Chapter 76

Jesse

The fire was burning low by the time Scott finally showed up.

Around me, the other rogues lingered, or at least, the few who had remained awake long enough to watch Scott’s subtle, late-night visit. Those who lingered were my most loyal. Even while they drooped with fatigue, they stayed up with their leader, ready to protect me if Scott tried anything stupid, and admittedly, to listen in on whatever he had to say.

Like me, these rogues had been anticipating his arrival since the letter announced his intentions to come into camp that evening. None of us could have predicted that it would be early morning and pitch-black when he finally came.

The scent of city pollution and expensive cologne preceded him. In the dying orange glow of the fire, his smirk pulled his cheeks in an eerie way.

“Well,” Scott said as he sauntered up to the fire. His hands were shoved casually into his pockets like he wasn’t surrounded by rogue wolves who could tear him limb from limb. “Thanks for staying up for me.”

I clenched my teeth against a retort. Anyone else would have been punished for their insolence. But I needed him.

“What is it you wanted to tell me?” I snapped. “It better be good.”

He cast a look at the other surrounding rogues as if seeing them for the first time. They watched him in return, hesitant and cautious, some with their teeth bared.

“Thought you’d want to know that Evelyn came to see me today,” he said.

That got my attention. I stood slowly, lifting my gaze until our eyes locked across the fire. “Go on.”

“She asked about Emma. Said she wanted to know if she was working with the rogues. I played dumb, obviously. I told her I hadn’t heard anything about Emma since I got exiled. Which is true, by the way, but I’m not stupid. I know you and Emma aren’t exactly icing each other out,” he said with a careless shrug. “But she’s poking around and getting suspicious. Thought you’d want to know.”

“And she came to you for this,” I pressed.

“It was part of our deal that we would take her down,” he said. “But in light of recent… developments with the rogues, it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s set her sights on revenge elsewhere.”

He gave me a pointed look as he spoke.

“I doubt she believed you when you said you didn’t know anything,” I said, voice low. “She’s a smart girl.”

Scott gave a short laugh. “Not smart enough to stay away from you, though. I heard she walked right into your camp. That she was willing and wanting. And somehow you still had her slip through your fingers. How unfortunate.”

I moved toward him until we were face to face. My fists were clenched at my sides, and I could feel my claws extending, unbidden.

“Did she say anything else?” I bit out, barely leashing my fury.

He shook his head. “No. She didn’t mention you, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Heat flared in my chest. How dare she run away like that and continue to make me look like a damn fool? Even Scott, recently exiled, found humor in my situation. It was too much.

“You were right to say her leaving was unfortunate. But that’s the understatement of the year.”

Scott tilted his head like a curious dog. “What do you mean?”

And just like that, the power of the conversation shifted back into my hands. Around us, the other rogues perked up, their interests piqued.

“She’s the princess,” I said. “The Alpha King’s daughter. The one they all thought was gone.”

Scott’s smirk faltered, and for a second, I thought he might actually understand the gravity of what I’d just said. A few of the onlooking rogues gasped around us. They were being rewarded for their loyalty by being some of the first to know.

Then Scott snorted, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re joking.”

“Do I look like I’m joking? Do you see me laughing?”

“She’s a healer,” he said, waving his hand. “And Logan’s wife, besides. Do you really think that he married the princess but then let everyone think he’d tied himself to someone so beneath him? She’s never once—”

“That’s the cover story,” I snapped. “That’s how they kept her hidden from the rest of the packs. The royal family knew. I’m not sure if Logan does, but if he doesn’t, he’s even more of a fool than I assumed. And now she’s back, returned to his side, playing war hero and getting everyone to bow at her feet. Again.”

Scott still looked unconvinced. “Even if that were true, what do you want me to do with it? She’s already gone. You let her go.”

“Spread the word. Whisper it in every alley, every bar, every broken pack outpost in the city. You are at the heart of everything in that city. Your office is in the center of it all. Use that to your advantage and spread it. People need to know what she is.”

“And why would that help you?”

“Because once the truth is out,” I growled, “she won’t be able to hide behind Logan’s protection. They’ll all recognize her for the lying bitch she is.”

Scott’s brows rose, a slow, skeptical smile curling at his lips. “You’re really obsessed with her, aren’t you?”

I didn’t answer. Maybe I was, but who cared? Everything I had in this world I had taken through hard work. I had earned it all. And I would take her too. It would just require more time.

He let out a short laugh. “Sorry, Jesse, but this whole ‘she’s the princess’ thing? It sounds like a conspiracy theory. And frankly, who’s going to believe me? I hardly even believe you. And I’m a recently exiled werewolf, sent away by her husband. They’ll all say I just had an ax to grind with them.”

My claws were extended enough to draw blood from my palms, but I hardly felt the pain.

“You’re useless,” I hissed. “You bring me nothing, you dig up nothing, and you’re too much of a coward to move when I give you power to do something, anything, with your sorry little life.”

Scott’s smile finally dropped. “I gave you a base in the city, contacts—”

“And not one piece of real information,” I cut in. “You don’t even believe the truth when it’s handed to you on a silver platter. And on top of it all, you won’t do what I ask of you.”

I turned my back on him. “Get out. If you won’t help bring her down, I have no use for you. Our deal is done.”

For a moment, he didn’t move. I was about to have my rogues see him out forcibly when I heard his footsteps crunching away into the trees.

Coward.

It took everything in me not to shift. I was so furious, more furious than I had been in a long time. It was the blinding kind of rage I experienced rarely, but when I did, it was all-consuming. I had felt it on the battlefield with Logan and during my duel for the Alphahood. I breathed heavily to try to calm myself.

When the sound of Scott’s retreat finally disappeared, I turned to a rogue still lingering at my side. Lucas stood closest to me at my right, watching silently. He’d been quiet through the whole exchange, eyes like twin blades cutting through the smoke as the fire coughed up its last few breaths.

“We’re going after someone else now,” I said. “I know another angle we can work.”

Lucas raised a brow. “Who?”

“Emma.”

He frowned. “Logan’s other girl? She hasn’t been around these parts in a while.”

“She’s Evelyn’s rival. Some even say she's one of Logan’s weaknesses. If we’re lucky, she’ll be angry, bitter, and abandoned. We can use that.”

Lucas nodded slowly. “What do you want me to do?”

“Find her. Bring her to me. Tell her I have a proposition. She will come to me and at least listen. I know it. The two of us go back.”

He turned to go, but I stopped him with one final warning, grabbing his upper arm. I had forgotten about my bloody palms, and the touch immediately stained Lucas’s shirt. If he noticed, he didn’t so much as flinch.

“And if she doesn’t come willingly, make her,” I added.

He gave a sharp nod and vanished into the woods.

I stared into the last shadows thrown up by the flames. Around me, the rogues shifted their weight between their feet uncomfortably.

I was about to remind Logan and Evelyn that some stories end in fire. And I was willing to burn it all down to prove my point to them..