I'm back in the car. Driving to search for a lovely but severely misguided Alpha and a fated mate I don't even want, who may or may not hate me because they chased the biggest bitch in the pack who ran straight into trouble.
What a fucking dream.
I'm mentally kicking my own ass to and fro for getting myself and Rox into this mess.

And Rox. I can't even begin to describe the agony of leaving that sweet pup behind. Away from the safety of my arms. Out of my sight but always in my mind. And heart. He may not be my life blood but he is my life.

I swallow down the sorrow and guilt and keep on keeping on. I follow the gps trail left by the guys, heading for the last known pin before they went silent. Yes, I'm driving to the left of the middle of fucking nowhere. Perfect.

My memory montage flips through my brain as I head for my destination. My family. My pack. My pup. My future, whatever that may be now. The mate that apparently fate has bestowed on me, that feels more like a slap in the face than a precious gift.
When we started this journey, not even that long ago, this is not where I thought I would be.
Heading on a perilous journey, leaving Rox behind with caring but basically unknown pack members, trying to save a kind hearted Alpha from a mega bitch.

And Gainey.

Fuck. I need a distraction. I fumble about with the car controls, searching for a tune to take my mind off this huge cluster fuck of a drama I find myself in. Netflix has nothing on my life.

After five minutes of channel flicking and hearing nothing but rough static, I flick it off and decide just to focus on thinking about a plan of some sort for when I arrive.
I'm banking on adrenaline kicking in here because I have nothing. Nada. Zilch. Some rescue party I am.
My mind flips forward, showing me pictures of possible scenarios for when I find the guys.
Benji being happy to see me. The warriors praising my effort. Gainey huffing and puffing, sulking about how a woman, me specifically, saved his stupid ass.

That one gives me a little spark of joy.

The next few hours pass like this. Me, imagining all the ways being the heroine will humiliate Gainey. Him, positively hating that it's me turning up to.rescue them. Me, kicking Gia's ass before dragging her home, tail between her legs for all to see.

Before I know it, my mental monologue has wasted enough time for me to be at the last known checkpoint of the team. The GPS alarms and I find myself slowing down on a beaten old highway turn off. Some hole in the wall diner is not what I expected to find. It's literally on the side of a dusty old road attached to a barely there town.

I was right. Bum fuck nowhere. Brilliant.

I swing the car into the empty lot and pull down the visor in pretence of checking myself out. In reality, I'm watching the mirror for signs of movement in my peripheral. If this is where they were last stopped and something happened, someone was watching.

I wait a few minutes, using the lipstick in my purse as a pretence and just when I think that nothing is going to happen, I spot it. Or rather, him. Keeping my eyes on him through the mirror, I dip them quickly to the side mirror whilst I pretend to place everything back in my purse and slowly dip the electric window down the tiniest bit.

One inhale tells me he is a wolf. And not just any wolf. The rank and sour smell pours into my nose with such a rush that it asssualts my senses all at once. My poor nose wrinkles with disgust.
Only one kind of wolf smells like this, detached. Lost. Rotten. Lone.
It's a rogue. And a second smell tells me that this currently vacated lot has seen quite a few rogues lately. Definitely within the last few hours.
I use the over intense body spray in my bag to hide the pack smell as much as I can and try to hitch my shorts up my thighs without making it seem obvious.
I reach to the front of my shirt and tie it up to show a slip of skin between my shirt and shorts and taking a deep breath, I step out of the car wearing a doe eyes and a big fake smile.

Wolf whore coming right up.

The over eager male takes the bait. That's right, let your dick do the talking.

Thinking with his cock is about to get him kicked in the balls hard.

My smile grows just a little as I lick my lips. I disgust myself but keep up the act.
I lean back on the car as he visibly argues with himself before seemingly deciding that his cock needs attention more than he needs to follow any order he was clearly given.

I wink at him as he makes his way towards me and his steps falter. I inhale the putrid scent of his arousal. I hold in an audible gasp as he comes to stand in front of me. His jeans are ragged and dirt stained though not as much as his teeth. His warm breath fans over my face and I have to control the bile forcing it's way up my throat.

He stinks. In every way possible.

"What's a sweet ass she wolf like you doing here?" He purrs and slurs and I swallow down a little of my own puke.
Time to act. I hate myself right now.

"Oh, you know exactly what I'm here for don't you darlin? A big, strong, smart wolf like you. I expect you know exactly how to find my so called mate for me don't you. I bet you almost run the show around here. I can tell just looking at you, surely you are in charge. Am I right?" I lay it on thick whilst disguising that  I really want to kick him in the dick. Because the way he leers are me, up and down, licking his filthy lips, I want to make him hurt. Fast.

His eyes narrow at the word mate but as soon as he hears my compliments his eyes sparkle with false pride and a low growl leaves his throat.

"Some mate you got stuck with gorgeous. Got him self hauled in to the Alpha's camp unconscious. Along with that other so called Alpha and a group of useless mutts. Didn't take much either. Just a bit of a car crash and boom. Out. Weak as piss wolves. And to think that stupid slut said they would be tough to take down. Shows how much she knows huh?" He spits, all proud of himself. Fucking moron just gave away all the info like the weak shit he is.

I curtain my response. What has Gia done. And why? She wants Gainey but it sounds as though she almost had him maimed.
I slink off the car, breathing only through my nose so I don't have to take in his rotten scent anymore than necessary.

"Well, you know we can't help who we get fated to. But that doesn't mean we can't have some fun, now, does it?" I question, blinking up through my lashes as I place my hands on his chest and slowly run them down to his belt buckle.

My wolf is fucking howling in my head, she wants his blood to coat her tongue. Now. And maybe munch a little on his unworthy heart.

His eyes blow out, wide as orbs as his pupils dilate. He closes his eyes for just a second and that's all it takes. I take a quick perusal of the space around us. Clear. Pulling my head back and preparing for the blow, I head butt him as hard as I can whilst simultaneously grabbing hold of his junk, sinking my claws as deep into his balls as I can.

His scream is muffled as I knock him the fuck out and immediately retract my hand, his blood dripping down my fingers as I turn my head and vomit to the side of his crumpled form. My head stings like a bitch but I shake it off as much as I can. I swipe my shirt up over my nose that I know is bleeding but I don't give a shit. He got what he deserved.

Fuck. I touched him. All of him. Gross. Hopefully I castrated the filth when I did.

I waste no time dragging his heavy ass back the way he came and find his dust covered vehicle by scent alone. It's not hard to miss the thick stench covering it.

I pop the trunk of the old station wagon and throw him unceremoniously inside, slamming the trunk closed so don't have to see his face again.
I check my surroundings before sinking into the drivers seat and closing the door, sitting straight onto tape converted old phone and a Wally talkie.

Sweet.

I inhale a few deep clean breaths before I take in all the car has to offer, just like my father taught me.
Everything leaves a trace. No matter how minuscule. One tiny scent fragment can lead to a piece of a puzzle. My nose just needs to put the pieces together.

Taking in all the individual scents in this car, I catalogue them in my mind.
Pine and earth. The car has been surrounded by trees.
Sour and spice. The pack are irregular. No communal pack scents. Rogues.
Moisture on my tongue. A body of water on the grounds.
Oak. Fire. Smoke. This wolf lives in a cabin.

And finally the scent that surrounds this car and saturated the wolf in the trunk.
A scent that I know all too well.
Fear. The rank, sullen, rotten smell of a deep-seated fear.

The thumping of my heart creates shallow breaths and suddenly I feel claustrophobic. This is not just any rogue camp. This is the rogue camp.

I have chased my demons here. To the Demon.

I can't fucking believe it.

Scrambling from the car in a flurry of uncoordinated limbs I heave my stomach content all over the dust in front of the car.

I slam the door shut as I go, taking the walky and the phone with me back to my car. I jump in and start the ignition as fast as I possibly can and peel out of the lot in a whip of dust and rubber fumes, not giving a fuck about the sight I'm creating.

I fumble my shuttering fingers on the blue tooth to dial the one person I need to talk to right now.

The line only rings once before she answers, a sweet and chortling whistle comes down the line that settles my heart rate just a little, enough for me to pull over and breathe just for a minute.

Smart wolf. She knew what I was calling.

Clever bitch.

"Ellena, what the fuck am walking into." I manage to breathe out, one syllable at a time.

"A mess dear." She says simply, matter of fact, like I'm not heading directly into a camp run by the man who killed my entire pack.

We stay on the line, Rox chirping in the foreground like his life is nothing but joy and love. And I suppose it is. He has known nothing but immense love since the second he was born. It's the one thing I have done right.

The silence that follows that thought is louder than any noise I have ever heard.

"Fuck." I finally bite out and Ellena breathing steadily  is the only response I get.

"Ok. Well, I found a wolf who was definitely waiting for me, or someone, to come looking for the guys. I scented the car. I'm heading toward the camp now. I'm going to mess some shit up and grab them. But Ellena.?" I blurt, waiting for her to pick up what I'm putting down.

She doesn't disappoint.

"Dont hurt her too much dear." She replies cooly before hanging up the line.

Damn it. She all but gave me permission to whoop Gia's stupid ass. Fucking love that wolf.

I wont disappoint her.

She bitch has had it coming.