The Enemy’s Touch

The pain dulled.

Like a storm that had moved a few miles away but still rattled the windows.

I drifted in and out of consciousness, the world around me rising and falling in blurred fragments of voices, scents, and warmth.

When I opened my eyes again, the tower room was dim.

Night had fully fallen.

Candles flickered along the stone walls, their light soft and uneven. For a moment I didn’t remember where I was. The last clear memory was collapsing on the floor.

Then the scent reached me.

Two scents.

Winter pine and dark chocolate.

Storm clouds and steel.

My body tensed instantly.

My eyes widened as the memories rushed back.

Xander.

Tristan.

The fight.

The pregnancy.

The marks.

I tried to sit up.

A sharp pain shot through my neck.

“Don’t move.”

The deep voice came from my right.

Tristan.

I turned my head slowly.

He was sitting beside the bed, elbows resting on his knees, watching me with an intensity that made my chest tighten. His dark shirt was still torn from the fight, dried blood staining the sleeve.

Across the room another presence shifted.

Xander stood near the window, his arms crossed, his broad frame blocking most of the moonlight.

His golden eyes met mine.

Cold.

Unreadable.

My stomach twisted.

“You should still be unconscious,” Tristan said quietly.

“I wish I was,” I muttered.

The silence that followed felt suffocating.

The room smelled overwhelmingly of both of them. Their scents wrapped around me from opposite sides, thick and heavy like invisible chains.

“Why are you both here?” I asked.

The question came out weaker than I intended.

Tristan answered first.

“Because if we leave, you die.”

That certainly woke me up.

“What?”

“The marks are destabilizing,” he said. “Your wolf can’t process two Alpha bonds fighting each other.”

I swallowed.

My hand slowly lifted toward my neck. The skin around the marks still felt hot and tender.

“I thought Xander rejected me,” I whispered.

A shadow flickered across Xander’s face.

He pushed himself away from the window and walked closer.

The movement immediately made my pulse spike.

“You were rejected as Luna,” he said coldly.

“That doesn’t erase the mate bond.”

A bitter laugh escaped my throat.

“You called me a stain on your soul.”

Xander’s jaw tightened.

“I said many things.”

“Cruel things,” Tristan added calmly.

Xander’s eyes flashed toward him.

“Don’t pretend you care about her feelings. You marked her in a rut.”

“And still treated her better in one night than you did in ten years.”

The tension between them snapped tight like a wire about to break.

“Stop,” I said quickly.

Both Alphas fell silent.

For the first time I noticed how close they both were now.

Tristan sat beside the bed.

Xander stood only a few feet away.

Their presence pressed down on me from both sides.

My wolf stirred uneasily.

Confused.

Pulled.

“Explain,” I said.

Tristan glanced at Xander.

Xander didn’t move.

Finally Tristan spoke.

“The marks are fighting for dominance. My brand and his rejection scar are sending conflicting signals through your bond.”

“That sounds ridiculous,” I said weakly.

“It’s not.”

Xander’s voice was quieter now.

I looked at him.

For the first time since the rejection, he wasn’t looking at me with disgust.

He was studying me.

As if seeing me for the first time.

“Your body is trying to choose between us,” he said.

“I didn’t choose either of you,” I replied.

A small, humorless smile tugged at Tristan’s mouth.

“The moon doesn’t usually ask permission.”

I closed my eyes for a moment.

This couldn’t be real.

First rejection.

Then kidnapping.

Now apparently my body was a battlefield between two Alphas.

Fantastic.

When I opened my eyes again, both men were still watching me.

“Fine,” I said tiredly. “So what happens now?”

Tristan leaned back slightly.

“For now, we stay close.”

“How close?”

Neither of them answered.

My stomach sank.

“No,” I said immediately.

Xander raised an eyebrow.

“You’d prefer dying?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“You asked the question,” Tristan said. “That’s the answer.”

The realization slowly settled in.

Two enemy Alphas.

Staying near me.

All night.

Possibly longer.

“This is insane,” I muttered.

“Probably,” Tristan agreed.

The silence returned again.

I shifted slightly in the bed.

Immediately the marks flared.

Pain shot through my neck like lightning.

I gasped.

Both Alphas reacted instantly.

Xander moved first.

His hand closed around my wrist before I could even process the movement.

The contact sent a strange warmth through my body.

My wolf stirred again.

Mate.

The sensation eased the pain slightly.

Then Tristan’s hand touched my shoulder.

Another wave of warmth spread through me.

Different.

Darker.

But just as stabilizing.

I blinked in surprise.

The burning sensation in my neck dulled almost immediately.

Xander noticed too.

His gaze flickered between Tristan’s hand and mine.

“So it works,” he said.

“Obviously,” Tristan replied.

Their scents grew heavier again as their wolves pushed closer to the surface.

My wolf responded instinctively.

Not with fear.

With relief.

Which was deeply unsettling.

I carefully pulled my wrist from Xander’s grip.

Neither man stopped me.

“We need rules,” I said.

Tristan lifted an eyebrow.

“Rules?”

“Yes.”

Xander crossed his arms again.

“This should be interesting.”

I took a breath.

“First, no fighting.”

Neither Alpha spoke.

“That includes glaring like you’re about to rip each other apart,” I added.

Tristan smirked faintly.

“I’ll consider it.”

Xander said nothing.

“Second,” I continued, “you both keep your distance unless the doctor says otherwise.”

Tristan chuckled softly.

“You’re giving orders now?”

“Yes.”

To my surprise, Xander nodded once.

“Reasonable.”

I blinked.

That was unexpected.

“Good,” I said cautiously.

Another silence settled over the room.

This one was different.

Less violent.

Still tense, but quieter.

For the first time since waking up, the burning in my neck had almost completely faded.

The two Alphas remained close enough for their scents to balance the marks.

Temporary peace.

Fragile.

Unstable.

And unlikely to last.

Because far beyond the tower walls, someone was already planning how to destroy it.

Fabiana stood in the courtyard shadows below, staring up at the tower window with venom in her eyes.

The news of the pregnancy had already spread through the pack.

And if that child was born…

Everything she had fought for would be gone.

Fabiana slowly smiled.

“Then the baby simply won’t survive.”