CHAPTER 4 - The Mate I Despise

Merrin’s POV

It had been two hours since I left the strip club, but peace refused to find me.

I kept pacing restlessly across my room, like a caged beast waiting to tear something apart.

My maids kept bringing me mouth-watering appetizers, but I kept chasing them away.

Finally, I locked myself inside my luxurious room, a place that once brought comfort but now offered none.

Every wall, every reflection, every breath reminded me of one thing.

Violet.

The name burned through me like acid.

Inside, everything was louder; the echo of her voice, the tremor in her breath, the look in her eyes when she saw me again.

I gripped my TV stand, knuckles whitening, and flung the screen across the wall.

Glass shattered, raining down like crystal rain.

I should’ve felt satisfied.

After all these years, I finally had her where I wanted her;

Powerless.

Mine to punish.

Mine to destroy.

But why the hell did I feel… restless?

I should be laughing, drinking, celebrating her downfall.

Instead, every time I closed my eyes, I saw her kneeling on that floor, trembling, bleeding, yet defiant even in fear.

My chest tightened. I slammed my fist into the bedside mirror.

“Damn it!” I roared, punching again until shards bit into my skin.

“What’s wrong with me?”

Since when did I start feeling pity for the woman who blinded me?

The same woman who took everything… my vision, my pride, my peace.

She deserved nothing but pain.

I should enjoy watching her break.

And yet… when she looked at me, I couldn’t tell if I wanted to crush her or hold her until she stopped shaking.

The door burst open.

Nolan rushed in, panting. “Alpha! We’ve caught spies near the east border. They’re from the Cave-Ocean pack!”

I didn’t answer. My mind wasn’t at the border.

“Merrin?” he pressed, brows furrowed. “You never ignore matters involving Wolves-Heaven. What’s going on with you? And what’s this mess in your room?”

I looked at him coldly. “Nothing you need to understand.”

He frowned deeper. “Are you sure this isn’t about Violet…”

“Enough!” I snapped. My voice echoed through the marble hall, shaking the walls.

“Do not speak her name.”

He lowered his head immediately, though confusion rolled off him like heat. I ignored it.

I turned to my desk and pulled out the contract the manager had given me.

Her signature glared back at me, bold, desperate, and foolish.

Below it, her phone number.

I picked up my phone and dialed.

She answered after two rings, her voice small but steady. “Hello?”

“You have fifteen minutes to get to Wolves-Heaven Palace. Now,” I said flatly.

A pause. Then a shaky whisper. “It’s late. Wolves-Heaven is far from here. I can come in the morning…”

I cut her off. “You have fifteen minutes,” I repeated, voice sharp as steel. “If you waste one of them, consider your family dead.”

Then I hung up.

Nolan stepped forward. “Fifteen minutes? That’s impossible! It’s a thirty-minute drive,” he said, defending Violet.

“Then let her fly,” I muttered, eyes blazing.

“Alpha, the Luna-Light pack is far… she can’t possibly…”

“I don’t care.” I turned away, voice hard. “She will come. Or her family dies.”

He opened his mouth again, but I silenced him with a glare. “Ready the warriors. If the Cave-Ocean pack wants to test me tonight, I’ll show them the cost of trespassing.”

“But Alpha,” he tried again, “why summon her when there’s a war?”

“Because,” I said, staring through the open window where rain poured like silver knives, “She’s mine to command. That’s all you need to know.”

He bowed and left.

Thirteen minutes later, chaos erupted outside.

I heard shouting, boots on stone, steel clanging against steel.

“What the hell…?” I muttered, halfway through strapping on my war gear.

Stepping out, I saw guards struggling at the gate. A flash of red hair.

A familiar scent of wild roses and rain.

My pulse stuttered.

Violet.

She’d come.

In thirteen minutes.

How the hell…? She must have really flown.

“Let her in,” I ordered.

The guards stepped aside. She stumbled forward, drenched, her hair plastered on her cheeks.

Her chest heaved as she caught her breath.

Her stormy, unbroken eyes, lifted to mine. “I’m here,” she panted. “Please… don’t hurt my family.”

I stared at her. Her dress was torn, her ankle swollen, but she still stood straight… proud.

Something twisted inside me again.

“Stop talking,” I said finally. “You talk too much.”

I turned to the chief maid. “Dress her for war.”

Violet blinked. “What?”

“You heard me.” My lips curved into a wicked smile.

Her face paled. “You’re taking me to war?”

“Consider it part of your job,” I said coldly.

She took a shaky step closer. “Merrin, please. I hurt you once, I know. But taking me to war? What kind of revenge is that? Just kill me instead!”

Her voice cracked on the last word, not like a plea, but a dare.

I met her gaze. “I don’t want you dead. Not yet. Death is too kind. I want you to suffer slowly. I want you to beg me to spare your life.”

Her eyes glistened, but she didn’t look away. “You’ll never have that satisfaction,” she whispered.

“We’ll see,” I murmured.

Then to the warriors beside me, “Make sure no one gives her a sword. Not even a dagger. She’s there to dance and entertain me… not to fight.”

They nodded.

Violet’s voice rose, incredulous. “How am I supposed to defend myself without a weapon, in the middle of trained warriors, Merrin?”

I turned, already walking away. “Figure that out yourself.”

All I wanted was for her to suffer… for what she did to me. My father might have killed hers and taken their wealth, but that was never enough.     

I wanted her to feel what it meant to cross the bloodline of the king-makers.

In this war, she’d either die… or lose her sight as I had.

Either way, she’d beg, and I’d remind her how worthless she was.

The drums of war thundered.

My soldiers marched forward, Violet among them.

Even in armor, she looked breathtaking.

Why is she always so damn beautiful?

But I pushed the thought away immediately.

When we arrived, the Cave-Ocean pack had gathered at the border, unprepared and outnumbered. The fight began, and my men dominated easily.

Their Alpha fell to his knees, trembling. “Please,” he begged, “the men at your gates were travelers, not spies!”

“You know, I’m the ruthless one-eyed Alpha,” I said, drawing my blade. “And I hate weaklings. Fight, Alpha. Let’s see if travelers bleed any differently.”

He hesitated. I smiled darkly.

The air thickened with fear. Thunder cracked across the sky as steel met flesh.

And in the middle of it all… Violet.

She moved among soldiers with both eyes closed. The pale silk clinging to her skin, a gold war helm framing her face, but her hands were empty.

No sword. No weapon.

I fought the Cave-Ocean Alpha, barely paying him attention.

He was weak.

All my focus was on her.

She moved, not like a warrior, but like a flame. Her arms swayed, her body turning with tragic grace.

She danced.

Right there in the storm, amid flying arrows, chaos, and death… she danced.

The only music: the clash of swords, the screams, the thunder.

Calm. Tragic. Beautiful.

“What are you doing, Merrin?” Nolan whispered beside me.

“Watching her,” I said, still fighting.

“I think you’re going too far,” he said, cutting down a warrior.

I ignored him, though my heart twisted painfully. What kind of woman dances while death sings around her?

Even my soldiers faltered, stealing glances at her.

Then movement.

A Cave-Ocean warrior broke through the line, charging straight at her.

Before I could think, my body moved.

I killed the enemy Alpha, in a single slash, then sprinted to Violet.

Steel met flesh, the warrior fell before his blade could touch her. His blood splattered across her face.

Her eyes flew wide, her breath seized.

I realized my hand was still gripping her waist.

For a second, time stopped.

The world vanished.

It was just us; my heartbeat pounding against hers.

“Get your hands off me,” she whispered.

I pushed her away, suddenly aware of what I’d done. “Don’t take it to heart. Next time, I’ll let them kill you.”

But even I didn’t believe my own words.

And it happened again. And again.

Each time someone aimed for her, I moved first.

By the fourth time, Nolan looked at me in disbelief. “Alpha… are you…”

“Silence,” I hissed.

But confusion churned inside me.

Why did I keep saving her?                    

Watching her bleed should’ve satisfied me.

But it didn’t.

The sight of her shaking made something inside me snarl and recoil.

I didn’t want to feel that. Not for her.

Was I losing my mind?

When the war ended, the battlefield was painted red, and I was drenched in it.

The Cave-Ocean pack was destroyed.

Victory!

But it felt hollow.

***

Back at Wolves-Heaven, healers rushed to the wounded.

Nolan approached, dragging Violet gently toward me.

Her dress was torn. Her arm bled freely.

“She needs treatment, Alpha,” he said.

“No,” I said sharply. “She doesn’t.”

“But…”

“I said no!” I thundered, my Alpha voice shaking the yard.

Then I turned to Violet.

“You think I saved you because I care?”

She looked up weakly. “I don’t need your pity.”

“Good,” I said, stepping closer. “Because it wasn’t pity.”

Her lip trembled, but she didn’t speak.

“I saved you,” I continued, voice low and rough, “so you’ll remember who owns your life. You owe me, Violet… your breath, your heartbeat, your every damn step.”

Her eyes flickered with anger. “You can own my life,” she whispered, “but I’ll never forgive you for all the pain you’ve caused.”

That made me laugh, a cold, humorless sound.

“Pain? You dare speak of pain when you did this to my eyes?” I pointed at my eye-patch. “And now the Moon Goddess punishes me again, by making you my mate?”

I took a step closer, my voice cracking. “It’s me who feels real pain, Violet. Not you.”

Nolan, sensing my fury, slipped quietly away.

Violet stepped back, fear flickering in her eyes. “You’ll never own my heart…” she stammered, “...even if we’re mates.”

I leaned in.

“But you will, Violet,” I murmured. “You’ll beg for me before this is over.”

“I’d rather die,” she whispered.

“Then get ready to die,” I said with a smile.

I turned toward the Infirmary door, then paused. “You wanted death, Violet,” I said, voice low and lethal. “But I’ll give you something worse.”

She froze.

I looked over my shoulder, my voice like thunder. “You won't just be my slave. You’ll be my wife.”