The alpha cursed mate

The mate I thought I knew

The words wouldn’t leave her.

“The traitor lies in your bed.”

They echoed in Mira’s mind like a curse stitched into her veins.

She paced the edge of the den, wrapped in her fur cloak, heart pounding louder than any war drum. Outside, the army of cursed wolves trained in the snow-laced valley. Inside… her bond was unraveling.

Maelra stood by the stone archway, arms crossed, watching her. “You need to talk to him.”

Mira didn’t look at her. “What if I don’t want to know the truth?”

Maelra’s voice was colder than usual. “Then you’ll die wondering.”

Kade was sharpening his blade when she found him. Shirtless again, a deep scar across his left side — the mark from Kai’s blade.

He didn’t look up. “You’re thinking of leaving again.”

She didn’t deny it.

“You heard what that possessed boy said,” she said quietly. “A traitor lies in my bed. That means”

“I know what it means.” He met her gaze now. “You think it’s me?”

Silence.

“You think I would betray you?” he demanded, stepping closer. “After everything? After choosing you over my pack, over my blood?”

She flinched. “I don’t know what to believe anymore, Kade. You’re distant. Cold. You barely touch me. And now”

He grabbed her wrists, not hard, but firm. “I pulled away because I was afraid. Not because I was hiding something.”

Mira’s voice broke. “Afraid of me?”

“No,” he whispered. “Afraid I’d lose you.”

She closed her eyes.

He kissed her forehead. “Don’t let fear make you foolish, Mira. I am yours. Even when it hurts. Even when you don’t trust me.”

She swallowed. “Then prove it.”

He stared.

“Let me into your mind.”

Mind-linking was the most vulnerable thing a wolf could do. It wasn’t just thoughts it was emotions, memories, secrets. No lies. No masks. Just soul.

Kade hesitated. “Mira…”

“If you’re mine, and I’m yours, then let me in.”

Slowly, he nodded.

And then

A surge of warmth. Darkness. Light. Rage. Joy. Fear. Love.

She saw his childhood the beatings from his Alpha uncle. The guilt when he first shifted and nearly killed another wolf. The moment he first saw her bloodied and barefoot in the college courtyard and something snapped in his chest.

She saw loyalty.

She saw pain.

But… she also saw something hidden.

A memory sealed in shadow. A moment too fast to grab.

Tessa.

And a whisper:

“She’ll never forgive you for this.”

Mira pulled out with a gasp, eyes wide. “You have seen her. She’s alive.”

Kade’s face paled.

“I didn’t know how to tell you,” he said, voice cracking. “She came to me weeks ago, said she needed protection. She was bleeding and afraid”

“She’s working with Lucan.”

He froze.

“She’s the traitor.”

Before Kade could respond, the stone doors burst open.

Maelra ran in, her face pale.

“She’s gone.”

“Who?” Mira demanded.

“Lucan,” Maelra panted. “And… half our army.”

Gone.

Vanished.

Betrayed.