Rogue

A/N

Hey guys :)

You should know that there will be characters from my stories 'Monster' and 'Nature Calls' who will pop up in this story. Monster is a dark story, so it's not for everyone but you don't have to read the stories to follow this one, so don't worry.

Happy reading :)

Much love to you all.

Tina.

“Concentrate! Put your strength into it!”

Trying to control my breathing, I hit the punching bag with the combo Thomas has taught me. I can do it to perfection, but I’m exhausted because this week has been hard. Work every day and training every night where Thomas has pushed me harder than ever before.

When I’ve punched the last punch of the combo, I take a step back from the punching bag, bend down, and rest my hands on my knees as I let out a big breath.

Thomas comes over to me and rubs my back. “You did good tonight. You’re making great progress. It won’t be long before you’re just as good as I am.” I let out a breathy chuckle. “Doubt it.”

Thomas is a very skilled kickboxer. He’s been in Japan, learning it for years when he was younger, and he's kept up with his training since he got back four years ago.

When I stand up, he pats my back before he says, “go shower and get dressed. I’ll meet you here when you’re done.” I can’t muster a smile because I’m so exhausted, so I just nod.

Then I go into the women’s locker room where I take off my training clothes before I go into the showers where I step under the water. Tilting my head back, I run my hands over my long, blond hair and sigh as I enjoy the hot water running down my body, relaxing my muscles a little.

Thomas and I have been friends since he got back from Japan. We met at the grocery store I’m working at when he got a job there. We slept together the first few weeks we knew each other but it never went further than that. Instead, we became friends. Really good friends. Now it’s like he’s a limb I can’t live without.

When I’ve finished the shower, I dry off and get dressed in a pair of dark, blue jeans and a white tank top before looking at myself in the mirror. I do that for a moment until I decide not to put on make-up or do anything with my hair. Then I go outside where Thomas is waiting for me and we start to walk down the sidewalk towards the small grocery store where I have the evening shift tonight.

“You look exhausted. Are you sure you’re coming to the clubhouse tonight?” he asks me, and I nod. “Yes. I’ll try to get there after work.”

“Are you sure you shouldn’t get some sleep instead?”

I smile a tired smile. Even though it feels like I could fall asleep standing up, I still want to go see my friends, so I say, “I’m sure. I want to see the guys.” He returns my smile with a big one. “Yeah, you haven’t been there for a while. They miss you.” I smile again. “I miss them, too. Are they both going to be there tonight?”

“Mm hm. When I told them that you might come by, they said they'd be there.”

Nodding, I sigh. Not because I’m going to see the guys but because I have to go to work. There usually aren't many customers on the evening shifts and there isn't going to be anything to do tonight because my boss, Isis, had the day shift, so she has most likely made sure that the store is spotless.

When er get to the store, Thomas and I hug each other before we say goodbye and I go inside where I look around. Sure enough, Isis has left it spotless. The shelves and fridges are stocked with groceries, and she even washed the floor.

She comes out of the backroom with a big smile on her face. She’s a really sweet woman who treats me like a family member.

“Hey, River. I’ve made sure that there’s nothing for you to do tonight so you can have a nice, relaxing shift.”

I give her my best smile. She thinks she’s doing me a favor, but she really isn’t. I hate when there’s nothing to do. Especially when I’m as tired as I am. I’ll have to try hard not to fall asleep behind the cash register.

Sure enough, it’s a long night. Luckily, there were more customers than I thought there would be, but it still wasn’t enough. I didn’t fall asleep, though, so that’s always something.

When it’s finally time for the night shift, I make my way to the forest where my and my friend's clubhouse is. It’s an old, abandoned house where the guys and I meet a couple of times a week, but I haven’t been there for two weeks. I just haven’t had the energy to meet them. Not that I have the energy tonight, but I miss them, so I force myself to stay awake so I can go meet with them.

When I get there, I go into the run-down living room where there are a couple of worn-out couches and chairs. The guys are already here and when they see me, they smile.

“Hey, River. Good to see you,” Simon says.

I hug them all and return their smiles with a tired one. “Hi, guys. Good to see you too.” I slump down on one of the couches and Thomas gives me a bottle of water before he sits down next to me.

“So, what have you been up to? We haven’t seen you for a couple of weeks,” Brody says. I shrug as I nod at Thomas. “Working and training. This idiot has been working me hard.”

Simon wiggles his eyebrows. “Reallyyy. How did he work you exactly?” I roll my eyes and flick a bottle cap at him. “Get your mind out of the gutter. We’ve been training a lot lately, that’s all.”

“Uh huh.”

Rolling my eyes with a smile, I flip him off, making him laugh. Then I turn serious. “How are you all doing? Have you stayed under the radar?”

“Yes. We’ve been careful. There haven’t been any pack wolves after us,” Brody says as they all nod.

I nod too. “Good. Keep being careful. Do not get into trouble or else they will hunt us. We need to keep being a peaceful group so nobody will come after us.” They all nod again. “We will, River. Don’t worry.”

We’re a small group of four rogues that lives peacefully, and I want to keep it that way. I do not want to be hunted down by pack wolves because we can’t behave but this is a good group of guys. Brody, Simon, Thomas, and I. We all have jobs and apartments, and we try to live like normal humans to stay under the radar.

We live in a small town far away from wolf territories. That way we rarely run into any pack wolves but, if we do, we just have to be friendly and polite. That way there usually won’t be a problem. I have met pack wolves who asked a lot of questions about my life, which made me a little nervous but, as I said, you just have to be friendly.

That can be hard sometimes because I don’t like when they ask too many questions. In my opinion, they don’t have the right to want to know so much.

Why did I become a rogue? What pack did I belong to? How old am I? What do I do for a living? Who was my parents and what did they do? Do I run with a group of rogues and where are they?

That’s the only question I lie about. I always say that I’m alone. They get suspicious if they know I run with a pack of rogues even though we're a small group who hasen't done anything wrong. Of course, there are friendlier pack wolves, but I haven’t met many of them since I became a rogue.

I became one when I was seventeen. I didn’t want to stay with my former pack because the Alpha was an asshole. My parents died two years before I ran away. They were killed in a rogue attack. I’m not that kind of rogue. I have absolutely no desire to attack a pack. I just want to be left alone and live my life in peace.

The guys and I talk until 2am before we say goodbye and go home. When I get inside my apartment, I go straight into my bedroom where I crash on my bed in my clothes and immediately fall asleep.

~~~~

One week later, I’m at work when my phone rings and I immediately pick it up when I see it’s Simon. He rarely calls me so it must be something important.

Me: “Simon? What’s up? Are you alright?”

Simon: “Yes, but there’s a group of rogues in town. At least forty.”

My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline while my eyes widen.

Me: “Shit. Okay, where are you?”

Simon: “I’m at home, but I saw them at the town square.”

Even though he can’t see it, I slowly nod while chewing on the inside of my cheek. Having a big group of rogues in town is not good because when they’re in larger groups, they’re usually up to no good.

Me: “Okay. Stay at home if it’s possible. Have you called the others?”

Simon: “I have the day off from work tomorrow so that won’t be a problem, and no. You’re the first one I called.”

Me: “Alright, leave it to me. Call me later, yeah?”

Simon: “I will.”

We say goodbye and as soon as I end the call, I call Thomas.

Thomas: “Hey, River. What’s up?”

Me: “Simon just called. There’s a large group of rogues in town.”

I hear him curse on the other end and I just know that he’s running his fingers through his hair. He always does that when he gets stressed.

Thomas: “Where are you?”

Me: “I’m at work. I have two hours left of my shift. After that, I have a shift at the bar.”

Thomas: “Shit. Can you get out of it?”

I shake my head.

Me: “No. I took the extra shift because there are two bartenders down with the flu.”

Thomas: “Fuck. Alright, I’ll come to the bar when your shift starts.”

Me: “Are you stupid? Stay at home!”

Thomas: “No. I’m going to be there in case some rogues come to the bar.”

Me: “Don’t be an idiot, Thomas. You know how they are.”

Thomas: “But I can protect you if anything happens.”

I roll my eyes.

Me: “You know I can protect myself.”

Thomas: “Still…”

Me: “Thomas, I swear to Goddess, if you come to the bar, I’ll kick your ass!”

Thomas: “As if. Fine, but call me if anything happens. Anything at all.”

Me: “I will.”

We say goodbye and I end the call before I call Brody. There’s probably going to be some rogues at the bar tonight but there’s nothing I can do about that. I’ll just have to stay cool and get through the shift without any trouble.

I hope.

Some rogues are simply just looking for a fight, but I can handle that. A group of rogues once asked me to join them, and I, of course, said no. That’s the only time where it’s a good idea to say that you’re already running with a group. Then they usually leave you alone.

Usually.

When I get off work at the grocery store two hours later, I go to the back room, change into the uniform we have to wear at the bar, which is a tight, white button-down shirt, a black tie, and black pants. Then I make my way to the bar and as soon as I get inside, I sigh and curse at the same time.

The bar is filled with loud rogues and they’re all men, so I take a deep breath, square my shoulders, put on my service smile, and make my way to the back room where I put my bag down before I go out behind the bar.

I start to serve the different rogues and a lot of them look me up and down, which makes me shudder, but I hide it behind my service smile.

When I walk by one of the table, someone slaps my ass, making me stop. Clenching my jaw, I slowly turn around and narrow my eyes at the men at the table. One of them smirks as he says, “hey, sweetheart. How much does it cost to get a body shot from you?”

I roll my eyes internally. Men.

“I’m not on the menu but feel free to order something else to drink.”

“Oh, come on. Name your prize. That body of yours is driving us crazy.”

I do have a fit body because I train as much as I do, which I love but sometimes I hate my body because of jerks like this.

“As I told you, I’m not on the menu.”

He puts his hand on my thigh and are about to move it up to my ass when I drop the tray I’m holding, grab his wrist, and twist it, making him grunt.

“Hands off!”

All the rogues in the room gets up, growling, which scares the shit out of me and I curse on the inside because he must be their leader. Yeah. I just signed my own death sentence. I don’t show it, though. Instead, I twist the guy’s arm in an unnatural angle. “Sit down or I will break his arm!” They growl louder, so I twist his arm more until the he grunts louder.

“I said, sit the fuck down!”

This could go horribly wrong. I could break the guy’s arm without them standing down and then they could kill me but I’m not backing down. I know I’m playing with fire, but I don’t care. They can't just touch women when they don't want them to!

Just as I’m about to break the guy’s arm, he grunts, “sit down.” They look at him hesitantly, but do as he says. I let go of his arm and give all of them a stern look. “I am not on the menu. Now, if you don’t want something else to drink then get the fuck out of here!”

He rubs his arm and narrows his eyes at me but then he smirks. “You’re feisty.” I roll my eyes, making him narrow his even more. “Do you need a group to run with? We could use a strong girl like you.”

I shake my head. “No, I’m already running with a group but thank you for the offer. Now, do you want another drink or not?”

He looks at me for a moment before he nods, so I go back behind the bar to fill a pitcher with beer. I was lucky that nothing happened. Very lucky. It was a big risk to take but what he did wasn't okay.

He needed to be reminded of that.