3

CALISTA

The moment my eyes shot open, an excruciating pain shot through my head and my entire body. I let out a loud groan as sunlight filtered in through the windows, straight into my eyes.

I shielded my eyes with my hands as my vision slowly adjusted to the light and that was when I noticed that I was in an unfamiliar room. My eyes darted around and I was simply astonished.

The room was so enormous that I felt like I was being swallowed up. Its sheer size was so massive, it was bigger than my entire crappy apartment combined.

The ceilings were extremely high, decorated in white and gold with beautiful chandeliers hanging from it.

The entire room radiated luxury and grandeur and I wondered how I ended up in a place like this.

I tried to remember what happened before I ended up here and then it slowly began to hit me. The stranger at the club. He was the last person I was with before I passed out.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as my eyes kept darting around the room. Did he bring me here?

Memories of our encounter began flooding my mind and a huge blush made its way onto my cheeks. It was nothing short of steamy and that night was a moment I would never forget.

I wasn’t one to just throw myself at anyone, but I couldn’t deny the fact that there was simply something special about that man.

The moment I began to think about him, a spot on my neck began to throb. A frown made its way onto my face as I touched the spot.

It felt like I was touching a bruise and I instantly shot up from the bed and made my way to the front of a large standing mirror, checking my reflection.

A loud gasp escaped my lips as my eyes landed on my neck. “What the hell is this?’” I muttered to myself, scanning my reflection in surprise and confusion.

Why in the world did I have a bite mark on my neck? Was I bitten when I fell unconscious? The entire situation grew bizarre by the minute and I was almost losing my mind.

What the hell was I doing in this unfamiliar place? Why did I have a bite mark on my neck? Who changed my clothes while I was unconscious as I was currently wearing a plain white dress which I didn’t remember owning.

My agitation grew by the second and I instantly made my way to the door of the room. I needed answers and I needed them right now.

I attempted to turn the knob of the door, but at that moment the door opened. I jumped back in surprise and panic as someone slid into the room.

My eyes widened as they landed on him. “Connor?” I gasped.

It was the stranger at the club. I was right. He brought me here. But why? I didn’t have the time to dwell on that as I noticed the expression on his face.

He looked at me with so much coldness and disdain that I took a step back. Why did he look so pissed? I should be the angry one here. He brought me here against my will after all.

“You,” He spat in an equally chilling voice. “What the hell did you do? How did you become my mate?”

I raised my brows in confusion as I didn’t understand a word of what he said. Or did I need to have my ears cleaned out?

“Huh? What are you talking about? Your mate? What the hell does that even mean?” I retorted and it looked like I said the wrong thing as his face contorted with intense fury at that moment.

He took a step toward me, towering over me completely and I could not help but feel frightened by his intimidating size.

“Don’t give me that bullshit!” He thundered, staring at me with so much hate in his eyes that I couldn’t help but wonder what I did wrong.

Did I fail to satisfy him that night? Was it because of the sex? Was it that bad?

“How can a mere human be my fated mate? A lowly stripper at that.” He said in such a condescending tone that my blood thrummed with fury.

Not only was this man crazy, he was going to belittle and insult me for doing my job? What a jerk.

“Excuse me, but who were you expecting to find at a club? Doctors? You came to the club because you wanted the services of a stripper and after you got one, you want to act so high and mighty?” I raised my voice slightly.

He didn’t like it one bit as his eyes narrowed at me, but I simply couldn’t care less. I was too incensed at his outrageous behaviour.

“I’ve had enough of this nonsense, Connor. Let me out of here.” I demanded.

“Thorne.” He growled and my frown deepened.

“What?”

“My name is Thorne and you are not leaving.”

At this point, I was starting to see red. I crossed my arms over my chest, shooting him an icy glare. “What the hell are you talking about? Why can’t I leave?”

“Because you are my property. I own you now.”

If I was angry before, I was borderline murderous now. It was clear that Connor or Thorne, whatever his name was, had lost his mind completely.

It was a pity that such good looks had been wasted on such a mentally unstable man.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, feeling my irritation grow by the second. He took another step toward me and I instinctively wanted to take a step back, but I held my ground, looking him straight in the eyes.

I would not let this insane man intimidate me. No way in hell. Even though he looked like he could crush my skull with his bare hands, I would never let him think I was frightened of him.

“You’ve been sold to me, Calista Miller. I have paid off your debts and now, I own you. All of you.”

He was so close to me that his breath fanned my face and the moment he said those words, his eyes raked over my body in such a painfully slow manner that I nearly shivered.

I truly hated the fact that he made me feel like this. Why was my body reacting to his stares when I should be concerned about the words which just came out of his lips?

I forced myself to snap out of it, now comprehending the situation and at that moment, my blood ran cold.

“What?” I croaked in disbelief. “You bought me?”

“Sure did,” Thorne replied, a wicked smirk spreading across his features. “You will stay in this castle for the rest of your pitiful life.”

Tears flooded my eyes as everything slowly began to sink in. I was sold off again. Years ago, I was sold off by my mother to clear our humongous family debt.

I had to work as a stripper in the club to make ends meet and I wouldn’t lie, life has been extremely shitty.

I had to do everything I could to survive and now, I had been sold off to this insane man who I didn’t know while I was unconscious! How did my life go from bad to worse in just a single moment?

“Why are you doing this?!” I yelled, tears spilling from my eyes. “Why did you buy me?! Who are you and what do you want with me?!”

“Like I said, you are my mate and you are going to stay with me forever.” He replied. I glared at him through teary eyes. He kept repeating the word ‘mate’ and I had no idea what it fucking meant.

I opened my mouth to speak, but he beat me to it.

“Now that you are here, you will fulfil your duties as my personal maid and you will also warm my bed whenever I require it. With your history, that shouldn’t be too difficult now, should it?” He said harshly and I didn’t miss the condescending tone or implied insult.

“You—” I began to speak, but once again he cut me off.

“The moment you defy me or try to escape, I will not hesitate to kill you.” He growled and I did not miss the menacing look in his eyes.

I gulped, trembling intensely. From the look in his eyes, I could tell that he meant every word. He would really kill me if I tried anything funny.

“Do you understand me?!” He thundered and I almost jumped in fright.

“Y—Yes. I understand.” I answered, my lips quivering.

He seemed satisfied with my answer. “Good.” He said before exiting the room, shutting the door loudly behind him and I couldn’t help but wonder what I had gotten myself into.