Mated To The Enemy Alpha

Ashbane Territory – Midnight Borderline

The wind howled through the trees like a wounded beast. Pine needles whispered secrets Elle Davenport wasn't supposed to hear- at least, not tonight. Not while sneaking past the border guards with her hood up and her dagger sheathed at her thigh.

She crouched low behind a thicket, breath shallow, her pulse quick and sharp like the dagger she'd borrowed from her father's armory. Her auburn hair was pinned beneath the heavy hood of her cloak, and her amber eyes scanned the dense woods ahead. One more step and she'd cross into Nightclaw territory. Into his domain.

Alpha Brandon Osgood. Ruthless. Cold. Unforgiving.

The very name made her want to gag. She didn't come here to be brave or reckless- at least, not entirely. She came for answers. For weeks, Ashbane scouts had been disappearing along the border, and her father, Beta Calden, blamed the Nightclaws. But Elle had found tracks that didn't match any of the local wolves- deep, strange prints with claw marks that looked wrong, like they were dragging something.

And if she was right, something worse than rival packs was lurking in the dark.

Snap.

The sharp crack of a branch behind her made Elle's heart lurch. She spun around, blade drawn, but saw nothing. Just mist curling low to the ground, clinging to her boots like ghost fingers.

She exhaled slowly and turned back toward the border- Only to collide with a wall of muscle. Strong hands gripped her arms as a voice like gravel over ice growled, "Going somewhere, trespasser?"

Elle staggered back, dagger raised, but the man didn't flinch. Moonlight broke through the canopy, illuminating sharp cheekbones, jet-black hair falling into storm-gray eyes, and a jaw that looked carved from stone.

Brandon Osgood.

Elle's breath caught. No. Not like this.

"You have exactly three seconds," he said, "to drop the blade before I dislocate your shoulder."

She didn't lower it.

Instead, she stepped back, forcing calm into her voice. "You're mistaken. I'm not trespassing. Just...tracking something."

He arched a brow. "On my land?"

"I didn't realize the dirt had your name on it."

"I could carve it into you."

The silence crackled between them like lightning before a storm. Elle's heartbeat thundered in her ears, but she refused to look away. She expected him to lunge. To shift. To attack.

Instead, Brandon's gaze dropped- then snapped back up. His nostrils flared. He took a single step forward, and the change in the air hit her like a physical blow.

His eyes widened. "No," he muttered.

Elle blinked. "What?"

He closed the distance in two strides and grabbed her wrist. "You need to leave. Now."

"I'm not going anywhere until you-"

"Now, Elle." His voice was strangled. Hoarse. Filled with something that sent a chill down her spine.

She froze. "How do you know my name?"

He didn't answer. But his grip tightened, and the heat from his skin burned against hers. Her dagger slipped from her hand.

Then it happened.

A searing, golden light flared between them-just above their chests. A glowing mark began to bloom, curling across Elle's collarbone and Brandon's neck like molten vines. It pulsed with the rhythm of a heartbeat-their heartbeat.

"No," Elle whispered. "This isn't-this can't be-"

"Fate doesn't care what we want," Brandon said, eyes glowing with raw disbelief. "You're my mate."

Elle yanked her hand free and stumbled back. "No. You're the enemy."

"And yet here we are."

The bond hummed in the space between them, magnetic and hot. Her wolf stirred beneath her skin, clawing for him. She fought the instinct, grounding herself in rage.

"You rejected the treaty," she snapped. "You murdered our scouts."

"I didn't lay a hand on your people."

"Then why are they dead?!"

He growled, low and threatening. "You think I don't want answers too? My pack has been vanishing, same as yours. Something else is out here. Something neither of us understands."

She wanted to deny it. Wanted to believe he was lying. But the haunted look in his eyes told another story.

And that terrified her more than the bond ever could.

Behind them, a blood-curdling howl shattered the silence.

Not wolf. Not rogue.

Something else.

Brandon spun, already shifting. His bones cracked, body contorting into a massive black wolf with silver eyes.

Elle didn't wait. She reached for her blade-gone. She cursed and shifted mid-stride, her wolf exploding free in a flash of gold and fire.

They ran together.

Two sworn enemies.

Two fated mates.

Hunted by the same darkness neither of them yet understood. The forest blurred around them as they ran-two streaks of shadow and flame tearing through the undergrowth. Trees bent under the wind of their passing, leaves spiraling in their wake. But no matter how fast Elle ran, the scent still followed. Wrong. Rotten. Like ash soaked in blood.

Her paws thudded against the earth in rhythm with her pounding heart. Every instinct screamed at her-this isn't just a rogue. It was older. Wilder.

Up ahead, Brandon slowed, nose low to the ground. She growled low in her throat, drawing up beside him. His eyes locked on hers, silver gleaming with something between fear and fury. His fur bristled, hackles rising.

It's close.

Elle caught it too. The scent was stronger now-acrid, acidic, nothing like a wolf. Her wolf whimpered inside her, agitated, uneasy.

A branch snapped behind them.

They spun.

But it wasn't a beast that emerged from the shadows.

It was a man.

Tall. Bare-chested. Scarred.

His eyes glowed with a faint red hue. Not gold. Not natural.

Not pack.

Elle stepped back. Brandon let out a warning growl that vibrated through the ground.

The man grinned, showing too-sharp teeth.

"Fascinating," he rasped. "The bond still works across bloodlines."

Brandon stepped forward, teeth bared. "Who are you?"

The man tilted his head, as if amused. "A ghost. A story your ancestors thought they buried."

Elle shifted back into her human form, ignoring the chill that crept over her bare skin as mist thickened. She stood tall, fury in her voice. "You killed our scouts. What are you?"

The stranger's smile didn't fade. "I'm evolution. And you..." He looked between her and Brandon, "...are the beginning of the end."

Before either of them could react, the man vanished into the trees-his movement unnatural, not shifting, not running. Blending.

Brandon shifted back, chest rising and falling with labored breath. "What the hell was that?"

Elle shook her head. "He wasn't wolf. He wasn't even half-blood."

Brandon looked at her, jaw tight. "You need to come with me."

She laughed bitterly. "To Nightclaw territory? Into the arms of the Alpha who just found out I'm his mate? No thanks."

"You just saw what I saw," he snapped. "Whatever that thing is, it's killing both our packs. And if that prophecy's real-"

"Oh, now you believe in prophecy?"

"I didn't," he said darkly. "Until tonight."

Elle opened her mouth to argue-but her chest ached. Right over the glowing bond mark. It pulsed again, faint but insistent, like a thread pulling her toward him.

"I hate this," she whispered.

"So do I."

They stood in silence for a moment, breathing in the tension, the fear, the unspoken truth: the war between their packs was no longer the biggest threat.

Brandon stepped closer, voice low. "Come with me, Elle. Just for tonight. We get answers. Then you decide what happens next."

Her pride flared. Her instincts screamed run. But her wolf? Her wolf leaned toward him, tail low, curious. Trusting.

Against every better judgment, Elle nodded.

"One night."

The path to Nightclaw territory was silent-too silent. No owls. No insects. Not even wind.

Elle wrapped her arms around herself as they passed through thick fog. She wasn't afraid of wolves or rogues. But this quiet? This unnatural hush?

It scared her.

At the border, Brandon held up a hand and whistled once, low. Moments later, two guards appeared-massive wolves with jet fur and silver eyes. They tensed when they saw her.

"She's with me," Brandon said. His tone brooked no argument.

Still, one of them growled.

"I said she's with me," he repeated, stepping into the guard's space. "You have a problem with that?"

The wolf dropped his gaze.

Elle smirked. "Alpha perks?"

Brandon didn't answer. He just walked ahead.

His den was carved into the cliffside overlooking a frozen lake. Dark stone, iron sconces, and fur-lined chairs gave it the look of a war room disguised as a home.

Elle took it all in with a quiet scoff. "Cheerful."

Brandon lit a torch and glanced back. "We're not big on pretty. We're built to survive."

She stepped inside cautiously, trying not to marvel at how clean it was. Organized. Everything in its place. The opposite of the monster she'd imagined.

"Sit," he said, motioning to a heavy wooden chair near the fire. "We'll talk."

Elle stayed standing. "You talk first."

Brandon crossed his arms. "You really think I'd throw away centuries of truce just to kill a few Ashbane scouts?"

"Your pack would."

"My pack does what I say."

"Then you're either lying or you're losing control."

His eyes flashed. "And your pack? You think Ashbane is innocent?"

"Of course not," she shot back. "But we're not the ones hiding creatures that move like shadows and smell like nightmares."

Brandon was quiet for a long moment. Then: "They attacked us too. My cousin went missing last week. We found what was left of him near the ravine. It wasn't a wolf that tore him apart."

The fire crackled between them.

Elle's shoulders dropped slightly. "Then we're both being hunted."

He nodded. "And bonded."

She flinched. The word stung more than it should've.

"I didn't ask for this," she murmured.

"Neither did I," he said softly.

But the silence that followed wasn't cold. It was heavy. Tense. The bond curled between them like smoke, tugging at something deeper than blood.

Finally, Elle spoke. "I'll stay the night. But in the morning, I'm going home."

Brandon nodded once. "Fair."

She turned to walk toward the guest quarters-then paused at the door.

"I'm still going to hate you in the morning," she said without looking back.

Brandon's voice was low, unreadable. "Good. That'll keep us alive."