Life as a rogue

SELENE’S POV

Blood was everywhere.

I was going to get killed too, just like my fellow rogues.

The scent of their blood was already in the air, thick and suffocating, seeping into my lungs with every desperate breath. Their bodies lay strewn across the forest floor, twisted and broken, their eyes staring into nothing.

I have been running with them for days, starving and desperate, moving as shadows through the trees. Rogues weren’t welcome anywhere, no pack wanted us, no Alpha would show us mercy. Still, we had learned how to survive. We stole scraps from human towns, hunted the small animals then kept moving before anyone could catch our scent.

But this time, we made the worst mistake of all.

We crossed into his land.

The ruthless Alpha of the East. Alpha Darian Moore, the one even the other Alphas whispered about. They said he killed without hesitation, that he hung trespassers along his borders as warnings. Some called him a monster; others swore he wasn’t even fully wolf anymore, just something darker.

I hadn’t believed the stories. Not really. Not until tonight.

His warriors fell upon us like shadows, silent and merciless. My people ragged, hungry rogues never stood a chance against trained soldiers bred for war. One by one, my companions were dragged down, their cries splitting the night before being silenced in choked gasps of blood.

I ran. So far, I was probably the only one still alive.

My bare feet tore over roots and rocks, lungs burning as branches ripped at my arms and face. I didn’t look back; I couldn’t. His soldiers were now running after me.

I stumbled backward, my hands slick with someone else’s blood, maybe even my own. My wolf howled inside me, urging me to shift, to run, but my body trembled with exhaustion. My legs ached from hours of fleeing, and my heart hammered so loudly I thought it might betray my hiding place.

I ran and ran but finally a wolf plunged at me. It wasn’t the Alpha- it was one of the warriors of this pack. The wolf bit into my arm and threw me to the ground. Another one of them followed up and kept me down. I tried to move but with the pain slashing through my arm, I was unable to do anything.

A loud howl of defeat escaped my lips when four other wolves circled around me.

There were six of them while I was one. They were stronger and bigger in size compared to me. I was bruised and finally, defeated. My wolf was already weak from everything that had happened to her.

Two of the wolves snapped back into their human form. Underneath the darkness, they stood naked and bare in front of me caring less about it. I wasn’t able to recognize one of them but they all seemed to be stronger and higher in the pack. One of them seemed to be leading the wolves but he wasn’t the Alpha. Maybe the second one in command. I knew the Alpha of this pack and I heard that the Alpha didn’t prefer giving positions to anyone.

“Finally,” One of them said, his voice carrying an edge of satisfaction. “The last little rat.” His eyes glowed faintly gold in the moonlight, cold and unrelenting as they raked over me. He was probably one of the coldest warriors and my chances of surviving were few.

Scared, I pressed my back against the cold, damp earth, my breath ragged. My wolf whimpered inside me, a low, broken sound of despair. She was too drained to fight, too worn down to even try clawing her way out. And maybe she was right, there was no winning against them.

The man crouched down, bringing his face close to mine. I could smell his power. His power was heavy and suffocating. “You should not have crossed the border. You should’ve known better. But rogues never learn.” His lips curved into a cruel smirk. “And now, you will pay the price.”

The other wolves chuckled, the sound low and dark, their eyes glittering with the thrill of the hunt. One of them pressed a heavy boot against my chest, pinning me to the dirt. I gasped for air, my arm still bleeding freely where the wolf’s teeth had torn into it.

“I say we end her here,” another warrior growled, his voice rough. “The Alpha doesn’t need to waste his time with rogues.”

But the man crouching before me shook his head. His gaze never wavered from mine. “No. He’ll want to see this one.”

Ice slid down my spine when I heard his words. Him. The ruthless Alpha. The monster they whispered about in every shadowed corner of the rogue camps. My blood turned cold at the thought.

“I... please,” I rasped, my voice hoarse, trembling. “I wasn’t… I didn’t mean to cross. I was just—”

“Hungry? Desperate?” the man mocked, cutting me off. He tilted his head, his expression almost curious. “They all say the same thing. And still, they bleed the same way when the Alpha rips their throats out.”

The words hollowed me out. My chest tightened until I could barely breathe.

Another warrior leaned closer, his grin wolfish. “She’s trembling already. The Alpha will enjoy breaking her spirit.”

“Or her neck,” someone else added with a laugh.

I squeezed my eyes shut, shame flooding me as tears burned at the corners. I hated it. Hated feeling weak under their stares. Hated knowing they were right, that my life wasn’t mine anymore.

“Bring her,” the leader ordered.

Immediately hands gripped me roughly, dragging me to my feet. My knees buckled, but they didn’t care. They yanked me forward, forcing me to stumble across the forest floor, my bare feet cut by stones and branches. My arm throbbed, blood kept on dripping steadily down to the ground, leaving a trail behind me but they didn’t care.

We walked deeper into their territory, past trees marked with claw scars, past the smell of old blood that clung to the earth like a curse. And then, suddenly, the forest opened into a clearing.

At the center stood him.

The Alpha.