Going Rogue

Nathan Treble and his wife, Angela, lived in the White River pack their entire lives. They were each born into the pack and loved it. Their Alpha, Michael Whittle, was fair and just. They may not have been the biggest at first, or even the strongest, but their pack was well-known, and for a good reason. Their Luna, Ashley, had died early on in their life and the Alpha never remarried. He had one son, Eli, who is set to take over as Alpha once his dad steps down. This will probably happen once Eli turns 21, which happens in a few months.

***

Nathan's POV

I sit next to my beautiful wife waiting on the coronation of the new Alpha. The event will begin soon as the Alpha steps down and his son, Eli, is named as Alpha. While there's no actual crown, it's very much like a coronation for a king or other royal ruler.

Music begins and all of those in attendance stand to their feet as the Alpha and his son step up on stage.

***

Nathan's POV

Alpha Eli has been in charge for 4 years and it has been hell. Alpha Eli killed his father for trying to step in to stop his son from his torture of members.

Alpha Eli has murdered countless pack members. He would use unfair reasons to convict members he felt went against him or that he just didn't like. Over time, everybody was scared of him.

My wife and I were able to adopt a son through the werewolf protection agency. He's now 5 months old.

We have grown tired of dealing with Eli and his violent ways. Unfortunately, we can't just leave. At least not legally. But Alpha Eli has been murdering members that want to leave. So, my wife and I have decided to pack our basics and leave. There are guards at the main entrance, but I found another entrance that looks like it was forgotten. We would have to leave on foot until we have reached the border. I have a connection with a member from another pack that is nearby and he is going to meet us and drive us out. Then, we will drop him off at a mutual location, and borrow his car. He's using magic to hide his scent, thanks to a witch friend of his. We don't have that luxury until we get close to him, then the spell can be transferred to us.

We can only hope we don't get caught before then.

I have been watching the guards during the last week and notice that there's a shift change at 3am, promptly. We will make our move at that time, making it less likely that we would get caught since they will be busy. All of the guards will be in one place briefly.

My wife packed a small suitcase for our son, basically consisting of diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, and a few onesies, shirts, and pants. I am in charge of packing a suitcase for myself and Angela. We can't pack too much in order to remain light and quick.

***

Angela's POV

I was at the local coffee shop standing in line. I had to pick Adam up from the babysitter's house in about an hour, so I decided to indulge myself. I rarely drink coffee, as werewolves don't usually feel the effects from it, but the shop makes my favorite flavor. I began to strike up a conversation with the lady behind me when we heard a commotion at the head of the line.

"Please don't do this!" A red-haired woman was pleading with one of Alpha Eli's patrolmen. He had the woman by the wrist.

"You're a thief. Alpha Eli hates thieves," the man growled. Another man stepped in.

"How much is the danish? I will pay for it," he reached back for his wallet.

"Don't bother. You know Alpha Eli has a no tolerance policy for theft," the patrolman began dragging the woman toward the door.

"It can't be worth that much, really. Just let me pay for the food and we can forget about everything," the kind gentleman offered once more. Suddenly, another patrolman came up and slapped cuffs on the good Samaritan.

Alpha Eli walked in and walked straight to the woman. He stared at the woman and whispered something to the man holding her. The other patrolman spoke up. "This good guy here tried to intervene, Alpha," he gestured to the man in handcuffs.

Soon, both were hauled out into the sidewalk. I watched all of this with a sickening feeling. Surely, this offense would be worth a fine, perhaps a day in jail, though that would be excessive. What could possibly be the punishment for such a minor offense? Without realizing it, I found myself walking to the window to peer outside. I heard the Alpha shouting something. Suddenly, the woman's hands were being brought out in front of her. Horrifyingly, I realized what was to happen. I shut my eyes tightly as I heard her screams. Alpha Eli ordered for her hands to be cut off. He stood there just watching, smiling. The patrolman holding the man pulled him along and I didn't know what would happen to him. I felt sick. This was so common nowadays that it shouldn't have surprised me.

That was the event that made us decide to leave.

***

Angela's POV

It's nearly 2:30am and I've been packing a light bag for Adam. He really just needs diapers, wipes. Now I needed to find a few outfits. I grab about five onesies, then some pants. A few shirts. Once those were packed, I went to the kitchen. I went to the pantry to grab a can of formula and some bottles, then bottled water.

Nathan was upstairs packing our bags.

I felt scared. What if we get caught? Adam will definitely get taken from us. But I also can't deal with Alpha Eli and his demands. It's making our life miserable. He doesn't allow his pack members to live freely or in peace. We are always on edge and worried that we are going to get in trouble for something stupid.

I finished packing Adam's bag, then I went upstairs to help Nathan finish packing.

"Do you need any help Nate?"

He looked at me with tears in his eyes. "I'm almost finished. I hate the idea of leaving our neighborhood. Our life. But I don't want Adam growing up in the pack as it is now. With Eli in power," he sighs and puts one of my folded shirts in the suitcase. I walked up behind him and hugged him.

I quietly walked into Adam's nursery, tiptoeing toward his crib. Peering over the railing, his eyes closed, sleeping peacefully.

Nathan came to the nursery door. "Everything is packed. We need to get Adam ready now," he walked in a gently picked the baby up out of his crib. I looked around at the decorated nursery room. Feeling a tear escape my eye, I wished things were different. But we must keep ourselves and our baby safe.

***

Nathan's POV

Angela and I made a rough map of the route we'd take before leaving. Angela put the pack on her shoulder and held Adam, she walked out after me. I carried our big suitcase and we rushed past the houses on our street. Feeling the cool air against my skin, I held Angela's hand as we quietly walked to the entrance I found.

I stopped when I heard voices. I listened quietly as they went further away. We continued on.

I heard Adam begin to stir. I quickly grabbed a bottle we made prior to leaving and handed it to Angela. But he quieted down.

We had one more block before the woods. Past that was the entrance where I hoped my friend was waiting.

As we were walking, one of the lights in the house we passed came on. I caught Angela's hand and had her slip down with me below the hedges. I hoped nobody saw us. The last thing we need is for a friend to see us. we haven't told anyone that we were leaving. We couldn't chance anything getting back to Alpha Eli.

I carefully raised up to look. The light was on but I didn't see anyone. We stayed low, but continued walking. Luckily, Adam is a good sleeper.

We finally arrived at the woods and should be covered now under the magic. We took off quickly, carefully running through the woods.

Getting to the entrance, I look and see my friend waiting in the driver's side of his car. Angela and I rush to it, put the suitcase and pack in the backseat before Angela sat back there. Then I got in the front.

"Hey Alex. Thanks so much for coming."

"No problem. Everyone around knows Eli is cruel. I am surprised there aren't more people leaving," Alex, our driver, replies. "We better hurry though." He pulls away.