The Rogues Mate

chapter 3

Lewis above 

Riley

Slowly, I turned around and came face to face with three wolves. two brown and a huge blonde wolf, his lips pulled back into a snarl to expose his sharp teeth. He was huge compared to me, most likely a beta or gamma of his pack. I could feel the power emitting from him as he went behind a tree to shift. Now, usually, I would have stood up for myself, growled, maybe even attacked, but I was on their land, they could have killed me on sight. A rogue trespassing on pack land is punishable by death, so I wasn't sure why they hadn't killed me. 

The blonde wolf walked out from behind a tree wearing only a pair of loose shorts, he stepped up to me, face to snout. "I am beta lewis turner of the Orcus pack, you are trespassing on pack land" he said, leaning down to my height.

"Shift" he commanded, stepping back in line with his warriors. He threw a t-shirt at me, and I caught it in my mouth, recoiling behind a tree to shift into my human form. I closed my eyes and felt the familiar cracking of my bones rearranging themselves, slipping the t-shirt over my head I looked down at my bare feet. The shirt came down right above my knees, for once I was grateful for my short 5"4 height. It must have been the beta's shirt because it was enormous on me, he appeared to be about 6" ft, and his t-shirt hung loosely on my slender body. I stepped out from behind the tree with my head down in submission. "why are you on claimed land rogue" he demanded. I cringed at the term he used, although I was a rogue, it still made the dull ache in my heart throb with longing. 

"I apologize, I didn't intend to trespass, I wasn't aware there was a pack on this land" I lied. I knew there was a pack, in fact, I remember when they came. It was three years ago, max and I were on the woods by the bunker when a huge group of wolves raced passed us, and there didn't seem to be an alpha leading their run. I knew immediately that it was a pack coming to live on the land. Thankfully, they moved passed us without notice and attacked the small pack that was living on our borders. 

"Don't lie to me girl" he snarled, and stepped forward to seize my arm. I stared at him when he said girl, I may be short, but I was clearly older than a child. He looked to be about my age as well. "I'm taking you to the cellars, you will speak with the alpha about your punishment" his warriors shifted into their human forms and grabbed both my arms, dragging me in the opposite direction. panic surged through me as I remembered max, he was alone in the woods, I started to struggle in their iron grips, trying to free myself to get to my brother. 

"let me go!" screaming I began to kick at the warrior's legs, "you don't understand! I need to go back, you cant take me!" they stopped walking, and the beta came up, stopping mere inches from my face. his eyes held malice, and he stepped back. Before I could react I felt a hand strike my face, snapping my head sideways. "silent rogue. You will cooperate or you will receive another blow to that pretty little face of yours. Understood?" he stated, hatred clear in his voice. The men continued to pull me away and I continued to struggle, calling put max's name, only hoping he could hear me. 

They proceeded to drag me until we made it to a clearing, an enormous mansion stood a few yards away, and wolves littered the front yard, their snouts turning in my direction at the unfamiliar scent. Beta lewis's eyes glazed over, indicating he was talking to someone through the mind link. He grabbed my chin and looked me in the eyes "The alpha will be here in a few minutes, in the meantime, you will stop struggling and when the alpha arrives you will do exactly as he tells you." he held his gaze, as if daring me to challenge him. I nodded slowly, and he let go of me, seeming satisfied and walked away. 

The two warriors held my arms tightly, and we stood there for what felt like hours. my mind wandered to my baby brother. Was he okay? Surely he had found his way back to the bunker by now, it had already been two hours since the beginning of our game. Although, he didn't know how to navigate the woods, he was only five. what if he had gotten lost, hurt himself? he might need me and I was stuck here, captive, powerless. 

My thoughts were cut short as a delicious smell wafted through the air and into my nose. it smelt like the trees after the rain, with a mix of... freshly baked cookies. my eyes closed, and I eagerly inhaled the intoxicating scent. Hearing footsteps, I peeled my eyes open, and came face to face with a man. He had striking blue eyes, dark hair, and tanned skin. To say he was gorgeous was an understatement, he gazed at me through his lashes and cleared his throat. 

"leave us" he ordered his warriors. His voice suited his stature perfectly, husky and strong, he was confident, and was the alpha of the pack. my wolf was running circles inside me, crying incoherent words. I tried telling her to slow down as I couldn't understand her, I was finally able to hear what she was saying 

"mate!" she shouted.

Mate? oh... OH! 

"hello" he said softly, I almost swooned at his voice, "my name is Dylan, and you are?" I stared at him in shock, I had a mate? his words registered, Dylan, it suited him perfectly. I continued to look at him and the shock wore off.

He smirked "what is your name?" he repeated, no annoyance in his voice at my lack of response.

"Riley" I muttered, turning my head away. He gently took my chin in his hands, just as his beta did, but without the force. I thought of max again, he was alone in the woods. The longer he was without me, the more frightened he would be.  My wolf whined at the thought of leaving our mate, but understood that max was more important at that moment. Before Dylan could process what was happening, I tore my chin out of his grip and took off in the direction Lewis brought me. 

I ran into the woods, and started to head the way I knew our bunker was, I could hear Dylan sprinting behind me and calling my name, but I didn't dare look back, fearful that my wolf would give in and run back to her mate. I could see the tree that marked the end of the territory, and pushed my legs further.

"Max!" I called, sprinting over the border. "please come out baby!" I continued to run determined to find my baby brother. "max! where are you?!" tears brimmed my eyes as I thought of the worst-case scenarios. He could be hurt, or worse. What if I didn't get to him in time. I let out a strangled sob, and kept running, promising myself not to stop until I found him.