His Purchased Mate

Stuck In A Love Triangle

I wanted to thank the stranger for interrupting whatever it was that was going on between Alpha Kael and me, but my useless wolf had other thoughts. She snarled and growled at him as he approached us.

Behind him, three elders followed behind him, all three of them wearing ancient Silverclaw markings.

Impossible. It was impossible... Did I really still have family out there?

Kael’s expression hardened instantly.

“You shouldn’t be here, Prince.”

Prince?

Excuse me?

The silver-eyed man stepped forward, his gaze locking on mine.

This time, it was softer, familiar even. Unlike some arrogant Alpha...

“My name is Cassian Silverclaw,” he said calmly. “And I am your betrothed.”

The room tilted.

I actually grabbed the wall for stability.

It was all too much. This day had become ridiculous hours ago, but now it was just plain crazy and competitive.

“Betrothed?” I said. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Cassian’s jaw tightened.

“Before your pack was attacked, our families signed a mating treaty to unite the royal lines.”

My stomach twisted.

Nope.

“No. No no no.”

Kael went very still beside me.

The kind of stillness that usually came before violence, i actually felt sorry for Cassian. Kael looked like he fought and killed werewolves for breakfast.

“I bought her fairly,” Kael said coldly. “She’s under my protection.”

Cassian’s lips curved.

“You bought a queen,” he replied. “Not a slave, that throws your protection out of the window”

Queen.

That word bounced around my skull like a loose f*****g brick.

My wolf surged so hard it hurt to breathe or even blink.

“Queen?” I repeated weakly.

Cassian’s silver eyes softened.

“Your mother never told you,” he said gently. “...did she?”

“Told me what?”

My chest tightened as Kael stepped closer to me again.

Possessive... annoying... but damn... it was hot.

...“Choose your next words carefully, Prince,” he warned.

Cassian never looked away from me.

“You are not just the last Silverclaw,” he said.

“You are the true heir to the Northern Throne.”

Silence swallowed the room. It took everything in me to stop myself from quaking like a a f*****g duck!

My heart pounded loud enough to qualify as percussion.

Queen. Betrothed. Mate. Enemy.

So many new words... so many important new words!

What the actual hell was happening?

And why did both men look ready to burn the world down for me?

I swallowed hard, because suddenly, this wasn’t about survival anymore.

It was about power, and whoever I chose…

Would rule beside me.

The Silence...the weight, it was so heavy it was suffocating me.

Queen….The word wouldn’t stop echoing in my head. I stared at Cassian like he’d just slapped me with it.

“The Northern Throne?” I whispered.

Cassian stepped closer to me, his silver eyes never leaving mine.

“Your mother was the last crowned Alpha Queen of the North,” he said. “She hid you after the coup, she hid your bloodline.”

Coup…My lungs tightened. People were fighting for this?

“You’re lying,” I breathed.

“Am I?” His voice softened.

“Why do you think Silverclaw was wiped out so brutally? Why do you think Kael’s rogue generals disobeyed orders?”

Kael’s jaw ticked.

“Careful,”

he warned, but Cassian ignored him.

“You weren’t the target,” he said quietly. “You were the prize.”

My stomach twisted so much that I instantly felt sick, I felt so Angry. So confused.

“And this mating treaty?” I snapped. “You’re telling me I was promised off like some political f*****g pawn?”

Cassian flinched slightly.

“Yes.”

At least he didn’t sugarcoat it to spare my feelings.

I let out a bitter laugh.

“Unbelievable, so f*****g! Unbelievable “

Kael finally spoke.

“She is not a bargaining chip for you to claim, Prince.”

His voice was so steel that I had to turn and glance at him. He looked… furious, not at me but at Cassian.

“She was never supposed to know,” Cassian continued.

“The treaty would have been revealed at her twenty-first birthday ceremony.”

My heart skipped. That ceremony, the one my mother canceled. the one she cried about for days.

Ohh! Moon-goddess.

“She knew,” I whispered.

Cassian nodded slowly in agreement.

“She was buying time.”

For me…My chest ached at the thought of it. All this time…I thought my mother was weak and secretive, but she was protecting me.

Kael stepped closer to me, his hand hovering at my lower back, he wasn’t touching, it was just there.

“I don’t care about your throne,” he said coldly. “She stays here with me “

Cassian’s eyes hardened.

“She belongs with her people.”

“I belong to no one! So stop!! Stop it!! Both of you!!” I snapped.

They both went quiet. It was a good thing because my head was already spinning.

Mate bond pulling me toward Kael like gravity. Duty dragging me towards Cassian.

What the actual f**k.

Cassian broke the silence, finally.

“I'm not trying to ruin your life any further than it has already been ruined. Please trust me in that. You feel it too, don’t you?” he asked me softly.

“Feel what?”

“The difference.”

My brows furrowed.

“What f*****g difference?”

He stepped even closer now, close enough that I could see the faint scar across his jaw, Close enough to smell him, he smelled like Pine, snow and Steel.

Not as dark as Kael, but powerful.

“You feel desire with him,” Cassian said calmly. “But you feel peace with me.”

Kael’s hand finally landed on my waist firmly, like was claiming me in front of all these werewolves. It annoyed me...

Liar...

My wolf whispered and then went silent again.

“Don’t you dare say another word,” Kael warned.

Cassian didn’t break eye contact with me. Honestly, I don't think he has ever stopped looking at me. I turned my eyes away from him, his silver eyes were too familiar, my body did not know how to react to him.

“Look at me,” he whispered.

And I did, damn him, I did, and my wolf stirred differently this time, not wild, not burning, but steady, and safe! Oh! s**t.

Kael felt the shift too, because his grip tightened on me. They were both so close to me, it felt like I couldn't breathe.

“You think you can manipulate her with a few soft words?” he growled.

“I think she deserves truth.”

The tension between us snapped like a live wire. Kael pulled me back against him suddenly.

My spine hit his chest so hard that I felt the solid heat radiating through his suit.

My breath hitched when his mouth lowered to my ear.

“You want peace?” he murmured against my skin. “Or do you want fire?”

His lips brushed just below my ear.

It was light, barely there. But my knees almost buckled. Damn this bond, Damn him.