MATED TO THE ENEMY BROTHERS

CHAPTER 3: Sweet mate

OTSANA

My eyes widened, not in shock, actually. I just got rejected, and now I have a second chance, mate? He wasn’t even a full werewolf but a hybrid. A werewolf and a vampire. My second chance, mate.

Oh, moon goddess, stop this joke…

The words kept ringing in my ear, like the sound of a church bell. I wasn’t completely shocked because ever since Fenrir arrived, I had been having this unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach.

And I think that was why Maya came back after catching a whiff of his scent. I too could perceive it; it was intoxicating and arousing, even stronger than Adolphus’s own.

It was more… prominent.

“Mate… mate… mate…” my wolf concurred, submitting to the mate bonds.

Once again I felt the pack members' eyes linger on my body. They all exchanged questioning stares between themselves. It was unbelievable, but again, I have heard of second-chance mates. And I think I have one, and it was Fenrir Lockwood.

“No!” Adolphus stepped forward, his expression grave. “She can’t be your mate, Fenrir.” His jaw clenched tightly as he spoke. One could tell that he was brewing like a river about to burst its bank.

Fenrir smiled with pride and turned to Adolphus. He stepped closer to him until he was an arm's length away from him. He gazed into his deep blue eyes. “Maybe you shouldn’t have rejected her, Adolphus.” He stopped and patted him gently on the shoulder. “She is now mine and mine alone. Your loss, my gain, brother.” His vocalization was very taunting and annoying because clearly I could see that in Adolphus' eyes, but as it was doing that to him, the words did the opposite to me. Like, I love the way he was possessive. He said I was his and his alone, and that alone made butterflies swarm in the pit of my stomach.

Adolphus’ eyes shifted from the usual blue to orange, and that signifies one thing. His wolf was threatening to break free. His hand and jaw clenched tightly, and the way his chest was rising and falling reeked of nothing but anger, hatred, and jealousy.

I could see regret etched on his face. Maybe he shouldn’t have rejected me. Maybe he should have claimed me and made me his own.

The orange color of his wolf eyes flashed with horror. “Fenrir, I said you can’t take her!” A loud growl escaped from Adolphus' mouth that shook the ground we all stood on. That wasn’t Adolphus; that was his wolf.

But… he rejected me. Why doesn’t he want me to go with my second-chance mate? Why was he suddenly acting or pretending to be protective when he had treated me with cruelty a few moments ago?

“You can’t stop me, brother,” Fenrir responded, seemingly unfazed by the threatening growl that erupted from Adolphus’ mouth, but it had obviously sent a cold chill down all of the pack members' bodies, including mine.

The tension in the atmosphere thickened as everyone watched with rapt attention as the scenario unraveled.

In the twinkle of an eye, Fenrir was already standing beside where I sat on the bare ground.

He was as swift as lightning, and his movement made me feel a pang of fright as he got beside me.

That's a vampire speed.

He lifted me up from the floor. His touch sent a cold, electrifying, and maybe warm feeling or something I couldn’t decipher through my body.

The fact that he was the rumored hybrid made fear spiral down within me. But again, he was my mate. My wolf, and everything in my body, was screaming to be with him… to not be left alone. to want him to claim me.

Once I was up, he bared his fangs. My heart pounded nervously in my chest like a ticking time bomb. What was he going to do?

With my heart still thumping and the thought of what he was going to do still running in my head, I felt his hand hold my head, bending it to the side with utmost care and caution. His head went down to the base of my neck.

His hot breath fanned me as he inhaled my scent; his tongue wiggled out to lick the sweat on my neck, making a jolt of warmth travel through my body as I shivered.

I was still trying to place what he was trying to do when he sank his teeth into the bare skin of my neck. A shiver, not entirely unpleasant, skidded its way down my spine.

The rhythmic drumming in my chest wasn’t just fear anymore. It was that of pleasure mixed with a glint of fear and maybe excitement:

His teeth went in deeper, making me grab him close to myself. As I clawed my nails into his body, I could hear his breath, hot and ragged against my skin. Goosebumps pebbled across my skin as I held tightly onto him. My face was buried in his chest.

It smelled… different. A heady mix of pine. My emotions were running high, something fiercely possessive; it whispered belonging.

As his teeth grazed my neck, it sent a jolt of pure sensation through me. I felt pain mixed with an electric thrill, causing my breath to hitch. It all felt like I was on cloud nine.

He marked me as his mate!

“You’re f*****g mine!” His hot breath fanned my skin as he retracted his teeth slowly from my neck. I felt his tongue once again on the crescent mark he left there. He licked the blood surrounding the mark with his tongue.

I wouldn’t lie; it felt good, but he was still a vampire who can’t stop his craving for blood, or maybe he can?

But licking my blood isn’t part of the marking, right? Or was it? I couldn’t place it, but I felt a flicker of fear for this man who was my mate.

Everybody was watching as if we were some kind of movie. Adolphus wanted to step forward to us, maybe to stop his brother, but my father’s voice halted him.

“Alpha, no. There is nothing you can do. They are mates. You have to let her go with him.” Those words were heavy to say for him. I could feel disappointment in his voice, but he had to say it anyway.

Adolphus halted in his tracks. His shoulders slumped, but he was good at hiding it. He wore a poker face and moved closer to Fenrir before he whispered to him. “Fenrir, you and I both know what you’re up to; she is mine, and no harm must come in her way!”

What Adolphus said was more like a warning to his brother. They both know what? What was Fenrir up to other than me being his mate and claiming me?

And Adolphus said I was his, and he rejected me? Wasn’t that ridiculous?

A triumphant but forced smile appeared on Fenrir’s face. He nodded and responded. “Yes, brother, trust me to take care of her.” He paused and gently pushed me closer to his body.

“But she is mine, not yours,” he corrected, barely above a whisper too, but I could hear them.

Wait… I still don’t get this! I shook off the thoughts reeling in my head. Maybe I was just overthinking things.

With no more words to say, Adolphus angrily stormed away from the gathering.

My gaze shifted to my father. Maybe he was happy or sad; I couldn’t tell. I attempted to walk closer to him, but Fenrir held my wrist, holding me still.

“Oh, sweet mate, we’ve got to leave. My pack is a six-hour drive from here,” his eyes locked onto mine as he spoke.

“That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t say goodbye to my father,” I retorted, jerking my hand slightly away from him.

As excited as I was to have a second chance, mate, I felt a bit unhappy that it was him. The memory of him sucking on my blood earlier still lingers in my head.What if he continues like that and sucks me dry one day?

His eyebrows furrowed. “Oh, your father…” He trailed off before releasing his hold on me.

“Yes, and I have to say goodbye to him… Who knows, maybe it’s going to be my last time.” That last part was a whisper, more to myself than responding to him.

A few minutes later, we were done packing my things. The pack members had all returned to their respective cabins. And as we walked out of our pack border, a car, a sleek Maserati, was already waiting for us.

Once I was seated, I couldn’t help but imagine how I was going to live with a hybrid of a vampire and a werewolf. Someone who was rumored to have a pack of human-turned vampires. Maybe it wasn't a rumor. It was true… he said he had a pack.

Imagine living with groups of vampires… Oh, f**k… Moon goddess, I can’t imagine being sucked dry by one of them or even him.