Chapter 1

NADINE. 

I closed my eyes as I relaxed my shoulders. According to the taxi driver who was taking me there, I was just less than ten kilometers from the nearest border of the Dark Forest Pack. 

I waited all my life for this moment. 

I wanted to enter the Dark Forest Pack territory. The pack that rightfully belonged to my family. The pack that was taken by the Trevinos under the false pretense of friendship. They killed my grandfather, the then-Alpha, while he was sleeping, while they were in our territory posing as comrades. 

I was not born yet when that happened, but I lived my whole life knowing about their treachery, and I had made it my goal to make the Trevinos fall to their knees. I would take our pack back at whatever cost. 

Even if it meant losing my own mate. 

The Goddess surely knew how to play games. She gave me a Trevino for a mate. 

Beta Xander Trevino of the Dark Forest Pack.

Two weeks ago, I met him at the Claiming Ball. But instead of claiming me, he went away with a promise that he would come back for me. The ball ended, and I had never seen him again.  

He didn’t know I was a Montrell, their family’s worst enemy. And I had no intention of revealing my identity to him just yet. As cruel as it may seem, I would use this bond as my gateway to infiltrating their pack and taking what rightfully belonged to us. 

And tonight was the best reason to be here. 

I would go into heat at the peak of the full moon. Without my mate beside me, many things could go wrong, so I had a valid reason why I wanted to be here. I was also hoping that my heat would be enough to entice him to claim me. 

I wanted him to claim me. 

I heard only a few things about him. Among them was about him being a decent man and that he was a man of few words. 

But then his Alpha, who was also his half-brother, had a reputation for being ruthless and abusive. So I had doubts about Xander, thinking that he might be like his brother, as they shared the same blood. 

But it didn’t matter to me. I was here for revenge. If I had to play the victim to reach my goal, I would do that. 

After I paid the driver, he helped me unload my luggage and left. 

Once he was gone, the man looking at me from the border fence approached, and we exchanged information. He told me to wait, as it would take approximately thirty minutes for Xander to come from the packhouse.

Thirty minutes was nothing compared to how long I had waited for this moment. 

A car finally came, and once the driver’s door opened, the scent of rich mahogany mixed with raspberries and sandalwood reached my nose. It was exhilarating. I almost moaned in pleasure the moment he stepped out of the car.

He was really good-looking and buffed in all the right places. His biceps were big, but not so big that they would scare me off. Just enough to make me feel secure if he wraps me in his arms. And his almost shoulder-length sandy brown hair was just perfect to cap his rugged look. He was definitely worth swooning, despite being a Trevino. 

But my moment of fantasizing about him was cut short when I saw the other door of the car open, and his Alpha came out. 

I swallowed as I tried to calm the erratic thudding of my heart. I stood up straight and forced a smile out of my lips to mask the many emotions and questions in my head.

What if Alpha Maddox said no to having me as Xander’s mate? Would Xander agree with him?

I wanted my mate to stand up for me. Otherwise, my plan would all go to waste.

“What are you doing here?” Xander’s voice came out cold as he walked toward me while his Alpha remained in front of their car, leaning his back against its front hood.

Xander’s forehead creased as his gaze drifted to the luggage beside me before looking at me again.

“I…” I paused. I was taken aback by his question. 

“Didn’t I say I would look for you?” He asked, and my heart was constricted by the anger in his voice. He surely didn’t want me here. 

“It’s been two weeks.”

“And? I said I would...”

“It’s a full moon tonight,” I mumbled. I wanted to snap back at him, but I didn’t want to blow up my cover, so I swallowed my pride. 

“I’ll drive you back home, and then we’ll talk.” He answered icily.

“I don’t have a home anymore. I... renounced my pack. They never wanted me anyway…” Lies. Everyone at home knew I was traveling and trying to find my purpose in life. But I renounced my pack without asking permission from the current Alpha. So it was true that I no longer had any pack. 

“Fuck!” He muttered under his breath. His eyes dilated before he spoke, but then again, his voice and his words cut my heart. “Stay where you are, and don’t say anything.”

My jaw clenched. I didn’t nod or reply, but I let my eyes tear up. I wasn’t even acting. I expected to be brushed off like this, but I didn’t know it would hurt.

We stared at each other for a few seconds, and when he realized he would not get a reply from me, he turned around and faced his Alpha.

“Alpha Maddox, permission to leave the territory...” He began, but the Alpha pushed himself off the car and walked toward us. His eyes were fixated on me, and I was not even sure if he heard what Xander was saying. 

My eyes shifted between him and Xander. My mate’s forehead creased as he followed his Alpha’s movement. 

“Welcome to my territory, Nadine. You are free to stay in the packhouse while waiting for my Beta to make up his mind.” Alpha Maddox spoke in an authoritative voice as he stood before me. 

My face lit up. Even if Xander didn’t want me, it seemed Alpha Maddox was willing to take me in. 

“Maddox!” Xander exclaimed, and I was sure I saw anger flitting in his eyes.

I turned my gaze away from my mate, and it landed on the Alpha, who I didn’t notice extended his hand in front of me. 

“Did you hear me? Nadine, right?” He asked. 

I bit my bottom lip and nodded my head before taking his hand. His grip on me was tight as we shook hands, and the way he was staring at me made my blood boil. He was looking at me as if he were undressing me.

“I’m sure Xander is having a hard time deciding if he’ll take you or his chosen.” He added.

“His chosen?” I repeated.

So, he had a chosen mate. No wonder he wanted me away from here. But I would not give up easily. 

“Maddox, enough.” I heard Xander tell his brother.

“Better she knows the truth.” The Alpha chuckled, still holding my hand. “I can be a good company while he thinks things over.”

A smug grin tugged on his lips, and it looked wicked. I wanted to pull my hand back harshly, but I didn’t want to offend him. He was my only way into this territory.

“Alpha, my hand,” I said in a soft voice, flashing him a nervous smile. 

Before he could reply, I felt sparks explode from my elbow before my arm was pulled away. 

The Alpha let go, and his eyes went to Xander, who was already beside me. He scowled at him, but my mate ignored it and pulled me away.

“Let’s go,” Xander said. 

I thought Alpha Maddox would be furious at what he did, but he just turned around and walked toward the car while Xander kept his hand on my arm while his other hand was clutching my two bags.

Sparks were exploding everywhere in my body, and his scent swirling around me made my knees weak, so I kept tripping. If not for his hold, I would be on the ground already. 

“I don’t want you anywhere near the Alpha.” He said in a low voice, but I could sense authority in it. 

I wanted to deflect his order, but I kept my mouth shut and discreetly rolled my eyes. If he kept being rude to me, I might do the opposite of what he wanted. 

Xander opened the door of the back seat and let me inside before going to the trunk and placing my luggage there. He was already in the driver seat when the door beside me opened, and the Alpha slid in.

My eyes widened as I met Xander’s gaze in the rearview mirror.

“What are you waiting for? Drive away.” Alpha Maddox spoke as he inched closer, and I could feel his skin brushing against mine.

“I thought you wanted to sit in the passenger seat, so I let her sit at the back,” Xander told him. 

“I changed my mind.” The Alpha answered nonchalantly.

“Nadine, move and sit beside me,” Xander said coldly.

“Nah. She can sit here. I don’t mind.” Maddox licked his lips and rested both arms on the backrest of our seat, where his arm ended up brushing against my shoulders. I felt every part of my face burning. 

But I liked this. If I couldn’t get into my mate, I would get the Alpha. 

I met Xander’s eyes again. His eyes were dilating, and his jaw was tightening. 

“Nadine.” It was only one word, but it was full of warnings—for me or the Alpha.

My hand reached for the door handle, and I pulled it open. “I would like to sit beside my mate, Alpha,” I said politely before I hurried out of the car and moved to the front seat. 

I didn’t know why I said or did that. Maybe because my wolf wanted Xander, and she wanted to sit beside him and not the Alpha. 

As soon as I closed the door, Xander drove away. I had no idea how long we sat in silence before Alpha Maddox spoke. “Have we met before?”

My heart thundered. Did he recognize me? I changed the color of my hair and straightened it in the hopes I wouldn’t look like any of the Montrell females.

I was still contemplating my answer when he spoke again. “Maybe not. Or I would never forget such a beautiful face as yours.”

“Maddox!” Xander growled, and his hands tightened around the steering wheels. 

“What are you complaining about?” The Alpha chuckled before his gaze shifted to me. “Forgive my brother. He doesn’t know how to appreciate the beauty in front of him.”

“Can you fucking cut that? Stop flirting with my mate!” 

“Does it hurt? Did you remember that Mindy was mine before you came and decided you wanted her for yourself? Now, you have two females, and I have nothing!”

Mindy? Was she his girlfriend? The chosen mate. Did he really take her away from his brother?

My gaze was drawn to Xander, waiting for him to counter what the Alpha said, but he didn’t say anything. 

I wanted to ask many things, but I shut my mouth. My teeth clenched as I focused my attention on the forest we passed by. 

For some reason, the revelation about Mindy made me furious. 

I knew I was not here for the bond, but that didn’t change the fact that he was clearly choosing her over his own fated mate. And my wolf couldn’t accept that. 

My mate didn’t want me because of Mindy. It seemed I had another person to add to my most hated list.