CHAPTER THREE

Elena’s POV

The goddess couldn’t do this to me. Not again. Why was I cursed with such an ill fate?

The moment I realised I was mated to alpha Salvatore, it was like the world stopped spinning, and all I could feel was the searing pain in my chest.

What was supposed to be the most precious moment in my life—the moment I found the other half of my soul for the second time, turned into a curse.

I stood frozen in the shadows, watching the other women skillfully take his rather huge cock into her mouth as her hands worked at the base. She made strange choking sounds, but the dreadful alpha paid no mind to her. His dark eyes remained on me, boring holes into my soul. He didn’t say a word, couldn’t feel the pain that squeezed in my chest as the woman took him in her mouth over and over.

I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. I just stood there, my legs weak and trembling beneath me. Why didn’t he feel it? Why didn’t he know? Wasn’t he supposed to feel the bond the way I did? Wasn’t he supposed to be as drawn to me as I was to him? Wasn’t he supposed to sense the pain his actions were putting me through?

Tears burned in my eyes as I forced myself to look away, my body screaming in protest, the mate bond pulling at me, begging me to go to him, to take the woman’s place on her knees. But I couldn’t. Not for him. He was wicked, callous to say the least. I should have feared him, not been pulled to him.

Before I could crumble completely, a guard appeared beside me, his face stoic as he took my arm and dragged me away from the painful sight. He didn’t say a word, just pulled me through the dimly lit hallways until we reached my room.

Alpha Salvatore was done with me tonight, and his actions had left me in shambles. This was only one night with him. How was I to survive many nights of this?

My door shut behind me with a loud thud, and I collapsed onto the floor, clutching my chest as my pain rushed  through me.

It felt like my heart was being ripped out, the mate bond torturing me with every breath I took. I tried to control my sobs, but the pain was too much. She was still in his room. He was probably inside her by now.

“Why doesn’t he know?” I whispered to myself, my voice trembling as the tears spilled down my cheeks. “Why can’t he feel it?”

I curled up on the floor, groaning in agony, the bond pulling tighter and tighter around my heart until I thought I might suffocate. I tried to sleep, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw them together, and the pain intensified, letting me cry my eyes out to sleep.

Morning came too soon, and I was awoken by the knock at my door. My eyes were swollen from crying.

When I opened the door, a maid stood there, her expression indifferent as she delivered the message.

“You’ve been summoned to tend to the alpha’s needs. You’re his new toy, so he’ll want you to be by his side at every turn. Come with me, now.” Why did they all hate me? Her eyes were bored, and her tone told me she’ll rather be anywhere else than in front of me.

I wanted to scream, to refuse, but I knew better. I couldn’t defy the alpha’s orders, or I would risk joining the display of heads that hung from the gates of his palace.

When I reached the door to Salvatore’s chambers, I hesitated, my hand trembled as it hovered over the door knob. I could hear voices inside, and something in me told me to stop, to turn around and leave. But I didn’t. I couldn’t.

Slowly, I opened the door just enough to listen. If there was a way out of here, I knew I would only find out by listening to him. Alpha Salvatore’s voice was sharp and angry, and it sent a shiver down my spine. How could one man be so scary?

“I can’t keep doing this,” he growled, his frustration evident. “She didn’t want to. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t…”

“You can’t scare someone into loving you, Salvatore.” A gentler voice followed. He wasn’t the only one in the room then.

“And if she doesn’t love you, the curse…”

Curse?

I pressed my ear closer, trying to make sense of what I was hearing. Was that why he didn’t feel the bond? Was that why he was so cold, so distant?

“Ares, you’re my beta and my best friend, so you’re the only one I’m going to tell this to. It’s pointless. I’ve resigned myself to the gods of fate.”

Ares, his beta, spoke next. “You have to find a way to break it. The pack won’t survive much longer if you don’t.”

“I know that!” Salvatore snapped. “But it’s not that simple. I need…”

His words trailed off, and for a moment, there was silence. My heart was racing at an alarming rate that wouldn’t let me breathe.  If he was cursed, could it be possible that I could use it as a means to get out of here?

But before I could process any of it, the door was yanked open, and I stumbled forward, caught off guard.

The second man, Ares,  was standing in the doorway, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me with a mix of irritation and suspicion.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I-I wasn’t… I didn’t mean to…”

I could barely word when he grabbed me roughly by the arm and dragged me inside. The dreadful alpha  turned around and his eyes burned with anger the moment he saw me.

“Eavesdropping?” Salvatore’s voice was dangerously calm, and it made my blood turn cold.

“Is that what you were doing, princess?”

I shook my head frantically. “No, Alpha, I swear I wasn’t—”

“Liar.” His voice was like a whip, sharp and cutting as it always had been.

“You’ll suffer for this. Take her. She’s going to understand why people here stay put to their business, and their business only!”

Goddess. What have I done?!

The words barely had time to sink in before Ares grabbed me again, dragging me out of the room.

I kicked and struggled, but his grip was unrelenting. Panic clawed at me as I was pulled down a dim hallway and into another room, a smaller one with thick stone walls and a single chair bolted to the ground in the centre.

The room was lit by torches, their flames casted scary shadows on the concrete floors. Was this how I would die? All those days I had spent training to one day be the Luna queen of Winter Clove, only to be reduced to this.

“Please,” I gasped, trying to fight the growing fear in my chest. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Sit,” Ares ordered, shoving me into the chair. I tried to stand up,  but before I could, he pulled thick straps from the sides and bound my arms and legs to the chair. The leather cut into my skin, and I winced, blood oozed from my skin.

“You’ll wait here until the alpha is ready for you.”

The door slammed shut behind him, and I was left alone in the room. I could hear nothing besides the sound of my heart beating, and my rather ragged breaths.

I couldn’t give up. No.

I tugged at the straps, but they were too tight and cut deeper  into my skin with every movement I made.

Time passed slowly, each second stretching out into what felt like an eternity. My mind raced with thoughts of what Salvatore would do to me, what kind of punishment he had in mind.

I didn’t want to find out.

After what could have passed as an eternity, the door creaked open, and Salvatore stepped inside.

His presence filled the room instantly, his dark energy suffocating the air around him. He didn’t say a word at first. He just looked at me, his eyes cold and unreadable, as if weighing his next move.

I could feel the tension building, the crackling energy that always surrounded him when he was angry, and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on at attention. Despite the evil that oozed out of his dark skin, I felt oddly drawn to him. I wanted him to reach for me, to touch me.

He walked closer, his footsteps slow and deliberate, the silence in the room growing heavier with each step.

“I swear,” I started to speak.

“I didn’t see anything. I promise you I can swear on it. There wasn’t…there wasn’t a…”

“Silence!” He screamed, and the walls shook.

“You wanted to know what I was hiding, didn’t you?” he asked, his voice was now and his eyes locked onto mine.

“Well, I’ll show you, only because you won’t live to tell the tale.”

I won’t live to…what the hell was going…

Without warning, his body began to change.

This time, I didn’t need to watch in confusion or disbelief. I knew what was coming. His muscles tensed and rippled, his skin stretching as his form began to shift. Fur sprouted from his skin, his hands twisting into sharp claws. His face elongated, his teeth growing into razor-sharp fangs. His eyes glowed red, bright and terrifying in the darkness.

I gasped, my breath caught in my throat as he transformed before me, the beast inside him breaking free.

He let out a growl, deep and rumbling, that shook the air around me. His massive body loomed over me, casting a shadow that swallowed me whole. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. All I could feel was the raw terror coursing through my veins as he took a step closer, his claws scraping against the stone floor.

“This is what you wanted to see?” he snarled, his voice barely manlike. He wasn’t just a beast in man form, he was a beast!

“Is this what you were so curious about?”

I couldn’t answer. My voice was gone, stolen by the fear that gripped me. Tears filled my eyes, blurring my vision, and I shook my head frantically, pleading silently for him to stop.

But he didn’t. He leaned closer, his hot breath washing over me, his fangs inches from my face. His eyes, glowing and wild, bore into mine, and I could see the animal in him, the savage creature that wanted to tear me apart.

“Alpha, please,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Please, don’t do this.”

For a moment, he hesitated. His growling softened, and I saw something flicker in his eyes—something human. But it was gone as quickly as it came, replaced by the savage hunger of the beast.

He growled again, louder this time, and raised his clawed hand as if to strike.

But then, just as suddenly, he stopped.

Salvatore’s body trembled, his chest heaving with each ragged breath. His claws hovered in the air, his red eyes locked on mine, but something had changed. He was fighting it, the beast inside him, struggling to hold on to the man beneath.

“Get her out of here,” he snarled through gritted teeth, his voice filled with barely restrained fury.

The door burst open, and guards rushed in, unstrapping me from the chair and pulling me away from the room. As they dragged me out, I caught one last glimpse of Salvatore, still standing there, his body shaking with the effort of holding himself back. His eyes followed me as I was taken away, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of something… almost like pain.

But then the door slammed shut, and he was gone.