JUST COME HOME, ROY!

26 FEBRUARY, FRIDAY, CONTINUED

One day, while exploring the warlock forest, Roy found Beta Lorent caught in an enchantment.

Feeling sorry for the younger man, Roy used his crystal key to release him.

"I even exposed my existence to him, because he was my brother in law." Roy said shaking his head, "I was too naive."

The two men began a friendship. Perhaps Roy was lonely after more than a year of being a lone rogue wolf in the warlock forest.

Elliot became a regular visitor, at first claiming to be expressing his gratitude to his savior, and then being a sympathetic ear. He often told Roy that if HE were the Alpha, he would have allowed Roy to mate his sister.

"I was so gullible then." Roy shook his head, "I trusted him. I showed him everything."

By now, Roy didn't just have his dream home and the beginnings of his rose garden. Roy had also helped the free wolves nearby, stringing together a loose network for these wolves to disseminate information and secure winter supplies and other things.

"Since rogues and free wolves have no pack, they also have no mindlinks." Roy said, "It was hard to survive when you're cut off from everyone else."

In exchange, Elliot was the one who brought Roy out to "see the world." In one of these outings, Roy saw how the common rogues suffered even on what was supposedly neutral territories.

He began to build a network for these wolves to help them, based on the model he had developed for the free wolves. The network was called the Common Rogue Circles, and was made of small circles interlinked together.

"Not all rogues are bad." Roy said, "Some of us are just trapped in unfortunate circumstances."

I nodded. Yes, like Daisy's family. (Roy however, was a rogue because he was too stupid to just go home.)

Roy looked surprised that I didn't disagree with him, "I would never think little princess would be so open minded."

Maybe, if I was told this a few months ago, I would have immediately rejected such a sacrilegious idea. But now... I could actually see where Roy was coming from.

Encouraged by this little princess' open mindedness, Roy continued, "It worked very well, and the network grew. In fact it grew so quickly, I was soon unable to afford it's upkeep."

It was Elliot who stepped in at this point. Elliot who volunteered to be his right hand man.

"And I was a fool to trust him." Roy rightly concluded.

But at the time, Elliot's help seemed goddess-sent to the omega wolf. Within a month, Elliot implemented a membership fee to the CRC, and within half a year, Roy recuperated all his costs.

Roy spent his money on his personal research, and on the building and maintenance of the CRC.

Elliot must have had his share of the profit too. Soon Elliot was bringing Roy all over the place to live it up. The two wolves hit all the night scenes, "It was like being young all over again - being cool, the female attention, the VIP treatment."

"Alas, it was only a shadow of the past!" Roy shook his head miserably, "King and Luc would never associate with the characters Elliot and I met in those days."

Elliot enjoyed many vices, particularly betting at the fight cages. Roy, not so much. He realized he preferred to spend the night reading at home, but Elliot had needed someone to drive him home when he drank too much, and the vamps were dangerous. Roy felt responsible for the younger wolf's safety.

"Wait, you hung out with vamps?" I was immediately sceptical, "How did you keep them out of your head?"

"The power of the crystal key protected me." Roy answered. Wow. That was some key.

At one of these fight cages, Roy and Elliot met Ruby. Actually, Elliot had bought a night with her. A birthday present for Roy.

"So you're the rogue king?" Ruby had smiled when they were first introduced, "It is an honor to serve you, your majesty."

"Wait, you're the rogue king?" I must have missed something in the story. How did that happen? I was listening properly too!

Roy had been just as surprised, but later found out that Elliot had long ago declared him so. He confronted Elliot and the younger wolf explained that the rogues needed a leader.

"How else did you think we could spectate those dog fights from the VIP rooms?" Elliot had asked, "Naturally, only someone like the rogue king would possess the right."

Roy wanted to end it right there and then, but he couldn't. Ruby had begged him to save her that first night, or at least visit her more often, and he was quite unable to say no.

"I just can't say no the the tears of a beautiful woman." Roy sighed.

Idiot.

So Roy continued being the Rogue King, althoug Beta Lucas was the one calling all the shots.

"He had some grievance with his family." Roy shrugged, "Was hell bent on destroying his pack or something."

For some reason, this kind of grievance seemed to run in their family.

"I couldn't completely control him. I was just an omega, so I would never win in a direct confrontation. But I did set two conditions: He had to keep his sister safe, and he was not to touch Night Leaf." Roy told me.

Yeah, and see how that turned out. But I couldn't quite blame Roy. Part of me wondered if I would have done the same if I were in his shoes. He was just an omega.

"After that, I spent less and less time with Elliot, but that only allowed him free reign." Roy sighed.

And under Elliot's "leadership," the networks used to convey secret messages and supplies became one of the most influential underground trafficking systems.

"He started seeing Ruby behind my back too." Roy said, "They became quite close."

And then Roy startled, as if just awoken from a dream, "Ah! You need to get out of here. Ruby... Hmm.... How did you get here, Little Princess?"

"I'm dream traveling." I told Roy.

"Ah. The blue wolf. Ruby had told me." Roy nodded, "Facinating, but you really must go. The woman is mad. She wants me to...she must never find you!"

"Wait, stop. Explain properly." I seriously couldn't make out the reason for Roy's panic.

"Ruby, she wants the power of the blue wolf." Roy told me.

Urm... And how did she plan to take it? It wasn't like a handbag that you could just snatch and run away with.

"Ruby wants to capture you, and use my machine to transfer your magic to her." Roy explained, "She's mad. Although theoretically, its not impossible... but this machine was not meant for wolves... For roses and other plants, sometimes the occasional gem or small creature... But I cannot guarantee safety for wolves and most definitely, the donor's life would be lost in the process... "

I'm assuming Ruby meant for me to be the donor.

"She's gone mad." Roy told me.

No, she had always been mad. I felt quite sure.

"She used to be such a strong and beautiful she-wolf." Roy said, "And she had suffered very many things... It's quite tragic really. I wanted to help her. I was planning to buy her out of that place. But then, she suddenly appeared at my door, returned from the dead..."

"How did she return from the dead?" I wanted to know.

"Ah, Elliot had some magic charms. He had gotten them from an old lover or something. He gave one to me too, although after seeing what happened to those two, I stopped wearing it." Roy muttered. He unfolded himself from the armchair and started rummaging in the drawer of an old desk pushed the the side of the room.

"Ah, here it is." Elliot passed me a a strange charm. It looked like someone folded a leaf into a triangular envelop and then strung it on a cord and left it to dry. "You wear it around your neck, and it would automatically resurrect you if you were killed."

Then Roy took it back, "But maybe it's expired or defective. Elliot's charm took two weeks to take effect. From the looks of it, Ruby's charm also took a few days. It resurrects you, but it doesn't quite heal you. Now the two of them look like the living dead, and they smell like the worst kind of garbage, and now they require long medicinal baths to preserve their bodies... I figured it would be better to just stay dead."

I'd say.

And then Roy was opening another drawer, from there, he took out a chocolate box, "Here, take this."

He pushed the metal tin box into my hands. I opened it to see folded letters, "Please return them to my Princess for me. And this too."

Roy pulled out a very small leather pouch, "This belonged to her."

He showed me a single diamond stud earring. It was quite a large diamond, cut in the shape of a heart.

"And this too..." Roy was suddenly going through all the drawers and bookcases. He pulled out a roll of paper, "This is for your father. I found the entrance to Gate City for him. I drew him the map. I've also included the location of some treasures and places of interest in the Warlock Forest. Tell him that although this omega had failed to follow him to the Colored Mountains, I believe he would one day be able to stand at the peak of it!"

It took a while for me to process all the information and realize Roy didn't mean the entrance to our Gate City. He meant the entrance to THE GATE CITY. The fabled one that was the Gate into the Colored Mountains!

"And this..." Roy pushed a book towards me, "This, little princess, is for you. Sorry, I don't have anything of particular value for a little princess, but this was the book you loved best as a pup."

I blinked at the old book. The book I loved best as a pup was an old Lycan one about gardens?

{Rogues approaching}

Ah, where? Boo had been silent so far. Should I take this warning to mean the approaching rogues were dangerous?

Roy seemed to realize it too. Or it could be the feet stomping down the very long and narrow corridor outside.

I tried to sense the enemy. Two male rogues.

{Weak} Boo informed me.

Okay, so not that dangerous.

"Quickly, run." Roy pushed me toward the opened patio door. He ripped off the crystal key around his neck and tossed it on top of the things in my hands, "This should keep you safe. Run around the house and follow the first path that opens. It should lead you to the border. Mindlink your dad to take you home from there."

Wait no. I flared, "What about you?"

Roy shook his head, "This omega is at the end of his rope, little princess. It won't be long before Elliot and Ruby turn on me. I'm running out of funds, of friends, of places to run..."

"Then just come home!" I yelled at his face.

You know, for a smart guy, Roy was being really dumb.

"Little princess... I've done too much wrong to go back." Roy shook his head and sighed, he held out his two hands to show me, "Even though these hands did not directly commit the evil deeds, they also did not stop them from happening."

The door burst opened, and two large rogues bashed in, guns waving about so I knew they had never been trained to use them by a pack.

"It's the blue wolf!" Rogue 1 said.

"Hands in the air Alpha Princess! We got you now!" Rogue 2 shouted, waving his gun around like a movie-style bank robber.

Seriously! You can't aim if you're going to wave your gun all over like that! Even I knew that! Point it properly at your target's head if you really want to be a threat. But of course I didn't say that aloud. I wasn't stupid.

"Are you okay, Roy?" Rogue 1 asked.

For some reason, Roy had his hands in the air. Idiot. Weren't those your men?