Page 26

Kylie

The woods punished me. Every fiber in my muscles burned with intense, throbbing pain. The forest was more relentless than I could have ever expected. Even in lycan form, the hills tested my endurance. My legs felt like unsteady jelly beneath me. It was brutal, but I pushed through.

The environment changed immediately when I crossed into rogue territory. The land bore the scars of neglect. The grass was wild and unkempt, and the roads were worn down by years of use with no upkeep. This place belonged to those who had long abandoned the luxuries of order. That much was clear.

Cartographers did not bother to map this land. With no clear direction, it would be a challenge to find a place to settle for the night.

Despite my uncertainty, something in my bones told me this was exactly where I needed to be. The chaos and the untamed wilderness felt right to me. This was my moment to find my next move.

I trotted along the path through the wild forest, the sky a mix of reds, oranges, and yellows from the setting sun.

I needed to find somewhere to hunker down for the night soon.

Exhaustion was setting in, and it wouldn’t be wise to fall asleep out in the open.

Females didn’t fare well in rogue territory.

I had heard far too many stories of females being raped and murdered among the rogues.

They did not treasure them because they didn’t care about heirs or anything like that.

Their beasts controlled them more than men, and time without a pack caused them to forget all the morals and values a man would have demanded if he were in control.

Why did I want to come here again? The odds of surviving here were low. My lycan had grown too weak from the journey to this place. There was no way I could fight off anyone if they attacked me. This was a mistake. Yet again, I had made a stupid mistake.

Considering I had been in my lycan form for the last two days, she had hunted enough small game to fill my belly.

If it weren’t for the fact that my lycan had taken over so we could eat, I would let the knots in my stomach win and throw it all up.

I swung my head around to stay alert, yet my nerves told me it wouldn’t matter.

If anyone attacked me, they would win. I had no fighting skills to save my life.

I’d have to rely on my lycan to keep me alive, but she didn’t have the energy to fend anyone off for long.

There were sounds of murmuring from people not too far from me. The layering of trees grew thicker here, obscuring my view beyond a small area. Two trees stood far enough apart, with another leaning against one to create the appearance of a door.

I’m not sensing any hostility from that direction.

Then, it looks like we should go in that direction.

All my life, I’d been told not to walk through something like this.

People said it led to a parallel dimension where lycans were the weakest creatures.

Right now, that sounded like the perfect place to lie low.

If others believed the same myth, no one would come searching for me in here.

Maybe that’s why the rogues had lived here so long without being pestered by the kingdom.

It made me hesitate at the opening of the door, knowing I’d become an official rogue if I walked through it.

If I went through and someone from the kingdom came in and saw me here, they’d take me for the savage I’d become.

My heart rate escalated at the thought of becoming a rogue.

It wasn’t until now that I really considered the repercussions.

I’d become a traitor to the kingdom.

Did it matter if I became a traitor to the kingdom at this point?

Maximus had rejected me as his mate, so I doubted the kingdom would welcome me.

Why should I roam around with no purpose just because my mate rejected me?

If I wanted to give my pup a good life, I needed to pull up my big girl panties and do whatever it took to make that happen.

The first step would be to walk through this tree door.

As I stepped through it, I realized that if I had been in my human form, my jaw would have dropped.

It was like a small city, but instead of brick, stone, or metal, every building was made of wood.

There were rows of small houses on the outskirts, and the further I walked in, the more I could see the city coming to life.

More people were moving around, many of them giving me the stink eye as I passed, but I did my best to ignore them.

I didn’t have clothes to pull on if I shifted back, so I would rather find shelter or something before I did that.

“Excuse me, dear. Are you just passing through?” a sweet voice called out to me.

I swung my head and turned my body to see who spoke to me from behind.

That was something I should have been checking this whole time, being more aware of my surroundings, but I’d been too focused on finding a place to stay.

The female was at least half a foot taller than me, making her five and a half feet tall.

Her small curves and lean body made her look agile, and I could feel some power rolling off her.

I noticed she had tied her long ink-black hair back, using several ties at intervals to secure it.

Her calming blue eyes projected understanding and compassion.

Her honeysuckle scent wrapped around me.

I didn’t know what was coming over me, but her eyes and the aroma put me at ease.

Somehow, I knew this female could be trusted.

If I wanted to talk with this female, I’d need to shift back.

Given my energy was depleted, I hoped I’d have enough to even do that.

It took longer than normal, and pain accompanied the shift as it took over.

My lycan accepted this female because she trusted her, too.

Once it was over, I was on my hands and knees, breathing heavily to fight through the pain.

“Here, dearie. I just bought it for my mate. It’s long enough to reach your knees.” She held out a black T-shirt. I put it on, though I still hugged my stomach for comfort. She tilted her head to the side and asked, “What’s your name?”

I didn’t want to expose my last name and reveal my true identity. I feared that people would recognize it as the name of a kingdom’s alpha. My father made a lot of enemies, and so did my former mate, so I kept my identity hidden. “Kylie Clawborn,” I squeaked out the lie.

Her eyebrows twitched, and I knew she could smell the deception. This was something I should have thought about before coming in here, giving me time to convince myself it was my name so no one could detect the lie.

“I’m Charlotte. Are you new here?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Recently rejected.” My chest tightened at saying those words out loud. I had never said them before, and they felt like a knife stabbing into my chest. “Thought it would be best to be here instead of where he was because I think he planned to take another mate.”

She hummed and put her arm around my shoulders. “That sounds like you need some tea. Follow me.”

Her hugs were as warm as her appearance and scent.

I normally wouldn’t have walked away with this female.

My father always told me not to trust anyone but pack, but I didn’t have a pack anymore.

I’d need to trust someone at some point; otherwise, I’d end up dead.

Rogues were scrappier than I was, and maybe they could teach me how to be.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” I blurted the words out and cringed with regret immediately. I had better manners than this, but I wasn’t used to anyone being kind to me outside of Amara, Eli, and Maximus.

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest at the thought of his name. I really needed to stop doing that.

She patted my shoulder with a smile. “I don’t like acting beastly to others. Just because we share our souls doesn’t mean we need to act like them. Besides, it looks like you could use some kindness. Kindness hasn’t ever hurt anyone.”

Charlotte walked me to her cabin, about two rows from the trees.

Like the others, the cabin was wooden, but I noticed flower beds on its windowsills.

They carried different herbs, which I hoped were for cooking and not spellcraft.

She smelled like a lycan, but I’d heard of hybrids or lycans practicing the ways of witchcraft before.

Inside, it looked like a pleasant home. It opened onto a living space with a couch and a few chairs around a table.

Behind it was a higher table with a few chairs, which I assumed was where she and her mate dined.

Off to the left, a small step led to the kitchen.

I could see that there were two doors on the right for bedrooms, I presumed.

“Why don’t you clean yourself off? There is a bathroom off the kitchen.

It smells as though you slept outside recently.

” When she looked at me, the warmth in her eyes made mine water.

“You are maybe a size smaller than me, so my clothes may fit you. The clothing shop will open tomorrow morning. We can go then to grab you a few things.”

There was seemingly no room to argue. It wasn’t like I had another option. It didn’t look like there was a shelter for me to go to, so it was trust in this stranger or continue to sleep outside. My stomach growled, and Charlotte laughed.

“I’m going to cook up something for dinner. My mate should be back by the time you get out.”

The way Charlotte welcomed me without many questions made me wonder why so many people called rogues savages. Everyone I knew said that rogues would rip my throat out if I came across one. Yet I walked into this territory, and one offered me a place to bathe and eat without question.

I have a feeling everything I heard about rogues is wrong.

Let’s see how tonight goes before we place all our trust and loyalty in these people.

Fair enough.

The bathroom was small; it was just big enough to move around without bumping into everything.

The toilet was in the far left corner, and the shower was on the right.

A sink was on the same wall as the toilet, with cabinets underneath to hold some things, and another cabinet next to it for towels and extras.

The shower had a small bathtub attached to it, and I debated taking a bath instead.

I pushed through the pain of my aching body because I couldn’t bear to be discourteous to Charlotte.

The hot water cascading down my body felt amazing.

The stress and pain of my journey washed away under its steaming spray.

I squeezed the body wash into my hand, not wanting to use the loofah because it wasn’t mine.

The scent of peaches hit my nose, and I had to admit how wonderful it smelled.

Normally, I used unscented soaps because my father didn’t want to spend extra on me, and at Maximus’s, I just didn’t ask for anything different. I could get used to living here.

Though I doubted I’d be able to find work here.

It’s not like anyone had a pack house for me to clean.

I was only considered valuable as an omega tasked with cleaning, with no other abilities recognized.

Within the kingdom pack, I learned how to organize everyone to keep the pack happy.

Was there anywhere in this place for me to use those skills to get by? I doubted it.

There was a knock at the door, and Charlotte’s sweet voice came through the wood. “Kylie, I have the clothes for you. I’ll leave them outside the door if you want.”

“No, you can bring them in,” I called out to her.

Shifters didn’t care much about being naked around others.

It’s not like Charlotte had parts on her I hadn’t seen before, either.

I wrapped a towel around myself to show some respect.

Charlotte walked in, holding a pink T-shirt and black sweatpants.

“I think you could fit into a bra of mine, and the underwear isn’t anything fancy. ”

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem. I have a few chickens baking in the oven and some potatoes boiling on the stove. If you want anything else, please ask.”

I looked at the floor. This was far too much generosity. “Whatever you make is fine, thank you. Please don’t feel like you have to cater to me.”

She smiled. “You are my guest, Kylie. That is my job.”

She left before I could say anything else. It felt strange to have someone I didn’t know doing all these things for me. I sensed that Charlotte was someone of power. Her caring nature and desire to look after me could be her alpha tendencies.

The clothes felt warm and comfortable, imbued with Charlotte’s scent.

I detected honeysuckle and peach. Then I caught the aroma of the food I was cooking, and my stomach growled ferociously.

I had to hurry out of the bathroom to get closer to the food.

Charlotte was whipping the potatoes on the counter, and the savory scent of the chicken and potatoes enveloped me.

Their delightful aroma mingled with onion and garlic, all assuring me that this was going to be the best meal I had ever had in my life.

This was probably even better than anything I had ever had at the pack house.

“Oh, good. The clothes fit you better than I thought,” Charlotte said when her eyes found mine. “Nathaniel is home. Why don’t you go out there and introduce yourself?”

This made me tremble because I didn’t know anything about Nathaniel. He could be very much like my father, who only looked upon me with disgust.

He could also be someone like his mate who wants to help us , my lycan argued.

It didn’t calm my nerves, but she was right. Fine. Hopefully, our instincts are correct.