My Forbidden Mate

Chapter 5

I didn't cower. As Eliza rounded the stone pillar, a triumphant smirk already forming on her glossy lips, I straightened my shoulders and met her gaze without flinching.

“Looking for someone, Eliza?” I asked, my voice surprisingly calm despite the storm that was raging inside of me.

Eliza blinked, her smile faltering for a second before she quickly masked it with a sweet fake expression which almost made me roll my eyes. “Oh, Ivy. I didn't see you hiding back here in the dark. The Alpha just stepped away, but I can pass a message along to him if you need something. Though... considering how busy he’s been with pack matters—and with me—he might not have much time for family distractions right now.” She said intentionally, wanting me to give a reaction; to snap.

Instead of giving her the satisfaction of what she wanted, I stepped out from the shadow of the pillar, closing the distance between us until she was forced to tilt her head up to look at me. My wolf paced anxiously in the back of my mind, ready to bare her teeth, but I kept my composure razor-sharp.

“You know, Eliza, it’s funny how you consider that an achievement” I murmured, stepping close enough to catch that sickly-sweet strawberry scent clinging to her skin. “For someone so confident, you seem awfully desperate to manage his schedule. Almost like you're terrified of what happens when he remembers who he actually belongs to.”

Her eyes flashed with genuine malice, the mask slipping entirely, totally forgetting about her pretense few minutes ago. “He belongs to the pack, Ivy. And he belongs with someone who can actually help him lead, not a pathetic little burden holding him back.”

Before I could fire back, I felt a thick atmosphere coming from the hallway. The air grew thick and cold.

Dylan stepped back into the archway, his eyes turning to a deep shade of blue. He.. He hadn't gone far. He must have heard every single word.

“Eliza,” Dylan’s voice cut through the space like a razor blade, completely devoid of warmth. “Leave us.”

Eliza’s face paled. She opened her mouth to argue, but the sheer, raw authority radiating off Dylan made her shrink back. With a venomous glare in my direction, she turned and hurried down the corridor.

The moment she was gone, the heavy doors clicked shut, and the fragile air between us shattered.

Dylan stepped toward me, his chest heaving, all the cold detachment he had worn like armor completely melting away. He reached out as if to touch me, his hand hovering over my cheek before he painfully forced it back down to his side.

“You shouldn't provoke her, Ivy,” he rasped, his voice rough with suppressed emotion. “She watches everything. She’s looking for any excuse to use the Council against us.”

“I don't care about Eliza,” I whispered, stepping closer to him, ignoring the danger. “I care about us. You can push me away, you can hide behind your Alpha duties, and you can pretend I'm invisible... but you almost marked me, Dylan. You can't undo what we are.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. He looked at me with a desperate, starved hunger that laid bare every secret he was trying to protect.

“I'm not trying to undo it,” he breathed, his hand finally gripping my waist and pulling me hard against his chest, as if he couldn't help himself. “Every second I spend away from you is absolute hell. But if you want to survive what’s coming... you need to trust me just a little longer.”

Before I could ask what he meant, a sudden, shattering crash echoed from the front gates of the pack house, followed by the shrieking alarm of the border-watch horns.

Dylan’s head snapped toward the entrance, his eyes widening in pure shock.

“Intruders,” he muttered under his breath enough for me to hear.

Dylan looked down at me one last time, his expression hardening into absolute steel as he drew his weapon. “Stay here, Ivy. Do not follow me.”

And with that, he ran towards the front lines, leaving me alone with a pounding heart and a terrifying realization: the danger wasn't just coming from the Council or Eliza. Something far worse had just found its way inside our walls.