Chapter 77: Trouble

Chapter seventy-seven: Trouble

Nicholas

It was the dead of night, Doris and I were sneaking past the patrol guards. We needed to make sure that no one saw us so that we wouldn't be asked questions. It is not ideal for the Beta to be leaving Pack grounds especially when the Alpha is still in recovery. No doubt that stupid Jasper would go running to Bernard and tell him everything. Of course, I would come up with an easy lie but I learned very early on to avoid unnecessary lies. They tended to make plans messier than they needed to be and I liked to keep my plans near.

"Are you sure we are going the right way?" Doris whispered as she trailed behind me.

"Yes, now shut up and just follow me in silence. We don't need them knowing we are heading their way before we even get there. Come on before someone sees us."

We had just crossed the Pack boundaries but we were still in a very visible area. I knew the patrol routes like the back of my hand after all I was the one who had designed them. There would be wolves heading in this direction within the next two minutes and we needed to be out of sight by then. We were traveling in human form to avoid detection but it also made us vulnerable. We were dealing with rogues here, they were feral beasts who relied more on their animal sense than their human sense. They were unpredictable and detached from humanity, two lethal combinations in an apex predator.

We were far enough from the pack boundaries now that we could talk freely. I had yet to pick up a new scent and I knew we still had some way to go but that was okay. I was still trying to come up with the best way to strategies with these rogues. If they were to affect Elena, I needed to extract as much information from them before I decided to work with them. If she is valuable to me then I would withhold access to her.

"How do you know if you can even trust these rogues? They are rogues after all." I cast a look over my shoulder at my sister.

"I don't know but sometimes you need to shake hands with the devil to get what you want at the end of the day. Besides, one is injured and the other fled the area so technically if it comes down to a fight, we would be evenly matched." She scoffed.

"One rogue is as good as three full grown warriors, brother. We are severely outnumbered here and you and I both know it. I don't even understand why you wanted us to come in the first place. Your initial plans were fine." I stopped and turned towards her.

"No, it was flawed all thanks to that stupid girl. She is the one outlier I did not account for and she is causing the most trouble. Bernard had his head so far up in the girl's ass that he can't even think straight and I need to know what is the deal with that." She held her hand up in surrender.

"Hey, don't come for me, I was just asking. I get it, the girl is a bit suspicious but I think at the end of the day, she is harmless."

"Harmless? That girl had four rogues searching for her and an Alpha who was pinning after her for what reason I didn't know. It is not like she is any better than Helen. Helen may be a bit of a crack head but at least her face makes up for the crazy."

My sister tried to smother her smile but I saw it, she hated Helen and I don't know why she hated her so badly. I couldn't blame her either, Helen was a crackhead on steroids.

"Come on, we need to get this over with and get back home." I started walking in the direction Jasper had described.

Normally, I was the picture of cool, calm, and collected but to be honest, I am nervous. Doris is right, rogues were extremely dangerous and we were heading in with no back and in our human form but I am desperate. I needed the answer and these people had them. I walked a little further until I picked up a scent. I held my hand up to stop my sister. I waited and listened, at first, I heard nothing, then I heard the soft cracking of firewood in the distance. I signaled my sister to start moving, we were close and from the strong scent, I could tell we were very close.

As we walked on, the small campsite they had built for themselves came into view. I could see one of the wolves lying in a hammock with his naked torso on display. He was clutching a cloth to his abdomen and it looked like he was fighting pain. The two other rogues were sitting by the fire, one was poking at it and the other looked like he was fighting off sleep. When they picked up on our scent, the two wolves by the fire stood up and looked in our direction. They were still using their human eyes so I know they couldn't see us.

"Whoever you are, you picked the wrong people to mess with. I am not in the most giving mood so just know when I catch you, I am slitting your throat wide open." I heard my sister take in a sharp intake of breath. She is scared and rightfully so. We are going into unknown territory.

I held my hands up and stepped out from the darkness and into the light where their campfire was lit moderately bright.

"We come in peace." I muttered.

"We?" The taller one said and I heard my sister step forward and follow behind me.

"Yes we," l lowered my hands.

"My name is Nicholas and this is my sister Doris. We are only here to talk about nothing else. We don't want any trouble." The taller one snorted.

"Please, you smell like trouble. What are you? Rogues? Nomads? I took a tentative step forward.

"My name is Beta Nicholas. I am the Beta of the Crescent Wolf Pack and I have a good reason to believe that you are looking for something within my Pack." The injured wolf raised his head for the first time. He groans as he tries to get up in the hammock and I could see the sweat dripping on his forehead from where we stood. He was not doing well at all.

"And what exactly do you believe we want within your Pack lands, Beta?"

Hey, you need to lie down. You are still weak." The teller wolf cautioned him but he scowled at him. The rogues that hadn't spoken yet were staring at us through cautious eyes. I had a feeling he was just there for pure muscle, the rest of these two had other roles to play.

"Her name is Elena and she stumbled into my Pack when you chased her down. I want to know why you are chasing after her."

"And why should we tell you anything?"

"Because I could be your ally in all of this. You are crazy to think that you could breach our boundaries without any help. The only way you can get to her is if you have access and I can grant you that." The injured one narrowed his eyes.

"And why should we trust you? For all we know, you could be lying to us. Why should we believe anything you say?" I wanted to tell them my plans but there was no way I was going to do that. Until I knew exactly why they needed her so I needed to keep my cards close to my chest.

"Just know that it would be in both our best interests if we worked together." He scoffed.

"All I hear is nonsense spewing from your mouth. We don't need your help and we certainly don't need you. Now leave before I have these guys make you leave." I looked at the two rogues and I knew that we were severely outnumbered. There was no way we were going to get into a fight and win. I had understated and miscalculated today's events.

"I can get you proper medical treatment and I can give you access to some necessities that you may be in dire need of. I can see that you are currently injured and I have access to world-class doctors and medical care." He let out a growl.

"I don't want anything from you. I don't trust you and I don't do business with things that I don't trust. So why don't you do yourself a favor and leave." The taller one that had been by the fire took a few threatening steps towards us. This was escalating into places that I did not need it to be. I am a brave man but I am not a stupid man. I knew when I was beaten and this was one of those times. I held my hands up in surrender.

"Fine we will leave but my offer still stands. We will make an excellent team and trust me, in the coming years, you will wish you were on my side from the beginning. Enjoy the rest of your night, gentleman."

I didn't wait for them to respond, I turned around, grabbed my sister's arm, and left the campsite. Before we got too far from the premises, I took out a paper I had written on how to contact me and stuck it to a tree using my dagger.

"Let us go." I said to my sister and we were off.

They would come around, one of them was sick and whatever that had infected him looked like it was winning. They would find themselves in a desperate situation and seek my help. I just needed to be patient and if anything, I am a patient man.