Damn well she knew that punch was supposed to be on her face. She's lucky. She's fucking lucky.
“You're a hopeless bastard. How dare you?” She continued her verbal assault, in a controlled and whimpering voice.
“You're not forgiving me, but you're gonna forgive him, right? I thought you hated dogs. Well, guess what? Vince Walker is a bigger dog, Elena. He's the dog of all dogs. You shouldn't still be in love with him after realizing what he truly is.”
“That's none of your business.”
“It's my business. You reject and trample on my self-esteem because you had Vince, and you thought he was all that. But he's not. He's a dog, just like us. The only difference is that we're a team over here and he's all alone. No one's on his side. Not the pure bloods and definitely not us. That makes him lower than us. A fucking lone-dog."
She didn't argue that. She went pathetically silent. Maybe it's finally dawning on her that the man she loves isn't as dreamy as she painted him to be.
“I'm gonna kill him in those woods. He's never coming out of there. When I leave this room, I'll send my army to go finish him off. You're never seeing that dog again, Elena. His existence brings a lot of chaos.”
“He's not someone you can kill easily.”
“Sure, but he's not immortal.”
“He's Vince. He's not gonna let you kill him.”
“Still defending him, huh?” I held her face.That agonizing pretty face. Why did she have to be so goddamn pretty?
She whimpered as I dug my fingers into her cheeks.
"Why are you defending him? He's a rogue.”
“No, he's not.” She shook her head, tears in her eyes. Oh, she's living in denial. She's fighting against reality. She doesn't wanna accept that her baby daddy is everything she despises. Everything she loathes. Everything she swore she'd never align with.
“He's a rogue, Elena. I don't know his story and I don't care. But he's a rogue. Just like me. So you don't ever get to insult me again. Vince is no better than I am.”
“Don't you dare compare yourself to him. You're not worthy enough.”
That burned like hell. But I ate it up nicely.
"You're free from your mate bond to Trent. That means I can claim you now. And I plan on. I swear to the goddess, I will. But first, I gotta get rid of your beastly, baby daddy.”
“Let go of my face.” She sputtered out. I let her go and got off the bed.
“Say your last prayers for him. He'll be needing it as he journeys to the afterlife.” I said, before leaving the room and shutting the door.
As usual, Beck's waiting for me.
“Assemble the men. They're going into the woods to take down Vince.”
“What? What about his Pack?”
“We'll invade it after killing him.”
Beck stepped in front of me, forcing me to halt. “You're being silly-”
“Do as you're told, Beck.” I retorted, standing toe to toe with him.
“This is because of that princess, isn't it? You wanna kill the man so badly so you can have her. She's never gonna love you, man. Isn't that obvious already?”
He was challenging me with the painful truth and I didn't have enough balls to deny it.
“You should be thinking about Lucia. She's the one who loves you. And you're mesmerized by her. You’ve always been. Don't you wanna bring her back to life anymore?”
“Maybe I don't want to anymore. Maybe I'm not mesmerized by Lucia anymore. Maybe I want the princess now. Maybe I wanna kill Vince so he doesn't ever take her away from me. Maybe killing him is more important to me than invading his pack and taking over his wealth. Maybe I'm insane. Or maybe you
should mind your own business, Beck, and do as you're told.”
“Declan, c'mon.”
“Assemble the men!” I yelled, walking away from him.