Abbie
I looked at Hunter with my eyes wide in shock. Did I hear him right? Bella's mate, Brandon, is THE Rogue King?
I have been searching for him and asked far and wide if anyone knew him, and no one ever knew who he was! I mean, as far as I could go, of course. Sadly, I was around humans most of the time and rarely talked to other werewolves besides those in my pack, but STILL!
Brandon Watson is The Rogue King! I think I'm going to cry. I am trying to hold back tears and not cry.
"Oh my goddess, Merida! It's him, it's really him!" I say, looking at Hunter with my mouth agape. Merida jumps up and down excitedly, making me feel happy.
"Close your mouth, baby. You might swallow a fly if you don't," Hunter says, kissing the tip of my nose. I blink a few times, looking at him, feeling dumbfounded and making me chuckle.
I turn my body to look at him closer, cupping his face and making him look at me. His mouth was squished between my hands, making his lips look more plump.
"Uhm, Abs?"
"Please tell me you're not joking?"
"Baby, what are you talking about? Of course, I'm not. You know Brandon, everyone knows he's the notorious rogue king." he says, holding my hands and kissing my palms. "Well, obviously, not everyone. I didn't!" I admit, making him raise an eyebrow and tilting his head quizzically.
"What? Really?"
"Uh, yeah!" I say, stating the obvious, gesturing with my hands. He chuckles slightly, nodding his head. "Are you serious? Baby, everyone knows this. What are you, Amish? Have you been living under a rock or something?" he asks, chuckling, making me cross my hands over my chest as I look at him bothered.
"Oh. You didn't know. Huh!" he says, clearing his throat and rubbing his head. My Goddess, he looks so handsome doing that. "Get it together, Abs!" I scold myself inwardly, closing my eyes. Damn it, the mating bond made me even more attracted to him. Focus, girl, focus.
"I can't believe I've been in front of my savior all this time, and I didn't know. And I got to meet his mate, my goddess!" I thought out loud, looking at Brandon and Ella. "Uhm, savior?" asked Hunter, making me look back at him with a sparkle.
I smiled from ear to ear, feeling my eyes water as the excitement took over me. I nodded, biting my bottom lip. "My savior, Hunter. My savior, the reason I'm still here. Still alive! If it weren't for him and the other wolf back then, I'd be dead! And then, The Raven's Creek pack... My Goddess! I'd be a goner. You would not be with me; you'd probably be destined to someone else." I said as I felt tears roll down my cheeks, unable to hold my excitement inside.
His expression changed from a big smile to one of worry. "What do you mean, dead?"
"Precisely that, baby! Dead!" I replied, making him tilt his head puzzled. "I don't... I don't understand. First, your dad and Tara said you had run away, and other times, they said you left with this guy. I was so mad at first, but then I realized their story always changed. In the end, Tara said you had rebelled and didn't want to be part of their pack anymore, and that's why you had left. But, I always had my doubts about why,"
"That's not why I left. Hunter, that's a load of crap. That is not what happened." I said, chuckling, unable to believe what I was hearing. But why am I not surprised, though? It's Tara, after all. She couldn't care less about me or what happened to me, and I get why now. "Yeah, because she wanted our smexy hunkie mate, that bitch!" Merida says, making me growl slightly.
"Then, why did you leave without a word? Abbie, do you have any idea how much it hurt when you left? The day you disappeared, I was ready to ask you to be my girl. I've always been able to tell you were my mate. Don't ask why. I just... I knew. And I've longed to find you for the longest time." he says, making me purse my eyebrows, looking at him with adoration.
"It's a long story," I said, slightly embarrassed about my past, lowering my head. He lifts my chin with his index, kissing the tip of my nose. "Whatever the reason, you can tell me, Abs. I won't judge you," he says, smiling slightly.
I tilted my head and sighed, shrugging my shoulders; I looked around and stood up, holding my hand out for him. This was a conversation I needed to have with him privately. I never liked telling my sob story to just anyone. I was made fun of in the Ravens Creek pack for it, and those who understood only looked at me with pity. I don't want or need anyone's pity.
He took my hand and sighed. I could feel that he was worried, so before I led him out of the ballroom, I kissed his lips tenderly, wiping away my lipstick from his lips. "It's a long story. I'll tell you everything, but!" I said, holding a finger out warningly.
"You have to promise that neither you nor Titus will lose your temper. Promise?" I said, holding out my pinky. He looks at me, then at my pinky, and sighs, looping his pinky with mine. He kisses my forehead as he cups the back of my head, grunting slightly. "Fine. I'll try my best," he says, smiling as I look at him.
I led him out of the ballroom behind me as I held onto the hem of my dress so I could walk faster.
Once we got to a private sitting area, I told him everything, and I mean everything. From the beatings and mistreatment at home with Tara and Armand to the way Tara's friends bullied me.
I told him of the day I got home and saw the Rogues with my dad, who mediocrely sold me for a box of whiskey. I told him of the incident when the rogues crashed, and Brandon, along with the other massive brown wolf, saved me from them, "Brandon and the other wolf fought with them, and he told me to run. He fought while I ran and escaped from them, telling me to run and not stop until I could no longer run," I said, wiping away my tears.
I told Hunter how I ran for days, not stopping for anything, until my legs gave out, almost being attacked by other rogues and hiding in the rain, in caves, and being scared as I found myself alone. "I fell unconscious, and I woke up in a small cottage where two humans and a little girl took care of me. I was badly hurt, my ankle was badly hurt, I was dehydrated, I hadn't eaten in days when they found me. To make things worse, my father had sent the more rogue wolves after me to kill me, and they killed the kind humans that had aided me." I said, making Hunter clench his jaw, fisting his hands until his knuckles were white.
Hunter never looked up at me. His hands stayed fisted, shaking in anger as he clenched his jaw. I could feel that he and Titus were angry, making me close my eyes and my tears fall.
"I had no choice but to continue running. When they caught up with me, I thought I was done for. I was sure I was going to die, but my dad, Bertram, and Alpha Lorenzo had them killed. They saved me and took me to safety." I said, smiling as I recall the event.
"When I finally came, I was in a warm bed inside my dad's home. He and my new mom, Stephany, took me in as one of their own. They protected me; they helped me get strong again. My dad didn't want me to go through the same thing again, so he trained me... harder than all the other girls. It's a small group of us, including our alpha Luke, who trains with us every night." I said, placing my hand over his.
He tilts his head away from me, clenching his jaw and shutting his eyes tightly.
"Why didn't you ever come back? I could have protected you, Abbie. You should have told me that he was mistreating you. Why didn't you ever say anything?" he looks back with tears, clenching his jaw.
"How? I was scared of him, Hunter. I was afraid of him and Tara. I was scared of what they could do to me. You don't know who they really are. Tara is evil. And so is my father, Armand. He not only had me in fear but his mate, too. If she even helped me slightly, he would beat her in front of me. He might act like a good person, but he's evil behind closed doors." I clenched my jaw, fisting my hands.
"If I had known. I would have killed,"
"We were just kids back then, Hunter. There's nothing you or I could have done to stop him from the way he treated me." I knitted my brows, looking at him as he sighed. He closed his eyes, grabbed my hands, and kissed my left palm.
"I promise no one will ever hurt you again, Abbie. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again," he says, his eyes turning dark. I could tell those words were coming from him and through Titus as well, making me wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tightly.
"I know. Thank you, Hunter. And thank you, Titus." I say, making him hold me tight.
I parted from him, wiping away my tears and sniffling. "Now... can I meet The Rogue King?" I say, making him chuckle.
"You already know him, dork," he says, making me roll my eyes, chuckling. "I know. I just want to say thank you properly. Would that be ok with you?" I ask, biting my bottom lip and shrugging my shoulders.
He growls, fighting his jealous streak with Titus, making me snicker. I cup his cheek and kiss his lips, "It's only a thank you, baby. Nothing more, I promise. I'm all yours," I whisper, making him pull me closer by the waist.
He glides his tongue inside my mouth, capturing me in a heated kiss. I can feel my body ignite with heat from our spark, making the butterflies in my stomach flutter uncontrollably and my body fills with our spark. We part with our eyes closed, resting our foreheads together.
"Fine, but let me talk to him first. I'll set a meeting with him and Bella so you can explain everything to them, ok?" he says, making my smile gro.
"Ok," I say, playing with his hair and sighing. "I finally get to get this off my chest, Merida. Finally, we get to properly say thank you to our savior." I think to myself, making Merida whimper with joy.