Chapter Seven

I looked at the greying haired Alpha in front of me and resisted the urge to flash my teeth at him in agitation. I kept my eyes firmly off of the younger male standing beside him as I cursed myself and my stupidity. It had been foolish to trek through the top corner of their territory but I had done so and now I was caught.

Again.

A curse tried its hardest to worm its way up my throat and out my mouth but I forced it down. It fought against me hard but I managed, despite the taste it left in my mouth to kneel in front of the pompous male behind the desk. Even if I wanted to stand, the hands that held my shoulders tightly wouldn't let me move a muscle.

"Well, this is a predicament. Jonas, my son, explain for me." The male's rolling voice held dominance and authority but it only made me bristle. I didn't do authority or Alphas. I didn't. It was part of my nature. I was the firstborn of a firstborn. It didn't matter that my mother had been born female and had been cast aside. The Alpha position as hers by birthright, the power that came with it as well, and so by my birthright I was an Alpha as well. So I didn't particularly like kneeling before males who believed they were more than me.

"She's my mate." His voice was cold and I felt my eyes slide to him. He was practically faceless to me. I didn't care what he looked like. I never cared what they looked like. I felt another curse work its way up my throat. Fuck my Alpha Blood and fuck the fact that the only requirement to mate with me was having Alpha Blood. It was a huge pain in my ass.

"You are telling me, that she, a muddie, is your mate?" He looked at his son. There was an edge of disdain to his voice and I bristled further at the insulting name. I was not a muddie. My wolf was powerful but I had a harder time reaching her because of the numerous rejections I had suffered. It was if each rejection had been a brick that had been placed between me and her.

"Unfortunately yes." He ground the words out and I rolled my head slightly, my muscles were tensing as if I wanted to shift but I knew it wouldn't come. I was tired of listening to the two arrogant males who believed they were above me in status.

"What are we-"

"Okay, here's what's going to happen." I drawled it out, cutting off the Alpha. His eyes snapped to me at my blatant disrespect. Waves of dominance radiated off of him but they simply slid off of me, bristling the faint form of my wolf in my head. The air grew tense and I rolled my head, shrugging my shoulders, ignoring the painful grips the two warriors had on me. I pointed to Donis, or whatever the fuck his name was. "You're going to reject me and after I accept it, these two assholes are going to escort me to the edge of the territory." I jerked my thumbs at the warriors behind me and I could feel their aggression from my insult and I rolled my eyes.

I focused on the Alpha. "I'll leave and never come back because believe me." I flicked my gaze to his son, letting me gaze rake over him before I let my lips curl up in slight disgust. I could feel how offended he was from just the look. "I want nothing to do with your pathetic excuse for a son. I want to continue on my merry way, ignoring jackasses like yourself." I tilted my head and the Alpha narrowed his eyes to near slits. I raised my hand and looked at my nails completely unconcerned for how he was feeling.

"Or we could not do that. You will have your son reject me and I will never accept it. I will escape. That way I could run all over the countryside for years never letting him find another mate or create a precious little heir for your towering beacon of power you call your pack." The sarcasm filled my last words and I watched at the Alpha's face blackened. "And believe me I would escape. I'm a rogue. A lone wolf. I know my way around escaping." I flicked my gaze back up to him and I watched as he realized which was the better option. They always did, it was so predictable I could practically set a clock to it.

"Alright, muddie." He put emphasis on the word and I shrugged completely uncaring about the situation. This was situation number twenty-nine if I had recalled correctly. The thought of the pain to come made small tremors wrack me. I craved that familiar burn like an alcoholic craved the harsh burn of their poison. He waved at the warriors and they reluctantly let me go. I brushed off my shoulders as if their grip made me dirty before I stood. "Jonas, please. Reject her so she can leave." He stared at me hard but I could see the faint glimmer of a smile. He wanted me to be in pain for my disrespect. He wanted me to burn. Unluckily for him, I wanted it too.

"What is-"

"Shey Lazera." I flicked my gaze to him and his eyes went wide and his father looked at me in consideration. The appraisal set my teeth on edge and I scowled before he opened his mouth. "Of no relation to those Lazera. I'm just a coincidence so put those scheming brains to rest." I crossed my arms over my chest. It was a lie. I was the granddaughter to Sulo Lazera, the former Alpha of the Torvus pack. It had been one of the largest in the country, nearly three hundred members strong from what my mother had told me. Bitterness always coated her words when she spoke of her father and the pack. I didn't blame her. He cast her away from her birthright as Alpha for the shame of being born female. As a result we didn't exactly talk about that shit often.

"Really?" The Alpha narrowed his eyes at me and I sneered at him in return. I wasn't going to tell the fool I was Sulo Lazera's banished daughter's first and only child. I was a powerful shifter, or would have been if the rejection hadn't chipped away my wolf until I smelled and felt practically human.

"Duh. Just look at me. So weak I'm practically human. Do you honestly expect me to be of that oh so prestigious bloodline?" I raised an eyebrow and the Alpha glowered at me but gave a reluctant nod to my words.

"Jonas, please, just get this over with." He pinched the bridge of his nose and I felt a surge of triumph for getting him to show his irritation.

"I, Jonas LaVerne, reject you, Shey Lazera, as my future Alpha female and mate." At his words the burning soared through me. I could feel it crawling through my veins in an attempt to make me cease to be. I rolled my head, letting my eyes flutter close at the familiar comfort of the pain. I let out a tiny groan as it reached its peak before I rolled my head again, smiling as it continued its silent burn through my body. Tremors ran through my muscles but I ignored them. I opened my eyes, looking at the confused Jonas and his father. The pain burned through me harshly but I was used to it. I could function normally, it was the only perk to being rejected as often as I was.

"I accept your rejection." I watched as Jonas's air whooshed out as if he had been sucker punched to the stomach. Pain contorted his features and I smiled at his inability to hide how much it hurt him. I flicked my gaze to his father. "I bid you adieu." I spun around and motioned for the two warriors who glowered at me.

"Come on you hulking gorillas. I need to get out of this territory before the smell sinks into my skin." I didn't wait for them as I pushed open the office door and followed the path they had used to take me to their Alpha. The burn faded, leaving me slightly cold and bereft. I was comforted by it almost. It was my only constant that reminded me Mene was still thinking of me. With every burning, with every rejection she was reminding me that I was who I was born to be.

I could hear thudding footsteps behind me as I pushed open the front door. The summer sun was bright and I stretched, shaking out the tremors that still held my muscles. I looked over my shoulder to the warriors. I winked at the one on the right. His blue eyes raked over me almost appreciatively. A warrior who approved of strength and resilience or utter stupidity, I wasn't sure when it came to insulting an Alpha and his son. I almost wished for a bit of time to take a tumble in the sheets with him. He looked like he knew what he was doing. However I needed to leave the territory. I felt like walls were crushing down on me and I could feel my heart start to pound. I didn't do well being trapped or on territories.

I gave a smile I hoped wasn't strained. "Alright, you big hunks of male flesh. Do I get the pleasure of your escort?" I tilted my head and the blue eyed male gave a slow nod, his eyes taking me in once more. I was now an unmated female and most males only saw me as a chance at sex. I didn't care, it was how the Old Ways were. Women were pup ovens. Our only worth was what was between our legs, especially if we were 'pure and virginal'. That was the first thing that I had given up while wandering around as a rogue. I didn't want to conform to the ways that had cast my mother from her rightful place so I did my best to do the exact opposite of what they wanted.

I watched as the blue eyed male's companion slapped his chest in warning, the appraising look left his light blue eyes and he stiffened as if someone had given him shit through his mindlink. I rolled my eyes and walked away. I was surprised at how bare it was around the house. There were so few trees that it should have made a shifter antsy. I didn't trust shifters that lived further away from the forests. We were at home in the trees and mountains so the ones who didn't live near them were unnatural.

I lazily made my way down the driveway. It was the easiest way to make it to a neutral highway. I shoved my hands in my pockets, listening to the two warriors who were following me. Their boots scuffed along the gravel, making it crunch underneath their weight. "I have a joke. Do you want to hear it?" I glanced over my shoulder and the blue eyed male was trying to keep his face serious but I could see the curiosity in his eyes. "Why did Kermit feed Mrs. Piggy grape juice and lemons?" I turned around, walking backwards, a smile tugging at my mouth. I needed to do something to distract me from the fact I was on a territory.

"Anyone have a guess? Ol' blue eyes? Sombro over there?" I looked at the black haired male who had smacked Blue Eyes. He didn't look amused with my nickname for him. I smirked as I turned my head to look at Blue Eyes. "It's because he likes sweet and sour pork." I watched as his mouth twitched and he strained at keeping his face expressionless. I turned around and skipped for a few moments before jumping around and looking at them. "I have another one. Want to hear it?" I looked between the two of them with a smirk. "Mickey mouse is in court because he wanted to divorce Minnie. The judge looks at him and says, So it says here you want to divorce Minnie on the grounds she is insane. Mickey scowls and says, No I said it's because she fucking Goofy." I watched as Blue Eyes gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Sombro looked stern and sombre as always.

I let out a sigh before turning around once more and skipping again. I always felt energetic after a rejection. I wasn't sure why and I never questioned it. Although I wondered if it was because of how I was born. My father had learned who my mother was and had rejected her at six months pregnant. The rejection caused me to be born early. I nearly died and as a result my mother killed my father, her wolf driven by her need to keep me safe. I had been born to the fiery waves of rejection and I guessed it was just a part of me. I wasn't destined to be loved.

"Okay, I have another one. What is long, hard and full of semen?" I whirled around, a large grin on my face. Blue Eyes was avoiding looking at me and Sombro was staring straight ahead. "A penis! Oh shit. I mean submarine. How did I cock that one up?" I nearly jumped when Sombro let out a bark of laughter.

He looked at me, his brown eyes amused before he nodded. "Good one." At his approval I beamed widely. "Got anymore?"

I nodded enthusiastically at him. "Did you hear? Cinderella was fired from Disneyland." I looked at him, my eyes dancing with amusement before he shook his head.

"I did not know that. Why?" He looked around and I glanced at Blue Eyes who had an almost dark frown on his face. Jealousy was always a dark and dangerous beast.

"Yah, she was found bouncing on Pinocchio's face screaming, 'Lie, you motherfucker! Lie!'" I wiggled my eyebrows and he laughed loudly and even Blue Eyes gave a small chuckle. I turned around and continued my trek. "What did the hurricane say to the coconut tree?" I glanced over my shoulder and Sombro jogged slightly to fall into step beside me. He shrugged and looked at me expectantly. "Hold onto your nuts, this ain't an ordinary blow job." He gave another bark of laughter and I felt pleased. Hanging around the neutral highway bars was always good for information as well as a laugh. I had learned quite a few off-coloured jokes while wandering in and out of them.

"You're amusing, you know that?" He said it low and I shrugged. We all had our coping mechanisms, mine was humor.

"Eh, I need a sense of humor. I have to deal with jackasses all the time." It was the truth. If I didn't have my biting sarcasm and humor I would have offed myself a long time ago. Dealing with pompous Alphas, irritating sons of Alphas, and idiotic pack warriors was enough to make me want to turn into an alcoholic or want to throw myself off of a bridge.

"So what was that? The rejection barely fazed you. You brushed it off like it was nothing." He was looking at me and I shrugged again. I could see the highway growing closer. Freedom was at my fingertips, it was a nice feeling. I wanted to throw off the slight panic I felt from being on the territory. I wasn't built to be a pack wolf, I wasn't meant to be trapped.

"Let's just say this wasn't my first rodeo, Sombro." I glanced up at him with a grin and he frowned at the nickname.

"Sombrero? Really? I'm not even Mexican." He looked at me and I raised an eyebrow, he was way into left field with that one.

"First of all. It's Sombro not sombrero. Secondly I called you it because you were sombre, not because I thought you looked Mexican, you racist." I watched as he looked shocked before I burst out laughing. "Your face! You looked like you just shit your pants."

"That's just his normal expression." Blue Eyes fell into step beside me and I clapped enthusiastically.

"And Blue Eyes has joined us! Welcome to the party. There are no snacks, no booze, and I get kicked out in the end. Fun!" I looked at him and he shoved his hands into his pockets. "How did I get so lucky as to be escorted out of the territory by such handsome gentlemen?" I could hear their faint scoffs.

"You called us gorillas." Blue Eyes sounded almost offended and I made a face of disinterest with the subject. I wasn't one to stroke a male's ego for the sake of it.

"Don't take it personally, that was to piss off your Alpha." I shrugged and watched as a vehicle sped by on the highway. It was a dark grey. I hated the fact I didn't have a car but in order to have a car one needed money and I had no money. I could have if I cooperated with the Hunters but much like in the ghettos of the mundanes, I didn't work well with the popo.

"Why did you try? He's an Alpha." Sombro sounded stern and I let out a tight chuckle.

"And I'm a rogue. It goes with, pardon the pun, the territory. I hate authority, your Alpha is authority." I looked between the two of them, their mouths turned down into frowns. I let out a sigh. "You guys have always had a pack, a family to come home to, to lean on. I was born rogue. I don't have the same values as you and I can't stand Alphas." I shrugged once more before making my way towards the highway. I stepped onto it, feeling the oppressive feeling of the territory leave me. I nearly sighed in relief as he feeling made the panic slowly slide away as if it never existed. I looked back with a frown on my face. Sombro held out my backpack and I took it before slipping it over my shoulders.

I took several steps backwards. "Your Alpha is going to get you guys killed. He's lax in patrols and is so high on his self-importance that he doesn't see any threats." I watched as they bristled at my comment. I wanted to sneer at their blind loyalty. "I'm just saying. Watch your northeast border more. Rogues like to talk and they have been talking around here. I'll see you around maybe. Probably not though, you will probably be dead by the time I come back this way." I turned around and waved my hand in the air in a goodbye. I didn't care but Blue Eyes and Sombro didn't really need to die because of a shit Alpha. A warning is all I would give them.

I jogged across the highway and started to walk down it. I held out my thumb. "Hey!" At the shout I looked over the highway and smirked when I saw Sombro.

"What do you want?" I bit back a chuckle. I had expected Blue Eyes to try and call out to me. Sombro just looked too serious. He was handsome, as per mostly every shifter, but he was serious about his job.

"I can give you a ride to the next town over, if you want." He looked earnest and I wanted to tell him no but I didn't want to linger close to their territory. I was pretty sure the Alpha wouldn't take kindly to it and would send someone after me. No one would miss a female shifter not even in the Hunter Database.

"Actually, that would be lovely. Thank you." I shifted my backpack and watched as he shifted before he headed back to the house. I waited on the side of the highway patiently. If Sombro could give me a ride to the town over it would put a good hour between me and the Alpha's wrath. Maybe that was why Sombro had offered. It made sense in a way. Perhaps I wasn't the first rogue to pass through the territory and insult him.

I shifted on my feet and shifted my backpack as several cars passed. No one stopped and for that I was thankful. I wrinkled my nose, it had been nearly ten minutes and I hated standing out in the open where the territory patrols could see me. I glanced at the driveway that lead to their pack house when the rumble of an engine filled the air. I shook my head. "Please Mene, don't let Sombro be a bad boy." I bit back a curse as a motorcycle pulled onto the highway and the male of the hour held out a helmet as it stopped in front of me. I looked at it and then him before pointing at him. "Motorcycle, leather jacket, aviators, and a dark mysterious attitude. Does that help you get laid or are you just doing it for fun?" To my surprise he laughed loudly.

"Gets me laid all the time." He gestured with the helmet and I took it before putting it on.

"I always wondered about that. No one ever wants to just sit there and act all dark and brooding all the time. I knew it had to be a shtick to get laid." I buckled the helmet under my chin and he pressed a hand to his chest, a rather offended look on his face. His entire demeanour was different from what he had been like from before. I appreciated the change.

"I lay mad pipe with this get-up. Don't diss it." He brushed off the front of the leather jacket and patted the seat behind him.

"Hey, if the females are dumb enough to fuck you because of this persona, you deserve to 'lay mad pipe'." I smirked at his chuckle as I threw my leg over the seat and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"You're right about that, Cowgirl." The nickname made me jolt slightly and I frowned.

"Cowgirl?" I tightened my arms around his waist as he revved the engine.

"You referenced a rodeo so I'm calling you Cowgirl." He laughed before he accelerated rather quickly, causing me to let out a small cry and hug him tighter.

"Fucking asshole!" I shouted it over the sounds of the engine and the wind blowing around us and his back rumbled and his shoulders shook with laughter. I couldn't help but smile at his actions. Sombro actually had a semblance of a personality. I was impressed.

Trees whipped by as we went faster and I was pretty sure we were well over the speed limit. For a brief moment I almost wished that I could mindlink with Sombro. It was kind of lonely being stuck in my head all alone. My mother was the last one I had a link with and she was dead. I pushed the thought away as quickly as it had entered my head and reprimanded myself for thinking about her.

"Where are we going?" I shouted it loudly and prayed to Mene that Sombro could hear it over the rushing air.

He turned his head slightly, keeping his eyes on the road. "A town called Halsmark. Near Fortis pack territory. About two hours from here." His voice was barely audible above the sounds bombarding my ears but I nodded. Two hours away meant I would be much safer. I had never come around Fortis before so I hadn't made any enemies around the territory. I wondered how long that would last for. I knew as long as I kept away from the territory and the Alpha that I would be fine.

"Go there often?" I was curious about my no longer sombre Sombro's personal life. I didn't usually get attached to others. It made it more difficult to walk away, especially if they were in a pack but Sombro seemed like he was fairly chill with walking away.

"Yah, extraordinarily hot females up that way." At the rather college aged scripted response I laughed loudly. Of course a handsome male like Sombro would head to various towns to scope out the 'hot females' and plan his nights out according to the level of hotness he found. I knew his type. I shook my head but leaned closer to him. Sombro was amusing.

It didn't feel like we had been driving all that long before he pulled into the turn off for the rather nice sized town of Halsmark. The engine of the bike no longer roared like a beast and I relaxed my grip on him. "Hey, Cowgirl, do you want me to drop you off at a motel? If I recall there are several good ones. I can recommend you my favourite." The question made me imagine him wiggling his eyebrows at me and I laughed before I thumped his side with my fist.

"No. I don't want your favourite hook up hotel. Just pick the cheapest one." I didn't have a lot of spare cash just lying around and a motel was kind of a big expense that I couldn't exactly afford. I always scraped by doing odd jobs or stealing if I got desperate. I usually avoided the mundanes and stayed in the rogue bars or the forests. It was free for the most part and lacked the curiosity of the mundanes.

"You're no fun. There's this one where the rooms are themed. Honeymoon suite all the way. Females go nuts for it." He chuckled at the disgusted sound I made and I rolled my eyes once more. I could only imagine, candles, cheap champagne and a large, velvet, heart shaped bed that had seen one too many naked people.

"I'm fine. I would prefer not to roll around in jizz covered sheets." I smiled as he laughed loudly, the sound rolling out of his mouth rather smoothly. I could see why females fell for his rather cliched tricks.

"Cowgirl, I can definitely tell you aren't on your first rodeo." Rich chuckles still emerged from his mouth and I had to admit it was nice. He was too much of a meat head for my taste. I preferred my men a bit leaner and far away from pack warrior or Alpha positions.

"I've been on my own for eight years. I should fucking hope this isn't my first one." I leaned back on the seat as we slowly turned a corner. "So the pack that's here, which way is it?" I looked around and he pointed to the northwest.

"Fortis is about ten minutes there. They are close to the mountains so there are really no other packs around. You go up on the mountains further north you will find some but those shifters are fucking crazy so I would advise against that." He pulled into a motel by the forest and when he stopped the motorbike I slowly slipped off and stretched my tense muscles. I reached up and took the helmet off before handing it to him. This would be where our friendship ended and I found I would miss him just a tiny bit. I had known him for less than four hours but he had grown on me, like a wart, or an unseemly rash.

"So this is where we part ways, Sombro." I smiled at him and he gave a solemn nod.

"It seems it is, Cowgirl. Any ideas onto where you are going?" He shifted on the seat before leaning his arms against the handle bars of the bike.

I shook my head. It was better to not know where you were going, people couldn't track you that way. "None, you?" I crossed my arms over my chest and I noticed how his eyes flicked down to my chest for a brief moment. I resisted the urge to smack him upside the head. Male shifters and their libidos would drive me off of a fucking cliff with irritation.

"I can't go home without a story or two." He laughed and I rolled my eyes as I shifted on my feet.

"Okay, really?" I couldn't really blame him for taking the opportunity. He was male after all.

"What, Cowgirl? Did you think I offered you a ride out of the goodness of my heart?" He smirked at me with a rakish wink and I rolled my eyes once more. I swear I had rolled my eyes more in the last two hours with him than I had in the past six months. I had a feeling that if it continued I would roll my eyes right out of my skull.

"According to your get-up you don't have one. Or have been hurt too many times to let anyone else have a chance at it but after a few drinks that female who has been looking at you just might have the chance at cracking the icy shield around your heart." I said it as dramatically as I could and Sombro's expression showed me he was impressed.

"Shit, you would make a seriously good wingman." He gave me an appreciative look. "You busy tonight?" I chuckled at that and shook my head.

"Just busy enough that I can't help you lay mad pipe." I reached out and grabbed his shoulder. "You will be fine. Just buck up and don't drink too much. We don't want little Sombro to sleep all night." I glanced down at his groin before looking back up and quirking my eyebrow at him knowingly.

He leaned back and laughed loudly, drawing the attention of a few mundanes who wisely walked away. "Fuck, Cowgirl, you're hilarious." He slapped his jean clad thigh and shook his head, chuckles pouring from his mouth.

"Thanks for the ride." I meant it honestly. It was a kind gesture that he hadn't needed to do

"I could give you a different one. One that puts you in reverse." He wiggled his eyebrows at me teasingly and it took me a few seconds to understand what he said.

My mouth dropped open in disgust and I punched his shoulder. "That's nasty, Sombro." I narrowed my eyes slightly before I smirked. "Besides, I was honestly getting hot and bothered for Blue Eyes." His mouth dropped and he scowled playfully.

"Him? He's a fucking idiot!" He shook his finger at me and I gave him a pointed look.

"And you aren't." I watched as he closed his mouth before grinning with a shrug.

"You've got me there."

I gave him another smile. "But seriously, Sombro. Thanks."

"No worries, Cowgirl. Now. I went through your backpack and Blue Eyes stole your cash and a few things." Sombro shook his head in disgust and I felt oddly violated. I hated the fact I had wanted to tangle with him. He didn't deserve that, the thieving prick.

"What? That's all the shit I have!" It was kind of personal fact to admit but the bastard had taken my shit.

Sombro looked actually ashamed for his pack mate as he reached into his pocket. "I rolled him and got your stuff back." He pulled out a wad of cash that seemed larger than it needed to be. "I figured because the bastard took your cash that it was only fair to give you his. I nicked it from his room and wallet. I'm sorry about that." I hesitantly took the cash and gaped, there was nearly twenty-five hundred in hundreds and fifties. I swung my backpack off and quickly shoved the money into the compartment it belonged. I felt my heart sink. I didn't know what else he took and I rummaged through the stuff in my pack, cursing when I couldn't find my mother's necklace. It was all I had left of her.

"No, no, no, no, no, no! It can't be gone!" I rifled through the stuff but the necklace was gone. Tears filled my eyes and I bit my lip hard.

"Hey, cowgirl. Calm down. Is this what you are looking for?" Sombro held out a familiar moonstone pendant and I snatched it from his hands, holding it tight to my chest. That bastard had tried to steal it from me. Intense gratitude filled me for Sombro. Without thinking I threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you so much! It was my mother's. It's all I have left of her." I pulled away and Sombro was smiling widely.

"You are welcome. I was just wanting an excuse to roll the prick. He's pretentious." He nodded at me and I kissed his cheek firmly, biting back a smirk as his face tinged slightly pink.

"Thank you." I carefully put the pendant around my neck, tucking it into my shirt. I couldn't leave it in my backpack anymore, that much had been made painfully obvious.

"You're welcome, Cowgirl. As thanks could you tell me what you meant by the warning you gave us after you left the territory." He gave me a serious look, his other demeanour peaking through for a brief moment. I could see the reason. Duty and personal life didn't mix too well.

"Rogues have been talking about this band of illegal rogues led by this male named Bryce Antonio or something like that. I don't know, I didn't really care but talk is going around that he's been scoping your territory for a few weeks. I think he wants to hit it." I kind of wished I had more information to give him but at the time of learning the info I wasn't paying attention to things I didn't care about.

"This male... he dangerous?" He looked at me serious and I nodded. I hadn't met the male but from what I heard he wasn't anything to laugh at.

"They assigned an Enforcer to his case. Julia Savage, the best Enforcer they have apparently. Dude exposed himself to mundies and some other hostile shit." From what I remembered, if the Hunters assigned her to your case you either did something very wrong or they didn't care if you came back alive. The bitch was brutal, mundane or not. At least that is what I had heard from the various rogues I had hung around over the years.

"Oh shit." He looked almost shocked and I nodded. Julia Savage's reputation always preceded her. She served as a walking reminder that not all mundane's were weak. She had a nasty reputation for fucking people up just for looking at her wrong. I honestly thought she had an inferiority complex stemming from her need to constantly prove herself to the shifters but no one ever agreed with me on that assessment.

"Yah, shit is right but I heard his crew is looking at your territory and everyone knows your borders are lacking on the northeast side. Just take care of yourself, okay?" I didn't want to worry about him. He was a large shifter, probably very well trained but an ambush was an ambush.

"I will. I'll probably stop by the Hunter's office nearby and take out some files on Mr. Bryce." His face was grim and I reached out and shoved his shoulder.

"Sun's setting. Do it tomorrow, party tonight." I smiled at him. He honestly needed to let loose. I felt almost bad for turning him back to pack work but he had asked and he had driven me out here.

"I will. Also, were you lying? I have never heard of more than one Lazera pack line." He looked genuinely curious and I shrugged. For some reason I trusted Sombro a bit. He wouldn't say anything and if he did it wasn't like anyone would believe him.

"If I was, I would be smart enough to stay away from packs and that portion of the country." It was all he was getting but he nodded, taking the hint I had given.

"Gotcha. Well I should be going. If I wait too long all I get are the sloppy drunk ones and I'm too much of a gentleman to take advantage." He winked at me before he revved the engine to his bike.

I crouched down and zipped up my backpack before throwing it back over my shoulder. "Bang an extra one for me, okay?" I winked back at him and watched as he laughed on the way out of the parking lot. The roar of his motor faded off and I let out a sigh. I looked over at the motel before looking at the trees. The urge to run was deep in my bones but I knew I couldn't run like I wanted to, not anymore. I couldn't shift anymore which is why Sombro and Blue Eyes caught me so easily. I couldn't rely on my wolf anymore so I was slower than normal. It had been about fourteen rejections ago that I had been able to shift.

I started towards the trees, it was better to not stay where the mundanes were. Despite the fact I felt and smelled like a muddie to shifters, I didn't like hanging out around mundies. I was still a shifter. I was still partially connected to my animal instincts. I preferred the company of my own kind and the animal side of me only ever saw mundanes as prey, despite the fact shifters had never truly eaten humans in hundreds of years. That was a crime worse than exposing yourself to them. You weren't given a chance to talk, you were straight up executed by a pack of Enforcers. Not one or two Enforcers but a standard pack, fifteen.

The sky was darkening and I looked around carefully. I didn't want anyone to spot me heading into the forest. The mundies would ask questions and try to stop me while other shifters would wait and then try to take advantage. When I was sure no one was looking I slowly jogged into the darkness of the trees. Despite the wall between me and my wolf I still had a shifter's senses and as a result I could see fairly easily in the dark once my eyes adjusted.

The forest was quiet but I could faintly hear the sounds of small creatures running around or fluttering from one branch to the next. As long as they continued to make noises I knew there was no danger. It had been the very first lesson my mother had taught me. I pushed the thought away, I didn't need to remember that. As I locked the memories away I felt a sudden urge to go to a temple. I lifted my head and sniffed, looking for a specific scent of moon vines. They grew along the ground or on the trees. They always lead the way to the temples. I was never told why but they followed all points of the compass and led you to the safety of the sanctified stone walls.

I caught the scent and started jogging towards it. The temples were my safe place, the one spot where I could sit and feel peaceful and quiet. The place where I could feel Mene's touch, her gaze and reaffirm myself that I was where she had wished for me to be. I darted around trees and fallen logs, looking for the specific flowers. I wasn't as religious as some but there was something comforting about the temples.

Temples were always built in the forests. There was usually one between every territory. Most of them remained empty but some of them had priests or priestesses. They were always well maintained though. The packs they sat beside always made sure to keep them in good repair lest Mene curse them for the neglect. I wasn't sure where exactly the temple would be but I knew it would be somewhere in the general direction I was heading. The flowers and vines never led wrong.