Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 91: Performance

Chapter 91: Performance

"If you did your job properly, Dorian, I wouldn’t have to resort to investigating maids myself, now would I?" Lucas spat.

Zari fought the urge to roll her eyes.

Right. This was a performance.

Of course. Lucas needed a reason for her to be in this office. And what better reason than being interrogated?

Zari resisted the urge to snort. He didn’t have to hit me that hard, though.

"Get out!" Lucas snapped at her.

Still cradling her very sore face, Zari wasted no time hurrying out.

Lucas turned back to Dorian.

"What do you want?"

Dorian didn’t bother with pleasantries.

"I believe Ava’s presence in Dennis’s territory is the excuse we need to attack his rogue pack."

Lucas exhaled slowly. Of course.

"There is no attacking him," he said. "I thought we dealt with this years ago."

"Years ago, Alpha. On a promise you made to your mother. With all that has happened, it is time for you to take back your land."

Lucas barely restrained the growl bubbling in his chest.

"We are not attacking Dennis," he repeated. "It was the final wish of my mother, and I will honor it with my dying breath."

Dorian didn’t look convinced.

Lucas wasn’t surprised.

This man had been trying to get him to go after Dennis for years. He had no interest in honoring anyone’s dying wish—least of all his mother’s.

"The plan was to neutralize him," Lucas continued. "To trap him there." His eyes darkened. "But yet again, you haven’t done your job properly, have you?"

Dorian opened his mouth.

"Alpha..."

"Get out, Dorian."

Dorian gave a small, stiff bow before turning and leaving the room.

Lucas leaned back, pressing his fingers to his temples.

He was surrounded by backstabbers.

And the longer he spent around them, the more he felt like stabbing himself in the eye.

*****

Ava sat beneath the thick, sprawling tree just outside the worn-down building she now called home. It had been two days since she arrived and her heart was still in ruins. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him. Every time she took a deep breath, she swore she could still smell him.

She hated herself for it.

She couldn’t stop crying. She had tried to hold it together, tried to be strong, but the moment she was alone, the tears would crawl out of her eyes, betraying her. At this point, she was convinced she had no more liquid left in her body.

Her sulking was interrupted when a plate suddenly appeared in front of her face, the delicious scent of sausages and baked beans making her stomach betray her.

"Where did you find sausages and beans?" she asked, lifting her gaze to find Dennis holding the plate out to her.

Dennis plopped down beside her, his own plate balanced on his lap, chewing on a sausage.

"We get donations sometimes," he said between bites. "Some people drop them off just inside the gates when no one is watching."

Ava’s eyebrows shot up. "So its true about people smuggling food in here."

Dennis shrugged. "I see you have heard a bit about us, the almighty rogue pack. Well, some people feel bad for us. Some people I knew years ago try to help." He took another aggressive bite. "And I guess some figure if we’re well-fed, we’re less likely to start eating people." He teased.

Ava stared at her plate. She wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be horrified.

Dennis noticed her expression and grinned. "Relax, we don’t actually eat people."

Ava groaned and shook her head. "You’re impossible."

Dennis winked. "I prefer ’charmingly unpredictable.’"

She gave him a pointed look, finally picking up a piece of sausage and nibbling on it. Her stomach sang praises at the first real meal she’d had in days.

Dennis finished stuffing his face and leaned back against the tree, arms crossed behind his head.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Ava asked

"I know what it is," Dennis said, smirking.

Ava raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

"Yeah," he said, closing his eyes. "Every lady asks me the same question when they first get here."

Ava frowned. "So?"

"No, I do not have a mate." Dennis cracked one eye open to watch her reaction. "It’s not likely I’ll find my fated mate while stuck in this place, but maybe one day, she’ll float down the river just like you did." He grinned, clearly amused by himself.

"Uh... that’s not the question I was going to ask."

"Oh... oh... Awkward." He sang.

Ava stifled a laugh at how ridiculous he looked. "I already figured you don’t have a mate. There’s no woman around here glaring at me for sitting next to you."

Dennis dramatically placed a hand on his chest, feigning offense. "Wow. You don’t think I’m mate material?"

Ava rolled her eyes. "That’s not what I said."

"So you do think I’m mate material?"

She groaned, pushing his arm. "Shut up, Dennis."

He grinned wider, clearly enjoying himself. "Alright, so what’s your actual question?"

Ava hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "What happened between you and your brother?"

Dennis’s entire demeanor changed. The humor in his eyes dimmed.

"That’s a long story," he muttered.

Ava leaned back against the tree. "In case you haven’t noticed, all I have now is time."

He stared off into the distance, as if searching for a version of the past he didn’t mind sharing.

"I was Lucas’s Beta," he finally said. "The pack was always destined to be his, he was the firstborn, after all. I never had a problem with that. Lucas was always... different. Controlled. Sharp. But the moment he found Mara and she rejected him, he snapped. But it was still bearable. Then your mother died."

Ava remembered Nelly sharing something similar to that with her. Not knowing the woman who shattered him was her own mother.

"After that, he went into a blood rage. A blood rage is something only powerful werewolves like Raventhorn bloodline have. Its one of the reasons why we can shift halfway. Well, Lucas started challenging other Alphas, dragging our people into pointless wars. The high council began to take notice, and they sent out warnings. I had to do something."

He let out a slow breath. "At the time, Dorian was his Gamma General, I tried to stop Lucas from the next attack but somehow Dorian got it in his head I was coming to challenge him. We had a fight, we let our wolves take over. I hadn’t learnt to control mine. Our mother tried to get us to stop. I was so blinded by my anger, I accidentally hit her. She was old, couldn’t handle the stress. She died in Lucas’s arms and I was banished."

"That is quite a sad story," Ava murmured. She hugged her knees, still processing everything Dennis had told her. The brothers had been suffering from Dorian’s tricks for far too long.

Dennis just grunted, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with the emotional weight in the air. He wasn’t the kind of guy who sat around talking about feelings.

Before either of them could say anything else, Justin walked over, holding a steaming mug in his hands.

"Mom says you have to drink this. All of it." He extended the mug to Ava.

Ava took the mug, sniffing the contents. "What’s in it?"

@Booboo: I hope you are okay.