CHAPTER ELEVEN: SOUL TIE

ANNALISE’S POINT OF VIEW

I guess I was a fool to think that he was different, I just thought…

All my life, ever since I was a young pup, I have been told the same thing: Everything gets better once you find your mate, the world a lot more sense when your heart makes that soul tie with your predestined mate.

I have heart stories about how a mate bond is curated over long centuries, stories of how the moon goddess picks the best mate for every single werewolf alive.

I have been told to trust in the moon goddess’ choice, I have been told that a werewolf bond lasts for lifetime, that every werewolf finds their mates every of the ten lifetimes they live.

A werewolf bond is supposed to be perfectly flawless so why does it hurt this much?

Why is my own mate so insistent on shattering my heart in the most brutal way possible?

How come my own mate loves someone else?

Why does it hurt this badly to feel his love drift away from me?

A mate link should be perfectly flawless. The moon goddess does not make any mistake when picking mates for each other so why does this feel like a mistake?

Why do I feel like a pawn in some sick game?

I dried off my tears but more poured down my face.

"My lady, please stop being so sad,” my new friend said. The ruthless alpha Zyn who is hell bent on ruining my life had appointed her as my personal maid but we quickly built a bound and now she is the only person I can trust in this whole palace.

Myra is similar to me in more ways than one. We are literally the same: slaves chained to the chair that the Alpha sits on, the only difference is in the way we serve him.

Myra has been stuck in this province since she was just a girl. Her mother was bought from a neighborhood province when she still pregnant with Myra so by law Myra became a slave even before she was born.

Myra's mother was separated from her husband when she was born so she never knew her real father. Having a mother became a myth when she turned twelve after her mother bought her freedom and left her daughter as Alpha Zyn’s slave until she too could save enough money to buy her own freedom.

I was appalled that a mother could do that to her own child. My own parents were always my protectors, they never let anything or anyone lay a finger on me…until Alpha Zyn invaded our village and turned their entire existence into a memory.

“Your highness,” Myra said again. She looked so sad, I hated how sad my moodiness was making her feeling. I want to not bother her, she is already dealing with a lot so I feigned a smile.

“I'm alright,” I said with a fake smile on my face even though I felt the furtherest thing from fine.

The door was pushed open by a maid from the main house. The lock was removed a while back.

I sat up straight, the tension was back into the room. Whenever a maid comes into my room, it is usually to deliver a message from Zyn, the last time I got a message from him it was about him making me his Luna and then Liam’s kidnap and then me being imprisoned in the dungeon.

It is never good news.

“Your highness, the Alpha wants you in his quarters,” she said with her head bowed low.

My heart thudded rapidly in my chest. I don't want to be anywhere near that bastard especially now.

The mating ceremony was supposed to have happened a while ago. We were mandated to mate in front of everyone on the day of out wedding but that did not happen thanks to Liam saving me from that brut.

Every time I am summoned to his chamber I have this impending sense of doom, this unceasing fear that he might try to take me kicking and screaming.

Everytime he summons me, the fear lingers.

I do not show up every time he summons me you his quarters, I have found ways to ignore his call four times now, something tells me that this time I would not be so lucky.

"I have no reason to obey his order. He is not my Alpha,” I said, looking away from her and brushing my hair nervously even though it did not need brushing.

“The Alpha insists, my lady,” she said. Her voice held a twinge of disgust as if she could not understand how anyone could be defiant towards Alpha Zyn.

As if she would much rather I obey and stopped making her job more difficult than it had to be.

“Tell him to go fuck himself and while he is at it he should consider doing the world a favor by killing himself and also…” I started to say but was interrupted by the searing pain coming from the skin on my lower arm.

I yelled in pain. Myra rushed to my side.

The pain continued, it felt lIke something was tearing my skin open. I yelled and winced in agony.

Blood fell from my hand. One by one letters appeared on my skin, tearing my skin to appear.

The pain increased as these letters became words.

“Do as she says,” the phrase made out of skin and blood on my arm said.

Myra's eyes widened in shock, I could hardly focus from the pain.

“Wwhat is this,” she stuttered. I knew exactly what it was…Alpha Zyn, the blood link, our soul tie.

He was punishing me but I was unwilling to let him win. I stayed put despite the pain.

After some minutes of insane pain, my skin began to tear again, giving way for more words.

“Obey me!” It said.

“Or your sister dies,”