The Alpha's Abused Mate

The First Time

It had been a rough few nights for Serena who felt like she was on tiptoes when it came to Johnathon who had yet to apologize over the whole dinner fiasco. This time, she was getting prepared to go out, dressing in a little blue cocktail dress, putting her hair up into a sleek ponytail. She was going to catch up with Christina who she hadn't seen in quite some time. She also at some point, she reflected to herself, wanted to discuss the possibility of going back to work with Johnathon, when he was in a better mood and she felt that it was safe to ask him about it.

She glanced at herself in the mirror with satisfaction. The blue dress highlighted her beautiful blue eyes perfectly, as well as her honey golden tanned skin. Her blonde hair was up and sleek as well as shiny and golden, the dress accentuating her curves and her generous bosom. She wore plain white heels, a comfortable pair that had probably seen better days, but her feet were used to these shoes and she wanted to be able to dance on the dance floor. She grabbed hold of a white purse and tucked it under her arm and then surveyed the room, quickly tidying it back up before going around the house and doing the same in all the other rooms. She didn't want Johnathon to come back to a messy house again, she thought to herself wryly. Once she was certain it was perfect, she plopped down on the couch and waited. Christina was going to pick her up in about an hour and a halfs time, so she was definitely a bit early, but at least she was ready and waiting. It beat having Christina wait for her when she got here, to get ready.

She heard the key in the lock and instinctively her stomach began to churn and she felt herself becoming nauseas. It felt like her stomach was doing flip flops, and she swallowed hard, feeling apprehensive for no reason as Johnathon came waltzing through the front door, a wide smile on his face. A smile, Serena noted panicky, that quickly disappeared the second he saw her in her dress and heels, all made up to go out.

He frowned at her appearance and crossed his arms, walking over towards the couch and standing there, towering over her as she cringed back against the couch. She had hoped he wouldn't be home until she was already gone, but here he was and she would have to give him an explanation.

"Where do you think you are going?" he said impatiently, motioning towards her and gesturing towards her clothes as she flushed.

"I'm going out" she said weakly, feeling her heart thudding wildly in her chest.

"Oh really" he said interestedly "where to? Especially dressed like that" he muttered underneath his breath.

Christina looked down at herself. She didn't see anything wrong with her clothes. They were perfectly suitable for dancing and clubbing, the dress reached her knees and didn't show anything it shouldn't, except for the merest hint of cleavage. She couldn't help that her bosom looked large, but her shoes were also practical rather than fancy.

"I was going to go clubbing" she said quietly "and dancing."

He scowled, looking down at her dangerously. His tone was hushed when he spoke and she instinctively sensed the anger beneath the surface, that was slowly simmering and ready to explode in a single moment. "Dressed like that? Like a w***e? For men to look and touch? Is that what you want Serena?"

She opened her mouth and then closed it again. She looked at Johnathon helplessly. "I'm not dressed like a w***e Johnathon and I'm not inviting men to look at me or touch me. This dress is really practical and goes down to my knees. It's not exactly short" she protested feeling a bit dismayed. She hated it when he got like this, over possessive and name calling her horrible and degrading things.

"I can see the outline of your breasts" he growled.

"I can't help that" Serena argued back "all my clothes are like this Johnathon and you've never had a problem with it before. In fact, you liked this dress the last time I wore it."

"That was before we were married" he shot back, his arms dropping to his sides "and I had a reputation to worry about. You should know that Serena. I can't have you dressing this way."

"There is nothing else for me to wear and you don't get to tell me what to wear or what to do Johnathon. I'm going out clubbing and that's that. Besides, it gets boring and lonely while you are at work. Don't I deserve to get out and have some fun? I can't just stay home all day, everyday."

He stiffened. "You're the wife of a billionare and you want to tell me you're bored" he said incredulously, spreading his arms out wide and gesturing towards the vast, cold, mansion of a house "this house is massive and there's plenty to do. I have a library, a pool, a kitchen for you to cook in. What more could you possibly want?" he asked, completely annoyed.

Serena could feel her own anger rising inside of her. It wasn't often she found herself getting angry, but he was pushing her buttons. Provoking her into an argument she didn't even want.

"Company" she shot back sarcastically "social interaction. I can't just spend everyday with you Johnathon, I need to be able to go out and see my friends."

His eyes narrowed and too late Serena realized her mistake. She began to tremble, standing quickly upright, not wanting him to continue to overtower her.

"Friends" he said softly, his arms dropping to his sides, as she looked at him, her lips trembling in fear "would that be one particular friend you are talking about? The one friend of yours that I can't stand and who makes no effort to hide her dislike of me? Is Christina meant to be taking you out Serena."

Damnit, why couldn't she have kept her big mouth shut, thought Serena fiercely. She dropped her eyes to the ground and gave a small nod. "Yes" she whispered, feeling cowed.

"Goddamnit" he swore violently, pacing back and forth as she stared wide eyed. "Do I not do enough for you? I provide for you, give you a roof over your head and I don't ask much and still, you can't help yourself can you? What happened to the discussion we had" he demanded heatedly "the one where you promised not to see her so much?"

Serena's mouth opened in indignation and she found herself bristling "I haven't seen Christina since we've been married Johnathon. I've talked to her on the phone, that's all. I didn't think you would mind, because of that."

"Well I do mind" he thundered at her "I mind that you're going behind my back and making plans with that little b***h Christina. You're lying to me Serena and I don't like it, I don't like it one bit" he roared.

She felt like crying. Why was he being so awful towards her? All she had wanted was to go out dancing and have some fun with her best friend. Was that such a bad thing? Just because she was married, didn't mean she shouldn't have a social life. Did it? Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing them fall and so she blinked them back rapidly, willing herself to calm down. Perhaps if she approached him a little more calm, he too might calm down and they could have a proper discussion.

"Can't we talk about this" she said to him, her lip quivering.

He ran a hand through his hair angrily, turning on her. "We've talked about this" he spat out "and yet you still insist on doing the wrong thing. I can't have it Serena. I'm a wealthy man and you need to fall into line" he growled.

What did he mean by that, she wondered. What exactly did he mean by fall into line? She sensed it wasn't something good.

"From now on, do as I ask. You're not going dancing in that outfit tonight" he hissed "go and get changed."

She stood her ground and shook her head, her hair bouncing in it's ponytail. "No, Johnathon, I won't. I told you before, you can't tell me what to do. I'm still my own person" she said thickly.

His eyes narrowed and he stared at her in silence for a full minute. The tension in the air was so thick, that you could cut it with a knife. She could see him debating internally in his mind. Then he spoke and it was so soft, she almost didn't miss it.

"I guess you'll have to learn then" he breathed.

She stood there in defiance, watching almost from a distance as he raised his hand high in the air, and then swung it, directly down towards her face. She heard the loud thwacking sound it made, and then felt the sharp sting of pain in her cheek as she put a hand to it in disbelief, tears welling in her eyes. She felt her whole body shaking. She couldn't believe he had just gone that far. Was he insane?

He stared at her again. "Cancel your date night with Christina. You can't go out anyway, not with that bruise on your cheek" he smirked as she felt tears trailing down her cheeks. She sobbed, silently, her cheek throbbing with pain.

"How could you" she whispered hoarsely.

He looked unrepentent. "If you need to learn a lesson so be it" he advised "maybe next time you won't push me so hard."

He turned around and stomped away, as Serena felt herself sinking to the ground, one hand still on her cheek, her white purse laying forgotten on the ground. The bedroom door slammed shut.

Serena reached out with a shaking hand and grabbed her cellphone. She thought about asking her friend for help, but she didn't want to admit to what Johnathon had just done to her. She felt so ashamed, so humiliated. Instead she dialed her friend's numher and waited for her to answer the call.

"Oh I can't wait, tell me you're ready to go" Christina's voice said excitedly as Serena held the phone to her ear.

"I'm afraid not" Serena said softly, trying not to sniffle "today's not a good day for me Christina, I'm not really feeling well" she lied.

"Oh" Christina said disappointedly "I was just about to leave and come get you. Are you sure you're not going to make it?"

"My stomach is all upset" Serena continued to lie "I think I just want to lie down and get some rest. I'm sorry for cancelling on you so late."

"That's okay" Christina sounded concerned "do you need anything babe? I can bring you some soup or some chocolate or something?"

"No thank you" Serena told her politely, wiping the tears from her eyes with a shaking hand "like I said I'm just going to lie down and get some sleep. We can go another time" she said, knowing instinctively that wasn't quite true.

"Alright, but make sure you get that rest then. I can talk to you soon" Christina said, wondering why Serena sounded so upset. She did sound awful to be fair, like she was really sick. It was a shame, because Christina had been looking forward to seeing her friend in person again.

"Talk to you soon" Serena echoed and then hung up the phone, carefully clutching it tightly as she got back up to her feet and made her way slowly into the guest room. She went into the bathroom and had a look at her face, gasping in shock. There on her right cheek, where his hand had made contact, was a large purple bruise. It was horrendous and, she realized with a sinking feeling, meant that she wouldn't be able to leave for quite some time until the swelling had gone down and the bruise had faded. She placed a cold flannel against it and fell onto the bed crying. She was stuck here, whether she liked it or not. She also feared Johnathon would come in, but if he heard her crying he ignored her and she fell asleep that night, having cried herself to sleep.