Chapter 57: Chapter 57

~ ROWAN

The rogue was unrecognizable by the time I laid eyes on him.

His left eye was swollen shut, there were bruises all over his face and blood poured out of a cut on his forehead. Underneath the fresh bruises were faded ones, already yellowing. His shirt was torn, revealing now healing cuts along his torso all the way down to his pants.

Silver chains wrapped around his wrists and neck. Jeremiah held the other end in a gloved hand, directing the rogue like a dog on a leash. His expression was neutral. Years of training had hardened him to the sight that would’ve made a lesser man throw up.

“What does he have?” I asked coldly, eyes fixed on the rogue.

He was shivering despite the air being warm, and his eyes were fixed on the ground. The bravado he displayed earlier upon being caught was gone. They’d broken him piece by piece, as they always did.

“Speak,” Jeremiah ordered.

The rogue shivered, voice trembling as he opened his mouth. “We stay in the woods. When it’s time to attack, we’re told to go.”

“Who tells you to go?”

“Our Alpha.”

My brows knitted in confusion. “Rogues don’t have Alphas. You’re free agents.”

He shook his head. “We have one. He says he has connections. He has friends. He gives us food and weapons. We don’t have to stay in the forest. He keeps us safe as long as we do what he says. I’m sorry for attacking your pack. If you let me go—”

I scoffed. “You’re going to take us to your Alpha.”

He looked up at me for the first time since we began speaking. “He will kill me.”

“Death will be merciful compared to what we will do to you if you don’t.”

He was silent for a moment, weighing his options.

I gave a discreet nod to Jeremiah and he jerked his chain hard, tightening the noose around his neck. He gasped, thrashing violently as he tried to pull it free. His eyes grew bloodshot, the smell of burning flesh filling the air.

Tears ran down his face as his cheeks began to tinge blue. Only then did I nod at Jeremiah once more and he released the chain.

The rogue sputtered, desperately trying to get air back into his lungs. Tears flowed freely down his face, his cheeks growing pink as blood rushed back.

“Do you still need time to think?” I asked and he shook his head violently.

“I’ll take you, please… don’t do that again.”

I turned to the other guards. “Ready your men. We leave within the hour.”

The trees were tall and dense, offering little light into the forest. Birds chirped in the trees above us, and the air was thick with tension and anticipation.

I stayed in front of the guards with only the rogue and Jeremiah next to me. He directed us through narrow turns and muddy terrain.

It was no surprise Henry and his men hadn’t found the rogues yet, they’d taken great care to keep themselves hidden.

“The cave is up ahead,” the rogue said. “There should be two guards after the trees.”

I gestured for some of my men to come with me.

We moved carefully, trying not to make a sound. I listened intently, straining my ears for the sound of the guards moving or even breathing, but I was met with silence and the swaying of leaves in the wind.

I reached for the dagger I always kept holstered at my waist and broke through the trees, bracing myself for an attack, but instead, I was met with silence. There were no guards. In fact, the clearing was bare.

The cave was visible in the distance but there was no one guarding it.

“I thought you said there would be guards!” I snapped, turning to him.

His eyes widened, mouth opening and closing like a fish. “There should be. They’re always here, unless… look!”

I followed where he was pointing and saw it immediately.

At the mouth of the cave was a lone male. He locked eyes with us and began running into the woods.

“Follow him!” I yelled out to my men. “They knew we were coming. They’re getting away!”

The soldiers broke off from us immediately, clothes ripping as they shifted and followed after the rogue.

I turned my attention to the sole rogue in our company, his hands shaking as he cast his gaze to the ground.

“I didn’t warn them, I swear,” he mumbled, voice shaky. “I was here the whole time. I don’t know how they know.” As I stepped closer, he fell to his knees. “Please, you have to believe me.”

“I do,” I said honestly. “But you’re no longer useful to me.”

Grabbing his face in both hands, I twisted.

The sound of his neck cracking filled the air and I watched as his body crumpled to the ground, eyes open and unmoving.

“What do I do with the body?” Jeremiah asked and I shrugged.

Screams echoed through the forest as the soldiers caught up with the rogues. Sounds of weapons clashing and flesh ripping filled the air.

The forest had gone quiet, even the birds had stopped chirping in favor of hearing the slaughter unfold.

“Burn it, toss it, I don’t give a fuck. I have rogues to kill.” I shrugged off my shirt, not wanting to ruin it. “Whatever you do, the leader is mine. I want him brought back alive.”

I had a knack for knowing when people were telling the truth, and the dead rogue in front of me didn’t lie once.

He said that their Alpha had claimed to have connections. If I was right, then it had to be someone in that pack, someone who stood to gain a lot from a battle, someone who’d asked them to attack children on my territory.

Killing the rogues wasn’t enough, I’d make sure whoever his connection was, they died a slow and painful death.

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