Mated to My Intended's Enemy novel Chapter 179

Chapter 179: Chapter 179 Locked Door

Freya

I had barely taken a step from Isabella’s room when I heard the distinct click of the lock. My daughter wasn’t trying to keep others out—just me. The realization settled like a cold stone in my stomach.

She was probably locking the door to contact Aurora without my knowledge. Selene whined softly in our shared consciousness, mourning the distance between us and our pup.

*She’s slipping away from us,* Selene whispered.

*Not completely,* I countered, remembering the genuine smile Isabella had given me earlier. *There’s still something there worth fighting for.*

I turned and headed back to the bedroom I’d once shared with Silvano. Even after the coldness between us had grown glacial, Aunt Emma had ensured I kept clothes and necessities at the pack house. The elderly she-wolf liked me—perhaps the only one in Silvano’s family who truly did—and often invited me back for meals, maintaining the illusion of a united Luna and Alpha.

After a long shower, I settled on my usual side of the king-sized bed, the mattress still shaped to my form despite my long absence. I pulled out the novel I’d tucked into my bag earlier—a romance about a wolf finding her true mate against impossible odds. Once, I’d read such stories with hope; now they seemed like cruel jokes.

The minutes ticked by as I lost myself in fiction until my eyes began to sting from fatigue. Checking my phone, I realized it was already eleven-thirty.

Silvano still hadn’t returned.

We used to have a passionate love, intense enough for me, who had always been cautious, to choose to abandon everything and join his wolf pack, becoming his mate. He had once said we were fated mates, that I was the best gift the Moon Goddess had given him. But after Aurora’s return, everything changed.

He fell in love with her wild spirit, her calculating intelligence, her unmistakable Alpha presence. After that, he barely touched me at all. The bond between us grew so thin I sometimes wondered if it still existed.

I wasn’t sure if his absence tonight meant he wasn’t planning to return to our room at all, or if he was simply busy with pack business. Either way, the emptiness of the bed mirrored the emptiness I felt whenever we were together now.

Restlessness drove me from the bedroom. I descended the stairs, my bare feet silent against the cold hardwood. Just as I reached the landing, voices drifted from the direction of the study.

"Everyone’s asleep. Is it because Freya’s here that you don’t want to return to the bedroom this late?" Maria’s voice, sharp with judgment.

I froze, instinctively stepping back into the shadows. Through the partially open door, I could see Maria and Silvano. My mate was smoking—something he rarely did except when deeply troubled—his broad shoulders silhouetted against the window. From this distance, backlit as he was, I couldn’t make out his expression.

"Actually, I understand you," Maria continued, her tone conspiratorial. "I’ve met Aurora several times now. She’s only twenty-five and has already earned her doctorate from one of the top universities globally."

My chest tightened. Aurora was younger than me by several years, and her academic achievements far outshone mine.

"She handles pack business matters impressively too," Maria went on, each word a knife between my ribs. "She’s beautiful, with that wild, untameable spirit. Her excellence and radiance are qualities most women simply don’t possess."

I clenched my hands into fists, nails biting into my palms.

"She certainly has what it takes to attract you," Maria said, her voice honeyed with false concern. "But she is Alpha Enzo’s daughter, your cousin, Silvano. Are you serious about this?"

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