Chapter 5: Chapter 5

FIVE

Why does this green-eyed man make me so nervous? Why is it that I have only seen him twice which includes today but I wish to be around him every time?

Willow was trying to understand the dynamic which was her emotions right now. Over the last year she had learnt to do one thing, avoid werewolves she met outside of the club. She avoided them like she was keeping herself safe from some pandemic. This man on the other hand—she wanted to do the opposite. She wanted to stare into his eyes, hear his voice and know more than his name.

It’s either I am going crazy or this man is doing this to my mind. Can werewolves control someone’s mind and feelings? Her mind was running a mile per minute. She was thinking of all the reasons why this man wanted to speak to her. It was odd, the last time she saw him he had been with a woman and kids who she assumed were his wife and children. He had no reason to wish to speak with her.

Perhaps he knows what I do in the night? She asked herself this question with so much dread. She wished he did not, she did not want this intimidatingly gorgeous man to think less of her. But that was the only logical explanation she could form. Why else would a werewolf wish to speak to her?

Does he also want a night with me? But he has a wife–a beautiful one at that–and two cute twins. She shook the thoughts out of her mind and looked up, green eyes were still staring at her. She averted her gaze to the untouched food on the table.

Black was seated on a chair around a circled table, staring at the girl that filled his head, seated opposite him. He sighed and rested his back on the uncomfortable chair, still staring at her. He noticed how she would look up, stare at him and then avert her gaze. She looked nervous and he knew that he was the cause of it.

“What’s your name?” He asked.

She looked up with wide eyes. “...H-huh?” Black released an irritated sound, clicking his tongue obviously not liking the idea of repeating himself. Thankfully he did not have to, “W-willow,” she stuttered out, her cheeks reddening.

“Willow,” Black tested the name of his tongue. Willow on the other hand never thought her name could sound any better.

Black looked around the restaurant, he wanted to ask so many questions. He wanted to ask why she smelled like rogues, not one but many rogues—this obviously bothered him. He wanted to know why she also smelled like a human, he had noticed it last time but now that he paid attention, he knew that she was a human-a nervous human. She was not a werewolf but if she smelled like rogues then she must know where they are even if she was a human. And he also wanted to know why she looked like she walked out of a car wreck, he had noticed her limping when she walked around the counter and the bruises.

“What happened to you?” He asked despite not wanting to come off as creepy. Was it weird that a part of him cared? That he wanted to know that she was okay and not being harassed.

“Excuse me?” Willow looked up at him, questions swimming in her eyes and offence because she knew that he was referring to her healing body. Black immediately regretted asking that question when she glared at him.

He decided to avoid any outbursts. “Why do you smell like a bunch of rogues?” Maybe it was better to ask the question that he had originally come here to ask.

Willow looked at him like he was crazy. Was that supposed to be the name of some expensive perfume? She could almost see the advertisement in her mind; a woman in some elegant Black dress with a handsome man holding her waist and a heavily accented voice saying ‘Rogue...a scent to drive you mad’. But her smarter side knew that he was not talking about expensive perfume, firstly because she does not have the money to afford expensive perfume and secondly because he clearly said, ‘a bunch of rogues’.

“What?” She looked at him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and multiple questions.

Black was now wondering if this was a good idea because the girl in front of him looked too clueless. He stuck his tongue into his cheek in annoyance, he was the one supposed to be asking the questions but the opposite was happening. The questions were being sent back to him. He looked around to make sure that no one was paying attention or listening to their conversation.

“Why do you smell like rogue werewolves, multiple of them?” He asked, his voice deeper and his eyes staring deep at her to get a reaction. Any sign on her face to show that she knew what he was talking about.

Willow flinched when he said that, she knew that he was a werewolf but she did not expect him to ask such a question. Levi had told her that werewolves stay under the radar and don’t pull in unnecessary attention. This man seated opposite her just admitted to being the creature that she fears and she wondered how to feel about that. What made her more curious is how he said she smelled like rogue werewolves. Are there types of werewolves? If so, have I only been surrounded by the type that he calls rogue?

“W-what do y-you mean?... I s-smell like me.” She tried to retaliate but Black gave her an unsatisfied answer as if he did not want that answer.

Having already seen her flinch and then mull silently over the question, Black was certain that she knew what he was talking about. If she did not know the whole truth then perhaps she knew where to find these rogues that were hanging out too close to a pack.

Black looked into her honey-brown eyes once more, something he had done more than he wished to admit since he had entered the restaurant. “Willow?” He called out when he noticed he starting to panic.

She looked up at him, looking scared. “I-I don’t know a-anything...I swear. Please l-leave me alone.” She was shaking and fumbling with words, avoiding Black’s eyes. She stood up in a hurry and left the table, rushing to the back despite the limping.

Black stared at the spot where she was seated, wondering what had spurred such a reaction. His eyebrows knitted in confusion before he sighed, stood up and decided to look deeper into the matter, probably without bothering the poor human. He sighed, obviously irritated for not having answers as he walked down the road. He did not expect her to react in such a way because of a question. She looked frightened for her life.

He had a hunch but he would not say anything to Isaac until he was certain. He now had to do this in another way to figure out what was going on around here. The smell of rogues in the air bothered his nose and he increased his pace as he walked away from the buildings. He crossed the road and walked into the woods, only shifting after he decided that he was far from civilisation. He ran back to the pack in his wolf form, jumping over branches and avoiding trees.

..........

Willow ended up back at home, shaken after what happened. When her boss saw her shaking, she insisted that she went back home or go to the hospital. She decided to go back home, her day ruined and her thoughts everywhere.

She thought of the man named Black and how fierce his green eyes stared at her. How his gaze and entire demeanour were intimidating but she found him attractive. She thought of his question and closed her eyes, never wanting to meet him again. Is that right? She asked herself. Do I really wish to never see him again?

She found him handsome and mysterious, the stoic look on his face and those eyes made her wonder and want to know what they have seen. But at the same time, she was scared of what he is and represented. She did not feel butterflies, that was silly but what she did feel was her nerves giving up on her when he was around.

She sighed and pulled her legs to her chest on the old couch that was in their living room. The television was off just like any other electrical appliance in the house. Willow’s mind went back to her reaction and how she left Black at the table. Something in her always snapped whenever someone talked about werewolves even when someone brought up Twilight, her throat tightened and it became hard to breathe. Her reaction to Black’s question did not shock her but she wished she had handled it better.

“I made a complete idiot of myself,” She whispered to herself.

She encountered werewolves every night but speaking about them out loud brought out a different reaction. She pretended to be strong, handling the situation but every part of her wanted to break. Every part of her was crumbling and ready to fall. She thought about Louis and his horrible men, the horrible werewolves that had sex with her and she felt nothing but hatred. And then she thought about Levi, relief was what she felt because he was a breath of fresh air.

“What did he say again?” She asked herself as she thought about her short conversation with Black. “R-rogue?...Is Levi a rogue werewolf too?”

Rogue is a term used to describe something wild, mischievous. Does that mean those werewolves are crazy? Willow’s mind was spinning with uncontrollable thoughts and questions to which she did not have answers.

I could be wrong and perhaps it’s a different term, like probably some werewolf language term. She settled on the idea of the probable existence of some unknown language that werewolves use to confuse humans.

“I’ll just have to ask Levi,” she nodded to that idea once she voiced it out and sighed feeling better that her questions would have answers by the end of the day. She closed her eyes and reclined on the couch, deciding to start off early in order to have time to ask Levi her impending questions.

:-)

Willow had made sure that she was earlier than usual and searched for Levi around the building until she found him behind giving orders to some men on how to handle the bottles of beer and wine. He turned to her and smiled mischievously when he saw her, surprised that she was early.

“Willow? This is surprising, I would have said it is a pleasant surprise but it’s far from that.” He said stopping in front of her. “I actually like it when you come late,” he said as he led the way near the bar where a young boy, around Willow’s age was attending to customers.

Willow felt lucky to even have someone worrying about her, she smiled at Levi and took a seat. “I want to talk to you,”

Levi raised an eyebrow and nodded, telling her to go on but she shook her head. “In private,” she said looking around the club that was filling with more people by the minute. The music was already becoming unbearable for her ears.

A look of concern crossed Levi’s perfect features making Willow frown before shaking her head. “I’m okay, I just have something urgent to ask you about.”

Levi led the way up the stairs as they ascended to the second floor and went to an empty room but unlike the other rooms on the second floor, this one was an office. The place was mildly furnished with a desk, chairs and other office equipment that Willow barely acknowledged whenever she entered Levi’s office. It was neat and orderly which was enough to display what type of person Levi was, he was not extravagant but he was neat.

Willow took a seat and so did Levi, ignoring the swivel chair behind the desk and taking the one next to her. He turned to face her, mentally giving her the go-ahead. Willow breathed in before thinking of all the multiple questions she had for him.

“Are you a rogue werewolf?”

Levi obviously did not expect that because his eyes scanned Willow’s face furiously. He wondered where she found out about something like that, he never mentioned anything about rogues or him being one. The shocked expression on his face was enough to make Willow fumble over her words.

“I-i’m not saying that y-you are...I-I don’t know, it could be some werewolf voodoo language...” She said unsurely as she looked at the wall behind Levi, avoiding his eyes. “T-this guy s-said that I-I...um smell like a bunch of...rogues.”

Levi was even more shocked by the time Willow was done stuttering. “What?”

“I thought he was weird but...I don’t know.” Willow breathed out.

Levi pushed his hair backwards with his hand, exposing his forehead. He sighed and looked up at Willow. “Did he smell like a werewolf?”

Willow nodded. “Yeah, but that’s the weird thing. I could tell that he is a werewolf but he did not smell like you or the others.”

Levi cursed out and groaned. “Fuck,” He now looked worried and Willow regretted telling him anything because of the look on his face. Her intention was not to cause him to worry.

“What’s wrong, Levi? He didn’t say anything more because I walked away.” I said trying to ease his worry. I was now scared without knowing the reason.

Levi looked at me and shook his head. “Nothing is wrong Wills and yes, I am a rogue and so is every other werewolf you’ve encountered except this guy.”

Willow had a shocked look on her face and more questions formed in her mind. “Is it a term in some ancient and unknown werewolf language?” She felt dumb after she asked the question and Levi laughed.

“No.” He laughed it off and took a breath. “Werewolves are born and survive in packs, it’s our way of life but when a werewolf does something unforgivable, they are exiled and thrown out of their pack...and they become rogues.” He paused and looked at Willow waiting to see her reaction but she was only looking at him through curious eyes.

He smiled at how innocent she looked, she did not deserve to be tangled with them in this messed up life. Levi had forgiven his brother for a lot of things but he was not certain if he would ever forgive him for ruining Willow’s life.

“Others choose to leave their packs willingly but at the end of the day something changes when a werewolf leaves their pack, they go rogue, unpredictable and dangerous.” Willow watched him as he explained trying to think of how he became a rogue.

He is not dangerous—unpredictable yes but dangerous, no. She kept her thoughts to herself.

“A rogue’s scent starts changing gradually the longer they stay without a pack and others believe that they start going crazy, losing their mind gradually.”

Willow gasped and looked at Levi with worry. “Are y-you going to go crazy?”

Levi smiled, amused but shook his head. “I’ve been a rogue since I can remember and I’m still okay.” Willow sighed with relief.

“Everyone around here is a rogue and the guy you met must be from a pack that is nearby. A few of Louis’s men had mentioned the fact that they are two packs in this city but we’ve stayed away from any territorial land for a while.”

“Territorial land?”

“Yeah, werewolves have that system and they're very territorial of their things, mates and land.” He explained and I was finally getting some of my questions answered but I still did not understand why Black was asking that question.

Levi saw the frown that marred Willow’s face. “We must be close to a pack and this guy you met thinks we’re a threat. Rogues have always posed a threat to pack safety and security.” He answered her unspoken question.

“Just avoid this guy if he approaches you and in the meantime, I’ll let my brother know that we’re probably too close to a pack.” He said and she nodded.

I don’t think I’ll see him again. She was certain that Black thought she was weird and never wanted to see her again. That was good. Right? She would have not been able to avoid him, which she was also certain of.

“Don’t worry, Wills. If he bothers you tell me and I’ll speak to whoever this guy is.” Willow nodded but she did not voice her words. She did not tell him that she would not burden him with something like that. He already had a lot on his shoulders with his brother and the club. She did not want to bother him.

“Thanks, Levi.” She said and wrapped her arms around him, sighing before pulling away and walking out of the room.

:-(

Hours later, Levi was standing in his brother’s office with a scowl on his face. Louis was grinning as a girl lifted her body from his lap and shot a flirtatious look at Levi. Levi ignored her and turned to his brother once the woman was out of the office.

“Hey little brother, I thought you hate me and my face disgusts you.” Louis teased, relaxing in his chair.

“None of that has changed.” Levi countered, voice and face empty and void of emotion unlike a few hours before. “Do you know anything about us being near a pack’s territory?”

Louis looked at his brother, a smirk forming. “Yeah, there’s some pack nearby.” He replied with a flick of his wrist.

Levi was astonished at how his brother treated this like an easy subject as he could just ignore that they were near a pack. They were just defenceless rogues and if a pack decide to attack them, they would all be dead. His brother’s attitude towards this matter made him wonder if for real he had actually lost his mind.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh come on brother, I’ve got rogues here working for me and others needing my services. No one expects something like this, rogues living together like a pack and if a pack attacks...we will be ready.” Louis replied with a smug look.

Levi shook his head. “I’m not going to mess with a pack, you do as you wish but there won’t be we...you’ll be alone, Louis.”

Louis's face morphed into pure anger and Levi recognised that look. “Are you going to abandon your big brother?!” He yelled and was already in front of Levi before he could say anything.

“Are you going to abandon me?!” He asked once again, his nostrils flaring and eyes darker. “Are you also going to leave me, you bastard?”

Levi could not get a word out before his brother’s hand landed on his face, a larger hand on his face and before he knew it fists and boots were hitting on his body. He curled on the ground, letting his brother release his anger on him. He had learnt not to defend himself, for his sake and his brother’s.

Tears threatened to pool out of his eyes. Things had not always been like this. Louis was not a monster and despite the difference only being a year between them, Louis had been the best brother and acted like the difference was ten years. He had been Levi’s guardian and taking care of him, now there was no trace of what once used to be.

People either crumble to their problems and fail to get up or they stand strong, face them and succeed or fail but fight regardless. Louis had tried to fight but he crumbled and Levi had wished to build him back but as he stared into his eyes, anger swirling in them.

Levi knew that he had lost his brother.