Lies And Human Rogues

Landon's pov

“Mate?”

I choked the words like it burned my throat.

My arm froze mid air, claws still extended, the fading sunlight catching the tips. I could feel my wolf stir violently beneath my skin, howling with need.

“You can't do it,” Zorra, my wolf, protested. “You can't hurt our mate!”

I dropped my hand slowly, looking… no, glaring at the trembling girl in front of us.

Hair matted, face blotched, reeking of fear and dried coffee.

What the actual fuck? She was… it?

“No,” I growled, stepping back as if the word alone might undo what just happened. “No way this…this person is our mate!”

“She's not even —” Hayes started.

“Not even strong,” Asher cut in, his brows furrowed in disbelief. “She doesn't even feel like a wolf!”

She looked so tartared for my liking and some scars were visible.

“Why didn't she heal?” I thought. And if she couldn't, then someone must have done it to her since she couldn't possibly do it to herself, right?

Then if she wasn't the one who burned herself, then who the hell did that?!

A sudden rumble in my chest and her words that were above a whisper brought me back to earth at how I was already overreacting at the burns.

“I can hear you.” She whispered, head bowed. Her fingers clenched tightly around her backpack straps. “And I'm not deaf… or blind.”

“What's your name?” I found myself asking before I could stop myself.

She glanced up before looking down at her leaves that adorned the ground. “T-Tessa.”

She was stubbornly trying to stand her ground, but the way her knees buckled slightly betrayed her.

Her eyes are wide with shock and… something else. Disbelief, maybe. Or terror.

Probably both. I would be if I was in her position right now.

Asher stepped forward, exhaling through his nose. “So we're just going to leave her out here?”

“No,” I said immediately. “We carry her home. Safely, because she's… ours now. At least, until we figure this out.”

“I call dibs,” Asher smirked, already moving towards her.

Hayes blocked his path. “Like hell. I'll do it.”

“Neither of you are touching her,” I snapped, stepping between them and Tessa. “She's now my responsibility.”

“All of ours,” Hayes corrected, crossing his arms.

“Fine. But I'm carrying her,” I conceded, looking over my shoulder at her. “Let's go.”

“I can walk—” she started, but I didn't let her.

“No offense, little wolf, but you look like you'll collapse in the next five steps.” I cut her off, smirking.

Before she could argue, a yelp tore from her lips as I scooped her up in a bridal style.

Her face flushed a deeper crimson, hands flying to her face.

“Put me down!” She squeaked, squirming.

“No,” I deadpaned, my grip tightening just enough to still her. “You'll live.”

As a trained soon to be alpha, I can hear how her pulse fluttered against my forearm, and her scent… beneath the coffee and her fear, was a mixture of lavender… warm and soft. Familiar in a way that sank into my bones. It made something deep inside me curl with forever protectiveness…

And annoyance.

She buried her face into her palms as we walked, her embarrassment radiating off her like heat.

Asher kept glancing over, and Hayes had this smug little grin, like he was enjoying my struggle a little too much.

“You're enjoying this, aren't you?” I muttered at them.

“Absolutely,” Hayes replied.

“I get the next carry,” Asher said.

I glared at both of them. “You'll get a broken jaw.”

We arrived at the edge of town quickly. Her house was small, the paint chopped and the gate slightly rusted. My nose wrinkled.

“This is it?” Hayes asked, raising a brow.

“It's cozy,” Asher offered, though his expression was otherwise.

Tessa squirmed again. “You can put me down now.”

I hesitated, but gently lowered her to the feet. Her legs wobbled a bit, and I had to steady her with one hand. Her blush deepened, and she turned away, fumbling with her keys.

“My mom's not home,” she said, stepping inside. “She won't be back until late.”

When she opened the door, the place reeled of worn-out wood, the floorboards groaning underfoot like it was seconds away from giving in.

It wasn't just old, it was tired. The silence clings to the walls like dust, heavy and hollow. Compared to how wide and comfortable our veranda in our mansion is, Tessa's house felt… abandoned by joy, and this is where she stays?!

I don't like how empty it felt.

“You should rest,” Hayes said, his tone gentler now.

“I'm fine.”

“No, you're not,” I deadpaned. “You're shaking.”

Tessa hesitated, then let out a sigh, sinking onto the couch. Her hands trembled as she touched the armrest, like her body hadn't quite caught up with her mind.

We all stood in silence for a beat. And then Asher sniffed the air, and his brows immediately knitted together.

“What now?” I asked in a mind-link. His face gave his thoughts away.

I knew whatever would come out from those lips would hurt the already trembling Tessa.

“She smells like a rogue,” he complained flatly through the link. “Why?”

I frowned. Aside from the warm scent of lavender, I could also smell the rogue on her.

I stepped forward, kneeling slightly so I could look into her pale green eyes, and I felt her stiffened.

“Hey, relax,” I urged softly. “I just want to ask you a few questions.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line and then she nodded.

“Tessa, why do you smell like a rogue?”

She looked at me, her gaze, though scared, held a strange sort of defiance. “I’ll tell you,” she whispered, “but when the time is right.”

My jaws clenched. Zorra, my wolf didn't like secrets. Especially not from our mate.

But something about her stopped me from pushing further.

“She's hiding something,” Hayes gritted through the link.

“She's hiding a lot,” Asher added.

I rose to my feet and turned around, facing the door, and then replied, “Let her be. For now.” And then, I closed the mind link.

“Thank you,” she said, so soft it was almost a breath.

We paused, simultaneously looking back. “You're welcome, and we'll see you more often.” We said collectively and then we stepped into the setting sun.

*****

“You're thinking it too, right?”

Once we were a good distance from her home, my demeanor instantly changed the moment Hayes spoke.

I nodded. “Victoria.”

“She told us about rogue sightings in the woods today,” Asher said grimly. “Like she wanted us to go out there.”

“Can you imagine? And what's with that burn on her neck and face?” Hayes added.

A cold fury settles in my chest. “And she almost got away with it.” I clenched my fists. “What if our wolf hadn't scented her?”

Zorra howled out in anger at the thought.

“Victoria is playing a dangerous game,” Asher growled.

I looked back towards Tessa's home. Small and fragile and a spark of something unfamiliar lit inside of me, something dangerously close to affection.

She is weak, but she is ours now.

And the next time someone's tried to hurt her?

They'd have me to contend—

I whisk my phone out from my pocket when it rang, swiping to the green icon without looking, but from the voice, I knew it was Cynthia.

But it was what she said that made my blood run cold!

“Big brothers, come home this instant! There's a problem!”