The Blacklisted Rogue
Chapter 23

Sally POV

Sitting in the car with Avery made me a little uncomfortable. Not because Avery wasn't nice, but because it's been months since I had a normal conversation with anyone but Elijah and it felt like I forgot how to do it. Avery seemed unaware of my awkwardness.She was happy and cheerful and suggested several stores that had the best clothes.

"How come you don't dislike me? I'm a Rogue after all." I blurted.

Oh boy.

Did I say that out loud? Avery chuckled.

"I was once a Rogue too. I know what it's like to start over with nothing but your own two hands. After Carly died, I decided to leave the pack with Jordan. It was a big decision, but I couldn't wake up every morning in the house I lived in when the people that killed my sister lived there with me." She sighed and turned left at a traffic light.

"The first year as Rogues was really hard, but slowly we found other Rogue wolves living alone because they were different. We created our own pack, worked together and eventually people from other packs started to join us. We became a great pack, but it wasn't always like that.

So I would never judge you for being a Rogue. Instead I want to get to know you, because you are all that matters. Not your past, not your rank, just you."

I quickly looked away and rapidly blinked to stop the tears gathering in my eyes from falling. Avery's words struck something within me and I felt like crying. "Th-Thank you." I mumbled. "I really appreciate that."

Avery parked the car and grinned at me.

"You ready?"

I really loved this chaotic vibe she was giving off. I hoped that we would be great friends.

*

*

Elijah POV

Warren fell to the ground with a groan, the people standing around the sparring circle hooting and cheering.

It had been three days since we arrived here and I spent most of the time on the training grounds. There was a huge gymnasium where people trained in their human form due to the cold weather outside.

Even though I was afraid to make a fool of myself, I still agreed to train. If Alpha Richard was coming for Sally I needed to be in the best shape I could to protect her. I wasn't really much of a match for Alpha Richard, he had kicked my ass more times than I could count. But I still wanted to at least protect Sally long enough for her to get away from him if necessary.

To do that, I needed to train.

Yesterday Joe had introduced me to a few of the warriors. Warren was one of them. He was my sparring partner for the day.

I was wearing a black T-shirt and basketball shorts that Sally got for me along with some other clothes. I was happy that I didn't need to borrow clothes from George and Alex anymore. "Weak, my a*s!"

I jerked my head to the side and saw Joe grinning at me.

The crowd started to dispense and I sat down on the edge of the mat to drink some water.

Gamma Barry came over and patted my back.

"You did good. Warren is a strong fighter, but you really put him in his place." He said.

"I guess I was lucky." I mumbled and stared at my hands.

Being praised like this wasn't something I was used to. I guessed they were just trying to make me feel more comfortable with training.

Joe chuckled and shook his head.

"If it was one time, it might have been luck. But you handed Warren his ass six times in a row! That's not luck, that's skill!"

I felt my cheeks heating and quickly looked away to hide the blush.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Joe asked.

"Sure." I shrugged.

"You have some serious skill, so how come you ended up an Omega when you could have been a capable warrior?"

"I wasn't strong enough during training." I shrugged. "After my first shift and they saw the state of my wolf, they demoted me from Gamma to Omega."

Joe and Barry exchanged confused glances.

"What kind of training routine did the Midnight pack have that you weren't strong enough for?" Gamma Barry asked.

I shook my head.

"My father, the Gamma, was in charge of my training. Most of my training, I did with him."

"What kind of training would that be?" Joe asked.

I frowned.

"The usual, I guess. Laps, fight training, torture training, guard training and some studying."

"Torture training?" Joe and Barry yelled in unison.

"Yeah, you guys didn't do that?" I asked.

Joe sat down on the mat next to me.

"What would your training be like? Like, how would a normal day be for you when you trained?" He asked quietly.

I thought about his question for a while.

"Usually my father would wake me up early and have me go on a ten mile run before breakfast. After that we had fight training where I mostly sparred with him. Sometimes Alpha Richard or Beta Rafe would join us. They always liked my father, but hated me.

In the afternoon, my father took me down to the cells to demonstrate torture methods on captured Rogues. I guess that's the part of the training that I hated most." I shrugged. "I always disappointed him. I didn't like hurting people. I hesitated to land too hurtful blows in fights. My father wasn't really happy about it and I don't really think that I have what it takes. But at least the punishments were better than torturing someone." I shrugged.

I didn't really want to talk about it. What if they thought I was too weak and wanted me to quit training. I still had to protect Sally somehow.

Joe and Barry exchanged glances again and I noticed the concerned looks on their faces.

"Yeah, I get it." I said and got up. "If I can't handle that, I probably shouldn't train. I just really want to be able to protect Sally should the Midnight pack attack us."

Awkward silence engulfed us for a moment.

"How old were you when you started training?" Barry asked.

"Five." I said. "But my mother used to stop a lot of things my father wanted to teach me. She died when I was eleven, and after that my father took full control of my training to prepare me for the Gamma title." "And when you came of age, your wolf was weaker than it was supposed to be?" Barry said.

I nodded and put my hands in the pockets of mybssketball shorts.

"Yeah, it was a huge disappointment for everyone." I mumbled.

"Elijah, I really don't want to be the one that tells you this, but I really think that you should listen to what I have to say." Joe said quietly and Barry nodded.

"Okay?" I said hesitantly.

"The things that your father put you through. That's not training. That... sounds like abuse to me."

I frowned at him and saw Barry nod.

"I'm a Gamma and I never had that kind of training. If your father pushed you like that both physically and emotionally it could probably explain why your wolf emerged weaker than it was supposed to."

It felt like my world stopped spinning.

I never thought of it that way.

Joe seemed to notice my turmoil.

"I'm sorry to drop this on you, but I think that you are more capable than you think. Your 'weakness' as you put it, comes from how you were treated by your father."

Barry reached out to touch my arm, but I took a step back and mumbled:

"I should continue with my training, see you around."

I sprinted away without waiting for an answer.

Sally POV

Alex pulled away from his desk and stretched his arms above his head.

"Now we're done for today." He said and got up.

It was my first day interning at the hospital. I basically shadowed Alex throughout the day during the appointments with the patients. Alex had volunteered to be my mentor and I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to get to know my brother's mate. We walked together to the locker room to change out of our scrubs and pick up our things to go home.

"You did great today." Alex said. "The way you handled Mrs Goodman's crying five year old was really good."

"Thanks." I replied. "I was thinking, could I pick your brain about med school? I really want to go, but I don't know where or what to expect."

"Sure. Whatever you need. You're like my sister too now."

During our walk back to the packhouse I asked several questions I had on my mind. Alex answered the best he could.

When we reached the front door, Joe and Barry waited for us.Both had serious expressions on their faces.

"What's going on?" I asked worriedly. "Where's Elijah?"

Joe cleared his throat.

"During training today, Barry and I asked Elijah about his life in the Midnight pack. He told us about training routines that sounded straight up like t*****e to us." Barry nodded.

"The whole time, he kept telling us that we shouldn't expect so much from him. But he is one of the best I've seen in a long time. We told him that and he seemed quite rattled, so he took off."

My body instantly felt cold.

"Where is he now?"

Joe pointed towards the forest.

"He left that way. I don't know where he is. We thought he might need some space, but maybe you should check on him just in case."

Alex took my bag.

"Go, he needs you." He said. "George and I are going on a date tonight, so you'll have the place to yourselves."

He winked at me and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Thanks." I mumbled awkwardly, before taking off towards the forest.

I sniffed the air, looking for my mate's rich chocolate scent. A while past the training grounds I found it and followed it into the forest.

I stopped by a lake when I spotted Elijah.

He was standing waist deep in the feeezing water. His breathing was short and quick and I noticed some tremors in his shoulder. My mate was hurting, I could tell.

Suddenly, Elijah took a deep breath and threw his head down underwater.