Mated to the Enemy

Chapter 8 - Shift

— Danny —

The future alpha of the pack watched me curiously, and motioned for me to follow. I could refuse, but until I found Christy it was in my best interest to comply. Standing from the stairs with a grunt I bemoaned my efforts of listening to a guy that was so high on his own power that he didn’t even think to tell me what he wanted from me.

Holden was used to getting what he wanted, being an alpha’s son, and most didn’t have to know the why of his actions, since his alpha command would make defying him difficult. But I wasn’t part of the pack yet, so he’d have to put some effort in for once in his life.

“What do you want?” I stopped before we left the lights of pack’s town, before the darkness of the forest would consume us.

He smiled ruefully, and ruffled his light blond hair like he was confused at my reluctance to continue without an explanation. Holden was wearing a pair of black basketball shorts and nothing else, which was normal for most wolves on this night, they usually bought those in bulk and stashed them around the forest.

“We’re going to join the rest of the pack, unless you already know your way?” he replied smoothly, and plastered a creepy innocent facade on his face. He gave me a weird vibe, and it was like that even when we were younger.

“What do you really want?” I folded my arms and planted my feet apart.

Sighing he cracked his knuckles and stretched out his neck in irritation.

“Red.” He knew I didn’t like being called that nickname because it brought attention to the fact that no one else in the pack had red hair, and led to rumors about my absent father. “Lauren may be infatuated with you, but as my best mate, and beta, it’s my job to make sure he’s taken care of. Including making sure he mates well. You will shift for me tonight so I can give him my blessing.”

More time, I need more time.

My fists clenched at my sides, clammy from nerves.

I couldn’t shift even if I wanted to.

Then I felt it, his alpha command radiating off of him, making my knees weak.

I whimpered under the weight of it.

How was that possible?

Why was he so strong to make me feel like that without being bound to the pack?

Holden grinned seeing my jaw tense from resisting his aura from bearing down on me. He hadn’t actually asked me to shift yet, but I knew he was going to. I had to make sure that even if all I wanted to do was comply with this command that it looked like I was still resisting. As long as he thought I was merely strong enough to resist his command that my wolf was strong, and not that there wasn’t one to shift into.

Knees buckled, I landed on the ground with my hands straining to hold myself up. My head felt heavy, and my breathing was labored. Skin tingling, I didn’t know how long I could hold off like this. Pain radiated through my temples, I winced against it.

His bare feet approached in front of me, it was all I could see as I stared at the ground.

“Why Red, are you presenting to me?” There was amusement in his tone at seeing me on all fours, practically bowing to him. “As flattered as I am that you’d like to have some fun, I am nothing if not loyal to my beta. He wants you, and I intend to make sure that you shift and let your wolf take control. She’ll know better to claim a good mate before the night is out.”

Spitting at his feet, I then hissed at him through my teeth, “f**k you.”

“No, means no, Red,” he teased, knowing full well the actual intention of my words. How someone like him was destined to become the next alpha of this pack was beyond me, maybe the goddess was asleep when she was giving out blessings.

My mom would say that there are many bad eggs out there, but sometimes they are placed in our path to lead the truly blessed on the path they are meant to follow. Potential mates, true fated mates? What the hell was the goddess thinking?

To be blessed and be truly blessed, it was a load of crap that my mom fed herself to cope with being dealt a bad hand in life, to excuse bad people for doing bad things. To excuse my dad for abandoning us, and rejecting her.

To excuse people like Holden getting a massive amount of power to abuse.

So that people like me can hope that a truly blessed person will come along and right the wrongs of the jackasses of the world who are shitting on our lives.

“You should take your own advice,” I huffed out, straining to glare up at him, his blue eyes glowed in the blood moon.

“Shift,” he commanded, and the full force of his alpha energy crashed into me.

I gasped out for air, as if there wasn’t any around me, stifled by the invasion of his demand.

My whole body vibrated, and for a moment I thought I would shift, that my wolf would finally reveal itself.

A loud growl distracted me as I held onto my head in pain, my forehead slamming into the dirt, before I flung backwards with a scream. My hands clamped over my ears so tightly that I felt if I let go that my brain would explode, and that pressure was the only thing holding me together.

“What are you doing out of your cell?” Holden wasn’t talking to me anymore.

“Leave her alone,” a deep rumbling voice demanded through erratic huffs, controlling his anger.

Holden laughed, undeterred by the stranger’s interest in protecting me.

My eyes were squeezed shut, and I writhed on the ground.

Everything in me begged to change, to shift to let the pain be over with.

“I heard you were thinking about dueling instead of mating with Willow, how about we settle this now then?” Holden challenged, now ignoring me.

The pain subsided, but I refused to let go of my head for fear that if I did the pain would return. Curled up on my side, I opened my eyes to see the rogue from before half shifted, his hind legs wolfed with black fur, as well as his claws while his eyes glowed a deep ocean blue, like midnight almost invisible. That was unusual for any wolf to have their reflective night vision be so camouflaged at night so that they would be near impossible to spot without the light of the moon. How they captured this rogue at all was a feat.

Bones cracked, and I watched as Holden’s large wolf shifted pacing between me and the rogue. The mystery man took a moment to watch me, and I finally released my head to give him a pained smile, wanting him to know I was fine and he should worry about himself.

His eyes darkened more if that was possible, and he bared his fangs to me in a gut reaction that could only be described as hostile. Whatever feeling I got that he was there to help me vanished. The rogue looked right close to wanting to lunge at me and tear my throat out.

Scrambling to my feet I swayed holding my head once more, and leaning against the tree beside me. That’s when I felt it as I brushed my hair out of my face, and tucked it back. My ears… they were pointed.

And the next word that came out of the stranger’s mouth confirmed my suspicions, and my fears, “Fae…,” he growled out.

I had shifted…

Just not into what I thought I would.

My heart pounded in my chest, and the first thought I had was… werewolves killed fae.

And then I ran.