Page 78 of Fated to the Rogue

As soon as my friends exited the office, my Luna approached me. “What should we do now?”

“I don’t know. I need a break,” I told her honestly.

“It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.” Tina cupped my face with her gentle hands. Closing my eyes, I felt my tension wash away, as if she was draining it from me.

“As long as I have you, I’ll have no doubt about that.” I smiled, leaning in to kiss her.

Interlude VI

Valentina

Mealtime was the moment I treasured the most out of the entire day. In my old pack, I didn’t have many friends and spent the majority of my time alone. I guess that’s why I was so fond of being around my new friends and family. The simplicity of these times when I could sit at the table with the other ranked members - my friends and family - talking and laughing away just made my day brighter.

As Zephyr and I made our way through the dining hall, hand-in-hand, a few of the warriors sitting at the long tables stopped to greet me respectfully when I walked past them. I had been attending training everyday, and even if most of the men didn’t seem too fond of my presence in the beginning, they were starting to warm up to me. In fact, I think they admired me after I showed them I could be a great fighter. Considering my lack of experience, I’d be lost if I didn’t have Dusk to guide me, but I wanted to learn nevertheless.

“I only explain what you should do. You’re the one who’s doing all the fighting,”my wolf’s deep voice echoed inside my head. “I’m merely a teacher, and I refuse to take credit for the things you’ve accomplished on your own.”

“Don’t be so humble, Dusk. You’ve been helping me become stronger from the day we met,” I recalled, making him smile.

“How was training today?” Nisha’s question pulled me back to reality as we sat across from her at the Elite members table.

When I didn’t find Zach beside her, I assumed he was busy with the tasks Zephyr had assigned to him. Following the visit of the National Elder Council yesterday, the boys stayed up late in the office discussing measures to defend our pack against our enemy. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about an attack, especially after I’d witnessed what they were capable of, but it also killed me to see my Alpha so stressed.

“It was great. Your Luna is proving to be just as fierce as my best men.” Zephyr flashed me a proud smile, though he couldn’t hide the tiredness in his eyes. “It’s a shame your mate wasn’t there to watch.”

“You know him. Always glad to skip training. In the name of duty, of course,” the Gamma Female added playfully.

“Of course,” my mate laughed.

“Mornin’, guys.” Amaya soon joined us, placing her plate on the table.

“Hey girl,” I welcomed her with a grin. “Where’s Malin?”

“Oh, he wanted to stop by the Alpha’s office to drop today’s training reports. He should be here in a minute,” the Beta Female clarified, looking into my eyes as a smile lit up her face. “He said he’s impressed by how quickly you're improving.”

I was about to reply to her compliment when Malin suddenly appeared next to the table. Judging by his rapid, convulsive breathing, he had probably used his werewolf speed to get here. That, combined with his shocked expression, caused my mate to rise from his seat, alarmed.

“Dude. Did Cassiopeia come here?” the Beta asked.

“Today? No.” Zephyr arched an eyebrow at him.

“There’s dozens of those traps she said she would get us scattered all over your office,” he revealed, the look of bewilderment never leaving his face.

“Shit! That’s not what I expected when she said she would have them delivered to me.” Zephyr glanced at me before his attention fell on the plate filled with food in front of him. With a sigh, he shoved it away, leaning down to plant a quick kiss on my cheek. “I should probably take care of that ASAP.”

“Would you like me to meet you in your office later?” I placed my hand over his, holding him off a little longer. He didn’t smile as he brushed my skin gently with his thumb.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible, sunrise,” he whispered with a heavy heart. “Today’s gonna be a pretty long day…just like all of them. The boys and I will be running around the territory to place those traps. We’ll likely only be done by nightfall.”

“Oh. Okay.” I tried my best not to let my disappointment shine through, knowing he would dismiss his duties to stay with me if it did. “Hope the three of you have a good day.”

“Try not to miss me too much.” He winked playfully at me before turning around to leave with his Beta.

As I watched them leave, I drew in a long deep breath in hopes of taking in what was left of Zephyr’s scent. It was known that mates smelled different to each other than they did to the rest of their pack. Usually, females would smell sweeter to their partner, while males tended to smell more earthy.

To this day, I still couldn’t quite figure out what Zephyr’s unique fragrance reminded me of. His scent was cool and pure. Like a pungent rain smell, it was sweet, refreshing and zingy. It was so easy to breathe, yet it always left me feeling breathless. He smelled of the night, but also of the warmth of the moonlight as it protected the earth from the darkness. It was weird, but his scent reminded me more of a sensation than an actual fragrance.

“They’ve been so busy lately.” Only when Nisha’s voice broke the silence did I realize I had been staring at the exit door for Goddess knows how long.

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