The Rogue Alpha

Chapter Three

It had been eleven years since Archer’s mother, the Luna of the pack, had been killed. Alexander, now twenty-three, had been trying to get his father to step down and hand the pack to him for the last two years, but the strong gentle giant that the brothers had known from their childhood was no longer there.

Alpha Jack was refusing to step aside, still hounding for revenge for the murder of his mate. Though Alexander shared his father’s desire to spill blood, Jack was not able to let go. The Alpha had mourned his mate, howling for her until his wolf could do no more than whimper. His friendly, jovial demeanour had given way to a cold and ruthless man who led through fear and violence.

As the sun peeked over the horizon one morning, Archer was awoken to the words via the mind link that now filled him with discomfort and a prickle of pain, ‘all members to the packhouse, we have a rogue’ his father roared in his head.

Dragging himself out of his bed, Archer raced through his morning routine, before pulling on some clothes and running a brush through his hair. Giving a quick glance in the mirror, he jogged down the stairs to the front doors, stepping outside and taking his place beside his brother as his father stood on the steps glaring out at the pack who were hurrying toward us.

Waiting with his wife, until the horde of people were clustered at the side of the path leading up to the pack house, Alpha Jack raised his voice, commanding silence as he spoke.

‘Today a dirty little Rogue b***h entered our territory, soiling our land with her filth. We come together to watch as we rid the world of another piece of vermin, making the lives of ourselves and every other pack safer.’

From where Archer stood, he could see the sea of faces, some excited, some nervous and a few giving uncertain looks toward their Alpha. In his head, Archer’s wolf was whimpering, pacing around his mind and pawing at his thoughts.

‘What’s the matter?’ Archer linked to the black wolf that shared his body.

His wolf, Axel, continued to whine, his agitation infusing the warrior as he tried to block him out.

‘Bring her forward’ Alpha Jack intoned firmly, scowling down as two warriors dragged a small framed woman toward the stairs, her bare feet stumbling against the stones that littered the path, a dirt stained white dress hanging from her frame.

Axel’s whines became louder as he began to claw desperately at Archer’s mind, as if trying to dig his way out of his mental cage.

Internally chastising his wolf, Archer suddenly lost his train of thought as a delicious citric scent surrounded him, making his mouth water.

Looking around him, the warrior searched for the cause of the scent, now completely in agreement with his wolf that he needed to abandon his post and follow the smell.

‘Find it, Archer’ Axel panted desperately, ‘where is it coming from?’

Archer shook his head, his gaze sweeping the crowd, trying to spot anyone who could be holding something that would give off such an alluring odour.

In front of him, Alpha Jack was growling down at the young girl who was kneeling at his feet, her head bent forward as she listened silently to the slanderous words that the Alpha was spewing about her.

Glaring down at the Rogue with unbridled hatred, Alpha Jack’s lip curled up cruelly as he sentenced her to death.

The teenager flinched at his words, the first indication that she was scared about what was happening, she peeked out through her dirty brown hair, her tanned skin shivering slightly as she held in a sob.

Straightening slightly, she gazed around at everyone who was watching her, hopelessness rolling off her body as each face in turn informed her that no one was coming to her rescue.

Her brown eyes slowly moving over the guards, she focused first on Alexander before her gaze connected with Archer’s.

Her eyes widened slightly, her mouth forming a perfect O as Axel started to jump around in craziness, ‘MATE’ he yelled in Archer’s head.

Transfixed, Archer took a tentative step forward, ignoring his brother who was trying to grab hold of him, his whole existence drawn to the dark skinned woman who was watching him with fear but the barest flicker of hope.

It took his father a few moments to realise that something was amiss, turning to his son and roaring loudly, ‘Archer, get back to your place!’ he yelled furiously, ‘what do you think you are doing?’

‘Mate’ Archer whispered, his feet slowly moving him toward her.

Jack looked from his son to the Rogue, his face contorting with fury as he screamed out, ‘grab him!’ Archer’s arms were grasped tightly as he struggled against his captives, his body shaking as he glared at his father. ‘Let me go! She is mine!’ he roared furiously, fighting to free himself as Alpha Jack stepped closer to the girl who watched him fearfully.

‘No son of mine will be mated to a dirty Rogue’ he growled, staring his son down until Archer had no choice but to avert his gaze in submission. His gaze moving to his mate, Archer stiffened as his father extended his claws and brought them down across the woman’s neck slicing her head from her body.

Archer’s screams filled the air as his mate’s head fell to the ground, rolling toward him with the faint look of hope still etched into her beautiful face.

All of the fight left Archer's body, replaced by an overwhelming pain that caused him to fall to the ground, gripping his chest, tears falling down his cheeks. In his mind, his wolf howled in agony, calling for his mate who would never connect to him.

Alpha Jack stood by the corpse for a second, watching his son's pain before stalking toward him, the woman’s blood still dripping from his hand as he halted in front of the warrior, glowering down at him.

‘Now you have the chance to find a second chance mate that is more worthy of your bloodline' before motioning the guards that surrounded them, to dispose of her body.

Alexander reached forward to help his brother up but was stopped by their father, who held up his hand commandingly.

‘Leave him, he stays’ he growled determinedly, glancing over at the men who were lifting the body as the crowd started to disperse. ‘Burn her, right here at the base of the stairs, let him watch, chain him so he can’t leave’ he ordered.

Archer couldn’t even think to fight as four guards disappeared, returning moments later with silver chains that they wrapped around him tightly and padlocked to a metal ring that was anchored to the wall of the pack house.

Other warriors were collecting firewood, building a bonfire in the middle of the quadrant that stood before the packhouse, before carefully placing the woman’s body on top, arranging her hands to lay across her chest before lighting the kindling and thrusting it deep within the pile beneath her body.

Axel howled relentlessly in Archer’s head as the flames slowly licked their way up the bonfire, gaining purchase until the body was just a silhouette that shimmered from within the fire.

As her body began to burn, Axel finally fell silent, receding to the back of his human’s mind, cutting contact as he grieved.

Kneeling on the steps, facing the fire, Archer’s gaze never faltered from the flames, silent sobs wracking his body as he stayed for hours until his mate was nothing but ash and the fire was almost spent. The sun had reached the height of the sky and fallen behind him, darkness creeping across the land before a pair of hands gently unlocked his bindings and unwrapped the chains from his body.

Looking up, Archer met the concerned gaze of his brother, who freed him from his shackles before helping him to his feet, throwing his younger brother’s arm over his shoulder as he supported his weight into the house and to his room.

Entering his bedroom, Alexander lowered the warrior carefully onto the bed, unlacing his shoes and removing them before lifting his feet onto the mattress.

‘He killed her, Alex’ Archer croaked as he gazed at the ceiling, unable to move. ‘She was my mate, given by the Goddess and dad killed her like she was nothing.

Alexander halted, his breath catching for a moment before he muttered, ‘it’s for the best Archer, dad is right, now you can find another mate, a better one.’

Pulling the covers over his brother’s body, Alexander gave the young man’s arm a comforting squeeze before walking out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Rolling to his right, Archer stared out of his open bedroom window, looking up at the darkening sky that was already revealing the bright full moon.

‘Why, why would you give me a mate and then let my father take her from me?’ he whispered brokenly.

A soft breeze blew through the window, floating across his skin like a soft caress against his cheek, making him close his eyes instinctively, sleep washing over him like a balm.

His skin tingled gently, a peace flowing through him before his eyes snapped open, piercing the darkness as a sudden determination coursed through his body.

Jumping up from his bed, Archer grabbed a rucksack that was stored in his closet, piling clothes, the cash he had stored in his drawer and his bank card inside, before wrenching open his bedroom door and creeping down to the kitchen. Rummaging though the cupboards for food that he packed into his bag, he also grabbed bottles of water from the fridge before making his way to the back door and slipping out into the night.

Checking around him, he could see the patrols a short distance away chatting and laughing. It was rare for a raid on their pack after all.

Keeping in the shadows, Archer made his way around the packhouse, searching for an opportunity before running for the trees that surrounded the grounds. Entering the forest, he snuck through the foliage, his ears perked for guards, trekking quietly for over an hour before he finally reached the boundary that separated his home from the dangers of the outside world.

Checking once more for patrol wolves, he turned back for one last look at all he had known before taking a deep breath and murmuring, ‘I renounce the Black Opal pack and am henceforth a Rogue’, stepping over the line as the air filled with howls as each pack member felt his bond break with them.