Page 30 of Fated to the Rogue

The brown-and-blonde she-wolf lowered her ears and opened her mouth, but before she could reply, I heard the door burst open. As I turned around, I found my best friend standing at the entrance.

“Malin?” I arched an eyebrow as I started towards him. “I thought you were off for the next few days?”

“We have last-minute visitors.” His clarification only further confused me. “Alpha Ryder of Silent Rivers Pack has requested a meeting with you.”

“When?”

“Now.”

My Beta pushed the door open wider, revealing two other men who were following behind him. They both had very similar features, but while one of them looked to be around my age, the other one seemed to be in his late forties. I glanced quickly at them before focusing on Malin once again.

Judging by the concerned look on his face, I took it that there was more trouble coming our way.

12 | Challenge

Iblinked a few times as I tried to process the situation. For an Alpha to show up at another leader’s territory without warning was…unusual, to say the least. A feeling of uneasiness flooded me, maybe because my she-wolf was projecting it onto me. Dawn had her head lowered and her ears up in alert, as if she was readying herself for…what, exactly? I cleared my throat, realizing there was only one way to find out.

“Alpha Ryder.” With my gaze locked on the young man, I removed my hand from my back pocket, stretching it out towards the chairs placed in front of my desk. “Please, come in. You are welcome to join us, too, Alpha Rhys.” I recognized the former Alpha of Silent Rivers from one of the meetings I had attended with my father when I was younger.

Silent Rivers was a fairly young pack located not too far from our lands. It was also quite small, considering it had just under 200 members. Despite its size, it was quite notorious. According to the books I had to read about pack politics, it had grown extremely fast under its first leader’s rule, going from roughly a dozen wolves to its current numbers in less than a decade. However, Alpha Rhys - the founder of Silent Rivers - stopped conquering other packs before his heir, Ryder, reached the age of ten.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Alpha Zephyr. I truly hope we aren’t interrupting anything.” Ryder shook my hand, showing me a big grin.

“We heard your hands have been full lately,” his father added as he walked past me. I could swear I had sensed a hint of irony in his voice, but I shook it off.

Before I turned around to go back to my seat, I noticed my Beta’s eyes clouding over. I wondered who he was linking, but I didn’t dwell on it for long. There were far more important questions I wanted answers to.

“Would you like a drink? Coffee? Whiskey?” I asked politely as I got comfortable in my chair. Malin soon joined my side.

“No, thank you. I do not wish to take too much of your time,” the young Alpha insisted.

“Alright. What brings you here with such…urgency?”

The two men exchanged glances before Ryder leaned forward. “I’ll cut to the chase, Alpha Zephyr. I’m here to challenge you for your pack.”

The confident smile on his face grew as silence filled the room. On the outside, I was calm and collected, but on the inside, I was freaking the fuck out. Deep down, I suspected that was the reason why he had come without warning, allowing me no time to plan a response, but it still caught me off guard.

Shit! How was I supposed to face an Alpha wolf in combat when my counterpart was a female? My mind was running a million miles a minute as I tried to analyze my options before my time was up and I had to give them an answer. At first, I considered trying to come up with an excuse to postpone the challenge until I managed to talk to the witch who would hopefully shine a light on my situation, but I knew it would be impossible. In the end, there were only two paths for me to follow: I could accept Ryder’s challenge and fight him in frontof my whole pack, or refuse it and let him take over my home without even trying to defend it.

Either way, I lose.

“Speak for yourself,” Dawn scoffed. “You might not think you can beat him, but I know I can.”

Before I had time to retort, the visiting Alpha’s voice sounded again. “What do you say, Alpha Zephyr? Do you accept my challenge?”

“Wait!” My father burst through the door, which Malin had probably left unlocked. His sudden arrival surprised us all, except for my Beta, who had most likely warned him about our guests. The concerned expression he wore only made me more anxious. “Zephyr has just stepped in as Alpha. He can’t be challenged during the first year of his rule.”

“Not unless he is challenged by another Alpha who has also been leading for less than a year,” Rhys pointed out. “Which happens to be the case with my son.” Only when I noticed the sinister grin on the man’s face did I realize his true intentions.

They must have known the Moon Goddess had paired me with a female wolf.

At first, I was confused about why the Alpha of a smaller pack would impulsively challenge the leader of a larger one. Because bigger packs had more enemies, and more followers to keep under control, it was natural for their rulers to be genetically stronger to be able to protect their title. Besides, it was uncommon for young leaders to challenge each other, since they usually had little experience in battle. Of course, it wasn’t a rule, but I couldn’t deny that Ryder seemed a little too confident. Now I knew why.

“So?” the bastard pressured me again.

“Accept it,” Dawn ordered. I couldn’t say I fully trusted her, but what other choice did I have?

“I accept your challenge,” I replied at last, forcing a smile. Our two guests didn’t hide their satisfaction, but I noticed the way my father and my Beta held their breaths. Before they could interfere, I continued, “Beta Malin, please notify Elder Laelius about the challenge. It shall take place in the clearing right outside of the territory to prevent the destruction of houses and other buildings. Tell Delta Alexandra to let the members know whoever wants to witness our fight is welcome to come with us.”

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