Page 18 of Rogue If You Want To
“He spun a tale that Otto had always wanted to be Alpha and he hated his brother and this was his revenge.” Auden pushed himself off the wall and slammed the book closed. Years of dust circled in the air above it and settled on the desk and floor.
My poor mate. I should get back to the cabin and comfort him.
“Do you understand what a rogue shifter is?” Creven’s voice was softer than Auden’s, but there was no mistaking the steel in his tone.
I shrugged. “He no longer has a pack.”
“It’s more than that,” Creven explained. “He’s been cast out and marked as dangerous, and if other shifters encounter him, they don’t have to adhere to shifter law.”
I conjured up mental images of what shifters might try to do to Otto.
“And coupled with Otto being the murder suspect, the bevy is crying for his blood,” Creven added.
Dear gods. How much more was my mate supposed to suffer?
“Are you saying they’re going to hunt him down and…” I gulped. I wasn’t familiar with shifter justice. “…and take him before the shifter council?”
“No. They would?—”
“Stop, please. I can’t take any more.” I ground both fists over my eyes, wishing I could roll back time.
You owe it to our mate to hear them out so we can protect him.
“If it’s any consolation, we know Otto didn’t kill his father because he was already injured when his father’s body was discovered.” Creven tapped the scribbled notes in front of him.
Oh goody. We got a win, not that it would do us much good if an army of angry shifters beat down our doors and carried my mate off.
“There’s a bounty on Otto’s head. He’s a marked man.” Auden looked out the window, and I flinched, worried he was looking for anyone who wanted to earn that reward.
They wanted us to move on. All I had was a car and not a very good one. I could drive across the country, but unless the bounty was lifted, Otto would always be running and we’d never be safe.
We had no proof of what had really happened, and even Otto’s memories were fragmented.
Creven explained that Auden would continue to use his contacts to get more information about the situation. “His brother is bound to have made mistakes. Hiring someone to attack his twin and probably another someone to kill his father is messy business.”
I couldn’t focus on my mate’s brother possibly fucking up because I had to break the news that his father wasn’t just dead, but murdered. I wanted to put my fist through a wall because the one person who should have loved him had destroyed Otto's life.
I sank back into my chair, feeling overwhelmed. "What do we do?"
“We find proof of what happened and we protect Otto.” Creven slammed a fist on the desk. But I glanced at Auden who strode toward the door, his hands clenched at his side. He wasn’t in agreement, but as Creven was his Alpha, he couldn’t override the decision.
“How do we protect my mate against a horde?”
10
OTTO
Oak was having a blast chasing after the bubbles I had made using some dish soap and a pipe cleaner I’d found under the sink. They weren’t the fancy ones in bottles with big, long wands, but you wouldn’t know it from the way he laughed and laughed and laughed as he chased them around.
I’d been watching him for the past hour. Larkin had started their day doing some gardening with their mini me by their side. Oak was adorable, sweet, smart, and so much fun. He was also very good at pulling out the things his father had just been planting.
After cleaning the laundry and fixing part of a roof that had seen better days, I’d wandered to the garden for a snack and could see the exasperation written in Larkin’s eyes. His voice was sweet and loving as he redirected his son for what I guessed was the five billionth time.
I offered to take Oak for the morning, hoping to give my host a chance to get his gardening done. He immediately took me up on it, which felt amazing. Everyone here was great about making me feel welcome and not ignoring me the way my marking dictated they should. But having the pack’s Alpha-Omega trustme with their child—that meant more to me than all of the rest of it combined.
Beyond that, I was glad for the time Oak and I got to spend together. I’d been lonely so deep down, that keeping busy no longer kept it at bay. It was something I needed to get used to.
Being outside in the fresh air, seeing proof of a pack that was starting to grow through the next generation thriving, and listening to his giggles was exactly what I needed.
