Alpha's Mate

~12~

Lea hadn't intended to get lost. She knew the rules, but she couldn't help the desire to explore. To see all the forest had to offer. The rogues were very finicky when it came to members leaving at all. They had to stick together, when no one else wanted them.

But little Lea, she hated being cooped up. Wasn't that the point to having a wolf? To run and be free? At least, that's what she thought.

And everyday, she took the chance to leave and run. Being the daughter of a rogue Alpha wasn't always easy as she had several lessons in preparation for her future, but she found the time to escape. When no one was hovering over her she'd leave out the back door, evade all the patrolling members, and run off into the woods. 

She never ventured far to where she couldn't get back but that day, she'd found a fairy. They were so incredibly rare, nearly nonexistent from what she'd learned. And, being like any normal, rogue, eight-year-old, she followed the little thing.

The wings, so little yet so bright, were a color of blue and pink, fluttering quickly. Lea had giggled with joy and followed the fairy deeper into the woods, losing her tracks. It seemed like forever before the fairy finally flew away too quickly for Lea to catch with her eyes, leaving her stranded.

Lea had looked around, but no longer knew the way back. And she knew, if she was found, her father would angry. Very angry and he'd teach a lesson with his belt that was leather with pieces of silver. She shuddered, knowing no help would even come from her mother.

So she did the only sensible thing a scared child could do. She ran off.

And as the day grew darker and colder, the fear in her belly grew. She was really wishing she'd just run back home, faced her punishment then gone to her room and hug the teddy bear her grandmother gave her. Anything was better than this darkness.

She began to cry as she tripping, hitting the ground hard. 

"Show yourself rogue!" a dark voice snarled angrily, several footsteps echoing through the forest.

Lea quickly covered her mouth, crying softly, her blue jeans stained with dirt and her top soaked. She was shivering from the winter air, curling up tightly.

"I'll give you three seconds to show yourself and then I'll rip your head off!" the voice growled dangerously and she whimpered in fear.

Her father would be angry she gave up. If she died, at least it wasn't in a weak surrender. But the strange man's threats were too great to hide.

So she stood on thin, shaking legs and walked forward, stepping out of the trees. She was in a clearing, near a creek, the water reflecting the moon and the stars. She was distracted but looked up when she heard a gasp.

"It's a child. A rogue child," someone whispered and she looked around, hugging herself.

Lea swallowed, looking at the man in the middle with dark hair and weird eyes. He looked like a teenager but he was much taller than those she knew. She wasn't sure how, but she knew he was the Alpha.

The lessons her father taught her must've registered somewhere when she wasn't paying attention. She knew the man to his right was the Beta and the man to the left was his Delta.

"Please don't rip my head off," she whispered, kneeling down and hugging herself.

Vincent froze, his wolf so uncontrollable he nearly fell to his knees.

There was no way this child was his mate. A rogue one at that.

"What do we do, Alpha?" Rick asked, wanting to shed rogue blood.

"We take her to the pack house. She's still a child," was his only response as he walked forward and knelt down in front of her.

Leanne blinked, her eyes staring at Vincent's sleeping form. She'd been having these dreams since the night of the attack. It felt like a memory but it was so faint she couldn't grasp it when she awake. She had no knowledge of it.

She wasn't a rogue child, the daughter of terrifying rogue. She was the child of Richard and Elaine Darrows, a loving couple who had tried for years and failed until the moon goddess blessed them with her. She was their child and no one else's.

"Lea?" Vincent whispered and she shuddered.

She hated that name, and she didn't understand why.

"Yes?" she replied quietly, looking at him with unreadable green eyes.

"What's wrong?" he sat up, pulling into his comforting embrace that she immediately relaxed into, closing her eyes.

"Just a bad dream," she murmured, digging her face into his chest, her body fitting his perfectly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" his voice wasn't prying and she knew she didn't have to, so she shook her head.

The memory of the dream was beginning to fade again, leaving a hollow hole inside her mind. She shook it away, trying to focus on the event taking place that day.

Vincent was going to Mark her.

She knew she should've agreed to it right after they found each other but she'd been adamant on waiting. The mark would bring them together completely but what would seal it entirely was when they mated.

The thought of it scared her. Being a Luna and following pack rules, she'd have to start bearing his pups within the next year or two and she wouldn't even be twenty yet.

It made her anxious but Vincent's close proximity calmed her enough to lay back down and attempt sleep.

Being a Luna wasn't an easy job but she hoped she was doing good. What everyone needed now was a strong leader, not a frightened teenager.

If you enjoyed, please leave feedback. I'd love to know your thoughts.

What did you think of her father?

Of Vincent already knowing her?