Taking Down the Alpha

14 Sheer Brutality

After we arrived at the city we checked into the hotel rooms I had booked as per plan. Two were adjoining, and I'd originally planned to take the separate one, but now that Denise had Andrew I figured they'd rather have some time alone. It was the usual pattern with new mates. And I was pretty sure that the two still had some things to work through, together. That first overwhelming attraction wouldn't magically get rid of all their problems or the need for them to actually get to know each other.

We brought all our luggage inside, and once we were all set up, Liana and I left to go visit the nearby pack. Denise had tried to come, but I'd assured her that we would be fine on our own, and that I would contact her if I needed her. She reluctantly agreed.

Thanks to my note of introduction, the alpha allowed us into the territory, and we were given a tour of the pack lands. There were a couple of fighters who looked promising, but I wasn't sure they were the right fit. I marked down their names for future reference. After our unfruitful search, we returned to the hotel, ordered takeout, and called it a night.

The next day, the four of us followed my likely local leads, and then we spent the rest of the day hanging around places where we were likely to find other werewolves. I told Liana it was because we might as well keep searching for a wolf that would suit our needs, but secretly I was hoping that we'd stumble upon her mate if we were lucky.

I wasn't willing to put all my eggs in one basket, but I was hopeful about the coming night. All the wolves we would see that night would be really good fighters, and then we'd just have to find a way to meet some of them so we could get a feel for their personalities. I didn't have enough information about the cage fights to have a solid plan, which made me uneasy, but Denise and Andrew assured me that we would figure something out. Liana seemed as anxious about it as everything else.

Liana and I had left the doors between our rooms open, so I clearly heard the knock on her door. Denise and Andrew came in, carrying a couple of boxes of pizza. "We come bearing gifts."

I poked my head into the room. Denise still seemed deliriously happy, and it was obvious Andrew was already smitten by the way he couldn't take his eyes off of her. It was almost enough to make me wish that I would find my mate like she had.

But, as nice as it might be, it was still my lowest priority. If I had to choose to find only one of the people we were searching for this night, I would rather find our champion, or even see Liana find her mate. I could wait.

"Mmm, I haven't had pizza in a while," Andrew commented, taking a huge bite. He was sitting in a chair in front of a desk, and he swivelled around to pull Denise down to sit on him while they ate. She giggled a very un-Denise-like giggle.

"Why? Rogues don't do pizza?"

"Well, this rogue lives in a very rural place, and getting pizza is a pain. We mostly hunt or grow what we need. The humans don't even know we're there."

"How do you guys have a truck then?"

"We do odd jobs for some of the nearby packs. We've got an understanding with them and we manage our human interactions through them."

I didn't know much about the nearby packs other than their basic details, but it sounded like a completely decent thing to do for peaceful rogue neighbours. It might be worth getting more in contact with them in the future.

Liana smiled, sitting cross-legged on the bed, and I sat down next to her. She was watching him. "Is it hard to be a rogue?" she asked.

"Not as hard as pack wolves make it sound, I think. I mean, I'm not officially in a pack, but my friends are like my pack. It probably depends on the wolf, too. Like if someone committed a crime and were forced to live out in the wilds alone, I can see where a strong animal might overwhelm the human side and make someone go a little off if they were feeling guilty." He shrugged.