The Rogue

IX

*Faye*

Mr. Nick grew more antsy the more information he revealed to me. I couldn't believe my dad knew about wolves all along and never told me. What did he think of my sister's attack? Had he known about wolves even then, all those years ago? Was it possible he may have even known the wolf who attacked her?

"He's going to kill me," Mr. Nick said quietly, guiltily. "For abandoning my post. He'll find me eventually, and, when he does, it'll be my dying breath."

"But you're his friend," I assured him with a troubled smile. "My dad isn't a killer, Mr. Nick. He wouldn't do that to you."

"You only know what he chooses to show you."

My heart squeezed in my chest. He was lying. He had to be. I knew my father. I knew the fun, spontaneous, rough, playful parent who had showered me in fatherly affection and protection. My father wouldn't hurt a fly.

"I don't believe you," I whispered, unable to meet his gaze.

"Well, it doesn't matter, I guess. You'll see for yourself."

"What makes you say that?"

He bit his lip and shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "He'll be returning from overseas soon. I don't know when, but he will soon. When he finds out that I was unsuccessful in bringing you back to Tidy Heights and in eliminating the threat..."

"The threat?" I demanded. "Who? Rian?"

A simple nod was his response.

My hands fisted at my sides as I growled, "This is ridiculous. Why would my dad want Rian dead?"

"Because he knows what wolves are capable of. He doesn't want that life for you." Shaking his head, he admitted, "I would probably feel the same way if I had a daughter to protect. Except I'm a wolf and I know that this is just how things are. Wolves will be wolves. Rian won't let you go, even on his deathbed. It's just what the anima bond does to us."

I stood in silence to consider this, using his shadow to shade my eyes from the brutal desert sun. None of this seemed possible. I couldn't imagine my father, the man who loved me, my mom, and my sister so much, to be so deceitful. People aren't supposed to lie to those they love.

More than the betrayal, I felt like a total idiot. How had I never known? Not only about my father but also about Mr. Nick? How could someone hide their wolf so well? Granted, Rian's cousin, Michael, seemed to hide his wolf perfectly well as a teacher at my school. He had always been weird, though not in the supernatural sense. He seemed normal and human because of his weirdness.

"So," I said with a sigh, "are you just going to hide out here forever?"

"Pretty much," he replied, kicking at the sand. "Maxen will let me stay as long as I obey him. If I leave or try to return to the Rogue family back in Tidy Heights, your father will find me that much easier. I don't really have a choice."

"You're leaving your life whole behind? Doesn't that bother you?"

    Mr. Nick shrugged. "Not really. My pack and my job were the only things I had to live for. I'll miss the army and doing missions for your father, but this is the first time in my life I'll be free."

    "But you work for Maxen now...so you're not really free."

    "We're a family, but we're still Rogues," he told me. "We are still independent in some ways. No animas. No alliances. No responsibilities. The liberty is part of the reason I deserted my pack as a teenager; I didn't want the burden of the pack."