Page 45 of Fated to the Rogue

There was a lot I still needed to do, and there was a lot still troubling me. But for however long she was in control of our body, I allowed myself to forget about my problems. Maybe it was a wolf thing, but whenever she was out, she made life seem so simple. I wanted to feel all of that simplicity, to live in it as long as possible.

After two hours of running and rolling around, Dawn decided she had tasted enough of the freedom I had granted her. Her usually shiny coat was covered in dandelion pappus and shredded grass, which made her look more like an energetic puppy than a powerful Alpha. Every other time I let her out before, I forced her to shift back before we reached the main part of our territory, fearing that pack members would see her and whisper about it. This time, I let her roam our lands as she pleased.

“It’s nice to walk around here with my own paws. To be among the other members of our pack,” she observed as she wandered through the cottages. Every time other wolves spotted us, they would stop what they were doing to bow their heads in respect for her. “I’ve wanted this for a long time. Thank you, Zephyr.”

“You shouldn’t thank me. It was your right to do it all along. I’m sorry I kept it from you until now.”The longer I dwelled on those thoughts, the more I felt like a fool for thinking the way I used to.

“Wolves don’t live in the past. You shouldn’t either.” As always, her wisdom and understanding took me by surprise. “I’m glad we’re fully understanding each other now. It did take you long enough though,” she joked, making me laugh.

“Tina? Tina, is that you?” A voice I had never heard before startled us both. Confused, Dawn turned around to see who it was.

My she-wolf’s eyes immediately landed on a middle-aged man. I was sure I didn’t know him, which led me to believe he was probably a former member of Silent Rivers, yet he still felt awfully familiar. Initially, I thought maybe he wasn’t talking to us, but then I noticed he was staring directly at us. There was a look of disbelief on his face, as if he was seeing a ghost. I watched it turn into horror and embarrassment as Dawn gave me backcontrol. We kept looking at each other in silence for a few more seconds until he dropped to his knees, shaking with fear.

“Pardon my mistake, Alpha Zephyr. Your w-wolf reminded me of a-an old f-friend of mine. A friend I re-recently lost,” he stuttered, his neck exposed in submission as his gaze locked on the ground.

“A….friend?” Dawn repeated.

I shook my head. What the hell was going on? “Who are you?” was all I could mutter.

“My n-name is Vincent, Alpha. I used to be a member of the f-former Silent Rivers.”

The second he told me his name, a sharp headache struck me, causing me to grunt. Then, it was gone as quickly as it had come. Shit, it seemed the consequences of my exhaustion were finally kicking in.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I told him as soon as I collected myself. My words clearly surprised him, as he lifted his head at once to look at me with wide eyes. “I hope everything’s going well with your move into Wind Howlers.”

“It is, Alpha,” he breathed out, still bewildered. “Thank you for your kindness.”

I nodded at him before turning around to continue on my way.

Unwilling to walk inside the pack house completely naked, I stopped by the public showers to grab a pair of shorts. As I climbed up the stairs to the Alpha suite, I couldn’t stop thinking about the weird encounter I’d just had with that random man. He called me Tina… Did he think I was a girl? Well, I did have a female wolf as my counterpart, so his assumption wasn’t absurd.

As soon as I opened the door to my room, my eyes landed on my bed and I was immediately reminded of how much I still had to get done before I could at last lie in it. The bizarreness of the event from minutes earlier was momentarily forgotten, replacedby the weight of my responsibilities. I wanted to enjoy what was left of my self-proclaimed break, but as I walked into the shower, it was impossible not to mentally go over the items I still had on my list. Mostly the usual paperwork, but I also intended to address at least some of the issues my Delta had presented to me earlier before calling it a day. If I had been calm a moment ago, I was now as stressed as I had been throughout most of the afternoon.

“Just relax, Zephyr. The day is almost done, and Malin will be back tomorrow morning,” Dawn recalled before retreating to the back of my head.

As she did, I could hear her humming her characteristic serene melody and it instantly calmed me, the same way it always did. I didn’t know how she did it, nor if it was something every wolf was capable of. My mother said she used to play classical music for me when I was a baby, so maybe Dawn’s melody subconsciously reminded me of those times.

A good 20 minutes under the shower later, I was as close to ready as I could be to get done with work and call it a night. I put on some comfortable clothes, and was ready to head back to the office when I heard my phone ring; considering my friends didn’t call me unless it was urgent, I stiffened.

“Zach?” I asked with caution as I picked up the phone. “It’s late. What’s wrong?”

“Our sentinels have spotted a rogue male lurking near our borders,” he stated without ceremony.

“Was he dangerous? Did we lose anyone?” My heart started beating faster.

“No. He submitted as soon as he was captured.” I frowned in confusion. Rogues were feral creatures who would attack anything and anyone just to get scrapes of food. This didn’t make any sense. “I think you’re gonna wanna see this. Come to the South Gate.”

I heaved a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’m on my way.”

Like I said, my list of problems never ceased to grow.

Since I was already clean and ready for bed, I decided to take the Ferrari rather than let Dawn run there. It was a bit of a hassle to get the keys and head to the garage, but it would hopefully save me some effort when I was finally able to go to sleep. Because I couldn’t navigate through the houses and trees at full speed, it took me around 10 minutes to get to the South Gate.

The instant I hopped out of the car, my eyes fell on the rogue wolf bound by silver chains, and I suddenly forgot how to breathe.

“Great, you’re here. Like I said, he didn’t put up a fight, but he refuses to shift. Judging by his scent, he’s definitely a rogue, though the rotten smell is faint on him. He’s probably been away from his pack for a week at most. And as you can see, he’s a lot bigger than the average rogue…” My Gamma’s report went on and on, but as I stood there, frozen, I tuned him out entirely.

And the trespasser seemed as shocked as me.

---