Alpha's Revenge: His Mate Kisses His Enemy

Five

Ariane:

The moon hung high, a cold, unyielding sentinel in the sky, casting its pale light over the world below. Its silver rays bled through the canopy of Nyx Vale, touching the ancient trees with an eerie glow that seemed to freeze the very air.

The entire pack had gathered here, waiting, judging me on something they knew nothing about. Staring at me as if their looks alone could be my undoing.

The Silverfang Pack has always been special to me, something I have dedicated myself to. Now, they consider me an enemy, a threat.

The whispers and lies Sierra spread about my magic, about the darkness she claimed I wielded, had meant nothing to me. It was now that I realized this pack didn't understand me—they never had.

I had always been the half-blood, the freak, the thing they feared most. But I knew my magic. It had never been about destruction. It had always been about protection and healing. But none of that mattered now.

The world I once knew was breaking, and I was powerless to stop it.

"I told you, freak," the voice slithered through the stillness, sharp and venomous, sending a shiver down my spine. "You shouldn't have ever been a part of this pack."

I didn't need to turn to see who it was. Sierra was the one who had twisted everything. Her presence hung in the air, suffocating and thick, the stench of jealousy and fear wrapping around her like a second skin.

I kept my gaze forward, unwilling to show the sting of her words, but I could feel them—like shards of glass cutting into me. She had already coaxed them into making up their mind about me. They had all made their choice, and nothing I said would change that.

"I'm not here for you, Sierra," I said, my voice steady despite the storm brewing in my chest. My magic swelled, thrumming in the pit of my stomach, but I held it in check. I would not unleash it. Not until I knew it was the only way out of this. I didn't want to expose anyone to my magic, especially after the last time...

Sierra's laugh was bitter, mocking me as she stepped closer, her eyes narrowing with malice as her fingers tangled tightly in my hair, yanking my head back. "You lie so easily, Ariane. You've always been a poison to this pack, ever since the beginning, and now you have actually poisoned and killed someone in this pack. You should be dead by now."

"I haven't poisoned anyone," I replied, the words coming out with quiet resolve. "You've twisted everything to fit your needs. You're the poison here, Sierra. Not me."

Her eyes flashed with fury, but she said nothing. Instead, she raised her hand and struck me hard across the face. I gasped, my pulse roaring in my ears as the weight crushed down on my chest.

That seems to be dark magic—I could feel it. For the briefest moment, I thought I saw it—shadowy tendrils of black mist curling around Sierra’s fingertips, too deliberate, too controlled.

How can a decent werewolf use dark magic? Could she have something to do with the murders?

Or had I imagined it?

I felt the chains tighten around my wrists, invisible but relentless. My breath hitched as whatever spell had been cast sank deeper, searing through me like fire, blistering the skin beneath the cuffs Asher had used.

Damn it.

My magic pulsed, wild and angry, straining against the cuffs that bound me.

Before I could break free, the air shifted—a new presence surged into the space, thick and suffocating, heavy enough to make the ground tremble beneath me.

Sierra’s magic didn’t cause this feeling. This feeling wasn’t the dark pulse I thought I saw at her fingertips.

No—this was someone else. Someone far more familiar. I felt it in my bones, in the tether that still bound me to him. Kaelen. My mate and alpha.

The weight of his power pressed down on me, and when I looked up, I met his gaze—those storm-dark eyes, burning with a hatred so sharp it stole the breath from my lungs.

Sierra moved aside, her gaze flicking between us, satisfaction dancing in her eyes. She thought she had won. And perhaps, in that moment, she had.

"Did you poison my father, Ariane?" The anger in his voice alone made my wolf stir and whimper in the cage I kept her locked away in.

"No, and you know I didn't, Kaelen. We used to be friends before Sierra forced me out of your life. You know me better than anyone. You know I wouldn't hurt Alpha Orion. He gave me a home, a place to thrive,"

Kaelen's voice was low, a dark rumble filled with quiet fury. "You brought an empty vile of poison to my office tonight. Do you think you can walk in here and lie to me? To my pack?"

"I haven't lied to anyone," I said, my voice steady, though the weight of his gaze threatened to crush me. "I didn't come to you tonight to hurt this pack. I came to stop something far worse. You have to trust me. I found that vile, Kaelen."

His eyes narrowed, the hint of doubt flickering there. Just a brief flicker. And then Sierra's voice cut through the fragile moment, dripping with venom.

"She's a liar, Kaelen. She's nothing but trouble. She doesn't even respect you enough to address you as alpha."

Her words dug deep, but I refused to let them twist the truth. Kaelen looked at me again, his eyes cold, unreadable. The brief uncertainty was gone, replaced with something final, something unyielding.

"You're a threat to this pack, Ariane," he said, his voice hard as stone. "I've made my decision. When the moon hits its highest point over Nyx Vale, you will be beheaded before the pack for the murder of my father."

I went numb. My mate was going to kill me.

I wanted to scream, to beat him until I bruised his perfect skin. Instead, I sank into the concrete slab, still biting into my skin, letting my forehead touch the stone in hopes that it would ground me. Then, the world shifted, and time stopped.

The air grew thick, oppressive, and heavy with ancient power.

From the shadows emerged a tall, pale, and dangerously beautiful figure. His presence was so overwhelming that the very earth seemed to bend and twist around him.

Varek.

The Vampire King.

I had heard the stories about his brutality, but seeing him, feeling him in person, was something else entirely. His power suffocated the air, intoxicating and consuming. His crimson eyes burned with an indescribable rage… until his eyes met mine, and everything inside me stopped.

There was a pull—sharp and as beautiful as the king's crimson eyes. A bond that tied me to Varek.

His gaze was possessive, ancient, and deep. His magic wrapped around me like a whisper, like a promise, so sweet.

There was no escaping it. Varek was my mate, too.