Marry me

Elena

“Get up, you worthless mutt! How dare you refuse to mate with Alpha?” Derek, one of the warriors, snarled.

I lay on the cold, filthy floor of the packhouse, my body screaming in pain from all the lashes from his dagger, all the wounds from numerous last times.

“Bitch.” Taking too much pleasure in his work, he yanked me to my feet, his fingers digging into my arm with a bruising grip. “You think now you are special because you got your wolf?”

I bit back a whimper, meeting his glare with a hollow gaze. Thirteen years of this. Thirteen years of pain so constant it had become a part of me. I was five when my parents abandoned me in a forest and the Bluemoon pack rescued me. They raised me with a promise of making me a warrior. But what they did was to make me their fucking slave.

*We must survive. That’s all that matters now.* Sameera, my wolf, murmured weakly. Her voice, too, was weak. We had hoped that finding each other on my eighteenth birthday would bring us some solace, but the reality had been more brutal.

Sometimes, the torment came in the form of iron burns from Alpha’s clothes, sometimes it was brutal head slams against the wall for the tiniest mistakes. Tonight, it just topped. Three days ago, I had been ordered to mate with Alpha Killian for whatever reasons I wasn’t aware of, but I had refused it persistently with every ounce of my being. I wouldn’t surrender my soul to such a monster.

“You better apologize to Alpha. Now.” Derek’s voice was a low growl as he threw me to the floor before Killian.

Killian squatted in front of me, his imposing figure a contrast to my battered form. “Look at you.” He spoke, his hand brushing a strand of hair from my face while his gaze traced every bruise, every cut of my body, with sick fascination. “So defiant, so…broken. Yet you fight. What is it about you that makes you think you can defy my men? It’s sad to see you like this every day.”

I summoned every ounce of strength I had left and jerked away from his touch. “Don’t touch me. Don’t pretend this isn’t your command.”

Killian’s sneer widened, his hand trailing down to my neck, his fingers closing around my throat with a grip that was shockingly not painful. Yet. “No, sweetheart. I don't pretend. I am merely tired of the charade. I will stop ordering once you obey.”

“Say please.” He said as he stepped over my hand, his voice was salt to my wounds.

My body trembled in rage. Instead of saying a word, I spat in him.

His eyes flashed with anger, his grip tightening on my throat until I started to black out. “Need a personal lesson, huh?” He growled, releasing me just enough for a ragged breath before he pushed me on the floor and started undoing the buttons of my shirt, revealing the tattered bikins

The other guards watched with their predatory eyes. I felt so exposed, so dirty. No, I can not let this happen. I won’t.

“Don’t. Don’t touch me.” I tried my best to slip away but he held my hands so tightly as his finger continued to work to get rid of the last few buttons.

*Elena. Don't feed him. Break his balls and fucking run.* Sameera uttered in a tone that shattered me more.

Even though I knew hurting him would make it worse and I probably wouldn’t even make it out of this room, I still I lashed out with my knee, driving it into his groin. Maybe, just maybe, I can save myself.

Killian grunted in pain, his grip on my hands loosening enough for me to twist away, but he caught me by my hair before I could move more than a few inches.

“I said, don’t touch me.” I shouted and slapped his face. He growled in pain. The single act might cost me my life but it was worth it. If I could make him feel even a fraction of the rage I had felt all these years, it would be worth every bruise, every cut, every broken bone.

“You know what, I won’t even fuck you now.” he grunted, “Rather I will fuck your life up now.” He said as he grabbed me by the hair, pulling me to my feet so hard and then flung me to the ground where two guards stood stiffly, eyes straight ahead, pretending they couldn’t see the mess I had become.

Cowards, the lot of them.

“Take this piece of trash.” Killian ordered the guards, “Dump her in the rogue territory. Let them have what is left of her.”

The guards didn’t even give me a chance to respond. They shoved me forward into the cold night air. Crossing the border of Bluemoon pack, they led me deeper into the dark forest, the trees closing in around us like a cage. I could hear the distant howl of starved wolves—rogues, no doubt—wandering and waiting for fresh meat.

When we almost reached the center of the woods, they stopped. “This is as far as we go.” one of them said. “You are on your own from here.”

And I watched them go, the darkness swallowing them up.

*We are okay. We got rid of the monsters.* Sameera said. *We will survive this too.*

*Of course. Let’s find a way out of this rogue territory.* I straightened, ignoring the ache that diverged through my body, and started walking.

But the further I went, the more the pain began to take their toll. As I stumbled over a root and fell to my knees, my vision obscured, the world around me began spinning.

*Ah! You heard that?* Sameera’s voice brought me back to my sense and a rustling noise caught my attention. I looked up, my heart pounding in my chest. Shadows moved in the trees while a low growl echoed through the forest. Rogues. They were so close, and I was too weak to fight.

*Damn it.* Sameera growled. *This isn’t good.*

Before I could even react, a figure emerged from the shadows, followed by another. And another. Rogues—filthy, scarred and feral—surrounded me, their eyes glinting with hunger.

The largest rogue with matted fur, wild eyes, snarled lunging at me. I braced myself, trying to summon the strength to strike back, but my body betrayed me. The world tilted as I fell backward, the rogue’s jaw snapping inches from my face.

*Elena!* Sameera’s voice was a frantic scream in my mind, but I couldn’t move a finger.

Just as the rogue’s teeth were about to close around me, a deafening roar pierced the night. The rogue on top of me fell, an arrow jabbing its back.

I pulled myself up, and distanced myself from the wolfs before my eyes found the shadow of my savior as he moved through the trees with his lethal grace. His movements remained swift and deadly while his arrows tore through the other rogues with ease, their bodies hitting the ground one after another.

Within moments, it was over. The rogues that almost killed me lay dead around me and all I could do was stare at the man who had saved me.

He stood still for a while, his back to me. My heart throbbed faster in my chest, an unfamiliar warmth unfurling in my core. It was not just simple as gratitude—it was something deeper, something that tugged at the very essence of who I was.

“Who are you?” I finally asked, my voice weak.

He didn’t respond right away. Instead, he tossed his bow to the ground and then, turned to face me, slowly, like he had all the time in the world.

The second his ocean blue eyes, dark and impossibly intense locked on mine, everything else faded away and in that instant, I knew. My wolf knew.

*Mate.* Sameera breathed.

Mate! This man—this powerful, terrifyingly beautiful—was my mate.

But… I knew him. Xavier Volkov, the Alpha of Bloodmoon pack, known to be the most ruthless and heartless man to ever exist.

It was ridiculous. Did I really get rid of one monster to face another?

Just as I thought he would just leave me alone to prove his nature, he took a step toward me. Goosebumps rose in my body with every inch he closed between us. Part of me wanted to reach out, and receive his warmth. But another part, the part that had spent years surviving abuse, wished to crawl away, to run and never look back.

And I embraced my other part. I rose on my heel and braced myself to run in the opposite direction.

“You are likely to encounter another set of rogues out there.” His voice sliced through the stillness, causing me to freeze mid-step.

I wanted to argue but my body was in no condition to argue with such an enigmatic Alpha. I faced him again, my voice low and hesitant, “Which way… might be the safest?”

Xavier remained about five steps away, his icy gaze fixed on me with an intensity. “None.” He declared, flat and blunt.

I sighed, “Please leave me alone if you are not going to help.”

“I never said I won’t.” His tone remained icy, his hands casually stuffed in his pockets. His formal attire seemed out of place in the rogue forest—a dark suit, a necktie—like a bridegroom in the middle of a nightmare.

I raised my brows, almost in suspicion, “Why would you help me?”

*Because you are his mate?* Sameera’s voice was a soft murmur, but I chose to ignore it.

Xavier shook his head slowly. “No.” It was as if he had heard my thoughts. “Definitely not because you are my mate.”

Fuck. His wolf must have heard Sameera.

For a moment, we both fell into silent. While I didn't know what to say, he stared at me as if he was still deciding if he should the next word or not.

I parted my lips, was just a second away from voicing my thoughts when he finally said, “I have two choices for you.”

“What?” I blinked, disbelief seeping into my tone. I expected him to be heartless but coming up with two choices right now felt like a blackmail.

*Oh, he is just flaunting his trademark now. The Great Heartless Alpha.* Sameera growled in the back of my mind, her earlier fascination replaced with frustration.

“Either marry me and go back with me, or I leave you here to the rogues.” He stated, his gaze—devoid of empathy.

My heart sank at his words. He called these choices? It was a fucking threat, plain and simple.

I clenched my hands, trying to keep my voice steady. “Is this some kind of sick joke?” My gaze bore into him, struggling to make sense of the shit he just said.

He arched a brow, his posture relaxed, “Do I look like I am joking?”

I squared my shoulders, trying to hold onto a shred of dignity despite the pounding in my heart. “Why would I agree to marry you?”

He tilted his head slightly, “Because you don’t want to die.” he stated.

*Okay, he is disgusting.* Sameera growled, anger simmering in her voice. *But, he is our mate. Even though it’s too early, we should—*

I wanted to listen to Sameera’s explanation, but the idea of binding myself to this man felt like a betrayal to myself.

“It’s ridiculous.” My voice diverged disdain as I turned to walk away.

I was in my tenth minute of exploring the opposite direction alone when my path was blocked by the sight of bloodied figures emerging from the shadows of the trees.

Panic surged through me, and without a second thought, I began running back, my breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps. Suddenly, I stumbled on a rock and as I closed my eyes, prepared to fall, my head slammed against a body. “Please—” I almost cried as I looked up but my voice died meeting his ocean eyes.

Xavier held me in his embrace, amusement glinting in his gaze. “Looks like you want to survive.” he taunted.

In an instant, I pulled myself away from him and run the calculation in my mind. What he offered me was undoubtedly a marriage of convenience. And if I don't accept it, he would not mind even if I die. Either way my destruction was certain. But the first one at least came with a package of time and a way out.

Straightening my back, I met his gaze with fake confidence. “When is the wedding?”

His expression morphed into something almost satisfied as he said, “Tonight.”