Chapter 4 The Rogue

Apollo's POV

My meeting with Alpha Lennox of the Rosetta pack was going just as I expected. It was a bit boring, mostly just bargaining for more winter necessities like fuel and clean water in exchange for an ounce of territory. We were the only ones in his cabin with two betas outside guarding the door. It's been nearly two hours of negotiating now, the worst part of being a leader in my opinion, and I was already bored out of my mind.

So bored I almost forgot the events of this afternoon. Almost.

My mate, the one person I have been waiting for my entire life to complete me and rule the Rogues together, turned out to be a complete nobody. A wolfless mutt.

I bit the inside of my cheek, my jaw ticking in annoyance. To think I saved her from being pelted with rotten fruit by her own pack, maybe I should have left her to her fate.

It wasn't that she was ugly, quite the contrary; her long, pitch black hair contrasted beautifully against her pale skin like the moon on a clear night and her eyes were like two blue pearls that shone bright.

Then why did you reject her, my Bloodhound howled within me.

He has been inconsolable since I rejected her, my chest throbbing in pain was a sore reminder of that. I did not regret what I did though. It was better to lead my band of Rogues without a mate than with a weak mutt.

"Alpha Apollo, are you alright?" Lennox asked and I was pulled out of my thoughts.

"Of course, have we come to an agreement then?"

"Yes, I'll have some alphas in the pack hand over the items by tomorrow morning before you leave. I hope you will attend the Dead Moon festival tonight."

"I'd be honored to, it's a rare event. One that hasn't happened in over a hundred years, of course I'll be attending."

"Of course it is a great privilege to be in the good graces of one the last Bloodhounds in existence."

There it was. As I suspected, the unexpected friendship from the Rosetta pack was all a strategy to keep their friends close and their enemies closer. It was a smart move in my opinion, better to be friends with a dangerous predator than to be enemies.

Lennox sipped some alcohol from a cup and leaned closer.

"I heard there was a...commotion at the town square today, and you were somehow caught up in it."

I hummed, unsurprised. The pack wasn't too big, so it wasn't surprising that news traveled fast.

"It was nothing, really."

Lennox chuckled, "That's not what I hear. You see, we have a...pack problem, per se. A wolfless girl, a curse in fact. I apologize if she gave you any trouble, she doesn't usually show her face in public-"

"It's fine, Lennox. Like I said it was nothing." He gulped, leaning back. He seemed to hear the dangerous edge in my voice. I didn't like to repeat myself, to friend or foe.

"Permit me to offer my apologies once again. If you want you can keep her as your slave." He said hopefully. The entire pack seemed eager to get rid of the wolfless girl.

I almost felt sorry for her.

"No, thank you. She's your problem, not mine."

The meeting concluded a minute later and I left Lennox's cabin with more than I bargained for. Fuel and necessities, a little bit of gossip and a pounding headache.

Kyrein, my best friend and right hand man, waited for me outside with a knowing smirk.

"How was it? Can we go now?" He asked, falling into step beside me.

"I wish," I groaned, massaging my forehead with one finger, "We have to stay for the stupid festival."

Kyrein chuckled, "Look on the bright side, maybe you'll get to see your fated mate again."

"Don't even joke about that." I growled, hoping to remember nothing about her stupidly beautiful face, "And correction, it's ex-fated mate."

"Oh, you've rejected her already?"

"Yeah. Better safe than sorry, someone like her could ruin everything."

We walked back to our lodge in silence, maybe I'll get a quick nap and then prepare for tonight's festival.

***

Selene's POV

My entire body ached from the beating I received the instant I got home.

Mother pounced on me with her favorite wooden spoon, whipping me until I could barely stand. When Father came home later, he continued where she left off, using his belt and hands over and over until I couldn't even feel it anymore.

Ashley wasn't home, thank goddess, else she would've joined the frenzy. It wouldn't be the first time and I was sure it wouldn't be the last.

I laid on the kitchen floor, clutching my wounded stomach and trembling from the pain.

Mother and Father were arguing loudly in the living room.

"If we had gotten rid of her ages ago, this wouldn't have happened! Now the entire pack knows that not only is she completely useless, she also threw herself at the King of Rogues!" Father bellowed, followed by the sound of a chair flying across the room and crashing.

"How was I supposed to know your daughter would do something outrageous like that?! If we kept her locked up in the cellar like I suggested, this wouldn't have happened!" Mother yelled right back.

They argued for a while, exchanging insults back and forth. After a while, their voices died down and they seemed to be having a proper conversation.

"...do you think we'll get a proper price for her?" Mother was saying.

My ears perked up and I pressed my ears to the walls to hear clearer.

"...well, they should. All these years we wasted on her, I'll be damned if we don't get compensated."

"I'll ask Alpha Lennox tomorrow, maybe he could put a good word in for us to the King of Rogues."

"She'll do better as a slave for the Rogues, that's for sure."

I froze at Mother's words. My heart sank, not from shock but from the familiar sting of knowing that I never truly mattered to them, not as their daughter and definitely not as a person.

Right there and then, I made up my mind to attend the Dead Moon festival if that was the last thing I did before leaving this horrible place.