Mated To The Enemy's Sister

Seraphina’s POV The last person I expected to see at the diplomatic gathering was Kieran Ravencroft. Unfortunately, he was the first person I noticed when the great doors opened. I stood beside Dorian near the entrance, watching the Ravencroft delegates make their way into the hall. Everyone was dressed for the occasion, and from a distance, it almost looked like a peaceful gathering. It wasn't. Our packs had been enemies for generations. Everyone in that room knew it. The polite smiles and careful greetings were only there because both sides had agreed to behave themselves for one evening. Dorian glanced at me. "You're quiet." "I'm observing." "You've been staring at that door for five minutes." I looked at him. "I have not." He gave me a look that said he wasn't buying it. A small smile pulled at my lips before I could stop it. Then the doors opened again. This time, the room grew quieter. Kieran walked in. I had heard his name for years. Kieran Ravencroft, the young Alpha who had taken over the Ravencroft Pack after his father, Rowan. I had heard enough about his family to know exactly what I was supposed to think of him. Yet, when I finally saw him, he wasn't what I had imagined. He was tall and composed, dressed in black with the Ravencroft crest over his chest. His mother, the Ravencroft Luna, walked beside him while several members of their council followed behind. He looked completely at ease. Then his eyes met mine. I forgot whatever I had been about to say. My wolf stirred. Mate. I stared at him. No. That couldn't be right. I had to be mistaken. But my wolf didn't change her mind. Mate. Kieran had stopped too. He was looking at me in the same stunned way I was looking at him. He felt it. Of course he did. There was no way around it. Kieran Ravencroft was my mate. I looked away first. Our packs had spent generations fighting and distrusting each other. I had grown up hearing the Ravencroft name spoken with anger. I knew what my family thought of them, and I knew what their pack thought of ours. None of that mattered to fate. Apparently, fate had a terrible sense of humor. I took a step back. Kieran noticed. For just a moment, something crossed his face. It was gone so quickly that I almost wondered if I'd imagined it. "Seraphina?" Dorian was watching me. "I'm fine." "You don't look fine." "I'm fine," I repeated. His attention shifted toward the other side of the room. Kieran. Dorian looked back at me. He hadn't figured it out yet, but he knew something was wrong. "Stay beside me," he said. I nodded. The meeting began a few minutes later. The leaders of both packs took their places at opposite ends of the long table, with the councils seated between them. Dorian sat with the Everwyn representatives. Kieran sat across from him. Which meant he was also directly across from me. I tried not to look at him. I failed more than once. Every time I did, my wolf reminded me of what I already knew. He was my mate. I forced my attention back to the discussion. "The northern border has remained quiet for several months," one of the Everwyn elders said. A Ravencroft council member leaned back in his chair. "Quiet isn't the same as peaceful." Dorian's expression changed. "Perhaps your people should stop sending patrols so close to our territory." "Our patrols remain within our boundaries." "So do ours." The conversation was going nowhere. Then Kieran spoke. "Enough." He didn't need to raise his voice. Everyone listened. "We're here to discuss the border situation. If we spend the entire evening accusing each other, we'll leave with nothing." Dorian leaned back. "You sound very confident for an Alpha who inherited this problem from his father." The comment changed the mood around the table. Kieran didn't react the way I expected. "My father's mistakes aren't mine." There was something behind those words. I couldn't tell what it was, but the subject clearly wasn't one he wanted to discuss. The meeting continued. I barely heard most of it. Eventually, I couldn't take sitting there anymore. "I need some air," I told Dorian. He looked at me. "Do you want me to come?" "No. I'll be back." Before he could argue, I walked away. The moment I stepped onto the balcony, I breathed easier. The cold night air helped clear my head. I rested my hands against the railing and looked out at the dark forest. This couldn't be happening. A mate was supposed to be someone you could choose. Someone your family could welcome. Someone whose name didn't belong to the other side of an old feud. Instead, mine was Kieran Ravencroft. The Alpha of the pack my family hated. "You're talking to yourself." I turned. Kieran stood by the doorway. Of course he had followed me. "What are you doing here?" "I needed air." "Then take it." A small smile appeared on his face. "You're angry." "I'm not." "You've been avoiding me since I arrived." "I have not." He raised an eyebrow. I looked away. He wasn't wrong. For a moment, neither of us said anything. Then he finally said it. "Mate." I closed my eyes for a second. "Don't." "You felt it." "I know." "So did you." "I know." There was nothing else to say. Kieran took a step toward me. I moved back. "Don't come closer." He stopped. "Okay." That simple answer caught me off guard. I had expected him to argue. Instead, he stayed exactly where he was. "Why me?" I asked quietly. "I don't know." "You're the Alpha of Ravencroft." "Yes." "And I'm the Luna of Everwyn." "I know." "Our families hate each other." "I know." "This can't happen." His expression changed. "I know." I gave him a frustrated look. "You keep saying that." "Because I understand what this means." He looked toward the forest. "I don't want this to hurt your family." "And what about yours?" He was quiet for a moment. "My pack would never accept an Everwyn as their Alpha's mate." "Mine wouldn't accept a Ravencroft either." That was the problem. There was no easy answer. Even if we accepted the bond, our families wouldn't. Kieran looked at me. "We can't tell them." "I know." "So we keep it secret." "For now." "For as long as we need to." I nodded. It wasn't a good plan. It was simply the only one we had. Kieran turned toward the doorway, then stopped. "Seraphina." I looked at him. "Whatever happens between our packs, I won't hurt you." I didn't know why those words affected me as much as they did. "I won't hurt you either." He gave me one last look before going back inside. I stayed on the balcony a little longer. Before tonight, my life had been simple. I was the Luna of Everwyn. Kieran was the Alpha of Ravencroft. We were supposed to stay on opposite sides of the conflict between our packs. Now we had a secret neither of us had asked for. And I had no idea how long we could keep it hidden. Eventually, I went back inside. Dorian was waiting. The moment he saw me, he looked suspicious. "Where were you?" "Outside." "With who?" I stopped. Dorian looked past me. His eyes landed on Kieran. Then he looked back at me. "Seraphina," he said quietly, "why was Kieran following you?" I opened my mouth. Nothing came out. Because if I told my brother the truth,, the fragile peace between our packs might not survive the night.