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Author: Yara writes
last update Last Updated: 2025-12-01 07:03:06

Zeva’s POV

The air in the Northern packhouse was heavy, thick with unspoken tension and the lingering scent of pine and burning wood. I had avoided Aric all day, keeping to the shadows of the library and the corridors where whispers and curious eyes could not reach me. But he found me anyway, as he always did, his presence impossible to ignore, impossible to evade.

He appeared silently at the library doorway, hands tucked behind his back, coat brushing the floor. The light caught his profile,jaw clenched, eyes sharp, wolf coiled under his skin like a living thing,and I felt the old pulse of heat in my chest. The bond flared violently, a warning and a pull all at once, and I clenched my fists to keep from responding, to keep from running.

“Zeva,” he said, voice low, almost careful, yet edged with that dangerous authority that always made my wolf shiver. “We need to talk. Now.”

I looked up from the book I had been pretending to read, trying not to betray the racing of my heart. “About w
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  • The Alpha’s Traded Mate   25

    Zeva’s POVThe corridor behind the training hall felt colder than usual, the stone walls humming with leftover tension from the pack’s public outburst. My pulse hadn’t settled. Jacob’s accusation still echoed in my ears,Aric has neglected you… manipulated you… refused you…,and the pack’s erupting whispers left a sting I couldn’t scrub off.I didn’t realize someone was following me until a hand slammed beside my head.“Zeva.”Jacob’s voice slid through the air like a blade.I stiffened but didn’t shrink. “Move. I’m not in the mood for more theatrics.”He stepped into my space, blocking the only exit, blue eyes burning with something unsteady and dangerous. “You think that was theatrics?” he scoffed. “No. That was the truth. And the pack needed to hear it.”“You blindsided us all,” I snapped. “You humiliated the Alpha.”“I protected you.” His jaw clenched. “Someone had to.”My stomach tightened. The corridor stretched long and empty,too empty. My training aches pulsed under my skin like

  • The Alpha’s Traded Mate   24

    Zeva’s POVI didn’t realize anything was wrong until the courtyard fell silent.I had just stepped out of the training hall, still aching from Roxie’s brutal morning drills, when the sound rippled through the air—voices stopping mid-sentence, chairs scraping against stone, warriors stiffening like they sensed an incoming storm.Then I saw him.Jacob Veylor stood at the center of the gathering grounds, shoulders squared, his dark hair pulled back in that easy, too-confident way of his. He had the kind of smile that didn’t belong in the North—warm, charming, almost reckless.But there was nothing warm in his expression now.Aric stood opposite him, posture rigid, jaw clenched, power radiating off him in waves sharp enough to cut air. His wolf was close—felt like frost rising from the ground itself.Jacob’s eyes shifted to me, and the corners of his lips lifted in a provocation that made my stomach knot.“This ends today,” Jacob said. His voice rang out, bold and unafraid. “I challenge y

  • The Alpha’s Traded Mate   23

    Zeva’s POVThe air in the Northern packhouse was heavy, thick with unspoken tension and the lingering scent of pine and burning wood. I had avoided Aric all day, keeping to the shadows of the library and the corridors where whispers and curious eyes could not reach me. But he found me anyway, as he always did, his presence impossible to ignore, impossible to evade.He appeared silently at the library doorway, hands tucked behind his back, coat brushing the floor. The light caught his profile,jaw clenched, eyes sharp, wolf coiled under his skin like a living thing,and I felt the old pulse of heat in my chest. The bond flared violently, a warning and a pull all at once, and I clenched my fists to keep from responding, to keep from running.“Zeva,” he said, voice low, almost careful, yet edged with that dangerous authority that always made my wolf shiver. “We need to talk. Now.”I looked up from the book I had been pretending to read, trying not to betray the racing of my heart. “About w

  • The Alpha’s Traded Mate   22

    Zeva’s POVThe moon was thin that night, a silver sickle hanging low in the sky, barely illuminating the snow-dusted paths of the Northern pack territory. My boots crunched against the frozen earth as I returned from a late training session, muscles screaming in protest, my wolf coiled like a spring beneath my skin. The shadows of the trees stretched long, jagged, and I felt them whisper around me, alive.I had gone too long thinking myself safe inside the packhouse, that my nightly routines and careful steps kept me away from danger. But the moment I passed the broken remnants of the old training grounds, I knew something was wrong. A rustle of leather, a whisper of movement, a shadow shifting where there should be none.Before I could react fully, a figure leapt from the darkness, hands wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me backward with terrifying force. My breath caught in my throat, a scream choking in my chest. The attacker’s weight pressed me to the ground, and panic surged h

  • The Alpha’s Traded Mate   21

    Zeva’s POVThe evening air hung thick with the scent of smoke from the packhouse hearths, the orange glow spilling over the polished stone floors. I had just returned from the training hall, muscles aching, my body still humming with exhaustion, when I felt it ,a presence that prickled along my skin like the warning of an approaching storm.Lorene.I hadn’t seen her much since her arrival, but every glance, every whisper, every calculated move made my blood boil. She was beautiful in the way predators were: poised, confident, untouchable. And she carried an air that screamed, I own him.I tried to keep my head down as I walked past the hall where she lingered, but Lorene’s sharp laugh cut through the corridor, stopping me cold. I turned, immediately regretting it. She was leaning against the wall, one hand tucked elegantly at her waist, the other idly playing with the edge of a shawl draped over her shoulders. Her eyes, icy blue, gleamed with intent as they landed on me.“Well, if it

  • The Alpha’s Traded Mate   20

    Aric’s POVThe hallways were quiet after I stormed out, the distant echoes of Zeva’s heartbeat still hammering against my chest through the bond. Each step I took was deliberate, heavy with anger and the unacknowledged fire coiling in my veins. My wolf roared beneath my skin, wild, feral, demanding her. But I refused. Refused to indulge it. Refused to let her see the weakness I hadn’t allowed myself to acknowledge for decades.Yet the moment I had torn her from Jacob’s side, my mind refused to stop replaying her laugh, the way her shoulders had relaxed in his presence, the way her eyes had brightened with warmth I could not give. I clenched my fists, knuckles scraping against the stone wall, and ground my teeth until they ached.Why does she have to make it so impossible?I had tried to remain detached, cold, merciless. She was to be my heir-bearer, my bloodline, a tool of survival and strength. Nothing more. And yet, every heartbeat, every glance she dared give, ignited a fire I coul

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