Aegis's P.O.V

"We need a way in."

The Boardroom is tense. Noah, Emery, and Zach are hunched over the map marking the the elder rogue’s location in red. I'm seated in my roller chair as we brainstormed on what to do.

We've been searching for this particular rogue for 6 months now. He's an expert at hiding in plain sight and being able to bypass all of our attempts to capture him. From rape, kidnap and trafficking, this guy was the Lord of all of them. Pulling him down would sever a lot of thing for the trafficking and inhumane experiments business. It'll put them in chaos and we all know chaos makes people do very stupid things.

That's phase one of my revenge plan.

"We know he’s a womanizer," Noah says. "Always surrounded by prostitutes. That’s our best bet at getting to him." Zach nods.

"We send a woman in, someone he won’t recognize or someone he wouldn't suspect at all." A pause. We all look at each other. No one speaks.

Then Noah sighs. "This won’t work unless we have the right person."

"Not just any woman," Zach agrees. "She needs to be a rogue, someone who understands his world."

I groan. "Great. And where do we find a rogue willing to help us?" Silence. Then, Emery stiffens as we all arrive at the same conclusion.

We all turn to him. "No," he says immediately.

Zach smirks. "Yes."

"No." Noah grins.

"Yes." I lean back, amused. "Talia."

Emery groans, running a hand through his hair. "Look. I can’t ask her. She’s already pissed at me today and i don’t want to make it worse."

Zach crosses his arms. "Well, we’re not asking her."

Noah shrugs. "Not it." They all turn to me.

I glare. "Oh, screw you guys." Noah grins. "You’re Alpha. You can do anything." He says making finger quotes.

I mutter curses under my breath. "Fine. I’ll ask her.But you guys would be responsible for the entire process of planning and implementation."

"Deal". Noah agreed and sank his hands in his pockets.

Emery looks up with a dangerous smile on his face. "So we're really doing this yeah?. We're avenging them."

"Yeah." We all answered simultaneously.

We shared smirks and half smiles as we agreed without saying a word. This is it_ our revenge and closure with our dead loved ones.

"If we go down, we go down. Let's do this." Noah answers.

"They'll never know what hit them." I finalize with a smile. The guys nodded and made their way out.

"Emery please tell Talia I'll be seeing her in my office in the next 30 minutes."

"Yes Alpha." He answered bowing his way out.

Man I love being an Alpha.

***********************"*"""**********

Thirty minutes later, Talia stands in front of me, arms crossed.

"Please take your seat, Miss Talia." I clear my throat. "So. We need your help." She raises a brow. I shift.

"You see, we...uh...need a woman. For a mission. A rogue mission, specifically." Her expression doesn’t change. I cough. "And since you’re a rogue…"

A small smirk tugs at her lips. "Are you asking me to be bait?"

I wince. "More like a distraction?"

She laughs. "My father used to do the same to me." I blink. "What?"

Her voice is light, but dark at the same time. "He used me as bait when I was younger. To lure enemies out."

Guilt hits me. I swallow. "If this makes you uncomfortable..." She waves a hand. "Relax. I’ll do it."

"Really?" She shrugs. "Sure. When?" I grin. "Now." She laughs again. "Give me five minutes."

**************************************** Talia and I walk through the human district. She's wearing a very sexy and revealing red dress and it's safe to say she looks like every man's wet dream. I'm wearing a black leather two piece complete with a black cloak that hid my hair and half my face. The streets are loud and filled with flashing lights and drunken laughter. Men whistle at our retreating back and Talia smirks. "They’re enjoying the view."

A voice crackles through my earpiece. "If one more man looks at you, I swear...". Emery’s voice is low and threatening.

Talia tilts her head. "Jealous, mate. I thought you said you weren't sure i was the one for you?" Silence.

Then Zach snickers. "Damn, bro. She got you there." Talia grins. We keep walking and blending in. Then we get to the chapel building.

An old woman sits by the chapel gates stretching a wrinkled hand at everyone passing by. She turns to us as we get closer. "Palm reading?"

Talia lights up. "Ooh! Let’s do it."

I groan. "Really, but I don't want to?" She’s already handing the woman money. The old woman takes Talia’s palm, her eyes narrowing. "Hmm… your beloved is close, but the bond is frayed. A fight lingers between you two."

Emery curses through the earpiece. Talia smirks. "Accurate." Zach chuckles. "I like this lady."

The woman turns to me. "And you, dear?" I shake my head. "No, thanks." Talia pouts. "Come on. Don’t be a coward."

The guys chime in. "C'mon Alpha, Do it."

I groan. "Fine." I take off my glove and the woman takes my hand. Then stiffens. Her eyes widen. Her grip tightens. I frown. "What?" She whispers, "So much darkness."

A chill runs down my spine. Her voice lowers. "Your hunger for revenge… it is supposed both satisfy and destroy you." The air feels heavy. She leans closer. "But the fates have decided to show you mercy. An anchor."

My throat is dry. "What anchor?" Her lips curl into a small smile. "One who will take away your pain… and stop you from destroying yourself." I swallow. "Who?" She ignores me.

Instead, she tilts her head. "Ah… and there’s another." I tense. Her voice softens. "A little girl says hello."

My heart stops. I whisper, "Describe her." She does. Down to the curls. The big eyes. Cece. I yank my hand back. The earpiece is silent. Talia blinks. "Who’s Cece?" I don’t answer. No one does.

The woman studies me, then murmurs, "There are other eyes on you." A memory flashes. Two-colored eyes in the dark. Watching. My voice is hoarse. "What do you mean?" She smiles. "The eyes belong to you."

Before I can ask more, Noah’s voice crackles in. "Alpha. They know you’re here." The woman’s lips twitch. "Go, little wolf." I step back, my chest tight. We move.

Talia played her part perfectly. She sways her hips, purrs about how the elder rogue sent for her. One of the guards grabs her ass. "Let me test you first." Talia stiffens. Rage floods me. Oh no he didn't. I rip off my glove, unsheathing my dagger. And so it starts. The guard barely has time to react before I slit his throat. Blood sprays. Screams follow. Then silence. Talia breathes out. "Well. That was fast."

I put my glove back on. "Let’s go."

Fighting through his men is easy and ridiculous so infact. We cut them down one by one, guided by the guys’ voices through the earpieces. Then we reach him.

I took a look at him and burst into laughter. Talia sees him too and starts laughing. The irony of a young, almost dwarfed and bald man to refer to himself as the Elder wolf.

The so called elder rogue smirks. "Brave little bitches." Talia lunges but hee moves faster and slices his blade through her thigh. She gasps and stumbled. Rage again flares through me and I see red. I punch him hard. He crumples and promptly passes out.

I kneel beside Talia to try to bind the wound before the guys get here but i hesitate. If my bare skin touches her wound… Talia groans. "It’s fine. Just tie it."

"I can't."

Sighing loudly, I pull my gloves on and call for backup. She winces. To distract herself, she mutters, "What poison is on your hands?"

"The Somrato but I modified it." Her eyes flicker. "My father used that once." I blink. "What?" She forces a weak smile. "I was dating a guy. Turns out he just wanted to get close to my father. So… my dad handled it." Her voice is hollow. I exhale.

"You’re only talking to forget the pain, aren’t you?" She chuckles. "Maybe." A beat of silence. Then, quietly, she says, "I was never allowed friends. My dad said it was too dangerous."

I watch her. She sighs. "Now, I don’t even know how to find one."

I tilt my head. "Why?" She shrugs. "No one wants to be friends with a rogue."

Something inside me twists as I remember young me and how desperately I wanted to make friends. Before I can think, the words slip out. " You can be my friend." Talia blinks. "Are you sure?" she whispers.

"Yeah," I say. "But… you might have to teach me how to be one." She lets out a breathy laugh. "Me neither."

I lift my pinky. "I promise to be your friend forever." She stares and then laughs. "A pinky promise? Really?"

I nod with my face as seriously as ever. "It’s the most sacred of promises." She shakes her head but links her pinky with mine. I smile. So does she.

We wait in silence for a bit before backup arrives. As they carry the elder rogue away, I took a look at my hand and saw black smoke threading it's way across my palm and everything in me stops.

It's like everything flashed In my brain and suddenly I could piece everything together.

"I know what she is." I whisper, "She’s a Fae."

Talia frowns at me . "Who?" I glance back at the chapel gate. "The woman. She’s a Fae."

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