Betrayed Mate - Chapter One

BETRAYED MATE - CHAPTER ONE

My skin was crawling.

I stood in front of the mirror that hung on the back of my closet door in my bedroom, taking in a reflection that didn't quite look like me—there was no flour on my shirt, and my hair wasn't pulled into a bun. Mating with Reid Blackwood felt right, but at the same time, nothing felt right.

The conflicting emotions bounced around inside me whenever I was near or thinking about him.

"Sis, you look beautiful," Briar murmured, tucking another red camellia into my hair. I looked as if I had a crown of flowers on my head.

I bit my bottom lip. My mouth had been painted red to match the color of the flowers, which helped my pale green eyes stand out more and complemented my copper-red hair as if this particular shade had been made for me. "Why are we putting a crown on my head? Father's made it clear he doesn't want to be king, and I have no intention of becoming queen myself."

Mom sighed and flipped her long blonde hair over one shoulder of her emerald-green dress. "Ember, many brides wear tiaras and crowns on their wedding day. There doesn't have to be additional meaning behind it. Even if you don't intend to ascend the throne eventually, this is an opportunity for the wolf packs nearby to join in a celebration of our family merging with the Blackwoods. We all need hope for the future, after all the chaos we've suffered these past two months."

I rolled my eyes and looked into Mom's brown ones through the mirror. "Yes, because wolf shifters usually have wedding-like mating ceremonies." I let sarcasm drip from every word. The truth was that I didn't feel comfortable with any wolves outside of my pack in Shadowbrook, North Carolina. Apparently, that was one reason that Reid's and my fated-mate bond had taken so long to kick in—I'd stopped going to the regional wolf shifter meetings with my father, so Reid and I hadn't seen each other in the past eight years. Not since I was seventeen years old. We probably would have already been mated for years by now if I had just attended the meetings, but I'd figured there was no point in putting myself through the discomfort, since everyone had ruled me out as my pack's future alpha because I didn't have a dick.

Fate had a wicked sense of humor—the bitch.

"Honey, I know you hate being the center of attention, but this ceremony is a step toward unity again, even if it's only for a minute. It offers hope that our species can recover." She smiled sadly, the faint crow's feet around her eyes wrinkling. "Besides, you already agreed to it."

I had, but that was partly because I'd been caught off guard by the connection that had sprung up between Reid and I when he and his dad, Perry—the Blackwood alpha—and a few other wolf shifters from their pack had come to check in on us about three weeks ago.

Two months ago, the entire royal family, the top-level alphas from each pack in the region, and almost the entire wolf pack whose job it had been to protect them had been slaughtered not even twenty-five miles away, and everyone was still on edge. Communications between packs had become harder, since our regional alpha was no longer alive to coordinate news with every pack underneath him instantaneously through his pack links. We could link only with our own packs.

No one knew who'd attacked or why. It was like ghosts had killed them—well, all except for four of the protector wolf pack. They'd been called away just before the attack. Conveniently?

Now, everyone suspected each other and was afraid they'd be next.

Briar brushed off her pale blue dress and pushed her lighter copper hair out of her eyes. "That may be the hope, but we both know the Blackwoods have always had lofty goals. We all heard that Reid had been trying to date the wolf shifter princess." She winced and cleared her throat. "Fate bless her soul."

I snorted, sounding ever so much not like the princess everyone wanted me to be. Briar was so sweet compared to my bluntness. "I don't think you can offend the dead. Besides, you weren't talking poorly of her."

She narrowed her jade-green eyes at me and lifted her chin. "I wasn't worried about offending her—I just hate that they all died so horribly. Can you imagine the trauma they experienced with their last breath?"

I inhaled sharply. Briar was only twenty-one, but she sometimes seemed more mature than me, despite my four years on her. "Fair point."

A knock came at the door, and I spun around, the edges of my cream dress billowing around my knees.

The door opened, and Dad stuck his head in the room. His dark copper curls were wilder than usual, and shadowy circles sat heavy under his eyes. "Holy smokes." He chuckled, taking in the three of us. "I leave the house with three women in pajamas and drool coming out of the corners of their mouths, and I return to find them all prim and proper. Had I known that this was what it would take—"

Mom waggled a finger at him and growled, "If you don't want to sleep in the wolf's den, you better stop right there." She pressed her lips together, but the corners of her mouth tilted upward.

Dad entered the room and sat on my full-size bed, his shoulders hunched. My maroon comforter hung half-off the mattress where I'd thrown it this morning, and I winced.

Mom sat next to him and took his hand. "I thought you were going to get back in time to take a nap before the ceremony?"

I glanced over the bed out the window at the descending sun. It was almost time to leave for the cliff overlooking the dense forests that spanned the distance between our territories. Territories that might one day be merged under Reid's leadership, if no one in our pack took over as alpha.

"With the mating ceremony upon us, both we and the Blackstones are thoroughly scouting our territories to ensure nothing seems remotely alarming." Dad squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek before continuing, "But I'll be fine. I'll drink some coffee and take a shower, and I'll be right as rain for the ceremony and the festivities after. At least two other packs have already shown up and are heading to the cliffs now."

My stomach squeezed, and I wasn't sure if it was butterflies or something that indicated I needed to make a pit stop before we left.

"Well, you should move now." Mom smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress. "We need to head out too."

He laughed. "It's not like they can start the ceremony without her."

My breath caught. I didn't like the sound of that…which was stupid. Of course they couldn't start without me. I was the female mate—er—bride… hell, I didn't even know what to call myself. Not even the royals had mating ceremonies. Usually, the two fated or chosen mates performed the ritual by themselves and fully completed the bond. Instead, Reid and I were going to create a partial bond in front of all the local packs and then retreat to the house we'd be living in to complete it.

"Even still, we don't want to be late." Briar arched a brow. "What would that say about how we perceive this matebond?"

Dad frowned. "You three win. But before I get ready, can I speak to Ember alone? There's something I need to—"

A howl came from outside the house… Craig.

My heart jolted, and I tugged on my pack link to him. Are we under attack?

No, Em. There's nothing for you to worry about. I just need to alert your dad to something.

My shoulders relaxed, and I took a deep breath. Even though there hadn't been another attack on wolf shifters since that night, something sinister seemed to be floating around us. Something we couldn't shake. It probably sounded crazy, but we couldn't rest until we determined who'd attacked our king and queen.

Dad sighed. "Craig's got something for me to take care of while I get ready, but Ember, I'd like to talk with you before you leave. There's something important I need to share." His green eyes narrowed uncharacteristically.

A lump formed in my throat. This was the fifth time he'd said that in the past week, and we were out of time. Every time he'd mentioned it, something had happened—with a scout, or with a lookout, or he'd receive a phone call from another pack and need to leave because they thought they'd sensed something. Still, he'd had that look—brows furrowed and the skin around his eyes tightened—only one other time, when he'd had to tell me that something was wrong with one of my cakes.

"We need to leave now, Atlas." Mom shook her head. "You'll have to tell her after the event. I already made the coffee when you said you were heading back, so take a quick shower and I'll pour you a cup. You can catch up with us."

Dad's jaw worked like he wasn't thrilled. "I won't shower—I'll just clean up a bit. Go on, I'll catch up shortly." He left my room, and my chest constricted. Somehow, I sensed whatever he had to say to me was way more important than I'd even originally thought.

Looping her arm through mine, Briar tugged me toward the door. "Come on. It's four miles to the cliff, and the sun will be setting soon."

I grimaced but let her pull me along. What was wrong with me? I wanted to plant my feet in the shaggy brown carpet, but all that would accomplish was added tension between our packs, and right now, that was the worst possible thing to happen.

Mom, Briar, and I stepped into the hallway. My gaze skimmed past pictures of the family in front of our house and white-water rafting and went to the room directly across from mine, Briar's. We wouldn't be able to hang out each night any longer. I glanced to the right and saw Dad disappear behind my parents' bedroom door, and a sense of loss sat heavy in my chest. Shouldn't starting my life with my fated mate make me feel more excited than this?

We left the house, the cool mid-October breeze brushing my face and blowing my hair back. The other brick homes of the pack neighborhood didn't have any lights on, indicating people were either already heading to my ceremony or guarding the territory.

My bare feet sank into the cool grass as we passed through the woods behind our house, following the trail to the cliff where Reid waited for me. The leaves of the oak and maple trees were turning from green, to red, orange, and yellow, emphasizing that fall had arrived. This was my favorite time of the year—the views of the Blue Ridge Mountains were just plain gorgeous.

About a mile into the walk, I froze. Briar and my mom continued on a few steps before they realized that I wasn't beside them anymore.

Mom's brows creased. "What's wrong?"

"My dessert." I'd had no say over much of anything to do with the ceremony. Reid's mom, Mavis, had done most of the planning, wanting it to be perfect for her son, their pack's future alpha. The only thing I'd requested was that I get to make my signature dessert, which I'd done during my shift at the bakery early this morning. For any special event, I always made the same thing—red velvet cake with praline icing, topped with raspberries dipped in chocolate and maple syrup. It was a concoction I'd created when I was eight—I'd finally convinced Mom I was old enough to cook in her kitchen, and the dessert had been a huge family hit.

"Mavis picked it up this afternoon, when you were taking a nap." Mom patted my shoulder. "She wanted to make sure that she got it in time for it to be incorporated into the buffet line. Reid stressed to her how important it was to you."

"Oh, okay." Some of the discomfort in my stomach eased. During the whole planning process, Reid had made sure my voice was heard, even when I hadn't wanted to push it. This ceremony wasn't important to me; our relationship was. His mom could've planned the whole thing, but Reid was a good guy and had wanted me included.

So why did I feel so strange around him at times, like I couldn't wait to get away from him?

I shook my head and forced a smile, not wanting them to worry about me. They had enough on their plate, and he was my fated mate. There was no reason for the two of us not to be together.

I blew out a breath and moved forward again.

Briar and Mom started talking about the ceremony and the night. I smiled and nodded when necessary, based on when they glanced at me, but I focused internally.

Without intending to, I edged in front of them. I was most definitely not in a hurry, but something had settled hard in my bones. The cliff was before us, and I could see about two hundred people standing in the trees, waiting for the ceremony.

My eyes were drawn to Reid. He was standing near the edge talking to a beautiful woman with dark-tan skin who looked close to my age, laughing.

Cassi, the witch who had grown up with the Blackwood pack, stood at the cliff's edge facing all of us, prepared to oversee the vows created for us to speak as a show of unity for the people.

Her golden-brown eyes focused on me, and she smiled.

A shiver ran down my spine.

I moved forward on autopilot and ran into someone's side. Warmth shot through my arm, and I jerked my head up to find a breathtakingly handsome man glaring at me. The first thing I noticed was the scar running through his left eyebrow. Instead of taking away from his handsomeness, it added an edge of sexiness.

Brown eyes with flecks of gold met mine, and he sneered.

Suddenly, Dad was on my other side, scowling at the man. "Ryker. What are you doing here?"

My head spun. Ryker Grimstone . The son of the alpha whose pack had been in charge of protecting the royals. One of the four who'd been mysteriously absent when the attack happened. What was he doing here?

"I'm part of a local pack, and from what I heard, we were all invited." He rocked back on his feet, the wind ruffling the tips of his spiked hair. He smiled, but there was no warmth behind it. In fact, there was a dare, like he wanted to be asked to leave.

Dad, he wants you to make a scene. Let's just ignore him. In fact, I wanted to get very far away as quickly as I could. He might be the handsomest man I'd ever seen, but rumors swirled about him and everything he'd done. From what I gathered, he enjoyed pushing boundaries and challenging authorities with his antics.

Taking my arm, Dad said, "Just stay away from my daughter. She's getting mated."

"Believe me. I don't want anything to do with her," Ryker shot back.

My throat tightened, and a smart-ass retort slipped out. "The feeling is mutual," I spat before following Dad toward Reid.

Mom and Briar followed close behind us, but they didn't say anything, most likely because they were plastering smiles on their faces like me.

When we reached the front, Reid didn't acknowledge us. He kept talking to the woman I'd never seen before.

I cleared my throat.

He scanned me with sparkling blue eyes, and his forehead creased.

"Everyone, it's time for the ceremony to start!" Cassi called, her long dark hair lifting in the breeze. "Reid, please escort Ember to me so we can begin the vows."

My fated mate adjusted the top button of his navy shirt and ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. Then he took my hand.

As soon as our skin touched, the tug indicative of the fated-mate bond yanked at me, but an equally strong but repulsive sensation had me wanting to pull away from him.

He sucked in a breath, like he'd felt the same thing.

His eyes glowed, and he looked to my left. I followed his gaze to his parents, who stood a few feet away in front of the crowd. They had to be pack linking to him.

Still holding my hand, he glanced at the strange woman one last time before guiding me toward the witch. With each step we took, Cassi's gray eyes grew warmer, and a smile spread across her red lips.

Behind Cassi, the forest of the Blue Ridge Mountains flowed away from the cliff. The sunset was upon us, casting golden light over both our territories, the timing of the ceremony intended to emphasize hope and that we would survive.

"As you know, a mating ceremony isn't pack precedent, but any event that gives us something to celebrate and brings these two packs together in this trying time deserves to be special." Cassi clasped her hands in front of her chest. She stood so close to the cliff that the back hem of the black dress she wore drifted over the edge. "We're here to celebrate with the happy new couple before they merge their souls. What we will experience here is their claiming of each other."

At least she wasn't pushing us to have sex in front of everyone. That should count for something.

"Please, Reid and Ember, turn toward each other."

The two of us obliged, and I looked up the five-inch height difference to stare into Reid's eyes. My gut twisted, and I wasn't sure if it were indigestion or butterflies.

"Reid, by biting Ember, you're claiming her as your mate for life and promising that you'll care for her like you would yourself. Will you make this vow and seal it with your bite?" Cassi gestured for Reid to bite my neck.

"I…" He coughed, his face flushing. He swallowed and sputtered, "Will."

My heart hammered as I moved my hair to one side, allowing him easy access to my neck and shoulder. He lowered his head, and his breath warmed my skin. I closed my eyes, waiting for the sting of piercing teeth, but nothing happened.

I opened my eyes.

Reid straightened. He shook his head. "I can't."

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