I didn't stay inside.
I couldn't be laying around, waiting for them to return when I could do my own digging around.
My only safety was that the sun was out. The changelings often remained hidden during daylight.
I decided to revisit the place Jamison, Alexei and I had last encountered the changelings. Maybe it was morbid curiosity I decided to study the cliff edge I almost fell off of if Alexei hadn't dragged me up from plunging into the depths at the bottom. I peeked over the ragged edge, feeling a rush of vertigo dance in the pit of my stomach. I crouched low and brushed the pads of my fingers along the stony edges, feeling the pitted and pockmarked surface. Some of the rocks easily gave way, tumbling down the side of cliff like dusty rain.
There was no way anyone would've survived if they fell off.
I noted there were some rock slabs that protruded from the cliff face. They looked completely unstable. There was little space on the jutting rock slabs to provide a landing spot for anyone to sit on.
The wind picked up and I stood, bracing myself against the current.
There was still an abundance of time before they returned.
I arrived back to the cabin, having intentions to prepare an exercise routine to pass time when I noticed the door was slightly ajar, waving slightly in the breeze. I quietly pushed the door open, peeking inside.
It took me a second, but I froze as the male intruder rummaged through the drawers of the kitchen, stealing half-filled bags of random food in the kitchen. Someone must have placed them there last night. He slammed the cupboards shut and turned. He froze when he caught sight of me standing near the entry.
The man was slender, donned in loose denim trousers that bagged at his thighs. He was swathed in a big, oversized red jacket that drowned his lanky form. A red and blue bandana masked half his face, and the jacket's hood covered his head. I could only see clear teal blue eyes framed with fair lashes that gave him an eerie look. His feet were bare, smeared with dirt. Dried blood caked his toes, which had smeared on some parts of the floor.
I scrutinised his slim form again. He looked more like a teen. The longer I stared, I was convinced that he was when the silence stretched on longer.
His scrawny arms hugged the pilfered items against his chest as I closed the door behind me, widening my stance.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?" I asked the intruder.
I scented his panic, which was strange. Shifters usually were more aggressive to strangers that were not part of their Pack. I sniffed the air again, finally understanding why he was panicking.
He was a Rogue.
Empathy instantly washed over me.
I examined him closely. He didn't look like he was controlled by his wolf. I could only sense the human with the faint edge of his wolf. His wolf was tame, but his scent determined enough.
He was without a Pack.
And he was stealing food from the cabinets.
"I have chocolate chip cookies in my bag." I confessed when he continued to stare at me warily.
His heartbeat stuttered from the sound my voice.
That was not a good sign.
"You should take them with you." I told him as I yanked my duffle bag from the inside of the bedroom. I slid the zip across, pulling out my home baked goodies. I held the bag up, shaking it in the air, "You can't buy them anywhere else. These were made by me."
He eyed the bag like I was swinging poison in the air.
I drew closer but he jolted back, shaking. His eyes widened as he trekked me across the room, watching every shift of my body. The bundle in his arms crinkled as he hugged them tightly, probably afraid I would steal them from his clutches.
"I'm not going to hurt you." I calmly told him.
Distrust emanated from him in thick waves as he backed into the counter. He couldn't leave without having to run by me where the door was. His eyes kept frantically returning to the brass knob, attempting a route to sprint through without crashing into me.
I kept my voice soft and lilting as I shuffled closer. I didn't want to send him running away. These parts of the mountains were easy to get lost in or find anyone else in. Maybe it was the reason he had come.
"S-Stay back." His voice sounded weird, strained.
I stopped approaching him. "So, you do talk."
"S-Stay back Barbie."
I sighed, squeezing the bridge of my nose. "Barbie?"
"Y-yeah, cause you got pink and shit in your hair." He accused, like that alone qualified me to the name.
"Barbie is blonde." I retorted, "I'm clearly a dark brown hair type of girl with some fancy pink highlights."
"I didn't ask."
If I had been baffled before whether to call him a man, I wasn't now.
He screamed hormonal teenager.
It was impossible to miss now.
"How did you get in here?" I asked, ignoring his sass.
"The door." He replied, as if the answer was obvious.
I wanted to shake him, but I remained where I was, observing the distance between us. I could easily grab him if he tried to slide by. He looked like he would be fast, but I knew I would be able to have him by the scruff if he tried anything funny. "Where did you come from? There isn't a lot of people who come up around here."
"That's none of your business."
"You've managed to execute a trespass, break and enter and now you're attempting to take things that don't belong to you. That's theft. Tell me, how is this none of my business?"
Although I couldn't see his whole face, I was sure he was blushing from embarrassment as his guilty eyes slid away.
I couldn't imagine what he had been doing before stumbling across the Alpha's cabin. Sure, I had somewhat of an idea since I had been a wolf without a Pack but everyone had different trials they endured and experienced in life.
His stomach made a growling noise.
He cursed, shifting on his feet in discomfort.
I sighed, "Sit. You can eat before you go."
If he was surprised, he didn't say so. He simply eyed the door in desperation, eager to flee.
I dared to take a few steps forward, but it was the wrong thing to do. He leapt towards me, banging into my shoulder as he raced for the door. I shifted around, catching the hem of his jacket, and yanking him back. He let out a groan as his ass slammed into the floor. His hands splayed behind him, catching his weight.
"You don't need to run from me-"
He scrambled to his feet, abandoning his stolen goods, and shot to the door, tugging it open.
I followed him out the door. "Hey! Stop! Let me help you!"
He was a blur in front as he sprinted away.
I pumped my legs to carry me faster.
He led us to the edge of the cliff. I stumbled to a halt, heaving as he stood precariously at the very edge of it. Half of his feet dangled into open air.
"Don't do it!" I shouted, feeling my heat flutter wildly against my ribcage. "I'll leave now if you don't trust me to hurt you-"
He jumped.
I propelled my feet towards the cliff edge. A scream lodged itself in my throat as I scanned the space below me frantically.
Bits of rock tumbled off where my boots slid along.
From my peripheral, I spotted a glimpse of his red jacket on one of the slabs, protruding from the cliff face before it was gone as if the slab carved into a hollow space where he squeezed himself into.
I blinked, uncertain if I had imagined it.
The jutting rock was the size of my three of my feet. It would be almost impossible for anyone to reach the jagged rock piece without grappling to find balance on it.
There was also a fair drop to reach it.
I spotted a few notches in the cliff edge where one could use to leverage themselves. They were sparsely spread apart along the surface. I hesitated for a split second before I edged towards the side, hauling myself off. I swung my feet down and brushed the tips of my boots against the rough incline until they settled into the one of the little pockets I saw earlier.
I glanced down, keeping most of my weight held by the grip I had on the edge of the cliff.
More notches dotted along the slope. I pursed my lips and tried to not think about the fact that I was dangling miles away from the bottom. I didn't even know why I was going after him. I could've stayed in the cabin but there was a feeling of concern bubbling inside of me.
At one stage in my life, younger Pen had been him.
I took one big inhale of air and lowered myself, grappling for a hollow spot to grip on to.
Pieces of dry rock broke off, falling.
I took another deep breath, hooking my feet into another carved ridge.
"Don't look down Pen. Don't look down." I repeated the mantra as I moved along the slope in steady movements.
My biceps tensed from exertion as I moved closer to my target until my left boot found balance on the jutting rock slab. I carefully released my grasp on the gaps and tested the rest of my weight on the protruding rock surface. It crunched beneath my boots. I eased more of my weight onto the slab and found a tight opening where cool air brushed my face. It was a cavity that looked like it went deeper.
A crooked twig was wedged between the crack of the top of the opening. A red thread tangled from it, fluttering in the breeze like a loose ribbon. I pinched it off and took in its scent.
The boy's scent was faint but still detectable, it disappeared into the hole. He smelt like earth, ash and lemon. I tucked the thread into one of my pockets and squeezed myself through the small gap, fighting the urge to back out and run back to the cabin.
I focused on the scent and let it guide me further into the aperture.
I moved deeper and deeper, ignoring how squished it was. I steadily inched into the hole until it opened up into a bigger space. I could barely see anything as I tried to make out exactly where I was.
"Hello?" I called out. My voice resonated like a bellow within the walls.
It smelt like wet mould, mingled with a musty fragrance.
There was a sound of flapping wings, followed by a piercing shriek that echoed off the walls. I stifled the urge to scream and curl into myself like an armadillo.
Instead, I brushed my fingers against the wall. It felt less rough and more smooth beneath the pads of my fingers. It was a touch dewy and when I sniffed my fingers, I couldn't detect any oddity in the scent.
I was in a cave.
I closed my eyes and honed in on the scent of the Rogue.
He carried a distinct, undertone of lemon on his scent. It was the only reason I could trace it.
I followed the scent, wary of the passages that varied in size. The ceiling seemed to grow smaller, to the point I had to dodge the upside down icicle looking things that kept snagging in my hair. There were some on the ground too but my boots kept a safe barrier around my feet.
I didn't know how long I walked but I soon could make out light spearing through gaps in the ceilings, illuminating the path ahead.
The scent of lemons had gotten stronger, I was convinced I was closer to Bandana boy.
The passage shrank as the air turned more humid. Sweat began to dot my skin. I was forced on my knees when it felt like the ceiling had dipped more than usual. The craggy surface felt uncomfortable against my kneecaps, but I continued to crawl, holding onto the scent of lemons like a lifeline.
I blew out a breath of relief when the passageway opened up into a bigger space where there was more light piercing into the cave through splinters in the ceiling.
I pushed myself from the small space, unfurling to my feet just as I caught a spark of metal from my peripheral.
Bandana boy was in front of me, his teal eyes blazing, and a dagger clenched in his fist where the tip pressed against the sensitive skin just below my chin.
"You fucking followed me?" He hissed in exasperation.
I remained still, more concerned that he was holding a blade at my neck. "How about you tuck that blade away first and we have a nice chat sans weapons."
He pressed the blade deeper into my skin, drawing a drop of blood. I could taste the iron in the air.
"Who the fuck are you?" He demanded.
I met his teal blue eyes. "You really shouldn't have done that." I gripped his blade with my bare hand, ignoring the sting as it sliced skin. I pulled it from his grip as I struck my foot into his chest, forcing him to his ass. I discarded the blade behind me, hearing it drop in a dull chime.
"Let's talk." I crouched so we were at eye-level.
His jaw rippled with tension as he glared up at me with a proud chin. "You don't scare me."
"I'm not trying to scare you. I just want to know what you're doing here in a cave by yourself?"
"Who said I was by myself?"
On cue, figures eased from the shadows, letting the little beams of light shooting through the cracks settle on their faces.
I blinked in surprise.
Bandana boy slowly pulled himself to his feet, wiping his jaw with a grunt.
"You can't be serious." I rose to my full height, dusting my thighs absently.
"Hello Rogue bitch." Jace smirked.
I jolted from shock.
This was Jace Bennett. The same Jace who had been one of Aella's childhood tormentors and the son of her previous Alpha. He and his brother Ace had continued to rain hell on her during her training period. They had tried to ruin her too, but she merely reduced them to annoying pests.
I took in his clothes, well...rags if I was being completely honest. His dirtied face shone with amusement despite his haggard appearance. His hair was longer than usual, twisting at the ends. It was obvious that hair of his hadn't seen a comb in months. He looked completely unsettled as his gaze roved around my form, landing on the golden initials of my combat clothes.
"Huh, I didn't think you would have made it." He sneered. Envy coated his words, it made it hard for me not to gloat or feel any sort of empathy for him.
He still radiated too much assholery for me to digest his presence.
I perked a brow, "You look horrible."
He barked out a laugh. "And you're still an uptight bitch."
"Son, who is this?"
A man appeared by Jace's side, inspecting me like a strange creature that crept out of some dark place- although, I did just crawl myself here.
I assumed he was Alpha Bennett.
The resemblance between son and father was obvious.
"A useless Rogue."
"She smells like a Shadow Hunter."
"She's still a bitc-"
"Shadow Hunter?" Another voice rose.
A man approached warily. "You're from the Shadow Hunters?" He asked.
I recognised him immediately, considering he possessed those familiar dark, golden eyes. "You're Kian's dad."
His broad shoulders sagged in relief as he nodded, "Yes. I'm Kian's old man. Is he safe? Is he doing well over there with you? How is my boy?"
I offered a small smile. "Kian is doing very well. He's been worried about you. He'll be pleased to know you're alive and in good form. We've been looking for you."
"What the hell is going on here?" Bandana boy cut in.
"Stand down Mila." Alpha Bennett ordered.
Bandana boy ripped the hood off his head, whipping off his blue and red bandana too and bunching the material into his fist.
Long golden tresses unspooled to his waist.
I blinked, staring at the thick, luscious locks in a daze. "You're a girl."
Mila rolled her eyes. "Congratulations. You want a prize for that?"
"Depends. You have gummy bears tucked somewhere around here?"
"Ugh, I should've stabbed you when I had the chance."
"You really should have."
Mila huffed out a breath and moved away, collecting her blade on her way.
I refocused my attention on the group of men, women and children gathered in the cave. "Someone needs to tell me what the fuck is going on here."