Dear Enemy, You're My Mate

Chapter 35 **

Patricia

Alice is sitting in the kitchen when I tumble out of my bedroom. She lifts her chin and gives me a sad smile upon noticing me.

It breaks my heart to see my friend like this, and I immediately wonder what has happened to her.

Alice has been living inside her room like a hermit for days. I can also tell she has been crying. Her eyes are puffy and red.

"Hi..." Alice is staring down into her coffee cup, barely even blinking.

I hand her a kind smile, ignoring the fact that we are both trotting around in our pajamas.

"Good morning," I say and walk over to open the fridge. I have a craving for yogurt. "Did you sleep well tonight?"

"Not really," Alice says, and then she inhales as if bracing herself to tell me something important. "Can we talk?"

I turn around. "Of course!"

Alice's lips twitch, and then she faces me with tears glistening on her cheeks. Her eyes are usually curious and playful, the kind that makes you wonder what she is up to, but right now, I can only find a gloomy sadness within them.

"I met my mate," Alice says and bites her lower lip to hold back the tears which must be prickling behind her eyelids. She looks so tiny my fingers are tingling to hug her. "And he rejected me at Dior's birthday party."

"Oh, Alice!"

I'm about to hug her, but Alice stops me by holding up her palm. Even though she is sad, her expression is still speaking of her inner determination. Her lips are pulled into a tight line, and her eyes reflect the internal war inside of her.

"No," Alice says calmly. "I don't want you feeling sorry for me because I haven't given up on him yet. I'm still hopeful."

My lips part in surprise. "You didn't reject your mate back?"

Her face seems to come back from the dark and moody place where it was seconds ago. She even smiles.

"No, I didn't," Alice giggles a little. "I'm sure you've heard of my mate before. His name is William, and he is the beautiful alpha of the Summerburst pack."

My heart ceases to pound at her words. Horror grips me, and I stare at her, blinking to make sure I heard her correctly.

"But isn't he mated to June?" I then take a deep breath, collecting the words I'm about to say. "And the Summerburst pack attacked me during the full moon spectacle—had Dior not been there to protect me, then I don't know what would have happened. June is some monster werewolf. A hybrid of both wolf and vampire. And I'm not sure if William is a good mate, considering they live together."

Alice doesn't look shocked by my words. Instead, her expression turns thoughtful and somewhat distant before she speaks.

"I'm aware of June," she says. "And I assume she got William under her compulsion, forcing him to do and act as she wants him to. He is a slave under her spell."

I grimace. "That would explain why William looked so guilt-ridden after attacking us. It seemed as if he didn't want to be there during the entire fight, and he even appeared sorry for his actions."

Alice swallows to keep her tears at bay. Her eyes are fierce, and even though she is dangerously close to crying her eyes out, she manages to lift her chin high.

"I want to save William, and I would like to have your help."

A sad smile curls my lips. "How? I'm not in a werewolf pack, and with the Summerburst protecting her, June has an entire army guarding and keeping William from escaping."

Alice smiles wickedly. "But you have Dior."

I frown. "Lavigne isn't strong enough to defeat the entire Summerburst pack by himself."

Laughter fills the room. "Patricia, don't play dumb! If you joined his pack again, then we would have the men needed to save William. All you have to do is give in and complete the mating ritual with Dior—I already know that the two of you are mates."

My heart clenches. Images of Dior's toothy, silly smile fill my mind, and when his blue eyes land on mine, I swear I almost choke. I force him out of my head, knowing I won't be able to focus for as long as I think about his gorgeous face.

I speak in a low tone. "It's easier said than done to fix things with my mate, Alice. While I want to help you save William, I'm not sure if I have it in me to forgive Dior so easily. Isn't there a way to help your mate without recruiting mine to our team?"

"Alright, and I don't know," Alice sighs. "I guess we will have to train and become stronger ourselves then?"

My lips form a smile. "What do you suggest?"

"Well," Alice nods at me. "You will have to lose that pudgy stomach and grow some muscles at the gym."

I gasp. "Hey! Take that back!"

When Alice gets up from her chair, I chase after the witch, resolved to punish her for calling me out on my baby fat. She laughs and fakes fright, causing me to blow steam through my nose.

"When I get my hands on you, then you're dead, Alice!"

"Oh, I'm so scared!" Alice teases. "I better hide far away from you! You're so dangerous!"

I stop chasing her then, and Alice stops running. She turns around, facing me with a dazed smile. My heart squeezes, and my legs won't budge.

Suddenly I'm standing there, remembering how I used to chase Dior back in kindergarten after he stole my things.

In the past, Dior would glance behind his shoulder and grin as I continued running after him. He loved playing cat and mouse, and I remember him saying, "I didn't know you were this into me, Patricia!"

Butterflies travel through my entire system at the memory. I see Dior's smile as a kid, and the picture is replaced with the loving and gentle expression he gave me during our night spent together.

Was I too hard on Dior when I sent him home?

"Aren't you going to chase me?" Alice asks, bringing me out of my trance. I repeatedly blink, causing Alice to laugh at me. "Hello, earth to Patricia? Are you there?"

I slowly shake my head, smiling a tiny fraction. "Yes, I'm here, but..."

"But what?" Alice asks, entirely confused by my behavior. "Did I miss something important?"

I bite my lower lip as I try not to call him immediately. I don't want to seem desperate, yet I wish to talk with Dior again, ask him why he likes me, and if his answer is good, maybe I will consider dating him.

Eventually, I sigh in defeat. "I believe there is a phone call I need to make. Do you mind if I invite Lavigne over for dinner tonight?"

Alice lifts her eyebrows in shock. "Uh, you're going to cook food for your enemy?"

"Yes."

"Bizarre turn of events," Alice comments but then snorts. "But at least I will be entertained from checking him out. Fictional men are much easier to stomach than your mate, who looks like a Calvin Klein model but acts like a dick, yet I have to admit he is sexy. Have you ever thought about having sex with your mate, only to, you know, see what it's like?"

My cheeks heat. "Can we change the subject?"

Alice burst out laughing. "No way! Did you sleep with him?!"

I turn around, smiling into the wall. "So, what do you want me to cook tonight?"

Alice is still cracking up in the background. "I don't blame you for sleeping with Dior, but damn, you tried to hide this from me! How could you?!"

I'm saved from answering her question by a knock on the door—thank the lord! The last thing I need is Alice knowing how many butterflies swarm my belly from simply thinking about Dior's name.

"One moment!" I shout. "I will be right there!"

Alice giggles. "Saved by the door, huh? Get back here quickly, though! I want to hear EVERYTHING!"

My lips twitch as I walk through the hallway with Alice's eyes following my back. I reach for the handle, opening the door to reveal no one standing there?

I repeatedly blink, stepping forward only to kick my toes into something hard. What the hell? A package, round and wrapped in the newspaper, lies by my feet.

Huh?

Who left it there?

A shudder runs down my spine as I bend down to grab the package. It's heavy, and a putrid smell comes from it, like rotten flesh and blood.

Alice shouts from the kitchen. "Who is it?"

Without answering her, I carefully unwrap the package, screaming when a face stares straight back at me. The skin is sickly grey, yet there is no mistaking it—it's my mother's severed head I'm holding.