After Hearing Their Thoughts, I Chose My Rival as My Mate Chapter 06

After Hearing Their Thoughts, I Chose My Rival as My Mate Chapter 06

I froze, finally understanding why Lucian had so uncharacteristically wished for my safety.

It had not been guilt.

It had been a trap.

Cedric Vale stood outside the carriage and sighed.

“Aveline, you and Serena are both princesses of Silvercrest Pack. What difference does it make which one of you goes to the battlefield with Rowan?”

He looked at me with the self-righteous tenderness of a man moved by his own devotion.

“Since you can hear my private thoughts, you should know that my heart belongs only to her. I would do anything to give Serena what she wants.’

I stared at him coldly.

“This has nothing to do with who you love.”

“Without my command, my hidden network at the border won’t rendezvous with Rowan. If we miss the ambush point, the entire plan will fail.”

Cedric looked at me as if he had just heard a joke.

“You? A spoiled princess? Do you really think those border warriors will listen to you? If they can listen to you, why can’t they listen to Serena?”

Rage surged up in me. My wolfish instincts erupted, and I snapped the ropes around my wrists by force before backhanding him twice.

Cedric’s head snapped to the side from the blows, and fury immediately burned in his eyes.

“You dare hit me? Do you really think I won’t hand you over to Bloodfang Pack?”

I sneered.

“So this is how you treat the person who saved your life?”

Cedric froze.

Years ago, at a banquet, he had gotten into a conflict with the heir of another pack. The other heir

was vicious and deliberately led a drunk Cedric toward the lounge of a she-wolf.

That she-wolf’s mate was famous for his violent temper. If I had not sensed something was wrong and knocked Cedric unconscious before he could barge inside, then dragged him away,

have been torn apart at that banquet.

Cedric murmured, “But when I woke up, Serena was clearly beside me…”

he would

I said evenly, “You were so drunk that night that you tore a silver crescent-moon hairpin from my hair. Does Serena remember that detail?”

Cedric’s face slowly turned pale.

I heard his thoughts collapse into chaos.

[No wonder Serena couldn’t answer anything when I asked her about that hairpin later.]

He looked at me urgently.

“Aveline, I…”

I cut him off.

“The only thing you can do now is change into my clothes, stay with the procession, and keep moving forward so Bloodfang Pack doesn’t suspect anything.”

A moment later, I changed into lightweight black clothes and slipped silently into the night.

I rode hard the entire way, switching horses twice before finally intercepting Rowan and Serena midway.

Rowan’s face was dark with rage. Serena stood beside him with reddened eyes.

After asking what had happened, I learned that Bloodfang Pack’s forces had just passed below the mountain. That had been the best possible moment to ambush them.

Everyone had been waiting for “me” to give the order.

But when the veil was lifted, Serena was the one sitting inside.

Now the timing had already been lost.

Serena was still crying as she clung to Rowan’s arm, and her eyes were full of resentment when she looked at me.

“Aveline, why do you always have to fight me for everything?”

“I’ll give Cedric and Lucian back to you. Just leave Rowan to me, all right?”

A vein throbbed at Rowan’s temple.

The border battlefield where his parents were buried lay just beneath our feet.

And she still had the nerve to talk about romance here.

I stepped forward, seized Serena by the hair, and dragged her out of the tent.

In the distance, flames blazed into the sky. Cries and screams rode the wind toward us.

The people who should have been living safely along Silvercrest Pack’s border were now running

for their lives.

I pressed the back of Serena’s neck and forced her to look.

“I used to envy you for having Mother’s love.”

“But now I’m grateful I did not inherit even half of her selfishness or cruelty.”

Serena trembled all over. I leaned close to her ear and said each word clearly.

“If we return victorious, I will personally tell everyone what you have done.”

“If we lose, then before I die, I will drag you down to hell with me.”

Serena finally fell silent.

She stared blankly at the flames below the mountain and at the border civilians being driven away beside the carriage.

For the first time, I heard regret take shape in her heart.