The Rogue Series 1: The Rogue Alpha

HARLEY

He raises a brow at me, only making his face look more handsome. A man to his left coughs slightly, pulling us both out of this trance.

“Hello. I am Alpha Jackson of pack Night Fang. You were trespassing. Can you tell me why?”

Simon’s fear is radiating from him as he stands frozen.

Putting Millie down and pushing her gently behind me as she clings to my body, I reply, “Hello, Alpha Jackson. I am Harley. That is Simon, Sage, Reese, and little Millie. We did not intend to trespass and apologize for any offense that it has caused.”

His eyes never leave me as I introduce the children. My skin sparks with his gaze, making it hard to focus. Is this some weird alpha thing?

“Why are you here? The guards said you were running.”

“Because your guards dragged us here,” Simon growls in our mind-link, his voice shaking with fear even in our minds.

Trying to ignore Simon’s words, I keep looking forward, afraid to show any sign on my face of our communication.

Rogues don’t mind-link, and packs like it that way. It keeps rogues vulnerable, weak. I’ve never really understood why the five of us can communicate this way, but if a pack ever finds out, it would definitely end in our deaths.

I nod to the alpha. “We were running. There were some people after us. I lost track of where we were. It seems like they must not have.”

“Rogues?” The disgust in his voice is thick as he pronounces every letter in the word like it is below him. My heart hurts at that, and my face flushes red.

Struggling to pull words together as my throat burns, I nod.

“And what pack are you in?” he asks, his eyes already aware of the answer.

My heart sinks as I unintentionally pull Millie closer. Drawing as much strength into my voice as I can muster, I try to reply confidently. “We are not. Simon, Millie, and I were born to rogues. Sage and Reese were taken from their pack, but we were all too young to know what pack that was.”

A growl erupts from the men now standing at the table around Alpha Jackson. He holds up his hand, silencing his pack. “How old are you all? You look like toddlers.” Disgust is thick in his voice, but as I glance up at him in annoyance, I see a hint of something else in his eyes.

“Well, thanks, I guess… Millie here has been around for five summers. Sage and Reese have been with us for ten summers and were just a hair younger than Millie when we met. I guess I’m eighteen, I think. I got my wolf a few days ago, so that’s just my guess. Simon—”

I look over at him, considering. “His wolf came recently, like within the last few months, so I guess also eighteen?” I feel judgmental stares. “We don’t really track ages like that.”

Alpha Jackson is silent, most likely consulting with the men around him via mind-link. His eyes continue to roam across my face. I should be uncomfortable as he studies me, but the warmth from his eyes feels so safe.

“Just like I said, a pack of toddlers,” he mocks harshly in a rich, deep voice.

A growl builds in my chest like pressure trying to escape, but I hold it back, pushing it down. Now is not the time. Hopefully, the pack likes toddlers.

“This is Beta Liam and Gamma Wyatt.”

Millie screams, climbing up my leg until her arms roughly wrap around my neck and her face hides in my shirt. The twins screech, grabbing each other. Simon stiffens, wrapping his arms around them as he nervously searches for the threat that scared them.

Gently rocking the shaking child in my arms, my face flushes red, and my stomach drops.

Alpha Jackson raises an eyebrow. The other men look confused.

Biting my lip as a tinge of sadness fills my chest, I try to figure out how to explain without offending them. “Don’t mind them. There’s a bedtime story at the camp that warns…um, well… It warns pups that gammas eat the children of rogues.”

Looking up at our hosts, I see their faces contort with anger and disgust. “Of course, this isn’t true. Just a harmless story. Right?”

The gamma rolls his eyes. “That’s absurd.”

“No alpha would trust a gamma with a job like that,” adds the beta with a playful wink.

The kids, unimpressed by his humor, shriek and hide further into the grasp of their respective protectors.

I nervously take in the beta. He’s clearly a strong man, but he is no longer looming with such intensity. Instead, his body has become more relaxed, and a playful aura has slipped through the serious mask he wore when we got here.

His eyes are scanning us, his face softening when he catches the kids peeking out of their hiding spots, giving each of them a small smile.

“Guys, he’s joking,” I think to the three kids. ~“I’m sure they say the same things about rogues to their kids.”~

Millie’s grip loosens slightly as the girls stand taller. Alpha Jackson peers at me, curiosity thick on his face.

The silence continues to build, the kids still squirming in fear.

“Well, unlike your bedtime stories suggest, our pack doesn’t kill children,” Alpha Jackson says. “So for now, you will stay here as my guests. Guards will be with you through the day and set you up in a room here in the main house. In time, we will figure out what the next steps are for you.”

Simon and I eye each other cautiously, fighting the dread exploding in us. The kids are safe; that’s more than I have the right to expect. I need them to behave so they can stay safe. I can’t show them how scared I am. I tightly squeeze Millie and hand her to Reese. Simon gives the girls a big hug, keeping his face frozen like a rock.

“You be good, and you do what they say,” I order, pulling all the authority I can into my voice. They have to be good so the pack accepts them. They deserve to be safe. “Be strong for each other.”

Their faces shine with realization as tears begin to fall. The twins’ pleading eyes watch us, and they each grab our hands. Millie, too young to fully understand at first, catches on to what’s happening, pushing toward me with her arms out. “No! You can’t leave us!”

My calm exterior almost breaks as I fight back tears, pulling all three of them into a hug. “We’ll always be in your heart, kiddo.”

“As much as I’m enjoying this heartwarming moment, I meant all of you toddlers will be staying here.”

My body freezes as my mind tries to comprehend what Jackson said. All of us stay? As I turn toward him, my tears break through. “Thank you. You won’t regret it.”

The kids jump up and down beside us, cheering and hugging each other. I let myself smile as my face lights up with happiness and excitement, but inside my stomach twists as warning bells go off.

Memories of the stories from rogues who escaped packs race through my mind. Packs don’t ever welcome rogues, especially not to the leader’s home. And no alpha offers safety without expecting something in return.

If they are keeping us alive, if they are letting us stay here, there’s a price. My blood races with dread as guards lead us upstairs, my mind running through scenarios of what may happen as I try to subtly scan for an escape. They won’t trick us. I’ll find a way out before the alpha comes to collect the cost of his protection.