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1161 Words
Early the next morning, the guards came to take me to the servant quarters as requested by my father.
The servant quarters smelled of damp wood, dust, and old bleach. The moment the guards dropped me there and left, I collapsed onto the thin mattress. My whole body was burning up. Sweat soaked my clothes. My breath came out in short, painful gasps. I wrapped my arms around myself and curled into a ball.
It was my eighteenth birthday.
A special milestone in every werewolf's life because that is the day their wolf will be awakened, and they also get to find their mate.
The day is usually a celebration, and your family might even throw a party for you.
But not me! My case is always different. No one remembered. No one cared.
Not even my father.
Pain spread through my chest and spine. It felt like my bones were heating from the inside. My skin stung with every movement. I could barely open my eyes. Everything hurt.
The fever got worse as the hours passed. My vision blurred. I could not stand. My throat was dry. I wanted water, but I did not have the strength to move.
I lay there trembling, fighting the urge to cry. Crying would only make my ribs hurt more.
After a while, the door opened.
It was Gaius.
He filled the tiny room with his presence alone. His eyes scanned the place, then landed on me, curled on the bed. A slow smirk appeared on his face.
“So this is where they dumped you, a prefect place to fit you,” he mocked.
His voice made my stomach twist with fear.
He walked toward me and crouched beside the bed. His hand pushed my hair out of my face. I flinched from his touch.
“You look terrible,” he said. “I guess the beating wasn’t enough.”
I tried to speak. My voice was weak. “Please… go.”
He ignored me. His hand slid down my arm, then gripped my wrist tightly.
“You cause trouble for everyone,” he said. “Because of you, the Bloody Wolf Pack almost questioned us. Do you have any idea what you have done?”
I didn’t. I only knew I had crossed a line he would never forgive.
“I didn’t mean—”
He cut me off with a squeeze that made me gasp.
“Yes. You never mean anything. Yet trouble follows you everywhere.”
His hand moved to my waist. I jerked back, but he climbed onto the bed and pinned me down with his weight.
“Stop,” I whispered. “Please.”
He leaned close to my ear.
“You turn eighteen today. You know what that means?”
My heart pounded painfully in my chest.
“It means you are finally old enough,” he said in a low voice. “Old enough for me to do anything I want with you.”
Tears gathered in my eyes. My body trembled from fear and fever.
“You will be my pleasure toy,” he whispered. “I will break you slowly, the way I should have done long ago.”
His hand slid under my shirt and squeezed my breast. I froze. I could barely breathe from terror.
“P…please stop!” I pleaded, but it seemed to turn him on even more. He let out a growl.
My back arched off the bed. A scream tore out of my throat before I could stop it.
Gaius frozen and moved back, looking confused. “What is wrong with you now?”
I couldn’t answer. My entire body burned. My bones felt like they were cracking open. Pain shot through my spine. My vision was filled with white spots. I curled into myself, clutching my chest.
The fever took over completely. My skin went hot like fire. My hands trembled uncontrollably.
Gaius stared at me like I was something disgusting.
“You are starting your shift,” he said. “About time.”
I tried to breathe through the pain, but it was too intense. I rolled off the bed and hit the floor, gripping the wooden boards as another wave of heat hit me.
“Happy suffering,” Gaius said as he walked out of the room, leaving me lying half dead.
After hours of intensive pain, I felt better, but I haven't shifted yet, which means another wave of pain will still come.
I lay on my bed as I tried to catch my breath, and then I smelled it.
A delightful scent.
It filled the entire room, and I suddenly gasped and choked at the same time.
It was warm.
Strong.
Powerful.
So intoxicating, my head spun.
It wrapped around me like invisible hands. Soft. Commanding. Pulling.
My heart skipped. My wolf, buried and half-awake, responded instantly.
This must be the mate pull I have heard about. For the first time in days, I was glad. At least I have a mate. Someone that I can finally call mine.
The mate pull was unlike anything I had ever felt. My blood pounded through my veins, my wolf howling inside my mind even though she wasn’t fully awakened.
With the bit of strength I have left, I pulled my weak self up, excited to find out who my mate is.
I stumbled up the stairs, through a hallway, past startled servants. My vision flickered in and out. My nails dug into the wall as I dragged myself forward.
The scent grew stronger, and so was the magnetic pull. Meaning I was close!
Who could it be?
Who in this pack had a scent so powerful?
I mindlessly followed it down another corridor, toward the Alpha’s wing.
No.
No, no, no.
Not him.
But the scent hit me again, even stronger, slamming into me like a storm.
My legs buckled. I clutched the wall, panting. My fever rose to a near-unbearable level. My bones ached. My vision sharpened unnaturally for a moment.
The scent was coming from…
The Alpha’s study.
“No,” I whispered, horrified. “No, no—please no.”
But my body ignored my fear.
I pushed the study door open with the last of my strength.
Inside, Gaius stood near his father, discussing border security with my father and several elders.
The moment the door cracked open, all heads turned toward me.
I stood there barefoot, feverish, trembling violently, clothes soaked with sweat.
Gaius’s eyes widened, not with anger this time.
With something like disbelief and disgust.
Because the moment our gazes met
The scent hit both of us like a punch.
His nostrils flared. His chest rose sharply. His pupils blew wide.
A gasp escaped him—
“Mate.”
The word left both our lips at the same time.
The whole study went silent.
The world spun. My vision blurred—
And everything went black as I collapsed.
- Writer
