The Rogue

V

*Faye*

The fourth piece of a chocolate slid down my esophagus, coating my insides with warm, sugary delight. I was about to pop the fifth piece into my mouth when I heard the front door to the apartment open. My jaw dropped. I quickly replaced the top of the box of chocolates and jammed it back into its crack behind Maxen's dresser. Crap, crap, crap. Snatching up the wrappers, I hustled out of his bedroom and into the bathroom we shared.

"Faye?" his deep voice rumbled.

I didn't answer. I was too preoccupied with wadding the wrappers up into toilet paper. Just as my bathroom door opened, I crammed the crinkly wad into the trash can and sat back on my butt. My heart was racing.

"Are you...?" He paused outside of the toilet area, seeming unsure as to whether or not I was using the facility.

"Uh. No." I ran my tongue over my teeth to remove any chocolate from them. My criminal behavior needed some serious work.

Maxen's enormous frame stepped into the threshold. He towered over my sitting form with a curious look on his face. Then his lips slowly stretched into a smirk. My stomach twisted uneasily, guiltily.

"Did you find my chocolate stash?" he asked.

A blush reddened my cheeks as I swallowed. "N-no."

"You should know better than to lie to me, sweetheart," he said, squatting down to my level.

His finger reached out to brush the end of my nose before I could pull back. The end of his finger had a brown dot on it. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"This is either chocolate or poop, and I'm going to guess it's not the latter." Grinning, he licked the end of his finger. "Just what I thought. Now, do you want to tell me why you were in my bedroom?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and rested my back against the wall. My face had grown ever more red with shame.

"You know it's not polite to go through people's belongings," he gently scolded.

"Well, what else was I supposed to do?" I demanded, eyes looking up into his.

"Hmm...I don't know. Not go through my room."

"There wasn't much to find anyway. Just chocolate."

The lie forced my gaze to drop. I had indeed found other things. Some of which were along the lines of women's lingerie. Not that I would admit it to this pervert.

His emerald eyes danced amusedly. "Sure."

"Yeah..." I took a deep breath and pulled my knees into my chest, trying to put as much distance between us as possible. "So, what are we doing now?"

"What do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do?"

He realized the stupidity of his own question.

"I want to go home," I muttered. "That's what I want to do."

"Then it's unfortunate you're being held here against your will," he hissed.

"It is, isn't it?"

We glared at each other for awhile until he finally rose back to his full height. He extended a hand for me to take, but I ignored it and stood on my own accord. Rolling his eyes, he let out a petty snort.

"Looks like we're back to square one," I remarked coolly. "What is it that you want to do?"

"How about you start with my dirty laundry?"

"What?"

He stepped out of the toilet room and into the main bathroom space with another smug grin. "I want you to do my dirty laundry."

I bit my tongue. Who did this jerk think I was? His maid? My nails dug into my palms as I clenched my fists. This torment would only last a week. Then I could be enveloped safely in Rian's arms again.

"Fine," I replied, consoled by the mental image of Rian's smile. "Show me where your washing machine is."

So Maxen led me to his machines and brought out his dirty clothes. The hamper was piled high, so I knew it must've been weeks since he'd done it. Filthy animal. I imagined the last girl he'd taken captive had probably done his laundry. And seeing how it hadn't been done in awhile, it must have been a few weeks since he last had someone to boss around.

Loading the dirty clothes wasn't the worst part. Not even sorting through his soiled underwear. The absolute worst part was feeling him watch me while I sorted through his soiled underwear. There was no telling what was running through his mind, but I had a feeling I didn't want to know. I hoped Rian would get at least one good swing at him when this was all over and done with.

"Can I ask you something?" I said.

"Depends on what it is."

"Well...were you the first Rogue leader?"

"No."

"Oh." I wasn't sure what response I'd been anticipating.

"Can I ask you something?"

I shot him a coy smile over my shoulder and mockingly answered, "Depends."

He rolled his eyes again. "Can you, as a human, feel the anima bond?"

"What'd you mean?"

"I mean...do you feel the pull or whatever?"

Shrugging, I said, "Not really. I don't think so, at least." I finished loading the machine and closed the door. "I'd never fallen in love with anyone before Rian, so I don't know if the way it feels with him is natural or not."

"Hmmm."

After adding soap, fabric softener, and starting the machine, I turned to face him. Maxen was sitting at the kitchen table with his long, muscular legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. I wondered how old he was. Mid- to late-thirties, perhaps.

"So you've never met your anima?" I asked, leaning back against the washer.

"I don't have one." He shook his head. "I mean, I don't believe they exist."

"How can you not believe that when there are wolves everywhere with them?"

"Not my wolves."

"Your Rogues? None of them have animas?"

"Nope."

I nibbled on my lip. "Is that because...they've been rejected from their packs?"

"Rejected," he muttered snarkily. "Some of us leave our packs willingly because they're highly dysfunctional."

Instead of responding, I just stood there and stared at the floor tiles.

"Faye, look at me."

I didn't.

"Faye," he growled.

This time I did.

"Can't you see how your little boyfriend has brainwashed you?" he questioned. "You see wolves as something we're not. More special and magical than we are."

"The last time I checked, it wasn't normal for men to turn into dogs. So, it is rather magical, actually." I narrowed my eyes on him. "And don't make me out to be some naive human girl who has no clue what wolves are. I know what some of you are capable of."

"You know nothing. Only what your precious pack has let you see."

"You are the one who doesn't know anything," I snapped.

Tears burned in my eyes. Memories of my sister's broken, bloody body haunted me. Without thinking, I ran away and into my room. The door closed so hard it rattled the walls.

Thankfully, Maxen didn't come to see what the matter was or inquire what trigger he'd accidentally pulled. Because he didn't care. He didn't care what hurt me or what I had been through. And that was good.

It made it even easier for me to hate him.