Snagged by the Rogue [COMPLETED]

20.

Anaya.

I sat, still staring at the picture in shock 20 minutes later while Alex looked at me concernedly.

"She's supposed to be dead," I repeat for the thousandth time.

"Say it again," I order Alex.

He sighs, "Princess Dahlia is still very much alive, Anaya."

"Are you sure?"

"A hundred percent," he pauses, "Anaya, if your mother is dead, then Princess Dahlia isn't your mother."

I stab the picture with my finger, "Are you saying I don't recognise my own mother?"

"I'm saying I don't understand you Anaya! You say your mother died when you were little, that you buried her. Then you're saying the Princess, i.e the daughter of the King of Lycans is your dead mother. It doesn't make any sense!"

I stand up, "Exactly! It doesn't make any sense to me either!"

It was increasingly difficult to wrap my head around this.

"We never saw a body," I finally say.

"What?"

"We're rogues! Somebody disappears for weeks, months, it's most probably because they've been killed. We never saw a body."

He sighs again, "So what do you want to do? You want to see her?"

I was going to say yes, then I actually thought about it.

Did I want to see her? I mean, for whatever reason, my mother left us and let us think she was dead.

Did I want to see the woman who birthed me but let me grow up without a mother?

I didn't know.

"I don't know, I'm not sure."

"Well you better be sure before we do anything. Because if we actually go and confront the Princess and it turns out she's not your mother, there'll be consequences. The Royals don't forgive easily."

I kept quiet because he was right, there was a high chance things wouldn't end well if we went forward.

"Take the night to think about it. Your head will be clearer in the morning," he said finally.

Then coming forward, he pulls me into a hug and I rest my head on his chest. I can feel his warmth, I can hear his heartbeat.

He whispers, "Everything will be fine, Anaya."

And I believe him which is stupid because when in my life has everything been fine?

●○●○●○●○●○●○●●○●○○●○●○●

I spend the night tossing and turning. I couldn't decide and I wished Tim was there to help.

Then I start thinking about Tim. If he's not dead, then where is he?

For some reason, I still hadn't gotten around to telling Alex that I wanted his help finding Tim. Things just kept popping up that made me postpone telling him.

But in this situation, Tim would know what to do. And because he had been such a suck-up, he would know what my father would want to do.

But I apparently had to make this decision on my own.

By the time the sun started peeking out from behind the clouds and streaming into my room, I had made my choice.

I had realised that there was really only one choice.

●

Alex.

The rogue in front of me looks nothing like he did when we first captured him. He's skinny now with fresh and healing bruising decorating his skin.

I didn't know what to do with him now. When we'd first gotten him, the plan was to torture him until he told us the whereabouts of his accomplices.

But then it had turned out my mate was one of his accomplices and now I was stumped. I had Anaya, did I really want to get the rest of the rogues? Honestly, no. Anaya was the whole point of this.

But then what was I supposed to do with this guy?

I knew what I was supposed to do, what my father would have done, what my grandfather would have done, hell, what I would have done just a few months ago.

Kill him and do it slowly. Batter him but still leave enough of him to be recognised and throw him out to serve as a reminder to other rogues with similar ideas that you do not mess with the Darkhide Hounds.

But I couldn't bring myself to do it. This guy was Anaya's friend. She would hate me if she ever found out.

And I didn't like it or understand it, but I was beginning to really care what Anaya thought of me.

I was disgusted at myself when I left the cell and headed to the main house.

"Are we still leaving him there?" Luke asks.

"Yes."

Sensing my mood, he changes the subject, "The dinner seemed to go well yesterday, right?"

"Yeah, it did."

"Do you think it's true? That they're looking for the next king?"

"I don't know," I rounded on him, "What do you know about Princess Dahlia?"

"Princess Dahlia? Not much. I mean nobody really knows anything about her."

"But there was a rumour about her all those years ago that she ran off to be a rogue right?"

He looks confused, "Yeah but that was just a rumour, not something that would actually happen."

That's what I had thought too.

"And she's alive?"

"I think we would know if our Princess was dead, Alex."

"If she's there to take the throne, why are the counsellors apparently looking for a king?"

"I don't know. What's with all these questions, Alex? Did something happen?"

I catch myself in time, I was acting weird, "No nothing, just curious."

"Well, we shouldn't ask too many questions. Them considering you to be king is a good thing."

"Yeah, you're right."

He nods and smiles while I leave and continue to the house.

Luke didn't know that they weren't considering me to be king anymore. Well, they would, under one condition.

But it was a condition I couldn't meet.

Couldn't or wouldn't?

I enter the house and head to my study, seating behind my desk with a sigh. Things had been getting more and more complicated since Anaya had come here.

I pull out the copy of Lycan history I'd had Luke get me and flip to the last page. Undeniably, the woman was an exact replica of Anaya, even the counsellors had thought so.

A knock sounds at my door and my mate walks in. Even fresh out of bed, she's beautiful. Yes, she looks like the woman in the book but her eyes make all the difference.

Her brown eyes make her look kinder, warmer. It's the only thing that shows her for what she really is, just a kid trying to protect herself.

Before she speaks, I already know what the answer is. What the answer has to be.

"I want to meet her," she says, "My mother."

.
.
.

What's surprising you most about this story? Ps. To get notified when I update, please follow me. Alsoooo, what do we think is going to happen next???