A Rogue's Choice

[POV: KANE 04f8b540-32ab-4200-4200-b145-20ef44c1e20d]

I watched my tiny mate as the painkiller started to work its magic on her small body. Whoever was responsible for the scars marring her skin would pay.

Could it be the same person who had threatened her life? And who was this Terence character? He had threatened her too. Despite her scars, she was perfect to me, rogue or not. But she wouldn’t be a rogue for much longer; she was destined to be my luna.

My gaze shifted to Lena, who was now inspecting her stitches. Anyone else would have been punished for speaking to me in such a manner, but Lena was different. She was a doctor and my sister-in-law.

More importantly, she cared deeply for my little Katie.

I was conflicted. Should I stay here in case she woke up, or should I go and confront Nathan about his actions?

Lena caught my eye and smiled. “She’ll be okay, Kane. She’ll likely sleep for a few hours at least. I’ll mind-link you if anything changes!”

I nodded in response and made my way to the door. Just before I opened it, I glanced back at my mate. It was difficult to be away from her, even for a moment.

I returned Lena’s smile. “Thank you!” I whispered, then stepped out of the room.

***

After Nathan’s actions, I had Alec lock him up in one of the cells below. He had not only disobeyed my direct order not to harm any female prisoners, but he had nearly killed my mate.

And when he realized what he had done, he planned to murder her and hide it from me.

I was grateful for Alec’s loyalty. I immediately promoted him to my beta. Now, I had to decide Nathan’s fate: demotion, death, or banishment.

First, I needed to interrogate him, find out everything he knew about my little mate.

Nathan had been in the cells for a week. That was how long it took for my little one to recover from her surgery.

If she had died, I would have torn Nathan’s throat out. He was lucky Lena had managed to save her.

As I approached the cell, Nathan reached for the bars, but quickly pulled his hands back. This was one of our high-security cells. The bars were laced with silver.

“Tell me, Nathan,” I hissed, “how long have you been disregarding my orders?”

Nathan looked at me, dark circles under his eyes. I felt no sympathy for him. He had brought this on himself.

“Th…they needed to be disciplined. They always healed!” he stammered.

I glared at him. “And what about Katie?!” I growled.

He looked at me, confusion etched on his face. “Katie?”

I growled and glared at him. He hadn’t even bothered to learn her name!

Nathan looked at me, shock written all over his face. “She can’t be! She’s weak, she can’t heal herself, she can’t even shift!” he exclaimed.

If the bars between us weren’t made of silver, I would have torn them apart.

My eyes turned black as I fought to control my wolf. But I had to. I needed to know what Nathan knew. Once I had that information, I would deal with him.

“How do you know these things?” I growled.

Nathan took a deep breath. “I’ll tell you everything I know, but…” He hesitated. “You must show me mercy.”

I glared at him. I had no intention of showing him mercy, but I needed information. “Fine, but you will tell me everything,” I huffed.

Nathan nodded. “She told me she couldn’t heal or shift, just before…”

His voice trailed off.

“Just before you demanded Alec’s knife!” I hissed.

Nathan nodded, then continued. “We had captured a rogue. He promised to reveal Ridgeway and his rogues’ hideout. He said that Ridgeway’s daughter was still there and that he just wanted her in return.

“He thought Ridgeway might come back for her. Even if he didn’t, I thought she might know where he was!”

I narrowed my eyes. “You were going to trade my mate to a rogue as payment?!” I growled.

Nathan took a step back and lowered his gaze.

Nathan knew my stance on this. I had strict rules about she-wolves and mates. I allowed the males to be with only their mates.

If they hadn’t found their mate by the age of twenty-one, they had to formally request my permission if they were attracted to a she-wolf.

As far as I was concerned, this rule applied to female prisoners as well. All females in my pack were treated with respect.

“What about her scars? Who gave her those?” I growled.

Nathan slowly raised his gaze and shrugged. “I don’t know,” he mumbled.

“What happened when you found her?” I asked.

Nathan ran his fingers through his hair. “She was hiding. I took Carlotta and Daniel with me. Carlotta found her scent in a small room. When she opened the door, the rogue…Katie threw some coins in her face and tried to run!”

I smirked for a moment. My clever little mate. “Then what happened? How did she hurt her nose?”

Nathan swallowed hard. “Daniel caught her and held her back. Carlotta was angry and drew her knife. I told her to stand down, then the rogue bit Daniel!”

I narrowed my eyes, Daniel was a good warrior, but if he had hurt my mate, he would be severely punished, even if she did bite him!

Nathan could see what I was thinking. He shook his head. “Daniel didn’t retaliate. He just let her go. Then she ran toward the door and tried to slide through my legs,” Nathan continued. “Her face collided with my knee.”

I glared at him. “You broke her nose!” I took a breath, trying to keep calm. “Where is this rogue informant of yours?”

Nathan sighed. “He’s still in the cells. He was due to be released until…”

I turned and started to walk away.

“What’s going to happen to me?” Nathan’s voice echoed through the room.

I didn’t respond, instead choosing to seek out the rogue.

***

The rogue was locked up in a typical cell. He seemed jittery, but that was to be expected. One moment he was on the brink of freedom, the next, his rescuer was behind bars.

I swallowed my rage. If I let it loose, I wouldn’t get anything out of him.

“So, rogue...what’s your name?” I asked.

He nodded, a nervous twitch in his eye. He likely knew who I was. My alpha presence was hard to miss, even for a stranger.

“T...Terence!” he stammered.

That was the last straw. My anger flared up, uncontrollable. I slammed open the cell door, grabbed him by the throat, and pinned him against the wall.

“Did you give Katie those scars?” I growled.

He didn’t even try to pry my hands off. His palms were flat against the wall.

“N...no! It was Ridgeway!” he choked out.

I eased my grip on his throat slightly.

“Her father?! Why?” I demanded.

“He wanted to toughen her up, bring out her wolf.” Terence paused. “A...and a threat!”

I narrowed my eyes. “Threat?”

Terence nodded. “That he’d do the same to her as he did to her mother!”

“And what was that?” I hissed.

Sweat started to bead on Terence’s forehead.

“I heard... I’m not sure.”

He licked his lips nervously. His fear was palpable. I couldn’t tell if it was fear of me or of Ridgeway.

“He said she betrayed him, so he ripped her heart out and made his daughter watch!” he blurted out.

I stared at him, shocked. I knew Ridgeway was a dangerous rogue, probably the most dangerous one we knew, but this!

“When?” I demanded. “When did this happen?”

Terence shook his head. “I’m not sure... three, maybe four years ago!”

I rolled my eyes and tightened my grip on his throat. My poor little mate.

No wonder her wolf was nowhere to be found. A trauma like that, especially at such a young age, would force even the strongest wolf to retreat.

“And why did you betray him?” I hissed.

Terence licked his lips again, but this time, not out of fear. I could see the lust in his eyes.

“I wanted a taste of that sweet little innocent... Her father said he would kill me if I touched her, but your beta... we made a deal!”

My eyes turned black, and I growled, my wolf close to the surface.

“You wanted to use my little mate as a fuck toy!” I growled.

The panic was clear on the rogue’s face.

“I... I didn’t know she was your mate... She doesn’t have a wolf! She can’t heal or shift!” he stammered.

“Whether she has one or not is none of your business!” I growled.

I released one hand from his throat, pinning him to the wall with just one. My other hand twisted his head to the side until I heard a loud snap.

I let go and his lifeless body slumped to the floor. I turned and walked away. As I left the cell, I noticed one of the guards staring into the cell.

“Get rid of that piece of shit!” I growled.

The guard bowed. “Yes, Alpha.”

I left the dungeons and made my way back upstairs to the main part of the pack house. I needed to speak with my father.

A vague memory of something that had happened in our territory while he was still alpha was nagging at me. If my hunch was right, my little mate was a lot stronger than she realized.