2. Mate.

~ LAYLA ~

I pull at the chains around my wrists again.

Nothing.

”I see you’re awake.”

His voice is deep and smooth, but there is something mocking in it.

He chuckles.

I don't react. I don’t say anything. Not yet.

It is smarter to stay quiet for the meantime. At least until I know what is going on.

I hear his footsteps approaching me slowly. They stop just as his figure steps into the soft pale yellow light now at the center of my cell.

My breath catches in my throat.

It is really him.

Raelin Michaelson. The Midnight Alpha.

I know it the second I see his face. I have seen pictures of him, but this is the first time in my life that I am physically seeing him up close.

The powerful energy around him nearly knocks the air out of my lungs. The ‘M’ carved into the golden ring on his finger, and the pack symbol on his jacket, they all confirm what I feared.

I am hanging in front of the one Alpha who would rather see a rogue like me dead than breathing.

And the worst part?

He is my mate.

Silence hangs between us like a death curse. So cold and poisoned with something far more dark and dangerous than contempt.

Hatred.

He hates me.

I can feel his disgust all over me. His alpha aura bleeds it. He is tall, broad-shouldered, and carries a power that fills every corner of this cell. His aura presses down on me like a storm I can't escape.

And those dark teal green eyes, they pierce into my own as he watches me, the pupils almost black. He is looking at me like I’m trash. Like I’m filth.

Like I don’t deserve to live.

Like I'm nothing and not even worthy of the breaths he is wasting on me.

“I can’t believe Selene picked you to be my mate.” he confesses bitterly.

His voice is like a sharp shard of ice. And it cuts deep into my heart.

So, he knows we are mates.

Great.

Looks like the hate is mutual.

I never asked for this. I never asked for this life. This bond.

Especially not with someone like him. Someone who hunts and kills rogues without blinking.

But… if he hates me so much...

Why am I still alive?

Why hasn't he killed me yet?

Surely not because of the mate bond. No way. He can’t possibly care that much.

The thought almost makes me scoff a laugh, but I keep it in.

Instead, I whisper, “Why am I here? What do you want from me?”

My voice is scratchy. My throat burns as I speak. Dry. Cracked. I can’t even remember the last time I had water.

He raises an eyebrow and repeats my question like it’s a joke. “What do I want from you?”

He takes a slow step forward, his lips twitching into something that is not quite a smile. It's more like a smirk that never fully shows.

I retreat, hitting the wall, and of course, I have nowhere to run to. The cold bricks bite into my back like ice. Still, I hold my head high.

“What do I want from you?” he says again, this time, I know he is really making fun of me.

He is close now. Too close to my face. I can feel his heat, his energy. It’s strong and so overwhelming.

But I stand my ground.

Yes, I am the prisoner here. He is the one with the power. But that doesn’t mean I have to show him my fear.

Clenching my jaw, I stay quiet.

Then, his eyes trail from my face, and drop down to my neck. Down to the locket necklace and pendant hanging there.

My fingers twitch, wanting to cover it. Protect it.

That necklace is the last thing I have from my family.

From Erin.

This ruthless Alpha, he is staring at my locket like it offends him. For a second, I think he might take it. Snatch it away from me.

Fear burns hot through my veins. Please don’t.

Please don’t take the only piece of my family I have left.

After what feels like forever, he finally lifts his eyes back to mine.

“You asked what I want,” his voice darkens even deeper now. “I want to know why a filthy rogue was trespassing on my land.”

The way he says filthy rogue nearly makes me flinch. The words twist inside me like knives. He said them with so much disgust like he is forbidding a curse from haunting him. Like I am so much worse than dirt.

I swallow hard, my mind racing with his question.

I can’t tell him the truth.

If I do, he might kill me.

Or worse…

He might send me back to Kaliq somehow.

Even thinking about that monster makes my skin crawl.

If I ever go back to him, I know I won’t survive. Captive or not, I will be dead the second I get near him. I will die by Kaliq’s hand.

And not quickly.

But what do I say to Raelin now?

What lie would even sound believable?

“Are you deaf?” he snaps. “Or just too dumb to speak?”

“I wasn’t—”

“And don’t you dare even think about lying to me,” he cuts me off with a warning. His voice drops even lower. “I can smell your fear. When I found you, you were running from something. Or someone.”

Found me? My heart spikes. But I keep my expression blank. I force calm into my limbs and try not to react.

Stay calm, Layla.

“I wasn’t trespassing,” I say finally, my voice hoarse. “I don’t even know how I got here. I was running… but that’s the last thing I can remember. I don’t remember much else.”

He doesn’t buy it. I can tell from the way he intensifies his glare at me. He looks like he is seconds away from snapping my neck.

“So, you expect me to believe that?” he scoffs. “You expect me to believe that you just happened to wander into my pack territory by accident?"