Chapter 89-An Enemy at the Cabin

“Alpha! Alpha, can you hear me?”
I groggily open my eyes and see Leah hovering over me.
“Alpha, thank the Goddess,” Leah says with a heavy sigh. “Don’t move, Doc Apollo is on his way.”
I grab the back of my head, and I feel that my hair is wet. I look at my hand, and it’s covered in blood.
“What happened?” I ask, lifting my head slightly and looking around.
“You fell down the cliff side after the rogue charged you,” she explains.
I look to my left and up the cliff side. “I’ve been saying for years there needs to be a railing put up there,” I say with a groan and try to sit up.
“Please don’t move, Alpha. You fell a long way.”
“I see that. But I’ll be okay,” I tell her, sitting up. Then I remember the reason I was in the forest. “Where’s Catherine?” I ask, panicked.
“Gamma Michael and Gamma Cole have her in custody,” she explains.
“And the other rogue?”
She says nothing but looks behind me. I turn and see a young boy, his neck clearly broken from the fall. “Shit,” I grumble. “How did you get down here?” I ask Leah.
“Not easily. But I saw you go over the side, and I followed you down.”
“You could have hurt yourself,” I scold her gently, squeezing her shoulder.
“You’re my Alpha. I had to make sure you were okay,” she says with a smile.
“Mind-link the others. I don’t want them coming down here and risking their necks,” I tell her.
She nods and explains that Doc Apollo is coming the long way along the old trail in his truck.
“Good,” I say, laying back down and passing out.
*
I wake sometime later in the pack hospital, the room empty. I sit up slowly, my head throbbing, and my whole body feels like a semi hit me.
‘We were stupid last night,’ Enyo says softly.
‘We needed to catch her,’ I say as I carefully stand from the bed and walk into the bathroom.
‘We lost focus on our surroundings. We knew where we were. We had her cornered along the steep mountainside, but we should have seen him. We should have known the other rogue was there.’
‘I know,’ I sigh as I run the shower and step under the hot water.
‘We can never let that happen again,’ Enyo scolds me.
‘We won’t.’
*
I walk out of the hospital room, freshly showered and wearing clean scrubs, and find Andreas talking with Doc Apollo.
The Doc sees me and rushes over. “Alpha, you should rest!” He scolds me. “You have a severe concussion and multiple fractures and broken bones.”
“I know,” I grimace. “But everything will heal. I need to see Catherine,” I tell him. “Where is she?” I ask Andreas.
“She’s at the cabin. There’s no room in the cells, and I thought you’d want some privacy with her,” he says, gently taking my hand and kissing my knuckles. “You scared me, my love.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, placing my hand on his cheek. “But I’m fine.”
“Please Alpha, just rest for a few more hours,” Doc pleads with me.
“Later,” I tell him, and I walk out of the hospital.
*
When Andreas and I get to the cabin, I waste no time and walk straight inside. I walk through the small cabin, and I hear whispers coming from the small lounge room. When I enter the room, my eyes find Catherine immediately. With a dangerous growl, I walk over to her and grab her by the throat.
“I told you never to come back here,” I growl again, squeezing her throat.
“Please,” she gasps, and I can see the blue glow of my eyes in the reflection of hers as tears fall from her eyes.
“I think you should listen to what she has to say, Alpha,” Gamma Cole says.
My head snaps in his direction, and I roar. He drops instantly to his knees and bares his neck in submission.
“I should kill you right here, right now,” I say, returning my attention back to Catherine, my claws extending into her neck. “You and your little friend tried to kill me. He’s already dead. And it’s now your turn.”
“We… Didn’t…” She tries to talk, but I squeeze harder, cutting off her airway.
“Alpha, please,” Gamma Michael says. “Just hear her out.”
I feel Andreas come up behind me and place his hand on my shoulder. “Just see what she has to say, then you can kill her,” he whispers.
I growl, watching as her face turns blue. I should snap her neck, but I release my hold on her throat. She gasps for air, coughing and spluttering as her face returns to its normal colour.
“Thank you,” she says eventually.
“Don’t thank me. Talk.” I order her.
She nods and takes another deep breath. “We weren’t trying to kill you. I was trying to get you alone so that we could talk.”
“Then why did your friend tackle me over the side of the cliff?” I growl.
“He was just trying to stop you from charging and killing me,” she says, fresh tears falling from her face. “He’s really dead?”
“Yes,” Andreas answers.
She wipes the tears from her face. “I have no one left. My father died two days after you helped us escape from the rogue pack.
“How?” I ask angrily.
“They poisoned him. They knew I was missing; they knew I’d gone against their orders,” she sobs, her face dropping into her hands.
“When you didn’t return after trying to kill Alpha Athena?” Michael asks.
She nods as she continues to sob.
“WHY DID YOU COME HERE?” I roar. “WHY WERE YOU IN MY TERRITORY?”
“I HAVE NOTHING LEFT!” she screams.
I take a step toward Catherine, about to attack her again, when Andreas grabs my arm. I turn my head, looking at his hand, and growl in warning. He drops his hand quickly and takes a step back.
“Alpha, she wants to help us,” Cole says, jumping in front of me when I turn to lunge at her.
“BULLSHIT!”
“It’s true,” she almost whispers, looking dejected. “I’ve lost everything. The only thing I have left is revenge. You, out of everyone, should understand that,” she says, looking at the ground.
I look her over, not trusting her for a minute. “You said you told me everything you know the last time we spoke.”
“I did. But there are other ways I can help. I know the rogues. I know most of the werewolves and lycans and can tell the difference when they’ve shifted.”
“This could give us an edge, Alpha,” Andreas says.
“I don’t trust her. I may have helped her rescue her father, but she also tried to kill me. For the second time, might I add,” I say, pointing to the scar over my eye. “And I still don’t believe that wasn’t her goal tonight.”
“I swear to the Goddess we weren’t trying to kill you. We just wanted to talk,” Catherine pleads.
“You could have approached our gate. Our border patrol. There were fifty different ways you could have asked for help,” I say angrily.
“I know. But we had people chasing us. I thought crossing into your territory would help keep us alive. And Jimmy died anyway,” she sobs. “He was only fifteen. He saw me get my father out and came to help me. He only wanted to help…”
I sigh and rub my temples, my head still throbbing. I wish Dad was here. He’d know what to do with her.
“Throw me in your cells. Keep me chained. I don’t care. Just please don’t send me back out there.”
“The cells are occupied,” I say angrily. Just another bloody thing I still have to deal with.
“What if we kept her up here?” Michael suggests. “She’d be away from everyone, and we can keep two guards posted at all times.”
Cole and Andreas nod in agreement.
I look at Catherine and stalk towards her. “This is your last chance,” I growl. “If you cross me, or hurt anyone in my pack, I WILL kill you,” I warn her.
“Thank you,” she sobs.
I hear nothing else said as I storm out of the cabin, Andreas behind me. “Let’s get you back to the hospital,” he says gently. But I’m too worked up.
“I’m going for a run,” I tell him, and shift.
“I’ll come with you,” he says, but I turn and growl at him.
‘I need time to think,’ I mind-link him, then let out all of my anger into a roar, before running into the forest.