Just a Rogue

Corinne

I’m worried that Amelia is having some kind of seizure in the back seat next to me. She suddenly is breathing hard, and tenses completely up, and throws her head back against the seat behind her. I ask her if she’s okay, but she doesn’t answer.

Darlene notices that something is going on, and tells Janine to hurry because Amelia has been without her mate long enough.

What is this? I know that she’s mated to Dom, but can that be harmful? I can’t tell if she seems like she’s in pain or something else, but I know that there is definitely something wrong.

When we get to the packhouse Janine stops to let her out, and she zooms towards the stairs behind the building so fast that she doesn’t even close the car door behind her. I reach across the seat to pull it closed, and Janine starts driving again, towards the garage in the back.

“Um, does she need help?” I ask.

Darlene glances back at me, and explains, “It’s the mate bond that she has with Dominic. It can be very powerful, especially at first. She just needs to be with him.” She and Janine lock eyes for a moment, little smiles on their faces, then Janine looks out through the windshield as she pulls the car into the garage.

Apparently it’s the kind of thing that only mates can understand. I’ll never feel anything like it. I do know, though, what it feels like to long to be with somebody. I think about Evan’s blue eyes, filled with pain and longing as I said goodbye to him earlier. I try to brush it off. Focus. I have to focus.

But it doesn’t help when I see that Evan is trotting up towards us from the packhouse as we are walking back from the garage, carrying the bags of stuff that Janine bought at the electronics and craft stores.

“Hi,” he says, “can I help?” He doesn’t look particularly happy, more like he is absolutely determined to do something. I try not to spend too much time ogling his broad shoulders and blond hair and clean shaven face. I really have to keep my mind on only two things: getting ready to go back to the rogues, and figuring out a way to make Xavier believe that I returned so we can raise our baby together. I have to be neutral about the presence of this gorgeous and kind and sweet - No! Stop. Focus.

“Sure, thanks,” Darlene says, handing him one of the heavier bags. She turns around and looks at me. “Do you want to take a rest before we start getting everything ready?”

“No,” I say firmly. I want to get this done. The sooner the better. Now that I have resolved to do this, I just want to get moving.

“What do you need to get ready?” Evan asks, walking along with us towards the front of the packhouse.

Janine answers, “We are going to put together the monitoring devices, prepare some camouflage for them, and teach Corinne how to use them.”

He nods. “Please let me help. I want to do whatever I can.”

Darlene glances at me, then nods to Evan. “All right. Let’s set up in the conference room.”

Evan

If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it right. I have to help her get through this, and if helping her learn how to use spyware is what it takes, that’s what I’ll do. Once this whole rogue thing is over, I will start over with Corinne, I hope, if she’ll let me. But first things first.

Janine dumps her bags upside down on the conference room table and a bunch of items fall out. She plucks out one box immediately and tears it open, and I see it is blue surgical gloves. She tosses a pair to me and one to Darlene. “Here, we have to wear these. We can’t touch anything with our skin, that might leave a scent.”

Thank god Janine is in charge of this, I think she was about the smartest kid in high school, some kind of genius nerd who was always in charge of all of the tech equipment. Every teacher knew who to go to for help if they needed their laptops fixed or their audio-visual equipment set up. Janine is going to be careful and thorough and think of everything. She’s amazing and I trust her completely. No wonder she’s a Luna.

Once Darlene and Janine and I all have our hands covered in blue like surgeons, or maybe the bad guys in Firefly, it’s time to start. The conference room table is completely covered with all sorts of things, boxes containing different tech, which Janine starts grouping together. “Okay,” she says, “I got duplicates of everything that Corinne will be using, so that we can practice together with her to make sure we are getting the use of each device correct. This is your pile, Corinne, none of the rest of us will touch it even with our gloves on.” She indicates a pile across the table. “Evan, this is your pile. It has all the same devices that Corinne does, so we can have you both practicing together and we can double check that everything is working the right way.

Janine busts out a laptop and starts pulling up instructions, and directing Corinne and I about what to do. She wants to start with some hidden microphones for Corinne to plant in the cave. We each open the first of our boxes, take out the packaging, and she directs us step by step how to set it up.

While we are doing that, Darlene is working on the crafting supplies, and after a while I see what she’s doing. She is planning to make covers to go over the devices, camouflaged like rocks, so that nobody will notice them.

This is all so fucking clever. I know that Corinne is in good hands here, and I’m kind of enjoying myself, helping her learn how to use these things.

After a couple of hours Amelia and Dom come in, and Amelia says, “Can we help?” She has a slightly sheepish expression on her face for some reason, and Darlene gives her a little smirk, but nobody says anything about it.

Except for Corinne, who turns her wide gray eyes onto her friend, and with concern in her voice asks, “Are you feeling better?”

Dom spurts out a laugh, and Amelia blushes and says, “Mm-hmm.” Then she obviously tries to divert attention by asking Janine what we are working on.

Ha! I get it, apparently Dom and Amelia have been making up for lost time. Probably downstairs getting it on for the past two hours.

I can’t wait to make up for lost time with Corinne. But first we need to get past this.

Amelia

There’s a lot to get through, and Janine drills Corinne over and over and over again in the exact techniques for how to set up all the listening devices, and how to cover them with the camouflage. Once we drop her off in Arcata she is completely on her own. She can’t even have a cell phone with her when she gets to the cave, so she’s not bringing one.

We will be tracking her movements, though. Darlene has Corinne take her shoes off, and she very carefully cuts a slit in the sole of each shoe using a sharp blade. Janine has prepared tiny tracking devices, and Darlene inserts one into each shoe and seals it up with powerful adhesive glue. When it has dried, Corinne puts the shoes back on and tests them out, and says that they are still perfectly comfortable. Janine checks her laptop to confirm that the signal is clear, and Corinne’s location is precise - even just walking back and forth across the conference room Janine can see on the computer where she is.

Dom and I go to the kitchen to bring dinner, since we’re still working, and besides Corinne shouldn’t be in the cafeteria where someone might bump into her accidentally. We are all being very careful to keep our distance.

After dinner, Alpha Ross and Alpha Kanen come in as well, staying at the back of the room, well away from Corinne. We absolutely can’t risk any hint of an Alpha’s scent lingering when she meets the rogues. They start going over the plan with Janine and Darlene, making sure that Corinne understands what to do.

Her instructions are to get to the cave, set up the devices, and wait for the rogues. We will be monitoring every second. We will have pack members driving cars up and down the closest roads a few miles from the cave. There is a trailhead a couple of miles away from the cave, and that will be the rendezvous point for Corinne and any of the female rogues that are able to escape before the battle. We’ll be monitoring the entire area with cameras attached to little flying drones, at least until the rogues arrive, since we wouldn’t want them looking up and seeing one and becoming suspicious. It’s even possible that we’ll have pack members in the woods surrounding the cave if the drones are able to identify good hiding spots, no closer than half a mile away so that no scent will be detected, but available to move in if needed.

Then, somewhere between 36 and 48 hours after the rogues arrive, the packs will move in and the battle will begin. Corinne has that long to try to warn the females to either escape, or to submit as soon as the battle starts. It is their one hope to survive.

I wish so much that I could give Corinne a hug. I am sure that my desire is nothing compared to Evan’s. I’m so proud of him for buckling down and taking part in this. He is determinedly helping Corinne learn how to use the tech, ever patient even when it has to be explained repeatedly. He holds up his device, pointing to what to push, where to set things, what to look for, and waits for her to locate it on her device and do the same.

We learn something about her that hadn’t occurred to me before. She is functionally illiterate. It makes sense, but I hadn’t previously considered what it would actually mean for her to never have been allowed to attend school. When would she ever have been taught anything? Considering her complete lack of education, she is clearly very intelligent, and once she grasps the instructions, she seems to remember them.

She has a lot to do under pressure, and it is remarkable how well she is holding up. I’ve seen her cry, a lot, I’ve seen her fragile, I’ve seen her despairing. But tonight she is nothing but resolved, the gray in her eyes turned to steel. She is determined to do this.

She packs all of the tech she is bringing into a backpack which we obtained at the second hand store. It will be a bit heavy, but she’s a wolf. She can carry it a few miles from Arcata to the cave.

Darlene asks to speak with her alone, and the rest of us exit the conference room to give them privacy. The Alphas and Janine leave, but Evan and Dom and I wait in the hallway for them to finish speaking.

“What do you suppose they’re talking about?” Evan asks.

I’m pretty sure I know exactly what they are discussing. Darlene is talking to her about the pregnancy, and how to manage things, how to try to protect the baby for the few days that she’ll be gone. But probably also telling her that, if it is a matter of life and death, her wolf should allow her to shift. And making sure she knows exactly what that means. The baby would die. The physiology between our human and wolf forms is different enough that it does not permit a fetus to survive the transition. Corinne hasn’t been able to shift into her wolf form since she got pregnant.

I’ll bet that Corinne already knows, no doubt her wolf has made clear what is happening. But Darlene wants to provide Corinne with the motherly advice that she would never have gotten from anyone else.

Of course I can’t tell Evan. Nobody is supposed to know about this. Corinne was trying to keep it a secret, and I’d be willing to bet that if her condition was well known, Evan wouldn’t have been as cooperative. So I just shrug.

After a few minutes the door opens and Darlene and Corinne emerge, looking serious. Darlene says goodnight, then Corinne looks around at the three of us. There is nothing left to do but to say goodnight, and goodbye. We can’t invite her to watch movies, lounging on pillows with the other young members of the pack, not tonight.

“You should get some sleep, Corinne,” I tell her quietly, and she nods.

She looks at Evan, and whispers. “Thank you. Goodnight.”

I see his hands twitching at his sides. “Goodnight,” he croaks out. “I’ll be watching.”

She nods, and I hope that brings her comfort.

I walk her downstairs to her room.