My heart was thundering in my chest as I vaulted the window sill, keeping a tight grip on his collar in case he would make a run for it. Though why he would was a mystery to me. After all, I was the only one trying to help him escape. But alpha's were ego driven and he would probably assume that he knew better than me, and I didn't trust him not to make a run from it and think he could pull off an escape better than I could.
"Climb over!" I hissed at him. He was bent over the sill thanks to my grip on his filthy and tattered shirt, but his hands were still handcuffed awkwardly behind his back to stop him from shifting. He mumbled through his gag and I shushed him, dragging him forward with all my strength so he was forced to scramble with his legs to get over. Once he was over the sill, he started to pitch forward, and I realised that he was going to fall and drag me with him.
I let him go and watched him fall, face first into a muddy puddle, not able to smother the snigger that bubbled up inside of me. He struggled to his knees and glared at me, mud smeared on his face. I stuck my tongue out at him like a puppy before catching myself and scowling, collaring him again and hauling him to his feet. I started to march him back down through the camp, sticking to the areas with no light and reaching out constantly with my mind to make sure no one was coming closer. I felt the alpha trying to establish a link with me as we reached the outskirts of the camp and hesitated.
My brother wasn't here, so he couldn't mount a defense for me. If the alpha wanted to, he could batter down my defenses and just speak directly into my mind, but he didn't. That's why I opened my link and let him speak.
What? I snapped through at him, disguising my unease as best I could. I didn't like linking with anyone who wasn't family, and I certainly didn't like having an alpha in my head, mate or not.
Why are you doing this? Because I'm your mate? He asked, thankfully cutting through any attempts at small talk, or worse, start with all the lovey dovey shit that made me feel sick when adults did it around me.
Because I know what my da is trying to do to you, and I don't know what effect that will have on me. I'm saving myself, not you. I answered as we crossed into the forest, taking a trampled down path that wouldn't be used again until the raiding teams returned in the morning, hopefully too tired and bloody to smell the alpha.
So, what's the plan here? I could hear the discomfort in his tone, no doubt because of the conditions he had been living in for the past few days were too rough for a pampered pup like him. It could also be because I was currently dragging him into a stream and making him walk down through the knee high icy water with me to ruin his scent trail before we reached the end of the forest and the clearing where we parked the car.
I stuff you in the back of a car, drive you to the border of your territory and kick you out. You don't come after me, I won't raid in your territory, and we both try our best to ignore the fact that the other ever existed. I told him firmly. I slipped on a mossy rock under the water, my food skidding out. I already had a grip on his arm, and I was going to bring him down with my to avoid giving him a chance to run off, but to my surprise he set his stance and managed to keep me upright as well.
You alright? I nodded, glad that it was too dark for him to see my blush.
"Yeah, fine. Cheers." I muttered gruffly, too flustered to remember to use the link instead of making noise. Before I could think of anything else to say, he was back to talking to me over the link.
I'm not sure I quite agree with you there. You're my mate, I'm not just going to forget that you existed. I snorted and shook my head.
Really? I'm doing you a favor here, buddy, because an alpha having a prominent rogue as a mate is way more shameful than a prominent rogue having an alpha as a mate. Take your pride and reputation and pack and be happy you escaped with them intact. I pulled him to a stop and pulled out the long rag that I was going to use to blindfold him.
Natalia, that's your name, isn't it? I've heard it said before, so I know full well who you are. I also know that you're the one who killed my arsehole of a father, and I still want to get to know you. Rogue or not, alpha or not, don't you want to try at least? He asked as I wound the fabric around his head, tying it tight and peeking out through the trees at the silent street to make sure the coast was clear.
No. I hear a bunch of stories about lower ranking pack wolf boot lickers running away and joining us rogues when they find their mates, but none of the higher levels doing the same. Either the rogue is weak enough to go crawling on their belly to the alpha and beg pardon back into the packs again, or the pack wolf kidnaps them and ends up killing them. Try to do that and I'll open your throat, by the way. I threatened him, pulling him out to the shadowy end of the street and grabbing my metal tool from my back pocket, slipping it into the outer part of the window and beginning to jimmy the lock open.
Natalia, are you seriously jacking a car? He asked, hearing the sounds and standing to alert.
Yeah, I'm not like you. Don't have enough money to buy a new car every time I need one. Now get in and stop whining, and I'll ungag you. I bribed him as I popped the lock, pulling the door open and guiding his head in so he was settled in the seat before quietly closing the door and nearly sprinting to the drivers seat, as though the blindfolded and handcuffed guy was about to try and drive off.
You are a rogue, I suppose that shouldn't surprise me, and I would appreciate being ungagged, if you would? I stopped after I pried off the car key cover, turning to him and reaching round the back of his head with my knife to cut away the gag, because I hated untying knots. He flinched at the feeling of the cold metal against his scalp, but held still until I pulled the wad of fabric out of his mouth. He clenched and unclenched his jaw a few times to get rid of the ache, and I found myself weirdly fixated on the flexing muscles. Bloody mate bond, now was not the time to be appreciating a handsome face.
"Right, don't look suspicious, and don't distract me. I don't exactly have a license." I told him impishly, glancing at him to see the horror on his face as I fiddled with the wires.
"I have a license, Natalia-"
"Nat, just call me Nat. And why the hell would I let you loose and then let you drive? Just brace yourself and don't be so dramatic." He fell quiet for only a second, just when I was about to light the ignition.
"Alright then, Nat, can you do my seatbelt at least?" I whipped my head around and glared at him, searching his face for any glimpse of a smirk. Nothing. If this was just a ploy to get me to touch him, he had one hell of a poker face. Loathe to waste anymore time, and inclined to do as he asked anyway, I leaned over, hanging on to his near shoulder as I grabbed the seatbelt and pulled it out. Not one to pass up an opportunity to mess with someone, I let my face get a little too close to his, the tip of my nose brushing his before I pulled away abruptly and buckled him in. I could hear his heart racing as I settled into the drivers seat and started the engine. It was nice to know that the effects of the mate bond worked both ways.
"I haven't heard you fasten your seatbelt." He said, stress clear in his voice as he heard me yank the car into gear and set off in a bit of a jitter.
"If I crash the car, I deal with the consequences like a grown up." I told him, stepping down on the accelerator. I just loved driving fast.
"You're barely a grown up. You turned eighteen like a week ago." I snorted.
"And how the hell do you know that? Maybe I've been eighteen for months." I argued back for no particular reason. He went quiet for a moment.
"The day you were born in the pack prison was the day your father killed my newborn sister." His voice was dark and twisted, but I snorted at his ridiculous words all the same.
"Bullshit. He did not do that. He isn't a pack wolf." I denied. I wasn't even putting on a brave face; I just knew that he hadn't. After all, a newborn baby shouldn't be punished for the crimes of their parents, that was something that was a core tenant of rogue beliefs. It was why we'd take in anyone who didn't want to be a pack wolf. He was quiet for a moment.
"Natalia, when he came to perform the prison break, my mother was in labor. By the time he left, my mother and the newborn baby were dead. Your father had just lost his mate and one of his children, it would drive any wolf mad-"
"Oh, shut up. There's no way he did it, half mad or not. He hasn't gone mad since my mum died, and did you see the bodies yourself?" He looked at me, even though he still had the blind fold on.
"I was like, eighteen months old, so no, I didn't. But why would my dad lie about that?" I winced. I really didn't want to start talking about his dad, not when I was the one to kill him. It'd just be really bloody awkward.
"Pack wolves always lie. But that don't matter, because I'm going to drop you off and then that's that." I reaffirmed, feeling more like I was telling myself that than him.
"Are you so horrified that we're mates?"
"I'll cut you off right there, the answer is yes. I'm going to be the leader of the rogues once my da kicks it, and I can't be that if I have an alpha for a mate. I mean, they could overlook a normal pack wolf, but not our sworn enemies. Besides, it ain't like the other alpha's will accept me being your mate. So just find someone else to shack up with, and I'll do the same." I told him, ignoring my griping wolf. He didn't. He had the audacity to growl at me for suggesting it. Immediately, I clocked him round the head, snarling fiercely, my own wolf fighting to assert dominance over the alpha. "Don't you growl at me!" We lapsed into an angry silence, both trying to deal with our beasts, before he spoke again.
"At the end of the day, the mate bond always wins. I won't want to 'shack up' with anyone else now, and neither will you. Look, I'm not saying that we'll find a way to work it out, but maybe I could give you my number, and you could call me once a week or something?" I paused for a moment before answering.
"Fine. But I don't promise that I'll call."