The Alpha and The Rogue

7) tyler's plans

(Day 4) 

Tyler's POV

       I woke up earlier to make sure that I could go through with my plan before Cassandra wakes up. After getting ready, I mind link Kai to come to my house immediately. It's only 5 in the morning, but I know he'll be right over. 

     I sit patiently on the couch, waiting for him, until he mind links me that he's arrived. I walk out, just to be met with him still in his pajamas. I'm not sure what I expected this early in the morning, but I decide not to say anything about it. My parents taught me to lead with kindness and generosity, but also, not to let anyone mistake this for weakness. They were great leaders, before what happened. I shudder at the thought, but try to stay focused.

     "I need you to do something for me. It's at the utmost importance, and I need you to do this immediately. This stays between you and I, I don't need anyone else knowing about this." I say quietly, using my tone to emphasize how serious the matter is.

      "Of course, Alpha, anything. What do you need me to do?" Kai asks respectfully.

      "Go to Ember. Meet with Weston, of the Shadow Pack. He's selling mate drugs, unbeknownst to his pack." I instruct.

      "So what do you want me to do? Prove to his pack that he's selling these drugs? I can do that." Kai follows, but not exactly.

      "No, I would like you to buy some and bring them to me." I say simply, still trying to remain as quiet as possible.

      "What? For what? Aren't drugs against pack rules? Why do you need them?" Kai asks incredulously.

      "Yes, Kai, they are. But I make the pack rules, and I'm ordering you to do this for me. Do not tell anyone. They're not for me. The journey should take you around two days total, so I expect you back on Saturday." I order, using my Alpha tone. 

     Kai nods, "Yes Alpha." I watch as he heads back home to prepare for the journey, and I pray that this isn't all for nothing. For some reason, I don't want to kill Cassandra, or lock her up forever. Sometimes it's important to spare a life- leaders would go crazy without it. The only reason I am able to sleep at night is because I'm able to justify all of my decisions somehow.

      Everything in me hates her and everything she stands for. I mean how could I not hate her, after what happened to my parents? Somehow though, there's a slither of something inside me that doesn't. She seems different than most rogues, not as evil. Her Alpha blood intrigues me, especially because I've done hours of research on her and found nothing. Part of me wants to question her about her past more, but I saw how emotional it made her and it didn't feel right seeing her like that. She seems so put together and tough, and her watery eyes were too out of character. 

      The strangest thing to me is why my wolf doesn't seethe in anger when she's around. With every other rogue I've encountered, I have to convince my wolf not to rip them to shreds the second I see them. With Cassandra, my wolf remained calm, even asked me to invite her in, not to lock her up, to just let her sleep in a bed. I try not to let my human feelings cloud my wolf, so I usually listen to him, which most people aren't so good at. My wolf even seems to find her attractive sometimes, but that could just be the hormones.

      I walk inside and have the feeling to go check on Cassandra. I feel like I'm being pulled towards her room, towards her. Every day that she's been here I've felt like there was a magnet between us- some weird energy or power. It could be because we both have such strong personalities, or we're both treading on unfamiliar territory. Never have I ever let a rogue sleep in my home. 

      I crack open her door and look inside to see her sleeping in my clothes. She looks so at peace- not a care in the world. I walk inside the room and close the door behind me, but the closer I get, the more she moves around the bed, crying out in distress. Her eyes are still closed, so she must be having a nightmare.

     "Mom!" She cries out in pain, "No, Dad, please, it's not my fault, please." 

     This sight of her stuns me for a second, but I break myself out of it and run over to her. I sit down next to her and shake her awake, and she wakes up sobbing. She wipes her tears when she sees me but more and more seem to come out. I reach over and hug her, not hesitating this time. She doesn't hug me back, but instead just sobs in my shoulder, soaking my shirt. My heart races, and in this moment, I don't see her as a rogue but as a scared girl in need of comforting.

     "It's okay," I say in a gentle voice, "It was just a dream."

     She somewhat regains her composure, moving away from me and wiping the tears from her face. "It wasn't a dream. It was a flashback," she hardly chokes out. For some reason, this makes my heart ache. Knowing that she has that much baggage- that much pain...for some reason that I didn't understand, it hurts me. Possibly because I also have to carry the burden of my past, and terrible flashbacks are not foreign to me.

      "Why are you being so nice to me?" she lets out, sounding upset with me for some reason, "You're supposed to hate me. I mean, I hate you. So why don't you treat me like you hate me?"

      "I do hate you," I reply, feeling surprised by how blunt she is, "But I'm not going to sit here and laugh in your face as you cry. Everyone has something that haunts them."

      Her face seems to soften at this, which makes me wonder if that was the wrong thing to say. I know that if she even begins to think that I am weak than she will treat me as such. Perhaps I should have locked her in a cell from the beginning, with everyone else like her. She's right in a way, this special treatment does make it seem like I don't hate her, and I don't want her getting that impression.

      "You're not like the others," she whispers. I look at her waiting for her to say something else, but her face twists up again. "You don't have it in you to truly own your hatred. Instead you treat me like a person, just to tell everyone how all of my people are scum." she adds, her tone bitter. There's the anger again, but now I'm angry too. Who the fuck does she think she's talking to? I've had enough of this rebellious act, and I'm certainly not used to being argued with. I need to put her in her place. She may be an Alpha, but she has not been trained like I have. Once she left her pack, she lost any privileges an Alpha can get.

      She gets up and goes to storm out of the room, but I beat her to the door and hold it shut. She tries to push past me, but I won't budge. After her constant pushing and hitting, I've finally had enough. She needs to understand who the real Alpha here is, even if I have to do it the old fashioned way.

      I let go of the door and put her in a chokehold against the wall. I watch as she gasps for air, her eyes full of fear. I can tell she's never had to submit before, but she's going to have to now. I use my body weight to keep the bottom half of her pinned against the wall- I don't need her kicking anything sensitive while I'm trying to prove a point.

      "Listen up, you might have Alpha blood, but you're in my territory. I am the Alpha here. This is my pack. So as long as you're here, you will submit. Do you hear me? I said submit." I order loudly, using my Alpha tone.

     I can sense her wolf submitting and whimpering, and I see her try to nod. Immediately, I release her; leading with kindness is about trying not to power trip. Of course, it slips sometimes, but I also know if I kept her up there any longer, she probably would have passed out. She gasps for air, her hands on her knees, her entire body shaking. My wolf scolds me for hurting her, but I can't understand why. For the first time since she's gotten here, I see something in her eyes that I haven't before: fear. True fear.

     Her fear instantly turns to anger as she spits on me. I'm done with this for now- she's hard to break. I guess you would have to be, given her situation. I look at her full of distaste before walking out, needing some time to cool off.