The Mate He Hates

Amanda’s POV

I woke up to a pounding sensation in my head. Slowly, I opened my eyes, but my sight was blurry, so I had to close them and reopen them again. This time, I could see clearly, although the room was a little dark.

Slowly, I sat on the cold floor, looked around, and realized I was back in the cell, but I couldn’t recall how I got there. The last thing I remembered was collapsing on the floor after Alpha Edward had his way with me. Remembering those memories brought tears to my eyes, and I began sobbing profusely. My thighs and privates felt sore. I was so weak that it felt like I would give up soon.

I looked at myself and realized I was dressed in a strange gown, which I knew belonged to a maid. It looked like a uniform because I saw a maid wearing the same gown.

I sobbed loudly as I imagined what would befall me next. Heaven knows what he would do to me.

I heard footsteps approaching my cell and, curious to know who it was, I looked toward the gate and saw a guard in front of the cell gate. A plate of food was in his hand, and then he passed it through the hole, along with water, without saying a word to me, and then he left.

With a rumbling stomach, I stared at the plate of food for a while, and then I crawled to it, picked it up, and returned to my initial spot. Slowly, I began eating but realized that despite my hunger, I didn’t have an appetite.

Sighing tiredly, I dropped the food and closed my eyes. Tears threatened to fall on my cheeks, but I held them back. How long would I continue crying?

I stayed in that position for hours until a guard came to my cell, unlocked the gate, and pulled me up. I didn’t question or struggle with him; instead, I allowed him to pull me along. He led me to a familiar door, announced our presence, and then took me in.

Getting in, I wasn’t surprised to see Alpha Edward seated on the couch with a glass of whiskey in his hand. My eyes fell on the desk where I was brutally taken by a man who was supposed to be my mate. Tears clouded my eyes, but I held them back from falling.

He signalled the guard to leave, and after the guard left, our gaze interlocked. As usual, he had hatred in his eyes for me; those eyes I fell in love with the moment I saw them now stared at me with nothing but hate.

“Your two options are still laid out for you: death or live as my wife and face torture?” He asked, and I gulped in pain.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“I am still giving you another chance to make a choice and for you to know what you are getting yourself into,” he uttered, and I remained silent.

“Choose death, and you will be hanged, but if you choose to remain my wife, get ready to live a life of torture,” he laid out the two options to me, and all I did was swallow in pain.

“Make your decision now,” he urged, and with teary eyes, I decided to speak. “I want to stay alive because I didn’t do it, and I believe one day my innocence will be proven,” I said to him and heard him groan as he stood to his feet and approached me, but I didn’t make a move.

When he got to where I stood, he gripped me by the neck, choking me with his grip.

“You are still lying and denying it,” he uttered, but I only shook my head in pain. His grip on my neck tightened, and I was almost passing out, but as if he noticed it, he let go of me. I fell to the floor, gasping for breath.

“Guards!” He called. Two guards rushed into the room and bowed. “I believe you know what to do,” he said to the guard, who nodded.

Terrified, I looked at Alpha Edward, who glared at me and looked away. The two men lifted me from the floor and dragged me out of the room. I feared what they were going to do to me. “Where are you taking me?” I asked in fear but didn’t get a response from any of the men.

They dragged me to a hallway, and then we appeared in a vast, empty yard. They led me to a wooden structure that was shaped like a cross. Terrified, I looked at the men, but they ignored me and placed me on the cross-like wood. They began tying both my hands to the woods and tied my legs together as if I were nailed to the cross.

“What are you going to do with me?” I asked, terrified of my fate.

The two guards ignored me and walked away. I gulped in fear as I looked around the vast yard, but no one was in sight.

I noticed a cage nearby. Suddenly, the cage opened, and two lions emerged, their eyes fixed on me. Instinctively, I recoiled in fear, but the chains tethering them prevented them from reaching me. My heart raced as I realized the precariousness of my situation, trapped between the impending danger of the lions getting to me. Sweat trickled down my forehead as I stared at the lions who were just a few inches away from me.

The lions struggled relentlessly against their chains, their primal instincts driving them to reach me. With each tug, they came closer, their snarls and growls filling the air with menace. I could feel their hot breath on my skin as they strained against the limitations of their chains. Panic surged within me as the realization dawned that the chains might not hold them for much longer. My whole body shook with fear, while tears trickled down my cheeks.

I wanted to scream out for help, but there was no need for it because I knew no one would come to help.

The lions struggled to get to me; I could see the desire to tear me up in their eyes. All they wanted was to get to me, but it seemed the chains held them tightly. I could notice them shaking their chains, their loud roars filling the air as they struggled more to reach me. In a situation like this, I wished I had my wolf; I would have shifted to my wolf, but unfortunately, I couldn’t shift due to the magical choker wrapped around my neck, which would prevent me from shifting.

My entire body shook with fear, and unable to hold up anymore, I closed my eyes, so I wouldn’t be able to look at the lions.

I could hear the growls and roars of the lions, but I didn’t dare to open my eyes to look at them.

They continued struggling and growling, but soon, I realized everywhere was quiet. Curious, I opened my eyes and realized the lions had been taken to their cage and locked up.

I saw the guards walking back to me; they untied me, and I fell to the ground, weak and exhausted. Ignoring my state, they picked me up from the floor and dragged me back to the mansion. I went numb; my body and soul became lifeless.

I was returned to my cell, and they locked the gate before leaving. Slowly, I lay on the cold floor as I drifted into space. I wasn’t thinking or saying anything; I just went numb.

I stayed in that position for a long time until I heard a knock on the gate, which brought me out of my reverie. I looked at the gate and saw an aged woman who appeared to be in her fifties. She was richly dressed, and I didn’t need anyone to tell me she was related to Alpha Edward.

“Open the gate; I want to go in,” she demanded.

“Don’t you think that is a bad idea, my lady?” the guard asked, but the woman shook her head. “Just open up,” she demanded, and this time, the guard obeyed, and she entered.

Slowly, I sat on the floor and looked up at her. She flashed me a half-smile and then lowered her head towards me.

“You don’t look well,” she said, and I gulped in pain.

“Amanda, right?” she asked, and all I could do was nod. I had already lost my voice.

I noticed she stared at me with pity and then shook her head.

“Why don’t you choose death?” she asked, and I stared at her in disbelief.

“Staying alive is much worst than death. If I were you, I would choose death,” she advised, and I shook my head. I didn’t know who she was, but by the tone of her voice, it was obvious she cared for me.

“He will torture you so much, my dear…”

“I won’t accept death. I won’t die for a crime I didn’t commit,” I sobbed out in tears, and she looked at me with questions in her eyes.

“If you didn’t, then who did?”

“I don’t know; I met her that way,” I explained, hoping she would believe me. I just needed someone to believe me.

“But the broken vase has your fingerprints,” she announced, and my eyes widened.

“Yes, the result just came in, and that is why Alpha Edward sent you to the lions’ den. More torture is yet to come. I don’t want my nephew to become a monster because of you.”

“But I didn’t do it! How could the vase have my fingerprints?” I asked, confused and worried.

She looked at me and then shook her head. “I feel for you and the things you will go through. Just choose death,” she demanded, but I shook my head while tears trickled down my cheeks.

“I won’t. I won’t choose death,” I stated firmly.

She looked at me for a moment before shaking her head and leaving the cell.