Chapter 51 Rogues

Chapter 51 Rogues
Rune didn’t know how to feel when Nova confessed that she had left with Lucien deliberately. A storm of emotions tore through him — anger, confusion, and most especially, hurt.

She had willingly left with another man, a vampire, than to be with him. His wolf couldn’t handle it. But at the same time, his human side understood. Their meeting wasn’t exactly pleasant, and though their relationship had been improving — or so he thought — he had clearly been wrong.

At the hotel, he had lost control. He kissed her. It was either that or go on rampage and fucking kill Lucien. But he had enjoyed every second of that kiss. If only it could have lasted longer.

Then his pack was attacked. It came as a massive shock. Rogues knew how powerful Ashfall was and they never dared trespassed without permission. An attack like this hadn’t happened in years.

And it had happened while he was absent, and the pack was destabilized from the loss of theur Luna.

It was too much of a coincidence not to be planned. At first, he suspected Lucien. But the vampire lord was daring, not stupid. He wouldn’t send rogues into the pack at such a critical time. It didn’t benefit him in any way.

And Nova? He knew she wasn’t capable of something like this. If this had happened two month ago, he would have suspected her without question. But now, he knew her too well. She wasn’t the enemy. Amberle was wrong.

But that meant someone from his own pack was working with outsiders. They needed to find and root them out before it was too late.

Rune sighed as they arrived at the prison. Inside, a wolf thrashed wildly — the captured rogue. He glanced at Nova and she seemed to be holding up well, still wrapped in his jacket. He was done trying to shield her from the grim reality of things. If she wanted to be involved so badly, he would let her.

Cassian and Leo stood a step behind, ready to intervene. Maple had decided to sit this one out.

Rune stepped forward and used his alpha command voice. “Shift.”

If they wanted to interrogate him, the rogue had to be in human form.

The rogue glared at him, fighting the compulsion.

“Shift,” Rune repeated.

The wolf whimpered. Then its body began to transform. A forced shift was always a painful sight. Bones cracked. Muscles twisted. 

Nova’s face went pale, but she didn’t look away. This was what she had wanted. Freedom.

The rogue writhed and convulsed until finally, a man stood before them, shivering on unsteady legs. His body was riddled with ugly scars.

“Who sent you? Why are you here?” Rune asked instantly.

Suddenly, the man lunged forward, slamming his body against the iron bars and stretching his hand out toward Rune.

“Alpha, you have to help me! I’m going to die!”

“Why did you attack my pack?” Rune demanded.

“I didn’t want to.” The man’s eyes fractured, haunted, like he had witnessed every horror the world had to offer. “You have to help me. They’re in my head.” He whispered.

“Who? Who’s in your head?” Rune stepped closer.

The man grabbed his head as a sharp pain tore through his body. Then his eyes rolled back, and his limbs began to convulse violently.

Rune tapped Cassian. “Open the bars.”

Cassian moved quickly and opened it. Rune rushed inside and dropped to his knees, pressing his fingers to the man’s neck.

His body stopped moving and his eyes turned white. The scene was horrifying.

“Is he alive?” Nova asked.

Rune had a grim expression. The man’s pulse flickered once and then stopped. He shook his head. “We lost him.”

“How could he die like that? He wasn’t even injured.” Cassian’s voice was tight with frustration. He turned to Leo. “Didn’t you check for poison pills?”

Leo nodded. “We searched him thoroughly and found nothing. I don’t know why he just… died.”

Rune leaned closer, inspecting the rogue’s body. It was littered with scars. The scars weren’t from battle, they were precise, deliberate cuts. Marks left by someone who knew exactly where to slice to cause maximum damage. Needle marks dotted the skin in uneven clusters. The wolf’s healing had been overwhelmed, worn down over time.

There was only one conclusion.

“He was a test subject, wasn’t he?” Nova’s voice came from behind him. She stepped closer, her gaze fixed on the body. “He looks like he was tortured until he lost his mind.”

Cassian sighed. “It seems that way. This means that hunters have tracked us down. This was probably just a probe to test our strength. They’ll attack again.”

Rune’s jaw tightened. They might have to accelerate theur plans. They couldn’t let the hunters gain the upper hand.

“Tighten the patrol on the borders. We have a mole. Anyone who behaves suspicious should be reported to me immediately.” He ordered.

“Yes, Alpha.”

Rune turned leave, but Nova’s hand caught his arm. He froze. She was handling the situation surprisingly well.

“If the hunters are behind this, they are controlling these wolves somehow.” She said.

“After years of experiments, they must have broke their minds and implanted false information.” Rune implied.

“That doesn’t explain the mysterious death, though. We should do an autopsy. He mentioned that they were in his head. Let’s check it out.” She met his gaze.

After a beat of silence, Rune told Cassian.

“Take the body to the morgue and do as she says. Tell the doctor it’s urgent.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

Then he turned and left, pulling Nova by the arm on his way out. It had been a long day.



Meanwhile, somewhere in the city. 

A woman sat before her laptop, watching a clip play on repeat. Her red lips curled as the last green dot on the screen flickered and vanished.

“Test subject number 182 is down. They’ve all been eliminated.” A voice reported. “Location of Ashfall Pack secured.”

The woman, Jane Hawkes, nodded slowly. “Good work, boys. We are one step closer to eradicating these filth from the world for good.” Her voice was smooth.

Cheers echoed through the laboratory.

With the anonymous information they had received, tracking Ashfall had been almost effortless.

Jane turned back to the screen and pulled up a photograph. A woman with dark hair and dark eyes stared back at her.

Nova Lane.

Their investigation had confirmed that Nova had gone missing over a month ago. And today, footage had captured her near a bus station in the company very high-profile men. 

Lucien Night. Rune Valcrest. Cassian Forbes.

It was very unusual, considering that they had tied her disappearance to the supernaturals. She had dispersed close to the pack.

Jane clicked her tongue. 

This woman might just be the key to everything.