Page 59 of Betrayed Mate

I had to get my head on straight. This was pretend, but the faint, spicy scent of his arousal hit my nose. When his mouth touched mine, a jolt went straight through my stomach. Then his tongue brushed my lips, demanding entrance.

I inhaled shakily, and as soon as it registered that I should respond, he pulled away and arched a brow at the place full of male alphas. “I assume this meeting is to discuss who the next royals will be?”

Perry leaned over the table from his position next to his son. He scowled. “Yes, that’s the topic of discussion. We assumed you weren’t coming, so we began. These attacks are horrendous and must be stopped.”

There was no scent of a lie, and a chill ran down my spine despite the fury blazing inside me. I gritted my teeth and jerked forward, wanting to punch the bastard in the jaw. However, Ryker’s arm tightened around my waist like a vise, keeping me anchored at his side. The way Perry and Reid wrinkled their noses in disgust made me want to kill them both right then and there.

How dare they look at me likeIwas the problem?

“Sorry, Rebel’s a little feisty. One of the things I admire most about her.” Ryker chuckled. He moved his lips next to my earand breathed, “Calm down. Remember what your number one goal is—Briar.”

My sister’s name echoed in my head. He was right. The point was to stay focused and unaffected to infuriate the others—like we had no worries about being in control. We’d been here a minute, and I was already ruining that.

I took a shaky breath and forced a smile. “Sorry. It’s just hard seeing everyone after the loss of my pack.”

“It was a travesty.” Reid’s face crumpled. “All those bodies… Our pack buried them this morning. Though someone had begun digging a grave, which surprised us. At least now we know who.” He gestured to me.

This prick slaughtered my pack, kidnapped my sister, and now wanted to pretend to be some sort of saint by burying the people he’d murdered? Hatred punched into my stomach, making my chest tighten. I’d never realized I was so capable of these horrible sinking emotions.

From the other side of Perry, the middle-aged, light-blond-haired alpha of the Golden pack— another of the packs we were here to observe—cleared his throat. “That’s awfully kind, but clearly there were survivors. How many bodies were missing?” He glanced at the Blackwoods for the answer instead of me.

I growled, unable to hide my disdain. I would know better than those two, seeing as I was part of the pack. Despite it being the twenty-first century, sexism still thrived in the shifter community.

“Me and my sister Briar. Everyone else died.” My attention flickered toward Reid and Perry, hoping they could sense the disgust for them sludging through me. I watched for any reaction to my words.

Reid hung his head and flinched. “She’s right. We thought they might have died elsewhere since we ran the entire perimeter of their land.”

Ranwas one way of putting it. The termhuntedwould have worked the best.

Every alpha nodded at Reid’s confirmation, including the Asher alpha, who’d been as close to my pack as we had been to the Blackwoods. Normally, I’d brush it aside, knowing that I would either be the future beta of our pack or the alpha mate of another, but as an alpha myself, my wolf snarled.

“Of course she’s right,” Ryker spat. “She’s the Sinclair pack alpha now. We don’t need someone else confirming the numbers she stated. And don’t forget she is ofroyalblood.” He lifted his chin and stared down the twenty men in front of us.

My stomach fluttered.Down, girl. This was an act. I had to remember that. Ryker might find me attractive, but we didnotlike each other.

“There’s no reason to get upset.” The Hadley pack alpha lifted both hands.

“Right.” Golden ran a hand through his hair, making it messy. “I just didn’t know if the body count added up to the number Ember gave.”

They were trying to play it off without lying, but I understood what the intention was. It had been a slight jab to undermine me because each one of these assholes wanted the crown, and none deserved it.

Bruce fidgeted, and I couldn’t help but notice the sweat beading on his brow. His milk-chocolate-brown eyes flicked toward me, and he quickly wiped his forehead.

My hands clenched. He was acting nervous, and his was one of the three packs I suspected had Briar. If it was him, then he had to be in cahoots with the Blackwoods. My stomach pitched. He was the one alpha of the three I hadn’t truly suspected. He was older and had always seemed aligned with my pack’s views.

The sting of betrayal hit my heart. Once again, someone I thought I knew had screwed us over.

“And she may be ofroyalblood, but we’ve heard the rumor that something is wrong with her,” a young brown-haired man with a bowl cut spat. “No one will follow her.”

Air whooshed from my lungs. Before I could say anything, Ryker released me and marched over to the prick. He got in his face and pushed his finger into Bowl Cut’s chest. “There isnothingwrong with her. Reid was too much of an idiot to see what he could’ve had. She’s strong, smart, and resilient. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be standing here with us now.”

I couldn’t see Ryker’s face, but I could feel alpha power pulsing from him, and my own wolf whimpered in approval. This version of Ryker didn’t seem fake, but I had to push that thought away. I refused to let anyone else into my heart.

My gaze flickered to Reid, whose jaw worked as he watched the exchange. “Ember already said she doesn’t want to ascend the throne, so none of this matters. We need to figure out a solution before our packs lose more strength. We can’t fight an enemy as we grow weaker. Cassi mentioned a spell that can be performed so our wolf magic can identify our new leader as the new royal bloodline once we’ve selected them.”

“If the enemy grows weaker as well, then we don’t need to be in much of a hurry to make that decision.” I rocked back on my heels, enjoying that the positive emotions I’d felt for Reid were now gone. I didn’t give a fuck if it was because he’d mated with someone else. As long as I was free of that cursed bond, I didn’t give a damn how it had happened. “Whoeveris behind the attacks somehow diluted their scents, so they must have a witch helping them.” I let the last part hang out there, especially since Reid hadjustreferenced the witch tied to his pack.

Reid’s and Perry’s heads snapped in my direction, my implication clear. The other alphas flinched and blinked, processing what I’d just said. The Blackwoods were the rare pack that had a witch who was close to them.

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