Forbidden Mate
Description
Cordelia's father warned her: werewolves are monsters who killed her mother, incapable of love, their hearts made of stone. But when Alpha Dante arrives to forge an alliance, one look ignites a bond neither can deny-a mate connection that transcends species and defies every rule she's ever known. Torn between duty to her father and a love that feels written in the stars, Cordelia makes an impossible choice: what she's willing to sacrifice-and who she's willing to become-to claim the life she wants.
Chapter 1
Dec 30, 2025
"I hope you understand what walks through our doors tonight, Cordelia."
Her father's voice cut through the dying light filtering through the tall windows. His weathered hands gripped his wine cup so tightly she thought it might shatter.
"These aren't the wolves from fairy tales," he continued, his eyes dark with memories she wasn't allowed to share. "They walk upright, speak our language, but underneath all that human pretense they remain beasts."
Cordelia turned to the window, and in her movement was the fluid grace of one marked by unseen forces.
Small and delicate, she seemed crafted from moonlight itself. Pale skin luminous in the lamplight, long blonde hair cascading to her waist like spun gold, blue eyes that held depths no mortal gaze should possess.
"But the treaty, Father. Surely they want peace."
"Peace." He spat the word like it tasted bitter. "What humans call peace, they call opportunity. Werewolves become bold while we have no choice but to sup with these devils, praying we don’t end up as their feast."
The sound of hoofbeats echoed from the courtyard below, steady and ominous as a war drum. Cordelia's heart jumped, and she moved back to the window before she could stop herself.
They emerged from the treeline like shadows given form. Dark shapes moving without any horses with a fluid grace that was both beautiful and terrifying. But it was the figure leading them that stole her breath completely.
Even from this distance, he commanded attention.
Broad shoulders, golden skin that seemed to glow in the fading light, and dark hair that caught the wind as he rode. There was something magnetic about the way he moved—dangerous, yes, but undeniably captivating.
This is their Alpha?
Every story she'd heard painted werewolves as savage monsters, barely contained violence wrapped in human skin. But this man... he looked like something carved from dreams and nightmares in equal measure.
As if sensing her stare, his head turned toward the window. Even across the distance, she felt the weight of his gaze like a physical touch.
Cordelia jerked back from the glass, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. Had he seen her watching him?
"Cordelia." Father's hand landed heavy on her shoulder, making her jump. "Remember what they took from us. Your mother—"
"I remember." The words came out sharper than she intended. She softened her voice. "I won't forget, Father."
But even as she said it, she found herself stealing another glance toward the courtyard. The wolves were entering the inner courtyard now, their leader's powerful form moving with predatory grace that made something flutter low in her stomach.
What is wrong with me? The thought made her pulse race for reasons she didn't want to examine.
Father squeezed her shoulder once more before heading toward the great hall to play gracious host to creatures he'd rather see dead. Cordelia stayed behind, trying to calm her racing heart and failing miserably.
The great hall had been transformed for tonight's feast. Chandeliers blazed overhead, casting dancing shadows across tables groaning under the weight of their finest food and wine. When the wolves entered, the very air seemed to thicken with tension.
They moved as one pack, human forms that couldn't quite hide the predators underneath. Conversations died mid-sentence as they passed, leaving whispers in their wake.
And then their Alpha stepped into the light.
Oh.
Up close, he was devastating. Sharp cheekbones carved his face into something between aristocratic and predatory, while his mouth held a hint of cruelty that should have terrified her. But it was his eyes that undid her completely—forest green flecked with gold, as if they'd seen centuries pass.
When he smiled—actually smiled—at her father, those eyes crinkled at the corners, transforming his entire face from dangerous to breathtaking.
It was the expression of one who had never doubted his place in the world's grand design.
"Lord Leon," came the voice like distant thunder, "I am Alpha Dante of Grayfen pack. We come in peace, bearing hopes for alliance."
Dante. Even his name sounded dangerous.
Her Father stepped forward, every movement calculated to project strength while concealing terror. "Alpha Dante, you are welcome in my house."
Cordelia watched from the shadows as they spoke of territories and trade routes, their voices weaving careful diplomatic webs. When Dante laughed at something Leon said, the sound sent shivers down her spine.
This is madness.
She pressed herself further into the alcove where she'd been hiding, trying to get her traitorous body under control. This man—this wolf—was everything she should fear. Everything she should hate.
So why couldn't she look away?
As the evening wore on, Cordelia found herself drawn back to the hall despite every instinct screaming at her to stay away.
The wolves mingled with their people, their presence adding a heated undercurrent to every conversation. Laughter came too quickly, smiles held too long, and everyone moved like they were walking on thin ice.
She kept to the edges, nursing a cup of wine she couldn't taste, her attention fixed on one figure above all others.
She should leave. The thought came and went like smoke. Instead, she found herself moving closer, drawn by forces she didn't understand and couldn't control.
Cordelia made her entrance, timing her arrival with the raising of glasses in formal toast. She moved through shadows like moonlight given form, pale silk flowing around her slight frame.
Pearls caught lamplight in her golden hair and threw back scattered brilliance. She kept to the edges, making her way toward her father with steps as careful as one walking through prophecy.
"Father," she said softly, touching his sleeve.
Leon turned with barely registered irritation from his daughter abandoning his previous, but he managed to hide it under visible relief.
"Ah, sweetheart." He straightened with fierce pride. "Alpha Dante, let me present to you my daughter, Cordelia."
Dante's forest-green eyes found hers across the room, and the world simply... stopped.
Recognition slammed into her like a physical blow. Not the kind born of having met before, but something deeper. Something that reached into the very core of her and whispered mine in a voice she'd never heard but somehow knew.
For Dante, the world collapsed into burning clarity. The feeling of finding home in one single person struck like lightning finding its destined tree, tearing through him with white-hot intensity.
His eyes widened as the truth blazed through him: Mine.
"Lady Cordelia," Dante said, inclining his dark head. His voice carried undertones that made her bones resonate.
"Alpha Dante," she managed, her voice sounding foreign, distant.
Leon watched with satisfaction, seeing only surface politeness and missing the deeper currents now running between his daughter and the wolf.
"I came to congratulate my father on the signing," Cordelia said, voice steady despite chaos raging in her chest. "We are grateful for this alliance."
"As are we," Dante replied, though his words were diplomatic, his eyes held depths that promised revelations she was not ready to hear. "It is good to make safe lands."
The conversation should have ended with pleasantries and formal withdrawal. Instead, it washed over her like background noise. All she could focus on was the way his gaze never left hers, the way the air between them seemed to shimmer with possibility.
This was wrong. Dangerous. Forbidden in ways that went far beyond simple politics.
And she'd never wanted anything more in her life.
The foundation of everything she thought she knew had just shifted beneath her feet, and she was falling into green eyes that promised to catch her... or destroy her completely.
Maybe both.
Forbidden Mate
30 Chapters
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