The Rogue Girl

Aurora

I didn’t expect to wake up to the sound of humming.

It was soft almost hesitant but it drifted through the cracks in the cabin wall like a warm breeze. My wolf stirred as I sat up, my body aching from the hard wooden floor. I reached instinctively for the small knife I kept tucked under my bag.

Footsteps.

Slow. Approaching.

I held my breath.

“Relax, I’m not here to kill you.”

The voice was female. Tired, amused. And close.

The door creaked open and in stepped a girl about my age. Her brown curls were pulled into a messy braid, and her jeans were torn at the knees. Her scent told me all I needed to know, she was a rogue. Like me. But not hostile.

She raised her hands, eyes scanning me quickly. “Didn’t mean to scare you. I picked up a new scent while checking for rogues around my area and figured someone was here.”

I lowered the knife. “This place is abandoned. So I thought I could sleep here for a while ”

“I see” she said stepping inside. “I’m Nova.”

“Aurora.”

She smiled like we were already friends.

She was beautiful. And her smile reached her eyes. Big green eyes that screamed Trust.

“Nice name. You look like you haven’t eaten in days.”

“I haven’t,” I said bluntly.

Nova pulled a pack off her back and tossed me an energy bar. “Well, now you have.”

It was the first act of kindness I’d received in… maybe forever.

“You want to come stay with me?” Nova asked.

I couldn’t believe my ears.

“But you don’t know me. Why would you offer up your space so easily?” I asked in disbelief tears welling in my eyes.

“I know your name is Aurora and you’re a werewolf that’s gone rogue like me so… yeah that’s all I need to know” Nova said smiling.

I nodded smiling as the tears gave way.

“Come on.. we have to leave this place. It’s not safe here.” Nk a said softly.

I stood up and carried my bag.

She stepped out of the shack and I followed her closely behind.

She stayed in a small one bedroom apartment just near the human town.

“You can take the couch. It’s not much but it’s comfortable i promise.”

“Thank you so much Nova. I owe you “

I said sincerely. Nova laughed softly.

“It’s fine. Girls should stick together. The wild is not safe for us.” She said tapping my shoulder.

“Make yourself at home. I will get you some food.”

Nova left into her small kitchen.

I sank onto the couch it was softer and way better than what I was used to in the pack.

“Aurora?” I opened my eyes and Nova was shaking me. I had fallen asleep.

“Go take a shower and come have some food. Bathroom’s with the bedroom.”

I thanked her and headed in.

That was the first warm shower I have had in years.

My bathroom in the pack house ran cold all year round. I wasn’t fit to have a running hot shower.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I soaked In the water letting all the stress and maltreatment I’d endured run down the drain.

I must have been in there for more than 30 minutes.

I came out with a towel Nova had brought me.

Changed into my only other pair of trousers and a tank top.

Nova was on the couch watching a show when I came out.

“Oh I’ll Get your food. Hold on “

She went to the kitchen and brought me some meat soup. It was the best meal I’d had in years.

Simple yes, but I felt more satisfied than I’d ever felt in a long long time.

“So I’ll let you rest for the evening. We will talk tomorrow. Goodnight.” Nova said smiling brightly And left to the room.

I was out like a light some minutes after.

She was a moon sent to me literally.

Rogues didn’t usually trust easily, but something about Nova made me let my guard down. She didn’t ask too many questions, and she never pushed when I didn’t answer. She just… existed beside me, like a calm breeze after a storm.

She told me she’d been on her own since sixteen. Kicked out for being too “difficult” in a pack that only valued obedience. Her story was different from mine, but the ache in her voice was familiar.

We hunted together. Talked about everything and anything under the sun. Cleaned the house and I had never felt so at home. It wasn’t much, but it was the safest I’d ever felt.

I was so happy I started to feel less pain.

After a week, Nova brought up the restaurant.

“There’s a diner just outside the human town,” she said one morning. “They’re always short on help. No one asks questions.”

I hesitated.

“You can’t keep hiding forever,” she added. “We need money. You need something to do before you go insane in here.”

She wasn’t wrong.

She worked as a waitress in said diner.

And so, I started working.

The diner wasn’t glamorous. Sticky floors, busted jukebox, customers who barely looked you in the eye. But I didn’t care. I wore a name tag and served greasy food, and for once, people didn’t whisper about my past.

They didn’t know me.

And that was a blessing.

I was just Aurora. Not the traitor’s daughter. Not the girl that rejected her mates.

Just a girl.

I lived that way for almost a month. Working shifts. Coming home with Nova. Saving every tip. Keeping my head down. I didn’t shift, didn’t howl, didn’t think about them.

Kaden.

Kael.

I pretended they didn’t exist.

Until the day I smelled them again.

It hit me as I stepped out of the diner, trash bag in hand laughing with Nova. A breeze curled around me, warm and sweet.

My wolf froze.

My hands trembled.

“No,” I whispered.

Nova turned. “You okay?”

But I couldn’t hear her anymore. The scent, faint, but unmistakable, was back. Cinnamon. Coffee. And something darker.

They were close.

Too close.

Panic clawed up my throat as I dropped the bag and ran straight for the edge of town. Nova followed, confused but silent, as I led her deep into the woods.

“They found me,” I finally said, breathless.

Nova’s eyes sharpened. “Your pack?”

“My mates.”

Her mouth parted slightly, but she didn’t ask. Just pulled me along until we reached the house.

We packed fast.

“We’ll leave tonight,” she said. “Don’t worry. I’ve got rogue contacts, people who can hide us.”

But I couldn’t stop shaking.

Not from fear.

From something deeper.

Regret?

Longing?

No. I shoved those feelings down.

I’d made my choice.

I wasn’t going back.

Not even if they begged.

Not even if they cried.

Not even if they finally realized what I was worth.