Destiny of His Pack, Book 2

Marissa

The Alpha met us at the cell where they were holding the rogue. The Alpha raised an eyebrow at me being there but didn’t say anything. Alpha walked into the jail cell first. Next was Rafferty and me, and last was Da. The rogue looked up at us from the chair they had him chained to.

“Rogue, you were trespassing on Wildee Pack lands, and I want to know why,” Alpha said quietly yet with power.

The rogue looked at the Alpha before he lifted his nose, looking my way.

Honestly, this again? I am so sick of people putting their noses in the air when I’m around. Then I had an open mouth and insert foot moment, asking, “Seriously, what is it with you people and your sniffing?”

I stepped closer and shook my finger in the rogue’s face, which caused him to draw back slightly, a shocked look on his face. “Yes, I have feline DNA in me, lion DNA to be exact. That man over there,” I pointed back at my da, “that man is my da. He’s the one that wiped the floor with you. He’s the one who hit you so hard it took your brain four hours to unscramble enough for you to wake up!”

I heard the guards snicker and Rafferty’s chuckle.

“I may be small, and I may be female, but that shouldn’t matter. It also shouldn’t matter that I can’t shift into a mighty lion-like my Da or a majestic wolf-like my mate. However, the one thing that does matter is that you will respect me!” I shouted loud enough to shake the rafters as I heard my lioness roar within me.

The rogue cringed away from me and stared, shaking and wide-eyed.

I stood there breathing hard as I glared back.

Rafferty gently pulled me to him, calmly saying, “It will be okay, love. I’m sure he meant no disrespect to you. Please, calm down.”

I looked up at him. “Six months, Rafferty. I’ve been here six months, and some still sniff when they see me. I don’t understand. I’m trying to fit in, but when they do that, it makes me feel like a misfit.”

“She is the very reason we come. Tales are being circulated about the soon-to-be Luna of the mighty Wildee Pack,” the rogue suddenly stated, causing us to all turn and look at him.

“What tales?” Alpha asked.

“Tales that she is a feline halfling. I guess you could say that curiosity has gotten the best of us rogues. We wanted to know if what we had heard was true. I’m not the first, and I won’t be the last, I’m sure. When I heard it, I couldn’t believe it was true. Why would a wolf, an Alpha wolf, take a feline halfling to mate? It is unheard of,” the rogue asked.

“She is my destiny, and fate does not make mistakes. I knew the moment I saw her, she was mine, although, at the time, I didn’t know her father was a feline shifter,” Rafferty explained as he hugged me tightly.

“What about when you found out? Did you think of rejecting her?” The rogue asked.

“No, never, she is mine!” Rafferty growled, his eyes flashing.

The rogue nodded. “Some won’t like it, some won’t care, but most will understand because they know how hard it is without a mate. Hold on to her young Alpha, for every day with her is most precious.”

As the rogue said this, I looked at him, really looked at him. He was a tall man with lots of muscle. He had dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin, a slight accent, Spanish maybe? There was a pallor to his skin, though that spoke of sickness, and he had dark bags under his eyes. His hair was dirty and grimy.

“He lost his mate and is sad. He left his Pack, and he is Alpha. He must go home. His Pack needs him because his Da is sick. His second mate is coming, and she will need him. He needs her,” Marissa’s lioness stated.

My lioness spits all these facts out at me as I looked at the rogue. After walking over to him, I knelt on my knees and asked, “What is your name?”

“Roman,” the rogue answered.

“Roman, you need to go home now. You have grieved so long and hard for your mate that fate has found you worthy of a second chance for love. It would be best if you went home because your father needs you. Your Pack needs you.”

“My father? He was fine when I left. What has happened to him?” Roman questioned her with a fierce look on his face.

Before I could say anything, the Alpha asked, “What Pack are you from, Roman?”

“The Montoya Pack,” Roman answered.

“Montoya,” the Alpha hummed softly. “You’re Roman Montoya. You were to take over the Pack last year, but you disappeared without a trace. Marissa is right, Roman, your family needs you to come home. Your father was hit by a hunter’s arrow and has silver sickness. Your younger brother is too young to lead, so your ma has been trying to do it.”

“Silver sickness,” Roman muttered, now looking pale and sick. “Something which can be fatal for a wolf.”

I touched his hand, drawing his attention. “Go home, Roman, and lead your Pack. Be there for your father and ease your mother’s burden. Wait for your second love, for she will be so beautiful.”

Roman smiled and nodded. The guard removed his shackles.

Roman stood and then helped me stand as he said, “Thank you. I will let you know when my love arrives, so you may meet the woman you have spoken of.”

Roman then turned to my da, sticking out his hand and saying, “Thank you, sir. I appreciate you only ‘wiping the floor’ with me and not killing me.”

Da laughed. “Yer welcome, young lad. Now go home ta yer family. Be there fer yer da, I’ve been in his shoes. Silver sickness is hard ta live through, but havin’ yer family with ye gives a man good reason ta live.”

Roman stood frozen, his eyes wide. “An Irish lion, a bit far from home, aren’t you?”

“I suppose so, but the hunters killed me Pride and almost killed me. I took me family and left because the hurt was too much fer me lion and he left me fer a long time. Yer Da’s wolf may try ta going dormant, don’t let it, and he will heal faster,” Da suggested.

“Again, thank you, sir. May I call you if he needs someone who has been there?” Roman asked.

Da nodded.

“Tony, take Mr. Montoya back to his Pack lands. I think he’s been away long enough,” Alpha said.

With a nod, Tony took Roman home.

Alpha turned to me with his eyebrow quirked as he asked, “Would you like to tell me what that outburst was all about?”

I opened my mouth. Then I closed it just as quickly and swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Mr. Alpha, sir, I know I should have kept my mouth shut. I mean, I wasn’t even supposed to be here and...”

“I don’t care that you’re here, Marissa,” the Alpha stated. “If I didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be.”

Marissa frowned, confused. “Then I- I don’t know what to say, except I’m sorry. I just hate people sniffing at me all the time, it makes me uncomfortable, and I thought they would all be used to my smell by now and...”

“Marissa,” Alpha almost shouted this time, his nostrils flaring in aggravation.

I cringed back against Rafferty at the power of the Alpha. “Sir”

“I’m talking about the roar after your rant,” the Alpha informed her. “The one that almost had me, an Alpha, wanting to bow my head in submission!”

I stared at him, stunned, my mouth hanging open. I looked at Rafferty, who looked like he wanted to hear my answer also. Then I looked at Da, who looked full of Pride, his cat eyes glowing green.

“Um... what roar would that be, sir?” I asked. Then I returned my gaze to the Alpha, who was now looking as if he were about to explode. “I mean... um... I...”

I stopped, thinking hard, then my eyes widened. “You mean you heard that? I thought it was in my head when I heard a roar, and you’re telling me it wasn’t?”

“No, Marissa, it was most definitely not in your head. We all heard it, but how? You are female and half-human, so how can you roar?”

“She is me daughter, that’s why,” Da answered the Alpha sounding proud.

We turned to look at him and hear what else he had to say.

“I was a Pride leader, and our Pride was many before the hunters came and wiped us out. I was a powerful leader, and me sweet lassie has inherited that, much like yer son inherited what ye call the alpha gene. If Marissa has been male, she could have become a Pride leader in her own right,” Da informed them all.