A Night with My Sister’s Mate

Calithea “What did you say?” His voice was low and rough, instantly shrinking the heavy space between us. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to meet his dark eyes with a boldness I didn't truly possess. “Kiss me,” I whispered, without batting an eye. His piercing gaze stayed fixed on me, unreadable and intense, as if he were staring straight into my soul. Suddenly, a short chuckle escaped his lips, rolling into a deep, genuine laugh. I stared at him in silence, my heart hammering wildly against my ribs. He looked intimidating, dangerous, and completely out of my league, but I was long past the point of caring about consequences. “Isn’t that usually a man’s job?” His voice dropped an octave. He reached out, his thumb slowly grazing over my lower lip, and a jolt went over my body, my eyes fluttering shut at the sheer warmth of his touch. “I mean, you are beautiful. You have the kind of lips a man would lose his mind over.” “Then why are you hesitating?” My voice came out fainter than I wanted, breathless and shaky. His eyes narrowed slightly. “Is this your first time?” The question caught me off guard, but I refused to let it show. “Does it matter?” I shot back. No one knew me here. Before sunrise, I would be gone like a ghost, leaving nothing behind but the memory of this one wild night. “You’re awfully brave for a beginner.” A smirk tugged at the corner of his handsome mouth. “But are you absolutely sure you won’t regret this?” The sudden warmth in his voice felt like a warning, a chance to back out. But his words only triggered the deep, burning ache of rejection inside me. Regret? I had lived in regret for three years. I had spent years begging for affection from Ryden, my fated mate, only to receive cold indifference. Just hours ago, I had found the neatly folded love letters in Ryden's trunk, letters from another woman. While I remained at the mercy of Zirrelle, my own younger sister, and the whole Icefalls pack, because I was his unmarked mate. But I was done playing it safe. I wanted just one night where I wasn't the unwanted mate. The pitied sister. The woman no one chose. “Regret is my problem, don’t you think?” I muttered, an emotion in my voice. “Are you okay?” His hands gently cupped my face, treating me like something fragile. I almost leaned into his touch, my walls crumbling, but I caught myself. “Just kiss me,” I pleaded. His eyes lingered on mine, holding an emotion I couldn't quite name. Then, he finally leaned down, taking my lips with a gentleness that caught me completely off guard. The kiss was slow at first, restrained, as if he were deliberately holding himself back, which was utterly disarming. But as his large hands shifted, his fingers gently brushed against my jaw. But a sharp throb of pain shot through my chin at the contact, instantly triggering the raw, agonizing memory of hours earlier in the packhouse kitchen… “You missed a spot! Can’t you do anything right?". Evie, the head maid and Zirrelle’s lapdog shrieked at me. “The Alpha will be here anytime and you’re scrubbing like a turtle!” I gripped the towel tighter, my palms aching from hours of scrubbing and cleaning. "I'm doing my best, Evie”. I muttered. “Your best is why you’re still unmarked,” Evie had sneered, her voice dripping with venom as I continued scrubbing the floors. “Ryden is a low-rank sentinel, but he can’t bring himself to claim someone as pathetic as you.” “Ryden is busy at the borders,” I had lied smoothly, though the excuse sounded ridiculous to my own ears. “Busy avoiding you, you mean,” Zirrelle’s voice had cut through the air. My younger sister had waltzed in, draped in radiant silk fitting for a future Luna, a cruel contrast to my plain servant rags. The laughingstock versus the pride. “But today isn’t about your pathetic marriage. Alpha Valen, my fated mate, returns today.” She had stepped closer, her fingers suddenly clamping brutally around my chin, forcing me to look at her. “You’ve spent your whole life embarrassing our family enough already. Don’t ruin my night, too. For once stay in the shadows where you belong, do not show your face at the feast tonight. That’s an order from your future Luna.” She had released my face with a harsh shove, leaving my skin stinging and my soul completely crushed. I had returned to the cold, empty house I shared with a mate who loved someone else’s letters. Unable to breathe under that suffocating roof, I had run. My legs had carried me straight to the dark crossroads of the Moonroot Tavern, a sinful, dangerous place where sheltered women were warned never to enter. I walked inside, damning everything. If I was being cast out like a stray dog, I was going to spend one night living like a woman who was actually wanted... The suffocating memory vanished the second he pulled back from the kiss. “Is that how you like it, little ember?” he whispered, his hot breath brushing against my sensitive ear. Little ember? I mused. A flash of confusion crossed his handsome face as he looked down at me. Then his thumb reached up, catching a stray tear slipping down my cheek, one I hadn't even realized was falling. “Was the kiss really that good to make you emotional?” A slow, teasing grin tugged at his lips. “Or have you just never been kissed like that before?” His innocent questions were like sharp pricks to my chest, threatening to drag me right back down into the reality of how unloved I truly was. I didn't want a conversation that reminded me of everything I lacked. I just wanted the fierce, distracting passion of this night to drown out my reality. Reaching up, I tightly gripped his collar and yanked him down toward me, a sudden surge of raw dominance flaring in my veins. My eyes burned directly into his. “Quit the questions," I demanded, my voice steady. "Will you f**k me or not?”