His Little Human Mate

Chapter 16

Nixx

If patience is a virtue, then impatience in an unconscious thought, because I'm certain it's taking absolutely nothing out of me to crouch here and tap my foot. Except, well, my patience.

Sitting on the edge of a rogue camp should feel daring, dangerous, and exhilarating, but all I feel is irritation and anger. Angry that they jumped us and I didn't know until fangs were flashing. Angry that I let them hurt Noella. Angry that most of them got away.

"Micket says there's nothing so far," Tristan murmurs from my left. "Either they aren't here, or they're impossibly good at hiding."

Micket, one of Tristan's best trained soldiers, offered to scale the trees and listen for anything abnormal. He's an amazing tracker, and if he doesn't sense anything, I believe there's nothing here.

"Give it another minute and then pack up," I say to Tristan as I stand. "I'm going to look around."

He stands too, saying, "Micket can handle things here. I'm coming with you."

I nod, too tired and jittery to object. There's no harm in him coming.

The abandoned building from afar looks like a rickety old pile of metal, but as we creep closer, I see that it's definitely more than scraps of metal.

They've built their own pack here. Little wooden sheds and makeshift houses created from anything and everything you can find in scrap piles litter the space around us. The giant hunk of metal I'm assuming is the packhouse is actually not half bad. It looks like a building, and that's saying something, trust me.

"They really are just wolves with a point to prove," Tristan mutters, his hand brushing a red flag.

Red is the rogues signature colour, and it's evident that this particular group does not care who knows what they are. Red litters everywhere. Paint on wood, flags on posts, paper stuck to the walls. It's almost admirable, how unashamedly they live their lives.

"Thank you for humouring me, Tristan, but I don't think there's anything here," I say as I do one last turn.

It's deserted. Crickets chirp somewhere in my head. The light breeze whistles in my ears.

They left. To where, I have no idea. I know that Foxley is insanely good at evading people, and I know his men are insanely good at covering up tracks. It's one of the reasons his life is still holding up. I don't like playing hide-and-seek, and Foxley knows that.

"Alright then," Tristan starts, wiping his hands on his knees. "We better get going if...."

Something white catches my eye, flying across the ground in a wild attempt at escaping the wind.

A white rose.

I look to where it came from, my blood heating to a dangerous temperature as I see more inside the building door.

I walk over and prop it open, every nerve exploding in chaos as I read the message displayed in mangled white petals.

You lose.

I slam the door shut, already knowing without a doubt what it means. This man and his games...

"What?" Tristan asks, rushing to catch up with me as I practically sprint away from the door. "What's wrong?"

"He has Noella," I growl right before my body shifts, muscles rearranging and skin tearing as I take on my wolf form.

And then, I run.

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•

Noella

"Let me out!" I scream at the bulky guard stalking in front of my cell. "You can't keep me in here!"