Page 109 of Fated to the Rogue

A ten-minute shower wasn’t enough to wash away any of my worries, but it was all the time I could afford to waste. At least I managed to get rid of the blood staining my skin. Dawn had already taken care of most of my superficial wounds, while also stopping the bleeding of the deeper ones. Thankfully, Dusk had once again proved himself excellent at protecting Tina. She had barely gotten a few scratches that had long disappeared by the time we left our room, fully clean and properly dressed.

And when we stepped into the hallway, precisely 30 minutes after I’d last seen my Elite members, they were all waiting at the door of my office.

“Alright, we have a lot to discuss and zero time to waste,” I began, hurriedly, as I let them all in. “Let’s start by laying down everything we know so far. First, we have to assume that the original Fallen now knows about our defenses, as well asthe fact that Tina and I are the Switched Pair mentioned in the prophecy.”

“Since they were the ones who surprised us today, they still don’t know about our strategy to have part of our men hide at our borders to ambush them from behind,” my Beta added.

“The Elders' estimate regarding the numbers in their army was likely wrong. If they had 50 minions tosparefor this mission, they’re probably ready to launch their final attack any day now,” my Gamma continued.

“And they’ll probably come for us sooner rather than later,” Alex chimed in. “They obtained the information they needed. Waiting too long would give us time to rearrange everything, thus rendering their losses from today useless.”

“Great insight, guys,” I encouraged them. “Anything else?”

“They didn’t get to the main part of our territory, so they don’t know about the trapping pits surrounding our bunkers. We can still use them to our favor,” my mate observed.

“Good thinking.” I squeezed her hand gratefully. “Now we know what our advantages are, as well as our disadvantages.” Our organization and my team’s proactiveness made me realize that hope wasn’t completely lost yet. We could still turn this around. “Zach, I want reports on what traps were set off. We’ll need to rearrange them as best we can. Coming up with new, easy-to-implement strategies will be your job as well.”

“Yes, Alpha.” He gave me a curt nod.

“Alex,” I called, and my Delta immediately raised her head to look at me. “Our priority is to avoid an inner commotion. It’ll be your responsibility to ensure everyone stays calm. I will be doing a public briefing tomorrow morning after breakfast. Let the entire pack know.”

“Right away, Alpha.” She bowed before taking her leave.

“The rest of us will stay in this office until we make sure there is no way we will lose this fight. We can do this, guys,” I toldthem confidently. Malin smiled at me, while Zach tried to do the same. Before I knew what was happening, they went around my desk to wrap me in a triple hug . “Hey, hey! What’s this about?” I raised an eyebrow at them.

“You’re an amazing Alpha, man,” Malin said as I struggled to break free, but he never let go of me.

“I know I say I hate you all the time, but I do love you…a little bit,” Zach added.

A sincere smile lit up my face. “I love you too, guys.” As they stepped away, I cleared my throat, straightening my clothes. Tina just laughed at my reaction. “Well, uh…we need to concentrate on this.”

Even when faced with adversity, we still had each other. I was thankful for the amazing people surrounding me. They gave me strength to keep going.

For them, I would continue marching forward.

???

“My family and friends, members of Wind Howlers Pack. Thank you for being here today on such short notice.” I opened my speech as I did most of them, eyeing each of the wolves in front of me to ensure they felt seen.

My night had been awful. For once, lying in bed with my mate wasn’t enough to ease my tension. Not even Dawn’s healing melody could soothe my soul from the stress I was under. But the two strongest females I knew still gave me strength to get up and head to the makeshift stage in the center of the town square, where I now was.

“As you all know, our pack was attacked yesterday. We believe that the threat that’s been lurking over us for the past few months is now closer than ever.” Shocked gasps were heardat my revelation. Before they could start whispering, I went on, “You must not fear though. The odds are in our favor, as was made clear by the fact that none of our own succumbed to the Fallen yesterday.” Even if it was obvious the crowd was still hesitant, it was possible to see that my confident statement had calmed them down. “I know tomorrow is Monday, but none of the warriors will be required to attend training. Until the final battle, I want you to be with your loved ones, for the future is uncertain.”

“Alpha Zephyr and I will be here to answer any questions you may have,” my Luna, who was standing right beside me, went on. She shared the same worries as me, but when she addressed the pack members with her serene voice, she kept her troubles well hidden behind a gentle smile. “These are difficult times we are facing, but I have no doubt that we will prevail. You must not forget: a wolf’s strength relies on its pack. Together, nothing can stop us. Are you with us, Wind Howlers?”

“Yes, Luna!” the shifters all answered as one. “Yes, Alpha!”

Once the message had been delivered, I thanked them for their presence one last time before climbing down the stairs, arm-in-arm with my beautiful mate. As the crowd dispersed, I leaned closer to her, tenderly pressing my lips against hers. Our kiss was brief, but powerful. It was an unspoken promise that, whether to rise or to fall like the sun and the moon, we would remain together.

“You were wonderful, my sunrise,” I whispered, resting my forehead against us.

“As were you, my moonlight.” She slowly pulled away to cup the side of my face with one of her hands. “It’s amazing to see how much confidence you transpired to the pack. They really trust you.”

“I’m glad I managed to earn their loyalty in the end.” It was impossible not to think about where I was now, and where wehad started. I could only hope the Moon Goddess would give me time to grow more. “Are you coming back to the office with me?”

“Of course.” She smiled sweetly as ever, taking my hand. “By the way, are you free tonight?”

“I’m never free,” I huffed playfully. “But for you, I’ll always find time.”

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