The morning that the influx of new members were set to arrive, the pack was arguing. Several were against it, yelling that they were already limited and taking in more would only overload them. The other side retaliated, shouting that more people would allow for better protection and ensure a safer home for everyone.
In simple terms, it was utter chaos.
Vincent was spending most, if not all, of his time in his office, working out ways on how to house over two hundred people.
His best plan was to have them camp and provide them with food and water until the rest of the pack could help build more houses or small, three floor apartments. They definitely had the lands and the funds, but making them permanent homes would take a while.
The Alpha sighed and leaned back on his chair, taking another sip of his whiskey. He was fully aware that his precious mate hated the thought of him drinking but it was the only thing keeping him sane.
"Hey man!" Rick's loud voice jolted him and he shot him a dark glare.
"What?" he snapped, leaning forward, placing his elbows on the desk.
"I took the guys out. Just a small group. Found a cluster of rogues just a mile off the property," he smirked, looking pleased with his win.
Vincent stood, shaking his head, "You helped me run the pack for ten years while I was gone. But you are not the Alpha. You do not have authority to take a group out to hunt, especially with the recent attacks. Step out of line again and you'll be demoted. To Omega."
Rick stepped back, his hands up in surrender.
"Hey man, I'm just trying to help you out. You got a scared pack and a weak Luna. Hey, don't get all pissed. You know its true. She isn't cut out for this. You need a true Luna, one who comes from a line of Alphas or Betas. Who can actually deal with stuff. She just...cries. I mean, a lot dude. She's like a never ending storm."
His voice was filled with absolute disgust. He couldn't hide his disdain for the girl. She was a mere child, barely an adult. Vincent was far older but the slow-aging that came from being a wolf was throwing her off.
Vincent was nearing eighty and he himself was coming up on seventy-five. They had seen war, they had seen it all.
And now this girl, a piece of nothing, was stepping into their lives and throwing it out of balance. Causing Vincent to lose his right mind, to rule on his emotions.
An Alpha who ruled solely on emotion was a destructive one.
"You should have let her go, Vince. She was never one of us to begin with. You think these attacks are random? We took in a rogue, and they haven't left us alone since. She will never be one of us. I know that, those who were there that night know it, and now you need to face it."
Vincent's eyes went black with anger, his wolf growling.
He was angry beyond belief but he knew Rick held some sense in his words. Leanna was born a rogue, it was in her blood. Her parents were knocking on his door, her father ready to come back and destroy him and his pack for her.
Leanna was his mate, and he would die for her, but was she worth the five hundred lives on his pack? Was love truly worth that must destruction and carnage?
The bloodshed?
"Have you marked her?"
Vincent looked up, his wolf going wild to just kill him for speaking such blasphemous words. But he held it back. He had always trusted his wolf. He never relied on emotion. But wasn't that the reason why he left?
To find her family? To weaken her rogue father and keep them away?
Is that not why he spent ten years away from his pack, nearly severing their connection because he was gone too long?
Was she not the reason why he left? Because he knew that the eight year old girl would grow to be his mate and he couldn't stand to be around her?
Because she was too young?
The questions flew through his head, taking over, eating away at his heart, his wolf, his soul. He had to cry, scream, kill.
Anything to escape the bubbling pain in his chest.
His wolf was part of him.
But could he rely on his wolf to save the pack or allow them to die to save one girl?
"No."
A simple word was his response.
"Why? Any Alpha would have had her marked and mated by now." Rick's words were flying around his head at a million miles an hour and he couldn't understand anything.
"She wanted to wait," his voice was hoarse. "She's not ready and I need her to be. She told me to do it last night, to mark her. But I don't know. What if she can't? What if being a rogue, even if she doesn't remember, what if it does something? She'll sense her family. She'll know."
Rick leaned forward, his eyes bright. He had been waiting ten years to get rid of that thing. A rogue poisoning their home. If could just get rid of her, everything would be as it was. Better. His plans could finally come into effect.
"Reject her."
Vincent had him against the wall in two seconds, his wolf teeth bared, his snarl strong enough to shake the house.
"Come on, Vince. You know it's the right thing to do. She's rogue. The blood of Wilhelm Gaundry runs through her veins. Do you truly believe she will ever be loyal to a pack? The influence of his blood is too great a risk to take. Alice is still here. I told her to stay away. She rejected her own mate for you. She's waiting. A daughter of a Beta and she understands. Do it, Vince. Would you really pick a rogue over one of your own?"
His eyes were bright and Vincent struggled with his wolf.
His body was burning, his mind a mess. He couldn't really be considering Rick's suggestion. But he was. Deep inside, something was telling him to. Something not at all controlled by the emotions of his wolf.
Alice had been like a mate and then when he found Leanna, he dropped everything. He left for her, he was destroying himself for her.
Maybe he should have left her go ten years ago.
"I...I need to find her. I can't..fuck."
He let him go, pacing the floor.
"Go man. You will feel better once it's over. She'll be gone."
Vincent's chest burned like fire and his head felt like it would explode. He growled and rushed out of the room. These new members would be here in a few hours and if he didn't get himself under control, they would call him a fraud.
He searched the house and when he found her, something inside him cracked. He felt pure anger, sizzling through his veins, lighting his nerves.
He had to get rid of her.
She was no good. Poison to the pack. Dangerous.
His wolf was slowly becoming silent and the only thought roaring in his mind was to cut it off. She couldn't be apart of them. It wouldn't be right.
When he found her she was in the library, searching for some book or another. What she was doing didn't really interest him. The only thing he needed was her attention, so he could let her know how he truly felt.
"Hi Vince," she gave him a small smile, completely unaware of what was going on inside his head.
He growled deeply and she looked up, a bit startled. She set down the book and approached him, touching his arm gently.
"Vince?"
When he looked at her, something else had taken over. He no longer recognized her. All his brain could register was that she was a deadly virus invading his home and he needed to get rid of her.
"Don't speak my name," he snarled, shoving hard enough to knock her off her feet.
She landed on her back, startled and a bit scared. Her wolf was howling with anger and confusion.
"Wh-why did you push me?" she asked, her voice guarded as she slowly stood up.
"You. You aren't one of us," he whispered intensely, his eyes darting around, searching but not seeing.
"You reek of alcohol. What happened?" Leanna attempted to soothe him but her fear was growing in her chest, as was her anger.
"Shut up! Just stop talking! You aren't one of us. I should've let them take you back! But no. I was foolish. Weak. I knew who you were and I let you live with us," he was seething, his eyes completely black.
He gripped her wrists, pulling her close until their noses were touching.
"You are a rogue. A pathetic lowlife. You don't belong in this pack. With me."
His words shot daggers of pain into her chest and she began shaking, holding back her tears. Her wolf was howling in fear.
"Vince, please," she whispered tearfully, attempting to touch his face. "I don't understand-"
"Don't!"
He shoved her into a wall, punching the area beside her face.
"You will never truly be part of our pack. Your father has caused us nothing but misery."
"What are you talking about? M-my dad is a teacher-"
"I let them adopt you! You are a rogue! We found you! And now I regret that decision."
His words stung her and she felt her heart begin to shatter as he gripped her shoulders, slamming her into the wall, his cold eyes filled with disgust.
"I, Alpha Vincent, reject-"
"Please don't do this, please. I need you, Vince. Please," her pleads interrupted him and he growled, covering her mouth.
Her tears dripped down her cheeks, wetting the hand that was harshly pressed to her lips.
"I, Alpha Vincent, reject you, Leanna. I sever all ties with your body, mind, soul, and wolf. We will no longer be connected. You are the lowest. Your presence will be less than an Omega's. You will be nothing to me. You will no longer know the life you had."
Then he dragged her down the stairs from the library, her screams and cries unrelenting.
"Please, Vince. Please. I need you, don't do this to me. To us."
He ignored her pleas, her wolf shattering inside her, becoming so small, it was as if she were no longer there.
"No! No! Please no!" her sobs were racking through her body, her green eyes swollen with tears, pale cheeks bright red.
The Alpha dragged her toward the basement, where he nodded at someone. She heard someone yell and saw Brandon coming up.
He was stopped by Rick who looked at the former, broken Luna with a victory smile.
"You'll die down there."
"What did you do!" Brandon yelled as Leanna reached out, her fingernails scrapping the floorboard, some of the nails leaving marks.
"Help me! Please! Vince, stop!" her sobs echoed as she was dragged down the stairs into the cold, damp basement, the prisoners yelling at the commotion.
Her screams became hard to understand as the Alpha opened up a cell with his bare hands and tossed her in, her body hitting the brick walls laced with silver with enough force to shake it.
"You will die here, rogue."
And then he was gone, her screams swallowed as the door was shut.