My Ex Mate Betrayed Me, Now The Enemy Alpha Wants Me

Chapter Two

Silas (2 years earlier)

The carriage sways gently beneath us. The steady rhythm of the wheels almost lulling me to sleep.

Across from me, Sloane hasn't said a single word since we left Whitmore. Not even after the wedding ceremony concluded, which is highly unusual.

She spent most of our wedding talking about everything and nothing. She used to fill every quiet moment with a story or an eager question. Even during the vows, she looked at me like I was the only person in the room.

It was insufferable.

Now, she just sits beside the window, completely silent. I glance at her again, assuming her eyes are closed and she has fallen asleep.I look away, only to hear her suddenly suck in a sharp, terrified breath.

Her eyes fly open. She jerks upright so violently that I instinctively reach across the gap. My hand catches her forearm before she can slam into the carriage wall.

"Love?"

The deceitful word slips out of my mouth effortlessly. I have spoken it so many times over the past agonizing year I spent courting her.

But she stares back at me with pure, unadulterated terror. For a second, I wonder if she is trapped in the remnants of a nightmare.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

I couldn't care less, but the act must continue. She doesn't answer. Her eyes rake over my face as if searching for a monster.

The longer she stares, the more unsettled I become.

“Sloane?”

Her gaze drops to my hand on her arm. She immediately jerks away as though my touch burns her skin. I watch her, completely shocked.

"What are you—"

I reach for her again, attempting to rub soothing circles on her thigh the way she always loved. Then, she does something completely absurd.She peels my hand off her, slams the carriage door wide open, and hurls herself straight out into the raging storm.For one second, my brain refuses to process what I just witnessed.

"Sloane!" I roar, lunging toward the open door.She has already hit the ground. She rolls across the wet earth, disappears beneath the curtain of rain, and somehow scrambles back onto her feet.

For one brief, irritating second, something that resembles panic grips my chest.

"What the hell?”

I yell at the coachman to stop. The horses rear as he desperately pulls at the reins. Without waiting for a full stop, I leap down into the downpour.I try to shout after her receding figure, but the roaring rain swallows my voice. Just when I think she can't do anything crazier, she cuts off the road and vanishes into the thick pine trees.I curse under my breath.

What has gotten into her?

I don't know what happened inside that carriage. I don't know why she looked at me like I was a lethal stranger.

"Sloane, stop!" I yell, pursuing her into the woods.She doesn't even glance back. Whatever her reason is, I am going to find out the moment I put an end to this madness.

I push faster. My men shift into their wolves, tearing through the undergrowth to hunt her down. Branches scratch against my face as I track her scent.

Suddenly, the air changes. Her scent sharpens, and the heavy sound of snapping bones echoes through the trees.

I stop dead in my tracks.

Through the downpour, I watch Sloane's body twist as thick grey fur bursts across her skin. Within seconds, a large wolf disappears into the darkness.

She shifted.

Sloane has never shifted without asking my permission first. Not once. Even when we were completely alone.

What changed?

A dark frown etches onto my face. I call off the immediate woods chase. If she is running, she will run somewhere familiar. Somewhere she feels safe.

Her parents.

Signaling my guards to follow, we head back to the road. We arrive at the Ryker estate not long after, the horses lathered and wild.When Sloane's father, Corvin, opens the front door, his expression sours the moment he sees me dripping wet and furious.

"Silas?"

"Is Sloane here?” I demand. Corvin stares at me before letting out a disbelieving laugh.

“You seriously can't be asking if your wife is at her parents' house the night after your wedding.”

Kira appears behind him, amusement fading when she sees my expression.

“Why would Sloane be here?”

I don't answer. Their confusion appears genuine, but the pack bond is faintly pulling me deeper into the house.

The moment I step inside, a muffled thud echoes from beneath the floorboards. It is followed by hushed, panicked whispering. I immediately recognize Sloane's voice.

She is packing.

Without a word to her bewildered parents, I march down the back hall and find the old storage room door hanging open.

The room is dark except for the faint glow of a lantern on the floor. I step inside, Corvin and Kira close behind me. As my eyes adjust to the dim light, I find Sloane standing at the far end of the room.

She has changed into dry clothes, but her hair is still dripping onto the floor. Her chest rises and falls rapidly.

My eyes narrow when I notice her younger sister, Lena, standing right beside her, holding a packed travel bag.

Sloane didn't come here to hide. She came to take her sister.

"What are you doing?" I demand, but she doesn't answer. I take a menacing step forward.

"You're coming with me, right now."

“No.” Her reply is absolute steel.

I frown, taking another step forward. She backs up, shielding Lena behind her. Then, without warning, she pulls a small silver dagger from beneath her cloak—and points it directly at my chest.

Everyone freezes.

"Sloane," Corvin calls out in warning, shocked by her rebellion.

But Sloane's eyes never leave mine. The submission that usually defined her is entirely gone, replaced by a chilling, ancient coldness. She glances at her parents, her expression softening with a mixture of anguish and longing.

"If you love me..." Her voice doesn't shake despite how hurt she looks. "Trust me. Do not let him follow."

I sneer, raising my hands. "You think that little blade scares me, wife?”

"It's coated in wolfsbane, Silas," she whispers, her tone deadly calm. "Take one more step, and I will find out how fast a future Alpha heals from a punctured heart."

Corvin immediately steps in front of me, stopping the confrontation. Kira covers her mouth, tears filling her eyes at the sheer gravity of whatever is happening.

Sloane grabs Lena's hand, backing toward the narrow cellar exit behind them.

"Stay back."

Within a heartbeat, she vanishes into the storm outside, taking her sister

with her. I stare after her in utter confusion.

Because for the first time since I've known my wife, I have absolutely no idea what she's going to do next.

And for the first time, I wonder if I ever knew her at all..