All Chapters of The Rogue's Reluctant Mate: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

His eyes widened almost imperceptibly. He knew. He knew I wasn’t just some random Omega. He didn’t recognize my face, but something in my voice, in my eyes, in the way I said his name.... it struck a chord of fear. “I...I don’t know what you mean,” he stammered, his gaze darting around nervously. “Oh, I think you do,” I purred, taking a step closer. My smile didn’t waver. “I think you remember every knot you tied, every stone you hefted. Details, Dante. Details matter, don’t they?” I let my gaze drop to his hands, then back to his terrified face. “And I have a very, very good memory for details.” He was pale now, trembling slightly. He knew. He might not know WHO I was, but he knew I was someone who remembered his specific cruelties. “The river....it gives back its secrets sometimes, doesn’t it?” I continued, my voice a silken threat. “And those secrets can be quite vengeful.” I leaned in a little closer, my smile widening, becoming almost beatific. Psychotic, Austin might have c

The hours until evening crawled by .I moved through the Omega sector, my old stomping grounds. The fear and despair were palpable, thicker than the ever-present dampness. I saw faces I remembered – old Nina, who used to give me sweet berries, now looked frail and broken.Young ones, their eyes already dull with hopelessness. And Dante....I saw Dante scurrying through a passageway, his face pale and haunted. He didn’t see me. Good. His fear was a tool I’d use later. I listened. To the hushed whispers in the food lines. To the muttered complaints in the mending caves.the discontent was there, a simmering pot threatening to boil over. But so was the fear. Henry and Valerius had a tight grip. As dusk settled, casting the cavern city into even deeper shadow, I made my way to the moss garden. It was as Lisa had described , overgrown, a little sad, but still holding a whisper of its former peace. She was already there, a small, anxious figure huddled on a stone bench. “Thank you for com

AUSTIN____The rot in the BlackClaw pack, or Kaelen pack as it was still pathetically known in the dusty old scrolls, was spreading faster than a plague. perfect. My brother – no, not my brother, Roric, the pathetic Alpha currently squatting on the throne – was getting jumpy. Lisa’s whispers from the Beta ranks and Marcus’s grim tales from the exiled warrior circles painted a clear picture: Roric was shitting himself. he could feel the ground shifting beneath his paws, even if he was too stupid to see the architect of his coming demise. Me.“He’s doubled the guard around the Alpha’s den, Austin.” Lisa had hissed at me in our last clandestine meeting, her eyes bright with a mixture of fear and savage excitement. We were huddled in a disused mine shaft, the air thick with the smell of damp earth and her cheap, human-world tobacco. “And Valerius is like a rabid dog, snapping at anyone who even looks sideways. Three more Omegas were flogged yesterday for ‘spreading dissent.’ They were

“He’s going to make a mistake, Selena,” I panted against her neck, my rhythm faltering for a moment as an idea, sharp and clear, pierced through the haze of lust. “A public mistake. And when he does… we’ll be there to ensure everyone sees it.” “Austin please.....!” she gasped, her body arching, her climax building. “Not yet Freckles,” I commanded, my control reasserting itself. I slowed my pace, teasing her, tormenting her, drawing out her pleasure, her agony. “Patience. Timing. That’s what separates the Alpha from the brute.” I brought her to the edge, again and again, her cries becoming more desperate, more broken. Her body was a finely tuned instrument, and I was the master playing it, each note a testament to my power, my control. And through it all, my mind was working, sifting through the information Lisa and Marcus had brought, through Selena’s own observations, through Dante’s terrified whispers. A plan was forming, cold and precise. Roric was fond of public displays. H

“Look at them Austin,” I whispered, my voice tight. “They’re terrified.” “Good,” he rumbled beside me. “Fear is the first step towards obedience.” He took my hand, his grip firm, possessive. “Time to make our entrance.” He didn’t sneak in. He didn’t try to blend. He just....walked. Strode out from the shadows into the center of the clearing, pulling me along with him, as if he owned the very ground beneath his feet. A hush fell over the assembled pack. Hundreds of pairs of eyes turned towards us, widening in disbelief, in shock, in dawning terror. The murmuring stopped, replaced by a stunned, suffocating silence. “Well, well,” Austin’s voice cut through the stillness, calm, resonant, carrying to every corner of the vast cavern. “Quite the gathering, Roric. Expecting trouble?” Roric froze, his eyes bulging as he saw Austin. His jaw dropped. Valerius tensed, his hand instinctively going to the heavy blade strapped to his hip. “Austin?” Roric finally choked out, his voice a stran