The Blacklisted Rogue
Chapter 35

Hudson

POV

A week later, Luke and I were still in the cells.

I was bored out of my mind, just sitting around waiting for something to happen.

We hadn't heard anything else from my father, but since they didn't drag him down here to share a cell with us, I hoped that it meant that he had succeeded. When Luke and I had almost finished our 237th round of 'Never have I ever', we heard someone coming our way.

We quickly stood up, hoping it was someone that brought us food.

This time, it wasn't.

Four warriors came down, chains rattling in their hands.

"Alpha." They said and bowed.

"Beta." They continued and bowed to Luke as well.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"The Elders have completed their investigation." One of the warriors said. "We were ordered to come get you.

"With chains?" Luke muttered.

The warriors smiled apologetically.

"I'm really sorry." One of them said. "We have our orders."

I shrugged, internally cringing at the humiliation to be led out in chains.

"It's okay, guys." I replied. "It's not your fault."

I held out my hands and they slipped the cuffs on my wrists before doing the same with Luke.

When both our wrists and ankles were cuffed, they led us out of the cells and to the packhouse courtroom.

Or that's what I first thought.

When we reached the front door, I frowned.

"Where are we going? I asked.

No one answered, an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

Something was wrong.

When they opened the front door. I was met with the whole pack, standing in a crowd on the yard in front of the packhouse. Luke and I looked at each other in horrified confusion.

Forcing myself to keep my head held high, I walked out onto the stairs outside the packhouse where the Elders were all standing.

"Alpha Hudson." The Elder's leader, Joshua, spoke. "You and your Beta have been charged with treason to your pack. Your sentence will be declared before the entire pack." I frowned.

Sentence?

Has there been a trial?

If there was, I hadn't been invited.

"I wasn't aware that there had been a trial." I replied.

"The trial was held without you because of security reasons." Joshua said calmly.

"Bullsh*t!"

I didn't realize that I had said that out loud until I heard the gasps from the crowd.

Well, I'm on a roll now. I have nothing left to lose.

"You held a trial without me to overshadow any defense I might have." I continued. "Are you really that scared to potentially lose the power you have over others?" Joshua smirked.

"The council have deemed you unfit to be Alpha. You will now be stripped of your title in front of the entire pack. If I were you, I'd choose my next words wisely. If we are able to do this nice and peacefully, we will make you a Delta. Keep spewing nonsense, and we will make you an Omega."

I looked out over the crowd. Most people looked horrified or skeptical.

When I turned around and looked at Luke, I knew there was only one thing I could do.

I took a deep breath, this next part was not going to be easy.

"I'll do you one better." I said, trying to sound confident. "I, Alpha Hudson Evergreen, hereby resign from being Alpha of the Red Ridge pack and declare myself a Rogue."

I fell to my knees, gritting my teeth and panting heavily to fight the pain that surged through me. Occupied with the pain, I almost didn't register the shocked gasps and voices coming from the crowd. Joshua laughed.

"So be it." He said. "Don't think that you just accomplished anything."

"I guess that I'll be next."

It was Luke that spoke up.

He took a few steps forward and said:

"I, Beta Luke Freeman, hereby resign from being Beta of the Red Ridge pack and declare myself a Rogue."

While Luke worked through the pain of severing the ties to the pack, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the love we shared. Luke was my best friend. We had been inseparable since we were kids and now, when we were about to lose everything, he still followed me. Joshua laughed and turned to my father. I saw the pained look in his eyes when he glanced at me and I gave him a quick nod, letting him know that I was okay.

"Since Hudson doesn't have an heir, the Alpha title is automatically yours, Alpha Thomas."

I saw my dad smirk.

"I'll do you one better." He said. "You can take the title of being your goddamn puppet and shove it where the sun doesn't shine!"

Everyone, including myself, stared at him in shock.

He walked up to the crowd and held up a file.

I instantly recognized it. It was the file with the documents that I had asked him to get from my office before the Elders could get their hands on it.

"Alpha Hudson did an incredible job." My dad called out. "He wanted changes for this pack. A lot of you agreed with him. A lot of you wrote your names here to support him. And now, Alpha Hudson is losing his title, without any kind of trial. There is only one reason for this, and that is someone else's selfish greed!"

My father took out a lighter and set fire to the file.

"There." He said and let the burning papers fall to the ground. "Now, the only ones that will ever know if you supported Hudson are yourselves. I understand if you don't want to leave. Change can be scary and if you feel like you can't take that risk, then there's no shame in staying. But, I for one, am going to follow my son. Because he had the courage to do what was right, the courage that I never had."

He turned back to Joshua, who looked pale as a ghost.

"I, Thomas Evergreen, former Alpha of the Red Ridge pack, hereby cut all ties with the Red Ridge pack and will become a Rogue."

He groaned and doubled over in pain. My mother rushed over to help him ease the pain. After the pain subsided, she gave him a quick nod.

"I, Catherine Evergreen, former Luna of the Red Ridge pack, hereby cut all ties with the Red Ridge pack and will become a Rogue." She said, before the same pain hit her.

I stared at them in disbelief while Joshua smirked.

"Do you think that this changes anything?" He asked. "We already anticipated this. Rob, will you step forward?"

I saw my uncle Rob step out of the crowd and approach the Elders. He bowed his head when he reached us.

"Since your brother and his entire family now have become Rogues, the title goes to you." He said.

"It will be my honor to serve the pack." Uncle Rob replied, smiling at me in a way that sent shivers down my spine.

One of the other Elders stepped forward.

"The Alpha ceremony will begin at the next full moon tomorrow." He said.

He turned to us and his eyes turned cold.

"You have 20 minutes to get off the pack territory or you will be executed." He warned.

We didn't waste any time. We rushed inside and packed anything of value to us.

When we came back outside, the crowd was still there, murmuring amongst themselves.

I held up my hand and they all silenced.

"It has been my honor to serve as your Alpha." I said. "But I can't be some executioner to the Elders anymore. I hope you make the choices in life that make you happy. Personally, I will reach out to some allies and get what I need to start my own pack. I am an Alpha. I was born to lead. And I will. But I can't do that here. Good luck and may Moon Goddess be with you all."

I stepped off the stairs and my parents, Luke and I turned to leave.

We passed by Luke's parents on our way through the crowd. His mother was in tears.

"Luke, what are you doing?" She sobbed. "Where are you going?"

"To replace my family." He replied. "Sally and George. Even if you stopped treating them like family, it doesn't mean that I did."

Before they could say anything he turned to leave.

We quickly made our way to the border, making sure that we didn't stay longer than the 20 minutes we had been given.

When we crossed the border, my mother asked:

"Is it true what you said, Hudson? Do you have a plan?"

I sighed.

"Honestly, it's barely a concept at the moment."

Luke put his hand on my shoulder.

"If there is anyone that can figure it out, it's you." He said. "I believe in you."

When we turned to leave, we heard someone call out after us.

"Wait! Wait!"

We turned around and prepared to shift at any signs of danger when we saw a young girl come running towards us. When she came up to us, she bowed.

"Alpha." She said. "I will follow you. You were right. This is not the way. Anyone with a brain can tell that this is all shady."

I smiled.

"Thank you." I replied. "But I think you seemed to be the only one.

She smirked.

"I wouldn't think so. Just wait for it."

A few seconds later, we heard footsteps running through the forest.

A lot of footsteps.

In just a few minutes, the clearing was full of people with backpacks slung over their shoulders.

Luke patted my back.

"Where to, Alpha?" He asked.

I grinned.