14

Savannah stared with interest at the tools and objects arranged neatly on shelves and tables around Zion's workshop. What had Talei called it? A lab. It was definitely filled with technology and equipment beyond her comprehension. She became increasingly intrigued, wondering what he used it all for.

Palming a cool object in her hand, she held it up for closer scrutiny.

The object Zion had bargained with Darek for was small, like a key, and made from a dull metal that shone jade in one light, and cornflower blue in another. When Zion had kindly draped her in his own jacket at dawn the day before, the temptation had been too hard to resist.

It hadn't taken much effort to slip her hand into his pocket and transfer the mysteriously wrapped object to her own.

Now, as she studied it under the fluorescent lights of his workshop, her questions grew. One end was clearly a key, sharply cut to fit a very unique lock. The other end of the strange metallic key flattened then tapered into a sharp point. It was etched with veins and serrations to resemble a leaf.

For all the botany and horticulture books she'd read, the Alpha couldn't place the species of plant. "Just what does this unlock?" she murmured to herself, her eyes grazing over filing cabinets, desk drawers, and safes that were stacked against the walls. None looked worthy of such a special key. "What secrets are you hiding down here, Zion?"

"None to interest a curious Alpha such as yourself."

Savannah fairly jumped out of her skin at the sudden disturbance of words.

"Zion!" She squeaked, turning to face him where he stood near the stairs. "Um...you're back!" She fumbled for words, her fingers closing tightly around the stolen object in her palm.

His eyes followed her skittish movements, not a single movement escaping the rogue's keen gaze. He lifted a brow lazily. "You know, that key is worthless except to the one it belongs to."

"I highly doubt that. Otherwise, Darek wouldn't have kept it from you," she pointed out, tossing the key up and down in her palm, realising there was no use hiding it from him.

"He was just too ignorant to realise how useless it was to him. But you," he tilted his head, regarding her from where he stood ten feet away.

She held her breath and waited for his completed statement. Nervously, she studied him. One would never guess he'd just come from butchering a few humans. His calm demeanour and clean exterior belied his deadly actions. She couldn't even smell the scent of blood on him.

Zion continued, "You are smarter than him, yes?"

She forced a laugh. "Which is why I don't believe you." After raising an eyebrow in imitation of his, she dared contradict him, "So I think I'll just hold onto this. I'm sure I can find a use for it."

He just shrugged. "Suit yourself. Don't blame me when you suffer from elizenthium poisoning."

She almost dropped the key. "Elizenthium?" After quickly wrapping it in its leather pouch, she studied her hand. The rare metal was known to burn skin, sapping one's strength and energy due to its volatile molecular structure. "Isn't that stuff seriously toxic?"

"Naturally, with you being a strong Alpha, you wouldn't feel the effects without long exposure. But there's no need to dally. Just hand it back," he wiggled his fingers, motioning her closer.

"And I suppose, with you being such an impervious rogue," she gripped the leather stubbornly, "you don't feel the effects either?"

"You could say that," he shrugged nonchalantly, his lack of reaction ticking her off.

"Why don't we test the theory?" she challenged, and in one smooth motion that took less time than inhaling a breath, she removed the leather, aimed, and hurled the key with the skill of a cunning knife-thrower.

It whizzed silently through the air, turning over end to end as it gained momentum, and sank into the hard flesh of the rogue's torso like a sharpened dagger.

A slow trickle of red seeped from the entry point and stained Zion's white muscle shirt.

"Sheesh, that's unexpected," Savannah stared at the key embedded in her mate's chest. "Looks like you aren't so impenetrable after all."

Then instantly, she was moving. "Oh my goodness, Zion! I didn't hurt you, did I?" Rushing to his side, she lifted her hands and fluttered them around his chest, unsure what to do. "Does it hurt? Is it in deep? Should I pull it out? Tell me what to do!"

Zion stared at her agitated self, hopping from foot and foot, then turned his attention to the dagger-like key embedded in his chest. His movements were slow and listless, his expression almost detached. "It's poisoning me... I think... I'm dying," he breathed out, his breath a languid exhale that brushed the fine hairs on Savannah's face.

She watched with horror as his expression pinched, his eyes widening as he stumbled back, then tilted toward the floor. Her body seemed paralysed in shock as she watched his go down.

The great and invincible Silver Rogue collapsed at her feet, and as his large muscled body thundered on the cold tiled floor, the sound spurred her to action.

"Zion! Oh my goodness, Zion! Can you hear me?" She leant over him and shook his shoulders, before focusing back on the bloodied key that still protruded from his skin.

His reaction to the toxic element was beyond anything she'd anticipated. It had barely burnt her skin, yet upon touching his blood, it must have poisoned him in double time.

Ignoring the fear that gripped her racing heart, she grabbed the key with shaky fingers and yanked it out. It clattered to the floor somewhere behind her, but she didn't notice. She'd gripped his face and rubbed her thumbs lovingly over his cheeks.

"Come on, Zion, wake up!" she commanded, hating the sight of his closed eyelids and pale lips. "Don't you dare die on me from a stupid key! You're stronger than this, right? You're meant to be impervious! Damn it!"

She cursed herself for swearing, then rolled her eyes at her own contrary actions. All she could think about was the cold feeling of her mate's skin beneath her fingers.

His chest was barely moving, and she had to lean close to even feel the faint puff of air from his lips. "Your life can't be over yet," she whispered, a hot tear sliding down her own cheek as she brushed his tenderly. "What am I supposed to do without my mate?"

Then all of a sudden, his eyes flashed open, the hazel irises startling her for a moment before he wrapped his strong arms around her and flipped their bodies over.

Savannah stared up into a cocky grin.

"Did you just confess your undying need of me?" Zion blinked lazily, his eyes crinkling in a smile as horror spread on her face. "I must say, I'm flattered, though wounded that it was you who tried killing me in the first place with that useless key. You are far more violent than half the rogues I know."

The Alpha gaped, lost for words, her lungs devoid of air. You idiot! She wanted to say, but nothing would come out. "I can't... breathe...!" she gasped, his weight crushing her chest.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, my dear," he rolled them over again until she was on top. His grin was boyish as he now stared up at her, his hair mussed and curling around his forehead in careless waves.

"You idiot!" she thumped his chest with both palms. Upon inspection of his wound, she found perfectly healed skin without even a scar. "You scared me on purpose!"

"It was worth it," he smirked. "Your reaction was priceless."

When he began chuckling, the sound sending vibrations from his chest to her own, she pushed off him and stood. Crossing her arms, she glared down at him. "At least one of us thinks this is funny. I'm still mad at you and probably wouldn't have minded if you ended up in the hospital with acute toxicity. At least then you wouldn't have the strength to brutally murder anymore humans," she fumed.

"Is that what this is about?" Zion got to his feet and picked up the carelessly tossed key. He held it between his fingers for a moment before putting it back in its pouch, his expression almost wistful as he handled it. "You saw the news this morning."

"I nearly saw you on the news this morning, then we all would've been in trouble."

"Ahh, Savannah," he clucked his tongue and shook his head in admonition. "You still have so much to learn."

She watched him for a moment, at his nonchalance in the face of such a serious situation. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, you have been sheltered on your precious territory for far too long, and have only just tasted of the excitement that comes from the big wide world. There is nothing in this city to worry about, especially how I handle threats to me and my friends." At her disbelieving expression, he elaborated. "What happened this morning," he lifted his shoulders in a casual shrug, "was no big deal. I assessed the situation and made sure there would be no repercussions from how I handled it. Those men deserved much worse, but I dealt with them swiftly and cleanly. Their deaths will be forgotten in mere hours."

"Cleanly? Mere hours? Are you kidding me right now?" Savannah gripped her hair and began pacing. The movement channeled her agitation so she wouldn't act on the urge to strangle her obnoxious mate. "You obviously didn't see how much footage they played on tv."

"The media is always causing a hype."

"There were dozens of motorists and bystanders who saw what you did!"

"They just want to get hits on their social media pages."

"That thief Persia was there, stalking you!"

Zion stopped his own bored pacing. "Persia was there?"

"So, something finally gets your attention," she raised her eyebrows in amusement.

He huffed, tucking the concealed key in his pocket. "She's wasting her time. The only thing she'll achieve from her little mission of stalking me is attracting trouble to herself."

"What is it she wants?"

"What everyone wants."

"Which is?" Don't say love, don't say love, Savannah chanted to herself, feelings of possessiveness and jealousy welling up inside her as she stared at her handsome mate. The thought of another woman getting their grimy paws on Zion made her angry inside.

"Money. Power. Treasure. I don't know," he shrugged. "Why don't you tell me what women want?"

Savannah narrowed her eyes. "I'm not letting you deflect the conversation so easily. You clearly know more about her than you're letting on, even to your own buddy Phoenix. So out with it. I'm not leaving your secret lab until you tell me all about her."

"We've already been over this!" he shook his head in frustration. "Is it so unbelievable that someone might just be obsessed with me?"

Savannah blinked, then burst out laughing. "Oh, aren't you so full of yourself!" She couldn't believe the dismissive way he'd talked about obsession. "Like it's such a common thing to be so amazing and have people obsessing over you."

"You don't think I'm amazing?"

"Shut up!" Savannah's laughter immediately turned to exasperation, and she growled at him. He most likely thought she was crazy, but she didn't care. Now was not the time to care that she probably sounded like a deranged, hormonal shewolf. "Just stop messing with me! Tell me this, since you insist on remaining tight-lipped about Persia."

Zion folded his hands and schooled his face in all seriousness, then nodded for her to go on.

"What does that key unlock? Who does it belong to? Why did Darek want it so badly?"

He held up a hand for her to slow down. "I'm beginning to see you'd make a hopeless interrogator. You ask too many open-ended questions."

"If you just answered me straight, I wouldn't be getting so flustered."

"So you admit that I fluster you?"

Savannah threw up her hands. "Don't make me clobber you! Gahh, you're just like my brothers, always twisting my words and splitting hairs." She took a few deep breaths to calm down. "Now, tell me about the key."

Zion pulled up a chair and motioned for her to sit down. When she shook her head in refusal, he spun it around and sat on it himself, folding his arms on the back. "It belongs to the Captain."

"The captain? That's it? No name?"

"He doesn't need one."

"What kind of person doesn't need a name—"

"You obviously didn't pay attention in your history lessons. Or do they not teach rogue history in those fancy Alpha schools?"

She glared her annoyance at him, causing him to roll his eyes and continue, "The Captain is the lone wolf who single handedly took on his enemies in the Battle of Rogues. This happened about two hundred years ago, and since then the legend has been passed down orally from generation to generation."

"If it's an oral tradition, how would I have read about in history lessons?" the Alpha pointed out, slowly becoming intrigued with the story. She leaned back against a desk and waited for her mate's reply.

He only lifted an eyebrow, one side of his mouth turning up in a smirk.

Savannah stamped her foot. "You're messing with me again!"

"Has anyone told you how much fun you are to tease?"

"I hate being teased, and only tolerate it from my Beta Justin."

The smirk instantly slid from Zion's face. "Then I shall reserve that right for your boyfriend," he said flatly.

"He's not my boyfriend," Savannah argued.

"Fine. If you say so," Zion shrugged.

"Back to the story?" Savannah was growing impatient, and she wasn't used to waiting for what she wanted. As Alpha, everyone snapped to her attention and fulfilled her commands as soon as possible.

"Patience is a virtue, my darling little Alpha."

Savannah glared at him. "I don't care about patience right now! I said, back to the sto—"

"Patience is what the Captain used to win against his enemies. He waited until they thought they had won. He fought defensively, conserving his energy, and waited for them to tire themselves out. Then, just when they thought they had the upper hand, he summoned all his strength and slayed them in a flurry of acrobatic kicks and offencive attack techniques. The same tactics can be applied in a game of basketball."

"Sounds lovely." Maybe there was something she could learn from this mysterious rogue captain. "Who exactly were these enemies of his?"

"A council made up of Alphas."

"I think I'm going to be sick."

"Let me escort you upstairs to the bathroom. I don't want you to ruin my equipment."

"You're hilarious, you know that? And thoroughly insensitive," she snapped, starting to pace again.

"Savannah, I'm just giving you the facts. How you react is entirely up to you. You asked for it straight, and I gave it to you."

"So how did the Captain get the key?"

Zion stood and retrieved it from his pocket, palming it and drawing Savannah's attention to the unique design. "It was bestowed on him by the queen."

"The queen? Zion, are you making up a fairytale?" she glanced up sharply to his eyes that twinkled.

He resisted the urge to chuckle at her ignorance. "The Queen of Vinlarhk, the provinces to the north—"

"—north-east of the Pacific continent. I know that. Give me credit for paying attention in geography, will you?"

He smirked in response, but continued, "The queen wanted to recognise his courage and fortitude in battle, and thank him for protecting her kingdom from danger and scandal."

"But they were Alphas he killed. How were they a danger to her?"

"Vinlarhk hasn't always been allies with the wolf council and associated Alpha territories. They had something against the royal family and wanted revenge. The Captain happened to be in the area and saved the queen from making disastrous decisions in regards to the Alphas. As to your last question, what does it open? I cannot tell you for sure. But rumors say it is a box that contains the—"

"Yo, bro! You having a party without me down here?" Chayton descended the stairs and bust into the lab without announcing himself. "Or is there something else going on?" He eyed the way Savannah and Zion stood close together, their heads bowed over something in Zion's hand. It looked for all the world like they were one breath away from smooching.

They jumped apart, making the burly rogue chuckle.

"There's nothing going on. What gives you that idea?" Savannah hated the way her voice rose childishly in pitch.

"You mean, besides the blush in your pretty cheeks?" Chayton pointed out, and Savannah slapped her hands to her face in embarrassment. "Or how about the blood on Zion's shirt? You know, I placed a bet on you killing each other first before mating. Looks like I might win after all," he laughed all the way up the stairs with Zion chasing behind him, spilling death threats of his own.

"So, you all up for shooting some hoops?" Phoenix called out when they tumbled into the living room.

"As long as 'hoops' isn't the name of some criminal gang," Savannah muttered and threw a dark look at her mate.

"Relax," he clapped a hand on her shoulder. The contact sent shivers scurrying over her body. "We're playing a game of basketball. You know how to play?"

Her face lit up in a grin. "Justin and I would always win in two-on-two."

"Well, of course the Alpha and Beta team-up was unbeatable. A little unfair," Cale muttered, drawing laughs from the gathered rogues.

"Come on, let's go before it gets dark," Tasman rallied them and led the way down the street to a park he said wasn't far away.

Talei dribbled a ball back and forth with her brother, while Chayton and Willow talked quietly together. Niko tried drawing Savannah into conversation, but she was still mad at him for meddling with her phone, and petulantly ignored him. Zion peppered Cale with questions about pack life, and eagerly listened to the young Gamma chatter about warrior patrol rotations, infrastructure planning and town designs, Beta and Head Guard ranks and subsequent duties, and their all encompassing devotion to the Alpha and her family.

Zion seemed genuinely interested, and Savannah couldn't help feeling miffed that he hadn't asked her these questions.

When she spotted a decent sized leopard tree shading the sidewalk, she slowed her pace and let everyone get ahead before reaching for the lowest branch and swinging herself up.

It didn't take her long to climb higher and disappear in the dense foliage.

The sound of the rogues' chatter died as they walked down the path, and she wondered if anybody cared she was no longer among them.

The twitter of birds became sweet music in her ears, and the woody scent of bark and leaves calmed her as she leaned back in a crook of branches.

Climbing trees had always been a favourite hobby all her childhood, the quiet sanctuary provided by the branches being a place she often retreated to when she needed to stop, relax, and reset her overheated emotions. Even now as an adult, she often found time to climb her favourite tree. Being an Alpha was admittedly stressful, and nature was her remedy.

Low muttering reached her ears. "Where has that infernal little thing gotten to this time?"

Savannah looked down and watched Zion pace the sidewalk, looking all directions but up. She was genuinely surprised he'd been the first to backtrack and hunt her down.

Quietly picking the nearest twig, Savannah took careful aim and pegged it at his head.

The rogue raked a hand over his disturbed hair, but didn't notice her arboreal presence. After a couple more well-directed falling twigs, he began to scan the branches, but Savannah had already shimmied down until she was hidden behind the thick trunk, then stepped lightly out onto the branch above his head.

Before he noticed her, she let go of the branch and leap to his shoulders with a battle-cry that sounded more like a koala's shriek.

They both tumbled to the pavement, Zion taking the brunt of her weight and landing on his back.

"Are you insane?" he gasped when they finally made eye contact, her black hair hiding her brown eyes from him until he tucked the offending strands behind her ears.

"You just aren't taking enough precaution against drop bears. You should really be more aware of the risks around you," she laughed, pushing herself off him.

"Drop bears?"

"You know...the nocturnal creatures that hang out in trees waiting for unsuspecting prey to walk underneath. Then they drop down, strangling you with furry arms and biting your neck with razor sharp teeth. Vicious little creatures." She emphasised her point by baring her fangs and snarling.

"Yep. You are certifiably crazy."

"Says the rogue who poisons his enemies with puffer fish." A devilish idea suddenly entered the Alpha's head of how she could get revenge on the rogue. Now that she knew he wasn't entirely impervious, a whole new world of pranks opened up to her. She grinned, rubbing her hands together.

"What now?" Zion studied her curiously, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Now, we play basketball! Last one there is a monkey's uncle," she called out as she dashed madly down the street in the direction the other rogues took.

It didn't take long to find them, and she figured Zion purposely lagged behind to let her win. Why, she couldn't tell you. The intimidating rogue was more often than not completely confounding her.

"We have it all figured out. You and Zion are the captains, and will take turns choosing your teams," Cale informed her enthusiastically as he jumped up and down, stretching muscles and warming up his body.

"Or how about—"

"How about me and my little Alpha against all the rest of you?" Zion stepped up beside her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her flush against his body.

The air rushed from her lungs as his hot breath fanned her neck, sending shivers down her spine.

"This will give us a chance to work together, no?" He couldn't help teasing her by whispering right against her ear.

"Or kill each other," Chayton winked.

"What are the rules?" Savannah asked in a breathless voice. The scent of cypress and summer fruits invaded her senses, sending adrenaline rocketing through her veins.

"No PDA and no drawing of blood," Talei replied, bouncing on her toes and reaching her arms up to stretch her body, revealing some very toned abdominal muscles.

Looking around at the rogues, Savannah realised they were very serious about this game.

Excitement built up within her, her competitive streak heating like a red-hot iron. This was a game she didn't want to lose. "You take the fun right out of it," she pouted and spun in her mate's arms before giving him a saucy smile. "I'm ready when you are, Peaches."