Page 65 of Fated to the Rogue

Simone was the first and last female I had a crush on. I was twelve at the time. Although I was a lot more confident back then, I was still unsure of whether I should tell her how I felt. My mother, however, convinced me to do it, insisting that no she-wolf would reject the future Gamma. Well, Simone did, and she did it in front of the whole class. Since then, everyone started calling me “Lame Eagle,” until my father put an end to it. After enduring such humiliation, I was scolded for not demanding respect from my fellow classmates.

“Women are evil,” I whispered, breaking the long silence.

“Unbelievable,” my friend scoffed. Holding me by the shoulders, he forced me to look at him. “That happened six years ago, man. It’s time to move on. Your mate is not Simone. In fact, if you stayed two seconds later, you would have found out she’s the Alpha’s sister!”

“Oh, Goddess! High-ranking females are even meaner!” I cried out.

“You’re smarter than any of us, Zach, but you’re being irrational.” Malin shook his head in disappointment. “Look at me and Amaya, or Zephyr and Tina. We’re happier than ever because we found them! Don’t let one immature girl ruin what could be the best thing in your life.”

“I…I don’t wanna talk about this right now,” I stuttered, struggling away from his grasp to turn my back to him.

“Fine,” he scoffed. “Reject her then. Spare her the pain. It’s the least you could do.”

“No!” I shouted, clenching my fists at his suggestion. I was immediately taken aback by my reaction. But when I looked at him, he didn’t seem as surprised.

Why did the thought of breaking the bond I never even wanted in the first place sound so agonizing? I had always been alone and I was fine with that. I never felt like I needed someone else. But now that destiny was forcing it upon me, part of me wanted to know what it’d be like to love somebody. Was it really me or was Talon poisoning my mind, preventing me from thinking clearly?

“Alright. Hide out here all you want.” It was Malin’s turn to walk away. “I’m having lunch with the Alphas. Don’t expect me to bring you a plate.” He slammed the door on his way out, leaving me alone again.

However, his words kept ringing inside my head.

The hours flew by as my thoughts ate me alive. I decided to take a cold shower to ease my mind, and as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, the Beta linked me to let me know it was almost time for Sapphire Pond’s bird catching festival, which I had to attend. Refusing their invitation would be disrespectful, and it could risk everything we had achieved today. With a heavy sigh, I put on my clothes before walking outside.

I made my way through the hallways slowly, carefully poking my head around each corner before making a turn. Thankfully, my scary mate didn’t seem to be anywhere near here, which made sense; she was probably getting ready for the festival. The moment I exited the pack house, I was greeted by the Beta couple, playing on the grass in wolf form.

They stopped as soon as they noticed me, and it didn’t take long for Malin’s voice to echo in my mind. “Alpha Sanders said it was tradition for wolves to shift during the festival.” My eyes widened as I realized what that meant. I was ready to turn around and run back to my room when Mint grabbed me by the shirt with his mouth. As I stared straight into the wolf’s green eyes, Malin went on, “Just give her a chance. If you don’t like her, you can reject her.”

“If you reject her, I’ll kill you!” Talon growled, breaking the block I had put up earlier.

“What if she rejects us? In front of the whole pack!” I barked back.

“She won’t,” my wolf responded with enough confidence for the both of us. “She was made for us.”

I wish I was as optimistic as him.

Mint stood there staring at me, probably waiting for me to let Talon out. I took one more look around, trying to find any way out, but there was none. I guess if there’s anything that Zephyr taught me, it was that I can’t keep running from my problems. I hesitated, but eventually let my wolf take over.

The first thing my black beast did when he was freed was stick his nose up in the air, sniffing it excitedly. It didn’t take long for him to pick up on the most mesmerizing scent I had ever smelled - it was floral, but at the same time citrusy and tropical, like passionfruit. Talon closed his eyes, purring in delight as he let the fragrance alone guide him. The closer we got to our mate, I realized it also had a hint of mint, making it refreshing like an exotic cocktail. When my wolf reopened his eyes, our mate was standing in front of us.

Just like everyone else attending the festival, she had already shifted. Her wolf was even darker than Talon, her coat shiny like the rarest black pearl. A single white stripe ran down her chin, neck, and belly, emphasizing her beauty. Her ears were long andfluffy, as was her silky fur. The most hypnotizing detail about her were her eyes, electric like sapphires, that twinkled when she spotted us.

The second our gazes met, all my fears were thrown out the window.

Suddenly, she lowered her head with hurt in her eyes, and it killed me. Was she sad because I ran away from her? Did she really want to be with me? Talon crouched as he let out a low whimper, approaching her slowly in hopes of fixing my mistake. My mate seemed surprised, but she didn’t move. My wolf took the opportunity to rub his muzzle under her chin gently. The black-and-white she-wolf chuckled at him, licking his face in return. Talon proceeded to do the same.

I thought I would be disgusted by their show of affection. Instead, I found it…cute. And utterly calming, in a way. It was eerie that we were having our first interaction in wolf form without being able to properly communicate, yet it also felt somehow magical. It was almost like a blind date.

Being that close to her, I couldn’t even remember the reason why I spent so many years afraid to meet her. It was evident that she was sweet and kind. Maybe it was too soon to tell, but somewhere deep inside me, I knew she would never hurt me. I wanted to talk to her, apologize for my childish behavior, but all I could do was watch as Talon tried to show her without using words instead.

I couldn’t tell how much time had gone by before our extraordinary interaction was interrupted by the sound of flapping wings. Turning in the direction of the sound, I watched as a bird landed by the pond at the center of the territory to quench its thirst. All the wolves around us took cover behind bushes and trees, and so did my mate.

A few minutes later, dozens of birds had gathered around the lake. In a coordinated move, the members of Sapphire Pondlaunched an attack against the flock, who noticed the predators too late to escape their fangs. Of course, not all wolves succeeded in catching prey, but my mate was among the proud hunters who did.

To my surprise, instead of eating her catch by herself, she dropped it at Talon’s paws, flashing him the sweetest wolfish smile. Then, without warning, she started transforming back into her human form. I was compelled to do the same. Once both our beasts retreated, the most alluring woman I had ever seen stepped closer to let her fingers brush against mine.

“Hello, mate.” Shit, her smile was even more radiant in human form. And her voice… It was soft and gentle like a breeze. “Are you running from me again?”

In my mind, I was forming a coherent response, but all that left my mouth were unintelligible sounds. I struggled to breathe in her presence, fighting to stand still despite my weak knees. Was this what it felt like to be near your mate? How did Zephyr and Malin nail this every time?

---