Chapter 38

ELEANOR

“~Should we go inside?~” I asked Erica.

“~I’m there for you, Ellie. Let’s go inside,~” Erica persuaded me.

I took a deep breath and started walking, but after a few steps, I came to a sudden stop. One look down at myself, and I realized walking into that diner like this might give everything away. I’d expose my identity.

I know I can’t confront him but I need to see who he is meeting with. I got out of the car and made my way to the diner. As I peered in through the window, I saw Ivan seated at a table with a woman. I looked around and quickly moved to the back of the diner.

“How long should I stay here, Ivan?” The voice sounded angry, and this question confused me.

“Try to understand. The situation isn’t ideal back at the pack.”

“Well, I’m not safe here either. He’s after me.”

I memorized the details of the rogue’s face before running back to my car and speeding back to the pack.

Once I reached the pack house, I made my way to Xavier’s office and lightly knocked on his door.

“Come in,” he called.

I opened the door and walked inside. He looked up from his paperwork with a frown. “Eleanor, what happened?”

“I…I saw him, Xavier,” I whispered.

“Saw whom?” he asked me as he walked closer to me and placed his hand on either side of my shoulders.

“Ivan. He was with a rogue,” I said when I felt Xavier stiffen.

“I thought maybe my suspicions were wrong but…” I couldn’t finish my sentence as the tears flowed down my cheeks. I was hurt. Ivan could have been my friend. I wished I was wrong about him.

“Go home, Eleanor. I’ll deal with this,” Xavier told me.

BETA XAVIER

After Eleanor left my office, I made my way back to my desk and quickly mind-linked the patrol guard to send Ivan to my office the moment he got back.

I knew I should inform Samuel, but I needed to first know why he did this. Why would he betray the pack by working with the rogues?

~Knock, knock. ~

“Come in,” I called when my door opened and Ivan stepped inside.

He looked nervous as he bowed his head at me.

“Where were you Ivan?”

“I went to the human town to meet a friend of mine, Beta Costa,” he answered as I stood up and walked toward him.

I was raging inside, but I kept my cool on the outside.

“So, this friend of yours is a rogue?” I asked him in a nonchalant tone, and his head snapped up.

His eyes widened in fear for just a split second before he quickly replaced it with a look of confusion. But that brief moment was all I needed. I had caught his reaction, and it told me everything.

“Of course not, Beta Costa. He’s from another…”

“Enough with the lies, Ivan. Eleanor saw you with a rogue. Are you betraying the pack?” I asked him, my voice rising in volume.

He abruptly shook his head. “I would never do that, Beta Costa,” he said.

“Then who were you fucking meeting with?”

“I…I…”

“Listen, Ivan. If you don’t give me an answer in the next thirty seconds, I will have you thrown in the dungeon. I’ll fucking kill you myself if I find out you’ve been helping them attack this pack,” I threatened, not holding in my anger any longer.

“I swear to the Moon Goddess that I never betrayed the pack, Beta Costa. She’s my mate,” he finally spat out as he cowered in fear.

“Your mate?” My anger simmered a bit as it was replaced with confusion.

“Yes, Beta Costa, I swear. I love this pack. It’s my home and my family.”

I grabbed Ivan’s face so he was forced to look me in the eyes. I had training in body language so I would be prepared for situations like this.

“How did you meet her?” I asked while still holding his face.

“I was on patrol duties alone a few weeks ago when I got her scent. That night, Rebecca was passing by and I instantly knew that she was my mate.”

“And you’ve been meeting her outside pack territory ever since?” I asked him, and he nodded his head.

I let go of his face. He was telling the truth.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“With everything going on with the attacks, I was afraid you wouldn’t accept my mate, Beta Costa. She’s been a rogue for years, and there’s a belief that no rogue can stay sane for more than a year. What if people mistake her for working with that group? I don’t want to bring her here only to send her to her death,” he explained.

He had a fair point. I felt conflicted, but Eleanor’s face popped into my mind. She would want me to figure it out.

“Bring her here. I’ll talk to Samuel. We’ll make it right,” I said when I saw the relief on Ivan’s face.

“Are you sure, Beta Costa?” he asked me.

“I’ll have to do a background check on her. But if everything is clear then she can stay and join the pack as long as it’s approved by Alpha,” I told him.

Ivan nodded his head and literally ran out of the office.

If this had happened a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have allowed it. But Eleanor has completely changed the way I see mates. I know what it feels like to nearly lose one, and I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on anyone.

I informed Samuel about the situation and three hours later, Samuel, Marquez and I were waiting in my office for Ivan and his mate.

“Where are they?” Marquez asked me, and then the office door opened and Ivan stepped inside with a woman behind him.

She looked scared and timid to be in here and her eyes were trained to the floor.

“You must be Rebecca?” I asked when she finally looked up.

“Yes,” she said, her voice was barely audible.

“How did you become a rogue?” Samuel directed his question toward Rebecca.

The room descended into an eerie silence while everyone waited for her to speak.

“I…I…” Ivan pulled her closer to his body as her eyes began to water, and her lips trembled.

“You don’t have to tell your story now if you don’t want to, Becca,” he consoled her, but she shook her head.

“No, Ivan, I need your pack to understand and trust me,” she said and turned around to face him. “I’ll be fine, I promise,” she mumbled, and Ivan nodded his head.

Rebecca turned around to face us. She took a deep breath before she began her story. “I was only ten when rogues launched a massive attack on my pack, killing a vast number of pack members along with my parents. And they took me with them.” A pained smile formed on her face.

“It wasn’t easy living with the rogues as their prisoner. In the beginning, they would only make me work as their maid doing chores in the camp, but as years passed by, they started to abuse me physically.” Her voice broke, and her entire body began to tremble. “I couldn’t take the pain anymore. I wanted freedom and safety, so one day, I decided to escape. It wasn’t easy to leave the camp, but by some miracle, I managed to slip away.”

“So, you escaped from them recently?” Samuel asked her, but she shook her head.

“No, I was on the run for three years. No pack accepted me since I was a rogue, but some were willing to take me in temporarily,” she said.

“Then why didn’t you join a pack?” Marquez asked her.

“They didn’t want me in as a pack member. They wanted me to work for them as a prostitute. I didn’t want that life. I would rather die than go back into that hell hole again.”

“While she was passing by our pack, that was when I caught her scent, and I instantly knew that she was my mate.” Ivan finished the story. Everyone was silent, waiting for a response from Samuel.

“You know I can’t take you inside the pack without doing a background check, right?” Samuel spoke after a while.

Rebecca nodded her head.

“It’ll take a few hours.”

“That’s all right, Alpha Derek. I can wait. Thank you for giving me a chance. Ivan is wonderful, and I hope it works out for me to become part of his family.”

“You can wait here in the pack house, and a few warriors will be watching guarding you.”

“That sounds fair,” Rebecca answered, so it was settled.

A few minutes later, two warriors came into the office and took both Ivan and Rebecca away.

“Are you sure about her, Xav?” Samuel asked me when I nodded my head.

“She’s harmless, Sam. Plus she might have information about rogue activity that could help.”