Page 62 of Fated to the Rogue

It was safe to say, she was the most magnificent work of art to ever roam the earth.

For a good while, we just stood there in silence, staring at each other. I was eating her with my eyes, fantasizing about the moment I would get to tear her out of the dress I hadn’t even paid for yet. I watched as she broke eye-contact to admire herself in the mirror. In the end, she turned back to me with rosy cheeks, and the most wonderful smile on her face.

“Zephyr, this is…”

“Perfect?” I chuckled. “I try.”

“Wait. Did you design this yourself?” Valentina questioned in disbelief, her eyes widening.

“Well, my mother helped me a little.” She squinted her eyes doubtfully. I saw no other choice but to throw my hands in the air in defeat. “Alright, she helped me a lot. I basically picked the color, and she did the rest. It still counts though, right?”

“You’re cute,” was all she said, touching my face with her velvety hand. What was that even supposed to mean?

“That you’re a dork,” Dawn huffed, making me frown. She seemed rather pleased with my reaction.

“The seamstress is here, miss. Are you ready?” As kind as the saleswoman was, I had to admit her interruptions were starting to annoy me.

Valentina stepped away to acknowledge her. “Yes. Thank you.”

After the gown’s final adjustments were made, we headed to the cashier so I could pay with my black credit card. My mate tried to look at the price, but I stood in front of her to block her view. Once we were done with everything we had come here to do, we hopped in my Ferrari so I could drive us to our final destination for the day -Ke Kai, a top seafood restaurant. I would like to take her to a Michelin 3-star restaurant someday, but since there were none in the city of Daltpron, or in the whole state of Genoro, I’d have to wait until our next trip.

The moment I parked in front of the place I had chosen, Valentina flashed me a confused look.

“It’s our first official date. Please allow me to at least treat you to dinner,” I clarified, stepping outside to pull the door open for her.

“Are you not tired? We can have dinner at home.” She took my hand shyly.

“I’ll never lack the energy to be around you, sunrise,” I reassured her, planting a soft kiss in the back of her hand before intertwining our fingers to guide her inside. “Besides, I think you’ll love this place.”

“Have you ever been here?”

I shook my head. “My parents used to come here all the time; it was their favorite. I never got invited to their dates though.” I pouted playfully, making her laugh.

As soon as we climbed up the last step, a waiter stood in front of us to take us to our seats.Ke Kaihad an outdoor area by the water with candlelit tables and an outstanding view of the city skyline. It definitely had an amazing atmosphere, and thefood was simply delicious. While it was true that wolves usually weren’t picky eaters, we had heightened senses and could easily smell and taste the difference of top quality food. I chose the snapper fish plate, while Tina decided on the classic ceviche. We also ordered wine, but since they obviously didn’t have the werewolf variation, it was pretty much like grape juice for us.

“So, what did you think?” I asked once I was done paying the bill.

“Amazing. The whole day was amazing.” My mate smiled sweetly, reaching for my hand over the table. “I really enjoyed our day. Than-”

“How many times do I have to say it? You don’t need to thank me, my sunrise.” I looked straight into her eyes, leaning forward. “I love being with you. Thank you for being my date.”

I could tell she wanted to argue, but she restricted herself to casually rolling her eyes, and we shared one more passionate kiss before leaving the restaurant. There was still a two-hour drive ahead of us and I wanted to get Tina home as quickly as possible so she could rest. On our way back, she fell asleep in the front seat and I had to try my best to stop admiring her beauty, and keep my eyes on the road. As I drove through the highway with a serene smile on my face, I forgot about all of my problems and wished we could have many more days like this.

After my first break in a while, I wondered how Malin and Zach were doing without me.

Interlude V

Zachari

Iwas going to kill Zephyr if it was the last thing I’d do.

I didn’t care that he was my Alpha. He knew how much I hated the possibility of finding a stupid mate, and still he made me leave the safety of our pack so he could go rainbow hopping with his Luna. So much for a fucking Alpha. He even dared sayIshould honor my duties as Gamma.Hypocrite.

As Malin, Amaya, and I made our way to Sapphire Pond in the pack’s limousine, I could only think of the options I had to avoid my ‘other half,’ in case she was part of Sapphire Pond Pack. I knew the Beta couple were talking, but I blocked out every noise to allow my very analytical brain the peace it needed to work quickly. Then, a light bulb went off in my head.

“Punch my nose,” I uttered out loud.

The two other passengers immediately turned to look at me, as Amaya asked, “What?”

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