Chapter 14: Arguing

-Rhys-

I had hoped Nova was smarter and that she wouldn’t take off again, but it seemed like a good night’s rest had gotten her all fired up again. Of course, it was good to see she was well rested, but I didn’t need my mate to run from me all the time. Could she not understand that I was going to take care of her? And now that I knew that she had never committed any crimes, it would be so easy to get the pack to accept her. She and I could truly be mates. We could even have a ceremony if she wanted. I wouldn’t mind claiming her in front of everyone, showing she belonged with me. She was so beautiful. Even more beautiful here in the daylight. I was sold!

“I thought I had made it clear you were staying,” I said.

“Well … I’m a rogue,” she said.

“As you like to remind me.”

“Rogues don’t listen to anyone,” she said and lifted her chin a little into the air.

So, she was getting a little braver. That was good to see. My mate shouldn’t be so scared. She might be a rogue, but now she was also a beta’s mate. It automatically gave her more power and status. She just had to realize it, and of course, accept me.

“Well, good mates do,” I said and stepped closer to her.

She leaned a little back, as I came into her space, and I smiled as I saw it. Goddess, I really wished we could just fuck this out. I bet I could make her turn so sweet so very fast if I could just get her to accept my touch, but she was still cautious towards me. I had to win over her trust first, which was a bit ironic since she was the rogue. A rogue could not be trusted. Everyone knew that, but it was clear Nova was a different kind of rogue.

“Then I guess I am not a good mate,” she said and looked down because she had a hard time keeping eye contact with me. “You better just get rid of me.”

I chuckled a little.

“Never,” I said.

“And I thought I was stubborn,” she mumbled.

I smiled and moved just a little bit closer before I slowly placed my hands on her hips and brought her body up against mine. She gasped surprised, and placed her hands on my chest, trying to keep a distance between us.

“W-What are you doing?” she asked.

“We started our morning all wrong,” I told her.

“Wrong?”

I nodded and then leaned closer to kiss her. She didn’t struggle so much against me this time and leaned a little into the kiss. I didn’t keep contact for long, afraid she would pull away.

“That’s better,” I whispered.

She was blushing now though, and it was so sweet. I loved the sight of it.

“I think all our mornings should start like this,” I told her.

“Eh …”

“Unless you don’t want them to,” I said.

I hoped she did. I hoped she would eventually get used to me and let down her guards. I understood she was being cautious around me. Of course, I did. I knew that, just like I had been taught that rogues were evil and untrustworthy, she had been taught the same thing about pack members. Rogues didn’t stay together in bigger packs though; they could stay together in small groups. I knew though since Nova had been in that house last night that she was a part of a rogue pack that should not exist, but was being led by some powerful and very cruel rogues. We didn’t know much about them, sadly, but they had to be very strong if they could make rogues work together. We had to end them though, which was why I hoped to win Nova’s trust for more than one reason. I hoped she would tell us more, so we could finally end this rogue problem we had.

“I … I don’t think I should be here,” she whispered.

“Why not?”

“I … I don’t think anyone would want me to.”

“I do,” I told her.

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“You are affected by the bond!” she said.

I smiled a little.

“As any other wolf would be,” I said.

“Yes, but any other wolf is not mated to a rogue,” she pointed out.

I just shook my head a little.

“You’re right. I have got a special mate.”

“A special mate?!”

I chuckled a little.

“Of course, it surprised me, my mate is a rogue, but now that I know you aren’t really one, then there is no problem.”

“Wait?! Not a real one?!” she asked angrily.

I was confused by her anger. I couldn’t see what I had said that was so wrong.

“Yes.”

“I am a rogue!” she yelled and pushed away from me.

“But you never hurt anyone,” I said. “You aren’t really—”

“I am a rogue!” she repeated. “And I will gladly prove it to you!”

“Easy now, little one, I didn’t mean anything bad by it,” I told her.

“Then don’t ever say I am not a real rogue! I know I have not done anything horrible, but I am as much at fault for what my pack has done, and so, therefore, I have committed many crimes because I never tried to stop them and I never will!” she told me and crossed her arms.

She had a point. She was at fault too for the crimes this pack she belonged to had done, and I knew a lot of people would want her punished too. She might get off a little easier, but I knew it would be harder for her to be accepted.

“Nova …”

I stepped a little closer to her, but she took a step back, clearly not wanting me close right now.

“I don’t see why you want to be a rogue so badly,” I said. “Not when you have a chance to be something else.”

“But I am not something else. I am rogue.”

“But you could be,” I said.

She shook her head.

“I don’t want to be.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Why?!”

I nodded, and she looked at me confused.

“Have you any idea how snobby all you pack members are and how big your egos are?!”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me! You always think you are so much better than anyone else, and the rest of us are just dirt. Even lone wolves you look down on, or if anyone does even just the tiniest thing you don’t agree with, you can just see it in your eyes how much you judge them, and you aren’t even that much better yourself!” she told me.

I looked at her shocked. I knew we had a different look at the world, but I had no idea this was how she saw us. How she saw me.

“You think we are that horrible?” I asked.

“I know it!”

“And somehow you rogues are better when you go destroy people’s lives and are not even sorry about it?” I asked.

“The same people who would gladly kill us, you mean!”

“No, innocent lives,” I said.

“You have no idea who our targets are or why!” she said. “You didn’t even stop to think that I might just have become a rogue because my parents were. To you, we are all the same! Scum!”

“Maybe because you all act the same way.”

“And that comes from a pack member,” she said.

How had things gone so wrong so fast? I had no idea, and I wasn’t sure how to fix this. Nova was going on and on about how horrible us pack members were. Could she not see the destruction she and her pack had left behind and how many people they had hurt? What on earth was going through her head?