The Alpha's Rogue ✔️

Epilogue | To Claim Rights

2791 words

The road leading to the royal palace in Vinlarhk was shining as if paved with gold. Persia explained how the royal architects and civil engineers mixed a rare element called aureus with bitumen, giving the road its metallic shine. Savannah couldn't tear her eyes from the strange yet magnificent architecture that surrounded them in Luliwa, the heavily populated capital city of Vinlarhk. Grand structures, soaring spires, and dainty lattice-work marked each building as unique, yet complementary in their overall appearance. "Zion, look at that bridge!" She pointed out the window of their car at a short suspension bridge in the distance.

"Hm," he responded, drawing her attention to him immediately.

She noticed his eyes were on the road ahead, unmoving and likely unseeing as he rehearsed and prepared for the meeting that awaited them. She slipped her hand around his and squeezed, only imagining the level of apprehension that plagued him. Was he really ready to face the woman who'd rejected him and his father before he was even born? What did he plan to say, and what did he expect her reaction would be?

"I've told my family you're coming, so they'll be ready to receive us when we arrive. Although we're still grieving Parthia's death, they don't blame you for what happened," Persia spoke softly, clearly sensing the struggle that Zion did well to mask.

"Good to know I won't get my throat ripped out the moment I step foot on your estate," he muttered, sighing through his nose.

"We're not that barbaric." Persia rolled her eyes. "Our method of execution is more along the lines of a lethal injection," she added seriously, but amusement glinted in her dark eyes.

"The needle wouldn't even penetrate his skin," Savannah commented, going along with the morbid joke in the hopes of relieving her mate's uneasiness.

"Oh, we have our ways of making even the most hardened criminals break," Persia argued, crossing her legs and tossing her long hair over one shoulder. "I recall a time I brought the powerful Silver Rogue to his knees."

Cale rubbed his hands together. "Sounds like my kind of pack," he grinned, wrapping his arm around Persia. While he was overjoyed to have found his mate, he was equally fascinated by the beauty of the foreign land that would soon be his home, and he couldn't stop staring out the window as the sights passed by.

"You'd sooner give your prisoner cookies and a glass of milk than torture them," Savannah chided, shaking her head at her Gamma. Her heart shivered with a pang of sadness at the reminder he would soon be moving here to live with his mate.

"Yeah," he agreed without argument. "I guess Justin was always better at dishing out punishment than me. We made quite the team though. Good cop, bad cop."

"True," the Alpha nodded, suddenly blinking her eyes and trying not to cry at the absence of her Beta and best friend. Why was everything changing so suddenly? She'd known all along they'd grow up and find their mates, but she'd expected they'd all be living close by and remain best friends forever. It seemed fate had different things in store for each of them, and she just had to accept it as God's will for their lives.

As if reading her melancholy thoughts, Zion squeezed her hand to comfort her.

She gave him a shaky smile just as the car pulled through a set of large, iron gates. They drove up a long driveway, lined on each side with tall mediterranean cypress trees. The lawns surrounding them were immaculate, with neatly trimmed hedges and perfectly designed gardens with rock edges and stone pathways. In the distance, the palace became visible, its gleaming marble pillars and curved archways blending smoothly with the natural environment.