The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 79

Before the five-second cue was up for round two, Margaret heard fierce and loud snarls, the type of snarls that normally hit her eardrums when her rogue pack was surrounded by other rogues who were ready to attack to either steal their supplies or kill her to assimilate her followers into their own pack. Her survival instincts took over, and she opened her eyes to find that she was surrounded by more than ten rogue wolves, and she could see that a part of their shelter was already on fire. It was exactly like her vision.

What she didn't realize was that there was no smoke smell despite the fire, and it didn't occur to her that their pack had never and would never take shelter in an open space like Polje with no trees to hide them. These logical conclusions were not at the forefront of Margaret's mind because her mind was dominated by the sight before her

Then, she heard a scream - Stella's scream coming from the room close to the fire. Her animal pushed through and the red wolf came into full view before three of the imaginary rogues pounced her way. One of the unshifted rogues was screaming condescending remarks at her, telling her how irresponsible of a mother she was being to her child who was trapped.

Margaret's claws plunged through one of the three attacking her as her canines scratched one of its eyes. She then kicked the second one towards the third one, getting them both out of the way at once before she made a run towards the burning shelter. Another rogue pounced on her but she flipped him away with one swift movement, somehow failing to register that the rogue was too lightweight for that size.

The leader came and stood in her way, with one of his followers right behind him when Stella's screams suddenly got louder.

She tried mind-linking Azalea, and her friend kept yelling, 'Margo! I'm right in front of you! I can smell you! Whatever you're doing, stop it!'

'Stella's in danger! Get to her quick!'

'No, she's not! We're being manip-'

'SAVE MY DAUGHTER, AZALEA! THAT'S AN ORDER!'

'IT'S NOT STELLA, MARGO! USE YOUR NOSE!'

Their decipio partner, Dylan, watched Azalea trying to get to Margaret without hurting her as he began to wonder whether he'd be attacked himself anytime soon. He took a deep breath and hoped that he wasn't going to regret doing what he was about to do next.

He then used his power to make Azalea seem like the next rogue who was about to attack Margaret. The red wolf growled thunderously before it leaped off the ground, and Dylan immediately removed the manipulation effects before pushing Azalea away, retaining a slight scratch across his forearm when he narrowly avoided Margaret's sharp claws. As soon as Margaret landed, she began looking around, astonished that the sight before her took a complete turn within seconds.

Tate asked Yarrington to help guard his spot for a few minutes as he dashed to his confused-looking mate. He got down on one knee before the red wolf and cupped its furry face.

"Mar, you okay?"

The red wolf's racing heart steadied, and its disheveled mind calmed as the sparks from his touch channeled through its being. Reality returned, and Margaret turned to Azalea and Dylan. Azalea threw a towel over Margaret, allowing her to shift back. As soon as she did, Tate helped her up.

With nothing but guilt in her eyes, Margaret asked Dylan, "How bad is the wound?"

Dylan showed her the light scratch and said, "Not at all bad, Margaret. It was my fault. I probably should have stopped you sooner."

"I am so sorry."

Dylan waved his hand with a sincere smile and said, "It really is nothing. I wouldn't call it a wound to begin with. Perhaps we should take a short break here."

When there were nods of agreement, Azalea and Dylan went to watch different pairs, watching them struggle and trying to see if they could learn anything themselves.

Margaret muttered in Tate's way, "Gosh, that was a disaster."

Tate's hands stroked her shoulders in soothing motions when he said, "It's only the second day of practice, Mar. You'll get there."

"No, what I mean is..." she looked around before she whispered, "The vision I had...wasn't of reality. It was of my own manipulation practice. I just wasted everyone's time and messed up every creature's peace of mind by telling them that there was going to be an attack tonight. The attack already happened...in my mind."

"Hey," Tate cupped her cheek again, and looked into those guilty rosewood eyes with a soft, assuring gaze as he said, "It wasn't wrong to warn us about it. Any one of us would've done the same thing. It's no secret that psychic abilities take time to develop and perfect. Mistakes are bound to be made. It wasn't wrong to tell us what you saw. No one can deny that it's better to be safe than sorry, Mar. No one can blame you for this."

After heaving a heavy sigh, her eyes went to Lucianne, who got bored so she started weaving leaves, looking into the forest ahead of her from time to time while she waited for something to happen. Octavia and the other discretus she was with were now at a distance from her so that they were covering more of the field.

Margaret then murmured, "I have to tell her."

Tate followed her sights to his old friend, and he chuckled lightly before he said, "You really don't have to worry about telling Lucy. She isn't the type to criticize a genuine mistake."

His lightness was contagious, and it made her less anxious to the point where she managed to say, "So you're saying that I'm supposed to worry about the rest of them who may criticize me for my genuine mistake, Tate?"

"Those loyal to the king and queen would understand that mistakes happen. As for your own followers...I doubt they'll make you feel bad for this, Mar. And I don't think you give a damn about what the royal rogues think of you."

It was amazing how, with just a few words, Tate made her feel that much better. Margaret couldn't stop the upward curl of her lips when she muttered, “That's true."

Tate reached for her hand, and his fingers cautiously laced with hers. His wolf stood so still in his mind, wondering if that was the right move to make at the moment. When Margaret's fingers tightened around his grip, Tate let out an audible sigh of relief. Margaret noticed this, and when they started walking, she teased, "Am I really that scary, Alpha?"