Mate of My EnemyChapter 1
Selene
“I’m done masking who I truly am. It’s time I reclaim what was always mine,” I uttered into the communicator rune, cutting the connection before the person on the other end could respond.
My throat tightened as I stood there, staring into the open wardrobe carved from black ironwood—the very same place where the evidence of my mate’s betrayal stared back at me like a snarling beast. My lips quivered, and heat pooled behind my eyes, refusing to spill even though my chest trembled with each breath.
A humorless, wounded laugh escaped me as I reached for Gideon’s Alpha jacket—the one scented with cedar and moonfire—hoping I wouldn’t find what I feared. My fingers searched the interior pockets, bracing for more scraps of feminine clothing, but apart from the scarlet scrap already on the floor, nothing else surfaced.
I had only intended to gather his garments for weekly washing. Gideon never remembered to empty his pockets; there were usually forgotten gold tokens or stray notes tucked inside. But today, instead of money, my hand closed around something soft, silky, and distinctly intimate—a red lace thong that unmistakably did not belong to me. The scent clinging to it was not mine either; wolves know these things instinctively.
The moment I inhaled, my mind jumped straight to Brielle—his beloved assistant—whose perfume lingered in every corridor of the packhouse offices. I didn’t need the Moon Goddess to confirm what my instincts screamed. That scrap of fabric was hers.
“Five years…” I whispered, my voice breaking as tears finally slipped down my cheeks and landed on the jacket in my hands.
Five years ago, I had chosen Gideon as my fated future, running away from my birth pack when my parents forbade me from bonding with him. With the influence and alliances I concealed from my family, I helped Gideon rise from an ambitious Gamma-born wolf to a powerful Alpha who ruled over a prosperous trade pack.
And for a while, I thought I had made the right decision.
Then, two years into our union, Brielle appeared. The daughter of a wealthy Alpha from the Northern Territories, she requested a position as Gideon’s assistant. She slipped into the pack as though she had been carved for it. With her elite ties and honeyed tongue, she drew in strong allies and wealthy patrons, swelling Gideon’s businesses with millions in revenue.