Mated to the Enemy

Chapter 9 - Enemies

— Jet —

Screams filled my ears, and all I saw was red. It took everything I had left in me to stop short of lunging at the future alpha of this pack to tear his throat from his body. Images of the male's head dangling from my wolf's maw flashed in my mind, and there was no remorse after hearing the agony coming from Danny's cries.

She was whimpering on the ground clawing at her red curls in pain, and all I did was stand there before warning the misguided male to leave her alone and walk away.

I didn't want to injure or kill him. But I would if he was the only barrier between us and escape. Danny coming with me was as natural of a thought as if she had always been there, but I had no way of telling if she would come willingly when the future alpha stepped aside.

Alpha energy poured off of the male, much more than I would have expected from him by looks alone. He arched towards me but stood firmly between Danny and myself. I wasn't ready for a dual in my condition, but the gleam in those blue eyes told me exactly what he intended to do.

It was by the grace of the blood moon that I was still standing at all, but the best I could offer Danny now was a distraction and hope we could both run away faster than the Blood Crest pack could catch us. Because that had worked out so well the first time. Ralph better have left the pack grounds ages ago when I commanded it of him, but knowing Ralph... he was still out there searching.

He would be worried that he couldn't mind-link with me, and assume I was still passed out somewhere in the forest.

Danny held her head in pain, wincing as she forced a smile on her face to signal she would be fine. Those green eyes were bright, and shined like jewels. Her skin glowed like she was surrounded by moonlight, like she was the source of the light itself. Red hair hung loose about her shoulders, wild from pulling at the strands in her struggle, even a few leaves and twigs clung precariously near her ears...

Ears that poked out from her disheveled locks.

My eyes caught back to her strained smile, where her fangs that seemed normal before were now less recognizable as wolf, and more that of a wolf's natural enemy.

The mate I had never wanted, but now couldn’t be without was a…

“Fae…” I said out loud, remembering everything that species had done to my pack, to my family. Darkness crept into my thoughts. For that briefest of moments she was unrecognizable as my mate, but as the very thing that killed my mom, and many members of my pack.

As soon as the words left my mouth I had spooked her… and she rushed off into the forest. The alpha of this pack, fully transformed, clawed at me, but even he stopped at my slip of the tongue. He turned to see Danny was gone, but I didn’t think he saw her true form. With a howl he had notified his pack of a runaway rogue, but it wasn’t me he was calling for backup for… it was my mate.

I had to go after her.

And the alpha had the same idea as me. I was of no concern to him. She was priority, and he left me to chase his prey.

Sniffing the air, Danny’s scent disappeared. It should have been easier for me to track my mate than the alpha, but she smelled so similar to the surroundings, and that distinct difference between her and the woods was masked by the male that was marking her as his. Running through the brush, I stayed behind the trail left by the alpha’s pursuit.

My wolf whined, wanting to be released, but as my legs, and arms would attest this was as far as the wolfsbane was going to allow me to access my other half. It was a blessing of the blood moon that I could even tap into this much with how weak I was.

Weakness.

How the f**k was I going to help her in my current state. I had blood dripping down my arm from where the alpha had slashed at me, and couldn’t dodge fast enough. I was pumped full of so much wolfsbane that I couldn’t fully shift, and my healing was barely better than human. The only thing keeping me going was adrenaline, the blood moon, and the urge to claim my mate. It was more visceral than I had ever anticipated.

I thought it would be easy to reject a mate once I found one… but it was the opposite. The drive to protect her, and be by her side was all consuming.

An ache in the pit of my stomach cramped up at the knowledge that I had no way of finding her like this. I needed my wolf, or at the very least for her not to smell so damn similar to everything around me. I stopped, leaning against a tree, near to collapsing.

“I thought I was going to have to sacrifice myself to the goddess to get you out of there,” Ralph’s voice came up from behind me. I was too focused on Danny to notice his approach.

I slammed my fist against the trunk of the tree, and growled.

“Woah,” Ralph tried to soothe. “We need to get out of here. Most of the pack was distracted with your capture, and the Blood Moon Ceremony, but I barely made it past the patrol by rolling in mud.”

“I can’t leave.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll drag your ass if I have to,” Ralph said while tugging my arm over his shoulder.

“Mate…” I ground out while trying to push away from my beta.

“You found her?” He sounded incredulous, then he ruffled my hair as he dragged me away. “I knew the goddess had a soft spot for you,” he teased. “But, not going to lie I totally thought I’d find mine first. After all, I do have a better bedside manner than you, and the ladies love my cooking.”

“Enough.” I had no patience for his banter tonight. This wasn’t a joke, Danny needed me. “She’s being hunted by the next alpha of this pack. I can’t leave her out here. What if he kills her?”

“I mean, even rogues these days get captured first before they’re tried and killed.”

“She’s fae.”

“Oh,” he replied flatly. “Fuck.”

“I didn’t think I’d ever say this… but I’d rather die trying to save her than have her die because I retreated. Everything in me is drawn to her.”

That was it. Did I even have to smell her? My wolf knew where to find her before I even realized that’s what we were running towards. Maybe it had nothing to do with her scent at all.

“Yah, that makes sense. My dad told me when he found my mom that he just knew he had to be somewhere, and couldn’t explain it. Like everything in him wanted to go run, and he thought it was aimless, but it wasn’t,” Ralph agreed.

Suddenly, Ralph pulled me left and I yanked away from him baring my teeth.

“Not that way then,” he said with a grin.

He was helping me find her. I smiled back at him, and prayed his plan would work.

“Do it again,” I ordered.

With no warning he pulled backward, and I stumbled not resisting.

“She’s this way,” I said firmly and turned to push away from Ralph and rushed to the east. Then I heard a strained groan, and whirled to meet those green eyes.

“Don’t run,” I growled.

She flinched away, and with her hands up pleaded with me, “Don’t kill me. I didn’t know.”

My heart broke into a million pieces at her words. She thought I would kill her. My mate. Did I look so scary that she thought I would destroy the one person that every fiber in my being craved?

I shook my head, and took a step back to give her space.

She was fae… it would be natural for her to not want to accept a werewolf as a mate. The very thought of being rejected burned my insides, and my wolf retreated to protect itself. I was an alpha… my wolf never retreated. But with her… with my heart… I was weak.

“We can’t stay here,” I mumbled and offered her my hand without coming any closer.

I could sense Ralph behind the tree, keeping his distance not wanting to scare her. For that I was thankful. Without the adrenaline of needing to find her, and without my wolf whatever energy I had was sapped from my limbs. I swayed, and landed to one knee, using it to hold the upper half of my body. Vision blurred, all I could see were her green eyes as they came closer. Her soft hands touched my forehead, they were hotter than the desert sun but I never wanted her touch to end. I leaned into it and sighed.

“He’s burning up. You can come out now, as long as you aren’t going to kill me,” she called out to Ralph.

Immediately he swung my arm around his shoulder again, and I stumbled along side him aching from the loss of her touch. That was, until my other arm was swung around her shoulders, and both of them were dragging my ass through the forest.

“This will be easier if I shift. Just thrown him on top of me, and climb on to secure him while I run, okay?”

“I can walk,” I growled.

“No you can’t,” they replied in unison, harmonizing in their irritation.

They were right, I didn’t know how much longer I’d be conscious. It was a miracle I woke up the first time when I should have stayed asleep to heal.

But it was because of her, being in her lap in that room. She was mine, and it was like being around her made me feel invincible.

For her, I would do anything.

Even half dead.

My weight adjusted as Ralph let go and shifted into his wolf. I blinked several times to gain my bearings and finally see him, noticing how muddy he was. His white wolf was completely brown. At least he blended in better this way.

His head nudged me, and I gave in to climb on his back. Ralph was a large wolf, and could easily fit two people on his back, but I was a big guy, and his legs shook straining to take my weight, let alone my mate’s.

He’d do it though.

Danny settled in behind me, and I wished she was cradled against my chest instead of my back, but as I laid my head down on the muddy fur those small fingers stroked through my hair, and trusted my life to them both as everything faded.