The Cowgirl Rogue

Chapter 18

"But I don't want to leave you," Lukas said. His eyes were wide and filled with tears, and it broke my heart because I had just broken the news to them that they were leaving. "Why do I have to leave you?"

I sighed and moved a hand across my face, feeling exhausted. "It's because it's not safe here," I said. "I know that you don't want to leave, but..." I shrugged and grimaced.

"But it's safer with you than near some stranger," Lukas pointed out. "You know us, and you will be able to fight and take care of us."

"Not five hundred people against a psycho that is being controlled by someone," I pointed out. I leaned against my seat and sighed. "You need to stay with your family, and your family needs to be near the king so that Jack can be trained to be the Alpha that he is supposed to be."

"But what if I am not good at it?" Jack asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Pain filled his face when I looked at him, and fear filled his eyes. "What if I can't be a good Alpha?"

"You're still young and will need to make mistakes, Jack," I soothed, hoping to calm his fears. "However, that doesn't mean you will be a bad Alpha. It only means that you're part human."

Jack hesitated but nodded. Doubt filled his eyes, and I knew that he would keep doubting himself until he proved to himself that he would be a great Alpha.

I sighed and leaned against the back of my seat. "It'll take time," I said, "trust me, I know."

"I still don't want to leave you," Luke said. His eyes were wide and filled with tears, and I sighed and held my arms open to him. Luke sniffled and ran into my arm. He hugged me tightly, and I hugged him closer to me.

Hot tears landed on my shoulder, and Luke cried silently. His whole body shook while he cried, and I rubbed his back soothingly.

Corbin stayed silent and looked at me with eyes filled with sadness. He pressed his lips into a thin line and studied me while I soothed the young male in my arms.

"You have to, Luke," I said softly, rubbing his back. "I'll visit you when I can, but I know that you'll be safer there than you will be with me."

"Are you scared that he will kill me?" Luke asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Is that why you want me to go?"

I bit back a sigh and closed my eyes. I held him tighter to me, my heart breaking again because I did not want him to leave me. I wanted to steal him away and protect him on my own, but I knew that he wouldn't thrive in the life that I lived.

"Kel?" he asked again, pressing gently.

"Yes," I said, even though I wasn't scared that Brickson would kill him. I'd be damned if Brickson would lay a hand on him, especially if that Vesper decided to order him to do it. I released Luke because I knew that if I didn't, then I'd squeeze him tighter than I would have liked.

Luke kept his grip on me and didn't seem to care that I released him. He held on to me for a while longer before he let go and wiped his eyes. "Sorry," he said and sniffled. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and ignored Penny's tsk. "I kn-"

I shook my head and stopped him from talking. "Don't," I warned. "Never apologize to me, ok?" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, making sure to keep my emotions in check. "I didn't want to squeeze you too hard by accident." I opened my eyes, and he hesitated but nodded.

"When will we leave?" he asked. "And will you be taking us?"

I nodded. "I will be helping in the transport of you all to my house, and the king will have people to transport you all the rest of the way there."

Luke's face fell, and he nodded. "But... you aren't going the whole way there," he said softly.

I shifted in my seat, feeling uncomfortable and guilty, but I knew that I had to take care of the business that I had beforehand. "I am not," I confirmed. "After I help you all get to my house safely, I will have to leave."

"To go where?"

"Visit a companion of mine," I said. "It seems to me that he has information for me, so I'm going to find out what he knows."

"Who?"

I shook my head and smiled sadly. "It's not someone that you should know," I replied, "at least not now, but when you are older."

Luke scowled and folded his arms across his chest. "But I want to know," he said in a tone that left no room for argument. His eyes held this hard look in them as if he wanted me to bow down and do what he said for me to do. "So tell me."

My back went stiff when I heard that power in his voice, and I had to hide back a shudder because I didn't want to alert the others around us. I knew, however, that Corbin had picked up on it, and he was studying Luke with a newfound interest.

He was one of us.

I shushed my wolf when she growled a warning and scowled. "Don't do that," I warned, and he blinked and blinked again while the power left him.

"What did I do?" Luke asked. He frowned and cocked his head. "What happened?"

I sighed and moved a hand through my hair, gaining another thing that I was going to have to worry about. I ignored Penny's curious look, and I had a feeling that she knew what had happened. "I'll talk to you privately about it, ok?" I asked. "But you have to promise me not to use it, not until you have control over yourself."

Lukas hesitated but nodded. Nervousness filled his eyes, and I had a feeling that he thought it was something bad. "Ok..." he said. "I promise that I will not use it."

"Until you have control over yourself," I added again. "It's nothing bad, what you did, but I am trying to make sure that you stay safe." I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. "There will be someone that will help here where you will live next. If need be, then I will come over and help, too."

Relief filled Luke's eyes, and he looked hopeful. "Promise?" he asked, and I nodded in confirmation.

"Promise."