Running with Rogues

CHAPTER 13 - DRINK UP

Lewis was staring at Liam, too, now, trying to work out what the hell his brother was talking about. My back was the only thing between eye contact and another fight.

"Liam's with us," Mam said coldly, "and that's all you need to know."

"If you're working with one of the Alphas, I think we deserve to know," Lewis retorted.

Isaac wasn't paying them the blindest bit of attention. He hadn't taken his eyes off Liam, and he was smirking now. "Whose are you, then? Don't look like a Lloyd, and you're not one of ours. I reckon Chris is too uptight. So which is it? Lowland or Silver Lake?"

"Come on," I told Liam. "Let's take a walk."

He didn't need to hear this. Not again. But he just rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm alright, Eva. Really."

Liar. He just didn't want them to think he was running away.

"Silver Lake," the younger brother said, his lip curling. "It's got to be. Good old Keith Vaughan had a whole flock of kids running around. So — what, you're working with Mason?"

Liam stood up abruptly, and I grabbed a handful of his shirt. It was always hard to tell when his wolf was out because his eyes were so dark anyway, but it was fair to assume he was making an appearance now, because a low growl rumbled through his chest.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Mam assured them both. "We want Mason's head on a bloody spike, and so does Liam. Got it?"

He shrugged. "I'm right, though, aren't I? He's one of Vaughan's bastards."

"I reckon so," Isaac agreed. "Not much resemblance, mind, save for those eyes..."

Liam tried to take a step forwards, only to slam into Rhodri, who'd moved quicker than he had.

"Oh, and the temper, of course," Isaac laughed even as his eyes swirled black.

"Why don't you shut up?" I asked him hotly. I let go of Liam — if he wanted to throw a punch, I wasn't going to stand in his way — but Rhodri didn't budge an inch. The whole situation was a little delicate, what with Liam about three seconds away from committing first-degree murder, and Mam didn't fail to notice.

"You three are going to clear off," she told us.

We all looked at her with frustration in our eyes and insolence in our hearts. It felt an awful lot like we were getting punished when the flockies were the ones picking a fight. It took me a hot minute to realise that I didn't even want to be here. We could stand guard here for the next hour, listening to those shitheads, or we could go and have some actual fun.

"Yes, we are," I said cheerfully, giving Liam a shove towards the trees. "I'd say it was nice meeting you all, but ... that would be a big fat lie."

"Likewise," Isaac Fletcher muttered.

The boys weren't moving quick enough for my liking, so I tugged on the link. "Screw them, alright? Let's get good and drunk."

That did the trick. Once Rhodri started moving, half the battle was already won, and he helped me push Liam away from the flockies. We were home free as soon as we were into the trees, but that didn't mean the argument was over. Their voices chased us through the trees for nearly a full minute. I kept peering back over my shoulder.

"How do we know you're even rogues?" Isaac drawled.

About half of Ian's raiding team fell about laughing, but Mam just threw her hands up in the air. "Do I look like a flockie to you?"

He shrugged. "Jackson might be paying you. If we walk into his pack house, he gets to execute all three of us in one fell swoop. So, please, give me one good reason why we should trust a word that comes out of your mouth."