The Beta's Rejected Rogue Mate (Book 2 of Rogue Series)

Chapter 2- Present

As the voice had said, someone did find me as soon as the Sun had risen the next day. He had stood near the water and waited for me to wake up and leave the safety of the cave behind the waterfall. He was gentle and sweet, and he reminded me of Sky's mother from the way he reacted about finding me and how patient he was while he coaxed me from the cave.

His name was Jethro, and he was the Alpha Male of the Setting Sun Pack, the pack that this waterfall was located on. He hadn't seemed upset that I was on his pack land and had welcomed me with open arms, his whole pack agreeing with his viewpoint and accepting me as one of their own.

Being accepted into a larger pack helped me gain the confidence that I needed if I was to ever get back in touch with my mate, which I wasn't planning on, even though there was an ache in my chest for leaving my small family behind. However, that didn't stop me from making a bigger family with Jethro, Miguel, and the others that welcomed me with open arms.

During those two years, I became the stand in Beta Female of the pack because Miguel hadn't found his mate and wasn't planning on it. I taught Jethro and the others things that I learned on the road from being with Sky, and they taught me things that I hoped to bring back to Sky if I ever went back.

Sky... my Alpha and the female that I missed the most while I was away. She was the reason that I was still alive, able to protect me from her father because I had not turned against her when the whole pack did.

She was my sister, the female that I looked up to in hopes of being as respected as her, even though there was a chance I would never reach that level. She was smart and brave, protecting the people that couldn't protect themselves even when she was a young kid.

She was a Goddess to some people, fighting for what was right and making it so that they would live in peace and grow in a place that would care about them. She was their protector, the one that would make sure that they stayed alive even when the world didn't. It didn't matter that she was half Goddess, something that I had forgotten or memories changed to protect me.

I wished that I could ask her what these memories meant, but there was no way that I could. I was scared of calling her, not wanting to be a burden, and not wanting to hear his voice. I had no idea what I would do if I did.

Benjamin changed a lot from the two years that I had first met him, or that was what Jethro had told me. He had never had sex nor had those thoughts with anyone else, and he had whatever spell Jerecho placed on him taken off.

However, I was still scared. I didn't want to become the girl I was when I first met him, afraid of him and afraid of love. I didn't want to fall in love with him and then have him break my heart. I couldn't do it, not when Sky needed me alive.

A soft knock on my door stirred me from my thoughts and pulled my gaze from my bedroom wall while I remembered the past two years of leaving my pack behind. The door opened, and Jethro stepped in, looking worried and nervous.

"Hey," he said, forcing a smile on his face, trying to conceal the worry. "How are you doing?"

I shrugged. "Better than you," I replied. "What is it?" I studied the male before me and watched him sigh and move a hand through his hair. "Well?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Dread started to fill my body, and I couldn't help but feel sick with worry. "What is it? What happened?"

Jethro licked his lips and looked away from me. He shifted on his feet and cleared his throat, and I could tell that he was very nervous about the information that he had found out. "Drake had called," he said, finally. He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet again. "Sky had been kidnapped two days ago, and she had not returned. Something bad had happened to her, Katie, and I don't know what."

***

Dread and anger filled my body when those words left his lips, and I leaped from the bed. "What do you mean that she had been captured two days ago?" I all but shrieked, and the Alpha Male winced at the loudness of my voice. "Where was her mate when this happened?"

"He is at the pack," Jethro said softly. He shifted and cleared his throat while he looked at the floor. "It... had happened a couple of times before," he said hesitantly.

"And I am just hearing about it now?" I shrieked again. I glared at Jethro and walked to my closet to grab a bag. "Why?" I snarled, ready to rescue my best friend by myself if I had to. "Why am I just now hearing about it?"

"Because Sky didn't want you to worry," he replied. He sighed and moved a hand through his hair, even though I couldn't see it. He was frustrated, I could tell, but I could really care less. "And Sky knew that you were going to do something stupid."

"Oh ya," I said sarcastically. "I am." I walked out of the closet with my duffel bag and went to my dresser. "Since you all don't seem to care about her, I am going to go rescue her myself. I don't care what you have to say or others."

"Oh, we are going," Jethro said. "Drake had asked for more people because they are going to rescue her wherever she is. However, Jerecho hadn't said anything yet, so I have no idea if something bad happened or not."

I paused and looked at Jethro with narrowed eyes when a thought occurred to me. "Why haven't you told me that she had been captured before now?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why are you telling me this now?"

Jethro cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. He didn't meet my gaze, and I could tell that he was nervous. "Well..." he said, trailing off. He cleared his throat again and shifted, not meeting my gaze. "She had never been gone this long. She's always been able to escape."

I raised an eyebrow. "Ok..?" I asked, knowing full well that there was something else. "What else?"

"Well... it turns out that she is pregnant," Jethro mumbled, barely loud enough for me to hear. He cleared his throat and looked up to see that I had raised my eyebrow further. "Skylar is pregnant," he said again. "And, this time, they are worried about both her and the baby."