MY ENEMY IS MY FATED MATE

THE NIGHT MY WORLD BURNED The night my family died, the moon turned red. I was seventeen when I learned that monsters didn't always have claws, and sometimes, the most dangerous ones wore the faces of men. I still remembered the screams. The smell of burning wood filled my lungs as I ran barefoot through the forest, my mother's blood staining the white dress she had forced me to wear for my birthday. Behind me, Mooncrest was dying. Our home was burning. Our people were screaming. And somewhere in the distance, wolves howled beneath a sky that had forgotten how to shine. "Run, Luna!" My father's voice echoed through my memories. I turned around, desperate to see him one last time, but the warrior dragging me through the trees tightened his grip around my wrist. "Don't look back!" he ordered. "Let me go!" I screamed, fighting against him. "My parents are still there!" He stopped so suddenly that I nearly fell. His face was covered in blood. One side of his shirt had been ripped open, exposing a deep wound beneath his ribs. I had known him all my life, yet I had never seen fear in his eyes. Until that night. "Your father gave me one order," he said, gripping my shoulders. "Keep you alive." "Then help me save him!" "I can't." The words struck harder than any blow. I stared at him, waiting for him to take them back. He didn't. A distant explosion shook the ground. Orange flames rose above the treetops, illuminating the smoke that swallowed the village. Then I heard it. A woman's scream. My mother's scream. "NO!" I tore myself away from the warrior and ran toward the village. I didn't care about the flames or the armed men surrounding our home. I didn't care that the air was filled with the scent of blood. All I could think about was my mother. I made it only a few steps before the warrior caught me again. "Luna, please!" "She's my mother!" "And if you go back, you'll die with her!" I struck his chest with both fists. "I hate you!" He accepted every blow without defending himself. When my strength finally failed, he sank to his knees before me. "Then hate me," he whispered. "Hate me for the rest of your life if it keeps you alive." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver pendant shaped like a crescent moon. I recognized it immediately. It belonged to my mother. "Keep this hidden," he said, pressing it into my palm. "Never show it to anyone. Never tell anyone who you are." I stared at the pendant. "What are you talking about?" His eyes shifted toward the burning village. "They came here for your bloodline. If they discover you survived, they will finish what they started." Before I could ask another question, a deafening growl erupted from the trees. The warrior shoved me behind him. A massive black wolf emerged from the smoke. Its fur was dark as midnight, and its eyes glowed an unnatural shade of gold. Behind it stood several armed men wearing black uniforms. The symbol on their chests was unmistakable. A black wolf beneath a crown. Blackthorn. I had seen that crest in our history books. My father had warned me about the powerful pack that controlled the northern territories. But I had never imagined they would come for us. The black wolf shifted. A tall man stood in its place, his face partially hidden by the darkness. Blood streaked his jaw, and a sword hung from his hand. He looked at the dying warrior. "Where is the girl?" The warrior stepped in front of me. "There is no girl." The man's expression hardened. "Don't insult me. The Alpha ordered every member of the royal bloodline eliminated." My breath caught. Royal bloodline? I had no idea what he meant. I wasn't a princess. I wasn't a queen. I was simply Luna Ashford, the daughter of an Alpha who loved his people. Or so I had believed. The stranger raised his sword. The warrior lunged. Their bodies collided, and I heard the sickening sound of metal cutting through flesh. The warrior fell. I covered my mouth to stop myself from screaming. He turned his head toward me one final time. "Live," he mouthed. Then his eyes went still. Something inside me shattered. I don't remember running. I don't remember how I crossed the river or how I managed to reach the abandoned hunting cabin beyond the forest. I only remember the flames. The screams. And the black wolf standing beneath the blood-red moon. By sunrise, Mooncrest was gone. My parents were dead. My home was ash. And I had become a ghost. --- FIVE YEARS LATER I woke with a gasp, my fingers digging into the thin blanket beneath me. For several seconds, I couldn't breathe. The room was dark, and the walls of the small apartment seemed to close around me. Then I remembered where I was. Not Mooncrest. Not the burning forest. Here. Alive. I pressed both hands against my face and forced myself to breathe slowly. The nightmare had returned. It always did when something important was about to happen. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and reached for the glass of water on the bedside table. My hands were trembling. Five years. Five years of training, hiding, and searching. Five years of collecting every scrap of information I could find about the Blackthorn Pack. And today, I was finally going to enter their territory. I crossed the room and stopped in front of the mirror. The woman staring back at me no longer resembled the frightened girl who had fled Mooncrest. My dark hair fell over my shoulders, and a faint scar crossed my left collarbone. My eyes, once bright with childish innocence, had hardened into something colder. Hatred. That was what had kept me alive. I reached for the silver pendant hidden beneath my pillow. The crescent moon rested against my palm. Sometimes I wondered why my mother had given it to the warrior instead of keeping it herself. Sometimes I wondered what he had meant when he said they had come for my bloodline. But every time I tried to investigate, the trail ended in blood or silence. There was only one place left to search. Blackthorn. I slipped the pendant beneath my shirt. "Are you ready?" a voice whispered inside my mind. I closed my eyes. Nyx. My wolf had become stronger over the past year, although she remained strangely quiet whenever I asked about my parents. "As ready as I'll ever be," I answered silently. "They are dangerous." "I know." "The Alpha is more dangerous than the others." I paused. "You've never met him." "I don't need to meet him to know what he is." I tightened my jaw. "Good. Because I'm going to make him pay." Nyx said nothing. Her silence unsettled me more than her warning. I dressed in black trousers, a fitted shirt, and a dark jacket. I strapped a small blade to my thigh and checked the weapon hidden inside my bag. I wasn't going to Blackthorn to make friends. I was going to find evidence. And if the Alpha responsible for destroying my family stood in front of me, I would make him answer for every life he had taken. Even if he begged. Even if he threatened me. Even if I had to die to expose him. --- The Blackthorn Pack was nothing like the territory I had imagined. Its borders were protected by towering stone walls, armed guards, and surveillance cameras. Black vehicles moved along the roads, while warriors patrolled the grounds in pairs. Power radiated from the place. So did fear. I stood before the main gate with my application papers in one hand and a false identity in the other. Luna Ashford. That name was real. Everything else about my history was carefully constructed. A guard approached me. "Name and purpose?" "Luna Ashford. I'm here for the warrior recruitment assessment." He examined my papers before looking at me again. "You understand that Blackthorn warriors are expected to show absolute loyalty to their Alpha?" I met his gaze. "Of course." It was the first lie I told that morning. He stepped aside and allowed me through. The moment I crossed the boundary, a strange sensation swept over my skin. I stopped. It felt like stepping into deep water without knowing how to swim. My heartbeat quickened, and a faint pressure settled over my chest. Nyx stirred. "Luna." "What?" "Something is wrong." I glanced around. Warriors moved across the courtyard. Several wolves rested near the training grounds, while a group of recruits carried equipment toward a large building. Nothing seemed unusual. Then a scent reached me. Cedarwood. Rain. And something dark and intoxicating that made my entire body freeze. My wolf rose inside me so suddenly that I nearly lost my balance. No. It wasn't possible. The scent grew stronger as a group of warriors emerged from the main building. They parted instinctively, making way for the man walking among them. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and dressed in black. His dark hair was swept away from his forehead, revealing sharp features and a jaw that seemed permanently set in anger. He walked as though the entire territory belonged to him. Because it did. I recognized the black wolf emblem on his chest. My blood turned cold. Alpha Damien Blackthorn. The man I had spent five years preparing to destroy. He stopped speaking to the warrior beside him. Then he lifted his head. Our eyes met. For one impossible moment, the world fell silent. His eyes were a deep, piercing gold. Mine widened as an unfamiliar warmth spread through my chest. Nyx let out a sound I had never heard from her before. Not a growl. Not a warning. A whimper. Then she spoke two words that shattered everything I thought I knew. "Our mate." I stopped breathing. No. Absolutely not. Not him. Not the man whose family crest had stood among the flames of my childhood. Not the man I had sworn to hate until my dying breath. Damien stared at me as if he had felt the same invisible force pulling us together. His nostrils flared. His expression changed. For the first time since I had entered Blackthorn territory, the ruthless Alpha looked genuinely shocked. He took one step toward me. Then another. The warriors around him fell silent. My heart pounded so violently that I could barely hear my own thoughts. Damien stopped only a few feet away. His gaze dropped briefly to my lips before returning to my eyes. "Who are you?" he demanded. I forced myself to lift my chin. "Luna Ashford." His jaw tightened. "That's not what I asked." I swallowed. "Then ask a better question, Alpha." A dangerous silence settled between us. Something flickered in his eyes. Surprise. Anger. And something that looked disturbingly like recognition. He leaned closer, his voice dropping so low that only I could hear him. "Whatever you are hiding, little wolf, I will find out." I smiled without warmth. "Then I suggest you start looking in the right places." His gaze sharpened. For one second, neither of us moved. Then his expression turned cold. "Take her to the interrogation room." Two guards stepped forward. I stiffened. "What? I'm here for the recruitment assessment!" Damien didn't look away from me. "Not anymore." "On what grounds?" "Suspicion of espionage." My mouth fell open. "You can't be serious!" He stepped closer, and the air between us seemed to tighten. "Welcome to Blackthorn, Luna Ashford." His eyes darkened. "Let's see how long you survive here." As the guards seized my arms, Nyx began to growl inside my mind. But beneath her anger, I felt something else. Fear. Not of Damien. Of the bond that had just awakened between us. Because there was one thing worse than being trapped inside the territory of my enemy. Being destined to love him. And as the doors of the interrogation room slammed shut behind me, I made myself a promise. I would uncover the truth about Mooncrest. I would discover why Damien Blackthorn had been part of my nightmare. And if the Moon Goddess truly believed he belonged to me, then she would have to watch me do the one thing no fated mate was supposed to do. I would reject him. Even if rejection destroyed us both.