Elegantly Rogue

C H A P T E R 6

Blair

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to ignore the stinging pains in my feet as the pebbles and twigs that I trampled on bit into my skin. My body felt like it weighed a ton—causing me to practically drag myself along the pathway that I was running on. My foot seemed to hook on something I hadn’t noticed. I stumbled, the momentum of my running pulling me upright faster than I thought it would. 

The burn in the center of my chest was something that I had grown all too accustomed to—the slime pushing its way up my throat as usual. The smell of blood somehow coating the air around me, the taste of it filling my mouth too. I wanted nothing more than to lay down and succumb to the darkness fighting to consume me. 

    ‘A rogue who can not run, is a dead one.’

I growled, the sound echoing through the air around me as the voice of my father echoed within the confines of my head. A wave of anger washed over me, pulling me deeper and deeper into the depths of my emotions. Even in his absence, my father was somehow finding a way to edge me on. 

The brand behind my ear started to sting, the skin becoming itchy and inflamed as it usually did. I focused on the itching and the burning and everything that came with it, forcing myself to block out the tiredness that was threatening to settle within my limbs. 

The sound of the ground beneath me seemed to change, the twigs crunching easier, my steps thudding louder. Years of training and I had still forgotten to take in my surroundings—it’s not often that I was somewhere as unfamiliar as this. 

My eyes darted around hastily, taking in as much as I could in the time that I had. Passing trees was all there was to see—until my eyes focused on the wolf that was barreling towards me. I slid, intentionally falling to the ground as the wolf passed through the air directly above me. I growled inwardly at the sharp pains that erupted in my palms from where I had dragged them along the ground. 

Knowing that I didn’t have time to waste, I pushed myself upright, preparing myself to run. The only problem was that the wolves were slowly but surely circling me in. The air was filled with growls, the sharp snapping of jaws as well as the occasional bark. It would be quite stupid of me not to be scared. 

I mentally cursed the restricting clothes I was wearing, before I felt my face heat up as shock and embarrassment settled within me. I had no memory of changing clothes myself. 

Which meant that someone else had to have been responsible for undressing me, meaning that they would undoubtedly have noticed and observed the scar. 

I shook my head, forcing myself to snap back to reality. The Goddess must have been on my side, for it happened just in time for me brace myself as a blond colored wolf clashed into my body. My chest heaved, my mind fighting off unwanted memories.

Blinded by my anger at the situation and my fear at what was happening in my mind, I reached out, digging my claws into the wolf’s ears. My brand was burning, the pain pulsing through me like a drumbeat. 

The wolf howled, turning his head to nip at my arm, which only infuriated me more. My chest felt hot, yet the sweat breaking out on my body was cold. I grabbed a hold of the wolf’s snout, pushing it into the ground with my body weight. 

I felt the air leave my lungs as someone collided with me and I fell onto the ground, my head banging loudly against it. I rolled over, ready to fight, only to feel a jaw clamp around my neck. 

~•°•~

     “What do you do when this happens, Blair?”

My eyes focused on those of my mother, silently begging her to help me escape my fathers death trap. I could feel his warm breath and slobber on my skin, his teeth sinking impossibly further, yet still not piercing my skin. 

I could recognize the smell of my own panic and fear in the air, and I knew that my mother was aware of it too. She didn’t seem to get my silent plea, or she simply choose not to acknowledge it, for she spoke again.

     “What do you do?!”

~•°•~

Feeling like I was trapped in the very same memory I was trying to forget, my body reacted accordingly. My already extended claws seemed to pulsate as I reached up and yanked my hand down the length of the wolf’s face, causing her to yelp as she flinched away from me, her teeth digging into my skin in the process.

I reached up with the intention of having another go at the wolf when I felt the pressure on my neck increase. I could feel the slobber running down my arm. I had to fight against the clouds of darkness that were blowing through my vision. 

Realizing that I didn’t have much other choice, I closed my eyes and let out a feral growl as I surrendered to the burning ache inside of me. I growled out, the pain of forcing my body to start shifting causing sweat to break out on my skin. 

My spinal chord arched, exactly as it was supposed to, forcing the wolf to lose its hold on me. Once that had happened, I forced my body to shift back, my chest heaving up and down at the physical exertion I was going through. 

I had no doubt in my mind that there were some tears mixed in with the sweat, but I pushed the thought to the back of my mind as I pushed myself upright, my hands shaking slightly before I stabilized them on the ground. 

Matthew

I felt myself take a step backwards as my mind comprehended what I had just seen. I forced my eyes to focus on her, noticing the deadly glare within her eyes as she looked at my pack wolf. Even a blind man would have been able to notice the way her hands were shaking—a telltale sign of fury. 

I became aware of Shane’s presence beside me and took the shorts he was holding out towards me. Despite all of this, I didn’t dare remove my eyes from the scene before me. Never in the history of my existence had I seen a wolf do anything like that. Being able to control how you wanted to shift? The thought of it was as thrilling as the sight had been terrifying. 

I felt myself tense as she pushed herself off of the ground, dust rising slightly as she did so. She let out a low growl as she stared at my wolf, the challenge clear in her eyes. I could tell that everyone was shocked—the audacity of a rogue to challenge a pack wolf. 

     “Unless you would like for your lovely mate to be shredded by Cole, I suggest you snap out of it and go put them in their places.” 

Shane’s warning was loud and clear. I bent down to pull the shorts on but my eyes snapped up when I realized she was making her way towards Cole, the murderous intent in her eyes clear as day. 

I watched in awe and fascination as she expertly dodged Cole, grabbing a hold of his tail once it was in her reach. He turned around and I knew he was going to try and struggle to get out of her hold, but I felt myself tense as her hands lodged themselves within his throat. 

As if it hadn’t been quiet enough already, the sound of their harsh breathing became the only audible sound within our surroundings. I wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Coles blood was running down the length of her arm and dripping onto the floor. 

The air started suffocating me, the fear leaking off of my pack drowning me. Time seemed to still as we all watched her. I knew that whatever she decided to do would literally decide her fate. 

Cole stayed as still as she was. He knew the seriousness of the situation as well as the rest of us. 

Blair

Tears were starting to prick in my eyes and I stared at the wolf, who was staring at me with an empty look, waiting for me to decide his fate. But despite his composure, I could smell the fear rolling off of him. 

I dropped my head in shame as I withdrew my hand, being careful not to do any more damage than I had already done. 

I dropped to my knees before the wolf, blocking out the scent of his blood, tilting my head in submission.