Sold To The Alpha
Hated Ties That Bind Chapter 18

'Tell me Luna Riley, what do you know of Rogues?' Alpha Archer studied the warrior keenly, his deep brown eyes taking in every detail of the Luna's facial expression and stance. Riley glared at the Alpha as he spat back, 'they are the unwanted of the werewolf world, dirty, violent, stealing what they want, be it possessions, women or the lives of warriors'

Archer nodded, 'And there my friend, is the pack mentality at work, he sighed heavily. 'Would it surprise you to know that Rogues actually come in four varieties Luna? First you have those that want to join a pack but are unwanted due to their Rogue status, what we call the Huntians. Then we have those that just want to live peacefully with friends and family, known in our world as the Insulars. Next, we have those that are known to all as the Lone Wolves, not wanting the companionship of others they live in solitude. All three of these types have not and will not attack a pack, they may come near a pack to steal food if desperate to feed their family but will not cause harm' he said sagely. 'Despite what you pack members think, it's not that easy to live in the wild, fresh kills are not always so easy to come by, it's not like the few days of camping you do when travelling, this is survival to us!

'What's the fourth type?' Riley asked sceptically.

'The Ferals' Archer replied solemnly, a bite of disgust to his own tone, 'these are the men who have given themselves over completely to their wolf instincts, these are the ones who attack packs, destroy, pillage and kill without mercy! I don't believe you' Riley growled back angrily.

Archer shrugged as he took a slow sip of his drink, 'what you believe makes no difference to whether my words are true or not' he replied simply.

Suddenly leaning forward on the desk between them, the Alpha placed his glass onto the dark wood, turning it slowly with his fingers as he stared at the warrior silently.

After a few moments he murmured, 'I am intrigued Luna, have you never wondered why Silver Cross pack has never been attacked by Rogues during your wife's leadership?'

Riley bristled slightly, 'Silver Cross gets Rogues' he bit back icily.

'Archer' Rowan started warningly as the Alpha held up a hand to his friend, silencing him.

'He needs to know Rowan' he replied evenly.

'Know what? What are you hiding Rowan' the Luna demanded loudly, glaring across at the young warrior who avoided his gaze resolutely. Turning back to the Alpha who was still studying him, he asked, 'what do you mean about the Rogues and Silver Cross not getting attacked?'

'You had Rogues around your pack it is true, but they never attacked you' Archer replied.

'Looking at Rowan, Riley growled low in his throat, 'what is he talking about Rowan' he demanded.

Sighing, Rowan raised his eyes to the ceiling before replying, 'the Rogues that were sighted and hunted by your warriors were Archer's pack, He owed me a favour and put Rogue guards outside your territory when I learned that Ferals had moved into your area. The day I met Gabby, I wasn't there by chance, I was organising the Rogue guards as the Ferals were closing in on Silver Cross. I had been protecting Isabella's pack from the moment the council started sending me on missions' he admitted. 'You were protecting us?' Riley demanded his voice rising.

'Not because of what you think! My feelings for Isabella were long gone, but I owed her, I was her friend even if she wasn't mine, so yes, I protected your pack and when you got married and had Nate, Gabby and Henry, I protected them too!' Rowan took a deep breath, his face clouding as he continued.

'I watched from the shadows as your children grew up, making sure they were kept safe, I didn't want Bella to have to suffer again. I never knew while I watched over you all that Gabby would end up being my mate, but I guess that explains why I was drawn to Bella in the first place' he added sullenly.

Turning back to Archer, Riley stared at him for a moment before asking, 'what about you, you have the stature of a pack leader, you don't feel like someone who is a Rogue by birth'.

Archer let out a sigh as he rolled his shoulders as if he was preparing for a fight, 'I was the second son of an Alpha who ran one of the largest packs in Europe' he replied. 'My father had a hatred for Rogues, just like many other pack members through out the world and made it his mission to eradicate them from the surface of the Earth. When I was twenty one, his guards brought in a young girl, she looked to be about nineteen, they dragged her by her armpits across the courtyard and threw her down at my father's feet. As she lay curled up on the floor in front of my father, this amazing scent of citrus washed over me making my mouth water. I start fidgeting while my father is speaking, trying to figure out where the smell that is so intoxicating it takes over my senses, is coming from.

The young girl finally raises her face as she is sentenced to death, her eyes sweeping the area for help before connecting with my own. My wolf howled in my head, she was our mate, and she was the most beautiful female that I had ever seen in my life.

I growled 'MATE' automatically, and stepped forward to claim her, but my father strode between us, staring me down until I submitted to him, he then turned to my mate, extended his claws and cut across her throat, decapitating her. Her head fell to the floor, rolling toward me, her expression still one of fear and the slightest tinge of hope from realising who I was.

I fell to the ground from the pain, clutching at my chest as my world shattered, as I had not marked her, it didn't kill me, but it destroyed me inside.

My father walked over to me, towering above my crying form, my mate's blood still dripping from his hand and said, 'Now you have the chance to replace a second chance mate that is more worthy of your bloodline' before motioning the guards to dispose of her body. They burned her in the middle of the quadrant in front of the pack house, my father ordered the guards to hold me there so that I could watch her burn. I don't know if he was trying to increase the hold he had on me by crushing me further or he thought it would help me move on to another mate, either way, my soul was crushed as I watched the flames reduce my love to ash.

That night, I packed up my things and I left the pack, severing my ties with my father and his beliefs, becoming the thing my father hated most, I became a Rogue.

I travelled as far as I could, away from my country knowing that my father would have his men out looking for me to bring me home. I moved through various countries until I ended up here and decided that this would be my home. This was when I discovered the different types of Rogue, I met Insulars who allowed me to stay with them, sharing their food with me until I moved on. Lone Wolves, who were cordial but didn't want to interact and then finally the Huntians who would tell me the stories of how they ended up as Rogues.

I made it my mission to save as many Rogues from the hands of pack members as possible, I didn't want another wolf to have to lose their mate due to the preconceived notions of certain werewolves.

I had money that I had saved over the years of being an Alpha's son, my father loved to show off his wealth and expected his children to reflect his status so lavished money upon us. My brother, the future Alpha, squandered his willingly, but for some reason I always felt like I was being told to keep it by some unknown force.

I found this abandoned mine and used the money to make it habitable, reinforcing the walls and ceilings and bringing in the home comforts of a pack house.

Rogues flocked to me over time, having learned that I would accept any Rogue who wanted a pack life into my home, each came with their own skills that led to the basic generator lighting left by miners becoming a fully working electrical system. Our baked bean dinners were soon three course meals as cooks joined our family, and my rudimentary woodworking skills were replaced by wolves with carpentry skills that created what you see around you!

Riley opened and shut his mouth a few times before he managed to speak, 'so what about him?' he asked as he nodded toward Rowan, 'why are you best buddies with him?'

Archer smiled widely, 'well that would be because that man next to you saved my life' he replied simply.

'Sorry what?' Riley spluttered as he stared incredulously at the ex Rogue who glared down at the glass of scotch in his hands.

The Alpha chuckled, 'I see that you kept a lot of your life from the people close to you Rowan' he teased before concentrating back on to Luna. 'A few years after I started this place, I was out alone. I had heard rumours of a family of Rogues who were trapped by a pack of Ferals that had set up camp near to them. At that moment they were unaware of the Huntians that were nearby but it wouldn't be long before one of their scouts discovered their hideout.

I set out alone, thinking that I would replace it easier to avoid confrontation by myself and I didn't want to risk any of my people if I didn't have too. Unfortunately for me, I managed to walk straight into their midst, it was not one of my finest moments as a leader, as your son in law here likes to remind me at times' he added with a feigned scowl toward the warrior.

'I protected myself as well as I could, took out quite a few of their group before they overpowered me and ripped me apart. They left me for dead and moved on, my wounds were more than my wolf could repair and we understood that we were heading for the Moon Goddess.

Suddenly a young Rogue, in his late teens, that I didn't recognise, appeared from nowhere, I hadn't seen him arrive, he was skilled in being undetected. He kneeled beside me and started to hastily tend my wounds, I argued with him as best I could, telling him it was fruitless and to please just replace the family I was looking for and take them too my home. Of course, this stubborn a*****e ignored me completely, cleaning and stitching my wounds, staunching the blood loss as best he could so my wolf could heal the injuries. When he felt I was stable, he hoisted me up and carried me, not taking me back to my pack, but searching out the family with me on his back. He led them back to our base using my directions. My Rogues rushed out to grab me as Rowan carried me inside and demanded to know where our clinic was.

Galena was a new member back then but was already showing promising signs of healing abilities, she finished the job that Rowan started and told me that if he hadn't have done what he did, I never would have made it back to them. Rowan became an honorary member of our group, my wolves bow to him as they bow to me, he is seen as the second highest ranking member after myself!

Riley stared over at Rowan in surprise, emotions flickering across his face as he seemed to see the warrior in a new light. 'You never told us any of this' he grumbled in annoyance.

Rowan shrugged, 'it wasn't important, I've told them not to bow to me but they always do, I just did what anyone would have done if they had been there.'

Archer growled, 'no Rowan, you did what most others would NOT have done, the state I was in, most wolves would have left me, thinking my time was over, but you refused to believe it was hopeless no matter how much I begged you to accept it! 'Well you were wrong weren't you' the warrior mumbled back, 'otherwise you wouldn't be here.'

'And that is because of you my friend' Archer replied fondly, 'plus do not forget that you singlehandedly support my pack' he added with a wink causing Rowan to snap his gaze to the Alpha in horror.

'You swore!' he growled angrily, 'you said you would never tell anyone!'