I did it, I was already part of the rogues.

My revenge was getting closer, I could almost hear the cries of my family asking me for mercy. They were not going to receive any, they did not deserve it, the only thing that awaited them was a painful end.

All my desires seemed more tangible with each new step I took. Finally I had the means to attack the Crimson Fangs and I had the power to destroy them. A month ago I didn't know how to defend myself against them, but thanks to my training I was even able to win.

I had to focus on my revenge, I was going to put all my efforts into it. Any other desire that crossed my mind was a nuisance and it would cost me nothing to eliminate it from my mind. What could be more important than seeing those who hurt me most of my life suffer?

Nothing could be strong enough to overcome my bloodlust. Or at least nothing should be.

Zaziel should not have been so important to me as to occupy a place in my thoughts.

But he did.

Memories of the previous night kept tormenting me. I wanted to be able to tear his image from my mind, to forget the words he said to me when he thought I wasn't listening. I fought and fought to make it disappear, and yet, the damned alpha wouldn't leave me alone.

There was no escape for me, the mansion I lived in was his kingdom and everyone inside it was at his service, me included. Once the official announcement was made, he would be my leader, and whenever he called for me I would have to be there.

We were playing a dangerous game even if we chose to deny it.

“Rosie, are you there?” The voice of Artec snapped me back to reality.

“You can come in,” I said, getting away from the window.

He crossed the room with quick steps like he was in a hurry. Then he grabbed me by the arm and started dragging me in the direction of the door.

“Enough thinking for now, you'll be late for the announcement,” he told me. “We can't start the show without the main star. Everyone is super excited about this, it's been a long time since we got a new member, most of the candidates failed the trials.”

“Wait a minute, how many candidates failed the trials before me?”

Artec stopped for a second, he scratched his chin and frowned. “I’ll say that at least thirty, Lion should know the exact number, you can ask him if you want.”

“And you didn't think of mentioning that before I took the trials?”

“That had nothing to do with you.” He gave a smile and resumed our walk.

The sound of laughter and chatter grew louder as we approached the meeting room. It was my first time in that place, no one other than the members of the rogues was allowed to enter the room, and although I already imagined that it would not be anything out of this world, I was excited to be able to enter.

Just as I had predicted, the meeting room was not much different from the rest. With the hardwood floors, black walls, and large windows, it matched the theme of the mansion. The only difference was the platform that had a lectern, I assumed it was for them to make the announcements.

"Look, they're waiting for us," Artec said, pointing at Lion who was waving at us.

I didn't care at all what Lion did, my attention was caught by someone else.

Zaziel stood behind the lectern, watching the crowd with a bored expression. My gaze did not stray from him for a second, not even when some of the members stopped me to congratulate me.

Something wasn't right, Zaziel looked lost, it was as if he wasn't noticing anything that was happening around him. That was strange. Generally he stayed alert, attentive to every detail in case things didn't go well.

“You alright?” I asked him, touching his arm after Artec and I reached the platform.

Zaziel looked down at me and his gaze regained its usual gleam.

"Oh, you're here," he said, moving my hand away from his body. "Let's get this over with."

That was weird, but at least he came back to reality.

"We have a new member!" Zaziel shouted to the crowd.

His words were received with cheers and applause, even some whistles. They seemed more excited than me about my success. I never had that many people being happy for me.

"It has been a long time since someone passed the trials, we thought we would have to wait much longer until someone managed to pass them, but Roselyn exceeded our expectations, and today we welcome her into our family.”

Another round of applause broke into the room. Suddenly the crowd began shouting my name with an enthusiasm that made my heart leap.

Zaziel grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to him. He winked at me before continuing.

"Roselyn has asked for revenge."

The cheers became louder, the rogues reacted as if they had received one of the best news of their lives.

"Her former pack, the Crimson Fangs, harmed her and disrespected her. Any offense made against our members is an offense against all of us. Are we going to let them get away with it?"

"No!" responded the crowd.

"We will take revenge in her name, we will show them no mercy, and Crimson Fangs will find their end very soon." Zaziel finished his speech.

The excitement lasted for several minutes, their war cries were the loudest I had ever heard. They enjoyed going into battle to the point that I was beginning to suspect that the reason they helped the new members was to have an excuse to go fight.

Their motives did not matter to me, the important thing was that they were willing to give me a hand in the destruction of my family.

And I was going to enjoy every second of it.

"Tomorrow we will have our first meeting to plan the attack. Lion will give you the details later," Zaziel explained to them before leaving the room through the back door, taking me with him.

He guided me through the hallways, his long steps were hard to follow for me. I thought he was trying to get some time alone with me until I heard the sound of steps behind us.

"You did it," Xara's voice reached us. She approached me and put her arm around my shoulders. "It's good to have you officially among us. With a little bit of luck you'll get Mr. Grumpy Alpha to calm down a bit."

Zaziel grunted and let go of my hand. He didn't say anything but walked forward, away from us.

"Maybe I spoke too soon," Xara said.

"I don't think you're that wrong," Klaus commented, walking next to Xara. "From what I know she's already starting to take effect on him."

"Are you still spying on them?" Artec shouted. He followed us with Darla. "I thought you already trusted Rosie, or maybe you like spying on them?"

"That's gross," Lion murmured as he passed me, hurrying to catch up with Zaziel at the front of the group.

"I wasn't spying on them, I heard the rumors," Klaus defended himself. "At least unlike you I worry about doing my job.”

Ahead of us, Zaziel opened the door to the dining room. He turned around and made a gesture with his hand to make us hurry.

I was surprised to see the dining room decoration. There were roses in marble vases on the long rectangular table, the usual chairs were replaced by wooden ones with wolves carved on the backs, and the candelabra shined hanging in the ceiling above the table.

"This is fantastic," I murmured, paying attention to the enormous amount of food that awaited us.

"I know, right? Our alpha didn't want to skimp on anything for your celebration dinner," Artec told me, a mocking smile present on his face. "He never did anything like that for me, I feel a little offended."

"You're lucky he hasn't kicked you out yet," Lion commented.

Artec ran after the beta, shouting all kinds of insults. Those two were always fighting, it was funny considering their ranks.

"Come with me," Zaziel whispered next to my ear, resting his hand on my back.

I let myself go, too busy fighting the electricity that coursed through my body to put up any resistance.

"Sit here," he ordered, moving one of the two chairs at the head of the table for me.

"Thanks," I said, taking a seat.

"Why does she have a special place?" Artec asked after settling down. "I want to be next to you, Zazi."

"Are you trying to die today?" Lion answered for the alpha. “Because I can help you with that if you want.”

Zaziel let out a sigh, as he watched as his beta and gamma started bickering once again.

No one tried to stop the discussion, instead they began to serve food on their plates while starting other conversations. Even Darla acted like nothing weird was going on, she must have been more than used to her mate's antics.

A laugh rose from my stomach. The environment was not what anyone would imagine when thinking about the rogues, they destroyed packs as if they were simple ants to them, and then acted like a crazy family when they were out of the public eye.

"I'm glad to see that my suffering amuses you," Lion told me, frowning.

"I'm sorry, I find the whole situation funny. I would never think you are a group of assassins," I answered.

"What did you think we would be like?" Xara asked.

"More violent and serious," I replied. "You know, the kind of people who are scary. I expected that any disrespect would receive some kind of punishment."

"Nah, I can't stay serious for more than two minutes," Artec said.

No one could contain their laughter, and the one who got the worst of it was Xara, who almost choked on what she was drinking.

Zaziel rested his hand on my thigh and gave it a squeeze. He put his mouth close to my ear, taking advantage of the distraction. "I can punish you at any time if that's what you want."

That was my moment to choke.

Zaziel smirked at me as he moved his face away from mine. I could feel the heat concentrating on my cheeks as he slid his hand up my thigh.

"Not now," I whispered, placing my hand over his to stop his advance.

"You're ruining my fun," Zaziel replied and let go of my leg.

My body relaxed with relief. Luckily he understood my request and left me alone. Or at least that's what I thought when I started eating.

Zaziel tortured me for the rest of dinner. He pretended to be innocent while he did everything possible to touch me: he threw his cutlery under the table pretending it was an accident and caressed my leg when picking it up, his arm accidentally brushed against my chest more than once, and he even leaned over me to grab the food that was on my side.

I couldn't hold it anymore, my whole body felt like it was in a sauna and my brain was barely keeping up with the conversation.

"Rose, are you okay?" Xara asked me. "Your face is turning as red as your hair."

Damned Zaziel, if I could I would have already stuck my knife in his hand.

"I'm a little tired," I lied, sweetening my tone.

"She must still be suffering from the effects of the last test," Zaziel said. "After so much effort her wolf must be too weak to help her recover."

"In that case, she should rest now." Xara stood up and walked towards me. "I can walk her to her room."

“That would be nice, thank you,” I answered. That was my best chance to escape from the alpha.

"You heard our doctor, Roselyn needs to go rest. Let's finish dinner for today." Zaziel got up from his seat and grabbed my arm to help me up. He smiled at me, amusement hiding inside his eyes. "It's better for you to listen to Xara, tomorrow we start preparing your revenge, and you never know what pleasant surprises may be waiting for you.”

We made it to half of the story. If you're liking it so far please remember to add it to your reading list so more people can find it.