Ignite | ✔

06

06 - Burning Bridges

HADEN

At the call of my third in command, I rushed downstairs to find the entrance of the basement in complete chaos. As I descended the staircase with Conner in tow, all talking ceased the minute my feet hit the ground floor and the men at the door bowed their heads in respect.

"Alpha," they greeted.

I nodded at them then asked, "What the hell is going on?"

"Someone tried to break in through the side door," one of the men informed me and I narrowed my eyes.

"What do you mean someone tried to break in? That would mean that a rogue is roaming on our grounds completely undetected, which would be completely ridiculous, correct?"

Two of the guards glanced at each other before looking back at me in shame.

"That may be a possibility, Alpha,"

I growled, stepping closer to the man who answered and grabbed a fist full of his shirt, lifting him from the ground and looking him dead in the eyes.

"Why are there rogues on my lands?"

"Haden, let the poor man down," a new voice found its way into the conversation. Breaking my gaze from the guard, I glanced across the open threshold to find James walking from the cells through the door.

My mind immediately went to the woman sitting in one of those cells and I struggled to keep my feet from moving forward. Dropping the guard from my hold, I looked back at Conner and then at James.

"The person tried to break into this basement which means they are trying to break one of these lowlives out," I growled. The mere thought of a rogue simply roaming free made my blood boil. "I want these lands searched immediately!"

"Yes Alpha," the guards said before scurrying off.

"I'll go lead the search," James said before he patted me on the shoulder and disappeared behind me.

"I need a minute alone with the rogue," I said turning around to face Conner. We shared a look and he immediately knew what was going on. I watched him nod before he disappeared upstairs, and then I walked through the door and glanced into each cell looking for one particular rogue. Her scent created a dark cloud around me, closing me in with every step I took. Looking left and right as I walked down the narrow path, I ignored the glares and snarls from the other rouges until I finally came to a stop.

Until I finally saw her.

Her blonde hair was chaotic and her blue eyes threw daggers at me, completely unaffected by the pull we had. Even underneath all the dirt and dust, I couldn't deny how breathtakingly beautiful she was. Internally, I cursed. Couldn't she have been anything else but a fucking rogue?

My wolf whined at the sight of her behind a cell but I kept the stoic look on my face as my eyes met hers. She looked half surprised to see me but she held her hard gaze as her fingers clenched around the bars.

"Come to kill me too?" she growled out at me, "or is the big bad wolf tired of killing innocent wolves for today? Tell me, have you met your killing quota for the day?"

Her voice had my wolf purring like a fucking cat but I growled at the words that escaped her lips, standing my ground and narrowing my eyes at her and the defensive stance she took.

"You have yet to answer my questions, rogue," I started, "Who are you? Who sent you here?" I asked her.

"Is this a joke?" she questioned, "I ask you about killing my friends and your only two questions are who am I and who sent me?"