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"“Jared, she's not any she-wolf you think she is. She's very arrogant and stubborn. You'll lose her if you continue to treat her like that,” his friend reminded him. However, this arrogant Alpha only realized how wrong he'd been when he lost her forever..." --- Wynta had cuffed herself with Silver and chained herself to a tree in the deepest, darkest, most isolated part of the pack where there were no border patrols because this end of the woods was at the base of a steep, inaccessible gorge. Her lover and future Alpha Nolan, she believed, was trying to coerce her into believing she was not only his Goddess-Gifted Mate but also that of his Beta, Yale's as well. All, so the two of them could have her in their bed at the same time, and she knew it. It had been just her and Nolan for the past two weeks, after she’d let him tease her clothes off for the first time in their three months of dating. But now he’d brought his Beta into her bedroom, and told her he wanted her to let them both have her; that she would see the stars because they had both scented her out, were her actual Goddess-Gifted Mates. She might be an orphan and wolf-less, but she wasn’t believe Nolan when he’d come to her just two days ago bringing Yale with him. She’d stated simply she didn’t feel that, so no, and they’d left a little on the annoyed side with her, and she’d heard Nolan stating, “I’ll sweet talk her, don’t you worry.” to his Beta from her window, they thought because she was wolf-less she wouldn't hear them, but they'd only been a few meters from her window. Even a human would have heard them. So, she’d decided to test them, it was only a week until the full moon and she was 18 now. She would be able to scent them both in just 7 days. If they were her Mates, why wouldn’t they just wait until they knew she could handle them, and would want them both? She had no interest in sleeping with Yale at all and didn’t really find him attractive. He was nice looking but not her type. But now they’d come to her once again, just yesterday, and really tried hard to convince her in the privacy of her single dorm, where she’d been moved to once she’d turned 18 and could no longer stay in the orphanage. Gone so far as to promise her they were going to claim her, and she’d be the Future Luna. She’d not believed them, because she was, in fact, wolf-less and of an unknown lineage. All she had going for her was her pretty face, nice body and her brains. She’d liked Nolan’s sweet, charming attention over the past few months, and she had kind of stupidly fallen for him over the course of their relationship. He’d never rushed her for anything, took it slow and always wanted things to be at her pace. They’d only been sleeping together for two weeks and now, with this? What he’d said and told her, it was just wrong, and she knew it was all going to be a lie. Four days she sat out there chained and cuffed with silver, scent masked so no one would smell her or be able to locate her with a pack tether. She’d taken no water or food and was starving and dehydrating herself to prove it was all a lie. As that first day had turned into the second, there was no search for her. The third day came and still no warriors were scouring the pack for a missing pack member, which she’d seen the Alpha would do. Scouring every inch of the pack when searching for someone who was missing. The fourth day came and again, nothing: if Nolan and Yale were her Mates, they’d have gone to their father's and told them the truth of the matter, informed them she was missing, and they couldn’t find her anywhere. They would in fact be in a full-blown panic that their Mate was missing, and they had no contact with her. That night, on day four, she unchained herself and removed the cuff, stumbled her way back to her dorm and sank down in the shower, utterly exhausted by the long walk when she was already dehydrated. She kind of just fell out of the shower when she'd tried to get up and had mind-link to the pack doctor to tell him she needed help, and then had succumbed to the darkness of unconsciousness. Wynta woke up in the pack hospital with an IV in her arm and the pack doctor tending to the burn on her wrist from the silver cuff, “Finally awake after a full day, the Alpha will be happy, he needs to know what happened. He is investigating right now, tracking your scent to where you came from.” She’d said nothing at all; that just confirmed once more that neither Nolan nor Yale had known she was even missing. She watched him put a dressing on her wrist. “That is going to scar Wynta.” He told her and she nodded. “It would even if I had a wolf,” she’d commented, because it was silver. “Did I have any visitors?” she asked curiously. “No, I’m sorry, Wynta.” He sounded apologetic. “No one other than the Alpha and Luna wanting to know your actual state. “Alright,” she knew she had no family. She’d been given her name by the pack’s Luna, named after the season she had been found in. Winter, and given the last name Morgan for whatever reason the Luna had seen fit. That was how she’d become Wynta Morgan. That very night, as she lay there in the hospital bed wondering just what she was going to say to Nolan and Yale, about their behavior. Nolan connected a mind-link to her at 11pm, and he asked quite simply, “Where are you? It’s our date night, and I’m at your place. You’re not here.” She could hear the frown in his voice. “I’m at the pack hospital,” she told him honestly. “On our date night? Why would you take a shift knowing we’re to be together?” he asked right back. He was only concerned about the fact that they weren’t going to do that. He had just presumed that she was working in the hospital, when she’d never once worked in the hospital before. “I’m sure you can wait until the full moon,” she stated blandly and cut the link. There was not one ounce of worry in his voice. It was she new without a doubt coercion. The full moon came and set just two days later, and it had been two hours since she’d scented out a Mate inside this pack. She even knew who it was because she recognized the two natural scents of her lover. There was, however, no other scent for her at all. She didn’t scent Yale, it was just more proof of the lie they had told her, to get what they wanted from her was all. She was still in the pack hospital, still attached to the IV with fluids running, the burns healing was slow-going because she didn’t have a wolf. There was a nurse sitting next to her bed with a wound trolley attending to the cleaning and redressing of the burn when Nolan walked into the room. Finally, he had tracked her down. He stood staring at her a little more than shocked. She stared at him as his eyes moved over her in that bed, being treated by a nurse, and he asked the nurse to give them a minute. Told her that his father had asked him to come and discuss something privately with her. He had to wait until the wound was dressed. She watched him pick up her chart and read through it, knew he was seeing all the details of what was wrong with her, how she’d been found; she’d read it herself. He put it back with a frown on his face without saying anything at all. She’d stupidly fallen for this man before her, who was the same age as her and would be off to Alpha College tomorrow morning if he didn’t scent out a Mate on this full moon. She also knew just from the fact that he was here alone, no parents trailing him to see who his Mate was, that he was here to reject her. That and the fact that it had been two hours since the moon had set, he would have recognized her scent as well. No one waited that long to hunt down a Mate they wanted to claim. The nurse finally left and Nolan closed the door. She understood that as well, it was going to be done privately, so none in this pack would know they’d paired up. “Why didn’t you tell me you were injured when I asked where you were?” he asked her directly. She raised an eyebrow at him, she’d told him she was at the hospital. That should have been all she needed to say. “I was missing for four days,” she stated. “You didn’t even know, did you? I was cuffed with silver and missing… if you had scented me out back then as you said, you’d have known and hunted everywhere for me… You and your Beta, just wanted to with me at the same time is all, and I wouldn’t let you. “You’re also here two hours post the moon setting, Nolan, that speaks volumes… You’re not the man I thought you were.” She shook her head. “Reject me and leave already… go to Alpha College in the morning as you plan to.” He stood staring at her, and she wondered if he thought she was going to tell his parents what he’d done. She said nothing, let him wonder. He sighed heavily after a full minute and shook his head, and she wondered if he was actually debating with himself as to if he was going to reject her. But she would not be accepting one such as his. “Fine, I’ll do it,” she stated, and looked him right in the eyes. “I, Wynta Morgan, reject you, Nolan Holland, as my Mate.” She voiced simply but meant every word. Again, he just stood staring at her, almost not comprehending that she would reject him. “Imagine, Nolan, if I had been swayed by you and Yale, and let the two of you do me. You’d now be rejecting me on the basis that I did that, with your own Beta…” she shook her head at him “I don’t want to be bound to one that clearly tried to coerce me. Just accept it Nolan.” He nodded slowly. “I, Nolan Holland, accept your rejection, Wynta Morgan. You are not my Mate or the future Luna to this pack,” he stated. She felt the complete severing of their bond and heard him hiss in pain. It only caused a dull ache in her chest. Being wolf-less had some perks, it seemed. “Wynta, we’ll come back to this when I get home from Alpha College,” he stated and turned and walked from the room. They’d discuss it in a year, would they? Did he expect her to just sit around and wait for him to change his mind? Because he was an Alpha and she was wolf-less. That was not going to happen. Wynta age 27 She sat in the waiting room along with all the other job applicants, applying for the position of Marketing Specialist here at Hayes Enterprises. She had lost her previous job a few months back and was rapidly running out of funds. All the other applicants in this room were human. Though she had picked up a few wolves upon coming into the building, but there didn’t appear to be any working on this floor. She’d not really looked into who owned Hayes Enterprises, but did know it was run by a conglomerate called Cedar Rapid Industries. It hadn’t sounded wolfen to her, so she’d not checked the wolfen intranet at all. She just thought it was a human company. But now sitting here waiting for her interview, she had a feeling it was going to be owned by wolves solely because she’d picked up a few of them. But she was hopeful the interview today would be done by a panel of humans, seeing as all the applicants were human. She’d not been active in the wolfen world for nine years now. She had left it behind when she’d walked away from her home pack, the night she’d been released from the pack hospital. She’d simply gone to her single dorm two days after her future Alpha had left for Alpha College, and none had known what she was to him. Wynta had packed her belongings into a suitcase and walked out of the pack. Turned herself rogue after stepping outside the pack’s territory. No one had come looking for her, as she’d walked calmly from that place, she was not going to just sit around and wait for an Alpha to decide if she was worthy of him. She’d fallen for him but also known it had all been a lie, everything he’d ever said to her, so no more would she be a part of that pack. She’d gotten on a train and just moved away, she’d picked up a couple of different jobs and put herself through university, getting scholarships where she could and student loans where possible, and now nine years later she was a marketing specialist, one that worked in the human world and stayed away from the world of wolves. She didn’t really consider Wolves to be her Kind, simply because she was in fact wolf-less. She considered herself to be human. So she lived and worked like a human did, she struggled to pay her rent and bills at times, like so many out here did. She bought only what she needed. Keeping five working outfits that could be mixed and matched to create different looks but were all professional at the same time. Then in her apartment she just lazed about in jeans and tee-shirts. She owned nothing fancy because she had no need of it. Her vacation days were spent laying in her apartment reading a good book or listening to music. She currently lived in a tiny studio apartment that just had a bedroom, a small kitchenette and a tiny bathroom. There was nothing fancy about it. She, at this time, couldn’t afford anything else at all. Having lost her previous job, she had already downgraded the one-bedroom proper apartment for a studio apartment. It was small, but she kept it neat and tidy, and after living there for a month, she’d realized it was all she actually needed. Though she had no luxuries here in this place, there was no TV or movie subscriptions, she’d canned everything to save money while looking for a new job. The only thing she had was her phone, which she needed for interviews and to take rejection calls, though she also used it for reading books online. She was aloof to all those around her. There were no contacts in her phone because she had no family and no pack attachments. She didn’t trust easily or form bonds with many around her. In an office environment she could do her job and hold proper conversations, work well in a team, but her trust was hard-earned. Despite being wolf-less, she could pick up things like the scent of other wolves, though couldn’t determine pack or bloodline, just understood wolfen kind smelt different to humans. They all had a more earthy/woodsy scent about them. She sometimes sat out in the parks and just watched the humans walk about interacting with other people. She could read mannerisms and facial expressions quite well. Pick a lie from the truth, because she listened to the inflexion of one’s voice, and saw the little things that humans did when lying. Fidgeting, no eye contact, excessive blinking or just closing their eyes, they bit their lips, a few even got flushed in the face. If she paid attention completely, she could hear the tone of their voice change and even pick up on the difference in sentence structure at times. Then there was that pause before they spoke, which often portrayed that they had to think about an answer, because they didn’t want to answer it honestly. She’d learn that humans were no different to wolves most of the time. They came to her when they wanted something from her and then did her over if they could, to take the credit for her own work. Both species were deceitful as far as she was concerned and all she was trying to do was live quietly unseen by all. She’d learned the hard way to live by herself, even roommates were deceitful and couldn’t be trusted. She’d found it was simply best to live alone and not make friends that would lie to her, and, or betray her trust. Steal from her or blame her for things that they’d done just to save their own. Her name and interview number were called, and it pulled her from her absent thoughts, and she stood and nodded to the woman looking for her, and then followed her quietly down the hall and around the corner to a room that stated Conference Room 2. The door was held open for her and she stepped inside. The moment she did, she could smell them, wolves, and not just any, she didn’t think. Just by looking at the sheer size of them and the way they were dressed and sat, they were going to be ranked members of some pack out there. She walked over and sat herself in the chair that was sitting before them as was expected of her, and looked at them. She knew they would all be able to scent her as not only a rogue but that she was wolf-less as well. They would have smelled it either while she sat out there in the waiting room or the moment she’d stepped into this room. Her sense of smell wasn’t the same as theirs, not even the same as an omega wolf. She watched as three of them leaned back in those chairs and left one leaning on the desk before him staring at her. That one thing told her they weren’t just ranked members but were, in fact, an Alpha and his Unit. The one that was watching her now, he was going to be the Alpha. He slid his eyes over her appearance and then turned his eyes to her application, read it through before returning his eyes to her and putting that paper down in front of him. “I’ll introduce myself formally to you,” he stated calmly. “I am Alpha Edward Hayes and this is my unit,” he waved a hand at the other wolves in this room. “May I enquire why you are a rogue?” he asked her directly, seems his curiosity about her non wolfen pack status outweighed the questions for this very job. Wynta frowned at his introduction. She didn’t really care who he was, and she didn’t think it was any of his business as to why she was a rogue. She knew one didn’t have to be part of a pack to live in this world. More and more wolves turned themselves rogue and left their packs to get away from the cruelty of their pack’s leadership. Especially those that were like herself. She’d seen and smelled many like herself over the past nine years, just out there like she was trying to make an honest living for themselves, and staying out of trouble in both the wolfen and human world alike. When she didn’t say anything to answer his question, he went on, “I see you’re 27. Surely someone with your skills could have found a pack to align yourself with… When did you go rogue or be turned rogue?” he asked once more. “I’m here for the job that was posted, not to relay my past history to you.” She finally spoke. “Do you have any questions for me that are related to my skills?” she asked him in return. He frowned at her now and she watched who she thought was the Beta lean forward and rest his arms on the desk “You could request sanctuary and ask to be a member of the pack. Then this job would be granted to you without issue,” he stated. Wynta raised an eyebrow at him, so that was the condition of getting this job, she thought absently. Clearly, all those humans out there were wasting their time coming here for an interview. This company was simply abiding by the human rules of appearing to hire honestly and fairly, when they intended to give the job to one of their own pack members. “Would you like to become a pack member, Wynta?” Alpha Edward asked her directly. “I would accept someone like yourself.” “Someone like me?” she murmured. “A rogue that is wolf-less and desperate for affiliation, you mean?” She shook her head a little dismayed, did she look desperate to them? She didn’t think so, her clothes were clean and presentable, as was her hair and light make-up. She certainly didn’t look underfed or unhealthy. “Are you going to ask me any actual interview questions about the position of a Marketing Specialist?” she asked once more. “My skills are as they are listed, and I have worked now for two separate companies as you can see.” “Wynta, we’ll get to your interview. I feel your rogue status is of more importance, and needs to be resolved first,” Alpha Edward stated. “Please, Mr Hayes, don’t address me so informally. I would prefer you call me Ms Morgan.” She put to him, showing him that she wasn’t interested in being a part of his pack, and she didn’t think that they were close enough to be on a first-name basis. All of them were frowning at her now, at her dismissing of them being an Alpha and his unit before her, but she was a rogue and didn’t have to acknowledge that. It was likely they’d not expected her to decline the offer of being initiated. But it wasn’t something she was looking for. She was just looking for a job to have an income once more, and to keep a roof over her head, and food in her belly, nothing more, nothing less. “How about you come and look at the pack? It’s an hour's drive from here, and you’ll see it’s a nice healthy pack; I even have several without wolves living there.” Edward offered. Again, she raised an eyebrow at him, this was not an interview anymore. She shook her head and stood up. “Thank you for wasting my time. I have other interviews to attend this week,” she stated simply and turned and walked from the room, showing them, she was clearly not interested in what they were offering. Alpha Edward Wynta was an interesting creature that pricked his full curiosity. She’d walked into this room and looked at each of them, not frowned, but her mouth had turned to a thin line that denoted annoyance to him. He’d wondered if she thought coming in here with a rogue status would see them turn her away. It wasn’t how he worked; though as he looked at her, his wolf, Rhodes, picked up that she wasn’t just a rogue but that she was also without a wolf. He personally didn’t like calling any of them wolf-less. Because most of the time they actually weren’t wolf-less. They just needed the right set of circumstances for their wolf to be granted to them or to come forth. Many without wolf had to find a Mate and be marked and claimed before their wolf was granted to them. He put it down to their Goddess, seeing if the one to scent them out, was worthy of the one without wolf. Most in this world failed that test by rejecting the one without wolf. Something they would usually come to regret later in life; when they either never got gifted another for themselves, or they saw their rejected so-called wolf-less Mate happy and mated, had gotten a wolf at some point after rejecting them. Other times it just weighed on them, when the one without wolf simply accepted the rejection unquestioningly, almost knowingly, that it was going to happen. They were simply resigned to their fate of being rejected, simply because they were seen by those in the pack they belonged to as useless or weak. He knew it wasn’t actually the case at all; 95% of the time, the one without wolf was often much stronger than anyone knew they could be. Because they had to put up with things inside their own packs from other wolves who thought they were better than the so-called wolf-less; so they treated them like garbage. Which intern made the majority of those without wolves, mentally stronger than even Alpha wolves at times. He’d also noted over the years that like 7 out of 10 of those that were female without wolf were mated to Alpha Wolves. It was he believed their Goddess testing them and, like 5 of those Alphas out of the 7, would fail the test. Now here sitting before him was a very beautiful she-wolf; and that was how he saw her, as a she-wolf. She had, at some point in her life, turned herself rogue to leave a pack he suspected. Those that were banished kind of had an omega feel to him where they thought they weren’t worthy of the wolfen kind, likely because that was not only how they were treated, but been told that’s what they were. This she-wolf he felt wasn’t like that, she didn’t even seem to really care that she was sitting before an Alpha and his unit. Had that full rogue mentality of ‘I don’t have to do what you want, and you can’t make me.’ that would depend on how long she’d been a rogue and how good her instincts were. He wondered if she’d been treated terribly or just hadn’t felt like she belonged inside her pack. He couldn’t pick up any venom in her, so she’d never been marked and mated by any wolf, though that attitude he was seeing was indicative to him of a would-be Luna or high ranking member. Asking her even politely got him nowhere, which meant that either Ms Wynta Morgan had no inclination to discuss her current status with him, or she didn’t want to be initiated into a pack at all. He wondered just how long she’d been a rogue all alone in the world. Though he could hazard a guess from her uncaring demeanor that it was a fair while, years at the least. He was watching her mannerisms. There was nothing out of the ordinary. She sat without fidgeting in that chair and held direct eye contact, though he didn’t think she wasn’t alert to be on the move if any of them suddenly got up and tried to snag her. She simply wasn’t afraid to be in this room with them. All he got from her was her annoyance at him and his lack of asking her interview questions, which told him she did actually need this job. Most rogues did need human jobs to survive and she was no different. He watched her just get up and leave the room, went so far as to show them she didn’t care what their rank was by thanking them for wasting her time. He smiled to himself after that door closed. “Oh, I like her.” he chuckled softly. Ernesto, his Beta, looked right at his amusement and stated, “Please don’t tell me you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking.” “Oh, but Ernesto, I am.” He nodded and heard his entire unit laugh. “It can’t hurt.” He smiled to himself now. "That lovely," and she was stunning. "Very stubborn she-wolf, might well be a good match for my very arrogant eldest son.” He chuckled “I bet Wynta Morgan will have no issue in giving him a piece of her mind, do it without batting an eyelid.” He nodded. She was just what that arrogant boy of his needed, a strong, unyielding she-wolf at his side. “You know Edward, Jared is not going to want to hear it,” his Gamma, Chester murmured. “Though I agree with you, she does seem to fit the bill of stubborn and uncaring, didn’t have a single concern about offending you or any of us at all.” “I know, I like that, and what harm can it do to put that boy of mine in a room with her on a full moon? None is what.” He smiled at them all and turned to his Beta, “Ernesto, go bring that girl to my office. She’ll need to be brought into the pack. So when Jared comes home, she’s back to pack mentality and not rogue mentality.” “You’re meddling,” Ernesto muttered but got up. “Isn’t that why he’s in Europe now, to get away from you and your meddling.” “Yes, but I can bring him home at will. I’m still his Alpha, and I’ve let him think I’ve dropped trying to find his Mate for almost three years now.” he nodded as Ernesto headed for the door. “Right to my office, and make sure she stays there all afternoon.” His Beta nodded and was gone from the room, now he just had to get her to agree to be part of the pack. He didn’t think it was going to be an easy task, but he now had all afternoon to think of a way to do so. He picked up the page with her photo on it, Wynta Morgan. She was a lovely she-wolf of 5 foot 9, with long black hair and hazel green eyes, and he wondered just what her story was, and if he could get her to tell it to him. Something he thought he was going to need at some point, he was also hoping that there had been a rejection and acceptance of this lovely she-wolf, and not just from any wolf, but from an Alpha Wolf. Because that would mean she already knew deep down inside that she was supposed to be a Luna as their Goddess saw fit to create her. Therefore, she would not only be stubborn, but defiant to all Alphas. He knew his boy well, his eldest son didn’t like women that fell at his feet or not unless he was looking for an easy lay. So that very stubborn rogue, his Beta, was not likely going to have to manhandle up to the top floor, where she couldn’t actually leave without an access card to the private elevator, would pique his boy's interest give a few interactions between them. Especially if she was dismissive of Jared like she had just been of him and his unit. His boy wasn’t so young either. He was 77 years old and currently focused on that European division of their pack, something Jared had gone and started himself, just to get away from his old man's meddling. Edward smiled, it wasn’t going to work. He wanted all his children to be happy and to have a Goddess-Gifted as well. He’d put a few nice rules into his pack when he’d established, ascension wasn’t like every other pack out there where the eldest child just inherited the pack at a certain age. No, his children had to earn it. Not only did they all have to have a good education, but be able to create and run their own businesses and do well in the industry they chose for themselves. They had to meet his demands, and currently all four of his sons were considered equal and held the exact same title of Future Alpha to the pack. They’d all had to take on an Alpha Unit and training and learn everything there was to run the pack. All four of his heirs were also constrained by a mating bond band that they had to wear at all times. When the Alpha Council had been formed and the Alpha Colleges had been built and first opened, he’d explained his pack laws to the council way back in 1950 when they’d opened for the first time. Jared had been seven, but all of his sons had been born by then, and that band the Alpha Council had created to stop fake bonds to other Alpha children saw him find a way to get exactly what he wanted. No way to lie about scenting out a Goddess-Gifted Mate. His four sons, Jared, Ethan, Colby and Lance all wore those bands, as had his three daughters, Elizabetha, Francine and Sophie. Though his daughters were all mated off now and it was just his sons that couldn’t seem to find Mates. This was what prevented them from gaining the seat of Alpha by deception, because only a Goddess-Gifted pair could run the pack. There were also two other rules he’d put in place, 1 they couldn’t take the seat until they were 100 or more, and they had to have produced at least one heir as well. It was anyone’s guess as to who would get the pack, because if they all made it past 100 without finding a Mate, it would be the first one of them to do so and then produce that heir. It kept them all equal, and those bands couldn’t be fooled. Also stopped them from killing each other for the seat of Alpha, by alerting him and his entire unit if one of them was under threat from another and added thing he’d asked for, and had been added to those bands. He also had four more bands, so there would be no fooling him on the she-wolf. If one of his sons scented out a Mate a band would be put on the she-wolf to confirm it was who his son claimed it to be. He’d covered all the basics of protecting his sons and giving them all equal rights to ascension to the seat of Alpha to his pack. “Boss, how are you going to get Jared home from Europe?” Luther, his Delta asked curiously. “There is no rush for it to happen right away. I need that lovely young she-wolf to settle into pack life for now… I’ll just let her work quietly away until a natural solution to the problem appears.” “He won’t claim her if she’s not his Goddess-Gifted, you know that,” Chester stated. “I do,” Edward agreed. “I’m not trying to force him or her together. She will present as a challenge to him and pique his interest and I want to see what he does with that. She’ll refuse his attentions if, as I suspect, she was rejected by another Alpha, and he’ll not understand why she doesn’t fall at his feet.” He smiled. “That’s all I want for now.” Wynta She handed in her lanyard and interview number to the lady out in the hall and made her way to the elevators to leave the building. She stood in that elevator as it took her to the ground floor and sighed internally to herself as she mentally ticked off another job that she’d not gotten; though this one was on her own doing. She’d walked away from it. Just one more day without working, that was going to eat into her savings. She knew the dollars in her bank account, knew she only had enough money to rent that studio apartment for three more months, and then she was going to be either out on the streets and in a women’s shelter or back to being an exotic dancer in a gentleman’s club just to make ends meet. Neither were nice thoughts for her; she’d been homeless for a few months after leaving her home pack, until she’d managed to get on campus living, but still it hadn’t been enough to survive on, so she’d had to take on a job that would bring in the dollars, and she wasn’t about to sell her body to men. So becoming an exotic dancer had been the only option open to her, that didn’t interfere with her class schedule. She’d not really liked it and only did it to make money was all. She pushed off the wall when the elevator stopped and walked out, as did several others and found herself face to face with who she thought was the Beta to that Alpha Unit. “Mr Hayes, would like a further word with you, Ms Morgan,” he stated with what appeared to be a friendly smile. “I’m not interested,” she told him, and went to step around him only to have his hand curl around her arm and halt her. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist,” he stated and tugged her along next to him down a bank of elevators and used a swipe card to have one open. She saw there were no floor markers on the outside or inside of it when she was escorted into it. The doors simply closed and the elevator moved. She understood it was an express elevator and likely only went to one floor, the top floor where the Alpha and his Unit all had offices. She leaned on the wall in there and just waited, said nothing at all to this man that was looking at her. She stared right back at him, uncaring of if it was offensive or not. Rogues didn’t have masters unless they chose to and she didn’t. It was a fast, smooth ride, and he escorted her out of the elevator down a corridor and directed her to sit on a couch. “Please stay here and wait.” He told her before turning to the woman at the desk next to the couch who was now looking at her with a slight frown on her face. “The Alpha will see Ms Morgan when his interviews are over for the day.” “Yes, Beta.” She nodded and he walked off. At least she’d guessed it right. He was the Beta to that group. She saw that she-wolf frown at her and wrinkle her nose as if she was offended by the stench of Wynta. She was, however, clean and, though of rogue status, took care of herself to make sure she didn’t scent terrible like other rogues out there in the wilderness. Though she honestly didn’t know what a Rogue scented like to other wolves, but to her, they kind of smelled like they were unclean and needed a bath. She didn’t think she smelled like that. She just sat as she was told. She wasn’t out to cause trouble for herself and knew how to behave herself. Even if she didn’t want to. After an hour of just sitting there, she was bored shitless, and so she stood up and stretched herself out and then walked away to have a look around the top floor for herself. There were a dozen offices up here, three conference rooms and an open coffee hub-like area where they all obviously ate. There were half a dozen tables and chairs and a couple of vending machines. She saw only the one elevator to this entire floor, and it had that swipe card access to it. She wasn’t going to be able to leave if she didn’t have one of them. She found the emergency stairwell and smiled to herself and pushed the door only to find it wouldn’t open, and frowned. It, too, had a swipe card box next to it. She appeared to be stuck here for now. She returned to the couch and sank down once more. Another hour passed, and she was more than unhappy, that she-wolf at her desk looked at her and stated, “Just be patient, he’s interviewing.” “You can’t keep me here like this,” she stated flatly. “I’m guessing he can, seeing as you’re still here. Just sit there,” she was told. Wynta thought about that, she knew there had to be away around the swipe card for everything, and as she leaned back there on the couch her eyes fell on the red emergency box, that had the words ‘Break glass in case of emergency.’ That she knew was going to unlock the emergency exit stairwell. A smile played on her lips as she sat up now. She’d get lost in the crowd of those all heading out of the building and be gone before they could find her once more. “Don’t do it Ms Morgan, it’s a very large fine.” Her thoughts were interrupted by the she-wolf. Her eyes moved towards her, and she watched her point to the ceiling, where she saw a camera, “It’ll be caught on camera, and the fine will come to you. Can you afford it? I believe it's $1600, and you could also face criminal charges. It’s a felony in this state, so you’ll also likely wind up with a criminal record if you don’t already have one.” “I don’t,” Wynta stated, and the she-wolf’s half smirk she likely thought that just because she was a rogue she did all sorts of illegal things to get by. She leaned back on the couch as she resigned herself to the fact that she was currently stuck here on this floor until someone escorted her from the building. By the third hour, she had laid down on that couch and made herself comfortable, ignored the she-wolf’s comment of it wasn’t very ladylike or professional to do so, and used her phone to read a book until she dozed off on that couch. Not one person on this floor had paid her the slightest bit of attention, except for the Alpha’s secretary, and she was just annoyed to have to watch over her, it seemed. She rolled over at one point in her half sleeping stated to try and be more comfortable and fell right off the couch, just lay there for a moment before sitting up with a huff. That secretary was staring at her. “You’re a lazy one I see,” she muttered. “I’ll tell the Alpha you’re finally awake.” And her eyes had glazed over. She picked herself up off the floor. He must be back up here, and she’d slept right through it, and he’d not woken her. That was a bit odd. He appeared in his office doorway, “Did you sleep well?” he smiled at her. “Come in, Ms Morgan.” He waved her into his office. She checked the time on her phone and saw it was the middle of the afternoon. Her interview had been at 10am this morning. The day was nearly over. It was nearly 3pm. She walked into the Alpha’s office and sat where he told her to. “Why am I still here?” she asked him directly. “Because I’m not willing to let you continue to be of rogue status, it’s unsafe for female rogues out there in the world. Even more so for those without wolves, who are defenseless against wolfen strength.” “Other rogues leave me alone, the wolf-less aren’t of interest to roaming bands of rogues. We’re worth nothing to those wanting to kidnap and sell she-wolves, we can’t take a beating or a lashing without winding up in the pack hospital or dying from it. It’s a waste of money to buy the wolf-less.” She informed him. “So, I’m perfectly safe out there on my own. Always have been.” She told him simply. “Mm, I see… but in all good consciousness, I can’t let you leave as you are. So, here’s what I’m willing to offer you. The job you applied for today, a house or apartment within the pack and full sanctuary where no harm will come to you. “You’ll be able to have full access to proper wolfen medical, at no cost to you. You’ll also be able to train with others like yourself, to be able to protect yourself when outside the pack. Attend mating balls to find your Mate and have a full wolfen social life.” He smiled at her as if that was an appealing offer. “I have an apartment here in the city, just a few blocks away. I don’t drive, so wouldn’t be able to get from the pack to the office if I took up that offer. I’ve never come to harm out here in the human world, and I’ve been in it for many years now. “I can also protect myself if I need to, and I have no interest in being initiated into or living inside a pack or attending any pack functions, including that of Mating Balls,” Wynta countered him, “I’ll, however, take the job that I do need.” He was frowning at her now. “All wolves need the social aspect, or they can become…” he trailed off. “Anti-social creatures.” She nodded. “I’m already that, and I don’t care that I am.” She shrugged but would take this opportunity to tell him how she’d work. “I will work quietly and cause you nor this company any problems. I get my work done on time or stay back, working late doesn’t particularly bother me all that much. “I can and will collaborate within a team and listen to and follow the instructions of my supervisor. I know how to be a contributing member of a working team and how to be professional even though I don’t take an interest in socializing personally with those on my team,” she told him. He leaned back in his chair and stared at her with narrowed eyes, and she mimicked his pose after a minute of silence. She would not be giving him what he wanted today. Another minute passed, and his mouth twitched in one corner. He seemed amused by her stubbornness. “What will it take,” she finally asked, breaking the silence, “to let me leave this office and get the job?” He smiled at her, “You agreeing to be initiated into my pack. I’ll allow you to retain your city apartment, seeing as you already have one and don’t drive.” She stared at him for a long moment and then laid out her own terms to get the job she needed. “Initiation into your pack will be on my terms.” She offered a compromise. “What exactly does that mean?” he frowned once more. “I’ll let you initiate me, only when I willingly set foot into your pack's official pack territory, and that’s what? An hour away, you stated.” “I did.” He nodded. “I can agree to that.” He smiled at her. “Let’s go and look at your work space then, shall we?”