Chapter 5 Becoming A Rogue

Anne's POV:

The Alpha's declaration was final. As a result, my parents and I were thrown out of the pack house. Unsurprisingly, word had already spread that I got pregnant out of wedlock. My parents and I had to walk out under the intense gazes of everyone. The other werewolves looked at me with disgust. I even saw some of them shooting invisible lasers at my belly.

After trekking for a long time, we found a suite in a hotel that was overpriced. My parents waited until I was relaxed a bit before they began interrogating me. I didn't hide anything from them. I told them everything down to Oren's promise of marriage. My heart sank when I was done. I added, "It was silly of me not to have asked Oren more questions. I don't even know where he's from. All I know is that he's not a member of Star Moon Pack."

After a moment of silence, my mother spoke up first. "There's no point crying over spilled milk. What you need to do is continue looking for him. I'm sure you will meet him again. Let's just hope it's soon."

"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry for letting you down. You are suffering because of me."

"Shhh!" My father shut me up gently and then said in a deep voice, "This is not your fault. If there's anyone to blame, it should be that guy who you fell in love with. Anyways this should teach you a lesson not to trust males easily. You shouldn't allow your feelings for someone blind you again."

My faith in Oren was dwindling. Since he hadn't returned as promised, I had great doubts that he would show up now. I didn't even know how to track him down.

After taking a deep breath, my father looked at my belly and continued, "As much as I hate to say this, you have to start thinking of the future. No one knows if that werewolf will really come back as he promised. If he doesn't, you need to forget about him and concentrate on raising the child."

He had a point. Now wasn't the time to worry myself about Oren. I had to be strong for the baby.

A few days passed and we still hadn't gotten a permanent residence yet. One hot afternoon, the owner of the hotel, who had accepted our money, barged into the suite and breathed fire. "Get out of here now!"

"What do you mean? We already paid to stay here until further notice. Why are you driving us away?" asked my father, facing him squarely.

The hotelier glared at me and shouted, "I heard that your daughter was punished by Moon Goddess. She's a whore and a rule breaker. I don't want any bad luck. Get out this minute! Take your bad luck somewhere else. If you don't go now, I'll have you thrown out like the pieces of trash you are!"

The hotelier's words made my heart ache. After blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall, I clasped my hands and begged him. "Please allow us to stay here for a little longer. We don't have anywhere else to go."

"No way! You must leave this minute. It's bad enough that you have stayed for some days. Leave!" The stone-hearted man continued to roar.

I took a deep breath and said, "Since you only have a problem with me, please let my parents stay here at least. I will-"

"No, we stick together, Anne!" My father cut me off and then said to the owner, "We'll pack our things right away."

Tears made my eyes burn as I looked at my father after the owner left. I bit my index finger, regretting again that I had gotten my parents into this mess.

It seemed that my father saw through me at this moment. He patted my head and said seriously, "As I said, this isn't your fault. We are a family, so we are in this together. Don't even think about leaving us just because you feel guilty."

"It will kill us to know that you are out there alone. How will you survive on your own? You should think of your child," my mother echoed, giving me a side hug.

I nodded hard and replied with difficulty, "Okay."

We went to a couple of hotels, but they all turned us back. Then, we wandered until we found an abandoned factory. It wasn't as clean and comfortable as the hotel or our former home, but at least, we had a roof over our heads.

One day, a sharp pain suddenly pulled at my lower abdomen. I held my belly, fearing that the stress of the past few days was taking a toll on my body. I feared that I would miscarry the pregnancy.

When I complained to my father, he thought for a while before saying, "Don't worry. You will be fine. Let me take you to get some medicine."

Fear set in immediately. I shook my head and said, "Father, I don't think it's a good idea to go out with you. If the other werewolves see me, they will drive us away."

My father was perplexed. He looked at my belly and said, "But that's the only option we have. If you don't receive treatment as soon as possible, your life and that of the baby will be in danger."

Following my father's persuasion, I had to go out with him to get some medicine.

The second we stepped foot into the pharmacy, all hell broke loose. The werewolves present made funny noises and hurled insults at me. The pharmacists not only refused to attend to us, but also cursed my unborn child.

A grenade went off inside me when I heard one of them call my child a bastard. I could tolerate their insults, but not them calling my baby names.

"Shut the fuck up! Don't call my child that again!" I screamed crazily.

The temperature in the pharmacy seemed to drop by several degrees. The werewolves froze at first. A second later, they burst into laughter and looked more troublesome. One of them said, "Whore, you have a lot of nerve to talk back at us. Weren't you the one the Alpha banished? You should be thankful that we didn't beat you to a pulp for showing up here. Do you still think you are the daughter of a nobleman? Ha-ha!"

Seeing that I was on the brink of losing it, my father pulled me back and stepped in. "We didn't come here to make trouble. We only came for some medicine. Once we get them, we'll leave."

"Bah! We only sell medicines to members of the pack. Your slutty daughter is not deserving of any medicine sold here. Alpha Gould told you to go and never come back. You have crossed the line. We will report this to the soldiers on patrol!"

This was not good news. If the defenders of the pack showed up, the fact that we didn't wander away as we were told would be brought to light. Things would only get worse for us from then on.

I held my father's arm and tried to run away. However, the werewolves surrounded us, baring their teeth. It was obvious that they meant business. They howled until we heard the sound of heavy footsteps.

In a matter of seconds, Byron showed up with the soldiers. He drove us-including my mother-out of the land. The happiness Byron felt was too glaring to go unnoticed. He laughed and smirked complacently. The Beta status he had always wanted was now his for the taking.

"Anthony, life as a rogue must be hard. I can see that you have aged several years in just a few days. Ha-ha!" Byron commented, staring down at my father.

He glanced at me and said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk! Your precious daughter not only brought shame to you, but also went against Moon Goddess and betrayed our noble Alpha."

When Byron didn't get any response from us, he turned to my mother-a former popular singer whom most werewolves wanted as their mate. "Rebecca, look how shabby your mate is. As a beautiful she-wolf, you don't have to go through this with them. You should break the mate bond between you and Anthony and become my mistress. I'll make sure you have a beautiful life."

Those words got on the nerves of me and my parents. My father-a naturally tolerant man-suddenly charged forward and hit Byron. They wrestled as the others tried to break them apart. My mother pulled me aside and hugged me tightly.

In the end, Byron saw to it that we were escorted far from the borders. We couldn't return to the abandoned factory, or anywhere near the pack anymore.

Life kept getting worse and worse. Oren never showed up, nor did I hear from him. As time went on, I began to come to terms with the possibility that I'd never see him again.