Fate: The Alpha King and His Unexpected Mate

Chapter Sixteen

Marc

Rogues.

The smell must have hit us all at the same time. We were all on our feet within seconds of each other. Our eyes roamed our surroundings, trying to figure out where they would come from. Our lack of mind linking was very inconvenient at this moment. I watched as Liam's eyes glazed over, no doubt alerting Alpha Joe and hopefully warriors.

'Jared, we have encountered some rogues. We are near a pond about two miles south of our border. You can follow our scent to get here. Link a few warriors as back-up.'

'We'll be there in a few minutes, boss.'

I made my way to Lexi's left side, while Liam was on her right. There was no way this was a coincidence. This had to be linked to the other attacks. All of the attacks have happened to packs that border Dark River. They were the target. But what specifically? I closed my eyes to use Max's heightened senses. I could sense Dark River pack members making their way to us. They would be here any minute. The rogues were close, but I didn't realize how close until a branch snapped just to our left.

There had to be at least a dozen of them. Although they smelled like rogues, they didn't look like normal rogues. Usually, rogues had matted, filthy fur. These rogues were almost too clean. Like they were on the fine line between true rogues and members of a pack. What the hell was going on?

They stopped a few feet away from us. They were calculating their next moves. They definitely were not acting like normal rogues. Normal rogues didn't work well with others. There was one who stayed just slightly in front of the others. The leader. He needed to be kept alive. I followed his gaze. He was zoned in on Lexi. Could they know about her? Was she the reason for these attacks? Max came to the same conclusion and was going crazy in my mind.

'Mate. We have to protect mate.'

I looked at Liam, trying to tell him through my eyes just as Jared was letting me know they were about to break through the tree line. Liam must have understood what I was trying to tell him. He nodded and focused back on the group of rogues, just as they started to attack.

Everything happened quickly. These wolves were stronger than the average rogue but were still no match for an Alpha King and warrior. Even Lexi was making quick work of them. Jared and three of our warriors broke through the trees just as a handful more rogues came at us. I spotted Lexi and Liam's dads with a few other pack members.

I watched as the leader was trying to scurry back into the trees. I wasn't letting him get away. I linked Jared to follow me.

'He seems to be the leader. He must be kept alive. Whatever their plans are, it is centered around Lexi.'

Jared nodded before tackling the other wolf to the ground. He bit into the wolf's hind leg, ensuring that he wouldn't be able to run off. Normally, even as Alpha King, I wouldn't be able to command a rogue to obey me. If they were weak enough, I could use my Alpha command. Hopefully, the injury would be enough to get him to shift back.

Max gave me control back, just as the rogue shifted. Jared shifted as the rest of our warriors and Dark River members made their way to us. One of my guys tossed us some shorts. I watched as Alpha Joe and his Beta donned shorts and came towards us.

"This one seemed to be the leader of the group. They seem to be straddling the line of rogues and pack members. They have the rogue smell, as I am sure you noticed. Yet, they work too well together. Liam and I also noticed that he was fixated on Lexi. Since we are still on your territory, I will let you decide what to do with him."

"David, take him to the cells."

His Beta nodded as two of their warriors threw some silver chains on his wrists. He wouldn't be able to heal his leg or shift. Hopefully, the weaker he stays, the easier it will be to get answers out of him. I don't know how anyone else could know about Lexi. I didn't think anyone knew until yesterday. But then again, dad did say that older wolves fully believed the legend.

I was pulled from my thoughts when I felt Lexi's arms wrap around my waist. I had to admit, she was a lot better than even my female warriors, and I liked to think all of my warriors were top level. We had the best training equipment and had a pretty rigorous training schedule that they followed. I couldn't help but look at her with awe. She must have felt me staring. She looked at me with a confused look in her eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

I kissed her nose before answering.

"I think I am going to need you to train my warriors. None of the females are even close to your level."

I couldn't help but smile when her eyes started to sparkle at the thought. With her having alpha blood in her, I had a feeling she wouldn't want to be thrown into the typical Luna duties. With her being the Queen, I didn't want her to be a typical Luna. My mother loved that stuff. I could tell Lexi was the complete opposite. Jess seemed more likely to want to be a Luna. Maybe we could get her to do that.

I watched as everyone started to make their way back to the Dark River packhouse. Liam came over to us and pulled Lexi to him. It still amazed me that I felt no jealousy over that. I guess the Moon Goddess knew what she was doing. I watched as Lexi wrapped her arms around Liam's neck. Liam's hands traveled over her hips and then gripped her ass cheeks. He claimed her lips just as a moan was starting to escape. I was never one to get hard from watching two people like this, but my erection was quickly becoming painful. If we didn't have a rogue to interrogate, we would be completing this bond right here in the woods.

Fucking Alpha King duties. We were going to make quick work of this interrogation. I wanted to go home. I wanted to relax with my mate. I cleared my throat and watched them slowly break apart. Lexi walked the few feet towards me and pulled my lips to hers. I snaked my arms around her waist and pulled her roughly towards me so she could feel my erection.

She moaned into the kiss before pulling back. Liam was still standing a few feet away, but I could tell he was just as hard as I was. I tried to adjust myself, so I wasn't as uncomfortable. Lexi turned towards Liam and laughed as he did the same as me. We both rolled our eyes as we walked towards the packhouse.

"Let's get this over with so we can go home."