All Chapters of Mated To My Enemy's Rival: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The mocking smile on her bloody lips didn't even have the chance to fade before her jaw clamped shut with a sickening, audible crack.My hand was still pinned to the back of her neck, my muscles coiled to drag her to her feet, but the moment I heard her teeth grind together, my stomach dropped. The sharp, bitter scent of crushed hemlock and raw nightshade filled the cold courtyard air almost instantly, masking the smell of the damp cobblestones.'No,' I growled, my grip tightening on her uniform as I yanked her face up.It was too late. Her dark eyes rolled back into her skull, her body violently seizing against the wet stone. A thick, pale foam bubbled past her lips, spilling over her chin and dripping onto my forearm. She convulsed twice, a harsh, strangled rattle tearing through her throat, and then she went completely limp.I stayed crouched in the freezing fog, my hand still wrapped around the dead girl's neck, staring at the lifeless expression frozen on her face.Her

For the next forty-eight hours, the West Wing remained sealed.I kept Cassandra close. We ate our meals in the small sitting area of my quarters, speaking in low voices about the village, about Sarah's gardens, about anything other than the blood currently spilling on the lower levels of my home. I slept in the heavy leather armchair, giving her the sprawling mattress, but every time I opened my eyes in the dark, she was there. An undeniable constant in a world that had suddenly turned upside down.Meanwhile, Gideon executed the purge.It was swift, brutal, and terrifyingly successful. My old Beta didn't play politics. He tore through the barracks and the servant quarters like a vengeful ghost. He found three more infiltrators—a stable hand, a perimeter guard, and an apprentice blacksmith. All of them lacked the biological pack crest. All of them carried small, hidden vials of crushed nightshade in their false teeth.Gideon dragged them into the deep cells of the dungeon, st

The first thing that returned to me was my sense of smell.Clean mountain pine, sharp cedar, and the refreshing scent of cold rain… Dominic's scent.I drew in a massive, ragged lungful of air, the oxygen burning like fire as it scraped down my raw windpipe. My body convulsed, a violent shudder wracking my frame as my heels kicked out against something soft and heavy."Cassandra!"The voice was rough, cracked with a desperation so profound.Warm, broad hands immediately closed over my shoulders, anchoring me down before I could thrash off the edge of the mattress. The touch sent a familiar, electric warmth humming straight through my veins, dulling the phantom burn on my palms and soothing the violent, frantic pounding of my heart.I gasped, my eyes flying wide open.Above me was a high, dark timber ceiling, vaulted and grand, crossed by heavy oak beams that I recognized with a dizzying rush of relief. The master bedroom in the West Wing. I was in Dominic's chambersPale, l

My brows creased almost immediately. "Why can't you?" I asked, watching the furious tension coiled in the broad muscles of his back.Dominic turned slowly, his face etched with a helpless, suffocating rage."Because every single pair of eyes in this territory is watching me right now," he growled. "The Council is on high alert after what happened at the standing stones today. Jarek’s scouts are probably watching my every move. If I go anywhere near his estate, his guards will alert him before I even cross his gates. He'd burn every scrap of evidence he has before I could kick the front door open.""Then send Jasper," I said immediately. "He's the Beta. Infiltrating places and finding things that don't want to be found is literally what he does.""Jasper is five hundred miles away in the east," Dominic replied, his voice dropping into a bitter flatline. "He won't be back for days, maybe weeks. I have no way to reach him without sending a courier, and a courier tips our hand

The second he vanished around the corner, my timid, trembling mask dropped.My eyes began scanning the empty corridor. I had kept my head bowed on the way, mapping the doors until I found out which one was the study. I moved quickly, retracing my steps until I reached the study door and grabbed the brass handle.‘Locked.’ I hissed to myself in frustration.But I didn't panic. I reached into the thick crown of braids pinned to the back of my head, and took out a long, sturdy iron hairpin Delphine had woven into my hair.I slid the hairpin into the keyhole, feeling for the internal mechanics. Then I twisted my wrist sharply, trying to pick the lock.Click. Clack.The heavy deadbolt slid back, and I pushed the door open, slipping inside the dark room, before pulling the door shut behind me, leaving it just a fraction of an inch from catching the latch so I could make a silent exit.Jarek's private study was meticulous, reeking of the man's bloated ego and expensive tobacco.