The Rogue Anthology

Appendix 1 - The Rogue Alpha's Return

~ A young 17 year old Conner runs from Black Forest pack, after being framed for the murder of his parents, the Alpha and Luna ~

Conner

I kept running.

As fast as I could and as far as I could. If they caught me, they would rip me to shreds, or worse. I would be dragged back to face pack justice and I had no clue what Alexander would do to me, but judging by what he had already done...it would be unpleasant.

They were still behind me, giving chase. I could hear every curse and insult they threw at me through mind-link.

Coward.

Traitor.

Monster.

…Murderer.

So many voices hounding me in my mind, I felt like I was drowning in them.

They were supposed to be my pack and they had turned on me so fast, I would never have stood a chance. I never even had a chance to defend myself, to refute anything.

...And he...Alex was supposed to be my brother. I thought he was changing, trying to be better. I wanted to believe he could actually have a heart. I trusted him, we all did, and now? Now, I had lost everything.

I ran for goddess knows how long, crossing rivers, falling in mud, which actually helped to cover our scent trail. I was spent and so tired. My wolf form collapsed in a heap, shifting back to my human form, the cold night air biting at my naked skin. When I had run, I had shifted instantly and ripped through all my clothes, leaving me in nothing but my birthday suit.

I didn't know where I was, just that it was miles away, possibly a state or two. Looking around the large, eerie forest, I had never felt so unprepared, so bare...so scared.

I was only 17...I didn't know how to be alone like this.

Everything had happened so fast, I never even had time to mourn. All the events that led up to this very moment came crashing down along with the first tear, then the second, and then the floodgates opened and I couldn't stop.

I had never felt so utterly and overwhelmingly alone like this before.

'Hey, I'm here. You're never alone,' my wolf, Colt, tried to comfort me.

'What do we do?' I looked around, as though the answer could just be hanging off of a tree.

'We lay low, we survive,' he answered, filled with confidence I wish I could feel.

'How do we even hide? People are gonna sense what we are...he'll find us!' I had barely had Colt a year and already my aura was an almost-match for a mature Alpha. Any werewolf around would sense what I was and a rogue Alpha would be certain to draw attention.

That's what I was now…a rogue…a criminal…an outcast.

'Don't worry, we'll work on hiding ourselves. It's not gonna be pretty though, but we'll do it,' he warned.

'First things first. Let's find some shelter, then you can collapse,' he began, jumping into action. 'Don't really want to be waking up to a wild animal sniffing our bare ass.'

I let out a burst of quiet laughter at my wolf and wiped at my face. I tried to stand feeling unsteady but steeling myself to carry onwards. I came across a human road with not a scent of another werewolf in the air anywhere and the road itself didn't particularly look heavily used. A house lay beside it, obviously abandoned years ago, with ivies claiming the majority of its exterior, trees growing up against it and one through it. This was probably an unwise decision to stay so close to a road, but I didn't have any other options and at least it had some cover overhead.

I fought my way in and found the driest part I could, sinking to the rickety floor. A numbness set in and it wasn't until I felt an excruciating stinging in my eyes that I realised I had just been staring, unblinkingly, for a while, completely unfocused. Every emotion started to sink in as I struggled to reconcile that this would be my life now.

I huddled into myself, wrapping my arms around my knees that were hunched up to my chest. My skin prickled with the dank cold surrounding me, like the apathy churning away. I wanted to be in my bed, I wanted my home…I wanted my mom and dad…

'I don't know how or when, Conner, but we will get our pack back. One day, you'll see.'

I wanted to laugh at my wolf, but this time in derision, not humour.

Who knew, maybe one day I would?

If this gave my wolf some hope, then who was I to argue?

----------

I woke up feeling like death.

Every part of me ached and my eyes felt like sandpaper.

I hauled myself up to a seating position, taking in my depressing surroundings. I sighed. So none of it was a nightmare?

Looking down at my skin, I was caked in dirt, grime and cobwebs, my chestnut curls hung in my face and I was sure they were stuck up in every sort of direction. The bright sunlight outside suggested it was well into the day. What time was it?

'Come on. You should know this,' Colt urged. 'We only finished with wolf scouts a few years ago.'

For early autumn and given the sun's position, it was well past midday, most likely 2 or 3pm.

A sudden sound of twigs snapping and leaves ruffling around, caught my attention instantly to the outside. What the hell was that?

I took a defensive stance, ready to shift if needed and moved to the gap I had made to break my way in. Three deer raised their heads at my presence and took off as soon as they saw me.

I exhaled in relief, feeling my heart beat a mile a minute. For a second there…I thought Alex had found me.

'Wow, I think they were gunning for your blood,' Colt jibbed at my agitated state, like he hadn't just s**t himself too.

'It's not funny!' I snapped. 'I thought…'

'I know…I was just trying to make you laugh.'

My stomach cut through at that moment with a loud rumble, twisting painfully in hunger.

'Come on. Let's hunt, little potato.'

How could Colt be so set and steadfast? I wished I could feel an ounce of that resolve. All I wanted was to fall apart. My mom and dad, my gran and grandad…all gone. My best friend Hanson and his kid sister Amery…what had happened to them? Had they made it out? Had Alex got to them?

How could I ever fix this on my own?

'Conner! Focus,' my wolf barked. 'We can't afford to fall apart now. One problem at a time, and right now our problem is food.'

Though I'd hunted before, I hadn't ever gone on my own. It had always been with my parents…and Alexander. Our last hunt together had only been a few weeks before the attack. Had my brother been planning it then? That thought stung. How could he look our family in the eye, knowing what he was about to do to us?

I shifted to my wolf and we took off after the deer I had startled; hopefully, my dad had taught us well enough to do this solo.

----------

We had eventually managed to bag our prey, albeit rather clumsy, but at least now we had a full stomach; one less problem off of an endless list.

My next problem was that I still had no clue where I was.

We had wandered in our wolf form for some time, hoping to come across another road or something with a sign stating the location. The terrain was becoming increasingly rocky and the scent of fresh water suggested a lake or pond nearby.

Sure enough, a lake came into view from the surrounding forest and what looked like a secluded vacation lodge. No-one looked to be in, so I took a chance that maybe I'd find a clue as to where exactly we were. Skirting around the perimeter, I could see there was an alarm system in place but no CCTV. So I hazarded a chance to get closer, shifting back to my human form to take a look through the windows. There were no movement sensors in the rooms, just in the windows and, most likely, the doors too. There must be very little crime here to warrant the sparse security; this wasn't helping the guilt already eating away at my insides.

'I know…but…we're probably gonna have to do some bad stuff if we want to survive. I don't like it any more than you do,' Colt grumbled from the back of my mind.

Looking up to the attic, I noticed a window just big enough that I could fit through. Would that one have a sensor? There was only one way to find out and that was to scale the outside.

I was a naked, mud-clad teenager, climbing a house…goddess, I hoped no-one saw this. How would I ever explain myself?

'Can you imagine if someone just opened some curtains as we climbed past a window?' My wolf began howling with laughter.

'Can you not? This is embarrassing enough as it is.'

The circular window, as I suspected, had no sensors and, by some miracle, swiveled open too. Ok, maybe these people were just asking to be broken into.

Creeping along the inside, I listened out for any possible movement, finding none. After descending the attic ladder, the scents suggested someone had been here recently, maybe no less than a week ago. If I stayed here for any length of time, I would risk being caught.

I found what had to be the main bathroom, fully stocked with everything I needed. But what shocked me was my reflection. It was horrific. The angry silver-inflicted wound on my left brow was still as raw and red as it felt, but at least my other injuries were long since healed. Happy to find the hot water was working, I set the shower up while I quickly brushed my teeth with the new brush I found and tried to clear the crud out of my hair with a comb.

Finally feeling clean and no longer worrying about leaving a trail of dirt in my wake, I went in search of finding some clothes. Four bedrooms lay upstairs and, judging by the pictures hanging around, this place belonged to a same-s*x couple and their young son and daughter. Luckily for me, it was a male same-s*x couple and both looked fairly bulky in their build. I had some muscle but not much, so their clothes would probably hang off of me. Though that would change as I matured and my frame grew into that belonging to an Alpha.

The clothing in the wardrobe was a few basic staples, so I just threw on whatever looked long enough, a pair of jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt. Poking around downstairs, I managed to find some mail with the address on it; I had managed to wind up in northeastern Minnesota. Along with the confirmation of where I was, I also stumbled across a map booklet and a thick wad of cash, hidden in a hollowed out book. It was probably meant to be an emergency stash for this family. It was one thing to 'borrow' their bathroom and take some clothes…this was truly wrong and I felt that sick bile rising in my throat as I reluctantly stuffed the money into my pocket. It could mean the difference between life or death out here on my own, but it didn't sit with me any better, no matter how I internally rationalised it.

Next, I had a look around the kitchen; I was already a thief, so there wasn't much lower I could sink. The only thing in the fridge was a few jarred items that would be of no use to me and some bottled water; these I could use. I downed a full bottle and another once again after I refilled it from the tap, not realising how thirsty I had been. I gathered up the remaining six bottles and the cans I found on the kitchen counter. What I needed now was a backpack. But looking everywhere throughout the house I couldn't find anything.

Could I be any more of a shitty stereotype? I was actually going to have to make a f*****g bindle!

As I gathered the items up in a sheet, my wolf randomly started to snicker. 'Hey, this is like Huckleberry Finn! We're real life hobos.'

'Can you maybe not crack jokes while we're raiding someone's property and stealing? I already feel sick enough as it is.' Not even 24 hours as a rogue and I was already a petty criminal.

'…Should we leave a note or something to say sorry?' I voiced my thoughts to my wolf.

'That's just gonna draw more attention.'

'How?' I questioned. Wouldn't it bring some sort of peace of mind if the family knew I was just some desperate kid with little other option?

'Who breaks in and leaves a sorry we robbed you note? Think it through, you dumbass potato.'

'Stop calling me that!'

'Then start using that smart head of yours, human. Grab up what we got and let's try and get some sleep. It's getting dark outside, so we should take advantage of our shelter tonight and make a plan of where to go. The further away the better, as I see it.'

I couldn't really argue with his logic, so I settled myself into the spare bedroom upstairs, leaving the attic ladder down in case I needed a quick escape route.

----------

I quickly freshened up the next morning at dawn, taking advantage of a hot shower, because when would I have this luxury again? I ventured back downstairs to see if there was anything else I could rustle up for food, finding some frozen pizza pockets I could nuke in the microwave. This wouldn't be the first time I snuck these for breakfast, or the pop tarts I found hidden in the top cupboard; clearly I had discovered someone's contraband.

Throwing on the boots I had found and the waterproof coat too, I grabbed up my 'hobo bindle' with the supplies I had raided; the food and water, some spare clothes, soap, a toothbrush and comb, some toothpaste, a small flick knife that was better than nothing, and the map with a rough plan set out of getting myself to California.

I left the same way I entered, taking care with my descent down the house so I didn't break anything. I had already done enough to this family without giving them a repair bill to top it off.

Disappearing into the surrounding forest, I took one last look at the home I had just violated.

How many times would I need to do something like this?

How many times would I be forced into doing something that my mom and dad had raised me against?

How many times would I feel so sickened and dirty from my actions that no amount of scrubbing would rid me of?