Page 86 of Fated to the Rogue

“Good afternoon, Alpha Nolan.” I shook his hand, gesturing towards my mate right after. “Allow me to introduce you to my mate and Luna, Valentina Quill.”

“It’s good to see you again, Alpha Zephyr. I’ve heard you’ve become a fine leader.” Despite his genuine tone, I couldn’t believe his words; after all, he did end our alliance just because of my counterpart’s gender. “And it’s an honor to meet you, Luna Valentina.” Since he already knew everyone else, he simply addressed them briefly before welcoming us to follow him inside.

I kept one arm wrapped around my Luna’s waist at all times as we made our way to his office on the third floor. As soon aswe were comfortably seated, his Beta kindly offered us a cup of coffee. I denied it, as my body never reacted well to caffeine, but Valentina was quick to accept it; she had been looking a little tired since our training session the previous day.

“What brings you here, Alpha Zephyr? I hope everything is going great with Wind Howlers. Heard you conquered Silent Rivers recently. Congratulations!” Alpha Nolan smiled at me.

“Turns out my weak she-wolf was actually stronger than another Alpha. Who would’ve thought, huh?” His face fell as he tasted the poison in my words, almost as if he’d just realized his mistake.

“Calm down, kitten,” Dawn warned me. “I want to rub it in his face as much as you do, but you need to remember what we’re here for. We want him on our side.” There she was, being the voice of reason again.

I sighed. “Anyway, I’m here to propose a new deal. I’m aware that you thought Wind Howlers wouldn’t be of great help in a fight against the Fallen, but we’ve pretty much doubled in size since our severed alliance. I believe that we’ll be stronger together, which will grant us a better chance at taking down our common enemy for good,” I explained, looking into his eyes with complete honesty.

“Please, believe me when I say that I completely agree with you…” He paused for a second as his expression was filled with concern. “But I’m afraid I can’t afford any more treaties. With the news of the Fallen approaching Genoro, I traveled around the country to establish alliances with the strongest packs. As you must know, quality has a price…and I was willing to pay whatever amount I was asked to ensure the safety of my pack.” Nolan massaged his temples in utter distress. “In doing so, I’ve completely emptied the pack’s account.”

Although I tried to maintain a neutral expression, I couldn’t stop my eyes from widening at his shocking revelation. As I hadtold Malin earlier, I wasn’t hopeful about us getting a deal with Raven Woods, but out of all the excuses their leader could offer me, I wasn’t expecting that. Alliances were more bureaucratic than deals, and they usually involved high-value transactions. That way, if one of the parties didn’t fulfill something that had been agreed upon, they were forced by werewolf law to let go of a large sum as compensation.

I believed an alliance with Raven Woods would benefit both of us. I wanted to help Alpha Nolan, and I was certain it would be great to have his support, too. Sadly, I couldn’t risk making a deal with him without any kind of contract. It could potentially be harmful for our pack, and taking into consideration the situation we were facing, I couldn’t take any more risks.

After my long silence, he went on, “It was the only way out I could find. I honestly don’t know how we’ll survive after the war, but I’m taking things one step at a time. At least I know I’ve done everything possible to make sure we were prepared.” He forced a smile. “Rest assured, Alpha Zephyr, we won’t be the next victims of the Fallen. We have over 500 warriors and they’re all exceptionally trained. The enemy won’t have a chance.” Despite his attempt to sound confident, I didn’t miss the slight shakiness in his tone. He hoped he could defeat the threat, but he was clearly scared of what would happen if he didn’t.

“Yes, of course.” I mimicked his smile as I stood up to shake his hand. “Can I just ask something of you before we take our leave?”

“Sure.” Nolan waved his hand, gesturing for me to proceed.

“The National Elder Council has the assistance of a witch. She developed special traps to target the Fallen.” I pulled one of the devices out of the box my Beta was carrying, handing it over to the other Alpha. “As you must have read in the latest report issued by the Council, the Fallen are scentless, which gives them the upper hand during an attack. This trap can identify themregardless of that and will send out an alert to give you a chance to fight back.”

“Interesting...” Alpha Nolan examined the device curiously, but put it down soon after and sighed.

Knowing what he would say, I continued before him, “I want you to take it as a gift.” His eyes immediately widened in surprise. “I’ve already secured my borders with a bunch of these. I’m sure you’ll make good use of this one,” I insisted.

Nolan was speechless for a moment. “Thank you, Alpha Zephyr. I will not forget your help,” he reassured me.

“It’s no problem at all.” I smiled sympathetically before turning around to leave, but the Alpha stopped me one more time.

“There’s just one last thing I’d like to say,” he whispered, looking away from me. “I’m sorry for doubting your she-wolf’s capabilities. It was foolish of me as a leader, but I was desperate. I hope you can accept my sincere apologies.”

“You’re forgiven.” I nodded at him. “I wish your pack all the luck in your fight against the Fallen.”

Despite my honesty, a single thought couldn’t leave my head as we made our way back to our pack: unfortunately, apologizing wouldn’t restore our alliance with Raven Woods. All I could do was pray that Nolan was right, and that with the help of his army, they would be able to defeat the Fallen before they got to us.

Interlude VII

Zachari

All my life, I thought I was fine with being alone. No one could understand me anyway, or so I had told myself following my failed love confession, when I decided I should start keeping everything to myself. Aside from Zephyr and Malin, whom I hated to love, I didn’t have any other friends. Not that I wanted any more anyway; I already had my hands full with those two.

I didn’t realize that there was something better than loneliness until my mate came along. Although I was constantly noticing that, it became even more obvious when she was accompanying me on my daily duties, like right now. While the Beta and the Alpha couple were away at a meeting in Raven Woods Pack, Nisha and I drove Malin’s old truck around the borders of our territory in comfortable silence.

Before leaving, Zephyr assigned me the task of checking the traps we had recently placed to ensure they were still working. I would normally roam the perimeter once a week, when I would also talk to our sentinels and scouts to know if they had noticed anything out of the ordinary. However, in face of the recent events, we would rather be safe than sorry. It was fine by me; Igot to do the job that I loved while also enjoying the company of the only female who didn’t look at me like I was a weird nerd.

The more time I spent with Nisha, the easier it was to realize how much of a fool I had been to fear her. She was the life of the party, but she never tried to drag me out of the shadows I lived so comfortably in. Despite being of Alpha blood, she showed interest in my job as a Gamma, which most of the other wolves just found boring. We were complete opposites, yet somehow, she was perfect for me.

Nevertheless, not even my fated partner could change my shy nature. I trusted her with my life, and I knew she would never purposefully hurt or make fun of me. Still, that didn’t rid me of my fear of making a fool of myself by saying or doing something wrong. I had no idea how to behave in a relationship. Dating simulators were the only games I could never beat, and I kind of regretted not having invested more time trying to figure them out.

Thankfully, Nisha had made it clear to me that she had no trouble waiting. Unlike Talon, she was willing to take things slow and let me move at my own pace.

“What’s bothering you, my handsome crow?” I didn’t realize I had been staring blankly at my mate until her strong, melodic voice brought me back to reality.

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