Dinner with the Enemy
1204 Words
The black dress felt like a betrayal.
It clung to every curve of my body, whispering power and submission all at once. A Luna’s dress, woven from darkness, designed to announce me as Kade’s. The neckline plunged lower than I liked, leaving my shoulders bare and my mark exposed a perfect target for the eyes of the Council.
I stared at myself in the mirror, a stranger in a gown. The girl I used to be wild, free, untamable was gone, buried beneath silk and fear.
Someone knocked at the door. I didn’t answer.
The knock came again, sharper, insistent. Finally, the door opened without my permission.
Kade stepped inside, as much a storm as he’d ever been. Dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, the gold crest of the Blackthorne line glinting on his collar, he looked carved from stone and fury.
His gaze swept over me, lingering on the fresh claim mark at my neck. Something primal sparked in his eyes.
“Perfect,” he said, voice low.
I turned away, hands clenched at my sides. “You’re parading me,” I bit out.
His boots moved across the floor, steady, unhurried, until I could feel his breath against my hair. “You are my Luna. They must see that.”
My wolf growled at the possessiveness in his tone. Part of me wanted to snap at him, sink my teeth into his skin and show him I wasn’t a prize to display. But another part of me the traitorous, terrified part wanted to lean back into his strength.
Kade touched my bare shoulder lightly, sending a spark down my spine. “If you stand tall, they will fear you.”
I met his gaze in the mirror, heart pounding. “You mean fear you.”
He didn’t deny it.
When we stepped into the corridor, guards fell into formation around us, their armor catching the light of the torches. My father’s fortress had always been intimidating, but now it felt suffocating, every corner lined with weapons and loyal soldiers.
Kade offered me his arm. I took it because I had to, not because I wanted to. His heat bled into me, steady and grounding.
“Do not challenge them,” he warned quietly. “They will provoke you. That is their nature.”
My jaw tightened. “I’m not afraid of them.”
A ghost of a smile curved his lips, dark and knowing. “Good.”
The great hall was a cavern of candlelight and shadows. Massive tapestries lined the walls, depicting the long, bloody history of the Blackthorne dynasty. Wolves in battle, claws red, eyes wild.
I tried not to tremble.
At the head of the table sat the Council four powerful Alphas, each radiating menace. Their eyes followed me as we entered, cold and appraising.
My father stood beside them, the iron ring of his Alpha mark catching the candlelight. His expression was unreadable, hard as the stone walls.
When I stepped toward him, he didn’t smile, didn’t greet me. Just a shallow nod. As if I were nothing more than a pawn he’d moved on a game board.
My heart twisted in my chest, an old pain resurfacing.
Kade guided me to my seat beside him. His hand rested on my lower back, grounding me, warning me.
“Welcome, Raven Blackthorne,” one of the Council Alphas purred, voice sticky as rotten honey. “Or should we say, Luna?”
I forced a polite smile, every muscle in my body locked. “Luna will do.”
Their laughter rippled across the table, humorless and cruel.
Dinner began. Plates piled with roasted venison, dark bread, and wine that tasted of crushed berries and old secrets. I barely tasted a bite.
The Council spoke in low tones, asking questions I hated answering. About my training. About my bloodline. About my mother, and the so-called curse of the Moon’s chosen.
I felt their eyes crawl over me, looking for weakness, for any chance to destroy me.
Kade answered most questions for me, his voice calm and deadly. Every time I faltered, he squeezed my hand beneath the table, a silent command to hold steady.
It was almost enough to make me believe he cared.
Almost.
When the plates were cleared, the Council’s leader, a man with a voice like gravel and eyes older than the mountains, leaned forward.
“You’ve claimed her, Alpha Kade,” he said. “But words are wind. Show us her loyalty.”
My stomach dropped.
Kade stiffened beside me. “She wears my mark.”
The old wolf sneered. “A bite fades. Loyalty does not.”
My pulse roared in my ears.
“What do you want from me?” I asked, forcing my voice steady.
He smiled, teeth sharp. “Your oath. To this Council. To your Alpha.”
Kade’s jaw flexed, rage simmering just below his skin. But he nodded. “Say it,” he urged softly.
My throat went dry. This was my prison, spoken into existence. Still, if I refused, they would tear me apart, I could see it in their eyes.
I forced a breath into my lungs. “I swear loyalty to Blackthorne,” I began, each word slicing across my pride. “To the Alpha who claimed me. To the Council that rules the packs.”
The taste of it was ash on my tongue.
The Council seemed pleased. Nods, small smiles. They believed they’d won.
But inside, I made another promise to myself: I will never belong to them, no matter what I say.
The wine was refilled. Toasts were raised. And then, the Council’s leader made one final demand.
“If she is yours,” he drawled, “prove it in front of us.”
The world tilted, nausea rising in my gut.
Kade stood, drawing me up with him. His eyes burned, but I could see the apology hidden deep inside them.
“Trust me,” he whispered.
Then he kissed me.
There was nothing gentle about it his lips were brutal, hungry, staking a claim for all the room to see. His arm locked around my waist, crushing me to his chest. I could barely breathe, the taste of him overwhelming every sense.
I tried to pull away, shame and confusion tangling inside me, but he refused to let go. His teeth grazed the claim mark on my neck, pulling a gasp from my throat.
The Council watched with satisfied smiles, like wolves smelling fresh blood.
When he finally released me, I staggered back, dizzy. His hand steadied me, strong and certain.
“Mine,” he growled to the room, voice echoing off the stone walls.
The Council nodded, content for now.
My legs felt like water as I sank back into my seat. I tried to swallow the bitter tears clawing up my throat.
There was no escape. No loophole.
I was Luna now, publicly and undeniably, bound to the Alpha who had stolen every dream of freedom I’d ever had.
And terrifyingly, deep in the part of my heart that still remembered the boy Kade used to be, I wondered:
What if there was no one else who could save me?
- Writer
