Ivory

ONE*

"Rouge," his deep, rumble voice echoed off the hard walls as he addressed me.

Rouge? Rouge. Suddenly the memories flooded back. I ran away from home. From my family and from the torture. And my mate...

At the thought of my mate, a growl crawled up my throat and past my lips. When I realized what I had done I backed away from the metal bars and pressed my back against the opposite wall with my hands covering my mouth.

The man's lip curled into a snarl and he started to stare me down. Oh yeah, I was in deep shit.

"I apologize," I states in a soft, timid voice that was slightly audible, but I knew he could hear me, "it was involuntarily done. I mean no disrespect."

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "So you're a runaway. Great." He sounded tired, but slightly relieved.

A soft laugh escaped my lips. "I know how you feel." In my life I have met around ten rogues and seven of them were runaways. Honestly, I would rather deal with a runaway than a legit rogue.

He stood there staring at me for a few minutes with this faraway look in his eyes. I knew he was mind linking with someone, most likely the Alpha.

It took a few more minutes until he addressed me again. "The Alphas should be down here soon," was all that he said.

Alphas? Plural? What is this madness? Since when do packs have two Alphas?

Instead of asking that question, I asked something else to fill the deafening silence. "How long was I asleep for?"

"A day and a half."

My eyes widened and I stared at him like he was crazy. A day and a half? Thirty-six hours. Those are hours that I could have been running away from them! I sighed and rested my head against the wall. They had plenty of time to track me and were probably on their way here right now. Shit!

"What's your name rogue?" he asked, bringing me out of my hectic thoughts.

My name? I couldn't be Marguerite anymore, she was dead. That weak little nobody was long gone and would hopefully never have to resurface again. So who was I?

When I looked back up two more people were standing at the gate. One was older, with dark hair and blue eyes. He was around his mid to late forties and I could see that those years had not been kind to him. He appeared tired and sad. My best guess was that he lost his mate in some traumatic way. The other was more around my age, either seventeen of eighteen and looked much like the other man; dark hair and, instead, electric blue eyes. He was handsome in every possible way that had teenage girls feeling like they were in love at one simple glance. They both held the same powerful aura around them.

So that's that he meant by Alpha's. The father was still in charge and his son was observing.

Now I felt outnumbered. Three dominant males against a pathetic excuse for a werewolf, even for an Alpha's daughter.

The older Alpha stared me down for a few minutes in silence. I knew he was sizing me up, but I really couldn't bring myself to care. Let him think what he wants, but I personally don't think I look like a murdering rogue. Or even a fighter. There really wasn't that much to size up.

A warm smile appeared on his face and he crouched low on his knees, so that he was eyes level with me. "Hello there," he said, almost timidly, as if I might get scared off if he talked too harshly, "I am Alpha John Hope. What's your name?"

I stared at him for a few unsure minutes, trying to decide if I wanted to or not. "I'm not quite sure," I answer honestly.

A confused look crossed over everyone's face and they all seemed to inch a little closer to me.

"What do you mean?" Alpha John asked.

"I - I don't know what my name is." I was getting a little bit scared, because the beta and the other Alpha were starting to look a little bit frustrated. From my experience a frustrated beta and/or Alpha means bad news. Especially for me. Unconsciously I started to press myself closer to wall, trying to create as much space between us as possible. Even with the silver bars I didn't feel completely safe. The feeling of tears pricking my eyes made me close my eyes for a few seconds. No, I will not cry in front of these people.

John, noticing my current state, took looks at the boys behind him. He slapped both of their knees, which made them both take a few step back. He smiled at me and I tried to return it but I still felt drained, and that scare had me feeling worse.

"Shh," he cooed softly, trying to comfort me from all the way over there. "They aren't going to hurt you."

As much as I wanted to, I didn't believe him. They were far too intimidating, and I didn't trust people that were close to my age. I felt safest with the elders, people who didn't believe in pack hostility. They would protect me from them, and they knew better than to harass me in front of them. They might be fearless, but they were like everyone else; scared shitless of the elders.

The two boys groaned and walked away from my cell. I was slightly shocked to see it, since I wouldn't have thought they would have. But Alpha John must have told them to.

I looked at him and saw that he was smiling at me again. For some reason he looked slightly familiar, but I couldn't quite figure out where I would have seen that face before. I felt a small smile tug at my lips, but that was the best that I could manage. I couldn't remember the last time I actually smiled. A genuine smile that truly meant I was enjoying something.

"Thank you," slipped out of my mouth, sounding breathless and relieved.

"No problem. Now," he settled himself on the ground, criss-cross applesauce style, "do you want to explain why you don't know your name?"

With a sigh I copied his position and rested my elbows on my knees. "I ran away from my pack," I explained, being as vague on details as I could, "and when I left I swore I wouldn't return. That I would completely dispose of that life and start living my own. I got rid of my name and I haven't put much thought into what I should call myself now."

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. "That is certainly a predicament that you got yourself into. So I'm assuming that you're not going to tell me which pack you're from?"

I shook my head, which caused my hair to whip in front of my face. It was long, well past my waist and every strand had split ends. I suddenly thought that as soon as I was out of here, and had a shower, I would cut it and hopefully dye it. The colour reminded me too much of my dear 'brother' and my mum. As much as I loved my mother I was not going to keep the hair colour that she was so proud of. A new start, a new hair style.

"We should call you something," John's voice suddenly said. I snapped my head up and he was staring at me with a contemplating look. "We can't simply call you rogue. That's just rude."

I stared him, completely confused. Why should it matter if I was going free, and who is this we?

He snapped his fingers and his eyes began to sparkle. "How about Brooke?"

Brooke... Brooke? Hmmm. If I had grown up normally I would probably be stroking my imaginary beard. But instead I nodded, another small smile playing across my lips.

He beamed at me and stood up. "Now for the serious question," he said, pressing a button on the wall. The gate suddenly slid open and he held his hand out towards me. "Would you like to become a member of the Ivory Sun pack, Brooke?"