My Mate Sold Me to Protect His Mistress

The mind-link hit me like a physical blow while I was organizing medical supplies in the pack clinic.

*Kiana! Northern border—under attack—need you—*

Christopher's voice crackled with what sounded like panic, then cut off abruptly. My wolf, Luna, surged forward instantly, her golden eyes flashing in my mind.

*Our mate needs us!*

I didn't think. I just ran.

The northern border was a fifteen-minute drive, but I made it in eight, my hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel. My heart hammered against my ribs as I scanned the tree line for signs of battle—broken branches, disturbed earth, the metallic tang of blood.

Nothing.

The abandoned cabin came into view, its windows dark except for a faint glow from inside. Christopher's SUV sat parked behind it, perfectly intact. No signs of struggle. No Rogue scents marking the perimeter.

Something cold settled in my stomach.

I pushed open the cabin door, and the world tilted.

Christopher had Adelynn pressed against the wall, his hands tangled in her blonde hair, their bodies molded together in a way that made my wolf howl in agony. His scent—pine and earth, the scent that had comforted me since childhood—was wrapped so thickly around her that I could barely smell her underlying human odor.

But there was something else. Something sickly sweet and wrong, like flowers left too long in a vase.

"Christopher?"

He jerked away from her, but not with guilt. With irritation. His eyes, when they met mine, were glazed and unfocused, pupils slightly dilated.

"What are you doing here?" His voice carried that edge I'd been hearing more and more lately—the one that made me feel like an intruder in my own life.

"You said you were under attack. You mind-linked—"

"I said I needed you to stay away." He stepped in front of Adelynn, shielding her with his body. "This is a private strategy session. Adelynn's been receiving threats from Rogues, and her safety is paramount to the pack's stability."

Adelynn peered around his shoulder, her lips swollen, her expression a perfect mask of innocent concern. "I'm so sorry, Kiana. I didn't mean to worry you. Christopher was just... protecting me."

The way she said my name—like I was a child who'd misunderstood something obvious—made my hands curl into fists.

"Strategy session." The words tasted like ash. "Is that what we're calling it now?"

Christopher's jaw clenched. "Don't start with your jealousy, Kiana. It's beneath you."

Luna whimpered in my mind, confused and hurt. *Why doesn't he want us? Why does he smell wrong?*

I didn't have an answer for her.

The drive to the Alpha gathering the next evening was suffocating. Christopher's hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles went white, and the silence between us felt like broken glass—sharp and dangerous.

"You embarrassed me yesterday," he finally said, his voice flat. "Barging in like that, making accusations."

"You sent me a distress call."

"I did no such thing." He didn't even look at me. "You're so consumed with jealousy toward your sister that you're imagining things now."

My sister. The words hit like a slap.

"She's not—"

"She's family, Kiana. Your father's daughter. And she needs protection that you're too selfish to provide." His voice rose, taking on that Alpha edge that made my wolf want to submit. "Do you have any idea what it's like for her? A human living among wolves, vulnerable, defenseless?"

"She's not as defenseless as you think."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about." He slammed his palm against the steering wheel. "This petty vindictiveness. Your complete lack of empathy."

I stared at him, this man I'd known since we were children, and barely recognized him.

"I'm proposing a new pack law at the council meeting," he continued, his tone shifting to something almost clinical. "Alphas should be permitted to take a second mate—human mates—for political alliances. It would strengthen our ties to the human world, provide protection for vulnerable individuals like Adelynn."

Luna's howl of betrayal echoed through my skull, so loud I thought Christopher must hear it.

"You can't be serious."

"I'm completely serious. And as my mate, you'll support—"

The impact came from nowhere.

Metal screamed. Glass shattered. The SUV spun, and my head cracked against the window. Through the ringing in my ears, I heard snarls—Rogue wolves, their scents wild and unwashed.

And underneath it all, that same sickly sweet floral scent from the cabin.

Adelynn's perfume.

Christopher slumped unconscious against the deployed airbag. I tried to shift, calling for Luna, feeling her surge forward despite my injuries. We had to protect our mate. We had to—

Rough hands grabbed me, yanking me through the shattered window. Three Rogues, their eyes feral, their movements coordinated. Not random. Planned.

They walked right past Christopher's unconscious form.

They only wanted me.

"No—" I struggled, but one of them jammed a needle into my neck. Liquid fire poured through my veins. Wolfsbane. Concentrated.

Luna screamed and retreated deep inside me, whimpering.

Through blurring vision, I saw Christopher stir. His eyes opened, found mine. For one moment, I thought he'd shift, thought he'd fight.

Instead, he crawled toward his phone, his fingers fumbling across the screen.

"Adelynn," I heard him rasp. "Baby, are you safe? Stay in the pack house. Lock the doors. I'm coming—"

The Rogue threw me into the back of a van, and the last thing I saw before darkness claimed me was my mate, my fated bond, choosing her.