Page 92 of Fated to the Rogue

By now, I had also formally disclosed the news about Cassiopeia’s stay to our pack. I could see that most members were still careful around her, but thankfully, they trusted me enough not to question my decision despite how vague my reasons were. Had this happened shortly after my First Shift Ceremony, things would have been a lot different.

At the end of the third day of practicing my skills, I was in my office with my boys, wrapping up for the evening. Most times, Valentina would be here with us, but she had decided to leave earlier to discuss new training methods with Cass. An unlikely turn of events, considering how reluctant she was about spending time with the witch after their previous encounter. It only proved how her fears didn’t stop her from growing.

“Did you hear about the night out that the girls are planning?” Malin’s question broke the silence as Zach and I finished organizing some documents.

“Yeah,” my Gamma replied, emotionlessly as ever.

“I think it’ll be nice for them to do some…girl stuff together.” I shrugged as an inconvenient thought made me stop. “Do you think they’ll talk about us?”

“Don’t worry. The ‘I hate Zephyr’ club is boys only.” Zach rolled his eyes at me, making me frown.

“You know what I was thinking?” My best friend threw his arms around both our necks. “It’ll be a good opportunity for us to have another guys night!”

“After our last one, I’d rather stab myself in the face with a silver fork,” my Gamma concluded, not even bothering to struggle away from the Beta’s grasp.

“Aren’t you the life of the party?” Malin said sarcastically, letting go of us.

“Talking about parties…” I glanced at the digital clock on my table, realizing it was just past five. “It’s still early. How about we have another game night?”

“I’m down,” my second-in-command promptly replied as he led the way out of the room. “I can call Alex to see if she and Victor can make it.”

“Good idea.”

I was about to lock the door behind us when an unexpected noise made us freeze in our spots. It was a loud, continuous beep. There was also a small red dot blinking in the darkness. The second I realized what it was, my heart stopped.

“Is that-”

“The trap operating board,” Zach finished the Beta’s sentence, a mix of confusion and shock in his tone.

The operating board had been delivered together with the traps Cassiopeia had delivered to us roughly two weeks ago. The device had 30 lights, each corresponding to one of the alarms. They were supposed to turn on, whilst emitting a characteristic noise, whenever one of the traps was set off. At first, I thoughtthat maybe another Fallen rogue could be trying to sneak into our territory, but it didn’t take me long to identify which trap the shining light represented.

“Raven Woods!” the three of us yelled in unison.

As unsettling as the situation was, I couldn’t afford to panic. A switch flipped inside my head, and I immediately entered Alpha mode.

“Malin, gather the emergency unit! Zach, find Alex and let her know about the attack!” I turned to them with only determination in my eyes. “We’re heading to Raven Woods to hunt some Fallen.”

With the same purposefulness, they nodded at me before vanishing down the hallway. I barely had time to take a single step as I watched the door to the Alpha suite open. Out came my Luna, worry written all over her face. When our eyes met, her emotions seemed to become even louder, and she rushed over to me.

“I sensed your uneasiness. What happened?” She cupped my face with her hands. For once, her touch didn’t do much to soothe me.

“Raven Woods is under attack,” I revealed, placing my hand over hers to hold it tightly.

“The Fallen?” Her eyes widened as I nodded once. “Oh, no.”

“I’m heading there now with the boys and a small team. I doubt we’ll be able to help Alpha Nolan, considering how quickly the Fallen are known to appear and disappear. But if we manage to catch another one of them, it might help us learn more about them,” I explained briefly, placing a kiss on her temple as I let her go. “Find Amaya and Nisha. Stay with them inside the pack house, where it’s safe.”

I had just walked past Valentina when her voice made me stop again. “I’m coming with you.” It wasn’t a request; it was anorder. “Our ability only works if we’re together. I won’t let you fight alone.”

“Please, Tina. We don’t have time for this.”

She remained silent, completely still. When I turned to face her, I was met with that look again.

It was the same expression I often saw on Dawn’s face when she was adamant to get her way.

A growl reverberated in my throat as I cursed myself, and I pulled my mate close again. “You will stay close to me at all times. We don’t know what we’ll find there. If you get hurt-”

“The same goes for you,” she interrupted me, squinting her eyes. With that last warning, she turned around to lead the way.

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