Page 1 of Bound to Enemy (Wolf Billionaire #3)

CHAPTER 1

ALESSANDRA

T he smell of death wafted in the air. An eerie silence fell over the entire clearing. The only thing that could be heard was the soft sniffles of various members of my pack.

My wolf stirred within me. She was restless; she wanted to avenge her fallen and to repay blood for blood.

I stepped forward holding my torch in the air before a sea of white. My eyes passed over the grief-stricken faces of my pack members.

"We have lost many in this fight against the rogues," I started my speech. I had done several of these in the past three years and had come to realize that no matter what I said, words could never ease anyone's grief. "Blood has spilled and death has laid waste to our homeland. These warriors fought valiantly to the very end and will be welcomed by the arms of the goddess as their work on this land is done. From ash we were formed and to ash we shall return."

I stared at the pyre that held the four wrapped bodies, one of which was my father's beta and longest friend, Uncle Freddie. That's who he had been to me; he had been a part of my family from the moment I was born.

His mate Linda and their two sons stood behind me waiting for me to light the wood. I could feel her grief rolling off of her body in waves. Her wolf howled from deep pain the moment Uncle Freddie went down. It was the kind of pain that pierced through your soul.

"May the light of the goddess guide them to the eternal forest." I lifted the torch in the air.

"And may the goddess embrace them with open arms," the rest of the pack finished off the rest of the prayer.

I placed the torch on the pyre, and instantly it was set ablaze.

I heard a loud cry fill the air and I knew without looking that it was Linda. I looked over my shoulder and saw Xavier, her oldest, wrapping his arms around his mother.

To my left, my father stood tall watching the flames as they engulfed the body of his best friend. Ezekiel Fraser knew loss very well and had become accustomed to its darkness.

Death had become a common theme over the past few years as this war ravaged us like a hailstorm.

After the funeral, I settled into my father's office to debrief on who should become the new beta. But as I sat across his large wood desk, I could tell that his mind was elsewhere.

"Dad?" I filled the silence in the study.

His bright blue eyes found mine. "I need to tell you something."

"Okay," I readied myself for whatever he was about to say to me. I had a feeling that it had to do with him stepping down as alpha. I knew this time would come eventually, but I thought I at least had some time to prepare myself.

"I was approached by the beta of Bloodstone."

Instantly my blood chilled at the mention of those savages. "What did they want?"

My father's gaze remained hard set. I knew that whatever he was about to say would not only displease me but was likely to shift my entire world around.

"The attacks on their land have increased as well. The rogues have spilled a lot of blood on their side."

I had no sympathy for them whatsoever. "Dad, just say what you need to say."

"He proposed a marriage arrangement to join our two packs in the fight against the rogues. I said yes."

I stared at my father like he had gone mad. Surely he wasn't suggesting what I thought he was suggesting.

"Marriage?" I found it difficult to curl my tongue around the word. It felt so foreign on my tongue, alien.

My father blinked at me, his expression unmoving.

"Dad. You can't be serious?"

"I would never joke about something like this," he said in a low voice. "This is for the good of our pack, Ale. I know it's not ideal but?—"

"Ideal?" I scoffed. "You want me to marry the enemy! How could you do this to me?"

"Alessandra." There was no room in his tone for argument.

I bit down on my tongue to keep myself from uttering another word. The last thing I wanted to do was get into a screaming match with my father. We had just burnt his childhood friend and his beta.

"I'm sorry, Dad," I cast my gaze to the floor showing my submission to him. I then lifted my head to meet his gaze and noticed that his hard stare had softened.

"Ale," he spoke my name gently, just like he did when I was a child. "You know I never wish to bring you harm. I'm your father; my job from the moment I realized that your mother was pregnant with you was to protect you at all costs. I would never ask you to do anything that could put you in possible danger. You are the light of my life."

My heart squeezed. There was a slight shine to his eyes that showed me just how emotional he was.

Today had been hard, but the past eight years had been even harder. My mother and brothers were killed in a rogue attack that took nearly twenty members of our pack.

The day of their death had been infamously dubbed the Day of Red. So much blood was spilled that day that the entire werewolf community had been left shaken, even those from Bloodstone.

My wolf growled from deep within my mind.

She remembered their betrayal and how they never answered my father's call when they ravaged her pack.

My father had lowered his pride and called upon Alfred Vale to help him when the rogues circulated. He had promised us warriors, but when the time came to act, he held back. He left us here to fend for ourselves, and many died and fell.

My pack recovered after years of tears and hardship. It was a deep and horrendous wound to heal, but it did heal after some time. However, for my father and me, that wound never quite stopped bleeding. He put on a brave front, but I knew that he was hurting inside.

He lost the love of his life and his two sons. Not only did he lose his light, but he lost the heirs to his throne. My brothers, Brandon and David, had been groomed for the positions of alpha and beta respectively. It was their birthright; now they would forever remain frozen at 22 and 23 years of age.

They deserved more.

"How are you, Dad?" I had been afraid to ask him this question the entire day. I knew he wasn't okay, but I knew that he was just going to put on a brave face and say...

"I'm fine." He sighed, leaning into his leather seat. "It's been a hard day, but we must still move. The war is not over, Ale. The dead are gone, but the living are still counting on us."

Exactly like I had expected from him.

My father was never one to get into his true feelings about things. 'He was the alpha'; he was never allowed to feel things in front of his pack, including his own daughter. I hated that his title took the freedom to break from him. But I understood—at least now I did.

When my brothers passed, that left me as my father's sole heir. From the tender age of 15, I was plunged into the world of leadership and brutality. My youth was gone, and I had to become something tougher with less emotion.

The little girl in me died, and what remained from the ashes was this warrior I had become.

"I know you don't want this marriage, Ale. If I'm being truthful, I don't want it for you either. But it is a necessary alliance that we have to form with them to preserve our pack. They have the numbers and the resources to survive against the rogues."

"I understand." I didn't want to be combative with him; he had already suffered so much today and over the past decade. He had given me so much already in my life, and if this small sacrifice was what he wanted from me, then I would do just that. "I'll marry Daxton. For you, for the pack, and our legacy."

He smiled, but the glow didn't quite reach his eyes. He looked tired and worn down. My father put on a brave front, but he was no god; he was only just a man, and the flesh eventually got tired.

"I know I have placed a lot of expectations on you, Ale. You were plunged into the role of my heir so...unexpectedly. But you have carried the responsibility well and have held your head high through all adversities."

His words hung in the air like a pungent smell. Neither one of us spoke for some time.

We rarely talked of my mother and brothers. They were an incredibly sore spot for my father. He still couldn't bring himself to look at her pictures without being overcome with tears.

They were true soulmates. They were destined and intertwined.

A union ordained by the goddess herself.

If I was being truthful, I felt such a bond to be more of a curse than a blessing. To have your life completely tethered to another so that their doom can easily become your end.

I hated that. I hated feeling dependent on another; I wanted to stand on my own as one wolf.

I could only thank the heavens that I would never feel that way for Daxton Vale. The great alpha of the north and the rogue slayer.

"When will he be arriving?" I shuddered to think that traitor was going to be in my homeland, my sanctuary.

"Tomorrow."

My heart dropped to the floor. It was all happening so soon. I thought I would have time to prepare and come to terms with my life being snatched right from under me.

I had less than 24 hours to kiss my old life goodbye.

"It will be fine, Ale." His words of reassurance did nothing to ease the tension locked into my bones. "You'll be able to take escorts. I suggest taking Jason, seeing as he is your most trusted friend and a highly skilled warrior. You will need him in case you face any challenges."

Challenges.

I was walking into the lion's den. It was no secret that Bloodborn hated our pack. They viewed us as mongrels and unworthy to be within their rankings.

My blood simmered at the memories of what their scouts had done to our border patrol. They had marred and killed them like they were nothing but disposable rubbish.

Daughters, sons, and husbands. Those wolves had belonged to someone, and Bloodborn had killed them like they meant nothing. They claimed it to be a mistake and mistook them for rogues.

"Alessandra," my father's voice drew me from my internal thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

I nodded, trying to control my pacing wolf. The memories of the borderline incident still burned fresh in her mind and pierced both our hearts.

"The rogues are getting stronger, Ale." The grave tone in my father's voice penetrated through my anger. "They are getting stronger and far more desperate. There will be more blood, and we need to prepare. We need to work together with Daxton so we have a chance at victory. This is more than just tribal squabbles; this is for the good of our kind."

I hated that he was right, but we did need Daxton. Our pack had taken the brunt of the attacks since we were closer to the southern region.

"I will do what I have to, Dad."

The sides of his lips tilted upward slightly. "I know you will, Ale. You are your mother's daughter, after all."

I nodded. "I know."

I would do what I needed to for my family, but there was no guarantee that I wouldn't attempt to murder my future husband in his sleep. We had one common enemy, the rogues, but once they were eradicated, then the blood spilled by Daxton would need to be repaid, tenfold.