Just a Rogue

Evan

Oh, damn! Burn! I like Ruby! The audio from the jail cells just let us hear that entire conversation, and Ruby is killing it in there! Amelia and I goggle at each other for a second. Corinne was so right to want to rescue these girls. I am all in on this plan.

“Okay,” Kanen says, “time to get ready to move out. “There are ten rogues left, not counting Corinne. Seven are males, which presumably will be the ones fighting. We can’t ignore the possibility that the females will fight as well. My plan is to have a dozen of our wolves fighting. Then another twenty of us will be on site as humans to carry gear and take the rogues into custody. We’ll be able to get our cars fairly close to the cave, and park them at one of our logging sites nearby. Less than a five minute walk.” He looks over at Janine, indicating that she should continue.

“Dark Woods has another weapon with silver dust which has been in development,” she says. “The spray bottles are defensive weapons, but this is an offensive weapon.”

Really? I’m from Dark Woods and I haven’t heard of this. I guess this kind of thing is above my pay grade.

Janine puts a case on the table and opens it up. There are a few small plastic canisters inside. “These are modified tear gas grenades. They contain silver dust, not tear gas.” She holds one up, and points to a round ring attached to the top. “They are very easy to use. You just pull out the pin with this ring, and toss it.”

Ross says, “We haven’t used these in combat before, but the theory is that by deploying them into an area containing enemy forces, they will be temporarily incapacitated by the silver dust, allowing us to move in and apprehend them quickly and easily. Any rogues in the immediate vicinity of the grenade might even be briefly prevented from being able to shift wolf.”

Kanen takes the grenade that Janine is holding and looks at it. “This is perfect. We can throw a couple of these down into the cave before we even go in there, and hopefully they’ll be so disoriented and disabled they won’t even be able to put up a fight.”

My mouth is hanging open with outrage. “Corinne is going to be in there!” I object.

Janine looks at me with sympathy. “I know, but for one thing, the effects are temporary and will not inflict any permanent injury. For another thing, the female rogues are almost always at the very back of the cave, so the silver dust wouldn’t even reach them there. It is a calculated risk, and the best way to de-escalate the battle before it begins.”

Kanen continues, “The plan is to have two of our humans toss in the grenades, then we will wait about ten seconds for the dust to settle down. That way our own people won’t be harmed by it when they enter. We’ll send in wolves first. We have to go one at a time because the entrance is so small, so the first one or two will be taking the biggest risk, and will bear the brunt of any attack by the rogues.”

Ross says, “So I’ll be the first one in, then Kanen.”

It is a sobering idea, but logical. Our Alphas are the strongest, the biggest, the fiercest, and furthermore would never allow others in the pack to take a bigger risk than they are willing to accept for themselves.

“I’ll be third,” I volunteer.

Ross shakes his head. “No, Evan, sorry, but you’re staying human.” I’m ready to object, but he goes on. “You can come, though, and even toss in the first grenade.”

I nod. I guess I’m lucky he’s letting me participate at all, after I keep demonstrating that I’m very emotionally involved with Corinne’s safety.

Kanen looks at me. “Get some other guys and start pulling the cars around. We’re leaving immediately.”

Nova

Lynette meets my eyes when we realize that Ruby has escaped. We know she isn’t walking back from the store, after what Corinne told us. She has gone to the pack. This is really happening. We don’t know what Xavier’s plan is, what is going to happen when Ruby doesn’t show up in an hour. I am so glad that she is safe from Xavier now.

Lynette reaches her left arm out to me, and I curl into her. We have gotten pretty good at working around being handcuffed together, so her right hand and my left hand are up between us while we cuddle. I think she’s just trying to comfort me, reassure me, while we wait for whatever is coming. But her lips are right at my ear, and she whispers, so low that even I can barely hear it.

“Nova, I don’t want to have to just wait for the outcome when the pack attacks. I know that Corinne said we should just submit, but I don’t know what Xavier is planning. He might not even give us the chance. And he might win the fight.”

I lean back just long enough to look into her eyes, to let her know that I heard her, then I cuddle back down against her, listening.

“I think that when the battle starts, we should fight them. Fight against the rogues. Fight together with the pack.”

What? We’re two females, humans, handcuffed together. We’d just be killed. This sounds crazy.

“So that means that you have to be willing to shift, Nova.”

I lean back again and look at her eyes, and whisper, “I can’t.” I lean back against her, to listen to her answer.

“You only think that because Xavier told you not to. There is no actual reason for you not to shift. You can. You will be able to protect yourself, and help protect Corinne. She is the only one who actually can’t shift, because she’s pregnant. But you can do it.”

I voice my shameful fear. “But it hurt.”

“It hurts worst the first time,” she assures me. “It will be easier this time.”

I have more concerns. “But we’re handcuffed.”

“I know, but I think that once we have shifted, we’ll be strong enough to break the chain. The cuffs might be tight on our forelegs, but we’ll still be able to fight.”

I can’t do it. I know I won’t be able to do it. I’m too afraid.

“Nova,” she whispers, “It’s time for you to take control of your own life. Don’t let Xavier keep controlling you. This is the way for you to get out of this hell. You might never get another chance.”

But I don’t even know how to fight. I don’t know if I will be able to do anything at all to help.

Then, my inner wolf chimes in. She has hardly ever spoken to me, ever since I rejected her the first time that she arrived, in a flurry of pain and fear. “Don’t worry about that,” she tells me, “I know how to fight. You just watch, I’ll do everything. Lynette’s right, and you know it. You have to let me out. I will keep us safe. It’s time for you to stop being a helpless victim. You’re not a child anymore. Let’s take control of our own destiny, together.”

I sniff, more afraid than ever. But I know one more thing. It isn’t only about me. It’s about Lynette. She could shift right now if she wanted, since they took the collar off last night and she has mostly healed from the damage caused by the silver. But she won’t shift while we’re handcuffed, because she knows it would hurt me in my human form, to have her wolf bursting out while I am attached to her. I have to admit, though, that I don’t think her shifting would hurt me if I’m shifting too.

If I refuse, I might be condemning Lynette to keep suffering. If the pack loses the fight, it wouldn’t matter if we try to submit to them, and Xavier would punish us horribly for having tried. I think she’s right. We have to help the pack win. We can’t just sit by and wait to find out who owns us now.

I nod my head, as she holds me against her chest. “Okay,” I say, trying not to let her hear my reluctance and fear.

“Thank you, Nova,” she whispers emotionally. “You won’t regret it. We will have to wait until we are sure the battle is about to start. We can’t shift before then, because there are only two of us and the male rogues would attack us. I’ll watch, and when it’s time, I’ll count to three, and then we’ll shift together. You have to get ready to do it. On the count of three.”

I nod again. I’ll trust her on this. I’m terrified, but I’ll do it.

“Good girl,” my wolf says from within. “And I’ll take care of us.”

Amelia

“Tell Dominic that the drone team is done at the trailhead,” Ross tells me, “and to meet us at the logging site.” He points to the map, and I send my mate the coordinates, tracing my eyes along the roads that he’ll have to take to get there.

“Who needs GPS?” he thinks to me, and I can sense his smile, but I can’t smile back.

This is it. The battle is happening, people might be hurt, and my own beloved mate is going to be there.

“Don’t worry,” he assures me, because I can’t keep my worry away from him. He can always sense my feelings. “I’ll be fine. I’ll bet I’m one of the ones staying human anyway, I probably won’t be fighting.”

Well, I know how to confirm that, and as much as I hate to bother the Alpha while he’s making plans, I can’t stop myself. “Is Dominic going to be a wolf or a human?” I ask Ross.

“Human,” he responds briefly, and I nod gratefully.

“Yes, Alpha Ross says you’re staying human,” I tell Dom.

“There, see?” I hear him say, then he goes on, “Um, if this is all going down today, does that mean that we might get some time to ourselves tonight?”

“Ha! I hope so,” I think to him, and am so happy that in the middle of all of the battle plans, he is just wishing to spend time with me.

“I have my priorities straight,” he points out, making me giggle a little, then I try to straighten my face because this is really not a giggling moment, here in the command center where everyone is very busy and serious as they get ready for the coming battle. I glance up and see Darlene giving me a wry smile. She totally knows.

“Okay,” Dom tells me, “we’ve gotten the drones back, we’re heading to the logging site.”

“Be careful,” I say unnecessarily, and he only sends me a flood of his love.

Seth

I run out to the car with Hugh to get the rest of the supplies he bought. When we get back to the cave, I can tell that he is still hoping that Ruby has arrived while we were gone for a few minutes, but of course she hasn’t. I have to agree with Xavier on this. What an idiot, to allow her to walk back on her own. Considering that she has seen the example set by Wyatt and Blake and Finn, she probably decided that this is a good time to just break away from Xavier’s group. Something that I know all of us have thought about from time to time. I definitely have, and at this point the only thing keeping me here is Corinne.

I look over to the back of the cave when we get back inside. She is sitting quietly with her arms clasped around her raised knees, watching the cave with wide eyes, next to Lynette and Nova who are cuddled up together like usual. Grace sits there with a worried expression, probably wishing that Xavier would summon her over, but that doesn’t seem very likely to me. The girls must be feeling very unsettled right now, knowing Xavier just announced that he will enact a plan within the hour. They have no idea what is going to happen, or how this will affect them.

Neither do the rest of us, but as soon as Hugh and I get back into the cave, Xavier tells the men to gather near the entrance. We huddle together, away from the women, so they can’t hear what is being said.

“Seth and I are going to bring the females out of the cave through the back entrance,” he says, in a very low voice. “I want to get them to a more secure location.”

I wonder what secure location he could possibly have in mind. He might not even know. I just think he is feeling very suspicious right now, and wants to have them away from this group where people are peeling away one by one. He won’t want to lose any more females.

He goes on. “We’ll take them out to the car, and I’ll drive them to the new location, then meet you back here. Seth will return as soon as I’m in the car with the women, to help defend the cave.”

I will? All right, but that means that I’m going to be separated from Corinne, from my child. I already don’t like this plan.

“The rest of you are going to start building some things to protect the cave. I’m not entirely confident that the pack won’t find this cave too, and I want to be ready if they show up. We’re going to start keeping barbed wire across the entrance, so nobody can get inside unless we allow it. I want you to spread it across a wooden frame that you’ll build, so we can pull it back from inside when we need access to the entrance.”

He checks his watch. The hour is almost up. We all realize by now that Ruby isn’t coming back, and his jaw clenches. He is holding his anger in check, though, probably aware that he needs to remain calm in order to carry out his plan.

He looks up at me. “Get your bag together. We’ll be putting the collar back on Lynette before we go, I don’t trust that she’ll cooperate otherwise.” I nod silently.

I can’t see any way that I can stop this. The car will be full with Xavier and the four females, so I can’t just offer to be the driver. I don’t know where they are going, or whether he will share their location with us, or how long he’ll be gone. I don’t know when the females will be brought back. I’m sure that questioning him about the details is only going to make him angry. He obviously doesn’t want us to know.

So I move over to my sleeping area and check my backpack to make sure the supplies are in there, the gloves and collar, and a few water bottles that I always try to keep with me. I’ll go along with his plan for now, until I see a chance to get Corinne away. Maybe there’ll be a moment on the way to the car that I can grab Corinne and try to run. With the other females to control, it’s possible that Xavier wouldn’t be able to chase after us. I have to get ready.