Chapter 41 CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CAIUS
This doesn’t make sense, I think to myself, as I come face to face with the rogues my pack members are fighting. Our pack isn’t isolated, we’re surrounded by many packs, each one crawling with patrols day and night. For rogues to make it this far, they would’ve had to slip through multiple borders without being detected and I don’t see that happening.
Yet, they’re here. Every time they show up, they’re different. It is always something new with these rogues and I cannot wait for the day we are finally able to know everything about them. From the corner of my eye, a familiar wolf that shouldn’t be here runs ahead of me. My wolf snarls. She doesn’t ever listen, does she?
Maeva. She barrels into a group of rogues, her movements sharp, relentless, completely ignoring the command I gave earlier. I let out a loud, warning growl and she turns mid-fight, blood already staining her fur, tips her head at me in acknowledgement, then goes right back to fighting.
Defiant and infuriating. Her punishment will come later. For now, I have a rogue attack to deal with. I tear my attention away from her and focus on a group of rogues to my right. Just as I turn, I see four rogues breaking away.
Not toward the center of the fight, away from it. If I hadn’t turned just then, I would’ve missed them. My body stills for half a second. Why are they leaving? Which brings me to another question, why is no rogue attacking me? I’m usually their main suspect whenever they attack.
I stop pondering and follow. I keep my distance, silently following until it becomes clear where they’re going. My house. They’re heading straight for it. If I’m right, the witch is still inside and this attack is about her.
Rage surges through me and I push harder, faster, cutting through paths. I cut them off just before they get to the door.
The door swings open and the witch stands there, eyes wide and shock clear on her face. She has never seen the rogues and I’m glad to see that it shocks her too.
“Why are they here?” she asks.
One of the rogues lunges and I step in front of her. Claws meet claws. Teeth snap. I twist, slam it into the ground, and tear through its throat before it can recover.
Behind me, the witch screams. I turn and see the three rogues on her. She stumbles back, hands raised, her panic clear in every movement.
“My powers don’t work on them!” she shouts.
That’s very wrong. That’s not something that should happen. Her hands form an energy ball and she throws it at them but it barely flickers against them, like it’s being swallowed whole. They keep moving towards her, unfazed.
Once again, they’re ignoring me, like they were wired to do so. They have one goal – get the witch. One makes a grab for her arm while another rogue lunges for her throat.
I move fast, crashing into them, ripping one off her and slamming it into the wall hard enough to crack bone. It snaps back at me and I catch its jaw mid lunge and bite into it until I hear bones snapping. The second rogue comes from the side just as I toss the body of the first.
It claws deep into my shoulder and drags down. Pain flares but I ignore it, turn, and sink my teeth into its neck, shaking violently until it goes limp. I harshly spit out the blood of the rogue.
I turn back to see the last rogue, bloody on the ground with the witch holding a large stick and panting beside it.
“I couldn’t not do anything.” She says.
The witch moves closer to the house and leans against the wall, shaken. I shift and spit at the dead bodies of the rogues.
“Go inside. I still don’t want anyone to see you just yet.” I say.
She nods and wordlessly walks into the house. I look back at the bodies then at her and my jaw tightens.
“What the fuck was that?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Did you lead then here?” she asks.
“Did I ask you to stay hidden only to lead four huge rogues to you so I can kill them in front of you?”
She sighs. “When you say it like that, it sounds stupid. How do you explain what just happened? How was I powerless in front of rogues? That spell I did would have taken you down and it didn’t do anything to the rogues.”
“We’re going to find out together. I just have to inform the council first so they’re aware that I’m bringing you in to investigate the rogues.”
The door opens and a very naked and bloody Maeva walks into the house. I clench my jaw, turn away and close my eyes and my fists.
“Go into my room and find something to wear.”
“What about you? You’re naked too.” She says.
I swallow hard and concentrate on the blood dripping from clenching my fists too tight. My heart is pounding and my forehead is sweaty. The picture of her naked and bloody like a mighty goddess will haunt me for a long time. Everything in me is begging and fighting to put my mark on her right now and end the whole thing.
My dick responds to her naked body and the scenarios running through my mind. I shake my head and think about how many people that saw her naked, then focus on that anger instead.
“Maeva, for both our sakes, get the fuck out. Please.”
I hear her walk the distance to my room and slam the door shut. I open my eyes and exhale loudly.
“That was funny to watch. It almost made me forget…”
I clamp my hand on her mouth to stop her. Maeva walking in naked didn’t make me forget the stunt she pulled and her punishment.
Maeva comes out dressed and throws a pant and a shirt at me. I put the clothes on then point to her.
“I told you to stay inside.”
“You don’t tell me what to do Caius, when will you understand that? What we need to be doing right now is figure out how the rogues got here and what they came for. Also, why were you here fighting four rogues?”
“I do tell you what to do. You need to understand that. The witch and I will figure it out. You will not be joining us.”
“This house can’t keep me.”
“I’m not keeping you here. You have two options. You can either follow me without protest or I will knock you out and have one of the omegas carry you to where you’ll be staying until I feel like you’ve learnt your lesson.”
Her eyes narrow and she shifts from one foot to the other. She looks great in my clothes. My scent will be all over her. My dick starts to rise again and I remind myself why I’m not pinning her to my bed right now.