Page 89 of Fated to the Rogue

Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long before Malin got to us. He was alone, and the moment he noticed us hiding behind his old rusty truck, a huge smile crossed his face.

“I can’t believe it! You actually did it!” He jumped up in excitement.

“Just toss me the goddamn clothes!” I hissed, and he obliged.

As soon as we got dressed, we hopped in the truck and made our way to the main square. Of course, Malin harassed me the entire way back, but I didn’t care. I was now one with my little magpie. Nothing else mattered.

29 | Witch

Afew days after my unsuccessful negotiation with the Alpha of Raven Woods, the dust was starting to settle. Valentina had come to terms with her origins, and we were practicing our unique ability for a couple of hours every day. Our private training sessions never stopped feeling surreal as we improved, but I was starting to accept that, whatever our destiny was, there was no escaping it. Perhaps I should have listened to Dawn on the day we met when she told me we were part of something bigger.

Magical madness aside, I was getting to spend a lot more time with my mate, since I had no more business meetings to attend. My two friends were also helping relieve some of the workload. Malin was happy to conduct the extra sparring lessons by his Beta Female’s side, while Zachari seemed to be having fun monitoring our defense system; maybe too much fun, even. From what I heard, my second-in-command had to pick up the Gammas last time, and apparently, he found them both naked.

My team and I were also hanging out outside work. For over a month, we had been frying our brains most of the time we were together. It had been so long since we’d been able to loosen up that I had almost forgotten what it felt like to just have a relaxing evening with my friends. We had gone downtown to watch a movie over the weekend, and we were now in the game room on the bottom floor of the pack house. Although it was aTuesday, we finished our tasks for the day earlier than expected and decided to organize a game night.

“I still can’t believe Zach and Nisha marked each other before you and Tina,” Malin uttered in disbelief as he tossed his card over the round center table.

“You really can’t get over that, can you?” Zach’s usual frown deepened. He was sitting on the other couch, opposite from us, with Alex and Victor on his left. His mate was also beside him, and she chuckled at his reaction.

“Believe me, it’s not because we don’t want to.” For once, I matched Zach’s level of enthusiasm. Taking a sip of my beer, I went on, “For some reason, neither of our wolves were too thrilled about it.”

“Really? That’s weird. From the moment I laid eyes on Amaya, Mint was insistent about us marking her.” Malin exchanged loving glances with his mate, who rolled her eyes at him.

“Talon annoyed the fuck out of me, too,” Zach added.

“Dusk and Dawn seem to agree that it’s not the right time yet.” My Luna shrugged, playing her own card after the Beta Female’s turn.

“That sounds like karma at its finest to me,” Alex chimed in, flashing me a wise smirk. “You’re lucky Dusk didn’t try to bite your balls off.”

“True,” Tina agreed casually.

“Hey!” I glared at her, making her laugh.

“I win.” Zach caught our attention with his announcement. Only then did I realize he had successfully emptied his hand of all his cards.

In a fit of rage, Malin slammed his remaining cards over the pile on the table. “Again? Come on! You’ve gotta be cheating!”

“Ah, yes. Stupid people always call the cheating excuse when they lose to someone who’s smarter than them,” Zach observed.

“It’s not an excuse! You’ve won six times in a row! It’s a game of luck. What can I even do to beat you?”

“Do better,” my Gamma answered emotionlessly. In response, Malin rose abruptly from his seat, a huge frown on his face.

“Are you really gonna make me get up to stop you from murdering each other?” The Delta arched an eyebrow at my best friend. His gaze switched between the brunette and the onyx-haired boy a few times before he sighed in defeat.

“Since the game’s over and you’re already up…” I started, getting comfortable on the couch. “We’ve finished all the beers. Care to fetch us some more?”

“Why would that be my problem?” Malin scrunched his brows at me.

“Because you’re my Beta.” I pouted playfully.

“Oh, of course. Foolish me.” He shook his head, slapping the back of my head as he walked past me. “Should’ve read the job description carefully before taking the position,” he mumbled as he left the room.

The rest of us engaged in a casual conversation while we waited for Malin to return with our drinks. At some point, Amaya, Nisha, and Tina started arranging to have a girls night out. Though the thought of being away from my mate, even if just for a short time, made me slightly anxious, I couldn’t deny that I was happy to see the three of them bonding. With everything going on, we were only now getting the chance to get to know each other better.

“Hey, don’t you think Malin is taking too long?” There was a hint of concern in Amaya’s voice as she suddenly changed the subject.

I soon realized she was right though. “Yeah. Let me try to-” Before I could finish my sentence, my best friend’s voice echoed in my head.

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