The Alpha's Cursed Mate

Chapter 5

I lower into one of the four chairs yet again, my knees wobbly as my limbs thrum. I've never had a cup of wine, but from the way Tabitha tranquilizes herself with the red liquid, I believe I could use a cup. My mother said that drinking too much wine is dangerous for a woman; that a woman should never deprive herself of her senses, but I wouldn't mind a deep and oblivious rest.

Alpha Tophet settles across from me. I fold my arms to hold myself. The bond is invisible, but its power is palpable, so much so that I consider reaching out to yank it — anything to see him react. As of now, its existence for him is questionable, but I suppose I haven't given much away either.

Is something so rare and treasured wasted on us?

"I wasn't going to kill you," I lie. "That's not why I had the knife."

"What were you doing, then?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to walk. I brought protection just in case."

Doubtful, he questions, "Unshifted? In the snow?"

"I didn't say I was being reasonable. I was walking when I felt...it, and I panicked and dropped the knife to shift and run." For good measure, I add, "It's obvious that I can't kill you or anyone in your camp."

His jaw pulses as he bites. "All that was left was a cloak, a nightdress, and a pair of boots."

"What do you want me to say? That I wasn't in the right mind? That I was being an emotional, ridiculous woman? Or do you want me to tell you that the knife was planned for your throat?"

He leans back, breathing and judging. Our other meetings didn't feel as intimate as this one does now, and I advert my gaze just to convince him that I'm not admiring. It's bothersome, however, because there is plenty for a woman to admire.

"Do you want to kill me, Brea?"

The sound of my name sliding off his tongue causes a stir within me. "No."

"Will you try to kill me?"

"No."

He nods, slowly, with his own arms crossed. "What's the point of this? I can't kill you anyway."

"I know," he says, "but I didn't question whether you could."

I hold our eye contact until I can't anymore. My feet stretch and my toes curl, and I beg myself to return to the normalcy of before. "Can we move on? I don't want to discuss this any longer."

"What would you like to discuss? How we're mated?" He prods.

"I want to know what it is that you want from me — if anything."

"And if I want nothing from you?"

I swallow. "We continue our war. We fight and waste everything until there is nothing left but ourselves. And when it comes time for someone to die and someone to live, don't you then tell me that you want something. Because it will be too late."

"Very well," he says, compelling me to the very edge. "I want to join our packs."

My words spill forth so abruptly that I almost choke. "Our packs have been killing each other. They hate each other; they have for centuries. And even if we worked past that, joining and keeping both territories would be empirical. We would pose an immediate threat to everyone."

"It is not a threat if prompted by the Goddess." He explains, "Two Alphas have never been mated, but the mate bond itself is understood as a sacred gift. If the Goddess wills us to be mates, then it's only right by the Goddess that we act as such."

"And no Alpha or Luna would go against the Goddess's wishes." He nods, so I then say, "If I agree to this, I would get my land back."

"You will agree."