Page 2 of Betrayed Mate

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 all the shifters. Something we couldn’t shake. It probably sounded crazy, but we couldn’t rest until we determined who’d murdered our king and queen and everyone around them.

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 a lookout—or he’d received a phone call from another pack and needed to leave because they thought they’d sensed something off. However, 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 ceremony. 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 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 on the shaggy brown carpet, but all that would accomplish was added tension between our packs, and right now, that would be the worst possible thing to happen.

Mom, Briar, and I stepped into the hallway. My gaze skimmed past pictures of our 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 a 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 thatfall 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 where I worked 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 use 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 make waves. This ceremony wasn’t important to me; our relationship was. His mom could’ve planned the whole thing alone, 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 my mom and sister to worry about me. They had enough on their plates, 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 ahead. I smiled and nodded when they glanced at me, but I focused internally.

Without intending to, I eased 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 stood near the cliff’s edge, laughing and talking to a beautiful woman with dark tan skin who looked close to my age.

Cassiopeia, the witch who had grown up with the Blackwood pack, also 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 our 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.

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