Page 19 of Betrayed Alpha Mate

Emily told me that she joined because it was part of the terms and conditions of her contract to take over as the head healer of the Silverfang clinic in Stowe. She’d told me that it was an additional condition my father added to her contract—one that I wasn’t aware of because I left for black ops. While I’d been furious that it meant she would be in harm’s way for the rest of our squad’s duration as a special ops unit, I knew there was nothing I could do to change her mind.

That’s the thing about Emily; once she has her mind made up about something, there’s nothing that can be said or done to change her mind. She’s stubborn like that, and I find it endearing.

But she didn’t want me to know that she cared about me. She wanted me to believe that she was there out of duty, not out of care.

Shit.

I really hurt her with my rejection.

Clearing my throat, I place a hand on my father’s shoulder, more determined than ever to go through with this marriage and mating ceremony with Emily, a second chance handed to me on a golden platter. I have to prove that I am a changed man, and someone deserving of her.

Perhaps it’s the enchantment—the lunar binding spell—that makes me more determined than ever, but I lift my chin and nod once at my father.

“I am ready to be the man Emily deserves, Dad,” I admit earnestly. “I probably don’t deserve her, and I know how much she’s done for our family. But I will do everything I can to make up for it and be the man she needs.”

“I sure hope so,” Dad nods. “I have decided that after tonight, I will be traveling the world for a bit.”

I smile warmly at him, part of me relieved that he’ll be away from Stowe, away from the danger with the threat of Merlin Grimes. “That’s what Mom wanted,” I remind him.

My father smiles proudly as he pats my shoulder. “I am proud of you, son,” he chirps, then steps aside to nod at the coat stand behind the door. “It’s time you put your cloak on, Alpha Sean. You are about to give Silverfang their new luna.”

Silverfang’s new Luna…

It’s a title with honor and responsibility, and I hardly gave it much thought until now. As I place my cloak over my shoulders, my hand running down the lapels and crossing the emblem of Silverfang with its wolf claws against the background of a full moon, I feel my sovereignty returning as if I’d forgotten for a moment.

Perhaps I did, a little lost in the spaces that are filled with Emily, but Dad always spoke freely about what it means for a werewolf to be mated. Especially an alpha, whose pure bloodline continues with the birth of their first child.

I shouldn’t be thinking so far ahead, since Emily hates my guts. But I have to try and prove myself to her.

The fated mate bond depends on it. The lunar binding spell cements it. And Emily needs me to unlock her magic.

Or, does she?

As she steps through the open doors at the entrance of the grand hall, her arm linked with my father’s as they walk down the aisle, it becomes nearly impossible to imagine that she needs me at all. She’s an ethereal beauty in her white, flowing gown of silk and lace, floating forward with the only other color on her in her blue eyes, like jewels on her face.

How can an angel possibly need anyone outside of herself? But somehow, that makes me even more determined to be at her service, to wait on her as if that’s the only purpose I have in life. She doesn’t need me, but I want her to want me. I want her to need me. I will serve her until my last breath, and that’s a promise I make as the alpha of this pack, even if she doesn’t want to hear it.

Her hatred for me will stop her from accepting this, but it doesn’t change how I feel.

She doesn’t meet my eyes, her disdain evident, as if she’s being forced to walk this path, and my heart pangs for her. I know she hates me, but the reason she’s going through with this is seated in the front row in the hall.

Our friends from black ops: Dominic, Tyler, Nicholas, their mates, and Hunter and Delilah. Emily glances at them, and a gentle smile tugs at her lips, and it’s all I need to know that she’s doing this for them.

To defeat Merlin Grimes.

Another pang sets in, and for this one, I blame the binding spell. It’s jealousy—red and hot—pulsing through my veins, because I’m not at the core of Emily’s reasoning for going through with this.

It’s foolish of me, I know.

I know…

But it’s the binding spell that makes me feel this way, and why I feel utterly protective over her when my father leads her onto the stage beside me. Her indifference is as cold as her icy fingertips when her hand is placed in mine, and she holds herself firmly, tensely, so rigid that it almost feels like she’s not breathing at all.

Maybe she’s holding her breath, and I release her hand simply to give her the space she needs, even if I’m about to intrude on that space by taking her as my mate and taking her to my house after the ceremony.

Gulping hard, I focus on my father’s speech as he voices his delight about our mate bond, and how he wishes us the very best future. I almost feel like a fraud standing in front of my pack, entering a mate bond with the she-wolf who despises my existence, but I can’t help but wonder what kind of twisted fate this is.

I rejected her before—stupidly, because I was too much of a coward to face my grief, and I ran instead, breaking her heart along the way—only for us to be led back to each other through a mistake.