CHAPTER THREE 

Lyra Veyra

The rogues didn't slow down as their hands locked tight on my arms while they dragged me deeper into the forest, farther from the border. 

Darius walked ahead of us, he was tall, broad and full of pride. He looked over his shoulder and grinned. “Lucian really is a fool. He had a prize and tossed her away. His loss, my gain.”

The others laughed, it sounded mocking and ugly as I yanked hard at the chains around my wrists, the iron cutting into my skin. “What the fuck do you want with me?” My voice sounded harsh but I didn't even care, even with rouges staring deep into my soul like they could kill me with just the snap of their fingers.

The laughter stopped. Darius turned slowly, and before I could move, his hand swung,  backhand smacked across my face, so hard my head snapped sideways. My lip tore open, blood flooding into my mouth and my knees buckled, but I forced myself to stay on my feet.

Darius smirked, his teeth yellow in the dim light. “You don't ask questions, Omega. You answer them. You obey. That's all you're good for.”

I spat blood onto the ground, glaring at him. This time, I wasn't even scared of dying. “Then ask me something. See if I obey.”

For a second, he looked ready to hit me again. Then he laughed, loud and cold.

“Omegas are nothing in packs,” he said, still grinning. “Useless. Trash. But with rogues? You’re valuable. You’ll see soon enough.” He jerked his chin at the two holding me. “Get her to the den.”

They then dragged me forward again, their grips bruising my arms. Branches whipped against my legs and my face as the path narrowed. My lip kept bleeding, the taste very bitter.

As we moved, more rogues appeared as they slipped out from the trees like they had been waiting for something like this to happen. Dirty faces, hollow eyes, too-thin bodies. They didn't even hide their stares.

“That’s her,” one muttered.

“The Alpha’s mate,” another said, voice low but eager.

“Not his mate anymore. He discarded her.”

“Then she’s ours now.”

One stepped closer, his eyes raking over me like I was his. “Alpha's trash but good enough for the rogues.”

Heat rushed to my face, but I locked my jaw, holding his gaze. My wrists throbbed from pulling against the chains. I was weak and tired and my sight began to blur. For a moment, I prayed death would come already.

I spat blood again, this time letting it land close to one of their boots. “Tell your pack of mongrels that Blackfang will pay for what you did. Every one of you will answer for this.”

The forest went still, the cold breeze brushing on my rough and bruised skin, my clothes were already torn into pieces, almost leaving me naked. The breeze brought back a little of my consciousness. I stared everywhere around me and my face went cold. Even just thinking about what has happened to me in just one night made my blood boil for revenge.

Some of the rogues sneered, baring their teeth.

“She’s got a tongue on her,” one said, grinning.

“Not like an Omega I’ve seen before,” another added.

Darius then slowed his pace, he glanced back at me, his smirk gone, now replaced by something else. A cold and curious look. He didn't tell them to shut up nor did he tell them I was worthless again.

The rogues dragged me but no one said a word again and for the first time since they'd caught me, I realised they weren't all seeing me as a prey but something more dangerous.

The rogue den was nothing more than a hollow clearing under a rock ridge, some from the fire staining the ceiling black bones littered the ground and everywhere smelled like rot and unwashed bodies. They shoved me down near the flames, the heat licking my face.

A scarred woman then stepped out of the corner, her eyes immediately went cold, one side of her face was burned, the skin twisted. She looked at me and then back at Darius. “This is dangerous. She is dangerous. She carries the Alpha blood through the bond, you know what that means. She's not safe here.”

Alpha bond?

The murmurs spread through the rogues standing nearby. Some nodded while some looked at me cautiously.

Darius raised a hand, his tone cold. “Enough. She’s not dangerous to us. She’s useful.” His eyes cut to me, daring me to speak. “And I don’t answer to anyone questioning my decisions.”

The woman clenched her jaw but said nothing more. Darius smirked, satisfied, then motioned for me to be tied tighter.

I sat with my arms bound to a stake, ropes scraping my raw skin and my head was aching so badly, where his slap had landed earlier. My lips still stung and my blood was crusting.

Everyone left, except for two rogues who were gossiping and I could hear them loud and clear.

“He’s been hunting us for months,” one said, his tone urgent.

“Keep your voice down,” the other snapped.

“I’m serious. Kael Thorne, Ironclaw’s Alpha. He’s closing in, Darius doesn’t see it. We should move.”

The name froze me. Keal Throne. Even inside Blackfang, his name was gossiped about by a lot of people. One of another ruthless alpha z the one who was rumoured to take in broken people and the one even other Alphas couldn't challenge just like Lucian.

My chest tightened. If he was after this rogue group, if he found them, then maybe — just maybe, this wasn't the end for me.

I kept my head lowered, hiding the joy in my eyes. At least, I had hope. I forced myself to breathe slow, not to give away that I was listening.

But before I could think more about any other thing, a crash from outside echoed through the ridge, then another, and then the night split open with roars.

Rogues scrambled to their feet, some grabbing their weapons, others shifting, their claws tearing through their skin as they prepared to fight. The fire flared bright, smoke stinging my eyes as I heard more screams outside.

A warrior burst through the trees, steel flashing in his hand. Another followed, and another. These people weren't rogues. They looked trained. They cut down the first line of rogues with claws and blades, scattering the rest. Screams and growls were the only thing I could hear.

I pressed back against the post, my heart beating so fast, the smoke was choking me but I couldn't look away from the figure that was tearing through the den.

And then my eyes met with him. 

A broad figure stepped into the den, his strides were calm even as bodies dropped around him. Those grey eyes stared at me, it was piercing, cold and fixed on me.

My breath caught.

For a moment, I forgot some killings were happening. His voice then rolled low. “Unchain her. She's mine.”

The words struck harder than the slap Darius gave me, harder than anything tonight. 

Mine?