Page 75 of Fated to the Rogue

“Of course, Alpha.” Zach’s mate jumped through the hole, offering Tina her hand.

“What? No. I’m staying with you,” my mate whispered to me.

“Please, sunrise. I can’t focus unless I know you’re okay.” I could see her reluctancy, but in the end, she sighed in defeat. “Thank you, Nisha.” I nodded at the Gamma Female as she led my mate upstairs.

“What about you, man?” Before I knew it, Malin was right next to me. “Those wounds seem pretty deep. We can clean up the mess while you-”

“I’ll heal,” I interrupted him. Despite the hesitation in his eyes, he didn’t push the issue. “There’s more important things I have to take care of right now. Zach, did you find out what happened?” I turned to my Gamma.

“I just linked every single one of the 60 men that were on duty. They claim not to have smelled nor seen a thing.” He still didn’t look me in my eyes, probably afraid I’d snap at him again.

“Exactly like in the night the girls barged in,” I analyzed. “Something’s clearly wrong here.”

“Like the fact that the rogue is still in wolf form?” Malin’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I turned to look in the direction my Beta was pointing and saw a few warriors around the fallen wolf’s body. His wide open eyes had lost their vivacity, and he was definitely not breathing. He was soaked in a pool of his own dark red blood. His wounds had clearly been fatal.

Malin had a point; when werewolves died, our bodies would magically shift one last time into our human forms. It was a safety measure to prevent humans from finding out about us. So how come this lifeless rogue was still in wolf form?

“Take him to the Elders chapel. Now.” Nobody hesitated at my command, quickly moving towards the intruder’s body to lift him up off the floor.

Even with werewolf strength, six men were necessary to carry the big gray wolf to the main square, which was a ten minute walk from where we were. Once we got there, my vision was thankfully better as my wound had almost completely healed, but I was still limping a little. I didn’t even bother changing into clothes, since the blood would stain them. We were werewolves, so I was sure no one would mind it, especially because I had just gotten out of a fight.

“What is this?” Elder Laelius asked when we dropped the rogue’s body in front of the chapel without warning.

“This rogue managed to sneak past security. He wanted to get to the hospital.” He furrowed his brows in confusion at my revelation.

Without uttering a word, the Elder started circling the huge wolf’s body, examining it thoroughly. I was getting impatient, eager to get back to my mate and make sure she didn’t have any grave injuries. I knew she was in good hands with Nisha, and that, as Alpha, I had to take care of this situation. But it didn’t diminish my desire to have her in my arms, where I could protect her.

At last, Elder Laelius finally stood up to look at me and the expression on his face immediately made me uneasy.

“Alpha Zephyr. It’s too soon to tell, but I’m inclined to think this isn’t a normal rogue,” he affirmed. “We might’ve just been the first ones to catch a wolf from the Fallen army.”

Everyone else around me was astonished, but it was almost as if I had been expecting that. And hearing the Elder confirm it made me growl in fury.

26 | Fallen

The next morning, I was fully recovered from the fight; not a single scar had been left to tell the bizarre story. Lower-ranking wolves would probably need around three days to heal from injuries like the ones I had, but my Alpha blood sped up my recovery. Thankfully, Valentina was also feeling one hundred percent better. Despite being an Omega by birth, her wounds had been gone since last night, as she had only gotten a few scratches.

Once again, my Luna joined us at training. The event from the previous day seemed to have motivated her, as she was a lot more focused when she sparred with me. After we were dismissed, we had breakfast with the rest of the team in the cafeteria. I left her with Amaya, Nisha, and Alex, figuring she could use the girl-time as a distraction, while the boys and I rushed to my office.

There was a lot we needed to discuss.

“We’re facing a serious threat,” I began, facing my two friends as I sat in my chair behind the desk. “In the past ten days, three wolves managed to get into our territory unnoticed. There’s an evident breach in our security that needs to be fixed to ensure the safety of our pack. Zachari,” I called.

“Yes, Alpha.”

“I want you to increase the number of men patrolling our borders again. Instead of 60, I want 80 sentinels on duty at alltimes,” I ordered, and my Gamma nodded in response, taking mental notes. “Instruct them in the best way you can think of. They will continue to be your responsibility. If it’s true that our enemy has no scent, they are to keep their eyes peeled and their ears open at all times.”

“I’ll make sure they know not even the slightest crack should go unnoticed. Not even the fall of a leaf shall be overlooked,” he assured me with determination.

“Good. Thank you, Zach,” I told him sincerely. “I understand how frustrating the situation is. Your hard work is appreciated.” The corner of his lips turned up in the shadow of a smile, which was a quite rare sight to see. Returning the gesture, I turned to my Beta. “The reinforcements at our border are only a palliative measure. We can’t keep the majority of our warriors out on patrol forever. We need to understand how these outsiders are sneaking in, but until we do, Malin, I want you to conduct evening training sessions three times a week in addition to the daily morning sessions. That way, the men on-shift who can’t attend training won’t be completely out of sync with everyone else.”

My best friend nodded at me. “I’m on it.”

“Before I dismiss you, I’ll leave you with another task. As you know, the I.N. Elder Council will be here in two hours to check the supposed Fallen we caught. Assist Alex in whatever she needs to make sure we are ready to receive them.” Normally, Alex would have no problem taking care of that on her own. However, these visitors were way more important than the ones we usually had, and having so little time to prepare, I figured our Delta could use the extra help.

“Yes, Alpha.” Both my friends bowed their heads, waiting for my signal before rising from their seats to leave.

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