Chapter Eight
Lea shook with excitement as she got out of her car and made her way up the stairs to the gym that night. She was excited for multiple reasons, the main one being that she was finally going to see and hang out with Finn. One-on-one. Just them.
She had been thinking about it all day. Thinking about him all day. More than once, she had to ask a patient or doctor to repeat themselves because she was completely zoning out and thinking about later on when she could see Finn again.
She couldn't describe how she was feeling. But she almost didn't care. She hadn't felt like this in a while, if she had ever felt like this, and she was just going to go with the flow and see where it took her.
Lea began to walk up the steps, catching her reflection in the glass walls and making sure that she looked okay. She had run home after work to change out of her scrubs and wear some cute workout clothes. She had even taken a quick shower to wipe off the grime of the hospital before she slipped on her tight yoga pants that made her butt look much better than it actually was. What could she say? She wanted to impress. And she wanted to look cute and flirty when he saw her again, not a sweaty mess that just came from work.
Suddenly, as if she just walked through an invisible layer of something in the air, Lea felt the little hairs on her arms stand up straight, and she stopped walking to try and understand this sudden change. She was tense all over, and as she turned around on the steps to try and find out why she felt so frightened, she realized what was happening. She got a scent. The scent of a rogue.
Rogues had a sort of scent about them. The scent was of a shifter, of course, but it was off in a way. It was how shifters could tell if someone near them was a rogue or not. It was like they were marked for all of eternity because of the crimes they committed. Rogues tended to be dangerous shifters that were banned from the society for one reason or another. The majority of these crimes tended to lean more on the murder end of the spectrum, but there were rogues, like Lukas, who didn’t do anything truly horrible, but yet became rogues because of differing alphas and other scenarios.
For the most part, though, rogues were bad news. And rogues this near to the Moonlight Maine Pack territory, after everything that happened with Kaiser and Gabriel? Well, that wasn’t good at all.
Lea looked all around her, trying to zone in on where the scent and pulse of rogue life were coming from. A cold sweat went down her body, her wolf reacting from just the scent of something wrong. This rogue was near…. Really near. If only Lea could find it.
Quickly shifting into her wolf form when she could find no one around, and so that the rogue wouldn’t attack her in her weaker human form, Lea sent a mental communication message to Hann, her alpha. She hoped that he would get it and that it made sense, though, she felt like a jumbled mess of fear and anxiety when she tried to open the mental link with her alpha, whose mental link was always open for his shifters to talk to him.
“Hann, there’s a rogue here at the gym,” she sent through the mental brain waves, praying that he would hear through her jumbled thoughts.
Mental communication in a shifter's pack was something shifters could do with other regular shifters, when they were in their wolf forms though it could be a bit more difficult. They could also do it in their human forms, but it was a bit harder and required much more concentration on everyone's part. Wolves couldn't communicate through speech, obviously, so this magical ability was the only way they could talk to each other when in their wolf form. The great thing about this skill was that wolves could also send messages from far away.
She just hoped that he could hear her. She hoped. She prayed.
And then, the rogue stepped out of the shadows from above her on the stairs to stand in front of the closed gym doors. Lea cursed in her head as she saw that he was much bigger than her. He was in his wolf form as well, and Lea could almost smell the blood that he had bathed in over the many years that he had been a rogue. It might’ve just been her head playing tricks on her, but she could swear this was a cold-blooded murderer that had taken many lives, human and shifter alike, in his years as a rogue.
His fur was dark black, as was his soul. Lea stood tall, not wanting to give this rogue the satisfaction of her fear. She would not cower to a monster like him. Maybe he wasn’t here to fight? Maybe he was doing exactly what Lukas did when he first came to Maine? Maybe he was here to help?
“You shouldn’t have called your alpha, little one,” the wolf in front of her said, and the idea that this rogue wasn’t here for blood instantly left her mind. This wasn’t going to end well.
Lea snarled at him, though she didn’t take any step toward him as she looked up to where he stood, the wind ruffling his black fur. Lea’s own fur, a golden brown that would’ve shined in the sun if the sun was out. She got chilly all over as she prayed someone would show up. Two against one would be a much better scenario than the one she currently found herself in.
The fact that there was no one near her surprised the hell out of her. The gym was normally pretty packed. As more and more shifters from other packs around the world began to set up base in Maine, the gym became a hotspot for working out and socializing with new people. And yet, she didn’t see one shifter in sight. Of course, she’d never been to the gym this late. Maybe people were sleeping? It would be weird, as shifters were pretty nocturnal, and if they didn’t have a human job, wolves tended to sleep during the day and socialize at night.
Regardless of why there were no shifters around, Lea hoped that at least one would show up.
Because this wasn’t looking very good for her.
“Why are you here?” She hoped that maybe if she talked with the rogue, he wouldn’t just attack her. She needed to buy some time as she waited for Hann’s reply.
She’d had no reply from Hann yet.
“To bring hell upon your world, little one.” The rogue seemed to laugh. “To make you all feel as you’ve made us feel for a very long time. To bring justice to the evil. The evil being you, of course, little one.”
“I’m sure justice was brought to this world when we banished someone like you from our society,” Lea growled at him, a bit impressed with how calm her voice sounded. It had started out shaky when she first asked him a question, but she was slowly growing some type of confidence and strength within her, though, she knew that this rogue could kill her in a heartbeat.
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
“Then what did you do to become a rogue? How are we the evil ones?” Lea just had to keep him talking long enough for some help. Or something. She just needed a little bit of luck on her side right then.
“I killed four shifters and two humans.”
Lea tensed as she looked into the rogue's eyes. He didn't look sorry or at all tormented by it. This shifter had killed six people all together before he even became a rogue, and he was the one saying that the society was evil and bad? Lea would've laughed if she wasn't looking in the eyes of a serial killer.
“And why did you do that?”
“They were living their lives wrong. They loved those scum humans more than they loved their own brothers and sisters of the pack. So, I had to show them where they were wrong. It wasn’t my fault things got out of hand. But when you want to live in that way, you have to pay the price, don’t you?”
“I could say the same thing to you.”
If Lea wasn’t freaking out before, she definitely was now. This wasn't just an angry rogue. This was a rogue that was against human affiliation so much that he had killed shifters that were involved with humans. Which was just plain crazy, but also a scary ideology that was slowly coming out of hiding because of Gabriel's, the Elder that turned on the whole shifter community and has been plotting his revenge, embrace of the ideas. Gabriel hated humans so much he tried to take away Kato's girlfriend, a human named Thea, because she knew too much about the shifter world.
While centuries and centuries ago, having relations with humans was wrong, now it was much more accepted.
And there wasn’t a more accepting pack than the Moonlight Pack, when it came to humans. This rogue seemed to know that.
Before Lea could say anything else or try to stop the rogue from what he was about to do, the rogue lunged for her, flinging himself off of the steps and down to where she stood in the middle of the stairs. Lea threw herself to the side, out of his reach, and fell down a few steps in the process. She quickly jumped up to her four paws, shaking her head as she heard slight ringing because of where she slammed it against the concrete stairs to get away from him.
The rogue was now on the ground, but he quickly turned around and glared at Lea. Lea gulped, her fear now very evident as she realized what was about to happen. She would make sure she didn’t go down without a fight, though. She attempted to bring some strength and confidence to her stature. She wouldn’t let this rogue get off on her fear.
And she would try her damn hardest to defeat him. Because the alternative would be to die, and that wasn’t something she really wanted to do today.
The rogue began to run upstairs toward where Lea now stood, a little howl erupting from his throat as his eyes locked onto his target. Before the wolf could make one more step toward her, a blur of something golden flashed before her eyes and ran into the rogue, sending him flying down the stairs to land in a heap at the bottom. He slowly got up from the ground, a new sort of anger in his eyes.
Lea took this chance to look at her savior, and her heart blossomed into something great when she realized who it was.
Finn stood in front of her, in his wolf form, staring down at the rogue with a snarl on his face and an aura of confidence that couldn’t be faked. If it was any other situation, Lea would’ve howled for joy.
Instead, she ran to be by Finn’s side with a new jump in her step as she looked down at the rogue, who had gotten the wind knocked out of him. With Finn by her side, they could take this rogue. It was still going to be a difficult battle, as this rogue was huge, but they could do it.
She just had to believe they could, and she tried to get as confident in her mind as Finn looked standing there on the steps, looking down at the rogue as if he was scum on the bottom of his shoe. Lea didn’t know what would’ve happened if Finn didn’t show up.
She didn’t even want to think about it. And technically, that could still happen if she wasn’t at her best.
In a matter of seconds, Lea realized she didn't have to be at her best. Hann showed up before the rogue could regain his strength, or before she or Finn could move toward the shifter. Suddenly, Britta, Lukas, Ross, and Annie were there with Hann, all of them surrounding the rogue who was now on high alert and on all fours, his eyes looking straight at the alpha.
Lea didn’t get to see what happened next. Suddenly, Michael, the Elder who had been working with the pack in Maine, and the arch-nemesis of Gabriel’s, appeared and walked to where the rogue was. The Elder did not shift into his wolf form, which was a pure white wolf with white eyes, like all the Elders, but instead walked to stand beside Hann, his robe and cape covering his whole body and hiding his face from view. Lea didn’t know if she’d ever seen Michael’s face, as he kept it hidden from everyone – even Hann.
Michael walked up to the rogue, and in an instant, they both were gone. Lea would’ve questioned it more, but she knew it had to do with the Elder’s magic. The Elders tended to be much more powerful, and possess a plethora of additional magic, than the regular shifters.
Lea guessed that was what happened when one was older than a millennium.
With the rogue gone, Lea and Finn were left looking down at Hann and the rest of the group. Everyone was still incredibly tense, and the realization of what just happened slowly came back to Lea, before rushing at her full force. She couldn’t believe that a rogue had just come to Maine with one goal: murder.
Hann was in front of Lea in an instance, looking her and Finn over, his eyes tense with worry. Lea knew her alpha was one of the better ones in America – even all of the world according to some visitors – and her heart felt like it was going to break from the way he made sure that an unimportant shifter like her was okay. It was like he was the father she never truly had. She didn’t know what to do, so she just stood in silence before her alpha finally spoke.
“Are you okay?” Hann asked Lea. All Lea could do was nod. She was much too shaken up about the whole ordeal to say much. Hann then turned to look at Finn, who was also watching Lea to make sure that she was okay.
“I was meeting up with Lea tonight for practice,” Finn explained as Hann glanced at him. “I noticed something was immediately off when I walked into the gym. It’s empty, save for me, but something just felt wrong. I came from the back, so the closer I got to the front doors, the more my senses alerted me. When I got close to the door, I realized what was happening – and I could feel that Thea was out here. So, I came to help.”
Hann nodded, as if that was a satisfactory answer.
“I’m thankful that both of you are okay,” Hann told them through the mental communication link that they shared. “Michael took this rogue away to find out why exactly this thing happened. And if he was sent by anyone.”
“What do you mean?” Annie asked her father as she walked up to the three other wolves. The rest of the wolves stood back, though Lea could see them all with their ears perked up and looking in their direction, quietly listening from afar.
“There has been a rumor that Michael recently picked up on,” Michael explained after almost seeming to sigh in his head. “Rumor has it that someone – more than likely Gabriel, because he seems to be running this sadistic show – has spread the word that rogues should start acting. They’re pushing the idea of lone wolf attacks, as in rogues coming to packs by themselves and trying to do the most damage.”
“That’s a suicide mission,” Lea managed to say. For a rogue to walk into pack territory? Yes, damage could be done to the pack, but that rogue would more than likely die before anything else happened.
“Exactly,” Hann replied. “But that doesn’t mean that, with the right push from their so-called leader, these rogues won’t do it. And I’m afraid that this rogue here might just be the beginning of a disastrous situation.”
“Where is Michael taking him?” Annie asked.
“To learn if he had any hidden motive or agenda here,” Hann said. “Or to find out who exactly put this idea in these rogues’ heads. We want to make sure nothing else is coming, too. Make sure this wasn’t some sort of team effort or plan.”
“Let’s hope we get some answers,” Annie said.
Lea sure hoped so. The idea that something like this could happen again scared her more than she wanted to let on. She was still in shock from the whole thing, but she was trying to put on a brave and confident face in front of her alpha and Finn.
Especially Finn. His confidence and bravery as he looked that murderous rogue in the eye was something that Lea envied. And if she wasn’t attracted to him before, she sure as hell was now.
“I’m so sorry this happened to you Lea,” Hann told her, and Lea wanted to somehow comfort her alpha as he looked at her with such sorrow in his eyes. He took his pack members deaths seriously, and Lea was instantly reminded of how inconsolable he was after Kaiser had killed a few shifters in the pack. Everyone was devastated, of course, but her alpha really took it to heart.
“It’s okay,” she replied, hoping he could hear the reassurance she attempted to put in her voice. It was a bit hard because she wasn’t able to use her human voice. “We were able to handle the situation until you guys showed up. It could’ve been much worse.”
“Yes. It could’ve.” After exchanging a few other pleasantries and reassurances (from Lea and Finn’s part) that everything was indeed okay, Hann and the rest of his group went to find out where Michael was with the rogue. Lea could only imagine the questioning the Elder was giving the rogue.
Hann told Lea and Finn that he would keep them updated on the whole situation as it progressed, and Lea felt a bit special from the attention and care she was getting from Hann. And Finn.
Lea mentally told Finn that she’ll meet him in the gym by the wrestling mats as she walked to the ladies’ room. She needed to change into her human form, and to take a few moments to get herself together. Her life had flashed before her eyes as she talked with that serial killer, and it was slowly catching up to her.
Lea didn't live an exciting or spontaneous life. The craziest she got was her drunken nights with her girlfriends as they watched whichever trashy reality show was popular at the moment. So, to have an experience where her life was in danger? Well, it freaked her out. It was new. She wasn't like some of the others in her pack that seemed to have moments like this all the time.
As she quickly attempted to pull herself together, Lea changed into the basic clothes that the gym kept in supply in the ladies’ dressing room. Since this was a shifters-exclusive gym, the need for clothes was constant. Shifters, if shifting with their clothes on, would lose those clothes forever in the unexplainable magical realm that let them shift quickly at any given moment. Of course, when said shifter shifted back, they would be naked.
A lot of shifters didn’t care who or what saw them naked, but they tended to keep their naked selves to themselves to spare everyone the awkwardness.
Lea walked back out into the gym, where she left Finn, in her baggy white t-shirt and black shorts. The shirt was so big and baggy on her that it looked like it was a dress, completely covering the little shorts that she was wearing. She didn’t care, though. She knew it was probably very unattractive, and she silently cursed at herself that she lost her favorite pair of yoga pants – that made her butt look so good! – in the process of dealing with the latest murderous rogue that came to hang with her pack in Maine.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Finn asked her as she walked up to where he was standing and waiting for her in the middle of the gym. Even in the standard gym clothes, he looked like a Greek god.
She hoped she wasn’t drooling.
The gym was empty except for them, which surprised Lea. She assumed that there would at least be some shifters, but they were probably all out at the bar socializing. She was just lucky that Finn was there to help her out with the rogue.
The thought of what could have happened to her tonight crept back into her brain, though she tried to think of Finn instead. It seemed that even Finn’s gorgeous body wasn’t enough to keep her mind away from murder. She knew she was going to have nightmares about the whole thing later on tonight.
“I’m fine,” she finally told him, sighing as she sat down on the mats, resting her arms on her knees. “I’m just a little shaky about the whole thing, I guess.”
“You know, we shouldn’t practice tonight. Let me take you home.”
“No, I want to practice!” There was no way she was just going to go home alone, to her empty house, after everything that just happened. She needed to feel a little safe for at least an hour before she had the nerve to go home. “I want to practice now more than ever. I was so unprepared back there – and that’s the scariest thing about the whole episode. I need to practice, and I need to make sure that I’m the best fighter that I can be, both in my human and wolf form. I never want to feel that unconfident again.”
It was the truth, and she, for some reason that she couldn’t understand, didn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed as she told Finn. For some reason, she knew that he would understand. Or, at least, she hoped that he would understand.
“Are you sure you want to practice tonight?” he asked, looking a bit unsure of the whole thing.
“Yes.” She stared into his blue eyes, unflinching. She needed to practice. And she didn’t want to be alone. It was that simple – though she would never tell him the second reason.
“Okay, let’s practice then.” Finn got up, helping her in the process by grabbing her arm. Lea could feel tingles where he touched her, and it was like electricity coursed through her veins, up and down her bones until she felt like she was electrocuted. She turned around a little so that he couldn’t see how deeply, and quickly, her crush on him seemed to be blossoming.
"Thanks for being there, by the way." Lea felt a bit embarrassed, as heat rose in her cheeks, she thanked him, but she knew that she would be bleeding out on the pavement outside if he hadn't shown up. "Thanks for that."
“Anytime you see a murderous rogue come your way, just shoot me a call.” There was that smirk that she had been missing since she saw him tonight. She laughed out loud, her eyes lighting up as he began to joke with her.
If they just kept things light and fun, then she would feel better. And then everything would be okay. For a little while, at least.