03

SIENNA

"You know you can always tell me if you need anything, right sweet cheeks?" Mom asked me on her way out to a ball with her husband. She was out almost everyday since she got married.

Luna's duties, I supposed. But where did that leave me?

"Hmm." I simply replied, forcing a smile as I took out some crushed ice from the fridge. Mom's brows drew together.

"Since when do you eat ice?"

I froze, my brain on overdrive but I had no answer still.

"Uh…"

"Is that new?" She chuckled, but it seemed forced. Suspicious. Mom was clever. She could find out if I didn't act fast.

"I… Yes. It's just for today, I feel… unusually hot." I told her, and there was a pause between us with a lot of staring into each other's souls. She was just about to say something else when I heard Stepdad's voice call out,

"Liora! I'm ready!"

Her head immediately snapped to his direction. "Coming, love!" Then she turned back to me, her eyes searching mine. "I hope you're okay, Sienna. We would talk once I'm back."

Yeah, never happening. I was extremely bad at lying, and the worst person to lie to was mom. She would always find out. But I nodded, still, watching her leave.

"Do you want anything else asides from ramen and hot wings, Miss Sienna?" Maria, the head chef asked beside me. I turned to her.

"More ice."

I could picture how confused she looked, but I did not bother to check, hastening my steps away from her.

Back in my room, I had just finished tying up the small duffel bag I was going to run off with. Damon had set me up with a pack doctor (from a different pack), and we were to meet tomorrow.

Not if I disappeared from this place tonight.

Mom would say this was stupid. She would say I was throwing away my future for a kid that was prophesied to by a curse. Only, I’d rather do this than settle down for the future she was offering me—with a man old enough to be my father, next year when I turned 21 and still lacked a mate. According to her, he was a highly esteemed member of the pack and filthy rich. He had shown interest in me since I was a kid.

Talk about fucking disgusting.

This was not just a kid, though. It was my chance to finally have something of my own. To finally have something I could take responsibility of. This child was mine, my flesh and blood. I could not just take it out. I needed to run…

A knock resounded on my door. "Your food is ready, Miss."

… but after some ramen and hot wings.

I rushed my food, knowing I needed this energy for the long night ahead. I had no idea where I was going to, but I knew I just had to leave this place.

Three hours later, at exactly 10:20pm, I stepped out of the Royal House. The guards watched me like hawks, two coming up behind me when they noticed I was going out of the gates.

"Stay back. You'll lose your places if I'm followed. Give me two minutes to throw this out and come after me if I don't get back." I assured them. They exchanged glances, then took steps back as I had requested, letting me leave.

I didn't waste anytime as I left the gates.

I immediately tried to call for Anika but she didn't answer, it was like I was speaking to a void. I was running out of time. I tried to run, but I knew I was not getting anywhere with this speed. I needed Anika, and I needed her now.

"Please, Anika. Just this once, please."

I started to hear footsteps behind me and I knew this was over. Moisture gathered in my eyes as my pace fastened. But just when I started getting tired, just when I thought of giving up and turning back home, I felt the pain.

It ripped through me so suddenly and my spine snapped backward, bones twisting under my skin, ribs shifting, muscles tearing. I screamed through the burn.

My fingers curled, nails lengthening, skin stretching until I dropped to the ground, shaking. My chest felt like it would split open, and when I tried to breathe, it came out as a growl. My body changed shape in broken pieces, until my vision went sharp and the night filled with sound and scent.

I was on four legs now, panting, the world spinning around me.

I ran into the thick woods, and the forest blurred beneath me with every sound louder than before. My paws hit the dirt and leaves flew behind me. I ran for so long, I knew I was probably going to get killed for overstepping boundaries, but I just didn't care. There was only one thing in my mind.

Get away.

I didn’t look back, but suddenly, I could hear louder footsteps chasing close after me. They didn't smell like home. I knew that smell—rogues. My wolf form wasn’t fast enough, not with pain still pulsing through me. I stumbled over roots, hit a tree, and rolled down a small slope before slamming into hard ground.

My heart slammed harder in my chest, chills running up my spine while I struggled to get up. A shadow materialized in front of me. It was bigger and silent.

Before I could move, it was on me—dark fur, silver eyes, heavy weight pressing me into the dirt. I snarled and tried to bite, but he pinned me easily, his claws digging into the ground beside my neck.

“Enough.”

The voice was rough and deep, like he never needed to shout to get his point across. The other rogues backed off instantly. The weight above me shifted, and when I looked up, he was already shifting back, fur retreating, bones cracking as he turned human again. I froze with even more dread on seeing who it was.

Rhys.

I’d heard stories of him. The Rogue Alpha. The one who was rumored to rule the borderlands with his own law. He was drop-dead gorgeous as the tales read, almost as much as he was scary. Looked like he emerged right from the front page of a horror story, and he was the hottest villain in the book.

“You’re in my boundary,” He spoke flatly, drawing me out of my thoughts. “Give me one reason not to kill you right now.”

My body trembled as I shifted back, every movement tearing through my muscles again. I screamed when it was done, clutching at my arms to steady myself. My body was bare and I shivered, dirt clinging to my skin. Rhys didn’t look away, his eyes steady and unreadable… I didn't expect him to look away actually. With this nature of power and beauty, he'd probably seen better…

“I—I didn’t mean to,” I gasped, then steadied my voice. “I had to run.”

“From who?”

“My pack,” I said a bit weakly, “From my brother...”

Interest flickered in his eyes, but vanished as soon as it showed. “And why would a pack wolf run this far into rogue land?”

“I’m pregnant.” The words fell out before I could stop them. His eyes narrowed slightly. I could barely breathe as I continued, “The child is for an alpha. The council would kill us if they find out but I want to protect my child. I will not let anyone harm my child, I will fight until my last breath. I need this.”

Silence.

Rhys looked at me with sharp interest for a long time, then he stepped closer, crouching down slowly. His gaze dropped briefly to the faint crescent mark glowing faintly near my collarbone, the one Damon had left.

“You’re carrying an alpha’s heir,” he said quietly, like he was speaking to himself.

I nodded,. “He’ll kill me if he finds out I'm keeping it. But yes, I’m carrying a Silverfang heir in me, and I will protect this child with my blood.”

Rhys didn’t say anything at first. His eyes studied me as if he was searching for lies, but I didn’t have any to give him. He stood up and folded his arms slowly, exhaling through his nose.

“If this is true,” he said finally, “then you’ve just brought a war into my territory.”

“I didn’t mean to,” I muttered slowly.

“But, a silverfang heir could be just what I need to get my revenge against that selfish pack’s rulers. Maybe fate brought you to me, to be used at my disposal—“

“I will not be at anyone’s disposal. Maybe my child can help you, that would be up to me to decide.” I spat, stunned by how daring I even sounded.

Rhys looked momentarily stunned too, but he hid it quickly. He tended to hide his emotions pretty fast. Silence stretched for a while, and truthfully, my stomach churned despite the courage I’d mustered.

Rhys turned his head, watching the trees thought . The other rogues stayed back, waiting for his command. After a long moment, he said, “Get her something to wear.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, almost bursting into tears even.

They disappeared into the dark, and Rhys crouched near a tree, picking up a shirt from a bag that one of them had dropped earlier. He tossed it toward me, but when I didn’t move, he sighed and turned away slightly. “Put it on before you freeze to death.”

My hands shook as I pulled it over my head. It was too big, reaching my thighs and smelling like smoke and pine. I sat under the tree, hugging my knees to my chest. Rhys stood a few feet away with his arms crossed, watching the forest.

“Thank you,” I said quietly, reluctantly. With all the terrible things I heard about him, I already knew I’d regret my thanks.

He didn’t answer.

We stayed like that for a while in thick silence. When he finally turned back to me, his eyes met mine and held. There was something strange there, definitely not kindness or warmth, but it made my heartbeat quicken anyway.

“Don’t thank me yet, Goldie,” he said. “I'm not doing you a favor. I'll kill that child, and you, if it turns out to be useless to me, no questions asked. Your life is in my hands from now on… at my disposal or not.”

My eyes widened, but I was speechless. What could I say to that? What if…

Rhys moved closer, crouched in front of me again and tilted my chin up slightly with his fingers. His skin was cold, his gaze steady. For a second, the air between us shifted. I felt something small but electric, like a pull. He must have felt it too because his hand dropped instantly and he stepped back like he’d touched fire. I blinked, so utterly confused.

“Get some rest. My people will watch over us,” He muttered tightly. “We move at dawn.”