Chapter 2: Rebel ~Wren~ I slink in through the loose shingles on the roof, softly landing in our makeshift hideout loft. It isn’t much, honestly, it looks like a child’s playhouse, but when all the outliers are beggars or thieves, it’s hard to come by nice things for a rebel headquarters. We are lucky that Ms. Grayford is deaf and never travels upstairs. Not that she would care if she did. She hates Alpha Alden as much as we all do. The illustrious Alpha Alden, leader of the Black Moon Pack and royal asshole of the surrounding lands. He hates all things happy and makes it his mission to destroy all heavenly bestowed gifts, like true mates. Rumor is that it all started when his heart was broken. He couldn’t stand for anyone else to be happy when he was miserable, so he made everyone’s life as shitty as he felt. I don’t give a shit how it started, I just care how it will end. With Alden dead and the missing mates, he has as slaves in his packhouse, reunited with their families and l

I pull my zipper hoodie back on, toss the hood up over my dark hair as I walk through the door to the restaurant. Nickolai has decided he wants to treat us all to dinner, considering it’s really his father’s money and all expenses are already covered. We amuse him. Tank is sitting at the table grinning from ear to ear, chatting with Nickolai who has very clearly already started drinking. The moment I’m in Nickolai’s sight, he beams at me, though he says nothing.“Well, look who is back from his hours-long run,” Tank says, raising a beer to me. “Should you be drinking so much?” I ask, raising a brow to Nickolai.“Ah, come on. Let the boy drink his beer. He is going to be Alpha soon enough and he won’t be allowed to have any real fun,” Tank jokes. Nickolai frowns at Tank. Though he is excited to be taking over the helm of his father, he is

~Wren~ After walking dad to his bed and giving him the medication I swiped from the pharmacy for his pain, I finally stalk to my room and drop onto my bed. Today has sucked, yet been strangely good at the same time. There is nothing quite like feeling at the top of the world, only to crawl back home to the depths of despair. It’s getting harder and harder to escape the harsh reality that if I don’t figure out a way to free my mother from her servitude at the packhouse soon, Dad will die. And as much as it’s not my fault, it will happen because I failed him. I look at the fancy clothes that Lacy lent me. I feel like such a fraud. None of this is me. The flirting and dressing up, yeah it’s fun to put on a mask and pretend for a little while, but the second I remember why I’m doing what I’m doing, I’m bogged down by the guilt my genuine smile brings me. If my father can’t be happy, then I don’t have a right to it either. Shit, no one in the outliers is privy to happiness, not unles

I should feel guilty about kissing Nickolai to steal from him, but I can’t find myself hating the kiss as I step back from him. It was a sweet kiss. It was gentle and telling, not at all wanting. Nickolai is a gentle alpha. He has an air about him that just pulls you in like a magnet. He gazes down at me as he tugs on a piece of my loose hair, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “Uh…” I say, chuckling nervously. “What was that about?” “Oh,” his face falls suddenly and my chest feels weird at his disappointment. “I thought… you weren’t going to kiss me. Were you?” He asks, looking deflated. It’s a look I can’t stand. I don’t really understand how I feel about Nickolai. I like him. He is sexy and adorable at the same time and I want to like him but something feels like it's missing. But maybe it’s my apprehension because I know I’m lying to him? Or maybe it’s the pulling in my heart telling me not to let my walls down for him. It’s not a feeling I can put my finger on, not yet anyway, s

~Wren~In ideal circumstances, Alden would have left on time to show the boys the pack lands. But the word ideal and Alden don’t play well together, so here I am, fifteen minutes later, cursing the asshole who has zero concepts of time. It’s not surprising that he is self-absorbed and can’t be bothered to do things with a time constraint. That would mean admitting that the world doesn’t spin around him like he is earth’s axis. The sun is closing in on its highest point of the day and where I am usually one for hiding in the shadows, today I am flat against the top of the wall. Which sucks for me because sweat mingles with the cotton of my shirt and I have no doubt that it looks like I was just involved in a wet t-shirt contest. I was overly excited about the mission, for obvious reasons, so I have been in place for close to an hour now. My patience is now near nonexistence.A feminine loud