Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 86: Village

Chapter 86: Village

Ava followed Dennis through the winding paths of the makeshift village. It wasn’t much of a village, it was more like the scattered remnants of what was once a town.

Dilapidated homes, roofs half-collapsed, windows patched with cloth instead of glass. Walls scarred with claw marks.

And yet, the people there smiled as they moved about. Despite their circumstances, despite the clear signs of struggle, they laughed.

This was going to be her life too.

The pack welcomed her with open arms. They were used to taking in strays, it seemed. And Dennis, the reluctant rogue Alpha that he was, walked beside her, introducing her to the people.

When he led her to his so-called farm, Ava snorted.

"That’s not a farm," she said flatly, staring at the small patch of land.

Dennis placed a dramatic hand on his chest. "Excuse you, this is the pride of my existence."

Ava gave him a deadpan look. "There’s, like, four different types of crops here."

"Five," Dennis corrected.

"You cannot count the vegetable over there. That one grows everywhere. Its practically weed."

"Four and a half crops, then."

Ava rolled her eyes as Dennis gestured toward the sorry-looking vegetables growing out of the dirt.

"You mock me, but these little guys have kept my pack from starving more times than I can count."

Ava sighed, folding her arms. "I wasn’t mocking. Just... observing."

Dennis smirked, bumping his shoulder against hers. "You were mocking."

Ava couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped her lips.

Then they heard a scream.

Ava’s body tensed immediately, her instincts kicking in as she turned toward the sound.

Dennis was already moving.

Without thinking, she ran after him.

They both sprinted toward a small building near the edge of the village. The moment they stepped inside, the smell of blood hit Ava hard.

A woman lay on a makeshift bed, her body drenched in sweat, her face pale as death.

Missy stood over her, holding a tiny, wailing baby in her arms.

"It’s not good," Missy said looking up at Dennis and placing the baby on an old cot that had seen better days. "I can’t do anything about the bleeding."

Dennis hesitated only for a moment before nodding grimly. "I’ll tell her mate."

Ava glanced at the woman, then at the crying newborn.

"Wait!" she said, stepping forward.

Dennis and Missy turned to her, both startled by the urgency in her voice.

Ava turned to Missy. "You’re a spiritualist, right?"

Missy blinked. "Yes, but..."

Ava inhaled sharply. "I have this ability... something Lanaya helped me harness once. I...I used it to heal Lucas."

Missy’s eyes widened.

"Impossible."

Ava ignored them both, kneeling beside the dying mother. She grasped the woman’s cold, limp hand, closing her eyes.

She felt it immediately, the power.

It wasn’t like shifting. The feeling was different. It was lighter and slippery.

She focused, pushing outward, letting that strange, energy wrap around her and the woman.

"Missy! Now!" Ava groaned.

Missy took an instinctive step back, staring at Ava with something close to awe.

Then, snapping out of her daze, she started chanting.

The moment she spoke the words, the wisps of light flared, growing larger, wrapping around both Ava and the woman on the bed.

Ava felt like a thread being pulled from deep inside her.

The woman gasped.

The color rushed back into her face, her lips no longer deathly pale. Her body stopped trembling.

The bleeding stopped.

Ava gasped, her entire body suddenly drained, her limbs weak. She barely registered the moment she collapsed onto her side, her chest heaving.

Dennis, on the other hand looked at her admirably. "How about that? Our runaway Luna has got some shine to her."

"Holy Moon Goddess!!!"

Missy’s voice rang through the room, half in shock, half in unfiltered excitement.

Dennis turned to her, raising a brow. "That good, huh?"

Missy whipped toward him, her face practically glowing. "I know why Lucas chose her!!!"

Dennis smirked, crossing his arms. "Oh, this should be good."

Missy turned back to Ava, her eyes alight with realization.

"This isn’t just some ordinary ability," she said breathlessly. "This is the power of the Moon Goddess. She is a child of the moon!"

Dennis let out a low whistle, glancing down at Ava, who was still trying to catch her breath.

"What do you mean why Lucas chose her?" Ava asked.

Missy looked at Dennis who nodded.

"You carry such power my girl like nothing I have seen before. When we heard Lucas chose a Luna, we wondered. Now it seems clear." Missy explained.

"Lucas loved me. Power or not. He... loved... me. Whatever this is, its just people around him that don’t want us to be together."

Dennis smiled and moved closer to her. "Lucas loved me too once, Ava. We were inseparable. But after the loss of his fated mate broke him, everything Lucas has done is purely strategic."

Ava got up, her back steeled, her shoulders squared.

"He loved me! He saved me!"

"You are being delusional! Wake up! he feels nothing for you! The only person Lucas ever truly loved is Mara, his original mate."

Ava looked up at him and smiled. "She was my mother." She finished and stumbled out of the house, still trying to regain her strength.

*****

Lucas sat at the set table, his face adorned with the most plastic smile he could manage. The kind of smile that barely reached his eyes, the kind that concealed a storm brewing beneath the surface. He was playing a game now. A game that required patience, cunning, and most importantly, the ability to think with his head and not his claws.

For a man like him, that wasn’t exactly easy.

Kade was out there, digging, hunting, searching for proof. Proof that would bring these traitors to their knees. Lucas needed to make sure that when Kade returned, everything was perfectly aligned. The pieces on the board needed to be set just right.

That was why he was there, sipping lukewarm tea at a terrace near the concubines’ quarters, waiting.

These manipulative bastards were going to pay.

Oh, he could understand Sarah, at least. He truly could.

Jealousy, envy, possessiveness, those were reasonable motives. It was simple and predictable. She had wanted to be his, had expected to be his, and when she wasn’t, she lashed out.

Lucas could work with that.

But Dorian?

That was different.

That was a betrayal he could not yet wrap his head around.

Dorian was loyal to the bone, the kind of wolf who would follow his Alpha into the pits of hell. The kind who would die for him, who had killed for him, and yet...

He was the one who orchestrated this.

Why?

Was he truly loyal to Lucas? Or was his loyalty tied solely to the pack? Was he the kind of man who thought he had to betray his Alpha to save the pack?

Then that would be hypocrisy because that was the exact same thing he accused Dennis of.

Lucas exhaled slowly, reigning in the urge to snap the teacup in half with his bare hand.

He heard the soft padding of footsteps and saw Sarah approach.

She strolled toward him, hips swaying ever so slightly, the sun catching the sheen of her exposed skin. She had dressed for the occasion, of course. She was wearing short shorts that barely covered anything, a tight tank top that left very little to the imagination.

Lucas allowed himself a slow, assessing glance.

Let her think he was considering her.

Let her believe that she had won.

"Alpha," she greeted. "You asked for me?"

@cherrygfgtyk: Did I lose you?