Violet Ashes: The Blood Ridge Alpha - Chapter 54: Chapter 54

It's been a while since I've been out on the field, and it feels fantastic to be stretching my legs out and shutting my brain down so I can do what comes naturally to me now. Hunting. Knightly finding his mate has proven beneficial for all of us. Not to mention that his mate is absolutely perfect for the old grump stuck in that glorious body of his.
As the only candidate for the Rogue throne, the man has to prove how serious he is and has assigned each of us a target. Men who were released for fucking with little rogue girls. I just love the cowardly sounds of a pedophile begging for mercy. It's music to my ears.
You know what isn't music to my ears? The sound of my mate tracking me. I've known he was following me since I left the clocktower. I'm willing to bet that he saw Zander Thorne show up at my place and now wants to see if I am going to try to make contact with him, to, I don't know, fix things between us?
He's a few buildings behind me. I pull on Beverly's strength and sprint around as fast as I can to get behind him. I go around the building and wait for him to try to catch up. Once he runs past me, I follow behind him slowly. When he stops and presses his body against the wall, I press the handle of my hunting knife to his ribs and let out a low warning growl.
"It's me," he says, raising his hands in the air.
"I know it's you. What the hell are you doing, Arsenial?" I pull away.
Got dammit. I've missed him. He's dressed in all black. I smell his delicious scent, all perfectly blended with the cologne he's wearing, leather, and gasoline. He looks like he took a shower before he came to see me. His hair doesn't have any product in it, his face is smooth, and his hands are clean this time.
"What are you doing in someone else's pack?" he growls lowly. "We're so far from home."
"I'm doing the new Rogue King a favor. The world really. I'm going to catch a pedo and burn him at the stake just outside the court borders. Want to come?"
He opens his mouth to say something and shuts it, and then opens it again. I laugh watching him try to piece his brain back together.
"If I scold you, I look like I'm pro-pedo, and I'm really not. So," he shakes his head and then shrugs reluctantly. "Who are we catching? Just a little reminder, Luna Wolfe. This is against the pack laws. Punishable by death to avoid a war."
"I'm not Luna Wolfe. My name is Violetta Wilde. Who the fuck is Luna Wolfe? Should I be jealous?" I growl at him playfully.
I motion him to follow me. If we get caught, we're cooked. Two alphas from Magique on this territory is definitely an act of war. But what am I supposed to do? He's already here looking as adorably criminal as he does. I might as well put him to good use.
I pull up the address on my phone. We walk a couple of blocks before I stop and remove my backpack. I set it down and unzip it. He's crouching with me, paying close attention to my every move.
Perry provided us with some new materials to use. The little silver darts carry a very potent paralytic toxin that can render a rhino motionless in seconds. It should be strong enough for the alpha we're going to use it on. Having Alpha Barnes with me means I don't have to carry this big ass serial rapist back to the Bronco with me.
"What are we doing?"
"I am going to wait until that light goes out, and then I'm going to go in there to shoot this guy with my fake gun. I have to drag his ass back to my car."
"I can handle that last bit," he rolls his eyes. He looks me over and smiles. "You look very cute in this."
"Thank you. I made it myself. It has hella pockets," I reach into my right shoulder pocket to get my gum out. I offer him a piece.
"What else you got in there, you little terrorist?" he smiles.
"Bullets, knives, tools to make breaking and entering easier, some snacks, and my portable phone charger."
"Walking arsenal. That's a lot of extra weight."
"It comes in handy, and you get used to it during stakeouts. When I first started, we had to wear hella protective gear, and that was heavier."
"You should be wearing protective gear now," he tips my chin. I look up at him. He's crouching off the curb, and he's still significantly bigger than me. He touches where my bruise was with the gentlest hand for a beast of his caliber. "I don't like seeing you hurt."
"It was a cheap shot, and I'm not in the habit of letting anyone close enough to get a chance to mark me up like that. I just never expected it. A whole lot of expectations have been broken since I've come back."
"Some of the pups have been talking about the day you left. The stories are pretty ugly, Moonlight. You might be right about having killed the old man when it first happened. My father would have stepped in to help you. It's all I can think about. How much time we've lost. What's going on now."
"You shouldn't. If there's one thing I've learned having left the pack, it's that you can't dwell on the what-ifs. They can destroy you. I've seen it happen to others. The shit is that it did happen. We can't change it; all we can do is make the best of what's in front of us, like what's happening now. I'm quite enjoying this. I haven't seen you in a while."
"Did you miss me, Moonlight?" he grins.
"Did you miss me?"
"More than you can possibly imagine."
"Shut up. You've been watching everything I do," I sneer.
"Exactly. It's torture seeing you day in and day out without being able to reach for you," he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "Without your mouth-watering scent. Your little black dress on Thursday made my entire day bearable. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it."
"You're creepy," I laugh and reach out to pinch his cheek. "Come on. I'll toss him out to you."
I slip my backpack back on and cross the street on all fours, taking the gap between me and the house as fast as I can. I release my claws to scale up to the second floor. I find my footing and reach down to test the window. It moves, so I cut the screen out and slide it open. I look down to see Arsenial looking up at me with disbelief. I gift him my best smile and slip through the window.
Quietly, I sneak out of the bathroom and into the hallway. I hear the television on in the room across the way. I look around to make sure that no one else is awake. I step into the room to see him sitting on the edge of his bed, putting on a shirt. I fire at his stomach. He tries to move around, but is caught in the shirt and panics.
"Fucking bitch," he groans. I watch as he kicks out for a bit before falling limp on the bed.
I grab his ankle and pull him over to the door. I clear the hallway again and drag him with me back to the bathroom. I look out of the window to see he's still here.
"Catch?" I whisper. He nods and waves me forward.
I haul him up and fold him over the window headfirst and on his side because he's not as petite as I am. I push him over and laugh when I hear the thud and the umph when Turner smacks against him. I slip back out and shut the window as fast as I can before hopping down.
"This fuck stick is huge," he growls and tosses him over his shoulder.
"Good catch, Arsen," I pat his back. "That shit was cash."