Rogue (Book 2) (The Omega Group) Read Online Free Page B

out for a run. It was
his favorite thing to do. Contrary to popular literature, Carter’s wolf was a
part of him—not a mindless beast he turned into. His body shifted, yet his
consciousness remained intact. In his animal form the darkness wasn’t an issue,
so he ran full speed along the creek and over the rocks.
    As he neared the large pool at Mooney Falls he heard someone
singing. Although hikers were warned against being out there after dark, it
wasn’t unheard of for them to ignore the advice. Carter’s wolf slowed until his
movements were silent. His curiosity about the outside world drew him toward
the voice. But when he got close, he saw that it wasn’t an outsider who was
singing. It was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had long black
hair with a small white flower tucked above her ear. She looked so fragile
against the backdrop of the rock walls.
    Ducking behind a tree, he’d changed back to his human form
and put on the clothes he always kept strapped to his back. It was a habit he’d
insisted on since being caught naked by some less-than-discrete classmates when
he was thirteen. When he emerged from behind the tree the girl was gone, her
beautiful voice no longer wafting to the heavens. His level of disappointment
surprised him.
    “Hi.”
    Carter jumped at the unexpected sound, chastising himself
for not being cooler. When she giggled at his reaction, his embarrassment grew
to epic teenage proportion.
    “Were you spying on me?”
    “Uh, no. Of course not. I was just out for a walk and you
happened to be in the same place. That’s all. Nothing weird.” Carter could hear
himself sounding like the idiot that he was but couldn’t seem to stop himself.
“What about you? Maybe you were spying on me.”
    Her smile grew and lit up her entire face as she reached her
hand out to him. “My name’s Gina. What’s yours?”
    “Carter. It’s nice to meet you, Gina.”
    Carter’s trip down memory lane was interrupted by Jackie’s
exclamation, “Oh my God! This place is spectacular. I’ve never seen anything
more beautiful.”
    Carter looked around and realized they’d already arrived at
Beaver Falls. He’d been on autopilot while thinking about Gina and hadn’t even noticed
the time passing. “It is pretty cool.”
    All of the falls were incredible, but this one was something
special. It was like someone had carved an enormous staircase in the narrow
space between the canyon walls. The water cascading over each step was such a
bright blue that it seemed almost unnatural. Carter had been there more times
than he could count, but the beauty and power of the place never failed to
amaze him. “The chief will be down there.” He pointed to a spot about halfway
up the second level, then led the way there.
    Hidden behind bushes and rocks, the small cave was difficult
to see. The chief believed its location had been successfully hidden from
everyone. He was wrong. It was considered the worst kept secret of the canyon.
Every local knew where it was, but out of respect for the chief they pretended
they didn’t.
    Carter entered first, holding back the branches for Jackie
to follow. When he let them go before Han got through, he was rewarded with a
few carefully chosen curse words. “Love you too, buddy.”
    The temperature inside was about twenty degrees cooler and
Carter enjoyed the relief as much as his companions seemed to. But his
enjoyment was short-lived.
    “Who’s there?” The voice was soft but still succeeded in
sending a shiver down Carter’s spine.
    “It’s Carter. I’m with some friends and we need to talk to
you.”
    There was a brief moment of silence. “Come in, then.”
    When they rounded the bend, they found the chief sitting
cross-legged with a bowl of fragrant flowers in front of him. He turned his
piercing gaze on Carter. “How did you find this place?”
    “Lucky guess. Look, we really need to ask you some
questions.”
    “I see living in the outside world hasn’t