The Blacklisted Rogue
Chapter 16

George POV

The whole drive to Adona Forest I felt like vomiting. What if Luke turned around and walked away the second he saw me? What if the possible alliance was destroyed before it was even created because I was there. I didn't want to fail my pack and Alpha Jordan because of my past.

"Did you tell them that I would be coming?" I asked Alpha Jordan.

Alpha Jordan shook his head.

"No. I just told him that I'll be bringing my Beta and some warriors to secure the perimeter."

We reached a clearing, thick pine trees surrounding us on all sides. We were traveling in two cars, six warriors accompanying us on this trip.

When we stepped out of the cars, we noticed that Alpha Hudson was already there with a group of warriors. My stomach dropped when I saw that Luke was among them.

Luke's eyes widened when he saw me. Before anyone could say anything he started walking towards me and pulled me into a tight hug.

The hug surprised me. I half expected him to punch me in the face, but I still hugged him back.

"I'm so glad you're alright." Luke whimpered and I realized that he was crying.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you." I sobbed, my own tears falling down my cheeks.

Luke pulled away and shook his head.

"No. I'm sorry. I was too occupied to see that my brother needed me. I couldn't protect you. I couldn't protect Sally, and I'm so sorry." "It wasn't your fault, Luke. You did everything you could."

I glanced at Alpha Hudson over Luke's shoulder, silently wondering if he'd be angry that I left the pack.

But he smiled at me.

"I'm happy you're okay, George. I got a bit worried when I felt that your link to the pack was severed."

I looked at the ground, unable to come up with something to say. Hudson took a few steps forward.

"Luke showed me the text you sent after you left."

I tensed up and finally met Alpha Hudson's gaze. I was sure I'd see resentment in his eyes, but he just looked sad.

"I understand why you left." He said. "I know Red Ridge Pack wouldn't have been a good place to live if you don't fit in the norms." "That's why we're here." Luke added. "We want to change things."

Alpha Hudson nodded at Alpha Jordan.

"We need to talk."

The warriors quickly made a fire for us and we sat down around it.

"Thank you for coming." Alpha Hudson started. "I don't know how much you know about the situation in Red Ridge Pack, Alpha Jordan."

"George told me about what happened to his sister." Alpha Jordan replied. "I have offered to make Sally a member of my pack even though she's on the blacklist. There's a team out looking for her now." If she's still alive.

The thought made me shiver and fidget with my sleeves.

"Do you know where Sally is right now?" Luke asked.

Alpha Jordan hesitated and looked at me.

"Apparently the Midnight Pack requested her information on the blacklist a few days ago." I said in a small voice.

Luke's eyes widened.

"Oh no." He gasped. "But that means that she could be..."

I nodded and buried my head in my hands.

Everyone fell silent and the only thing you could hear was from the fire raging in front of us.

"That's why we need your help." Alpha Hudson said. "I have failed as an Alpha. Innocent pack members have been wrongfully punished because of outdated beliefs for a long time now. George and Sally aren't the only ones. This have been going on for a long time, hurting a lot of people. No one should ever have to go through something like that. I want that to change."

"How can we help?" Alpha Jordan asked.

"If we change our leadership structure, I fear that several packs will withdraw their alliances with us. This could affect the pack in a lot of negative ways. That's why we want some allies that share the ideology that we are striving to achieve." Luke said. "We want to abolish the council of elders and change the pack laws. Any wolf should feel safe to live their life the way they want as long as no one gets hurt. People like you, George, shouldn't feel the need to leave the pack because they're mated to someone of the same s*x. And girls like Sally should be able to save themselves for their mate even if a higher ranked wolf shows interest in them."

I bit my lip and looked down. I wanted to tell them the truth. Tommy was portrayed as a predator and that wasn't right. He never actually touched Sally that way.

"Actually, before you agree to make an alliance with us. There is something you should know." Alpha Jordan said.

I stiffened and glanced at Alpha Jordan. He gave me a reassuring nod.

"Don't worry, George. You are a member of my pack and they can't press charges against you without my permission. You're safe. But I think they deserve to know if they really want to make a difference like they say they do."

I took a deep breath. "Sally lied." I said.

Alpha Hudson furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Lied? About what?"

"Everything." I said. "Sally and I were meeting my mate Alex at a bar. Alex and I had already decided to leave and I asked Sally to cover for me so no one would notice that I was missing until we had left the pack territory. When we left the bar, the pull of the mate bond was too great for me. I pulled Alex into an alley and kissed him. Tommy caught us and he tried to kill Alex. Sally and I fought to stop him, but he grabbed Sally and hit her head on a dumpster. When Tommy tried to pounce on Alex I tried to intercept him, my claws accidently cut his throat."

I stopped talking for a second. No one said a word.

"I killed him." I whispered. "I killed Tommy and Sally took the blame for it. She thought that I would have been punished harsher because of my mate. I tried to stop her, but she wanted me to put Alex's safety first. When she was banished I wanted to tell the truth, but at that point everyone believed that I was just trying to cover for her."

I looked down on the ground, feeling everyone's eyes on me.

After what felt like hours, Alpha Hudson spoke:

"Does Alex know that you're a werewolf?"

I nodded, still unable to look at him.

"Sally was right. Sally was banished, but you could have been executed if you had been sentenced for the same crime. Defending a human from a fellow wolf would be really bad even though defending your mate is understandable. But your mate is a human so the elders wouldn't be able to understand that. Or they just wouldn't want to."

I looked at Alpha Hudson. He didn't look angry at all.

"I'm so sorry for Tommy's death. It really was an accident." I said. "If Tommy just would have let Alex go I would have presented myself to you to receive my punishment."

Alpha Hudson smiled.

"That's the thing, George. You shouldn't be punished for who you are. The Moon Goddess chose your mate for you, you didn't do it yourself. I want my pack to change, and I will not hold you responsible for this. None of this would have happened if ALL pack members could live in peace in the pack. But right now they can't."

I glanced at Alpha Jordan, who looked deep in thought.

"If you plan to take the power away from the Elders in your pack, you should probably get ready for some kind of resistance in their part. They are not going to give in willingly."

"We're expecting a fight from them, but we don't really know what lengths they will go to, Alpha." Luke said. "We are currently gathering names in a petition to change the pack laws, and that's been going great this far. About 65 percent of the pack has signed." "That's really good." I said. "How about mom and dad?"

Luke was quiet for a moment, choosing his words carefully.

"When you disappeared and they found out the reason for it..." He trailed off.

"They hate me, right?"

Luke grimaced

"You and Sally both. I'm sorry."

I kind of expected it. They were always so stuck in their beliefs, preaching about how we had to be perfect children of the Moon Goddess no matter what.

After a minute of silence, Alpha Jordan spoke.

"We can look at an unofficial alliance, for now. Tell me what you need, reinforcements, supplies or a safe haven for pack members in danger. We will help in every way we can." Alpha Hudson stood up and shook his hand.

"I really appreciate it." He said.

"Since you're the Alpha that registered Sally on the Blacklist, could you remove her from there as well?" Alpha Jordan asked. "It would make her transition to our pack a lot easier. "I'll get on that as soon as we get back to Red Ridge." Alpha Hudson reassured.

"We'll just have to pray to the Moon Goddess that she's alright." Luke murmured.