Rufnothing could stop me now.
+25 BONUS
When I reached the rogue camp, the tensioni lit me like static. You could feel it in the way people shifted, the wary eyes darted,
the way no one spoke above a whisper. They were willing for smugone to tell them what came next.
They were walling for him.
But he wasn’t coming back.
“He’s not here,” I said, loud enough to cut through the quiet.
Heads tumed.
“He’s not coming back”
A few rogues moved closer. Ope–taller, broad–shouldered, young–stepped forward. “How do you know?”
“Because he’s dead,” I said plainly.
That stirred them.
“Yeah?” the same rogue said, voice sharpening “Again. How do you know?”
flooked him straight in the eye. “Because Pierce was my father. And I felt our bond break.”
Silence.
No on
one moved. Even the wind seemed to still.
Shock rippled across the camp like heat. A few of the older rogues finched. Others stared at me like I’d just grow horns. But I didn’t back down.
I didn’t raise my voice.
I didn’t have to.
“You shouldn’t be sorry he’s gone,” I said. “I’m not.”
Hlooked around at the lean faces around me. Other lives he had a hand in ruining.
“He burned villages for the sake of chaos. He treated your lives like they’re disposable. He ruled by fear. And you’re all the poorer for it”
I stepped forward.
“I’m not going to do that”
A tall rogue with the aura of a Beta stepped forward. “And just what exactly is that supposed to mean?” he asked.
“I’m taking over this faction,” I said, not knowing I had planned to do it until the words were out of my mouth.
That stirred then again.
“You?” someone outtered. “Why should we follow you?”
“Because I’m smarter than he ever was,” I snapped. “Because I’ve seen what this faction could be if it stopped eating itself alive.”
“We’re organized now,” someone else said. “We’ve planned things. Saw our plans through. They had a whole summit about it.”
“And for what?” I asked. “Sowing seeds of discord amongst the packs? Congratulations. You’ve achieved something that would have happened anyway and has since time immemorial.”
Chapter 120
+25 BONUS
Aheavy silence followed my words, thick as smoke. I could feel their doubt pressing in, the weight of a dozen unspoken questions–all of them circling the same thing. Who the hell was to say any of this?
1 net every pair of eyes I could find.
“This doesn’t have to end the way it always does,” I said, quieter now, but no less firm “Blood for blood. Strike for strike. Chans for chaos. That’s how he kept control. That’s not how we survive.
They didn’t move.
Not toward me. Not away,
But they were listening
I could feel the shift–not belief, not yet, but curiosity. And in a camp like this, curiosity was as good as hope.
If you want someone to yell and scream and tear down packs for the thrill of it, find another glost to worship,” I went on. “But if you want something more if you want to stop scraping by and art building something–we can start tonight.”
Still, there were grumbles. Suspicion. Unease.
I pointed to the war tent at the far end of the camp. “Show me what you have. Intel Maps. Financials. Contacts. Everything ”
A woman crossed her arms. “Do you plan to stop the raids?”
“No,” I said. “But I plan to make them count.”
Another voice: “We’re rogues. We don’t count.”
I stared her down. “We do now.”
A few of them exchanged looks.
“I plan to make us as rich and powerful as Moonstone and Silverclaw,” I continued. “They think they’re untouchable. But I know their weaknesses. I know their politics. I know the way they treat anyone who doesn’t fit their mold.”
1 held their gazes.
“This isn’t just a rogue faction anymore,” I said. “It’s a pack.”
Chapter 21
Chapter 121
