Mated To The Enemy Alpha

Chapter Two: The Weight Of Duty

Three days later Vera was still feeling uneasy. She sat on the wooden bench outside her cabin sharpening her favorite hunting knife with slow deliberate strokes. The rhythmic scrape of metal against stone usually calmed her. Tonight it did nothing to quiet the crawling under her skin.

Her father had called her to the longhouse again after dinner. This time he didn't dance around the words. "Vera I've made arrangements" he said, his voice heavy with authority. "You will be mated to my Beta, Tyler. The ceremony is set for the end of this week. It will strengthen the bloodline and secure our alliances within the pack."

Vera stared at him, her knife in hand, her hazel eyes narrowing. "Tyler?" she said, her voice sharper than she intended. "Father, he's twice my age. I barely know him beyond patrol rotations. You're talking about the rest of my life."Her father's jaw tightened. His expression stayed calm. "Tyler is loyal and strong," he said. "He'll protect you. Give you strong pups. The pack needs stability after everything we've lost. After what the Shadow Pack took from us."

At the mention of the Shadow Pack, Vera's grip on the knife tightened. She could still see her mother's face in her dreams, the eyes, warm laugh, the way she used to braid Vera's hair with steady hands. Gone because of them. Because of Marcus Kane, the Alpha who had ordered the attack.

"I'm not a bargaining chip " Vera muttered, the words slipping out before she could stop them. "This is my life we're talking about."

Her father stepped closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You are my daughter, " he said. "The future of this pack runs through you. This isn't a request, Vera, it's what must be done."

Vera bit her lip, a habit she fell into whenever she was thinking hard or holding back sharper words. She wanted to argue more, to tell her father that she deserved to choose her mate and not to be handed off like a prize to strengthen alliances. Another part of her, the loyal daughter who had been raised on stories of pack survival and revenge stayed silent.

In the end she nodded stiffly. "Fine, " she said. "I'll do it for the sake of the pack."

The words tasted like ash.

Now hours later Vera sat alone under the stars, the knife forgotten in her lap. The forest around the village was too quiet. Every now and then a distant howl drifted from the mountains. It didn't sound like any Crescent wolf she knew. It felt wrong, like something was watching.

She shook her head trying to push the feeling. It was probably nerves and overthinking. The mating ceremony was days away and Tyler wasn't cruel. He was steady, respected, safe - though safe wasn't the same as wanted. The thought of spending her nights with someone she didn't love while the man responsible for her mother's death still breathed free air somewhere in those shadowed peaks made her stomach twist.

A soft rustle in the bushes suddenly caught her attention. She stood quickly - knife in hand, her hazel eyes scanning the darkness. Nothing moved, the wind playing tricks.

Vera told herself to get it. She was not some little girl. She was a Crescent. That meant something.

Still she could not sleep that night. She kept tossing and turning on her bed, her mind racing with thoughts of what she had to do and what she wanted to do. When she finally fell asleep her dreams were filled with eyes that were not hers. They were cold and scary. They felt too close.

By morning, things only got worse.

Her father called her to his room again. This time Tyler was there too. He was standing tall and looking respectful. Vera did not feel anything when she looked at him. He was the kind of man her father wanted her to marry. She just did not feel it.

Her father told her the wedding would take place in three days - and that the pack would be pleased. Vera felt like she was trapped. She felt like waking up from the dream, but unfortunately, it was all reality. She looked at her father hoping he would see that she was not happy. His face was set.

That day Vera's best friend, Lena pulled her aside and asked her if she was really going to go through with the wedding. Vera just said that being happy was not what mattered. What mattered was doing what was best for the pack. Deep down she was not sure if that was true.

As the sun began to set, Vera felt that familiar feeling again. It was like something was off. She could not shake it. She heard the howls of wolves in the distance. They sounded closer than they should be. For the time, Vera wondered if her father's plan to secure the future of the pack was not what it seemed.