All Chapters of Mated To My Enemy's Rival: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The growl came again, closer this time, and I felt it deep in my bones. It felt like a low vibration that rattled straight through my chest and into the base of my spine.Even the horse felt it too. She went rigid beneath us for exactly one heartbeat before all four hooves left the ground at once, screaming in a manner that really didn't sound like it should be possible from an animal that size."Whoa — whoa!" I gasped, my hands gripping the reins tightly as the horse made us tilt violently to one side."Hold on," Dominic said in his low and clipped tone, and his arm clamped around my waist like an iron band, pinning me against his chest while his other hand fought the reins. The horse bucked again, harder, and I felt every muscle in Dominic's body go taut with the effort of keeping us both upright."What is that?" I managed, my voice thinner than I wanted it to be.He didn't answer, but his eyes had gone past me. They were fixed on the treeline, and I watched something da

He tossed it in front of the table, the body landing with a heavy, wet thud against the frozen ground. Then he dropped into the seat at my left without so much as a glance at the elders' reactions."Sorry I'm late," he said, leaning in close enough that only I could hear the rest. "Anisa found something on him. You're going to want to see it before Alaric does, or he'll talk for an hour before you get to the point."I rose, circled the table, and crouched beside the body. My eyes immediately fell on a mark that had been circled by Anisa, just beneath his collarbone — a jagged, angular symbol burned into the skin rather than inked. It was the kind of mark that belonged in old stories about frozen coastlines and gods who ruled many, many years ago.I furrowed my brows as realization dawned on me, “From what I can tell," I said, straightening, "this mark identifies him as part of a tribe from the far north. Which begs an obvious question." I looked around the table. "What woul

The village came into view through the trees — torches were lit despite the early hour, ribbons strung between the houses, and what looked like the entire pack gathered around a wide stone circle at its center. The moment we crossed into the clearing, a wave of noise rose up to greet us, wolves turning, pointing, calling out to their neighbors.Dominic dismounted first, then reached up and helped me down, and we walked into the ceremony together, side by side, in full view of his people for the very first time.I spotted Sarah near the front almost immediately, her face lit with open delight. Gideon stood beside her, his arms crossed as usual, but there was a small flicker of emotion visible in his eyes, something close to approval if I may be so bold.There were three other elder wolves wearing pristine dark robes with the Blackthorne crest on them, two women and a man, but I could only barely recall seeing them once at the wedding.We reached the center of the circle, wh

The moment the front doors of the Manor had groaned shut behind us, Cassie had started cornering me with questions, which I honestly found amusingBut then her voice began trailing off only when my nostrils flared. Her sweet, comforting scent of pine and rain had instantly been overwritten by something sharp, sudden, and blindingly familiar.‘Alice.’ Her name flashed in my head like warning signals. My eyes had gone hot, the subtle burn of gold bleeding into my vision as her scent profile registered, and an overwhelming urge to go to her invaded my thoughts. I hadn’t given Cassie an explanation; I had simply left her standing in the entrance hall, her eyes wide with a look that closely resembled fear, while my body took over, chasing the coordinates burning behind my eyes like a compass needle that only ever pointed in one direction.I broke into a hard run the second my boots cleared the terrace steps, throwing myself into the dark woods bordering the Manor grounds. The fr

The electric charge between us was so thick it felt like trying to breathe through wet linen.To my surprise, Dominic’s fingers remained firmly against the small of my back, his thumb pressing through the heavy velvet fabric of my gown. It lasted for only a fraction of a second, but time seemed to stretch infinitely, pulling every nerve ending in my body taut. Up ahead, Elder Jarek had paused near the grand oak doors, his sharp, hawkish eyes turning back to see why we had delayed.I forced my mouth into a serene, effortless smile for the elder. Beside me, Dominic’s iron jaw tightened, a low, barely audible breath hitching in his throat as he feigned a smooth, dismissive nod toward Jarek.Then, it hit me… a sudden, violent white flash that ripped through my skull like lightning hitting a dry brush.My vision flared white, dissolved into nothingness, then snapped into a disorienting, split-second blur. The warm, polished scent of the upper corridor was instantly overwritten