Chapter 168 Party For The Elites
ROWAN
I could smell him before I saw him.
The stench of rot simmering under skin that hadn’t seen clean water in weeks. Rogues didn’t always smell like that, but the unhinged ones did.
I stepped into the holding room, where two guards had chained the rogue down against the stone wall. His wrists were rubbed raw from straining against the iron cuffs, but he didn’t seem to notice. His head snapped up the moment I entered, eyes glowing rabid yellow.
“What the fuck do you want?” he snarled, lips peeling back to bare his teeth. I shook my head. Should he really be the one asking that question?
His spit flew as he continued sputtering nonsense. “You’ll never get anything out of me!”
Closing my eyes, I inhaled slowly. The reek was suffocating, clinging to the back of my throat. This was the fourth rogue this month. The fourth.
Out of all the territories, ours had the most breaches.
“Seriously, what is Wilder doing?” I muttered to myself, shaking my head. As head of the warriors, he usually took the glory, but he couldn’t even guard the damn borders well.
The rogue barked a laugh. “You think your walls can save you? You think you’re safe? None of you are
I ignored him. His words meant nothing. They were just empty threats from a creature that had long since abandoned sanity.
I looked at my guards, two men I trusted to do their job without hesitation. “Kill him.”
They didn’t question me. They nodded once and moved closer. The rogue thrashed, snarling like a cornered dog, but the chains held him down.
I turned away before they finished. The screams echoed behind me, then cut off abruptly.
I didn’t care to watch or listen. That rogue had nearly killed a child—an innocent who’d wandered too close to the forest edge. That was all the justification I needed.
***
Back at the house, the air was no lighter.
My father was already waiting, standing by the window with his arms crossed. My mother sat on the sofa, but her expression was no softer.
“Another one?” my father asked.
“Yes.” I kept my answer short
“You can’t keep letting them slip through like this,” he snapped. “You’re supposed to be the shield of this
O
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Chapter 168 Party For The Elites
pack. Rowan. How many more are going to cross our borders before you do your job properly?”
I bit my lip and kept silent.
I had mobilized the warriors. I had tripled the patrols. I had done everything in my power. But Wilder damn Wilder–was the one holding the reins. He called the shots, and when things went wrong; he deflected blame right back onto me.
Convenient. Cowardly.
“Answer me,” my father pressed.
I shook my head once, then turned without a word.
My office door closed behind me, and I finally exhaled, my shoulders sagging as the silence swallowed ine.
It wasn’t long before the knock came.
“Come in,” I called, massaging the bridge of my nose.
Francis entered, his broad frame filling the doorway. My Gamma, my most loyal.
He shut the door behind him, managing a playful expression despite the situation we were in.
“You look like hell,” he said flatly.
“Thank you,” I muttered sarcastically.
“You should join us tomorrow.”
I didn’t even look up. “For what?”
“There’s a party,” he said. “For the new Elites. You should come.”
I dropped my hand from my face and fixed him with a stare. “A party.”
“Yes, a party,” he said, unbothered by my flat tone. “You’re stressed. You need to go out and loosen up. See something other than rogues and your father’s glare.”
“I am going out,” I said dryly.
Francis arched a brow. “Yeah. To fuck and then go to Elite.”
I didn’t deny it. He wasn’t wrong.
“Rowan,” he pressed, stepping closer. “Your parents are breathing down your neck. You can’t keep grinding yourself into dust like this. One night won’t kill you. Come to the party.”
I leaned back in my chair, exhaling through my teeth.
“Maybe I do need it,” I muttered.
Francis grinned. “Good. I’ll see you there tomorrow.”
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Chapter 168 Party For The Elites
I just shook my head.
Maybe.
I ended up going to the party. There wasn’t any fancy title to this party, but I could see that most of the Elite students were here.
Right off the bat, this was much better than the parties they used to throw during Winters‘ reign. For once, we didn’t hold it in the Elite Mansions. Miss Loveson actually rented an entire hotel hall for all of us.
I wore a white button–up tucked into black slacks, running my fingers through my hair as I walked through the venue.
The music softened for a moment, enough that I heard the first whispers. My entrance hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Almost instantly, girls began gravitating toward me, their perfume mixing with the rich scent of roses set on every table.
“Alpha, are you up for a good time tonight?” one of them asked.
“Later,” I said curtly.
“Rowan!”
Francis‘ voice cut through the clamor. He stood near the center table, already with a drink.
“Come here. Sit with us.”
I allowed myself a nod and cut through the crowd, ignoring the clinging hands that tried to puli me back. Francis clapped me on the shoulder when I joined them.
“You look like you want to strangle someone,” he said with a smirk.
I didn’t bother answering and just sank into the chair.
It was then that Zaria arrived.
“Rowan,” she said, and leaned just a little too close when she settled beside me.
We’ve been working together lately. The rogue issue demanded it.
Her hand brushed the table beside mine, her shoulder near enough that the warmth of her skin reached
- me.
Across the room, Elias nodded at me, a quiet acknowledgment. Then, I heard the doors open again. I glanced back and saw Cade. He entered like he always did, and beside him was Arden.
The two acted so sweetly with one another that I had to shake my head. Cade smiled a lot these days- much more than I had expected from him.
However, my body froze because I knew that another person would be trailing behind them.
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I couldn’t bring myself to look away when I saw a figure right behind Arden. She did appear like a slastow because while Arden wore white, she wore black, but even then. I noticed her right away.
When Tessa was finally in full view, I froze for a second, my eyebrows shooting up before I could stop them.
What the hell?
Why did she look like that?
