The Rogue Alpha’s Claim

Kane had just gotten back from a meeting with his pack member, and he was losing it. He grabbed at his collar, tearing the button that seemed to be choking him, and only when they were undone did he feel relief.

“Why now?” He sighed as the last button snapped from his force, scattering all over the floor. He dumped his body on the sofa, his hands massaging his head as he tried to ease the headache away.

He could still remember the events of the day, and they played in his head like a movie clipped.

It all began when he came back from the last raid. As usual, it was a success, but they weren’t able to host their regular party because of the new addition to the pack.

Kane had called a meeting with his members prior to Ariel’s arrival, and he had advised them to tone down their ‘wolfiness’ as she was a human.

As usual, the news was met with uproar, and a lot of them were quick to voice out their dissatisfaction with the new rule, but Kane had grabbed the neck of the nearest man who had been too mouthy and sank his fangs in his flesh.

A deep bite on his neck reminded everyone just who the alpha was, and they were quick to bow their necks. “I understand that the new rule is not favorable, but Ariel doesn’t know about this world, and seeing humans change into beasts will terrify her. I am just asking for a week to ease her up into our world, then we can return to how we were.”

There were murmurs and grumblings here and there, but no one would dare raise their voice against him, and Kane took that as a sign of agreement.

However, the first week had gone by, and he had been so busy. There had been a new shipment coming up, and he needed to be there to supervise the work. He had been so busy that he hadn’t even seen his mate since she arrived; that was what he convinced himself, and not because he was trying to avoid her.

Kane wasn’t sure how he would feel looking at the face of his mate when he watched her parents die.

What if she remembered everything and was just pretending not to?

He wasn’t ready to risk their relationship, which had barely started, so he had tasked Toby with the job of watching her and keeping her company, but Toby had done the job so well that when he came, he couldn’t control his jealousy at seeing them in such close proximity.

He had taken it upon himself to take over her training and teach her some self-defense skills, and he wasn’t going to lie, it was the most fun he had had.

And somehow, he kept forgetting to tell her.

Their relationship was finally looking like it was making headway, and he didn’t want to ruin it. There was a saying that ignorance is bliss, and it had been working well for her. But Kane knew he couldn’t keep up with it.

This had gone on for two weeks and some days, and they had gone for their usual job. As usual, it was a success, and as is their tradition, they were supposed to wine and dine and probably get drunk and go crazy.

But with the new addition, there was no way they could do that without her finding their secret. No party is complete with alcohol, and for them, it is usually laced with a special portion to get even the mightiest wolf drunk, and a drunk wolf was a recipe for disaster.

Kane wasn’t surprised when they called for a meeting, expressing their displeasure over the fact.

“I speak for all of us when I said we have tried and we are tired. We are wolves; we can’t continue hiding who we are because of a mere human.” One of the pack members spoke out.

A rumble formed in Kane’s throat, expressing his displeasure with their choice of words, and there was shuffling of feet as the fear built in them. “I suggest you watch your tongue when talking to my mate, if you still want it attached to your mouth.” Kane growled, and a shockwave passed through the crowd at his declaration.

There have been speculations that the new human must be his mate, because Kane wouldn’t willingly house a human, but no one has been bold enough to confront him about his choice, and now it is out in the open.

“I am sorry, Alpha; I meant no harm. But I am tired of hiding who I am. We are rogues; we are supposed to be free to express ourselves, but for some weeks now, we have abided by your words, and we are tired.”

There was a little hum of agreement from the people that had gathered, and Kane nodded his head. He cleared his throat before he began to speak.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“I have heard all you have to say, and I will have to thank you for your patience and cooperation. Indeed, when you have done your best and you are right, you shouldn’t be hiding who you are. Therefore, the ban is lifted; I will talk to her today, and everything should return to normal.”

There were shouts of excitement from the crowd, and as he looked at the wide smiles on the faces of his packmate, he hoped he was making the right decision.

Kane had only wished he had more time to think this through and plan out what he would say, but when he heard the footsteps of his pack members running towards him as they screamed his name, he knew it was too late.

Kane opened the door wide and collected his lifeless mate, her limp hands swaying as he walked to the sofa, placing her on it gently.

Kane straightened up only after he had checked on his mate, satisfied to feel her warm breath on his fingers. “What is wrong with her?” He demanded, a little too calm for the internal chaos that was going through his mind.

“Al-alpha, we were…” The female began, but she was too frightened to say anything meaningful, and Kane was turning his attention to the male with her.

“What happened?” He demanded, his patience running thin with the more time they spent stalling, although from the looks on their faces, he could tell.

“We were having fun in the garden, and I remember you giving us permission to shift freely…” The man began, reminding Kane of his words so it wouldn’t backfire.

Kane knew what he was trying to do, and his scowl deepened, not at all pleased. “I only asked for what happened, not a summary of your day!” He barked, annoyed, and the female shivered, the authority in his voice too much for her to handle as she was an omega.

The male glanced at his mate, pulling her closer to himself and rubbing circles on her back before he continued. “We decided to shift to our wolves and run since it had been a while, but we had no idea she was nearby watching until we heard a thud, and when we checked, we saw her lying unconscious on the floor, and we thought to tell you.”

“Hmm.” Kane nodded while trying to keep calm. ‘What happened to your senses? You are werewolves; you should be able to detect when someone is near, or was the training all a waste?’ The words were at the tip of his tongue, but he held them in.

There was no need to blame others for something he should have taken care of. “It is fine; you may go.” He dismissed them, and he was already turning to face his mate.

***

“Ariel?” Kane whispered as he noticed the first signs of her coming around.

Ariel’s pupils opened wide, and they dilated as they focused on him. “Kane, I saw…” She gestured towards the door, unable to bring herself to say what she had just seen.

“I know.” If it were in another situation, Kane would have laughed his head off at her reaction, but instead he willed himself to stay calm.

“They were…they…wolves… we have to…” Ariel was trying to warn him of the impending danger at his doorstep, but she was having difficulties getting the words out.

“Yes, Ariel, they are werewolves; we are all werewolves.” Kane said the words carefully, his eyes glued to her, watching her expression and ready to catch her if necessary.

He watched as she closed her eyes, inhaling a lot of air and slowly releasing it, before she opened her eyes. “Okay, let me get this straight: you all turn into furry-smelling creatures during the full moon, and you howl at it, worshiping it?”

Kane chuckled at her description-a far cry from what they were-but he couldn’t blame her. The media had done a horrible job portraying them. “You are not wrong, but we are not smelling creatures, nor do we howl at the moon. Maybe we do howl, but you get the general picture.”

Ariel shook her head, finding it a little difficult to keep down her food. Little beads of sweat clung to her forehead and the tip of her nose, despite the cool autumn wind that was blowing across the room.

Ariel took a look at the man she had known for years, but all she could picture was him turning into the creatures of the night with fangs that could bleed her dry and claws that could carve her up, and her head swam.

“I think I will need the trash can.”