The Mate Who Burned MeChapter 1

They said rogues attacked at dawn.

I didn’t think much of it at first—I was training hard, sweat dripping down my brow, focus locked. But then the call came. Just a name. Susie. My sister.

I dropped everything.

By the time I made it back to the pack house, my legs felt like lead, lungs on fire. But I kept going.

The hospital wing buzzed with hushed urgency. I shoved past nurses, shouting, “Where is she?”

One nurse stepped back, startled. “Room at the end of the hall. Alpha Tommy—”

I didn’t hear the rest. I was already there.

The door slammed open under my grip. And then—I froze.

Susie lay still on the bed, colorless, motionless. Her chest barely rose. I stumbled forward, heart hammering.

“Her wounds…” the doctor said quietly. “She was thrown to the rogues.”

“Thrown?” I echoed, numb.

“She didn’t stand a chance. Deep lacerations. Bruised lungs. She’s fading fast.”

My gaze sharpened. “Who did this?”

The answer came without hesitation. “Monica.”

My vision tunneled.

Alpha Tommy’s mistress.

I clenched my fists. “There must be a way. Something—anything!”

“There is,” Tommy said, stepping into view. His tone was too calm.

I turned to him. “Tell me.”

“Your blood,” he said simply.

I didn’t think twice. “Take it.”

Even as the needle slid into my arm, I didn’t flinch. I barely noticed the growing dizziness, the chill creeping into my limbs. The bag filled too fast.

“Enough,” the doctor warned.

“Another bag,” Tommy ordered coldly.

“Alice can’t—”

“I said do it.”

By the time the second bag was full, my vision blurred. I collapsed into the chair, breath shallow. My voice was barely a whisper. “She’ll make it, right?”

Tommy touched my cheek. “Rest.”

That lie sounded almost tender.

Darkness swallowed me.

* * *

When I woke, pain was the first to greet me.

A dull throb in my chest. I opened my eyes to a too-bright light. Confused. Dizzy. Then it hit me—

Susie.

I jerked upright. The bed beside me—empty. Pristine. Untouched.

“No…” I stumbled out of bed, ripping the IV from my arm. My voice cracked. “Susie?”

Silence.

Then, from the hallway—voices.

“Alpha, Monica’s stable. The transfusion worked.”

Monica?

Another voice—hesitant. “And the girl?”

Tommy’s voice, colder than ice. “She’s dead. That blood was always meant for Monica.”

My knees buckled. I clutched the doorframe, bile rising.

“Does Alice know?”

“She’ll believe whatever I say. She always does.”

The world spun. I staggered back, trembling.

He’d lied. Used me.

Susie was gone—and I had poured everything I had into saving the wrong woman.

His woman.

Tears blurred my vision, rage and heartbreak colliding inside me.

He played me.

And I had let him.