37

APRILS POV
It had been a few weeks since the rogues started appearing more frequently. The signs were undeniable. Snow had been more restless than usual, her unease spreading through me like wildfire. I could feel the pull, the constant tension in the air, as though something-someone-was always just beyond reach. My senses were on high alert, but there was nothing to pinpoint. I just had this nagging feeling that something bad was coming.
In the beginning, I convinced myself I was overreacting. After all, I wasn’t the only one who had noticed the increase in rogue activity-at least, that’s what I thought. But as time went on, the town started to feel smaller and more confining. The little things I once found comforting-like the hum of the bar after closing time or the familiar faces of the regulars-had begun to feel suffocating.
Snow, too, was pushing me to make a decision. Her patience was wearing thin, and I could sense her desire to leave.
“We can’t stay here, April,” she growled quietly in the back of my mind. “It’s too dangerous.”
I knew it, but leaving wasn’t as simple as just walking away. I had my reasons for staying. The bar, the few friendships I had formed, and… well, him. The Alpha.
Hilarious, right? The same man who had managed to turn my world upside down without even trying. He didn’t know it, of course, but there were times when I thought maybe the only thing keeping me here was the sheer force of his presence. His cold indifference, his quiet command over everything and everyone. He seemed to think he could control everything, even me.
Except he had no idea what I really was.
Even after everything that had happened between us-the kiss, the looks, the moments where I saw something in his eyes that flickered just beneath the surface-he still believed I was nothing more than a human bartender.
And it suited me to keep it that way.
But still, there was something about him that kept pulling me back. His quiet strength, his dominance. Even when he wasn’t near, the effect he had on me lingered. Sometimes, I hated that about myself. I was supposed to be stronger than that.
He’s just a man. A man with a pack.
“Don’t lie to yourself,” Snow murmured in the back of my mind, her voice low and knowing. “You’re not fooling anyone.”
—
It wasn’t long before I realized that the rogue situation wasn’t something I could ignore anymore. My instincts were screaming at me. As much as I hated the idea of leaving, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out who and what I truly was.
And then there was the matter of my parents.
I had spent countless hours at the bar over the past few weeks, playing my part as a bartender while listening, watching, learning. Every night, I engaged in casual conversation with the regulars, never revealing too much, never letting on who I truly was. The townspeople were simple folk, kind in their own way, but none of them suspected that I wasn’t human. I never gave them a reason to.
But I wasn’t fooling myself. There was too much I didn’t know. Too many unanswered questions about my past, about what had happened to my parents, why they were gone, and why I had been left behind.
I had spent hours, nights even, probing, trying to piece together anything I could. I’d learned things that seemed insignificant, like who was related to whom, who had moved away, who had seen something strange. But none of it ever amounted to much. It was frustrating as hell. And it left me feeling isolated, alone, as though I was staring at an empty void.
Still, I didn’t give up.
—–
That night, after the last customer had trickled out of the bar, I stood behind the counter cleaning glasses, wiping down surfaces, trying to ignore the gnawing discomfort in the pit of my stomach. The place was quiet now, save for the hum of the fridge and the occasional creak of the old wooden floors.
I wasn’t alone, though. Snow was restless, pacing within me, her mind full of thoughts I couldn’t quite grasp. “We can’t stay here, April. It’s too dangerous. We need to leave before it’s too late.”
I didn’t answer her immediately. Instead, I focused on scrubbing a stubborn stain from the counter. I was determined not to let her anxiety influence my decision. I had to stay strong. I couldn’t let anything-anyone-push me into a hasty decision.
But that was when I overheard a conversation from the group of rogues seated at a table near the corner. I’d been so focused on my own thoughts that I hadn’t noticed them until now. Their voices were low, almost conspiratorial.
“It’s seven towns over. I heard they’re asking about a pair of missing people,” one of them said, a middle-aged man with a graying beard.
“Who?” the woman next to him asked.
“The ones who disappeared years ago. The wolves, remember? They were powerful, but they vanished. No one’s seen them since.”
I froze, my hand gripping the glass I’d been wiping with more force than necessary.
“They said someone’s been asking about them. Some girl, they think. If she’s looking for them, she might know something.”
Could the girl they are talking about be me?
My heart skipped a beat, my breath catching in my chest. My parents.
I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until the words left my mouth, sharp and quiet. “Where?”
The man looked up, surprised at my sudden interruption. I hadn’t meant to speak aloud, but my voice had come out unbidden.
The woman next to him eyed me cautiously, but the man didn’t seem to mind. “Seven towns over, maybe eight. Not far. I heard it from a guy who works the docks there. He said she was asking all the right questions.”
“That’s interesting,” I said and did not probe for more answers because I did not want to raise suspicion.
I felt a surge of excitement bubble up inside of me. The answer I had been waiting for. The one I had given up on.
After several minutes, they went back to talking about other things. I excused myself from the table and immediately retreated to the back room. I needed to think; I needed to process this.
Snow was pacing within me, her excitement almost palpable. “Finally. It’s finally happening. This could be the chance we’ve been waiting for.”
I nodded, my pulse racing. “I know. I know. We need to go there.”
I could already feel the weight of the decision settling on me. This could be everything-my chance to find out what happened to my parents, to uncover the secrets of my past. But I couldn’t go unprepared. I had to plan this carefully.
—
I spoke to my boss the following day. It was a strange conversation, but he didn’t question me when I asked for a few days off. I told him I had some personal matters to attend to. After a brief exchange, he handed me an advance on my wages without hesitation.
Wasn’t he the best boss?
“I hope everything works out, April,” he said, his voice soft with concern.
I nodded, a tight smile pulling at my lips. “Thank you.”
I walked out of the bar, feeling a sense of excitement I hadn’t felt in a long time. Snow was practically leaping with joy inside me. “This is it, April. We’re going to find the truth. We’re going to find them.”
I didn’t know what I was going to find when I reached those towns, but for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was doing something. I was taking control. And no matter what, I wasn’t going to let anyone stop me.
Even if that meant leaving the Alpha-and everything else-behind.