Chapter 4: Chapter 4

FOUR

Black could not get the honey-brown-eyed girl from his mind and to make matters worse his wolf kept on bugging him. He wanted to see her again, to look into those eyes and to stare at her freckled cheeks yet the more sensible side told him that she was trouble and he should stay away. It was odd for rogues to be so close to packs and when they were it was usually a threat to the peace of a pack. He knew that the girl at the restaurant was not the only one, there were other rogues nearby. He could smell it, that place smelled like a whole rogue community.

Despite everything in his mind, he wanted to see her. She smelled like many rogues and he could not exactly get her exact scent which bothered him even more. And because this bothered him, he did what any sensible person would do in such a situation, he told his cousin. Isaac was the Alpha of Mediam Noctem Sidus, and it was only wise that he let him know what was going on. Rogues so near to their territory were supposed to be considered a threat. Even if they did not pose a threat now, it would be wise to consider them a threat.

Sure the distance was there between the pack and the location of the pack, both being on the outskirts of the city but considering territorial instincts, the rogues were too near.

“Rogues?” Isaac was seated in his office with a frown on his face now after Black mentioned that rogues were possibly living near the pack. “Why here, they must know that there is a pack nearby?”

“I could smell it and so did Zaira. She said there were never traces of rogues in the past when she would go there but now the place reeks of rogues.”

“That does not sound right. Why are they near my pack?” Isaac wondered but Black did not know the answers to his questions, he had his own tormenting thoughts about a certain female. “Do this, look into this problem and find out why there are rogues near the pack,” Isaac told Black who nodded before leaving the office.

Isaac sank back into his seat, scowling at the papers on his desk. He did not want to have to fight rogues again, he already had so many bitter past experiences with them. His own cousin and Black’s brother, Wyatt had gone rogue and caused so much damage. Isaac did not have any good memories that involved rogues and so his heart was only filled with bitterness when he thought of them.

Rogues were basically a disgrace to werewolf culture, they were either former members of a pack that had committed something terrible or those that just broke away from their packs. Most rogues did shameful things and took innocent lives because they were not fully sane, a result of not belonging to a pack. Werewolves were after all meant to survive in a unit known as a pack and when they broke away from that they became rogues, dangerous and insane.

The door to Isaac’s office opened and grey eyes stare at him. The woman in front of him always managed to make his heart beat a little faster, long, dark hair pulled up and tied, and gorgeous grey eyes. Aleisa always did that, made him feel like a stupid high-school boy in love.

“I saw Black on my way up here, poker face like always,” Aleisa said as she walked around the desk and stood in front of her mate who had turned the chair to look at her.

“He’s got some work to do...a rogue problem.”

“Rogue?!” Aleisa was very concerned and the look on her face showed exactly that.

“Don’t worry, Black is capable and will sort it out,” Isaac said, having a lot of faith in his cousin. “In the meantime may I know why you bothered yourself to climb the stairs to see me?” Isaac sounded amused especially since he knew that his mate hated stairs.

“Well, I missed my mate but since he wants to be a jerk I now want to leave.” Aleisa was about to turn around and leave but Isaac’s hand on her wrist stopped her.

“Why are you in such a hurry? I barely get time to be with you at home because Kace is a huge cock-blocker,”

“I didn’t make myself pregnant,” Aleisa answered back sassily and that was all it took for Isaac to pull her down to his lap and attack her lips.

Aleisa responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening the kiss.

........................

Willow was back on the second floor of the club, in her assigned room. Tears welled down her face as the handsome man above her left bruises on her neck and down to her bare and exposed stomach. She could feel his rough hands move against her body, exploring every curve and juncture—not in a good way though. Raw sounds left her lips as the man snapped off the last piece of clothing that shielded her body from this predator.

She sank back into the bed wishing for death, for her end. The man kept on going even when he could feel the tremble in her body and the pained sobs that left her mouth, he did not care. When Willow felt him inside her she willed herself to do the one thing she always did every night. She tried to force herself to lose consciousness but it did not happen, she could feel the pain as raw as ever.

She could feel it all as he slammed into her without holding back while he attacked the naked skin of her neck. She remained still in the bed as he had his way with her and felt no remorse for her despite knowing that she was a human. Her body did not feel like her own and she was still even the next morning as she looked at the ceiling with empty eyes. Her whole body felt unbearable, the pain firing through her whole body.

Willow winced and groaned as she raised her body and stood from the bed only to stagger. Tears still went down her face as she felt more pathetic and useless. She pulled up the dress she had been wearing the previous night and was about to walk out the door when it opened and a blonde-haired man walked into the room. Emerald eyes stared back at her and she pulled up the sleeve of her dress that was riding down, feeling naked in front of the man.

He smirked at her and walked closer. “Don’t cry mi amor, you know I hate to see you cry.” It was his mocking voice that made her feel even more pathetic.

How pathetic she had been to fall in love with those emerald green eyes and those stupid names he always called her. She had felt so alive when she looked into those eyes in the past when he would tell her how he adored her. But now she just wanted a chance to replay her past and make the right decisions—the decisions where she would have refused and ignored all his advances.

Louis walked closer to her and traced his fingers along her jaw, smirking devilishly. Willow flinched away and glared at him beneath her river of tears. An angry look crossed Louis’s face when she stepped away from him.

“Stay away from me, you bastard.” Willow sneered because his touch burnt her skin.

Her words only fuelled Louis’s anger more as he stepped closer and landed the back of his hand on her face. Willow landed on the floor, holding her face as all the energy in her body dissipated, she held her cheek and looked up at Louis who looked upset. He glared at her and grabbed her jaw, piercing his fingers into the hollows of her cheeks.

“Don’t test my patience, you’ve done that enough and look where it’s landed you.” Louis let go of her jaw after the imprint of his fingers was left. He glared at her one last time before walking out of the room.

Willow stared at the closed door and pulled her knees to her body on the floor, crying even more when memories of Louis on top of her body haunted her body. The first time she realised that he was a monster was when he took advantage of her weakness against his frame. She cried incessantly, sniffing and wincing at the mental and physical pain.

She did not notice when Levi walked into the room until when he pulled her into his arms and rubbed circles on her back to soothe her and ease her hysterical hiccups. She liked how Levi smelled, his scent had become a form of soothing medicine. He still had this certain smell that every werewolf around had but his natural scent made her feel better about herself.

“It’s okay Wills, my brother is a terrible jerk,” Levi whispered into her ears.

When Willow finally arrived for her job, she was an hour late and she had to apologise to the manager making up an excuse about a minor accident. The excuse did validate her excuse because she was clearly limping and had bruises. Luckily, Charlotte had not been home to witness her limp into the house and wince at everything. She found a small sticky note on the refrigerator, a message her aunt left for her.

‘Have some breakfast Willow and call me when you get back. —Char’

Willow knew from how extra messy Charlotte’s handwriting looked that she had been in a hurry to leave. It took her an hour and thirty minutes to fight the harsh bruises, take a bath, change into clean clothes and rush to the restaurant, promising herself to eat once there. The manager had tried to tell her that she could go back home and rest but she insisted to work and so the middle-aged woman let her work.

Now she was still working at the counter, heavy makeup on her face to conceal the bruises Louis had left and the neck to hide the marks of the night. The manager had assigned her behind the counter because it was the job that required less energy and she was even given a high chair. That was one of the upsides of working here, the manager was a kind lady. Three hours into her shift and she was starting to feel the effects of not having breakfast, she got off the chair and walked back into the kitchen and ordered a bowl of soup.

She walked back to the counter and started enjoying the warm vegetable soup. She did not notice the customer in front of the counter until they cleared their throat and she looked up too quickly that she forgot that her soup was hot. It burnt her tongue but she ignored the pain and smiled at the man before she frowned and realised that she knew who the man was. She did not exactly know him but she knew that he was the man that had come here three days ago and that his name was Black.

“Good morning sir, what would you like?” She swallowed down the thoughts she had been having ever since she had seen him. She had wanted to meet him one more time since three days ago. It had frustrated her that she had thought of him for longer than she would think of most men, it was like she had no control of her own mind anymore.

What upset her, even more, is that she knew what he was but still wanted to meet him. Despite him having a scent unlike the other werewolves she encountered, she could not let herself feel like he was not a threat. How could he not be a threat with his piercing gaze and poker face? There was no trace of emotions on his face and he looked so blank, at least the last time she saw him he did not look like he wanted to kill someone. Now as she stared at him, he looked like he was ready to harvest souls.

“Ribs.” He answered curtly before adding, “...and a word with you.”