Dear Enemy, You're My Mate

Chapter 34 **

Dior

I'm sitting inside the living room with many new pieces of furniture that I've summoned by simply tapping at images from the IKEA website. All I needed was my phone. I feel like a freaking wizard—did someone forget to send me that Hogwarts letter?

I discuss with myself. "Hm, perhaps I should get a new bookshelf next? Not that I have any books to put into it, but Patricia might need one for her new home. She reads a lot."

Right then, someone bangs on my door, and the sound isn't very pleasing to the ears. The person on the other side is angry. I question if I should even bother opening my door, yet I also realize that I can't hide from my pack members forever. I'm still their alpha, even if they are aware of me being a hideous monster.

Sighing, I push myself back on my feet. "I'm coming!"

My hand curls around the lock, and then I barely have time to see who is standing behind the door before I'm punched straight in the face. A knuckle bursts into my cheekbone, and a burning sensation is left when the person gets ready to swing at me again.

"You killed her!" Marcus screams at me. His eyes are bursting with tears, and his eyelids are swollen. "My one and only friend murdered my mate—this is for Gloria!"

I don't evade the next punch. Marcus is shaking, and there isn't any actual strength in his arms. He looks so lost that my heart gives a tiny squeeze. If I had been in his shoes, then I had wanted me dead as well. I wouldn't forgive anyone who hurt Patricia, and if someone murdered her, then I wouldn't hesitate to kill them.

"I trusted you, man!" Marcus's lips are quivering, and his eyes are glazed and unhappy. It is strange seeing the bully jock show his genuine emotions for once. "How could you do this to me? I understand we attacked you first, but you didn't have to kill her! Gloria didn't possess an actual threat to you!"

Instead of punching me a third time, Marcus grabs my shoulders for support as he cries in front of me. "I both hate and love you, Dior. We are on the same swim team, and now you're even joining the football team with me and—shit! I don't know what to do! I saw you as my brother by choice!"

Nothing I say will bring back Gloria, and I don't think I can make Marcus feel any better. It's not my place to comfort him. So, I remain silent while he sheds his tears.

"I wanted to challenge you for the spot of alpha, but I already realize I'm going to lose," Marcus sobs, tapping me on the shoulder before stepping outside onto the porch. When he meets my gaze, there is an inner rage glistening within his eyes. "So I will join the Summerburst pack instead—they seem more than willing to go up against the Winterbite pack. A war is coming, Dior, and maybe we can get even with my new pack by my side. Your mate is Patricia, right?"

The little sympathy I felt for Marcus is blown away when he mentions my mate's precious name. He must be stupid for threatening my mate in my home.

I had no control over my actions when I slaughtered Gloria—I didn't kill her by choice. Yet Marcus is speaking of laying his dirty paws on Patricia and killing her in the act of revenge? Shame on him! Patricia is innocent in all of this!

"It's so pathetic," Marcus snorts menacingly. "Everyone knows how bad you got it for that woman. You love Patricia. Meanwhile, she hates you and with a good reason."

I narrow my eyes, resisting the urge to snarl. "Don't bring Patricia into this."

"Why not?" Marcus shrugs, grinning at me. "Ever heard of the phrase 'an eye for an eye' mate? Patricia is dead meat. I will hunt her soul for as long as I live, and the two of you will never be safe. Killing her is my life's mission, and nothing you say can change my mind!"

A laugh, chilly and emotionless, leaves my lips. Marcus stares at me for one minute before I grip my hand around his throat. He makes a gurgling sound as I steadily lift him off the ground, pressing my fingertips into his warm skin. I don't care about accidentally cutting into it.

"Shit!" Marcus swears as he kicks his legs in the air. He seems frightened by my strength, but I'm not even straining myself right now. "R-Release me!"

I tilt my head. "No."

Marcus widens his eyes, then panics, throwing himself around like a worm in the air.

"Fuck!" Marcus utters. "If you don't put me down, then I will kill you too once I'm out of here, and let's be real—you don't have the guts to end me! Release me, Dior!"

The man isn't small—he is a jock, much broader than me, but he doesn't have monster blood coursing in his veins. I'm a freak of nature, and no one, and I mean NO ONE, threatens to murder my mate. I don't care who the fuck they are.

I wet my lips. "You know, Marcus. The other pack members probably won't care that much about me transforming during the full moon. They might even help lock me up somewhere, but you possess a tremendous threat to me."

By now, Marcus looks even more terrified because he knows what is coming for him. Fear flashes in his eyes while I knock away any human emotions from my heart as I tighten my grip around his neck. Nothing can stop me right now—I'm seeing red.

The thought of Marcus constantly hunting Patricia has made me snap. I'm aware Patricia doesn't like violence, but I would choose her life over what she thinks of me in every scenario. I would fight any enemy, even my pack members, to keep her safe, and if that means killing someone, then so be it.

The bond that binds my pack members to me is strong, yet I'm not only an alpha werewolf—I'm also a man falling deeply in love with a woman. And for her sake, I will become the monster needed to protect her against people like Marcus.

"There is a thing that I hate in most movies: the hero or heroine always spares the life of someone who later becomes an immense problem." My tone is impersonal while I talk. "But luckily, I'm more ruthless and far colder than your average alpha."

Marcus is shivering by now, and I tilt my head further, smiling up into his paling face. His mistake was to threaten Patricia, and even though the woman might not love me back, I will do everything for her. Patricia means the world to me.

"Bye-bye, Marcus," I whisper in a wicked voice, thick with darkness and ill intentions. "Say hello to the sharks for me."

"S-Sharks?"

I beam up at him. "Oh, yes! I've learned a new magic trick, and you will be my test subject to see if it works." My lips part further, and I dramatically inhale before naming my friend's travel destination. "Shark-infested waters."

My inner energies get focused into my hands, and then, with a pop, Marcus disappears. And hopefully, the man is dying somewhere far away from my mate.

I wipe my palms on my pants, talking to myself. "Now, let's take another look at McDonald's menu—I'm starving."