Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 84: Memory

Chapter 84: Memory

Justin nodded eagerly. "You might not remember me, but you saved me a few months ago! In the alleyway, just outside the boundary."

"Oh!" She let out a breath, eyes lighting up with the memory. "Yeah, I remember you! You were the one running away like a coward."

Justin scowled. Dennis snorted.

"Hey! I wasn’t running away," Justin huffed, crossing his arms.

Ava raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh, really? Because I distinctly remember you bolting."

Justin grumbled under his breath before muttering, "Everyone runs from Raventhorn."

Ava’s teasing smile faltered just a bit.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I guess."

Dennis watched the exchange, his mind working quickly.

Something wasn’t adding up.

He cleared his throat. "What happened after Justin left?"

Ava hesitated. Her fingers tightened around the cup Missy had given her.

"Well..." she started slowly, choosing her words carefully. "He... killed one of the boys who was bullying Justin."

Dennis’s brows lifted slightly.

Typical. "But why?" he pressed. "Those boys were from his pack. Justin’s a rogue from mine. I would think they were doing him a favor by getting rid of an outsider."

Ava swallowed hard.

Her gaze flickered toward Dennis again.

"Lucas..." Her voice was soft. "He was trying to save me."

Something cold slithered down Dennis’s spine.

He shot to his feet, his chair scraping loudly against the floor.

Her name. Ava.

The way she said Lucas’s name like they were... close.

The way she kept looking at him, like she was trying to make sense of something.

"You’re Lucas’s Luna."

The words came out flat, but inside, Dennis’s mind was spinning.

He knew about her.

Of course, he did.

Stories traveled. Even if Lucas had cut them off from the outside world, gossip still found a way in.

Ava lifted her chin slightly, though there was no pride in it. "Not yet, anyway. We only got married a few days ago."

Dennis exhaled sharply.

His jaw clenched.

Then, without another word, he turned to Missy.

"Clean her up. Feed her. And send her on her way." His tone was final.

The room fell into stunned silence.

Justin gawked at him.

Missy’s mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. "Alpha..."

Dennis cut her off, his eyes flashing. "She is his Luna, Missy! His mate!" He paced for a moment, running a hand through his hair. "Do you honestly think he won’t come looking for her? That he won’t burn this entire place to the ground the second he finds out she’s here?"

Missy hesitated. Dennis turned to her, his voice quiet but firm. "I am meant to protect everyone here. Not put them in more danger."

There was another stretch of silence before Ava stood.

"It’s alright," she said simply. "I can find my own way."

He didn’t know why, but those words sent an uncomfortable pang through his chest.

Dennis nodded.

Missy and Justin, however, didn’t look convinced.

*****

Dorian searched all night for his son’s body.

He combed through the thick underbrush, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His fingers, calloused and rough, clawed through the damp earth, overturning rocks, pushing aside branches. The tide had been high that night, there was a chance the waters had carried Kade away, his body drifting lifelessly down toward Dennis’ encampment.

He couldn’t step into Dennis’ land.

If Dennis crossed the border, Dennis wouldn’t hesitate to put him down.

Still, the thought of his son’s body lying somewhere out there, abandoned, unburied, made his stomach churn.

Kade had always been stubborn, always reckless.

Dorian had spent his entire life fighting, but this was the first time he had felt helpless. The idea that he might never find his son’s body, never give him a proper burial, made his throat tighten.

And the part that hurt him the most was that Lucas did this. He wouldn’t have seen it coming. He may be blinded by rage and turn murderous but how could he kill his beta’s son and not blink.

He had followed Lucas for years, protected him, couldn’t he extend the same courtesy to him and just let his only son live.

Kade had done the same for Lucas. He had lived for him, bled for him.

Dorian had known Lucas was unhinged, but he had never imagined this.

Not Kade. Not his son.

Kade never listened, never backed down, never stopped.

And now... Now he would never move again.

And all these for a woman. Once more, Ava had slipped through his grasp.

That damned woman.

That cursed woman.

And this time, his son had paid the price for her escape.

He didn’t care if she hid in the ends of the earth. He didn’t care if she ran until her legs gave out. He was going to find her.

And he was going to kill her.

It wasn’t about Lucas anymore.

It wasn’t about loyalty or power.

This was about his son.

Now, he was driven by something deeper, something that burned in his veins like wildfire.

Grief, rage and revenge.

Ava had to die if he was ever going to live the rest of his days in peace.

And if she had somehow crawled her way to Dennis’ camp?

Then so be it.

Because now, they had a reason to attack.

Dorian had been waiting for an excuse, teetering on the edge of war but never quite stepping over the line.

Well, If Ava was in Dennis’ camp, then that was the push he needed. It was time to convince Lucas to strike Dennis’ encampment.

He would kill two birds with one stone.

Lucas had to let go of that ridiculous promise he made years ago.

Promises meant nothing.

Blood was the only thing that mattered now.

*****

Dennis stood on the crumbling porch of the run-down excuse of a shelter he called home, watching as Ava walked away, her form growing smaller with each step. He had done what needed to be done. He had sent her away, forced her back into the wilderness, into the unknown.

It was the only choice.

So why did it feel so damn wrong?

The wind howled around him, rattling the broken windows and whistling through the cracks in the walls. He exhaled sharply, hands gripping the wooden railing as if it were the only thing keeping him from running after her.

Beside him, Missy stood silently, her arms crossed. She wasn’t watching Ava, she was watching him. She had that look on her face, the one she got when she knew he was about to do something stupid.

"Will you be able to live with yourself, Alpha?" she asked. "If your brother finds her, she is as good as dead."

(@MD_Loves_Books: You are an angel)