The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 68

Despite having already met her a couple of times and spoken to her, Tate was still nervous about seeing Margaret, who was still kept in a holding unit with her followers. Tate wanted to ask for more leniency in terms of freedom and accommodation by pointing out that Greg's followers were free to go wherever they pleased and do whatever they wanted.

But the difference was that Greg had proven trustworthy when he gave himself up after exposing the Kyltons, pledging loyalty to Lucianne. The duke and his followers even kept her safe during the Blue Crescent attack. Margaret and her people had not done anything close to those things, so there wasn't a strong enough reason to satisfy granting more leniency than they were already offered. Tate wore a light green shirt and black jeans. Stella was in a white shirt and dark shorts. They left the villa for the police station, and after Tate signed the papers, Officer Katie escorted Margaret out, reminding her and Tate that they were only allowed two hours. Although Margaret embraced Stella, the daughter's returned gesture looked...awkward and forced. Margaret tried to mask her sorrow and acknowledged Tate, who saw through her brave face that wasn't properly put up to begin with.

They took a drive to Labyrinthe Vert, and it was very strange to Tate that Margaret and Stella didn't say a word to each other throughout the twenty-minute drive there. He thought he'd be able to get a glimpse of what this mother-daughter pair would normally talk about during the journey. He was clearly wrong. He noticed that Stella was quietly looking out of the window when she normally would be chatting non-stop about anything.

They reached their destination, and once Tate parked in front of a gated property with concrete walls covered with lush, green moss, Margaret's rosewood eyes shone as she gasped in awe. She hopped out of the car as soon as Tate pulled to a stop and dashed forward to feel the moss with her palm. Tate thanked Goddess that there was an all-green place that was suitable for a date in lycan territory.

As he took out the car key, Stella said, "See, what did I tell ya, dad?"

Tate's head snapped to the teenager in the backseat as he asked, "What did you just call me?"

Stella gestured to her mother and replied, "Look at her. She'll cave in in no time."

As Tate unbuckled his seatbelt, he uttered, "I hope so. This is my first time bringing a woman out on a date so I really don't know what I'm doing here."

Stella scoffed in a taunting manner, which was when Tate said, "And go easy on your mother, Stella. She's been through a lot. She might be tough on you sometimes, but she loves you."

"I know that. I just..." Stella sighed in frustration and muttered, "Her love is just a little...closed-off sometimes. Does that make any sense?"

A smile graced the Alpha's features when he confessed, "I thought she was just like that with me." Then, a playful thought came to his mind when he added, "Who knows? Maybe she'll love me more than she does you, Stella."

The teenager protested without a second thought, "In your dreams! I'm the daughter!"

"Yup, and pups wait in the car with the doors safely locked while their parents-"

In an instant, Stella unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door as she exclaimed, "No way! You promised I could take pictures."

Right after they both got out of the car, Stella asked, "Can I go in first?"

"Sure. Tell the lady it's tickets booked under Tate Brownan."

Seemingly on purpose, a cheeky grin appeared on Stella's face as she glanced at her mother and exclaimed, "Okay! Thanks, dad!"

That word brought Margaret out of her thoughts. Her palm was still glued to the moss wall but her shocked eyes went to her daughter, who was smirking in Tate's way as the Alpha heaved a sigh and muttered to the teenager, "Really?"

Stella chuckled before dashing towards the ticket booth. Tate approached Margaret in careful steps. Why did that teenager have to be so insensitive about him taking small steps in a new relationship with her mother?

When Tate stood before Margaret, she instinctively gazed into his eyes and was once again reminded of how tall and well-built he was. When she didn't say anything, he asked in a soft whisper, “You okay?"

It was only then Margaret realized that she had been staring at him longer than she expected. The thought made her blush before her eyes darted to the ground as she nodded and said, “Yeah. Yeah. Um..." she registered her hand was still on the wall, and she was the only one doing it. Some of the passerbys were throwing her weird looks like she was an uncivilized creature for feeling the moss wall, and her hand immediately left the wall alone.

Tate saw it, too. He managed to throw glares at three of them, who all recognized him as the deputy defense minister, so had to offer a polite bow as an implied apology. His eyes went back to his mate, and he reached for her hand as he said, "Don't worry about them, okay? It's just you and me. Just be yourself."

A warmth spread from the center of Margaret's chest as the sparks from Tate's touch ignited her being. She managed a small smile before she said, "Thank you."

Tate's smile broadened when he asked, "You ready to go in?"

Margaret nodded again with a brighter smile. The upward curl of her lips was enough to send Tate to cloud nine. His wolf was elated to see that their mate's eyes shone more than before, and her blushes made her look more picturesque than she already was. Beautiful.