The Rogue Series 1: The Rogue Alpha

JACKSON

Fuck! Fuck!

Bang, smash, crrraaaack.

The vase flies toward the floor as the hallway table smashes to the ground. It doesn’t help. Anger explodes through me, targeting the easiest things around me—the vase, my lamp, and the chair. Crashing to my couch, I sit shaking.

She was so scared! How had I been so stupid? Of course, they didn’t have toys in that hell of a childhood. I heard how they treated the kids and treated her the first day, and I’ve already traumatized the family. Great job, dumbass. That fear and anger in her eyes will haunt me.

Fuming, I almost don’t hear the knock on the door.

“Alpha?” asks my beta and gamma as they stand by the door.

Growling, I nod to let them in as I melt into the couch.

Shock quickly flashes on their faces as they take in my now-destroyed office. Books have fallen off the shelves, paperwork is everywhere, and my chair and lamp are in pieces.

“Damn, what happened?” asks Liam as he hopscotches around the papers, working his way to the chair across from me.

I shrug. What can I say? I haven’t told them about my connection to Harley. I may never tell them.

Harley is a rogue, and unless that changes, her being my mate means nothing.

“Anyways, everything is settled down over there,” Liam continues, clearing his throat quietly as he fidgets in his chair, a clear sign he is nervous. “But you missed it—our little rogue leader snapped at the boy.”

My wolf purrs in my chest. “Yeah, so?”

Gamma Wyatt jumps in. “You should have seen her. She had him lowering his head, eyes down. I was half-expecting him to show his neck.”

“Of course she did. She’s their alpha. I don’t think she knows, though,” I add casually. They both look at me in surprise at my statement.

Rogues don’t have alphas; only packs have alphas. Packs don’t just form randomly. But in the dining room the night before, she revealed a slight alpha authority to the room.

“They can mind-link too. I heard them the first night.”

“What?” Wyatt and Liam say in unison.

Wyatt continues, “Mind-linking rogues. That’s dangerous. Do you think other rogues can do it?”

“Obviously not.” Letting out a low growl, I glare at them. “She’s more than a rogue. She’s their alpha, they’re a pack, and packs can mind-link with each other. The question really is—how did they become a pack?”

They’re talking about her like she’s a threat. She clearly doesn’t even know they formed a pack, so how could she be a threat? But how did the pack form? She must have alpha blood in her. Alphas can challenge existing packs, but forming a new pack is unheard of.

“Look into it for me,” I order Wyatt, who has always been my best researcher, and then I dismiss them.

Liam hovers in the doorway. “Alpha, is that why you were so upset about the incident today?”

Ignoring the question, I pour myself a drink.

Gamma Wyatt doubles back and watches me, his eyes hesitant. “Alpha, what are we going to do with them? People are not going to be happy about rogues running around.”

“When has an alpha had to explain himself and his actions?”

They both nod, exchanging a knowing look. “True, but what are we doing with them? If it’s just going to end with them in the pit, is this cruel?” asks Wyatt.

“We are giving them a chance—that’s what we are doing. If they end up in the pit, that will be their choice.”

I return to work, clearly showing I am not continuing this conversation.

HARLEY

A week passes. We are beginning to be allowed out a bit more—never outside the main house or garden. And never without a few guards close by, and probably a few farther away we can’t see as well. But outside, nonetheless.

Simon is going stir-crazy. We grew up in the woods, under the moon. Sitting in a mansion is not necessarily his idea of a good time. But the kids love the ability to just be kids—chasing each other, climbing trees, and eating as much as their little stomachs can hold.

I don’t see the leaders much the rest of the first week. But I can feel Alpha Jackson watching us from his window in his office. His gaze sends electric sparks through my skin whenever his eyes touch me.

My body aches from not seeing him, wondering what keeps him so busy. I’ve never crushed on someone like this, and now I feel like the silly girls people told us about at camp.

I’m going a bit stir-crazy as well, and I’m starting to feel soft. It is nice to rest, I guess, but we still have enemies. We lost our pursuers because we crossed into pack land, but they would be back. He would never let us go.

I readjust how I’m sitting for the hundredth time as I watch the girls climbing a tree. Simon chuckles at me. He can tell I’m restless. Rolling my eyes, I watch the kids laughing as they jump down from the tree, bragging about who climbed higher and who was braver.

“I don’t know. I think Millie is the winner. She’s shorter, so if you take that into account, she got higher,” I add as the twins ignore Millie, arguing with each other about who’s better. They clearly are stronger and climbed better, but she did well, given her age.

“That doesn’t even make sense. Simon’s taller than you. Does that mean he can climb higher?” Sage scoffs, annoyance clear in her eyes.

Simon and I glance at each other, sharing the same thought. Maybe a challenge is the perfect way to let out some of this energy.

With a playful shrug, Simon stands up and laughs. “Of course it does. I’ll be up that tree before Harley can get off the ground.”

The girls laugh, very aware there’s not a chance he will beat me. I’m faster, stronger, and the best climber in the group, but it’s always amusing when he tries.

I raise an eyebrow at Simon as Reese begins to count.

“Three…two…one… Go!”

The air swirls around us. My arms pull me higher and higher. I glance down, realizing I’m a full body higher than Simon. Slowing myself slightly, I let him get a bit closer, not wanting to fully embarrass him.

He glances up, realizing what I’m doing, shaking his head. He pulls himself up toward me, sitting down on a nearby branch. He smirks. “You won, but I’d definitely be faster than a pack wolf.”

We both laugh and continue to watch the girls, who have lost interest and are now racing each other below the tree. It feels nice, almost normal between us in the tree. I can almost forget we are at Night Fang. It’s as if we aren’t in some weird stalemate with a pack that, at any minute, can lead to our death.

***

My body is still filled with restless energy after climbing the tree. Asking Simon to watch the girls, I wander back into the house, looking for something to release this pent-up energy buzzing through me. Eventually, I find a gym.

Some pack members are spread across the different machines, training. I watch them for a moment, trying to figure out how they control these machines.

A chuckle from some younger she-wolves in the back catches my attention. Technically, we are probably the same age, or hell, they may even be a year or two older than me. But they look fragile and judgy as they whisper back and forth about me. We are all wolves—they know I can hear them.

The taller blonde girl jumps on one of the machines at the front. Other people are running on them. How hard could that be?

Determined to put this girl in her place, I take the machine beside her, fidgeting with the buttons. A familiar voice rings in my ears.

“Ms. Harley, joining us for a workout today? That’s new,” greets Beta Liam.

The blonde girl beside me blushes lightly, shooting me a quick glare when he isn’t looking. So she has a crush on the beta? I’m sure she isn’t alone.

Liam isn’t my type, but he is an undeniably attractive man. He is tall with black hair and smoky gray eyes. He is clearly strong—not as strong as the alpha, but no one I’ve ever seen seems as strong as the alpha.

“Yeah.” I smile back at him, feeling more comfortable around him than I would expect. “Just feeling a bit edgy with all this pampering. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about this room.”

He smirks. “Have you ever seen any of this equipment before? Didn’t know rogues were this fancy.”

A snicker escapes the blonde girl’s lips beside me. Bitch, I think, but ignore it.

“Nope, but if packies can do it, I think I can catch up.”

He chuckles, showing me how to turn on the machine and change the settings, encouraging me to go slow at first.

It feels weird to have the ground move under me, and I take a minute to adjust my stride to the machine. I am used to being able to go as fast or as slow as I want, changing my speed whenever I want. The machine doesn’t work like that.

I watch the speed of the woman beside me from my peripheral vision and make sure to set mine a bit higher than hers. This may not be a race, but it is definitely a competition.

I pump my arms and legs, gaining speed, not stressed about how long this will go. Is this what they call a workout in the pack? If so, maybe this pack is weaker than I’d realized.

She continues to raise her speed slowly, going faster and faster. I raise mine too. A few more miles go by, and the speed increases. A few of the pack members begin to watch us, first subtly, then not so subtly, from the perimeter. I can see the beta smirking as someone asks, “Why are they racing?”

But she keeps pushing, so I am not going to stop. All wolves work the same, and if I give in now, I will forever have to prove myself to the female wolves in this pack. Strength is respected; weakness is unacceptable.

Finally, about two hours later, the girl slows her treadmill to a stop, throwing her body against the front of the machine to brace herself. A snicker comes from the crowd and a few yell, “Way to go, rogue.”

The girl glares and walks away. About ten minutes after she leaves, I turn off the machine and casually walk over to the water bubbler, grabbing a cup.

I am tired—not as exhausted as she seemed, but not jumping with energy either. It is nice to get moving again, even if it is indoors.

“You’re not done already?” I hear behind me, a voice that immediately sends sparks through my skin.

I turn to see the Aαlpha, standing sweaty and shirtless behind me. When had he walked in?

“Just getting started, Alpha,” I say coolly back, trying to keep any hint of my childish crush out of my voice.

His eyebrow rises slightly as he starts walking, motioning for me to follow. He leads me to the room with the ring in it. “Let’s put those rogue fighting skills to the test—gloves or no gloves?”

I look at him, confused. Why would we need gloves to fight?

He smiles, tossing a pair of oddly shaped gloves to the side and moving into the ring.

My wolf purrs quietly in my mind. Is she kidding me? I have to stay focused. The last thing I want is to embarrass myself in front of this guy.

He is so strong and powerful and hot, but mostly strong and powerful. He is also an alpha, so my chances of winning a fight are not great. I need to focus and at least hold my own.