Chapter 2 Mate

Emberwood Kingdom Rule No.1: If an unmarried werewolf meets their fated mate, they must marry them.

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Alexander’s POV

Silky mahogany hair, green rabbit eyes and innocence.

That’s how the she-devil who I have been searching for looks like in person. She watches me with terror, her chest rising and falling rapidly under the thin white dress she wears. There are tears pooling in her big, emerald eyes as she looks at me with a wounded expression.

As if I am the villain in her story.

A cold, bitter smirk forms on my lips, but there is no glee behind it. Any happiness that I have ever felt vanished when Alyssa died.

Alyssa.

Just her name is enough to send a throbbing pain running through my chest.

Alyssa. The only woman who had thought of me as more man than beast. And now she was dead because I couldn’t protect her.

And, it was all because of this pretty little liar standing before me.

I take a step forward, and immediately, her scent attacks me. It penetrates the cloud of grief, pain, and rage I have been under for the past few days. It stops me in my tracks and shakes my world.

Vanilla with a hint of spice. Home. Mate.

My wolf howls inside of me.

Mate. Mate. Mate! It screams.

It wants to unleash itself and come bursting through my skin. It wants to rip away the wedding dress she wore for another man and claim her right then and there. I feel my eyes go dark gold and my claws rip through my hands.

Growling, I bury them in my own palms, using the pain to rein in the frustrating feelings.

What a colossal joke this is? That the woman who has a hand in my fiancée's murder is my mate? The moon goddess truly has a sick sense of humor.

Then, an idea forms in my head.

After all, fated mates were rare, and in order to protect these bonds, our kingdom, the Emberwood Kingdom, had one unbreakable law. It was the one law that was to be upheld through any cost. If an unmarried werewolf meets their fated mate, they must marry them. There were no two ways about it.

My smirk widens as a plan takes root in my brain. Court politics run in my head. My father has always insisted on me marrying the chief minister’s daughter. He wanted his loyal supporter's offspring as his daughter-in-law.

Of course, he never said which one. He definitely never meant the illegitimate, unfavored one who stands before me. My fiancée’s murderer.

My thoughts darken with wicked pleasure of bringing her into the cruel royal palace. I wouldn’t even have to make her life hell; the power thirsty court will see she is destroyed all by herself.

"Of course, I object,” I say with a vicious glee coating my voice. “After all, little Ivy here can only be my wife alone."

The moment the words leave my mouth, her face pales. She looks fragile, this little liar. She frantically takes a step back towards her fiancé, who is busy sniveling on the floor.

I don’t let her take another step before I clasp her wrist in my hand. Immediately, electric heat spreads under my skin through the contact, and my eyes narrow. Her face is still fixed in her shocked expression, and she acts like this doesn’t affect her at all. Still pretending to be oblivious.

Her wrist feels small in my hand - so breakable. This is exactly how she looks like too - fragile, sweet, like she is made of glass.

When I know the truth.

I know that she hides a devil inside.

Unable to control my fury at her deception, I yank her forward. Her forehead smacks into my chest, and suddenly, her scent is all around me.

Dangerous. Seductive. Alluring.

Unacceptable.

I need to get away from her.

I drag her out of the venue and take her away from the crowd. The moment we enter a secluded alley, I drop her wrist like it’s made of fire. The move is too sudden for her, and she falls on her knees, letting the gravel bite her skin through the dress.

She winces, and for some inexplicable reason, my body moves towards her. I catch myself in time and school my features, shutting down the voice of my howling wolf.

“How does it feel to become a happy bride-to-be when you robbed your savior of the chance to do the same?”

Instead, I spit the words at her like acid.

I hate the way she looks back up at me, like she doesn’t know what I mean. Like she has nothing to be guilty about.

“Why are you doing this?” She has the audacity to ask through huge tears. “I-is this about your fiancée? I heard the news, and I am so sorry. I desperately wished for her to survive. She was a-”

“Save the act.” I snap at her. “I know the truth. I saw the CCTV footage. I saw the way you manipulated her into helping you escape. The way you promised her you’d come back to save her, but you ran away.”

Her eyes widen at my words, and she stumbles up on her feet. There is a drop of blood that seeps through the fabric of her dress at her knee, and my wolf lashes out inside me.

Protect mate. Do not hurt mate. Comfort mate!

My teeth grit against the conflict that rages within me, and I channel more of my anger to offset it.

“She was such a frail woman and yet, she offered herself as a distraction. She led the robbers in the other direction. She sacrificed herself so you could go get help but instead, you left her there to die.”

She gasps with alarm and the act is so convincing, it even gives me pause. Then, she opens her mouth and spills more lies.

“That’s not true,” she says tearfully. “She was the one who decided that I should go and get help. I never wanted to go. She convinced me because she thought I would be faster as she was-”

I don’t let her finish.

“Stop this nonsense.” I snap at her, cutting off her false excuses.

Her eyes go wide with urgency, and she quickly forces more words out.

“No- Listen- I didn’t want to leave her at all.” She tries again hastily, her thoughts scrambling as she senses my patience waning. “The moment I got out, I was knocked out by someone. I had no chance of getting out of there. I would never intentionally leave her-”

Her lies dig into my skin and pinch until I explode.

“Enough!” I roar as I move towards her with the speed of my wolf. In the next second, she is pinned against the wall, looking at me with scared eyes as her throat bobs up and down against my hand. I don’t put pressure on her neck, I don’t want her to stop talking. I just need her to know who is in control.

“If that were true, and you really were attacked, you wouldn’t be here alive and well, on your way to getting married. No. You would be dead, just like her. So. Just. Stop. Fucking. Lying.” I hiss at her, pinning her with my gaze, tracking the fake tears down her cheek.

“I don't know how I woke up in my room either. I really don’t know. I am not lying. Please believe me, please. I would never hurt another person like that. Please, trust me. Please- just let me go.”

For a moment, her frantic pleas almost seem to get to me, and my hand around her throat softens. The wolf inside of me begs me to believe her innocence.

It’s only for a moment, but it’s enough.

She is like a witch spreading her witchcraft, and I almost want to hurt her for it.

But …

My fingers refuse to tighten around her throat. Every fiber of my being rebels at the idea.

With gritted teeth, I release her throat and slam the wall beside her head. It leaves a deep indent as rock buries in my knuckles, making me bleed. She gives out a strangled scream and looks ready to pass out.

With great restraint, I school my features behind the cold mask I wear with the world.

“Let you go? How can I do that, little mate? Don’t you know the penalties for unmarried mates not marrying each other? Think about how shunned you would be by society. Can your selfish little heart take that?”

Once again, her eyes go round with shock at the word mate. She looks at me like she had no idea about this revelation either. Of course, I know that’s impossible. As soon as werewolves get their wolf, they are able to detect their mate through the irresistible attraction that comes with the mate bond. But she stands there, completely unaffected.

Like, the queen of deception, she is.

Then, it’s like the rest of my words penetrate her brain, and her face falls. A cold smile forms on my lips. Clearly, it’s the idea of her being scorned that has her feeling dejected. An evil person like her could never bear to suffer the social humiliation.

“You’re right.” She murmurs, and my smile widens. “I can’t do that to James. I can’t marry him and let him face the wrath of the world when he is about to become a public official and make his dreams come true. This is my mess, and it won’t be fair to drag him into it.”

She says with a trembling voice, her words full of tears. And for a moment, shock envelops me.

Is she seriously worried for her pathetic boyfriend right now? Is she agreeing to marry me - someone she clearly thinks of as a monster - just so she can protect the reputation of her fiancé? The one who didn’t even come out to look for her?

The thought brings a strange taste to the back of my throat. It disturbs me for some absurd reason, and I frown. But then, I catch myself and realize what she is doing. She is spinning her web of lies, trying to make me believe she is better than she is.

I let out a dark chuckle. It causes her to shake, and I know at least her fear of me is real.

Slowly, I reach out and touch the tear on her cheek. I trace it down, and she shudders at the contact.

“Ah, look at those devious tears, they deceived my fiancée and are now trying to deceive me too.”

My fingers follow the line of her delicate jaw until they enclose around her chin and lift her head up. I look into her afraid forest green eyes. It almost feels like a lover’s pose until my fingers tighten and my eyes harden.

When I speak, there is ice running through my veins. I feel the retribution and need for revenge build within me, and my voice comes out harsher than it has ever been.

“Let you go, you said? No, I’ll keep you next to me and make you pay every single day for the rest of your life. You destroyed the love of my life, so it’s only fair that I destroy yours.”

She is shaking so hard against me now that I almost lose my grip on her.

But, I don’t.

Instead, I tell her the words I have been meaning to ever since I saw the CCTV footage of her leaving Alyssa to die:

“If I am living in hell, then it’s time you taste it too, little liar.”