Mate

Emma.

Emma slowly opened her eyes, groaning as her head felt like it was about to crack open. As her vision came to focus, she noticed that she was lying on the cold floor inside a strong metallic cage. She looked around her surroundings, and realised she was in some kind of basement, a dungeon to be specific. Several cages were scattered throughout the room. Emma saw her colleagues in the cages, each in their own. While the rest were still unconscious, Alison was conscious. She was braiding her blonde hair. She barely acknowledged Emma.

Emma tried to get up but her body was very weak. The smell of silver in the air was enough to make her notice that the chains attached to her wrists were made of silver. Because silver weakened werewolves, she couldn’t break free. It seemed like the silver chains were drawing all her strength. Her legs were weak and she could tell they wouldn’t be able to support her. She touched the metal bars of the cage and tried to rattle it. The cage did not shake. It had been welded onto the concrete floor and the bars were very sturdy.

Seeing that Alison was not in the mood for conversation, Emma closed her heavy eyes and let herself fall asleep again. The next time she woke up, the others were all awake, talking in hushed tones.

“This is all your fault,” Alison told Emma coldly. “If it wasn’t for you and your sentimentality. I need to be with him, I need to be with him…we wouldn’t be trapped here.”

Emma couldn’t argue with that because Alison was saying the truth. She was the one who had stopped everyone from leaving, despite knowing that it was dangerous.

Emma didn’t feel bad about being caught. She wasn’t feeling anything. She felt numb. The person she had lived for was gone and at that moment she didn’t really care of she lived or not. In fact, she thought that death would be a welcome relief. She figured her life was meaningless without Tommy.

The only thing she didn’t like was being trapped. She and Tommy had never liked being led and living under rules. They just loved their free lifestyle.

“Are you not going to apologise for what you’ve caused?” Alison asked.

“I’m sorry, Alison.” Emma said.

Alison stood up in her cage and started screaming out loud, shaking the cage hard. Everyone looked at her like she was a mad woman but she didn’t stop. She continued yelled and shaking her head.

A few seconds later, the sound of footsteps caught everyone’s attention. Emma’s body tensed as she heard the door open. Two of the men who had caught them appeared and started walking in.

“Where are we?” Alison asked.

“So, you’re the screamer?” the tall one asked. “There are a lot of things we could do to make you scream. Maybe we will just do that. Thanks for giving us the idea.”

“Where are we?” Richard asked.

“You’re at Venom Pack,” the man said. “Welcome.”

Richard and Emma exchanged a glance. Venom Pack was the second toughest pack in the region. Alpha Axel who was the leader was known to be a dictatorial ruler who made everyone miserable. He did not even try to maintain good relationships with neighbouring packs and ignored some of the rules set by the international werewolf council. He hated rogues more than anything else.

“It’s crazy how you fools decided to camp near a pack whose alpha hates rogues,” the shorter guard said.

“We didn’t know that Venom pack was this close,” Richard said.

Emma sighed. They had known that Venom pack was in that region but had not known it was the closest to where they were passing. They had decided to camp there for a week because Tommy was feeling sick. He had been poisoned at a wild party they had attended two weeks back but he had been recovering. That day, he said he couldn’t continue and they decided to wait a few days before continuing to their destination in the southern region. Besides, everyone had felt they needed a break to enjoy the wilderness before continuing to another city. It turned out to be the worst decision ever. Now five days later, they were stuck in the worst pack.

“What are you going to do with us?” Alison asked.

“That’s up to someone else,” the man said.

Suddenly, a sweet smelling scent wafted in. Emma inhaled it and closed her eyes, before opening them suddenly, when she realised it could be coming from her mate. She stood up and stared at the two men entering the room. Immediately, she felt drawn to the taller and bigger one.

The handsome man strode confidently into the dungeon, his shoulders squared and head held high. He had a chiselled jawline and was over six feet tall. He was wearing a sleek blue suit that made his deep blue eyes darker and more prominent. Underneath the blue jacket was a crisp white shirt. His shoes were black and pointed, adding a bit of sophistication to his overall appearance.

As he moved closer, he became even more attractive. The man exuded an energy that made him hard to ignore. Emma stared at his pink lips, impatiently waiting for him to speak so she could see how they moved when he did. Her wolf was getting excited in her mind.

“Mate” the word was bouncing around her mind.

He scanned her friends but didn’t say anything, coming to stop in front of her cage. Emma stared into his blue eyes, trying to figure if he felt the same attraction she did. He met her gaze with his intense eyes, making Emma weak in the knees. Unable to keep the staring contest, she looked down and sighed.

He continued to watch her while she looked anywhere but at him. When she had had enough, she looked up and was about to speak when he did.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Emma Greenfield,” Emma replied. “And you’re my mate.”

The man’s facial appearance changed immediately. He twisted his face and clenched his jaw. “Won’t be for long.”

Emma’s face paled. “You’re going to reject me.”

The man chuckled. “Have you seen me? Why would a man like me be with you? I, Axel White, alpha of Venom pack reject you Emma Greenfield as my mate and future luna.” He said before turning to the other men. “It’s done. Do whatever you want with her.”

A sharp pain assaulted Emma’s entire body and she screamed out loud as he walked away. She clutched her stomach and bent down before falling on the floor. She continued to press it as the pain grew. Her entire body felt like it was being ripped apart from the insides. One of the men crouched by her side and sunk a syringe deep into her thigh.

“Ahhh…” Emma continued wailing until the substance took effect and she passed out.