Page 69 of Fated to the Rogue

With a nod, the man turned to the crowd, lifting my mate’s hand in the air. “Wind Howlers, show your new leader, Luna Valentina, the respect she deserves! Accept her as she has accepted you!”

“Long live the Luna!” everyone said in unison as they fell to their knees, exposing their necks in the clearest sign of submission.

A hint of surprise flashed in my mate’s eyes for the first time as she witnessed her people hail her. With a proud smile, I walked up to her, interlacing our fingers. I brought her hand up to my mouth, kissing it gently before helping her climb down the stairs of the small stage.

“What do we do now?” she whispered to me.

“Enjoy your party.” I pressed my lips against her cheek.

The rest of the night went smoothly. We greeted some pack members who gave her their best wishes, drank fancy cocktails, and chatted with our friends. She seemed to be having the time of her life and it made my heart skip a beat to watch her so joyful and lively. Everything was perfect, as I expected; as Valentina deserved.

Until the doors of the Event Hall suddenly burst open, shortly after midnight.

“Help! Please!”

The desperate echoes of a feminine voice caught everyone’s attention. The room went silent as every head turned to two unknown girls who had just crashed our party. They were naked, covered in blood that was oozing out of deep wounds, and seemingly too weak to be standing.

Before any of us could react, their limp bodies dropped to the floor.

23 | Tragedy

Even the music seemed to have stopped, the deafening sound of the victims crashing onto the floor making it impossible to concentrate on anything else. In a matter of seconds, the white marble around them turned into a sea of maroon. I had never seen anyone lose such an alarming amount of blood so quickly, and it shocked me. Initially, all I could do was stand, frozen in my spot, confused and horrified by the sudden turn of events.

Then, it clicked for me - the party was over.

“Beta! Gamma!” My two friends seemed to have teleported, coming out of nowhere with how quickly they appeared in front of me. I turned to my second-in-command first. “Malin, get them to the hospital and make sure they receive the treatment they need. We take care of them first, find out who they are later.”

“Yes, Alpha.” He nodded his head at me, not wasting a second to gather a group of four Omegas who promptly carried the two unknown she-wolves out of the venue.

“Zach.” My third-in-command lowered his head the moment I looked into his eyes. “Double the amount of sentinels securing our border. Make sure no one else gets in. I wanna know how these two got past security, and I wanna know now!”

“Yes, Alpha!” He too nodded at me before disappearing out the door.

For the first time since the bizarre intrusion, I turned to glance at my Luna. She still looked radiant in her gown, though her light, cheerful expression was now stained by signs of worry. It killed me to see her special night ruined in such a tragic way. I lifted my hand up to her cheek with the intention to soothe her, but she gently wrapped her fingers around my wrist. A nod was all I needed to know she understood what had to be done, and a small smile was proof she wasn’t upset about it.

“Everyone,” she called loud and clear as we faced the crowd, trying our best to exude some sort of calm. The last thing we wanted or needed was to incite panic. “I’m afraid our party will have to be cut short. Thank you all for coming. Please exit calmly and make your way home now. Guests, please return to your suites. Omegas will be by to ensure you have all that you need for the night. Thank you.”

The pack members immediately did as she said, filing out of the Event Hall. They were followed by our guests, who addressed us politely on their way back to their suites. Alpha Sanders was very supportive, offering to help with whatever he could before heading back to Sapphire Pond the next day.

As I watched everyone leave, I was overcome with a wave of emotions. I was definitely mad at the abrupt way my mate’s ceremony had ended; tense about what the visiting Alphas and Betas would think of us, having two outsiders infiltrate our lands on a very important night, when our security should have been at its highest. Moreover, with the threat of the mysterious Fallen right around the corner, I was concerned about how effective our defense system truly was if we hadn’t even been able to stop a couple of injured girls from barging in.

“Do you need any assistance, son?” My father’s hand on my shoulder took me by surprise. I had to blink a few times to get back to my senses. Once I did, I returned his gesture, giving his shoulder a light squeeze.

“Everything’s under control, Dad. You and Mom should rest,” I reassured him.

“Very well.” He bowed his head as he walked past me.

“Good night, Luna Valentina. You looked lovely tonight,” my mother complimented my mate, who smiled at her before she wrapped me in a quick hug. “Good night, Zeze.”

After they left, it was only Alex and her mate left standing near me in the middle of the empty hall. My Delta was silent, but posted, just waiting for my orders.

“Alex, can you please get some cleaners to take care of this?” I gestured towards the pool of blood. “I know it’s late, but we can’t leave it like that until tomorrow.”

“Right away, Alpha.” I expected her to playfully salute me as usual. Given the gravity of the circumstances, she simply lowered her head.

After making sure the primary details had been taken care of, I interlaced my fingers with Valentina’s, tugging on her hand gently to lead her out of the venue. As soon as we stepped outside, I was sad to see the flowers plucked out of the arches, probably destroyed in the wolves’ hurry to get back to the safety of their houses. There was also a trail of blood staining the stone pathway. It was tragic to witness how the beautiful decoration had been ruined in the span of a few minutes, and it made it impossible for me to contain a melancholic sigh.

“I’m sorry your Luna Ceremony had to end like this,” I whispered, too pained to look into my mate’s eyes.

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