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The Rogue's Fate

Page 21

by Missy De Graff


  Caiden stands, facing Dylan, ready to fight if needed.

  "Dylan, are you okay?" Caiden asks in his assertive, cautious Alpha tone.

  Dylan ignores Caiden's question as his eyes lock on mine. He walks closer, never breaking our eye contact. Caiden stands in front of me and I search around the bed for my shirt and hastily put it on. Stepping around Caiden, I give his arm a gentle squeeze as I pass and stand face to face with Dylan.

  “What’s going on?” Dylan asks, ignoring Caiden's warning growl. I bite my lip, unsure what to say.

  “I felt the bond break and I thought something happened to you,” he says with a strained voice. Walking closer to him, I reach for his hands and hold them in my own.

  “I’m sorry for making you worry. I’m okay,” I say. He brushes my long hair over my shoulder, revealing my fresh marking.

  “So you finally did it."

  "Did what?"

  "You accepted rejection,” he says in a low voice.

  “You're free now." I reach up and touch his cheek. His eyes meet mine, their beautiful green color shining through. I wipe away a lone tear that runs down his cheek and he wraps his arms around me, pulling me close.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispers in my ear. “I failed you.”

  “No. We just...” I trail off, not knowing how to word my feelings. I thought he’d be happy, relieved that the bond is broken.

  “Forgive me,” he whispers.

  “There’s nothing to forgive. Friends?” I tilt my head in question. His signature smile creeps to his face, the one that sets my heart on fire.

  "Always," he says.

  "Congratulations," Dylan says, extending a hand to Caiden. They embrace each other in the traditional one-arm man hug.

  Running his hand through his shaggy hair, Dylan stands, looking between Caiden and me with a boyish grin.

  "What?" I ask.

  "Our bond isn't the only thing that broke with your marking," he says.

  "What do you mean?" Caiden asks.

  "The payment for the gypsy's gift broke too," Dylan says.

  "How?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

  "Now that it's broken, I can tell you what my gift was." A reddish blush rises to his cheeks.

  "Only if you want to, you don't have to," I say.

  "I need to, you should know the truth," Dylan says. "But you may want to sit down," he adds.

  Caiden and I sit on the edge of the bed and Dylan stands, pacing in front of us.

  "Lux, I've always loved you, and that was the problem. The night the gypsy offered me a gift, the gift she offered was you," he says, looking away as soon as my eyes meet his.

  "What do you mean?" I ask.

  "You were always promised to me by our fathers’ arrangement, but I worried you’d find your fated mate and leave. The gypsy offered me the gift of choice, my heart would cheat fate. Whoever my heart most desired would become my fated mate,” he says. "I thought the gypsy was a fake, so I accepted the gift and then she issued the payment."

  "The payment for this gift was that my bite would be the mark of death. When I claimed my mate, my mark would be poison and kill her. I still didn't believe her, until—" Dylan's voice trails off.

  "Dylan, are you okay?" I cross the room to hold his hands. Squeezing them back, he gives a small smile.

  "Remember what I said about my mother?" Dylan asks. Caiden and I both nod. "When the gypsy cast payment for my mother's gift and struck her dead, I started believing, and when you were my mate—I had to believe the payment was real too."

  "Lux, Caiden is your true mate, your mate destined by fate and cheated by my greedy heart," Dylan says after a moment of silence.

  "I'm confused," I say, rubbing my temples to try and make sense of everything.

  "My mom asked that when you found your fated mate, that your bond would be more powerful than our faux bond, and that the marking from your fated mate would have the ability to break the curse," Dylan says.

  Caiden and I look at each other and back to Dylan.

  "What about Elizabeth?" Caiden's voice cracks as her name leaves his lips.

  Dylan shrugs, "Maybe she was my mate? I'm really not sure."

  "It felt so real," Caiden says, more to the ground than to anyone else.

  "How does it compare with the bond you feel with Lux?" Dylan asks. "When you think about everything, all the clues support you two being fated mates. Caiden, you said yourself that it was eerie the way you felt so comfortable around Lux from the moment you met her, despite the fact she was a rogue. And Lux, the sense of comfort and security you feel around him—"

  "How—" Caiden and I both say in unison.

  "I'm more observant than you two give me credit," Dylan says with a wide beaming smile.

  "Hey, guys," Mia's voice rings out from the hall.

  "In here," I call out and she enters the room, looking at the broken hinges and finding the door laying on the ground.

  "What type of party did I miss?" She flashes her lopsided grin.

  "We'll talk about it later," Caiden says before anyone else speaks.

  "Promise," Mia says, eyeing me with daggers.

  "Pinky promise," I say with a wink, and she nods.

  Which reminds me, Caiden marked me, but I still have not formally accepted his pack. I will have to do that tonight, so I can talk to Mia through the mindlink.

  "Caiden, Gavin's back," Mia says.

  Caiden grabs my hand and motions for Dylan to follow. We all head downstairs and find Gavin waiting in the Alpha's office.

  "What did you find?" I ask.

  "Felix is still alive," Gavin says.

  "You found him and let him live?" I ask.

  "He's in no shape to battle and I wasn't about to kill him in cold blood," Gavin says.

  "I will!" I say. "We have—"

  "Don't get your panties all in a bunch, just because I didn't kill him, doesn't mean—"

  With a low growl, Caiden interrupts, "Where is he?"

  "I chained him up in the cellar," Gavin says. "Sammy and a few others are standing guard."

  Caiden nods.

  "Did you see Cody?" I ask.

  Gavin's eyes fall to the ground as he shakes his head.

  My throat tightens and it becomes hard to swallow as I think about Cody's fate.

  Squeezing my hand, Mia says, "I'm sure Cody is fine." I give her a small nod and try to smile.

  "Is Felix chained in silver?" Dylan asks, breaking the awkward silence that crept into the room. Please tell me he hasn't escaped!

  "Of course, what do you take me for?" Gavin says with a sly grin spreading across his face.

  Turning toward Caiden, I ask, "What are you going to do with him?"

  Shrugging, Caiden says, "He can stay there until I am ready to deal with him. We have more important things to focus on right now." His eyes dance with fire as he brushes the hair off my shoulder to expose my new marks. Mia's squeal of excitement is the only thing that keeps my focus while Caiden's soft kisses send tiny jolts of electricity coursing through my body.

  "Yes, we do have more pressing matters at hand," say, giggling.

  "No way! Dude, when did that happen?" Gavin says. "Get over here and give me a hug!"

  Gavin pulls me into one of his giant bear hugs, and Mia runs over, squashing me in the middle. I cannot remember the last time I was so happy.

  Epilogue

  Caiden and I had our own mating celebration with a few close friends that night at the Pack House. After a long discussion with Caiden and Mia, we decided to wait until after Sammy and Grace's Mating Ceremony to tell the rest of the pack. Even though it goes against pack tradition, we didn't want the Alpha's mating to overshadow Sammy and Grace's special time. We will make our announcement after their day in the spotlight. Sammy and Grace's Mating Ceremony was traditional and elegant, and Mia did a wonderful job planning the entire event.

  The pack's reaction to their
Alpha taking a mate was unexpected but welcome. Most of the pack accepted me with open arms and this mating united the pack once again, making us stronger—a real force to be reckoned with in the future.

 

 

 


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