I Would Rather Be a Rogue [BL]
Chapter 156: Trouble

Chapter 156: Trouble

The signal only rang once before the call connected, Nathan’s raspy voice sounding on the other side, "Finally! What took you so long?"

Although Jared was the pack leader, and Nathan was therefore under his command, they had been friends since they were little. When they were in private, with no outsiders around, they always spoke to each other casually.

"I..." Jared wanted to say something, but the moment he opened his mouth, the purple smoke found its way in, suddenly paralyzing his tongue and invading his throat and lungs. He tried to move his lips, but no sound came out...

He looked incredibly stupid that way, flapping his mouth around clumsily. If it wasn’t for the situation they were in, perhaps Felix might find it funny, to see this Alpha he hated so much embarrass himself like that...

Once the smoke invaded, Jared’s tongue was under Remi’s control. He whispered, "I was busy."

And Jared repeated it, although from the look in his eyes, it was clear that he was unwilling. And while he had said the words, his tone also sounded awkward and unsure...

But Nathan focused on something else. "Is there anyone with you?" he asked, his voice turning sharper and more alert.

Felix immediately grew tense, glancing at Remi. Although Remi had whispered his command, Nathan was a werewolf. His hearing was great, and it wasn’t surprising that he might hear some noise in the background on the other end of the line... Especially since the phone had been put on the speaker.

The question was just how much he had heard.

Felix swore inwardly, quickly turning off the speaker, and pushing the phone closer to Jared’s mouth. Why did he put it on the speaker in the first place? Neither him nor Remi were humans, there was no need for that, they would have still been able to hear what Nathan had to say just fine! He was just so nervous and distracted by Jared’s presence that he didn’t think it through.

Luckily, Remi was far more composed, and he quickly whispered, "I’m in a bistro, there are some people chatting nearby," for Jared to repeat.

"...Then is it alright for you to talk now?" Nathan asked next, still sounding alert.

But Jared dismissed him, following Remi’s command, "Don’t mind it. Why did you call?"

Nathan was silent for a moment, as if he was still uncertain. In the end, though, he seemed to have decided that if Jared had said so, then it must have been fine, so he asked, "Did you find him?"

’Him’ must have meant Felix.

"No," Remi quickly responded through Jared. "The information was fake."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I can’t sense him anywhere."

"Oh." Nathan paused for a moment. It was hard to tell whether he was surprised or not... Perhaps not, because he soon added, "Then you should come back soon. There’s... some trouble in the pack."

Trouble? Then perhaps the anonymous tip wasn’t aimed at Felix? Rather, someone just used the information they had obtained somehow to lure Jared out...

...Honestly, Felix didn’t know what was worse. That someone just spotted and recognized him, and decided to use him for benefits... Or that his whereabouts were circulating around. Maybe they had been sold to an enemy pack?

As he was pondering over it, Remi continued the conversation on his own (through Jared’s mouth, of course), "What trouble?"

Nathan hesitated for a moment, unsure whether it should be said over the phone, but in the end, he explained, "Ashley had been taken by the Darkmane Pack."

"...What?" Out of surprise, the word slipped out of Felix’s mouth before he could bite his tongue.

And it didn’t escape Nathan’s attention. "Is there someone with you?"

"Of course not. I’ve told you, it’s just some people three tables down," Remi quickly responded.

However, Nathan was still not convinced. "But that sounded like..."

"Shouldn’t you rather focus on explaining to me what exactly is going on?" Remi interrupted him, as if he were growing impatient. It didn’t quite come out as intended when Jared repeated it, due to his clumsy enchanted tongue, but at least it was enough to bring the conversation back on track.

"Right. It’s a bit complicated..." Nathan said. "Yesterday, Mrs. Greyback went to town with Ashley, and they didn’t come back. We didn’t notify you at first, because she sent the message that their car broke, so they would be spending the night in town... But this morning, even before dawn, Mrs. Greyback came back. Except that Ashley wasn’t with her... Apparently, they had run into a few members of the Darkmane Pack, and one of them claims to be Ashley’s fated mate..."

As they listened, Jared’s brows progressively furrowed. Felix was also confused...

What an amazing coincidence. On the day that Ashley and her mother, Mrs. Greyback, went shopping in town, they just happened to come across the Darkmane Pack’s members... Who shouldn’t even be there, as it was within the Moonhill Pack’s territory! And on top of that, one of them discovered he was Ashley’s mate? It sounded quite fishy...

But, while Jared and Felix could analyze the situation, Remi could not. He could only tell that something was wrong from the looks on their faces... As to what he should make Jared say next, he had no clue. Those were all werewolf affairs. Naturally, he wasn’t familiar with them. He had no idea who Ashley and Mrs. Greyback were, or what their relationship was with the Darkmane Pack...

Silence was also an acceptable answer, though, or so it seemed, because when Jared didn’t say anything, Nathan pressed on on his own, "It’s obviously a lie. Mrs. Greyback says that Ashley didn’t feel any fated bond. And even if she did... That man is from the Darkmane Pack! And he’s just a low-ranking member, a male Beta in his thirties... Even if they are fated, we can’t possibly send Ashley to them!"

Felix almost scoffed out loud. So now fated bonds are suddenly unimportant?

If Nathan truly felt that way, then why hadn’t he said so to Jared, when he insisted on mating with Felix?