23

Aprils POV
The constant search had drained me physically and mentally. Three months had passed since I started hunting for any trace of my parents, and still, nothing. The thrill I had when I first ran away from my pack was long gone. It had turned into something darker, more desperate, as if chasing a shadow that always stayed just out of reach. My body ached from constant movement, and my mind was weighed down by the disappointment of every dead end.
It was tough, I knew it was not going to be easy, but I didn’t think it would be this tough. It was like they did not exist, but I would never stop looking and searching for them even if it took me twenty years; it was not like I had better things to do.
Snow could sense my frustration, as always. The bond between us ran deep, stronger than ever, but even she seemed to be growing weary of the endless grind. She had stopped talking so much, just occasionally offering a soft hum of reassurance in my head.
I sensed she was slowly giving up, too, and that she had just created this mantra to console herself and me:
“We’ll find them. You know we will.”
I sighed, her words not quite reaching the part of me that still clung to hope. I wasn’t sure anymore if I was searching for them or just running from something I couldn’t escape.
Snow and I had decided to just take a break and perhaps regroup. Sleeping in the forest was getting exhausting, and being in wolf form for so long had begun turning Snow feral, which was definitely not good. So we decided to settle in a human town for a bit until we were ready to begin the hunt again. This way, we would not be caught in another pack’s territory and risk being killed because we were rogues.
The town I’d ended up in wasn’t much-just a tiny, nondescript place where no one knew my name. It was perfect. At least here, no one would ask questions. I’d settled into a small apartment above a run-down pub, keeping myself isolated from the world. No one expected me to talk. No one knew I was a rogue wolf.
But even in this sleepy little human town, there was always danger lurking just out of sight. I couldn’t afford to forget that.
I worked at the bar down below in the evenings, a modest place with cheap beer and sticky counters. The customers were a mix of regular humans and a few rogue werewolves who passed through on their way to somewhere else. I’d quickly learned to listen, my sharp ears picking up on hushed conversations and snippets of gossip that told me more than people realized. I wasn’t just a bartender. I was a spy.
Plus customers often confide in me because they trust me as their bartender, I had hope that perhaps one day a wolf would walk in who held the answers I sought about my parents but that hope was slim but there none the less.
“Hey, April,” a grinning man called out from the bar, slurring his words. “You ever thought about getting a real job? You know, not serving drinks to losers like me?”
I shot him a pointed look, wiping down the counter. “Maybe you should try drinking less so you can actually have a decent conversation, huh?”
He chuckled and took a swig from his glass. “Maybe… but I’d rather just keep you around. You’re good for business.”
I raised an eyebrow, my wolf bristling slightly at the tone in his voice. The scent of the guy was too sweet, overly sugary-like a rogue who thought he could flirt his way out of trouble. That wasn’t going to work for me.
“Save your tips for someone who cares,” I said coolly, flashing him a smile. “I’ve got work to do.”
It wasn’t like I didn’t appreciate the attention. My looks had always made things more accessible, but I never let that fool me. Looks didn’t matter in a fight. They only made things complicated. And here, I had to be sharp, more than I’d ever been before.
I had to always be in survival mode.
Snow’s voice broke into my thoughts again, low and wary. “Watch him, April. He’s too interested.”
I didn’t need the warning. I was already watching. The man was a rogue-his scent was too familiar, too close to my own kind. But he didn’t know I was one of his kind. Nobody here did, not even the regulars. My cover was too well-guarded, and for some reason, my scent did not alert other wolves to the fact that I was a werewolf. It must be the moon Goddess looking out for me.
However, I could sniff out a rogue from a thousand miles away. I could not explain it. It’s just something I found out I could do over the past few months of being a rogue. That skill, together with having an undetectable scent, really came in handy and saved me a couple of times…okay, maybe a lot of times.
All hail the Moon Goddess!
The door swung open, and a fresh face entered. A tall man with a dark hoodie, his eyes scanning the room like a predator. Something about him put me on edge immediately. He wasn’t a rogue-too clean-cut for that. But there was something in his posture, something off, that set every hair on the back of my neck on alert.
“Keep your eyes on him,” Snow warned again. “He’s trouble.”
That only made me more aware because Snow and I had already sensed that this man was bad news.
I nodded, my instincts sharpening.
“Can I help you?” I asked, moving smoothly behind the counter to greet him.
He studied me for a moment, his gaze lingering a little too long. I stood firm, making sure not to give an inch. People underestimated me too often because of my size and my beauty. But I wasn’t just some pretty face.
“A whiskey,” he said, his voice low, gravelly. His eyes never left mine. “Make it neat.”
“Coming right up,” I said in the loveliest voice ever.
I poured the drink, my eyes never leaving him as I slid the glass across the bar. His hand brushed mine briefly, sending a flicker of warning down my spine. I could tell he was sizing me up, calculating something, but I couldn’t figure out what…yet.
As I turned away to serve another customer, Snow growled softly in my head. “He knows something. He’s no regular human.”
I had to agree.
He looked at me with an intensity that made my skin crawl; it was a creepy look that just made me feel uncomfortable.
The man took a sip of his whiskey, never breaking eye contact with me, his gaze cold but calculating. After a long pause, he leaned in slightly, lowering his voice just enough for me to hear.
“You’re not like them,” he murmured, his eyes flicking to the other patrons in the bar. “What are you?”
Fuck! I can’t say I did not see that one coming.
I didn’t flinch. I didn’t give him anything. Snow was on full alert now, her presence urging me to stay calm.
“What do you mean?” I asked him, pretending not to understand.
“Don’t act dumb with me,” he said, and from the raw power emanating from his words, I could tell he was an Alpha, and it hit me. The reason he could tell I was different was because of his Alpha status, but it’s a good thing his power does not work on me. He was the first person with authority who had passed by here, and I think that is the reason I noticed him so quickly.
“I’m just a bartender,” I said flatly, cleaning a glass with exaggerated slowness.
The man studied me for a moment longer, then smirked, obviously entertained by my response. He stood up, tossing a few bills on the counter.
“We’ll see,” he said cryptically before disappearing out the door.
The moment he left, Snow’s voice surged through my mind. “We need to be careful, April. That was too close.”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
“You think we should start thinking about packing it up?” I ask Snow.
“No, we are kind of doing okay here,” Snow starts, “We need the break, and plus, it has been healthy coming close to living a normal life,”
“Yeah, but what if he comes back?”
“Then we’ll handle it, like we always do,” Snow said like the absolute badass that she is, and I nodded.
I took a deep breath, my hand gripping the counter. The weight of the night seemed to press in on me from all sides. There was no escaping it. The world was full of threats, full of eyes watching, waiting. No matter how hard I tried to blend in, I had to always be on guard and ready.
I could feel the exhaustion creeping in again. How much longer could I keep running, pretending to be just another face in the crowd?
“One more night,” Snow whispered, her voice softer now. “We’ll find them. We have to.”
There goes her mantra again, but as crazy as it sounded, I clung to her words like a lifeline.
The hope was fading, but I wasn’t ready to give up just yet.