94

"She's gone." Hardin assures me, closing the office door behind him.

I immediately feel the tension fading away. Beck and Hardin had followed the car Lorelei got into, ensuring that she did in fact leave pack ground. Completely for my benefit, and I'm very grateful.

"Good." I don't hide my relief.

"This deal between you and Maddox, are you certain he will hold up his end?" Hardin asks, leaning over the desk to read the form I'm filling out.

"The man doesn't favour war, and I made it perfectly clear that if he betrayed us, we would show no mercy." I assure Hardin, knowing he isn't completely comfortable with me making deals with other Alphas.

I know it's not because of me, or my gender, it's because he hates the idea of someone talking down to me. Which happens a lot when Alphas are making alliances and deals, it's an ego thing.

"How long will he be training you for?" He asks.

"We agreed on six weeks, split over a period of three months. After that we'll receive ten wolves every second month so that he is gaining too, as long as the alliance stands he is willing to keep the numbers open for negotiation in the future." I explain.

Noticing Hardin staring at me, I flick my eyes up from the paper and frown a little.

"What?" I ask.

He just looks at me with pure adoration, the same look that used to confuse me, I couldn't understand what it meant.

"You were born for this role, anyone who doesn't see that...they're complete imbeciles." He murmurs affectionately.

Just like that, I fall a little more in love with him.

"Thank you." I smile, feeling pride within myself.

A faint knock on the door interrupts Hardin before he can say anything.

"Come in!" I call, flashing Hardin a bright smile when I see the look on his face.

The door cracks open, and a girl enter the office hesitantly. She glances between Hardin and I cautiously, gently shutting the door behind you.

"I'm sorry for interrupting Alpha, I um...well, the girl at school that I told you about?" She looks directly at me as she asks.

Frowning at her concern, I silently nod my head.

"She um...I saw her three days ago with the same man, um...and I followed them. I know it was dangerous and I should've have, but...she wasn't ok.." The girls eyes brim with tears, she stammers over her words in both fear and guilt.

I felt my stomach drop a little.

"She...they-they raped her...and I didn't do anything, I just froze...and then I ran. I should've told someone, but I didn't...and she didn't come back." Her lip trembles and her hands quake, the sheer horror of what she'd witnessed being the cause.

"I know you think it'll help getting involved, but you would have ended up right next to her." Hardin attempts to ease the teenagers guilt.

The fact that she is so frightened, so guilty because of one female rogue, makes me think that perhaps I should've done something sooner. She warned me the girl needed help, and I told her rogues would be rogues.

"How far from the school?" I quiz, already heading for the door without second thought this time.

"A couple of miles east, what if she's dead?" The girl whispers, wrapping her arms around herself as tears roll down her face.

"I'll track her scent and if she's still alive..." I trail off, glancing at Hardin, knowing he isn't going to like this one bit.

"Who is she?" Hardin questions, noticing my glance.

"She's a high school student-"

"Pack?" Hardin has a look of iciness on his face, and I know that he already knows what she is.

"She's a child, Hardin." I state firmly.

"She's a teenage rogue, and she doesn't belong on pack land." Hardin's tone is dismissive, stubborn to the core.

"A group of full grown rogues have raped her, I don't care if she's a wolf, a Queen or a goddamn rat...If she's alive I'm going to help her." My tone is hard as stone, unwavering.

"She will stay in the cells, or I will kill her myself." Hardin bites, eyes ablaze.

I know he isn't going to lash out at me in anger or anything. We're both Alphas, so we have the same traits and different opinions, we clash often.

"Fine." I decide to agree, figuring I'll get him to change his mind later.

"I'm going alone, she'll freak out around men and that will cause more trouble than good. In and out, alright?" I tell Hardin, kissing him softly.

"Let me come with you-"

"The pack need to be prepared in case I'm followed." I tell him quietly.

"Trust me, alright? I can handle this." I promise him.

Hardin gives a bleak nod, and I kiss him again before exiting his office and heading out of the mansion. I strip in the woods and shift, grabbing my clothes in my mouth before taking off through pack land.

***

It didn't take my wolf long to pick up on the stench of fear, the pheromones growing strong with every couple of steps. I listen, lurking within the trees as I stalk down my prey, counting the numbers and weighing out the options.

We can take them...all of them. A voice in my head whispers. The same voice that convinced me into butchering so many people before, difference is, last time I was too mentally weak to ignore it.

'Six rogues.' I link with Hardin, allowing him to see the huge men in human form, all of them putting their clothes back on.

'Beck and Zed-

'The girl is my priority, I'll get her and get out.' I say, cutting him off before he can offer backup. It would take too long for anyone to come now.

'In and out, don't be a hero.' Hardin's worrying voice doesn't comfort me.

Six may not seem like a lot, but rogues are not like pack wolves. They have absolutely no mercy, no sense of guilt, they don't back down until their hearts are dead.

Remaining in wolf form for better silence, we silently circle their current camping site. A makeshift fire and a pile of leaves to sleep on, classy for a rogue. The area is small, and as I circle the other side, I notice the naked teenager, laying face down in the dirt, her body shaking and her hands tied behind her back.

Immediately I shift back into my human form, my sudden rage helping to quicken the process.

Rushing to the young female, I untie her hands as quickly as I can, ducking behind the large pile of wood for the fire in attempt to conceal myself.

The girl looks at me with bloodshot, terrified eyes, and I quickly put my finger to my mouth. Signalling her to be silent, I carefully help her up, noticing all the bruising and blood, how she can barely stand without her entire body dithering.

"We got ourselves a hero boys!" One of the men echo, quickly running to block me from sprinting off into the woods with the female.

Immediately I push the child behind me, fury sizzling in my veins as I back us both against the wood pile.

"You think you can come here and steal our girl?" One of the rogues growl menacingly in my face, breath so horrid I didn't stop myself from turning away.

"Child. She's a child, and last I checked...no means no." I sneer, smashing my head against his so hard that he stumbles.

"Motherfucker!" He snarls, lunging at me.

In a flash I yank the girl down to the floor and duck, swiping the mans legs out and letting my fist crack brutally against his throat. The sheer force of my temper crushing his windpipe, slowly suffocating him.

"Little bitch is the Alpha Female." One of the rogues snigger as they move to form a line in front of me, blocking us from the woods.

My blood red eyes glare menacingly at the five vile mutts. I felt no love in my heart, not for people like them.

"Heard all about you, and those fucking babies of yours." One comments, spitting in the floor. The sheer disrespect, that is what quite literally has my wolf seething from within.

"No...if you'd heard about me, you wouldn't make the mistake of talking about my pups, and assuming I will let you live." I whisper, my voice a sheer slither of vicious emotions.

"Where's that mate of yours?" Another singers.

They presume me a weak female, despite my Alpha blood. How foolish can these simple minded rapists be? Sensing that Hardin would have come out of the woods by now, they realise he's not here.

Two of them come at me, while the others move to the side ready to grab the girl again. Do they think it'll be that easy? I thought darkly, hearing the pulse of my heart heavily beating in my ears. Blood rushes through my veins, adrenaline and fury feeding the urge to kill.

Mustering all my anger, and the instinct to protect the young girl, I move quickly towards one of the rogues approaching me and slash his stomach wipe open. My hands half shifted, I stomp down on his foot crushing the bone, my claws butchering his throat wide open in half a second flat.

After that it becomes a bit of a blur, they move so fast that I don't have time to think. I anticipate, and attack, dodging their disgusting teeth and nails as I shred body limbs like pulling the leg of a cooked chicken. The blood bathed me, staining my in deep red that I realise no longer brings me any satisfaction.

In fact, I don't feel any remorse or guilt for the men I just tore apart.

Two rogues struggle to move anything except their arms and another chokes on his own blood. Still, I didn't care.

"Let's go." I say softly, taking the girls hand and gently pulling her to her feet. She seems far more horrified than before, utterly frozen.

"W-where?" She whimpers.

"Home, you'll be safe with me." I tell her, glancing at the rogues and the blood.

I could see her doubt, her fright of coming home with me almost more than the fear she had for the rogues I just ripped apart. Packs aren't known for their mercy to rogues, just like rogues aren't known for their respect towards packs.

Perhaps it's not all black and white anymore? I thought curiously.

Despite the girls fear, I support some of her weight with my arm, knowing she'll probably refuse to let me carry her. Being naked, and having been through something so traumatising, I can only imagine how she must feel right now.

"Put these on." I tell her gently, helping her into my clothes. Despite my slender frame, the girl is far thinner.

When was the last time she ate?

"We can walk, or I can shift and carry you." I offer her, simply wanting her to not freak out at the sight of my wolf.

Being Alpha Female in human form is one thing, but I haven't met a single contender that has mocked my wolf.

"I...Can I go home?" She whispers, trembling like a leaf with her arms wrapped around herself.

"Do you have a home?" I ask softly, already knowing that she doesn't. Her silence confirms my suspicion.

"Look, I know that packs and rogues have years of bad blood between them. I'm not here to hurt you, or manipulate you, or turn you into a pack wolf...I just want to help you. Ok?" I offer a small smile.

For a few moments she just stands there, before she gives me a slight nod. Feeling some fraction of relief knowing she's at least willing to come with me, I take a couple of steps back and shift into my wolf. The pain is brief, the ache fading quickly as the girl hesitantly climbs onto my large wolf.

Barely any weight to her, my wolf has no problem sprinting home with the rogue gripping onto her fur tightly.

***

"What's wrong?" I frown, the doctor exiting the room with a grim look.

"She won't let me anywhere near for examination." The doctor grunts.

"Can you blame her?" I retort, a little sharper than I intend to be.

The doctors expression softens slightly. "No."

"I'll speak to her, give me a minute." I sigh, already heading for the door.

The second I enter the room, the stench of terror smacks me in the face. I hate that she's so frightened of us, that she's never had anyone that cares about her.

"I know this is new, and it's scary...I hated the idea of some guy seeing my wounds too. But the thing about doctors...they don't judge us, no matter who we are." I say in a knowing voice, having felt the exact same way about the doctor seeing my bruises and cuts when I first arrived here.

"It happened to you too?" The girl finally decides to talk, very faintly but I hear her.

So I move slowly over to the bed, and take a seat at the bottom. She sits with a blanket on her, tucked up into a ball to protect herself.

"No, I was mentally, and physically abused. It's not the same thing, and I'm not saying that they're similar situations, but I do understand how you feel." I tell her with a small sigh.

We sit in tense silence for all of ten seconds, I didn't expect her to respond.

"Did you ever get better?" She whispers.

"I thought I was fine, I would tell Hardin, the doctor, and myself that I was over it. So I pushed it to the back of my mind, and I just went on like it never happened...like I didn't spent eighteen years of my life being a walking punching bag for my parents." I admit to her.

"But things that we bury...tend to find their way back to the surface at some point. I lost Hardin, and then I lost my pups...and I just snapped. It took me a while to come to terms with everything, and even then I knew I had to get some real help." I exhale.

"And you're better now?" She asks me quietly.

"It's been nine months since I started therapy, and It was hard but I'm much better now. If I wasn't, no one in this pack would come within ten metres of me." I offer a slight smile.

"You took out those men like they were nothing." She says in a small voice.

I nod my head slowly, feeling a tad guilty that I'd killed them after telling Hardin I wouldn't get involved like that.

"How did you know I'd be out there?" She finally asks the question that I've been waiting to hear.

"There's a girl in the pack that attends the same school as you, she saw the men take you." I say, holding back all the other details knowing she's not in any state of mind to hear it right now.

When the girl doesn't say anything, I figure she's done talking for today. Rogues don't tend to enjoy conversations anyway, at least not with strangers.

"You look exhausted, why don't you try getting some sleep?" I say softly, standing from the bed.

"Not here." She whispers, gripping the blanket closer to her legs.

Sensing her fear of such a place, I make the decision to go against Hardin.

"There's a room next to mine, it's yours if you want it?" I offer.

Even though she doesn't jump with joy, I know she'll be more content. Rogues don't see the use of a house, or warm showers and comfy beds, they're so used to being in the woods that they naturally crave to be outside.

"Ok." She says lowly.

Carefully helping her off the bed, I make sure she can stand, before placing the blanket around her shoulders for comfort. Leading her out of the room, I give the doctor a look, immediately silencing him before he can open his mouth.

The pack stare, and whisper as they eye the rogue up and down. Knowing what it feels like to be scrutinised by a pack that you know you don't belong in, I couldn't help but feel somewhat protective of the girl.

One sharp blood curdling glare, and the wolves vanish from my sight. Their judgment is the last thing this girl needs right now.

Hardin is going to flip. Is all I could think, almost dreading when he finds out.

We're finally on track again, and this is another speed bump. In a way I know we'll get past this, but Hardin will fight me tooth and nail to get this girl off the land.

A tiny part of me feels like perhaps she's not worth the problems. Is that completely cruel, and insensitive of me? Yes.