Chapter 8

"What are you doing?" Nellie asked again.

Earl jumped from the bed, he turned to give her a hard stare. He was trying to think of what to say to her to convince her it's not what she was thinking.

"I found you on the floor outside, I only brought you in to sleep so you won't catch cold" Earl replied in self defense.

"The look in your eyes says otherwise" Nellie shot back.

"What look?" Earl really wanted to know, he hoped she did not think he was going to force himself on her.

"Like you were going to eat me…" Nellie stuttered.

"What? I'm a wolf not a vampire" Earl was pissed "If I wanted you dead I would have killed you a long time ago… I still might though" He emphasized the last part.

"You wil...kill me?" Nellie stood up from the bed this time.

"Or if you can start talking I just might reconsider"
Earl couldn't believe he was in a mood to tease.

"Well, I'm not a chicken you can kill like that" Nellie said much in self assurance.

"But you are a Rogue, and I do a great job at killing them dear" This time Earl took a seat on the bed, he crossed his leg and looked up at Nellie's eyes.

Nellie looked away. She did not want to admit she was scared, not before this arrogant Alpha anyway. When she turned around to face him again he looked calm, there was this distant look in his eyes that Nellie tried to fanthom… pain and loneliness. She waved the thought aside, Earl was too arrogant to be lonely. Nellie recalled she had heard he had a Luna, but she had not seen or heard anything about her throughout her 3 days stay here.

"Where is your Luna?" The pain in Earl's eyes at the sound of that question had Nellie trembling, she immediately regretted asking.

"I'm sorry" She mutterd, she probably thought his wife had died. "Was it child birth?"

"Mind your business!?" Earl snapped at her.

I'm sorry" Nellie muttered again.

Earl ignored her, he stood up from the chair and went to the bed, he lay down.

"Where will I sleep?" Nellie began to panick, she was not ready to go back to her room.

"I'm sure I gave you a room" Earl said quietly.

"I can't go back there, they might come back for me" This time the panic was evident in her voice.

Earl sat up, he had not forgotten. His mind went to Ma'am Dodda who was fighting for her life right now all thanks to Nellie, the Rogues may still be lurking around.

"Why are you scared of your own people? What did you do to them or this just a sham to get close to me?"

"I am not a Rogue!" Nellie was angry now, she had let him assume the worst of her all this while but she was tired of the way he was treating her now.

"Oh. Really? Try again" Earl said.

"I am… was an Alpha of the Moon pack. I am a wolf" Nellie felt sad saying it now. This was the first time she had had to talk about this evee since it happened.

Earl was surprised, he had heard the Alpha of the Moon pack was a female but he had met her in person, he didn't know if she was lying.

"That's a very beautiful lie" Earl said, clearly not believing her.

"Well, I don't expect you to believe me. The day I found you in the bush, I was running from the Rogues. I was supposed to get married to Piere, my Beta in a month" Nellie said it all in one breath almost like she did not want to be reminded of her own misfortune.

Earl saw the pain in her eyes before she looked away, she blinked back the tears that threatened to fall and sighed in frustration.

"So why are the Rogues after you?" Earl had waited for her to continue for two minutes.

"Bella… My best friend"

"What about her? Earl was getting impatient.

"She framed me. I happen to know alot about healing through leaves, I never imagined Bella was jealous of me until she turned Piere's mind from me, they are together now. the greatest shock came when I woke up one day and everyone avoided me like a plague all through the castle"

Nellie turned around to face Earl this tjme, if there was any doubt left in his mind it was clear now. He could see the hurt and pain of betrayal in her eyes now.

"What happened?" Earl's question was more soft this time.

"Bella had told the whole pack that I was a witch. That was the only logical explanation as to why I could heal with leaves"

"That's bad" Earl was sorry he had assumed the worst of her, he should have known she was not a Rogue. That was the only reason he could not quite place her scent. He observed her for a while and decided he was going to keep her, for as long as she could figure what to do with her.

"I suppose you loved your betrothed so much" Earl asked.

Nellie looked away, she could not say she loved Piere that much, theirs was a union of power, something that was just necessary at the time. Her dad had arranged that with Piere's dad even before they all died, what she felt about the situation with Piere was not heartbreak, it was betrayal and pain.

"I take that as a yes. You can go to your room now. I won't kill you" Earl said dismissively.

"The Rogues will" Nellie panicked. "They invaded my bedroom this night and would have killed me if I had not fought hard. They told me more of them were coming for me, I am scared Earl"

"How did you end up being chased by the Rogues and not the wolves of your pack?" Earl asked again.

"Bella ordered them to kill me, I was lucky to escape in time, I was running when I found you"

"Oh. She controls them?" Earl was not entirely surprised, anyone with selfish power could control a certain pack of Rogues which was one of the more reason he hated them.

"Yes. She seemed to have been training this set for this special errand of hunting and killing me"

"I'll make sure no more of them come into the castle from now, for now you can sleep here" Earl finally said.

"Thank you" Nellie was relieved. She thought about asking him about his own family but she recalled how he had reacted when she asked about his Luna.

"Where will I sleep?" Nellie looked around, there was just one bed in the huge room and Earl was already lying on it.

"On the bed ofcourse, or maybe you prefer the floor" Earl taunted.

Nellie scoffed "you should be a gentleman atleast and let me lie on the bed, alone" She emphasized on the last word.

"Well I'm not a gentleman, I'm Alpha Earl and I prefer sleeping on my comfy bed"

Nellie gave up and lay at the far end of the bed, away from Earl. It was not long before she slept off.
••••••••••••••••••••

Earl woke up incredibly late today, he had slept so peacefully. He wondered why he did not have the usual nightmare today. He tried to get up from the bed before the familiar scent made its way to his nose, Earl immediately recalled the woman that had slept beside him, he check the large bed but she was not there.

He made his way to his bathroom to clean up, he looked at himself in the mirror. He was exceptionally happy this morning. He couldn't place why, he recalled that Ma'am Dodda was probably fighting for her life and felt even more guilty.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror, he couldn't deny he was a very handsome man. He had always been told, he was suddenly so aware of his appearance, his hair had grown incredibly long, flowing over his shoulders. His blue eyes seemed darker these days, his perfectly shaped nose was one feature of his that he hoped his son will inherit from him.

As the thought of a child of his own came into his mind, Earl immediately recalled Ina, he had hoped to have all the kids in the world with her. But she was gone with a Rogue and she'd taken that hope away with him. Earl wondered if he'll ever find himself loving another woman, he immediately told himself no, the only he had to do now was take revenge on Tony and his can of Rogues.

Earl took his bath and left the bathroom, he went into his closet to get dressed, he decided he was going to dress like an Alpha for the first time since the attack his wounds had healed already.

It was difficult since his wounds usually took one day at most to heal, whatever injury he got from his fight with the Rogues had disappeared without a trace.

Earl stepped out of his closet fully dressed, his mind went to Nellie. That was not the first time today, he found his mind wandering to her at the slightest provocation. He also found he could sense her presence more than any one else. He supposed it was because she was the only one he had been communicating with lately and she had even slept in his bed last night.
Just then he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in"

"Good morning Alpha"

The door opened and Charlie walked in, he too was fully clothed in his Royal attire today, Earl had ordered that the castle should return to full service last night.

"Good morning Beta" Asides from being his right hand man, Charlie was the closest and only person he could call friend.

"Hope your day looks brighter today and I trust you slept well?" Charlie asked.

"You bet I did" Earl replied with a grin.

"Good. We have mounted guards around the castle and everyone is at his duty posts, Kayel will inform the Witchers of the Rogues invasion so they can rekindle the herbs to keep them away and sharpen our senses" Charlie supplied.

"How about Ma'am Dodda?" Earl asked with great concern

"The healer says she lost a lost of blood, but she is stable now. She might need a lot of time to heal" Charlie said.

"I'm glad she is stable at least. Have you seen Nellie today?"

Charlie scoffed "The last time I saw her was inside here last night, I haven't seen her today"

Earl panicked, what if a Rogue had taken her while he slept? He didn't know why but he felt like she was his responsibility now and he wanted to protect her.

"Send a guard to check her room now!" He ordered.

"Why do you look so concerned about her Earl? She is the reason Ma'am Dodda is lying in that bed to start with" Charlie was visibly angry.

"Guards!" Earl thundered. A guard appeared at the door almost immediately. "Go to Nellie's room and check if she is there and okay, don't let her know I sent you" Earl ordered.

Charlie cleared his throat.

"She opened up to me last night, Charlie" Earl finally said.

"Finally, what did she say?" Charlie asked almost immediately.

Earl told Charlie everything, Charlie was surprised, he had really thought she was a Rogue. But on second thought he realized she they might be in more trouble than they bargained for.

"Just great" Charlie muttered.

"Why? What is that? Earl asked, surprised.

"We probably have new enemies now. If the Moon pack finds out we are keeping custody of their former Alpha who they have condemned to death, then we might as well be prepared for war" Charlie replied.

"That's true. But I intend to keep Nellie for my own reasons" Earl said.

"And what are your reasons?" Charlie was surprised.

"I want to use her to get Ina"

"Don't tell me you still want Ina back!"

"Ofcourse not, I just need her to be jealous. She might come out of her hideout and from there we can track Tony and his pack and have our pound of flesh"

"Well that is not a bad idea, but how do you intend to do that?"

"By keeping Nellie here, with time I'll figure out just how to go about it"

"And what if the Moon pack finds out she is still alive and comes for war?"

"The Rogues must have informed their new alpha already, so you have to be prepared for war. It's just a matter of time before they get here"

"I'll arrange the army immediately" Charlie sighed.

"Great. Whatever you are doing make sure you keep Nellie save"

"I pledge"

With that Charlie bowed and left. When he left, a maid came into the room to inform Earl that breakfast was going to be served soon.

Earl was still waiting for the guard he had sent to check on Nellie to get back. He was getting impatient, it's been one hour already. Earl decide he was going to check on her himself. Just when he opened the door to leave, the guard came running to him.

"What? Why are you running?"

"Your Highness, Nellie is no where to be found in the castle"

Earl's heart skipped two beats.