Mated To The Enemy

Meeting The Enemy

Ben's POV

"Normally, I would have your brat punished, but I don't need to do that now. I will alert my son at once, as soon as he opens his mind link and make sure she fights in the front lines... silence!" The Alpha King raises a hand, making me choke on my protest. Then he continues with a smirk, clearly enjoying all this. "That place is not for kids. Your daughter will cause you trouble no more, old man. And if by some miracle, she survives, she will make a great candidate for one of my hunts. The crime has to be paid, one way or another."

My head spins at this response. I've always known that one of the Alpha King's finer qualities were reasonable judgement, which is what prompted me to report my problem to him, but I've found out his cruelty knows no boundaries.

"Please, Alpha," I fall to my knees before him. "She's just a little girl. She probably thought it would be fun to run around with the soldiers, unaware of the dangers that await her."

"I've spoken. We are done here! Go home!"

I pull myself closer to his feet. "I will do anything you ask me to do, just, please, save my daughter's life!"

"I said we are done here!"

I face the ground and nod, defeated, then rise to my feet before backing out of the hall.

Caterina's POV

Travelling with my rejected mate at such close proximity is awkward at best, but I try to ignore him as much as I can, which is made possible by the fact that I have a more important thing to occupy my mind. It also helps that we spend most of our journey running through the trees, our speed faster than any vehicle has ever moved. At our fastest, the only thing visible of us is a colourful blur as we run through the fields and forests.

A tiny part of my mind is anxious about the outcome of the journey.

None of us was allowed to carry any guns, as was agreed, but what if the enemy tricked us and shot us all dead the minute they set eyes on us?

Make peace! No doubt Titus came up with that idea. Why in the world would he believe Santiago would agree to peacefully retreat when he's been training to overthrow our Alpha for years? So dumb.

We stop for a moment at a signal from one of the Alpha Prince's close companions. Titus seems annoyed as he turns to look at him.

"What is it?"

"Jordan says he can't have access to your mind."

"Why does he need access to my mind?"

I notice a hint of emergency in his tone this time, so subtle it's easy to miss. But I catch it and wonder.

"Looks like the search on Dane has been unsuccessful. He's still nowhere to be found."

Oh, great. I had forgotten about Dane until this guy mentioned him.

It occurs to me that Dane has been friends with Titus since the time they were in diapers, and if he finds out I have something to do with his death, which won't be long...

Well, it is possible today is my last day on earth, and if it is, I will die never having found out even just the name of my mysterious mate.

What a sorry excuse of a life I'd have lived!

I wonder if my mate saw me leave with the men, and if he did, how he felt about it. Was he sad to see me go? Or was he secretly happy seeing me risking my life, praying that I don't come back because he doesn't want to have a tiny boy for a mate?

I will probably never find out.

My heart plummets in my chest when we finally emerge from the trees and see the enemy standing on a hill just a short distance away from us.

Every single one of them looks rigid and foreboding, but it is the way they are looking at us that scares me the most.

"Stay calm," Titus cautions. "That's Alejandro Santiago at the center of them."

I take a closer look at the man he's referring to and almost get a stroke.

He is nothing like the stories I've heard of him "one big and ugly fellow with scars all over his face, so ugly children cry at the sight of him".

No!

It is the guy I met at the river last night, the same one who snapped Dane's neck like a twig.

Alejandro Santiago is my mate!

From the looks of it, he recognizes me as well because his eyes meet mine before a slow smirk spreads across his face.

How on earth is this even possible?