Mated To An Enemy

“Anyway, that box… the note. It's his version of a love letter,” Alice sighed, turning the computer to face the others. “He sent me the security footage of him giving Holden a dose of Bitter Night and then instructing him to blow himself up.”

Bell turned her eyes down, but Ashleigh, Caleb, and Galen all watched in horror as the scene played out.

After taking a moment, Ashleigh looked at Alice.

“What about you?” she asked. “Have you never felt anything… for him?”

Axel growled.

“Hush,” Alice whispered, petting him gently. “The question is reasonable.”

Axel sighed and rested his chin on her shoulder.

Alice turned to Ashleigh.

“I felt plenty for him– disgust, anger, resentment, fear. But no, I never had romantic feelings for him. Friendship, maybe, when we were children and I was alone. But the only memory that stayed with me was the sense of danger around him.”

“I'm sorry,” Ashleigh said.

Alice smiled.

“You shouldn't apologize for things that are not your fault.”

Ashleigh smiled.

“What does this mean for Bell?” Galen asked. “Roman is still alive, and you say he wants to kill her now. So, what are we supposed to do.”

“That's simple,” Alice replied. “Bell needs to return to Winter.”

“You can't be serious!” Galen growled.

“I am,” Alice replied.

“It's too dangerous to send her back!”

“Alice is right,” Ashleigh said.

All eyes turned to her.

“We can double the guard on the convoy,” Caleb offered.

“Alice and I will be joining the convoy as well,” Axel said.

“Perfect,” Ashleigh said. “You can't tell me that you think Axel won't be able to keep Bell safe.”

“It would be safer for them to stay here,” Galen stated angrily.

“No, it wouldn't,” Alice replied. “Winter has a boundary on Roman. Summer does not.”

“We don't even know if it still works,” Galen answered. “If their bond was severed, how do we know that the boundary is still in play?”

“It still works,” Ashleigh replied.

“How do you know?” Galen asked.

Ashleigh thought for a moment. She wasn't entirely sure how she knew with such certainty either.

“The boundary was made by an oath to the Goddess from Axel. The oath is still held, so the boundary is still held.”

“No, it's not–”

“Galen,” Bell said softly, touching his chin. “I'm going back.”

Galen clenched his jaw and turned away from her.

Bell looked around the room.

“Can you give us a minute?” she asked.

Without another word, the room emptied.

“We agreed,” she began, touching his cheek gently. “We each have our role to fill. Mine is in Winter.”

“That was before,” Galen replied softly as he leaned into her hand.

“Nothing has changed,” she smiled.

“How can you say that?” Galen asked.

“Because it's true,” she said. “I felt the bond sever. I felt him die. You told me he died. But I never really believed it. Deep down, to me, this day… was inevitable.”

Galen looked at her in disbelief.

“Look at me, Galen,” she smiled. “I'm smiling, I'm talking. I can breathe.”

“Ok…”

“I am trying to tell you that I'm alright,” she said. “Roman is a monster from my past. Yes, he is alive, and he is real, and he wants me dead. But I'm not afraid of him anymore. Because he isn't in here anymore.”

Bell touched her head and then her heart.

“I have been paralyzed by my fear of him for so many years. And now… I'm not,” she laughed. “I know he's dangerous, I'm not an idiot, but I'm not scared anymore.”

Galen swallowed and looked at the smile on her face. He looked into her eyes for even the slightest trace of deception. She always hid her concerns, but this time, she meant it.

“I know he will come for me, but I am surrounded by some of the strongest and most powerful wolves around, and that dumbass just keeps pissing them off,” she laughed. “So, I'm not scared.”

Galen couldn't stop the slight grin.

Bell leaned forward and kissed him tenderly.

“I love you, Galen. I can say this to you because of the strength that you give me every day. I am going back to Winter. I will do my part to protect innocent people in this war. You are going to stay here, and you will do your part to defend us all.”

Galen kissed her.

“I love you,” he whispered against her lips.

He kissed her again. Slipping his hands over her legs, he pulled her from the seat onto his lap.

Bell gasped with surprise and giggled as they extended their kiss.

One hand massaged her thigh, and she started to feel her excitement growing. His other hand moved up her back and tangled into the bottom of her hair, tugging just enough to make her lift her chin, exposing her throat.

Galen immediately moved his hot mouth along her neck. Bell let out soft pants.

“Galen…” she whispered. “We can't do this… here….”

The hand on her thigh slipped to her lower back. He held her in place as he rolled his hips, pressing the bulge in his pants against her.

She let out a shuddering breath and arched her back naturally.

Galen's mouth moved down her chest to the top of her shirt.

“Galen… someone might come in…” she whispered through heavy breaths.

“Then we better make this one quick,” he whispered against her chest.

His hands moved to her hips, lifting her to stand. He then grabbed her pants' waist and pulled them off her swiftly.

Bell was shocked at the speed of his movements. He looked up at her hungrily and then turned her around and bent her over the table.

She let out an excited gasp. While she was genuinely concerned about someone walking in, or any of their friends hearing them, she was also very turned on by how Galen took control in this situation.

Bell gripped tightly to the table and bit down on her lower lip as she was very suddenly surprised by Galen's tongue against her.

She let out muffled moans as he stimulated her to a breaking point. His tongue swirled around her delicate button, and then he sucked on it until her legs began to shake, and she couldn't hold back. Bell bit down on her hand to keep from crying out.

Galen lapped her juices before pulling away to stand and plunge into her without warning.

Bell gasped and felt her breath catch in her throat at the sudden fullness. Galen did not wait; he immediately began to thrust into her hard and fast.

Bell felt like she was losing her mind. Her legs were weak, and her body was reeling with every thrust. She could hardly catch her breath and wanted to scream out her pleasure.

Meanwhile, outside the conference room, Caleb and Ashleigh paced nervously.

Axel leaned back against the wall opposite the door with his eyes closed.

Alice had been sitting on the floor, but she suddenly stood up and dusted herself off. Walking over to Axel, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him off the wall.

“Let's go, big guy,” she smiled.

“Where are you going?” Ashleigh asked.

Alice looked at the door and smiled.

“They're done talking,” she said.

“Then we should go in and figure out the plan,” Caleb said, moving toward the door.

“Don't do it,” Alice warned.

“Why not?” Ashleigh asked.

“What's going on?” Axel asked.

Alice looked between the three of them with an amused expression. “How is it that I have the least extrasensory abilities in this group, and yet I seem to be the only one that knows they're fucking in there?”

Axel closed his eyes with a blush and took a deep breath. Ashleigh's eyes went wide, and Caleb stifled a laugh.