Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 96: Fishing

Chapter 96: Fishing

There was a brief pause.

"Kade is dead."

Dennis’s head snapped back toward him.

The weight of those words hung in the air.

"Helping Ava escape," Nolan added. "And we know she’s here."

Missy stiffened beside him. Dennis didn’t move.

His expression didn’t change. His heart didn’t race. His breathing remained steady.

He blinked slowly, then tilted his head just slightly, as if considering. "I don’t know what you’re talking about," he said smoothly. "Who is Ava?"

Nolan let out a sharp exhale, frustration flickering across his face. "Dennis, it’s me. Come on."

Dennis kept his expression blank.

"Is Lucas just fishing for a reason to fight?" he asked instead.

"Quite the contrary," Nolan said. "He wants to talk."

Missy snorted. "It’s a trap."

Dennis glanced at her and nodded slightly in agreement.

Nolan sighed. "He says he wants to talk, Dennis. But if you refuse, he will have no choice but to attack. You are still on his land."

Dennis arched a brow. "Oh? Did he forget that I am also a Raventhorn? That I have as much right to these lands as he does?"

"He is the Alpha, Dennis."

Nolan must have sensed the growing tension because he quickly continued, "To keep your mind at ease, he wants the meeting out in the open. A few feet from the gate. Just him, the council members, and me."

Dennis studied him.

Nolan wasn’t a liar. He didn’t play mind games. If he said the meeting would be open and fair, then maybe it would be.

Finally, Dennis gave a curt nod. "Fine."

Relief flickered in Nolan’s eyes. "Tomorrow. Same time."

Dennis nodded again.

Nolan hesitated for a moment before adding, "How are you really?"

Dennis wasn’t expecting the question.

"We’re fine," he said. "We manage okay."

Nolan held his gaze for a moment longer, then offered a small smile before turning back toward his men.

Dennis watched as the gammas moved, retreating into the distance.

"You are not thinking of going," Missy said the moment they were out of earshot.

Dennis exhaled. "I have to."

Missy scowled. "Alpha, you do not always have to protect us from battle."

"They want Ava," Dennis said, mostly to himself.

That was all they wanted.

So why did the thought of giving her up leave a bitter taste in his mouth?

*****

Ava knocked on Dennis’s bedroom door, her knuckles rapping lightly against the wooden frame. She hesitated for a moment, exhaling before stepping inside. The rumors had spread like wildfire across the pack about Lucas’s gammas and everyone seemed to believe it had something to do with her.

She needed answers.

But there was another reason she was here, one she hadn’t fully admitted to herself yet.

Dennis had been avoiding her since that night. The night he had helped her through her heat.

The easy banter they once shared had vanished. She hated it. Hated the way his eyes barely lingered on her now. Hated how the warmth of their growing friendship had been buried beneath layers of awkward silence and stolen glances.

Missy was still helping her train, guiding her through the intricacies of her powers minus the heat-inducing potions, thank the goddess. Although, Missy had had a little too much fun with that particular experiment.

Ava stepped further into the room, her voice gentle but firm.

"Dennis?"

He sat on the edge of his bed, head bowed, broad shoulders tense. The soft glow from the bedside lamp cast deep shadows over his bare chest, highlighting the rippling muscle beneath his skin. He looked up at her then.

"Is everything okay?" he asked as he ran a hand through his dark hair before standing. He grabbed a shirt from the bed and pulled it over his head, as if the fabric would somehow act as armor between them.

Ava crossed her arms. "I should be the one asking you that. Have I offended you?"

"No." His response was short, clipped, and thoroughly unconvincing.

"I heard Lucas’s gammas were here."

"Yes." He nodded. "Lucas wants to talk. And I’m guessing he knows you’re here."

Ava swallowed. Of course, he does.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

Dennis let out a bitter laugh. "I don’t know."

Ava stepped closer. "Give me your options."

His lips twisted into a humorless smirk. "Okay. First option: hand you over to Lucas, save my pack, and watch as he kills you."

Ava felt her stomach drop. "Well. That’s comforting."

Dennis’s gaze darkened. "Second option: smuggle you out of here tonight to another pack. Chances of both of us surviving that? Zero to nothing."

She inhaled sharply. "Not much of an upgrade."

Dennis cracked his knuckles, rolling his shoulders as if physically trying to shake off the weight of his choices. "Third option: lie to Lucas. Keep you here. Chances of me not going insane? Slim."

Ava blinked. "What do you mean?"

Dennis hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "Wh— I don’t know! I can’t think straight! I can’t..." His voice rose, frustration boiling over as he took a step back and then another, pacing the length of the room.

Her eyes narrowed. "Is this about what happened between us?"

His gaze snapped to hers.

"That was last week," she continued, folding her arms. "Shouldn’t you be over it?"

He let out a strangled sound, somewhere between a growl and a laugh. "You...no! Yes! Goddamnit, that’s not the point!" His fingers curled into fists at his sides. "I... You are my brother’s mate!"

Ava inhaled sharply. "It’s not like it’s going to happen again, as long as Missy keeps her damn potions to herself."

Dennis let out a bitter laugh. "Then why do I still feel like fucking you right now?"

Ava took two careful steps back, her heart pounding. But Dennis followed.

"Dennis..."

"Tell me, Ava. Do you want to risk staying or risk leaving?"

She swallowed hard, her breath coming in short, uneven pants.

"I am barely in control here," he admitted. "Hasn’t happened in years."

He closed the distance between them, trapping her against the wall with his sheer size.

"I’m jealous of my brother." His confession was a whisper. "That’s never happened. Ever."

Ava’s breath hitched as Dennis lowered his head, inhaling her scent. The heat of his body pressed against hers.

His hand found hers, his fingers warm and calloused as he guided it to his chest.

"Feel that?" he murmured.

@addicted2fantasy: Thank you. Mwaaaaah

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