I was done. That pretty much summed it up.

I was done with the idiotic alpha that only cared about power. He didn't give a rat's butt about me or the damn pack, but the pack was too damn scared to do anything about it. I had enough, and I wasn't going to stick around any longer to suffer at his hands. I was better than that. My wolf knew better and wouldn't follow just anyone. It wasn't in our blood.

Alpha Kian could piss off.

I would find another pack that was worthy of me. I rather go rogue than follow an idiot. Plain and simple.

I looked around my home with a sigh. I've lived here in Willow all my life and at one point it was home, but then the alpha title was passed down and the pack was being run into the ground. I couldn't fight him. It wasn't my place. All I could do was run. I growled at myself. I wanted to stay and fight for my home, but I wasn't an alpha wolf. I would lose.

I looked up when I heard my door open and the delta stood in the doorframe.

"What do you want?" I snapped.

"You're leaving,' he stated.

"So what?"

"You know he won't allow you to just leave, Savannah. He'll hunt you down." I rolled my eyes. Kian could try to hunt me down, but I wouldn't let him find me. I planned on going far, hopefully far enough to where he forgot about me.

"Kian can't control me," I told the delta. "So go run to him like I know you're going to do. By the time you tell him, I will be off the territory."

"Why must you be difficult?" he asked. "Is it always necessary to play these games with you? You are a beta so start acting like it."

"Good, you know my rank. You also know that I am above you," I growled in his face. I didn't need him chastising me like I was a pup. I knew what I was doing. I was well aware of the consequences. I knew about deserters. They were rare, but it happened. Wolves were pack animals. We needed a pack to survive and not become rogue. The longer a wolf went without a pack, the quicker they became just another wild beast. I didn't plan on turning rogue any time soon. I planned to find another pack that hopefully needed a new beta.

"I think you're making a big mistake."

"A mistake would be accidentally punching you in the jaw. What I'm doing is no mistake. I won't tolerate Kian anymore."

"What about your parents? This is their pack." He struck a nerve. I grabbed a fist full of his baby blue shirt and pulled him in close.

"Don't you dare hang my parents over my head. They're dead. They've been dead for a long time." I pushed him away and walked outside. I wasted enough time already on the stupid delta. I needed to get moving before he thought of linking Kian.

I shifted into my wolf and began running north. A howl was sounded as I jumped over the line. I could hear the pounding of multiple paws and I knew one of them would be Kian. I pushed on. I needed to jump into a new territory, so they couldn't follow me. It would be suicide for me to do so, but I didn't have any other choice. It was the only sure way for me to get them off my tail.

"Get back here, Savannah!" Kian shouted through our link. He sounded pretty pissed off. I expected that. Kian never really had a good control over his temper. Too bad for him that I didn't care if he was mad or not. His command didn't even affect me. That's how over him I've become. I didn't see him as my alpha. "Savannah!" he howled as I finally crossed over the neighboring pack's territory.

I have to be careful now. It would be best for me to avoid any pack wolves, jumping in and out of the line. I used my nose and ears to listen for any wolves that could give me trouble.

Nighttime fell and I had been running for hours. I decided to run off the line because the patrols probably caught my scent by now and I didn't need them on my tail too. I rolled around in mud to try and hide my scent from Kian. I wasn't far enough from Willow to comfortably run about. I wanted to be several territories over.

I ran through the night and rested during the day. It was easier to run at night when the world was asleep. It was easier to evade pack wolves. I ran for several nights until I felt I was far enough from Kian that he couldn't come for me. If he did come for me, I would have to bite into him for wasting so much time on me. If he knew what was good for him, he would stay in Willow.

Before I left, I made sure I studied the layout of the packs. There were a couple options I wanted to join. I had to be careful. I couldn't simply waltz into a pack and get accepted. Soon as I was spotted, they would go on the defense.

Packs tended to be placed close together like a cul-de-sac. I came to one in the North territory and I sniffed along the line. I needed to be noticed now.

It didn't take long for a group of patrols to find me at their line, snapping their jaws at me. I paced back and forth along the line. I kept my distance, but I wasn't going to cower to these wolves. I was above them and my wolf wouldn't allow me to act so low.

I could smell the alpha before I saw him. He emerged from the cluster of trees, joining his patrols. Another male was behind him and I could smell that he was beta. They both shifted and put on pairs of shorts. They both were middle-aged for wolf standards. The alpha was already sporting a little grey in his hair. He was probably over a century in age.

"Shift," the alpha commanded. I only did so because I was on the line. I didn't because I felt compelled to. "You're trespassing, female," he said.

"I'm outside your border," I told him.

"Too close, rogue."

"I am no rogue," I stated. "I am a wolf in searching."

"In searching of what?"

"A new home," I answered. The alpha was cautious and for good reason. I was a random wolf with no pack. I could be a danger to his own and wolves always protected their own.

"She's not an ordinary wolf," his beta said. "She smells of a high rank." The alpha eyed me.

"Where are you from?"

"I rather not say." I cringed at how dangerous I sounded. It wasn't helping my case. The alpha paused in thought, not taking his eyes off me for even a second. I was tempted to tell him that I didn't enjoy the breeze between my legs but thought better of it. Now wasn't the best time for my smart comments.

"You will allow my wolves to cuff you or we will assume you are a threat," the alpha said.

"Fine." One wolf threw me a dress and another wolf joined the group holding a pair of silver-hand cuffs. He made sure to use cloves to put them on. Soon as the silver made contact, my skin began to sizzle. I bit my lip to keep quiet. I wasn't going to hiss in front of these wolves. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing me in pain.

They escorted me to the pack house. We passed a group of curious wolves and I winked at them to get the reaction I wanted. The gamma behind me pushed me forward and I rolled my eyes. He was trying to appear tough even though we both knew I wasn't intimidated in the slightest.

We walked down a hall and the first door on the right was the alpha's office. The other door down the hall probably belonged to the beta. I was pushed into the alpha's office and was left alone with the alpha himself, his beta, and another big male. He must be their delta.

The door was closed behind me and I felt like I had been thrown into a pool of sharks with no floaty. The alpha sat down behind his desk and his two high rankers sat down as well. I felt like was front and center in a court room.

"Can I take these off now?" I asked with a hint of annoyance.

"I haven't decided if you're a threat or not," the alpha answered.

"May I at least know your name? I rather know who I'm addressing."

"Only if we can know yours," he responded. I hesitated. Would telling him my name bite me in the behind later? I needed to give up something. I guess a name wouldn't be so bad.

"Savannah." That's all he was going to get. I knew he wanted to know my whole name to try and track me, but I wasn't having it.

"I'm Alpha David. You're in Black-hound territory. I want to know why you were sniffing along the line. You are a beta yet you do not smell of a pack."

"It's obvious she has been rogue for long," the delta said. "She's too sane and smells too fresh."

"I'm standing right here," I hissed. The delta chose to ignore me and speak as if I wasn't in the room.

"I'm curious to know if you left your previous pack or was thrown out," the beta said.

"Betas aren't thrown out," Alpha David said. "They're executed. It's safe to assume you left on your own accord." I said nothing. I let them think what they wanted to. I only stared at Alpha David with a mischievous glint in my eyes.

"What should we do with her then? Kill her?" the delta asked. My wolf came forward and growled. She didn't like this male and would tear into him if he dared tried to lay a hand on us.

"You can try," I said.

"Depends on what she wants," Alpha David answered, looking me up and down. "What is it you want?"

"I already told you. I am in a search of a new home, a new pack."

"Fine, I will allow you to stay, but until you are an official member, you must be watched."

"Sorry, Alpha, but I'm not going to join any pack. My wolf is a beta wolf and probably won't fit in so easily with your beta and douche bag delta." His delta growled, and I rolled my eyes. "Also, she won't pledge her allegiance to just anyone."

"That pride of yours is going to get you killed," the delta growled.

"Ryder, calm your ass," Alpha David snapped. Ryder turned to his alpha in disbelief before looking away in embarrassment. He couldn't believe he just got scolded by his alpha. "I'm interested in you, Savannah." I couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing. "It's not evert day that a beta wolf comes sniffing the line. You're lucky it was me who got to you first. All of us alphas aren't as nice." I rolled me eyes because I knew that. I knew alpha wolves and I knew they came in many different flavors.

"This is ridiculous," Ryder said.

"I have decided she is no threat. A wolf looking for a home doesn't have evil intent." Ryder huffed and shook his head. My wolf didn't like him. She was dreaming of tearing into his behind.

"Now, what to do with you," David said, tapping his chin in wonder.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Let me be on my way." David gave me a funny look.

"You don't think I'm going to just let you leave so can go back to sniffing the line."

"How else am I supposed to get the pack's attention without getting myself killed?"

"It's stupid idea and doesn't work," Ryder said. I growled at him and he glared back.

"Ryder's right," the beta said. "Packs will kill for being too close. It makes it seem like you're up to something. Not all packs will give you the chance to explain yourself, especially some of the packs around here."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"I could call around, but you really shouldn't be so picky." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Say that to my beast."

"In the meantime, you will stay here."

I shook my head. "Thanks for the help, but I think I got it covered. If you would take these silver cuffs off me, I would gladly appreciate it."

"I won't let you roam alone." I gave an exaggerated sigh as if I was a bratty teenager. Why couldn't this alpha understand that I didn't want his help? I didn't need it. I didn't need him controlling me like Kian. I would start a war if that happened. I didn't leave one monster to run into another.

"You can't keep me here," I snapped.

"You'll die out there."

"Then let me!" I shouted. "I'm a random wolf you just met. Why do you care so much?" David's face hardened, and he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. I huffed. What the hell was his problem? Ryder growled at me before going after his alpha.

"Sorry about them," the beta sighed as he got up from his seat. "They don't mean you any harm and my alpha is trying to look out for you."

"He doesn't need to. He doesn't even know me."

"Please stay," the beta begged. "He wouldn't feel right if something happened to you and he could have prevented it."

"I'm not his responsibility," I snapped.

"You're not, but what could it hurt? Us calling around will make things easier for you and we can even protect you from whatever you're running from." I narrowed my eyes.

"I'm not running from anything," I replied.

"Whatever you say. By the way, I'm James."

"Nice to meet you, James," I said, extending my hand out to him once the silver cuffs were removed.

"You're a strong wolf," he complimented as he shook my hand. "Silver hurts like a bitch."

"Well I am a bitch," I said with a smile. James chuckled.

"If you aren't in too much of a rush to leave us, do you want to join me for lunch? You're probably hungry." My stomach rumbled at the mention of food. He was right. I was starving. I was so focused on getting as far away from Kian as possible that I skipped all the game on the way. It would be hard for me to find a meal so close to a cluster of packs. Wolves were territorial and wouldn't be so keen on having their game stolen by an outsider. It wasn't just the game that was being stolen. It was their ability to feed their family that was being taken away from them.