UNLUCKY ROGUE

VALERIE I look at the man standing before me. He's standing on the same rock I was standing on only moments ago. It is completely dark, but I can easily see him with my wolf vision. He stands there with his hands in his pockets and his jaw clenched. His eyes are a dark shade, showing that he's fighting to control his wolf. So he has been watching me this whole time? I fight against the urge to grit my teeth in rage at the gift he was talking about. "It's past twelve. My birthday is over, Hunter," I say tautly. I hear the growl that comes from him and smirk in satisfaction to the reaction. "I should have killed you the first day I saw you in the diner," he says in bitterness. "Just like I should have killed you the first day I shifted," I retort. "Now I understand why you ran the way you did," I say, baiting him. I am sure the look on my face is very smug as I speak. There's another growl coming from his chest in response. "It won't be for long Austin. The curse will be broken as soon as I kill you," he says and I grit my teeth at his words. He is Mark Ambrose Hunter; the great grandson of the Hunter that had stolen the statue from the Silverstone Moon Pack. The curse that was given to his great grandfather by the Moon Goddess was passed down to all their generations. I know well enough that the curse won't allow Mark Ambrose to shift in the day. The first sunlight would steal the ability to shift from all Hunters! After the curse was cast on him, the thief of the Hunters became a staunch follower of the evil. Planning to destroy the Moon Temples of several of the packs had been the start of his plans. "Why didn't you?" I ask curiously. "The same reason you didn't," he says. The only reason we hadn't killed each other the moment we met was because we had been unaware of whom our true enemy was. Now I know that I was created by the Moon Goddess to kill him, the same way he was created by the evil to kill me! "Why the Riverside Moon Pack?" I ask. I know now that it wasn't Archie who destroyed the statue of the Riverside Moon Pack but it was Mark who smashed it. He then stole the pieces of the statue and hid the piece of silver I found today. His message was left to show that he would destroy the Temple soon. But as long as I am alive, I will never allow that to happen! "It was something to begin with," he answers shrugging his shoulders in nonchalance. Lunatic! Something to begin with? Hurting and killing people was just a game to him. I feel the rage boil in my veins from his words and what they mean, and my wolf pushes at the surface to be let out. "It must be sad for you, after the death of your puppet?" I ask. All this time he was the one controlling Archie. Everyone thought Archie was the bad guy, when the real bad guy is now standing in front of me, grinning at his own master plan. "Oh no, in fact, I must thank you for killing Archie. He was beginning to get into my head too much. I would have done it sooner or later, but you-," he says, pointing his index finger at me, "You just made my job easier." He gives me a wicked smirk to show just how pleased he is that I had interfered. This guy seriously has no feelings. The only person he cares about is himself. He is indeed evil; a demon. "And here I thought you would be missing your puppet," I say sarcastically, pouting. His response is a humorless laugh. "Tell the woman who created you that I plan on making sure she vanishes completely." "How? By a hammer?" I ask and laugh mockingly. "Ironic isn't it? The hammer that you used to destroy the statue is the same one that I used to free all those people that you had kept in darkness!" "That was their punishment for worshipping her," he says with a wide smirk. A malicious growl slips from my lips. He isn't the least bit ashamed of what he did to them. The only thing he cares about is the destruction of the Moon Temple. "Did you really attack the Riverside Moon Pack because it was something to begin with, or was it to get into the Waterfall Moon Pack?" I ask. The threatening growl that comes from his chest confirms my thoughts and I smile inwardly. The demon thought that the white wolf would have been born in the Waterfall Moon Pack; after all, one had been born there before. I suspect it would have been the case because his great grandfather wasn't there to witness the blessing the Moon Goddess had given to my great grandfather, Mr. Jeremy Victor Austin. He didn't know that the white wolf, which is me, would be born as an Austin! I feel myself saddened by the knowledge that the Riverside Moon Pack went through all that just because a particular demon wanted to kill the next white wolf. Even now, he wants them to continue to suffer. "Give a gift like that to me ever again and I swear to the Moon Goddess, that you will regret ever being born," I threaten through gritted teeth. My wolf is so close to the surface. She wants to be let out to kill him, but I keep my control on her. Even though it is what I want to do, I know it is wrong. "That was just the beginning Austin. You'll come across those a lot," he says. The smug look he displays shows me just how happy he is to hear my responding growl to his comment. I won't allow myself to give him the satisfaction of intimidating me. I close my eyes and take in deep breaths, telling myself to calm down. My wolf doesn't want to back down, knowing now who the enemy he needs to destroy is. But I know I have to hold her back. We both know that now isn't the right time. He's baiting me to attack him first, but I control my anger, wanting him to attack me first. After several moments of deep breathing, I feel my wolf calm inside me, but she stays guarded and close. I know she will stay that way until she's able to gain the satisfaction of killing him! "Leave my territory, now!" I order him amid clenched teeth. I had to block the Pack from my mind since I left to meditate, and I continued doing so even now, knowing it quite well that it's wrong of me to involve them in this. "I will, for now," he answers while grinning. "Make sure to hide all your minions, because I'm going to hunt them down, one after the other, and then I'll be coming for you," I warn, using my Alpha tone to imprint the seriousness of each word on him. Being a rogue, the tone ends up being useless on him. "Don't worry. I'll make you come to me," he says and takes a step back away from me. "Because we both know that we will have to meet again," he continues and shrugs his shoulders. I know that that will definitely be the case. The next time we meet, it will be a fight. "Until then, I want you out of my territory," I order him emphatically. "Until then," he says and raises his chin a little in sternness. He then walks slowly backwards while holding my stare. He dives backwards from the rock when on its edge and he swims away. My wolf only relaxes and lets her guard down once he's out of my sight. Heaving a deep sigh, I turn around. I'm surprised to see Oscar, Nathan, Evie and Donald, all standing behind me. Even though they are far away from me, I know that they were able to hear everything that was said between Hunter and me. The perks of being a shifter! I look at Oscar's hand at his side and I see him holding onto the black cloth containing the piece of the old statue. "Jeff has been traced, Alpha." Oscar says. Jeff is one of the many men that ran away with Mark Ambrose. He was one of the tormentors to all of those that were in the dungeon. We have been trying to trace the rogues since the day they escaped, for six months now. Today is the first time we have been successful in our search. "Everything is planned," Nathan says and his eyes shift into black, showing that his wolf is close to the surface. I smirk and nod at them. We all know what Jeff's fate will be once we get to him. "No mercy!" I declare. "No mercy it is!" they all respond and nod in agreement.