Page 45 of Betrayed Mate

Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off the blonde vampire, who straightened and bared her teeth at me just as blood trickled from the side of her mouth. She could attack again at any second, and this time, she’d make sure I was her sole target.

Ryker wrapped one muscular arm around my waist and pulled me against his chest. His hard muscles pressed into my back for a moment before he pivoted to stand in front of me.

I stepped to his side, preventing him from trying to protect me again.

“The Grimstones brought a stranger here without getting permission first, and Raven took it upon herself to allow her in without clearing it withus,” the blonde gritted out as red seeped through her emerald irises, revealing that her vampire instinct was taking over.

“Which she didn’t have to do,” the voice from the television snapped. “I told Raven that when it comes to our wolf-shifter friends, she makes the final decision.”

The floor seemed to tilt under my feet. I hadn’t expected the queen to take Raven’s side. Everyone knew that the head guards were the ones the royals relied on to know what was safe and not.

The blonde’s attention snapped to the screen, and her fangs descended. “Your Majesty, I thought we agreed that from here out—”

“That was your first mistake, Lucinda,” the woman interjected. “Wedon’t need to agree on anything. I told you that I usually trust your judgment. That doesn’t mean I suddenlyapprove of you making all the decisions when it comes to our wolf-shifterfriends.”

The tingle of warning in my spine ebbed to the point that I felt comfortable enough to redirect my full attention to the screen.

The most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen sat on a red velvet and gold throne. Her long chestnut hair waved past her shoulders, and her maroon lace dress had a slit from her breasts to her belly button that revealed the curves of her cleavage.

A knot formed in my stomach, and while I personally had never been attracted to a female, for the first time ever, I understood why others might be.

“Your Majesty, you know better than to trustthem.” The blonde’s jaw clenched as she pointed her dagger in our direction like she had to be clear on whom she was referring to. “The last time—”

“That isenough.” Queen Ambrosia straightened, her gray eyes narrowing. “Do I need to remind you of your place in my court? I’d hate to have to put you, Martin, and Bella through all that again.” She bit her plump, pink bottom lip and arched a perfectly sculpted brow.

“That won’t be necessary.” The guard, who must be Bella, shook her head vehemently. “We just didn’t realize that someone outside the Grimstone pack was allowed to enter without being vetted by us.”

“Especially one who can move faster than any shifter I’ve seen before.” Martin wrinkled his nose and side-eyed me. “Let’s not pretend no one noticed.”

This was another reason that our pack had stayed off the grid as much as possible. For some reason, wolves of my lineage could move faster than usual, especially Dad when he thought we were in danger or when we were hunting something hard to catch.

Chest tightening, I cracked my neck, trying to think of a way to salvage the situation. “Adrenaline spike is all.” That was what Dad had always claimed.

“Kendric alerted me that they’d taken in someone who’d suffered a similar fate as they had… and as we did tonight,” Raven explained, moving to stand on my other side. “She was also with them at the nest houses, trying to protect our people from the attackers. There was no reason to believe she was a threat and every reason to think that she could provide more insight, especially about the details surrounding the attack on her pack.”

“Her pack?” Queen Ambrosia tilted her head as her gaze landed on me. “Are you from the Sinclair pack?”

I opened my mouth to lie but paused. I was used to being around witches who didn’t have a sensitive nose. Vampires, however, could smell a lie, just like the wolf shifters. “I am.”

“Really?” Her eyes widened, and the corners of her mouth tipped downward. “I heard there were no survivors. How were you able to escape?” Compassion filled her eyes as she brought a dainty hand to her chest.

“I…I really don’t know.” That was true. Between the weird things and strange emotions and sensations I’d been experiencing, I wasn’t sure what was legitimate and not. But Briar had been petrified and had run too—I hadn’t been alone. “All of a sudden, my pack links began disappearing. When we ran out to help, chaos erupted. The Blackwood pack was attacking us without any warning.”

Shaking her head, the queen dropped her hand and leaned forward. “The Blackwoods did this?”

I nodded, and my stomach churned. “But that doesn’t make sense. And someone chased my sister and me, but I never made out who it was.” For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. This damn fated-mate bond was becoming a real painin the ass, preventing me from speaking ill of Reid despite what I’d seen with my own two eyes.

Ryker laughed bitterly. “Even after the alpha heir insulted you and rejected you in front of hundreds of shifters, you’re still trying to protect him?”

My face heated, and I wanted to hang my head in shame. He was right. I sounded and looked pathetic. Maybe there was something wrong with me after all, but that didn’t matter. I had to find Briar.

Queen Ambrosia twitched. “Wait. Are you the Sinclair alpha’s firstborn?”

The question knocked the air from my lungs. The threat of tears burned in my eyes. “Yes.” Even though, technically, that wasn’t true anymore. Dad was gone, which made me the actual Sinclair alpha. “At least Iwas.”

“Did you arrive while the attack was happening?” Raven asked, turning her attention to Kendric. “Because you never said anything.”

Kendric lifted a hand. “No. We did go by their territory a few days later, but we didn’t know about the attack until we foundher.”

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