All Chapters of The Alpha Who Married His Enemy: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

Maevra Sorn knew the message was probably a trap.She crossed the Ravaryn border anyway.Moonlight barely touched the forest floor beneath the black pines, leaving most of the trail buried beneath shadow. Maevra kept one hand near the knife at her thigh and listened.Nothing.That bothered her.Ravaryn territory was never quiet.Border patrols changed every three hours. Watchtowers stood along the mountain passes. Hunting wolves moved through these woods after dusk, and military scouts knew every path wide enough for a horse.She had crossed half a mile without encountering a single one.Someone had cleared the way for her.Or someone wanted her to believe they had.Maevra stopped beside an old cedar and pulled the folded message from inside her coat.Six words had brought Thornmere’s commander into enemy land alone.I know who ordered Cedren Sorn’s death.Below them had been a location.No name.No demand.Only the mark her father once used on private military correspondence.A cresc

Maevra laughed.Nobody else did.The sound escaped before she could stop it, sharp and disbelieving in the silent council chamber.Rhydan Varek wanted to marry her.The brother of the dead man lying somewhere inside this fortress wanted to stand before both packs and call his accused murderer his wife.“You’ve lost your mind.”Several councillors bristled.Rhydan remained irritatingly calm.“Possibly.”“Find someone else to experiment on.”Maevra lifted her chained wrists between them.“I refuse.”A murmur rolled across the chamber.Rhydan studied her for a moment.“Take her to the west holding room.”Maevra blinked.That was it?No threat. No argument.Taven Ryll motioned to the guards.Maevra planted her feet.“We’re finished?”“For now.”“You announce a marriage in front of half your court, I tell you to choke on the idea, and that is all you have to say?”One corner of Rhydan’s mouth moved.“You expected persuasion?”“I expected arrogance.”“You’ve already accused me of murder ton

The applause died before Maevra reached the end of the aisle.Good.She preferred hatred she could hear.Rhydan walked beside her through the great hall, his arm steady beneath her hand while hundreds of Ravaryn wolves watched their new Luna as though the title itself had become an insult.Whispers followed them.Some quiet.Some deliberately loud.“Thornmere butcher.”“Caelen’s murderer.”“Shameless.”Maevra kept her face composed.Sariel did not.Her wolf prowled beneath her skin, irritated by every hostile scent in the room.Rhydan lowered his voice.“If you bare your teeth at my court five minutes after becoming Luna, people may misunderstand.”“I’m smiling internally.”“That explains the murderous expression.”Maevra glanced at him.“You’re remarkably talkative for a grieving husband.”His humor disappeared.She regretted the words immediately.Caelen had not been buried.His body was still somewhere inside this fortress while strangers congratulated Rhydan on a marriage neither

The dead guard had Maevra’s attention for exactly three seconds.The knife had it for longer.She stood at the entrance of Varek Keep’s old armory while Taven crouched beside the body. Several guards blocked the corridor behind them, preventing the growing crowd from getting any closer.Thornmere steel protruded from the dead wolf’s chest.Again.Maevra folded her arms.“Whoever is doing this lacks imagination.”Taven shot her a dark look.“A Ravaryn guard is dead.”“And someone wants you staring at the knife instead of asking why.”Rhydan stepped around the body.His expression had turned frighteningly calm.“Was he one of the three reassigned from Maevra’s corridor?”“Yes,” Taven said. “Deren Holt. Seven years in the western guard.”“Where are the other two?”“Still missing.”Rhydan looked at the knife.“Does it belong to you?”Maevra’s jaw tightened.“No.”“Recognize the work?”“Military issue. Thornmere stopped making that hilt four years ago.”Taven glanced up.“You’re sure?”“I