The Rogue Anthology

Appendix 5 - The Wanted Alpha and His Mute Luna

~ The story behind how April lost her last silver knife given to her by Conner, which, unknowingly, led to Taylor's scar. April would be around 18 and Taylor around 21. Both would have been rogue for roughly a year ~

April

I poked at the fire in front of me, proud of my efforts. Before I had met the giant rogue, I had zero survival skills. Though I was a werewolf, I had no clue how to be one, having had to hide myself for so long. If that rogue hadn’t come along when he had, I doubted I would have survived. He said his name was Conner, but I had no clue whether he had told me his real name, though he didn’t seem the type to lie. I had only stayed with him a short while, but he had taught me more than I could have ever figured out on my own.

I hadn’t been particularly trusting of him at first, but he had worn my firmly placed barriers down; though it had taken almost a week before I would even speak to him.

I had split from him a few months ago, though I couldn’t be entirely sure. Most days blurred together and it became hard to keep track of time. I sometimes wondered whether I had been too hasty in leaving Conner’s side, but the memories of the last people that had helped me came roaring to my mind. He was too kind to risk his life by staying with him.

The gentle sounds of the ocean below added to an almost peaceful atmosphere with my crackling fire. I had found a small rocky outcrop in the trees, with an overhang that provided shelter from above. I couldn’t be entirely sure where I was, as I still struggled with telling directions apart using the environment, but I would guess I was somewhere on the northern Oregon coast. I had tried and unsuccessfully found no game to hunt today in my wolf form and I didn’t want to risk hunting again in that form; it was always more difficult to hide our aura and scent.

The sun had set and while my stomach didn’t growl, it was far from full. I had eaten my last can of fruit and if I failed in my hunt tomorrow, I would be going hungry till I resupplied in a human town. I curled up near the dying fire, hoping tomorrow I would have better luck.

I set out in the morning, remembering to stay downwind. While I didn’t need it to deflect my hidden scent, it would carry any animal scents in the air and help me locate some potential food. I caught the scent of wild turkeys and could hear the faint and distinct ‘gobble’ call. I moved quietly and low to the ground, centring my weight as Conner had shown me to keep my balance upright and my footing light. I had my knife in hand ready to let it fly; a turkey I could take down easily with one well-placed knife. Conner had kindly given me his last silver knives for protection, making sure I knew how to use them beforehand. One I had already lost in the side of a deer, so this was my final weapon and tool.

I was close enough and about to strike, raising my hand…

‘Stop!’ August shouted in my head. ‘Stay down.’

‘Are you sur…’ I was about to question as the silence dragged on and the birds were starting to waddle off. That was when I felt it and caught the scent too. Another wolf, and to be out here, most likely a rogue.

A huge black wolf burst out of the brush to snag the large turkey stag I had my eye on and scared off the others. I could never go up against a wolf that size. Conner had taught me some self-defence, but going up head to head against an opponent would not end in my favour. I had to concede I had lost today and quietly back off. Conner might have been kind and gentle, but that was not going to be said for every wolf I met and experience had taught me those characteristics were far and few between.

As I moved my foot backwards, I made a fatal error; a twig snapped under my boot.

‘Did you forget everything we were taught already?’ August admonished.

This was exactly what he had told us, “watch your footing when you move.”

The wolf had heard and stalked in my direction. I tried to scramble backwards to run. I may not have had much skill to fight, but I could outrun most things. And yet again, in my haste, my foot slid in the mud, landing with my back on the ground.

‘You’re panicking. Hold it together and get your footing,’ August shouted.

The wolf, now virtually over me, shifted, seeing that I was a she-wolf. He was huge, pure muscle and looked terrifying covered in blood from the bird he had just killed.

“What’s a pretty little thing like you doing out on your own,” he leered, eyeing me from head to toe, making me shiver in disgust.

I threw a handful of leaf litter into his face and tried to scramble away again, but my distraction hadn’t worked as I wanted it to. He lurched forward, catching my ankle and making me drop my knife.

My wolf let loose a loud and dominant snarl, stunning the rogue for a split second with its ferocity. I aimed my other boot to connect with his nose to make him tear, just as Conner had taught me. His grip didn’t let up entirely and all I had done was piss him off further. He yanked me towards him, hovering over me with his naked body. I spotted the shine of silver and quickly snatched for the handle, plunging it into the rogue’s shoulder. He roared in pain, pulling back fully and giving me my exit.

I hauled myself up and took off running in the direction I had come to grab my bag that I had stashed in some undergrowth while I hunted. I slung it onto my back, not slowing down, running well past feeling my lungs burn. I couldn’t be sure where I was or how long I had run for. The only thing I knew was that I was alone.

I had barely had that knife and now it was gone.

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A few months later

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Taylor

I had been driving for the last few hours and the weather was growing worse. I could barely see out of the windscreen anymore with the heavy rain. Autumn was quickly on its way and life was going to grow difficult again. Winter was always tricky to survive when you were homeless.

I passed a sign not that long ago, signalling a human town wasn't far away and the dim lights must have meant I was on the outskirts. I tried not to stay out in the wilds. The sounds that used to feel comforting were entirely different when I was alone with no one by me.

A full year by myself and I had felt every second of it. My wolf, Talon, was silent most days… still pining for Hawk, as I silently pined for Hunter.

The two of us had slept outside on warmer nights a few times, in our meadow. It lay just outside the pack territory and we accessed it through a secret tunnel he had found. He had stripped me of everything and I should hate him… I wanted to hate him…

Any time that man's face entered my mind, all it did was twist my chest painfully and, unfortunately, he entered my mind hourly. It was so stupid. He told me things I wanted to hear, just to use me, get out whatever he had in his system and throw me away once he was done. Did the mate bond even mean anything to him, as it had to me?

The brighter lights of the town came into view; only a small human settlement, but it gave me better protection than staying outside. I could pick up some supplies here too; I was never the best at catching prey.

Not too far into the town, a small motel came into view. It didn't look like much but I was used to this by now. I took a deep breath and got out to approach the front desk. It was prudent not to expect to receive a room. Human establishments nearly always wanted I.D and I had none. Sometimes the owners would take pity on me for being a rogue wolf that looked unthreatening. Others, no matter what, refused to have a rogue anywhere near their business and promptly threw me out. If this place was the latter, I would have to sleep in the car again.

In a rare moment of luck, the small old woman at the desk gave me a room, not even asking for any form of I.D. She was simply happy for a late customer at the end of the season before she closed for the season. The room was decent, small, but all I needed was somewhere dry and that had a lock. I hung up my damp clothes from running out of the rain and tried to settle in the bed. The pounding rain at the window kept me up and I remembered nights like this back in my small home. Hunter would use weather like this as an excuse to stay the night and curl up with me in bed. Wrapping my arms tighter around myself, I tried to push away the thoughts of another pair of arms that used to grip me warmly in the night. All the thought did was make my wolf whimper and ball into his self-pity again.

The sunlight sliced into my vision, I didn't even remember drifting off. It was rare that I ever got more than a few hours of sleep at a time, but I had slept most of the night through for a change; I guess exhaustion was catching up with me. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome and have questions asked that I was expecting last night, so I got up and quickly changed.

This town was pretty far from any packs and there were no musky-edged scents of werewolves in the air, it should be safe for a run. I hadn’t shifted for over a week, so maybe it might lift my wolf’s spirit for the time being? I checked out and drove down the road a little to avoid the eyes of any humans around; they might take offence to a rogue wolf around their homes.

‘So? How about it? Want to stretch your legs?’

‘Whatever. Sure, I guess?’ Talon replied in his monotonous tone that had become somewhat standard.

I found a decent spot to pull over, grabbed my backpack and took a short trek into the tree line for a good place to strip and leave my bag. It took a while for my wolf to show some enthusiasm, but he sort-of got there once he felt the soft earth under our paws. But, as ever, I’d remember the times I snook away with Hunter and we ran together, just like this. Feeling the weight in our chest creeping back and the little enthusiasm we had waning, we turned around and went back to collect our things.

I grabbed my bag from where I had stuffed it in a tree to keep it hidden and had just zipped up my pants, when Talon became hyper-aware of another’s presence.

“Who's there?” I called out, feeling my heart rate soar. s**t, I was only in my pants, I hadn’t been able to pull my shirt on or even my boots.

A rogue stepped forward. I knew from personal experience that not all rogues were criminals… not all were innocents either. And the one in front of me looked like he had committed a great deal.

“An Omega rogue? Your type isn't common out here,” he sneered, sensing my fear. “What exactly did a wolf like you do to an Alpha to piss him off?”

I shrunk back. Unlike many Omegas, I was much taller than most and built broader too. However, like many Omegas, I was not made for fighting. I may have had muscle and some strength, but I hated violence, and blood made me feel sick. I preferred peace over fighting and sparring. But I didn't think the same went for the man in front of me. He was huge and broad, obviously had been living in the wilds, maybe longer than I had been alive. The only 'fighting' I knew was self-defence and against a man like the one facing me, it wouldn’t go far.

“Just stay back… I don't have anything you could want,” I tried to argue, but it was pointless.

“Usually, the ones that say that, are the ones hiding things,” he smirked, stepping closer, backing me back up against the tree. “Give me the bag.”

My bag had my keys in it, because I was in the middle of getting dressed, and half the money I had. The other half was in my car, in case one, ironically, was stolen, so I didn't lose it all. But if I lost my bag now, I would lose it all.

He drew out a gleaming blade, “give me the bag, please,” he brandished it in my direction.

The man surged forward for the strap and I pulled back. The knife sliced at me and I felt a white hot flash of agony against my bare torso, like my skin had been peeled away. I let go of the strap as the pain exploded, which sent the rogue crashing backwards. As my adrenaline pumped, I thought quickly and while the man was still sprawled, I rolled over him, grabbing my bag and took off. I grasped my bag in my mouth and shifted, ripping through my pants and put everything I had into running; my boots were long forgotten.

I skidded to a stop at the car and shifted back to my human form, digging through my bag for the keys. I sped away as fast as I could and until I had put as many miles as possible between me and my attacker. I pulled over and rested my forehead against the steering wheel, feeling my limbs and skin shake as the adrenaline wore off. The burning against my skin drew me back to the fact that I was still fully naked and bleeding. I got out, hoping that a human wouldn’t drive past on the secluded road. In the boot of the car, I had some gauze and that was it, thinking my wolf healing would be all I needed. I cleaned my wound with the bottle of water I kept, hissing at its contact, and used a black shirt to wipe the blood away. Once the flow of blood had stemmed, I stuck the large gauze across the wound. Other than what I had done, I had no idea what else to do to treat my injury. Would a human free-clinic even see a wolf? Or would they tell us to go back to our pack to be treated, seeing as we had our own health care there?

I had never touched silver before but that blade couldn't be anything else. My wound would heal, but incredibly slowly.

I would have a scar permanently after this.