What Scares a Rogue?

EVERETT

When we get within a mile of the rogues, we can smell them in the air. I can’t hold back a snarl. They don’t belong here. Their scent is wrong, tainting the familiar smells of my home, my territory.

Rogues refuse to bend to an Alpha, claim they want independence, but they group together easily enough when there’s something they want. When they want to take something from a pack.

They’re mercenary alliances of convenience, a mockery of the proper pack bond. They’ll abandon each other and scatter if things don’t go their way. Rogues have no honor or decency.

I turn to my warriors. They look back at me, standing ready. I give the order. “Let’s go get them. Change, now.”

I shift, letting Chaos come forward. I revel in the burn of my muscles, the snap of my bones. I spend so much time reining him in, it always feels relieving to let him run free.

As a wolf, everything is much simpler, much clearer. My legs are strong. My teeth are sharp. My nose and ears can tell me if even the slightest thing is wrong in my territory.

I am the master of my domain. There’s nothing I can’t defeat. My pack stands behind me, ready. They trust me. I trust them. Together, we’re unstoppable.

Aurora puts her hand on my back for a brief moment. Then, we run. As the Alpha, I set the pace, and I keep it light. There’s no need to rush right now, and it’s better to conserve our strength.

I stay by Aurora’s side, the two of us running through the woods at the head of our pack as Alpha and Luna were meant to do. Whenever she stumbles, I catch her.

She keeps up well, much better than the first time we tried this. She’s more sure of herself in the woods, her back straight, and her breathing even. I love her so much, my little mate.

Not being a wolf doesn’t stop her. She still stands with me at the head of our pack, still cares for everyone in it like they’re her own family. Selene was wise when she put us together.

It isn’t difficult to find the rogues. They aren’t even trying to hide. There are about ten of them, huddled around a campfire in the grasslands outside of our forest.

The smell of the smoke stings my nose. I can’t believe how brazen they’re being, how little they’re afraid of my wrath. They’ll know better soon.

We emerge from the trees in formation. I hold my head high and let them see my fangs. Let them understand what a mistake they’ve made in challenging me.

The rogues murmur and pace, fear and anger and adrenaline wafting from them, but they do not shift. They make no move to attack. It’s strange, and I don’t know what to make of it.

One of the rogues steps forward. I recognize him—the one Aurora saved. We released him only last night. He didn’t waste any time. I’m sure he wants revenge for our holding him.

Never mind that Aurora healed him. Rogues don’t care about things like that. They snap and snarl over anything, claiming it’s about “freedom” when really they’re just selfish.

He’s holding his hands up, palms out, and tilting his chin up to expose his throat. The attempted appeasement only makes me angrier. I growl in warning.

He stops walking but keeps his hands up. “Wait. We want to talk. There’s a problem that concerns all of us. Why not work together to solve it?”

Rogues don’t work with anyone. They certainly don’t talk. I’m not going to be fooled by such an obvious trick. I let my growling grow louder, pleased to see Andy’s face go pale.

Aurora touches my neck softly, and I turn one ear toward her to show her that I’m listening. I refuse to take my eyes off of the rogues.

She speaks quietly, so only I hear. “Everett, please. They don’t want to fight. They might have information that can help us. What does it hurt to listen to them?”

I can think of a lot of things it could hurt. But my mate’s soft voice reaches me through Chaos’s fury. I regain my grip on myself. She’s right. We can’t turn down any source of possible information.

Besides, if they betray us, I will get to rip them apart. That appeases Chaos. I shift back to my human form, and my warriors follow suit.

I step up to Andy, enjoying the few inches of height I have on him, how much thicker I am. “I ask the questions. I make the rules. If any of you steps out of line, I’m putting you down. Understood?”

He ducks his head. I can tell he doesn’t like it, but his voice is calm when he replies. “Yes, Alpha. We’ll cooperate. None of us wants to be the next to go blank.”

Space is made around the campfire for Aurora, Lucius, and me. The rest of my warriors stand behind us, at the ready. The rogues stay on their own side, watching us suspiciously.

I make eye contact with Andy and hold it. He looks away first. I smirk. I look around at the rest of the rogues, and none are brave enough to meet my gaze.

That established, I cross my arms and start the questioning. “Now, what do you mean by ‘go blank?’”

Andy looks into the fire, mouth set, eyes grim. “You saw it for yourself in the battle where you captured me. Wolves are losing their personalities, becoming like dolls or robots.”

Bitterness, sadness, and anger are on the faces of all the rogues. From the looks of it, they all know someone who’s been taken by Nemesis.

Andy continues, “We don’t know why it happens. I’m the first to recover, as far as we know.”

Aurora speaks up. “The blankness is a symptom of possession. Shards of an evil goddess named Nemesis are seeking hosts.”

There’s more muttering among the rogues at her words. I can hear that they’re doubtful, disbelieving. I raise my voice above them. “My Luna is not a liar.”

Andy jumps in, looking sharply at the other rogues. They go quiet. “Of course not. It’s just…Not everyone is ready to believe that a goddess is walking among us.”

Aurora glances at me, confused. I shrug. There’s no reasoning with rogues. She looks at Andy and says hesitantly, “We can leave Nemesis out of it for now, I guess.”

He looks relieved. “I think that would be best.”

“Let’s see, where to start.” Aurora bites her lip, thinking. “We’ve noticed a sort of…sickness that seems to come along with the blankness.”

I see some of the rogues nodding along. They clearly recognize the symptoms she’s describing. “What kind of sickness, can you describe it?” Andy asks.

“People’s wolves grow frightened and anxious, they get weak and see things. It seems to particularly affect children.” Aurora’s eyes are pained. She’s thinking of the orphans, probably.

So am I. And of our own child. I can’t imagine seeing my baby still and unable to wake. I would tear the world apart to fix it. “Has that been happening to you?” I ask roughly.

Andy sighs. “Yes. It’s just like you describe. We think it started two months ago. At first just a few, then more and more. Some got better, others worsened. We can’t find a pattern. Have you?”

Aurora shakes her head. “Age is a factor, but we aren’t sure other than that. It can affect humans and wolves and it’s not contagious, but we don’t know why some get it and some don’t.”

I decide to pull the conversation back on track. “When did people start going blank?”

A she-wolf answers. “It’s hard to know for certain when. Lots of us lead solitary lives. But we started to lose contact with those we did meet with.”

“Your name is?” I demand. I look her over. She’s wiry, like most rogues, with black hair shorn close to her scalp. Her eyes are brown and she’s wearing a tank top and cargo pants.

Nothing special, nothing that means she has a right to speak up. But then, rogues all think they’re the most important.

She meets my gaze, chin raised challengingly. “Teresa. I’ve lost a brother to this sickness.”

I wonder if she means a blood brother, or just a rogue she was close to. “What do you mean by ‘lost’? Is he dead, or is he one of the blank ones?”

She grits her teeth. “I don’t know. I know he had the sickness, and I know he disappeared. I searched for weeks, but couldn’t find any sign of him.”

“Where did you last see him?” I ask, thinking of the portals. Could the possessed rogues be using them?

She bristles, glaring at me. “What does it matter?”

Chaos howls at the open challenge. It’s all I can do to keep my seat. “Just answer the question, rogue.”

“Everett. Leave her alone. I’m sorry to hear that,” Aurora says kindly. She truly looks anguished for a woman she doesn’t know. I admire her tender heart, even as I want to protect it from pain.

Teresa snorts. She doesn’t want Aurora’s pity. I ask another question, “Is it only people who were sick who went blank?”

Andy presses his lips together and wrinkles his nose. “We think so. But not everyone who gets sick does.”

“We’ve started traveling together so that no one can be taken alone again, but there’s still a lot we don’t know,” Teresa says, snarling. I can’t help but sympathize. I hate an enemy I can’t fight, too.

Aurora makes a fist with her hand. She wants to reach out to comfort Teresa, I’m sure. “Maybe we can help. We can set up a house where those who go blank can be quarantined—”

That sends a ripple of outrage through the rogues. Some leap to their feet. One of them shouts, “You just want to lock us up!”

Aurora shrinks back. Lucius stands, ready to defend her. She shakes her head, pleading, “No, that’s not it. I want to help keep you all safe.”

The one who’d shouted went on. “That won’t help. It isn’t just the blankness! Those who lose themselves also become incredibly vicious, killing even their friends and family.”

Sounds like normal rogue behavior to me. Aurora puts her hand on my arm, restraining me. She looks at them, pain in her eyes. “That sounds awful. I wish I knew what to do for you.”

Teresa leans forward. “We’re afraid for our lives. Andy says you know how to help.”

Aurora hesitates. “I was able to free Andy from the blankness. But the cure is dangerous.”

“But it works?” Teresa is looking hungrily at my mate. I draw Aurora closer to me. I won’t let these people take advantage of her.

She nods, a little reluctant. “Once I’ve driven it out, you can’t be taken again. But we don’t know how to stop it for good, not yet.” Aurora shivers. I wish I’d brought a coat to give her.

“Still, it’s something,” Andy says. “Why not let us bring one or two of the affected to you for treatment?”

Aurora is getting frustrated. “It’s not that simple. The shard—the blankness, it’ll just infect someone else.”

“I won’t have rogues on my land,” I add. Especially when the expelled shards are likely to go into one of my pack mates.

A commotion draws all of our attention. Teresa is curled on the ground, shaking and twitching like she’s being electrocuted. Aurora, generous heart that she is, tries to go to her. I hold her back.

I’m not letting her go near a rogue under normal circumstances. I’m absolutely not sending her to one possessed by her worst enemy.

The rogues are all backing away from her. Typical. Abandoning her when she’s in need. “It’s happening again,” I hear them saying to each other. Fear makes the air burn.

The tremors stop and Teresa is still as death. Then she sits up, jerky and mechanical. She opens her eyes, but they look at nothing and her face is smooth and still.

Nemesis has possessed her body. She was taken right in front of us and there was nothing we could do to stop it. ~How do you fight a Goddess?~