Wild Rogues (third in lone wolf series)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

"Mate trouble?" Trig asked as he flopped down on the bench beside Marcus. Marcus glared at him and said nothing. Trig sighed, "Yeah I had some mate trouble when I first met Farrah. She's a were lion by the way. She was the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen but a bit coocoo in her cocoa puffs if you know what I mean. She gave me these..." he pointed to the scars marring his cheek. "Of course I tell our daughters I got them in battle. It makes me sound tougher."

"You're mated to a were lion?" Marcus found himself asking, though he had no idea why. He didn't care about getting to know this pack. He and his brother were lone wolves, rogues, that's the way it had been for most of their lives. Was he grateful to Grange for what he'd done? Yes, a hundred times yes. Did he want to be part of Grange's pack? No, a hundred times no. Packs were stiff, rigid, full of rules and smothering.

Marcus liked his rogue status and the freedom it gave him. He didn't like taking orders, from Grange or anyone else. He would have to fight members of Grange's pack to earn his own place in the ranks and he'd have to watch Julian and Abbey do the same.....

"Yep. My mate's a lion but only one of our daughters is a lion. Our oldest took after her dear old daddy."

Nickolai leaned closer to Marcus, "Only she's much prettier and far less.....stupid."

Trig's only response was to stick his tongue out at the other wolf. Marcus eyed the two wolves, who were clearly Beta's to Grange. He would have to fight them both to prove his worth so why were they being....friendly? It didn't fit with any other pack behavior he had ever seen.

(I don't fuckin' understand them....) he told his brother.

(Me either.) Came Julian's honest response.

Grange waved his hand and started out the door. Marcus and Julian fell in behind Nickolai and Trig and followed them out into the hall with William close behind them. The brothers stared in wide eyed shock at the vast amount of supernatural creatures waiting there.

"You really did bring an entire... pack?" Julian questioned. Marcus eyed a elf sitting on a bench with a werewolf. He had heard bad things about elves, though there weren't many left, and it was hard to believe that that tiny elf with dainty features, porcelain skin, white blond hair and clear purple eyes was part of Grange's pack.

"The elf caught your attention?" Trig asked with a grin. "Her name is Nora and Grange almost killed her when she showed up at his cabin about fifty years ago. We've had a bad run in with elves and a few of our pack members were even kept prisoner by them. But Dawn, being the kind hearted Alpha female that she is, swatted Grange on the back of the head and told him Nora could stay. And it's worked out good. It's always nice to have someone around who can control the weather. You can have your own little sunny and seventy-five day in the middle of January in Alaska."

Marcus simply nodded slowly and edged closer to his brother as he scoped out the pack.

"I know what you're thinking," Grange stated as he stepped in front of Marcus and Julian with a stern look on his face, "We don't do that here. No fighting to prove your place. No system of anyone ranking higher than anyone else. This is a pack of equals," he shrugged, "For the most part."

"You have no hierarchy?" Marcus questioned with disbelief. Every pack had a hierarchy!

Grange nodded, "Sure we do. It goes like this," he pointed to himself. "Me and Dawn are 'hier' and everyone else is 'archy'. That's our hierarchy." Grange turned away from them, "Ella, Isabelle, I need you both over here."

The sickly sweet scent of vampire filled Marcus's nose and he growled before he was able to stop himself. One of the vampires, a woman with pale skin and more full red curls than she had body glared at him and bared her fangs, "Don't growl at me."