Chapter 5 05

KEVIN

"Seriously?" I muttered in disbelief as I eyed a score of Rogue werewolves glaring at me. "You guys are going to attack me, a fellow rogue," I growled as I shifted my focus to Rose. In normal circumstances, I could take down ten of them. But this time was different, I was outnumbered and the only way to escape this shit hole was to use Rose as a hostage. I'm sure they wouldn't want to see one of their own being threatened. I was still reveling in my sinister plans when I heard a voice meters away.

"Hold your horses guys, I asked you all to welcome him, not scare him." The overly familiar voice chuckled. His dark hair was styled in a neat low-cut fashion. His ebony skin shone under the sunlight complementing his dazzling gray irises which stared deeply into mine.

"Gabriel..." My cigarette dropped from my fingers. My best friend was alive! Hale and hearty, grinning at me.

"Kevin." He answered in a voice that didn't hint much surprise.

"Gabriel!" I pitched again to confirm I wasn't dreaming. He sauntered towards me, still retaining his perfect grin.

"Kevin."

We trotted to each other. Embracing ourselves tightly.

"I thought you were dead!" I whispered as my brace tightened. It's been over ten years since his exile. We used to communicate, but at one point, the connection just broke. I thought I had lost him just like my father. Gabriel's chuckle brought me back to my senses. I pulled away from him, rewarding him with a frown.

"I called, texted, mailed, tried every possible means to reach you, idiot!" I groaned as tears soaked my eyes. "You should have answered them! At least I wouldn't have lost hope!" I pressured while tears embattled his eyes too.

"I did it for a reason." He answered softly.

"What damned reason?!" I hollered while he chuckled once again.

"You're crying." He remarked, only then did I realize, that tears were already streaming across my cheeks. And I was still surrounded by Gabriel's men. I chuckled too, briskly wiping the tears off.

"How did you find Rose?" He asked as his eyes wavered between mine and hers.

"He saved me from an attack." The lady courteously responded.

"Alright guys, let's return to base!" He ordered the others. I sported a quizzical look as our gaze bonded again.

"Thank you for saving her." He said.

"She almost got raped." I started, trying to refrain from expressing anger. Recalling that scenery alone, irritated me to the very core. "But let's put that aside, who are these minions?" I asked while they sauntered deep into the forest.

"Friends," Gabriel answered.

"Friends?" I queried while he flashed me a cunning smile.

"Yeah. Come on, we have a lot to catch up on." He beckoned me to follow him but I hesitated for a while. We used to be best friends but ten years apart is enough to induce changes, perhaps he wasn't the smart, innocent, Gabriel I used to know. Nevertheless, I decided to trust him.

"Honestly, it feels so good meeting you after such a long time," Gabriel muttered as we walked side by side behind the others.

"Why didn't you answer those calls back then?" I answered as my lips held onto a cigarette. I studied his gaze, trying to decipher if he was going to lie or not.

"I didn't want you to face the same fate just like me." He responded as he glanced at me briefly. I lit the cigarette reminiscing how he was exiled alongside his mother for aiding my Father's treason.

"Alpha Jason at that time would do anything to exile you. If he had found you communicating with me, you would have been exiled long before now." He explained but I scoffed.

"How's your mother?" I asked. And he retained silence for a few minutes. I could only see sadness replace his bright countenance. It was enough to tell me everything.

"She died." He finally mumbled.

"I'm sorry," I whispered before letting out a puff.

"You don't need to. It's been years." He replied but his tone said otherwise. The pain was still striving in his heart.

"So how did you survive all these years?" I asked almost in a whisper.

"Trust me it wasn't easy, but then over the years, I found fellow rogues exiled from Greenville. Now we band as a team."

I nodded while another round of heavy smoke escaped my lips.

"So you're their leader."

He hummed in response.

"Let's talk about you." He beamed a mischievous smile at me. "You finally got exiled huh."

His statement somewhat baffled me, has he been wishing for my banishment? I rolled my eyes, he could easily tell from the mark imprinted on my neck. But I didn't feel like telling my story.

"You're quite popular around here, you know."

I scoffed.

"The only place my fame blooms in is Greenville and it's for a bad cause," I answered dryly.

"Greenville might know you as the son of a traitor but outside Greenville, you're known as The Rebellious Alpha." He replied and immediately some of his friends looked back at us.

"I'm no Alpha, Gabriel."

"Well you are, you do have Alpha blood running through your veins and of course, you're the only man who challenged Alpha Jason's position," Gabriel explained. "So technically, you're the rebellious Alpha."

"Shut up!" I snapped. The son of a traitor is a name I didn't want yet I've been given another bad one.

"How did you even know about the Challenge, you weren't even there."

Gabriel laughed. "I have eyes and ears. Besides, you challenged that idiot publicly. The news was bound to spread."

I flung my cigarette away.

"Everyone thinks you're a hero but honestly, I think that was a foolish move." He added. I arched an eyebrow at him.

"Choose your next words carefully, Gabriel," I warned, He might be my friend but that doesn't mean I wouldn't hit him.

"I'm sorry but that's the only suitable word I can use." I rolled my eyes as he responded. We arrived in a cleared area. Broad lands where several blue and white caravans were rooted. There were other werewolves too. About ten of them were the same age as Gabriel and me. They were all engulfed in one activity or the other. Some were cooking, and training, and some immature ones playing a game of tag. One would have mistaken them for a Pack. Oddly, I felt drawn to these people as if we had some kind of bond we share but I couldn't pinpoint what exactly.

"Welcome to our base," Gabriel mentioned in a grand gesture. But one disturbing action I noticed was that they bowed their heads slightly as their eyes met mine.

"You could have defeated Alpha Jason though," Gabriel mumbled as we stopped in front of a caravan. One I presumed was his.

"Rose, get us chairs please." He muttered to the petite lady who quietly marched into his caravan.

"Oh please, don't try and give me cold comfort." I scoffed while Rose emerged with two lounge chairs, Beckoning us to have a seat.

"You know not everyone is lucky to have a powerful Wolf like Lupus, whose strength equals twelve Betas." He answered as we both relaxed on our chairs.

"Would you like anything?" Rose asked beside me.

"No, thank you," I responded before focusing on Gabriel's smiley status again.

"Well, I lost. I'm a Rogue now." I quoted in disdain.

"You're right, there's nothing we can do talking about the past now." He nodded in assertion. "So what's next for you?"

My gaze pulled away from his as I scooped another cigarette in my mouth. His question caught me off guard, Perhaps because I had never given thought to my life aside from the quest for revenge.

"I don't know," I mumbled as I lit the cigarette. "I'll probably mellow down for some years. Train till I'm ready to dethrone that bastard from my Father's position and then descend on that pathetic Lycan."

Gabriel frowned. "Are you even serious with your life? You're still clamoring for the Lycan?" He queried harshly. "You're a Rogue, Kevin. There's nothing like mellowing down in a Rogue's life. We're scavengers and are always being hunted. Just last night, I lost a friend!"

"Totally none of my business," I replied casually while smoke escaped my mouth.

Gabriel heaved a sigh. He was probably trying to calm himself from my nonsensical talks.

"Even if you use a century training yourself, you will keep on losing to Alpha Jason."

I held my cigarette between my fingers.

"You don't know that."

"Oh I do, you know why?" He retorted. "Because Alpha Jason knows your weakness."

"I don't have a weakness." I asserted.

"Yes, you have!" Gabriel protested.

"Tell me then," I replied with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

"Just the magic word, SON OF A TRAITOR. Is enough to drive you nuts. Anytime you hear those words, you lose every iota of reasoning and logic. Your brain becomes disconnected from Lupus strength and skills." He ferociously quoted as he gestured. I wouldn't lie, hearing those words even from Gabriel's mouth, angered me to the very core. I could have glared icily at him but I didn't want to prove him right.

"Even right now, I can tell you are angry." His voice broke my thoughts.

"No, I'm not." I shrugged.

"You were never good at lying ever since I've known you. And right now, you're still bad at it."

"Fine, I'm angry. Happy now!" I blared and quickly returned my cigarette to my lips.

We both retained silence for minutes. Each of us is in our world of thoughts.

.

"Do you know every person here, were former members of Greenville Pack?" He finally broke the silence. I glanced at each of them, engulfed in their activities. Now I finally understood why I felt so attached to them. They were my Pack members.

"Each of them has been unlawfully exiled by Alpha Jason. Rose for example got exiled just because she refused to date his son." He pursed his lips as he pointed to another person. "That girl over there got banished because she stole medicine for her dying mother."

My palms slowly curled into a fist as newly found rage strived in my heart. It dosed my regrets on a higher note for not killing Alpha Jason.

"He is a monster, only ruining the once beautiful Greenville we knew," Gabriel added.

"Every day, people like us are being hunted down. Today it was Rose, tomorrow it can be you or me or perhaps one of them."

I dropped my cigarette to the ground.

"Which is why I've found the perfect solution."

I frowned while we exchanged deep stares.

"Let's start a Pack."

My ears rang, my head went blank and my heart skipped a beat. I continued to stare dumbstruck until I burst into a mocking laughter.

"There's nothing funny about this."

"Hold on-" I gestured to him before another round of mocking laughter protruded.

"FYI, the Lycan is never going to approve a Pack full of rogues. He'll easily send his finest army to wipe you guys out!"

"Which is why we're going to attack Greenville Pack. That way, our status as Rogues will be canceled." Gabriel responded with a furrowed gaze.

"Are you crazy?!" I blared. "Greenville has nothing less than three hundred members and you guys are how many?"

"Thirty."

"Thirty? Can you even hear yourself? You will all be wiped out before you even smell the Packhouse." I declared exasperatedly.

"It's not about the size or brawn, it's about logic. And trust me, this idea is way better than you facing Alpha Jason all by yourself."

"I can see that your rogue life has finally demented your smart brain. You want to risk the lives of these people for your logic?" I queried sharply.

"You can't just wake up one morning and say you want to start a Pack of Rogues and face Alpha Jason," I added and immediately felt a strong sense of déjà vu. Uncle Walker had told me something like this too.

"We've been planning this thing for years, Kevin. It's totally flawless." Gabriel protested.

"Gabriel," I sternly called. "Nobody and I mean nobody is going to recognize a so-called Pack whose members are Rogue. Get that into your skull!" I arose sharply and he did the same too.

"What if I can change your mind?To make you join us?"

I eyed him skeptically, certain there was no way in hell he could convince me. Or maybe there was?

"Think about it Kevin, we're your best chance you've got in avenging your Father's position. Now that you're a Rogue, you can't do it alone. You need us just like we need you."