Chapter three

AURELIA'S POV

I twisted and turned on the woody bed as I opened my eyes.

My entire body hurts and I knew I was in an unfamiliar place considering the smell in the air and the atmosphere.

It was very dark in here and it was as if the whole place had been deprived of light for a long ass time.

In the next second, I sat up on the woody bed and looked around.

I could see everything clearly and I gasped in great shock at what I saw.

"How did I get here?" I asked myself as my eyes roamed around, observing everyone that laid in the room.

I woke up in the middle of people dressed in rags, sleeping on wooden beds.

"They are slaves!" These words resounded in my head as I held onto it.

"How did I get here?" I asked myself.

I tried to comprehend who would hate me so much to turn me into a slave. 

My thoughts trailed back to what had happened at the plaza.

I was able to say a word, just so the Alpha could come save me but then he looked back at me, with a calm look in his eyes.

It felt like if I was going to die at that point, he would gladly bury me.

"But he is my mate." I cried in my mind, in frustration and pain. 

I thought he would save me and protect me in his arms but then I was left alone like a stray dog until I fell unconscious.

My father abandoned me and my mate did as well. He did not bother to help me.

Am I so unlucky? 

A tear dropped from my eye as I thought about how unloved I was. 

No one cared to help me even when being a stealer wasn't my choice.

"Hmmm…" I let out, crying to the heavens.

"Why would the Moon Goddess treat me this way?" I said to myself, wishing I could say those words.

But then I wished the Goddess listened to my inner desires.

I anticipated having a mate and then I turned out to be the dreaded stealer. At this point, only my mate could end my misery and he was nowhere to be found. 

In the next second, I felt a cold hairy thing run past my hands and I jumped, in fright. 

"Hmmm…" I made a low sound as my eyes widened at what it was. It was a rat and it looked really dirty.

"I can't stay here." I decided, in my mind as my hands clutched my torn dress. 

At least, I was still covered. 

I knew everyone here would be used as a sexual outlet and I couldn't stay and get used. 

Even if my mate did not want me, I cherished my body greatly.

Moving my feet to the cold ground, I stood up, ensuring my bed partner did not detect my movement.

I started to take little steps toward the door but then I halted.

"Where the fuck is the door!" I screamed in my mind as my head whipped to look around.

Every end of the room looked like a wall to me and I was starting to consider feeling the whole place up. 

There has to be a door somewhere and immediately I moved toward the left side of the room.

I started to feel the wall as quietly as I could.

My feet padded quietly against the ground and I was starting to think I had really good stealth skills.

In the next second, my hand found a door knob and my body shook in delight.

"Heavens…" I said in my mind, seeing that the door was painted with the same color as the wall. It was also built in a way that it fit into the wall. 

I wasn't about to analyze how it was done and immediately I grabbed the door knob and turned it open.

The door opened up and I did not stop to think why the door to the slaves' quarters would be open.

Without thinking twice, I ran past the door and I thought I was free.

I breathe in the fresh air but in the next second, my head hits a hard chest. 

"Ooo.." I groaned in pain and then I realized what just happened.

"Where do you think you are going?" A guard thundered and I froze in fear.

His eyes bore into me and more guards surrounded me.

I realized they were the guards with the gas masks as they were still dressed in the uniform I saw them in. 

"Nnnn…" I let out in a squeaky tone as I shook my head frantically.

I did not think I would be caught and now, I started to take steps back toward the room.

I couldn't imagine the brutal things they would do to me, now that they have caught me.

I did not want to be a sexual outlet but then it seemed like I wouldn't have a choice anymore.

"Grab her!" The guard ordered and immediately I turned around and started to run.

It was a long hallway before me and I did not know where I was headed but my sixth sense told me to run.

However, in the next second, I felt a thick hand grab my left shoulder, and I halted.

The grip on my shoulder was so strong that my face scrunched in pain.

My eyes were tightly shut as I clawed at the hand on my shoulder. In the next second, I was suddenly carried and thrown over one of the guard's shoulder.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked inwardly as my hands slammed continuously on his back.

My feet kicked continuously in the air as I tried to get down but the guard's hold was just too strong.

"Take her to the Alpha." The guard from earlier ordered and I gasped, silently.

"The Alpha?" I said in my mind.

"My mate? Alpha Dante?" I said to myself, like I was talking to the guards.

"Is he here?" I said inwardly, as head turned frantically but I couldn't spot him or smell him anywhere.

But then I thought of why he would be in such a place.

It was a place for the slaves. 

As the door to a room opened up, a thought clicked in my mind. 

The scent of my mate wafted into my nose and I thought he was here to save me.

"Yes! He saved me! He did not abandon me!" I screamed, inwardly, in delight.

I twisted my body in an effort to see my mate. I just needed to see him and in the next second, I was dropped to the ground with a loud thud. 

My mouth opened up, like a fish in water due to the pain that coursed through my body.

"Haha…" I heard a low chuckle and immediately my head snapped in the direction.

I came face to face with my mate and my heart thudded in my chest.

He was just too handsome and I realized he had a bottle of liquor in hand. 

I could deduce it was an expensive one as my father had a bottle of the same liquor tucked away safely. 

Looking up from the bottle, my eyes met his and I shivered.

My mate looked at me with icy eyes and I couldn't look up at him anymore.

His aura gave me the chills and I felt like I had stepped into more dangerous grounds.

Maybe staying with my father wasn't a bad idea after all. 

"You could come close to me." I heard him say, suddenly, and my head snapped to look at him.

"What?" I said in my mind as my eyes widened in question.

"You're the only one who is not affected by my Alpha aura and you're my mate." He declared as his eyes bore into me.

I felt a tingling sensation in my body and heart as I finally realized how special I was to him. 

He wouldn't discard me, or so I thought.

On second thought, I realized he was the only one who could end my stealer pheromone.

If he finally claims me as his mate, no male werewolf would come close to me.

My father, stepmother and step brother would have nothing on me.

The delight in my heart did not wane one bit as I concluded that we were destined for each other. A small smile was starting to creep onto my face.

In the next second, I heard my mate say, "I do not want a weak werewolf as my mate." 

My smile fell and my heart shook. 

"What?" I asked in my mind as my eyes searched for answers, frantically.

I thought we had use to each other. At least that would keep us together for some time until he falls in love with me later on.

"You're pathetic and dumb." He added and I finally realized I was living in a delusion to think he would have any use for me.

Of course, he was the great Alpha Dante.

My hands clenched as I tried to stop the tears that were threatening to fall.

I did not want to look weak even if it was at the expense of locking up my emotions.

"Why?" I asked even though I knew he couldn't hear me.

I just wanted to know why he detested me so much apart from me being weak.

It was a simple thing to train me into whoever he wants me to be.

It was as if my mate heard my question and he stood up to his feet.

"If you become my mate, you will be a potential threat to me." He said.

"You're weak and easy to take advantage of." He added as he took steps toward me.

I was on my knees at this point and in two seconds he was before me.

"Your existence is troublesome." He said and in the next second, he grabbed onto my neck.

I was raised from the ground, with his fingers wrapped tightly around my neck and I couldn't breathe.