Mated To An Enemy

“I have nothing to do with it,” Ashleigh said as she shook her head.

“You want nothing to do with it,” Galen replied. “But the wolves that believe you should be in charge are the ones that caused this lockdown.”

Ashleigh clenched her jaw and turned away from him.

“Caleb is the only one that should be in charge," she stated.

Galen closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Ashleigh, I agree,” he said softly, “I really do, but… Summer needs someone now.”

Ashleigh shook her head and sighed in frustration.

“None of this makes sense,” she said. “The wolves of Summer are some of the most rational people I have ever met. Rumors? Paranoia? It doesn’t make sense.”

“And as I already told you,” Galen said. “Summer isn’t the pack you knew anymore.”

Ashleigh felt the irritation between them growing.

“Clearly,” she replied. “Because the wolves I saw huddled in that room back there definitely weren’t the wolves I knew. Or that Caleb led.”

Galen tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

Ashleigh crossed her arms over her chest.

“It means,” she said. “Summer fell apart in your hands.”

Galen stood up straight. He looked at her with a pained anger.

“Fiona and I have done everything we could,” he said. “We have kept the pack safe; we have kept them together. We can’t stop this madness—”

“It never would have happened if Caleb was here,” she said.

Galen clenched his jaw.

“Obviously not,” he said. “But that’s because—"

“And yet you think you can replace him!” Ashleigh shouted.

“Do you really not understand that Summer needs an Alpha?” Galen snapped back. “Or are you just that determined to assume that everyone is always trying to hurt you.”

Ashleigh looked at him with anger and frustration.

“I don’t understand how easily you think you can take his place!” Ashleigh shouted. “These are his people! His wolves! By birth and by right, he is the only Alpha of Summer!”

Galen clenched his jaw. Every word she spoke was a dagger in his heart. Because he agreed with each one.

He knew he couldn’t replace Caleb.

Being Alpha was Caleb’s birthright and his rightful place. And if Caleb were here, the thought of being Alpha would never have crossed Galen’s mind.

But Caleb wasn’t here, and these wolves needed someone who was.

“You’re right,” he said. “He is the only person fit to be Alpha of Summer, and he should be.”

Ashleigh furrowed her brows and looked at him with confusion.

“But, unfortunately… he isn’t here, and Summer still is. And for some stupid reason, he saw fit to choose me to step in if the need came,” Galen continued as his voice began to tremble. “You may not like it. I sure as hell don’t. But the need has come, and I will follow my Alpha’s last order. I will honor his request and do it to the best of my ability… regardless of your opinion.”

There was no point in arguing with Ashleigh any longer. She couldn’t see past her own fears and pain. He couldn’t blame her, not when he was guilty of having spent the past two years doing the same thing while he witnessed the wolves of Summer slowly devolve around him.

Galen took a deep breath and sniffled, trying to compose himself.

He turned to leave the room but paused with his hand on the door. He let out a heavy sigh through his nose.

“There is something I need to remind you of,” he said. “Because it’s clear you’ve forgotten.”

Ashleigh looked up at him. His back was to her.

She didn’t respond, and he didn’t wait for her.

“Caleb isn’t just my Alpha, and he isn’t just your husband,” Galen said. “He is Fiona’s son. He is my brother and best friend.”

Ashleigh swallowed as she listened.

“This wasn’t an easy decision for me, Ashleigh,” Galen continued, glancing back over his shoulder but not actually looking at her. “Telling Fiona, telling you, telling all of Summer, that I, in any way, think I can take his place…?”

Galen lowered his head.

“A part of me still feels like I’m betraying him,” he said softly.

Ashleigh clenched her jaw and looked away.

“I’m sure he’ll be disappointed, maybe even angry,” Galen said solemnly, “and I don’t honestly know how I’ll face him.”

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for just a moment.

“But, I think—no…” he said, pausing and licking his lips. “I know… the thing he’ll be most pissed off about… is how long and what it took for me to finally do this.”

Ashleigh’s hands gripped into tight fists. She was angry and hurt. Removing Caleb as Alpha felt like another way he was being removed from their world. An official seal on his death certificate.

But as angry and hurt as she felt, she could hear the truth in Galen’s words. She could recognize that he was right. Even more than that, she could recognize the pain he was in.

Galen turned the knob, preparing to leave. Ashleigh took a step toward him before he could open the door.

“You still think… you’ll face him again?” she asked, her voice quieter than expected.

Galen paused. He swallowed as he carefully considered how to respond. After a moment, he let go of the door and turned back to look at her.

“Alpha Caleb is gone,” he said. “He can’t come back.”

Ashleigh’s chest tightened, her jaw clenched, her fingernails dug into the palms of her curled fists, and she lowered her eyes to the ground.

“But Caleb… son, brother… husband?” Galen said. “He’s just lost.”

Ashleigh lifted her gaze to his with furrowed brows. Galen looked back at her with a gentle expression and a soft smile.

“What’s lost can still be found,” he whispered.

Ashleigh gasped in surprise. She wanted to ask if he really meant it. If he still believed that Caleb would come home. But before she could say anything, the door he stood ready to open swung hard against him, knocking him to the ground.