My Mate Sent Me to Die for His Mistress

The wind screamed across the jagged cliffs like a wounded animal, tearing at my hair and clothes with icy fingers. Below, the ocean churned black and furious, waves smashing against the rocks with a violence that made my stomach clench. I couldn't breathe. My lungs felt too small, my chest too tight.

"Luna Claire." Morgan's voice cut through the storm, sweet as poisoned honey. "We've been working on your resilience training for weeks now. Today, you dive."

I took a shaky step back from the edge, my wolf whimpering deep inside me. The drop had to be at least sixty feet, maybe more. The water below looked like churning ink, littered with sharp rocks that broke the surface like teeth.

"I... I can't." The words came out barely above a whisper. "Morgan, please. The storm—"

"That's exactly why today is perfect." She moved closer, her expression the picture of patient concern. Anyone watching would think she was a dedicated mentor pushing her Luna to greatness. Only I could see the cold satisfaction in her eyes. "A Luna must be strong, Claire. The pack needs to see you overcome your fears."

My hands were shaking. I pressed them against my thighs, trying to steady myself. "This isn't training. This is—"

"What's going on here?"

Kane's voice boomed across the cliff top, and I felt my mate bond pulse with his approach. For one desperate second, relief flooded through me. He would see how insane this was. He would stop it.

But when I turned to face my mate, the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, I saw only irritation creasing his handsome features.

"Kane, thank the Goddess." I moved toward him instinctively. "Morgan wants me to jump in this storm, and I—"

"Have been resisting basic Luna training for three weeks." His words were ice water down my spine. "Morgan has been more than patient with you, Claire."

"Patient?" My voice cracked. "Kane, look at the water. Look at those rocks. I could die—"

"You're being dramatic." He crossed his arms, his jaw tight with disappointment. "Your wolf will heal any injuries. This is about mental strength, which you clearly lack."

Morgan made a soft sound of distress. "Alpha Kane, perhaps we should postpone. I don't want Claire to feel... forced."

The false sympathy in her voice made my wolf snarl weakly. But Kane's expression softened immediately as he looked at his childhood friend.

"You've already given up your afternoon for this, Morgan. I won't let my mate's cowardice waste more of your time." He turned back to me, and his eyes flashed with Alpha authority. "Claire. Jump. Now."

"No." I shook my head frantically. "Kane, please, I'm begging you—"

"I said NOW." His Alpha Command slammed into me like a physical blow.

My body moved without my permission. One foot in front of the other. My wolf was screaming inside my head, terror making her voice shrill and broken. I tried to stop, tried to dig my heels in, but the Alpha Command was absolute. My muscles weren't mine anymore.

The cliff edge rushed closer. The wind howled. The ocean roared.

And then there was nothing beneath my feet.

I fell.

The scream tore from my throat as the world spun into chaos. Wind, water, sky—all blurring together. I hit the surface hard, the impact stealing every bit of air from my lungs. Freezing water closed over my head, dragging me down into darkness.

Something sharp caught my side. Pain exploded through my ribs, white-hot and blinding. I couldn't tell which way was up. My lungs burned. My wolf was too weak to help, too terrified to surface.

Finally, somehow, I broke through to air. I gasped and choked, salt water burning my throat. A wave slammed me against a rock, and I felt something crack. My ribs. Two of them, snapping like dry twigs.

The agony was indescribable.

Hands grabbed me—rough, impersonal pack warrior hands—and dragged me onto the rocky shore. I lay there gasping like a dying fish, each breath a knife through my chest. Blood mixed with seawater on my lips.

Through the haze of pain, I heard Kane's voice. But he wasn't coming to me.

"Morgan, you're shivering. Here." The rustle of fabric. "Take my coat. You shouldn't have stayed out in this weather just to help her."

"I just... I wanted to see her succeed." Morgan's voice was breathless, perfectly pitched to sound concerned and exhausted. "She's so lucky to have a mate as patient as you, Alpha."

I tried to speak, to call for him, but only a wheeze came out. My vision was graying at the edges.

"Claire." Kane finally looked down at me, and I saw only annoyance in his eyes. "Stop being so dramatic. Your ribs will heal. Maybe next time you'll take Morgan's training more seriously instead of making such a scene."

He turned away, his arm around Morgan's shoulders, guiding her back toward the pack house.

No one helped me up. I lay there on the rocks, broken and bleeding, watching my mate walk away with the woman who was slowly killing me.

And somewhere above the storm, I could have sworn I heard Morgan laugh.