Page 53 of Fated to the Rogue

“One thing’s for sure, we definitely need more female energy here.” Amaya scowled at her mate, who flashed her an apologetic smile. “I say we should have a girl’s night.”

“I’m in!” Alex quickly agreed. “Tina?” She turned to my mate with one brow raised.

“Sure, let’s do it!” My Luna giggled.

“Eager to get rid of me already?” I pouted, mocking offense.

“Didn’t know you were the needy kind, Zephyr,” she said playfully.

“You’re damn right he's needy,” Dawn agreed. “And desperate for attention.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me yet…” Valentina stiffened when I dove my nose into the crook of her neck without warning. Her reaction made me chuckle before I whispered for only her to hear, “But I intend to change that soon.”

???

Maybe my mate had been trying to escape her whole life; maybe she was just naturally determined. Either way, I was impressed by how quickly she was adapting to the changes destiny forced upon her. Still, deep inside of me, I knew it was too soon to claim her. I wanted to be a gentleman for once and give her time, but how much longer could I keep fighting the attraction I felt towards her?

Every night spent beside her was both paradise and torture. Her scent was calming, yet addictive like a drug. It lured me in, inviting me to come near, but the closer I was to her, the harder it was to control the raw urges I felt. Her body called for mine, and it was painful not to respond. I managed to survive another night, but I had the feeling it wouldn’t get any easier.

The morning after her dinner party, I had to rush into the bathroom before training. My dick was rock-hard, and my tension needed to be released. Thankfully, Valentina didn’t seem to be the early-bird type, which meant she most likely didn’t notice my absence. She had just woken up when I came backfrom my sparring session. This time, she suggested we had breakfast at the cafeteria with everyone else.

Once we were done eating, I led her to my office. The previous day, I started introducing her to the basics of pack management, and today, she was excited to continue from where we had left off. She was doing outstandingly well, especially for someone who hadn’t worked alongside higher-ranking wolves before. I wasn’t surprised anymore though. Not that I had ever doubted her capability, but at this point, it was clear to me that she was meant to be Luna.

“Before we start, let’s review what I taught you yesterday.” I spread a map of Genero over my desk. My mate was sitting right beside me. “Do you remember which packs have been our allies in the past?”

“Hmm let’s see…” The way she bit her bottom lip when she was concentrating drove me crazy. I found myself mimicking her while I wished it was my teeth tasting her flesh. “These two, and…this one. Then there’s also these three to the right.” She pointed to the different areas on the map.

“Mm-hmm. And our enemies?”

“That’s easy. Wind Howlers never had many enemies. There’s just these-” She stopped abruptly to look at me. “Zephyr?”

I hadn’t even realized I had my hand on her thigh until that moment. My eyes widened at first, but I soon noticed that she wasn’t pulling away. Her cheeks turned red as she went back to biting her lip. It was a clear sign for me to go on, though I knew I should tread carefully.

My fingers traveled a little further up, lifting the hem of her sundress, while my other hand cupped her face. I moved some loose strands of hair out of the way before slowly pressing my lips against hers. A quiet moan from her let me know I was doing everything right, and the victorious sensation made me releasea low growl. My tongue traced the seam of her lips leisurely as I grasped her thigh firmer.

Then, Tina took me by surprise. She brought her hand to the back of my head, tangling her fingers in my hair as she deepened our kiss. Another one of my growls - this time, hungrier - was muffled by her mouth. When my fingertips dug into her skin, I knew I was letting go of my control; but for once, I didn’t care. My hand moved from her face to her other thigh, and I was ready to lift her onto my lap when a third voice echoed in the room.

"Whoa! Bad timing?”

My mate immediately broke our heated kiss, and we both turned to the door. It hadn’t been open a moment ago, yet now there was a more-than-shocked Malin standing right in front of us. Valentina gasped, straightening herself in her seat. She looked away from my best friend as she muttered an apology. All I could do was face-palm.

“And this is why you knock before walking in.” I frowned at him.

“I’m so sorry, Alpha. Luna.” He bowed his head at us both. My mate’s embarrassment was replaced by surprise the second she heard her title - it was the first time someone other than me addressed her like that.

I rolled my eyes at my Beta. “Come on, sit down. We have a lot to discuss. Where’s-” Before I could finish my sentence, Zach appeared behind Malin, wearing his classic sunglasses. I didn’t miss the way Tina raised an eyebrow at him, unfamiliar with his peculiar tactic to hide a black eye. I lost my poise, unable to hold my laughter. “Great. Now that we’re all here, let’s dive into it.”

Once my friends took their seats, we started discussing the issue that had been troubling us for almost a month. The week hadn’t gone as planned with me finding my mate, and the news about our wolves possibly having been switched for a reason we couldn’t begin to understand. I wish I had time to get toknow her; to solve the mysteries revolving around us. However, I couldn’t be so selfish when my entire pack relied on me.

We hadn’t heard about the Fallen since the Alpha meeting that took place in our territory, but I knew better than to believe they were gone. Considering how cautious they had been until now, I was sure they were simply lurking silently in the shadows, waiting for the next opportunity to strike. And since we learned about them coming to Genoro, we had barely been able to make any advancements.

Changes had been made to our defense system, but that was about it. The sole meeting we managed to arrange with another Alpha didn’t yield any fruits. Thankfully, some of the leaders Zach had reached out to agreed to meet with us to discuss possible alliances. We spent the rest of the morning, as well as part of the afternoon, organizing a plan to visit them and coming up with fair proposals. Although Tina mostly listened to us, she also made a few good points.

The clock had just struck 4:00 p.m. when we finally finished. In the end, I was confident in our plan, and amazed to see how much my friends had grown since they stepped into their positions. I dismissed them earlier than usual to enjoy what was left of the day. Malin excused himself to go find Amaya, while Zach simply bolted towards his room, probably to lock himself in and play video games until dawn.

And once again, I was alone with my mate.

“What should we do now?” Tina asked, organizing the many papers of our latest meeting.

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