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I hated leaving the bed. Hated having to tiptoe around my sleeping mate just before the sun crept over the horizon, just as I had done the first morning with her. However, I had to go back to the bar and confront Father. There was absolutely no reason for him to have been coming that close to the pack to check up on me.
Leaving the packhouse now was far easier than that first night, however. The pack knew who I was. Even as I was not formally a member of the pack, they knew me as Liberty’s mate and what that entailed.
I slipped out the kitchen door with a ripe apple for breakfast as I strolled my way to the forest edge. A few patrolmen waved to me and called out as if all was well. I simply told them I had dropped something during the full moon run and was hoping to find it before Liberty woke up, indicating that it was something meant for her.
They let me go with a chuckle; the moment I was past the tree line, I broke into a run. I tossed my apple core to the side and ripped through my clothes. When I arrived, I could change into some clothes I had left at the bar. I’d be sure to be more careful coming back.
Over the past few days, I’d learned when Liberty typically wakes up. She tended to sleep in till nine, but given how late she and her entire family had been devising a plan against my father. I had a feeling that Liberty would move morning breakfast to brunch. I felt the ripple of the pack territory as I crossed into the rogue land, picking up my speed to beat the sun’s rise and get this meeting over with.
Familiar scents swirled around me. Howls of excitement echoed as I caught glimpses of my friends and their families through the trees and bushes around me. Despite the sun cresting over the horizon, the moon still hung in the sky; it seemed that the rogue’s run had not yet concluded.
We all broke out of the trees into the front yard of the bar; familiar wet noses were bumping into my side with friendly yipsand barks. Slowly, they all shifted back to human form, leaving me the only one still displaying my fur.
“Come on, Xander, we want to know what you’ve been up to!” Rory pushed at my flank. “Are you here to tell us your coronation date? Is it soon?”
The others all joined her, rocking me back and forth between them until finally I shifted into my human form.
“I don’t have any news yet,” I admitted to them all. “I’m here to see Dad. He surprised me last night while I was on a run with the Rigel pack. I need to know why he would risk showing up like that.”
“I think your dad is already in the bar. He split off from us pretty early on the run.” Keith said, pulling Ginger back from me as he wrapped his arms around her breast. “Is it really a big deal that he showed up, though? I mean, he is your dad.”
“Yeah, He’s also known by the Rigel family as the leader of the rogues who hate them. They are tolerant of my association with him, but they will not tolerate him showing up without a convincing explanation. And Dad isn’t exactly the type to check up on his baby boy. The Crete Witch remembers Dad well. So, he wouldn’t even be able to pull it off.”
I stormed past everyone to the bar and swung the door open. The door slammed closed behind me before anyone could followme inside. The sound of the door locking followed, and my gaze locked on Minerva.
She sat in the dimly lit bar with Dad, her fingers playing with hair. She watched me with the same suspicion she had shown before I had left. On Dad’s other side sat a wolf I didn’t know, although he had the scent of a rogue.
“Who is this?” I asked as I approached my dad and his witch.
Dad turned slightly to glance at the man beside him and shrugged. “He is not one to worry about. Yet. But as I made myself clear before, there are others who are willing to take over your job. Just say the word, Son.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I demanded. My palm slammed onto the tabletop, shaking the beers and Minerva’s cocktail with force. “I’m doing my job. It would go a lot more smoothly if you didn’t pop up and break the mood. You have any idea how important the first full moon run is between mates?”
“Watch your tone, Boy,” Dad growled. “You know very well that I know the importance of it. I never missed a full moon with your mother during our time together, but you and that girl are not true fated mates. It’s a potion and a ruse.”
“She doesn’t know that!” I growled. “She already has trust issues with me, and this run was breaking down her walls. Youdestroyed that in a blink of an eye with your scent alone. Why were you not masked, at the very least?”
Dad shrugged. “I was testing their reaction time. Not bad, though not as good as it had been with Chios leading the pack. They’ve gotten sloppy.”
“Well, you have the entire Alpha family on high alert now. I was lucky to get here to attend this little meeting of yours.” I looked back over at the other man. He was smirking at me, his arms crossed over his chest with a dangerous look in his eyes.
“Tell your friend here that his services won’t be needed, Dad,” I said. As I narrowed my gaze, the man chuckled back at me. “I’m serious. My plan is under control. I don’t need anyone getting in my way.”
“I appreciate your opinion, Son, I really do,” Dad continued on. He leaned back in his chair as he tapped his chin. “However, there is a timeline that we must adhere to. And given that I see no mark on you, tells me that you are falling behind on that timeline. If you can’t get the girl to mark you and the family to give you a coronation in the next week, I will revert back to our original plan with Tristan here.” He pointed his thumb at the strange rogue beside him.
“I wouldn’t mind having a crack at Plan B either,” Tristan chuckled. “I saw that alpha she-bitch. She’s got herself a ripe ass and a nice pair of knockers. The perfect package,really. Wouldn’t mind marking her up nice and proper before dealing away with her. All the benefits of a mate without the commitment.” He let out a whistle. “Impressive, kid. Maybe let a big boy have a crack at her if you can’t get the job done.”
I snarled and nearly flipped the table on the asshole. My claws were out and wrapped around his mangy neck before even the witch could react to movement.
“Keep your filthy hands the hell away from her. She’s mine.” I turned to look at Dad, challenging him to get in the middle of us. It was the first time I had used my alpha aura on him. I had always respected him as my father, but I couldn’t overlook this threat to my mate. I had to make sure they stayed in line with my plans. “I have everything under control. Do not get in my way again.”
With that, I stormed up the stairs to my room and gathered the last of my things. When I came back downstairs, the rogue was rubbing his neck and glaring daggers at me while Dad looked semi- amused. As my gaze instinctively moved to the witch once more, she didn’t seem as surprised by my actions. She didn’t seem impressed or angered. She appeared to be bored with me.
“The next time I come here to see you, it will be news of my coronation,” I promised Father. He gave a curt nod before I turned to leave the bar.
Outside, everyone stood by and watched me. I knew they felt the aura from out here. They had never felt it to that extent before, and by the looks on their faces, they had no idea that I was that powerful of an alpha.
After all, they had raised me as a rogue. Before my mother and uncle took over the Rigel pack, they themselves were born rogues, but with alpha blood. I wasn’t certain where that alpha blood came from, but I knew how strongly it ran through my veins, even with an Omega as my father. I would only grow stronger with the bond completed and Liberty’s mark on my shoulder.
