《A Mate For The Last Lycan》 Chapter 4: A HUG AND A KISS UNDER THE MOONLIGHT

Chapter 4: A HUG AND A KISS UNDER THE MOONLIGHT

"What did you say?!" Faye screamed when she heard the news that Sarah just told her. "How... how could she be pregnant?! Didn''t you take care of it? Didn''t you give her that drink to prevent that?!" She was screaming right now. Faye was the woman that was supposed to be the alpha''s mate, but because of her low status, she couldn''t be with the alpha. Not only that, she had been rejected by the alpha as well. However, they still met here and there and she believed that she could win him over again. After all, they were destined mates for a reason. "I have given the drink to her, but I don''t know why she is still pregnant," Sarah said. She was also equally mortified when she learned about this. For now, the alpha and the luna wanted to keep this pregnancy a secret, until they were ready to announce it, but of course, Sarah and Esther immediately went straight to Faye to inform her about this. "No way... there is no way this would happen..." Faye was in denial. "There is a possibility that she can still be pregnant after she drinks the potion, but..." Esther''s words hung in the air and this made Faye be impatient. "But, what?" She narrowed her eyes on her. "But, there is another possibility too..." "What is it?" "Probably, she got pregnant after she drank the tea that could prevent the pregnancy." "There is no way that could happen, the Alpha went to hunt the monsters the very next day of the ceremony." "In that case..." Esther didn''t continue her words and this let their imaginations run wild. "No way. That woman had tricked the Alpha." Faye immediately stood up and wanted to meet with Xaden right away, but Sarah and Esther stopped her, because they would be in great trouble if the alpha learned Faye knew about Zuri''s pregnancy. "We need to know who the man is first..." Esther suggested instead. *** "What now?" Zuri asked, she stared at the floor, her head was spinning. They only did it once, but she didn''t think she would get pregnant right away like this, therefore, she didn''t know what to do, not to mention the rtionship between her and Xaden was not good at all. "Keep the baby, that''s not even a question. The baby will be my firstborn. There is no question in there." Xaden changed his clothes, he came here because he had to go somewhere else and he needed to change his attire. "That''s it? That''s the only thing that you will say to me?" Zuri lifted her head to look at Xaden, she bit her lip. "What else should I say?" Xaden turned around and looked at her. "I have made it clear before. You can do whatever you want as long as you will not tarnish our pack name, I don''t mind it at all." Zuri bit back her words, she knew there was no point in talking to this man right now, but her heart hurt so bad in the face of his ignorance, not to mention how callous he was. "Where are you going? Will you meet with that omega again?" Zuri asked sharply. She couldn''t hold back her anger. "That''s none of your business." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om After saying that, Xaden walked out of the room, leaving her alone there, but he nced at her neck and saw his mark there. The skin around her shoulders, neck and chest were still red, but it would heal in a few days based on what Sera said. There was nothing to be worried about. With that being concluded, Xaden left the room. Later that night, Sarah and Esther came again to bring dinner for Zuri, where they apologized to her again and acted very remorseful. "It''s okay," Zuri replied, because she was tired, while they kept pestering her to forgive them when she didn''t feel like it. However, they assumed Zuri''s curt answer was a sign that she forgave them, thus they dropped their sad expressions and started to pester Zuri to take a walk in the garden. "It will help with your indigestion. It will help with the baby too," Esther persuaded her. Zuri was too tired to argue with them, more so she felt like she needed some fresh air, as she felt stifled to be inside her bedroom all day long. She felt sad for her baby because of the unstable rtionship between her and her mate. More so, the thought of Xaden being with another woman and thinking about his destined mate only suffocated her. "Here, you need to wear this cloak, the wind outside must be pretty cold." Esther was being thoughtful. She draped the cloak on Zuri''s shoulders, even though she knew that she was just injured there. However, the pain was more bearable now and Zuri was in dire need to be away from this room that felt like a jail to her right now. After that, they walked aimlessly in the garden, they watched the beautiful moon in the night sky, enjoyed the flowers and the sweet scent that the wind carried. Sarah and Esther would talk to her from time to time, but it was easy for Zuri to tune them out, because most of the time, they just talked to one another. Zuri was quite enjoying this walk, she would do it more often, but when she thought it was enough, she decided to go back to the bedroom. Esther suggested they take a different route. "You have not yet seen the magnolia flowers over there, Luna, let''s go there." Esther tugged her hand, so did Sarah. They finally walked in a different direction and found the beautiful magnolia flowers in full bloom, but it was not only the flowers that were blooming brilliantly right now, because an affair was blooming all the same. Right before her eyes, Zuri watched in disbelief when she saw a woman talking to Xaden. She was being emotional and suddenly, she hugged and kissed him. Chapter 5: THE AFFAIR AND REJECTION

Chapter 5: THE AFFAIR AND REJECTION

"Oh, you shouldn''t have seen this, Luna," Sarah said. She was surprised, but she did not attempt to prevent Zuri from seeing the scene before her eyes in any way. It was very obvious what they were trying to do here, but Zuri couldn''t care less about that right now, because all she wanted to do was to separate that adulterous couple. Her beast roared angrily because of this betrayal. She was seeing red when she marched toward the two of them, while Faye was still kissing Xaden. With her arms wrapped around his neck, the girl forced him to bend his body, so he could amodate her height. Zuri must be crazy, because she watched how that woman opened her eyes and was fully aware of her presence, yet she continued what she was doing anyway. "What are you doing here?" Zuri asked darkly, her eyes were aze with anger, and the two of them finally separated. She red at the woman, who just kissed Xaden and had the audacity to pretend to be afraid, as she hid behind the alpha''s body. "I- I am sorry, Luna..." she stuttered. She looked like she was about to cry, as she knelt down in front of Zuri. "I am really sorry, Luna. Please forgive me." Zuri wanted tough. There were so many people, who kept apologizing to her today and she wondered why they kept doing wrong to her. "Zuri," Xaden called her name, he looked calm and this made Zuri mad. How could he be so calm after what happened? After what she just witnessed?! "Is this what you wanted to tell me about ''mind our own business''?!" Zuri was livid. This was a humiliation for her and she couldn''t ept it. "Zuri, go back to your room," Xaden said. He didn''t look remorseful at all, only a little bit annoyed. "Go back to my room?" Zuri narrowed her eyes. "Do you think I am a child?!" He did not only humiliate her, but also insulted her by saying something like that in front of the servants. "Is this your omega mate?" "That''s none of your business." Zuri was fed up when she heard the same sentencee out of his lips again, she raised her hand and pped him hard across the face. Her pride didn''t allow her to be trampled upon like this. This man didn''t have any shame to say those words to her face after what he had done. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om There was no apology, nor was there any remorse, not even an exnation. "I, Zuri Arandelle, reject you as my mate. May our bond be severed for good," she said, her voice was calm and collected, but the moment they could feel the mate bond between them snap off, Zuri groaned and fell to her knees with an audible thud. She could feel this burning sensation on her neck when her mark disappeared because of the rejection that she made. She was not the only one, who felt this pain, but Xaden as well, he groaned dangerously and then snarled at Zuri. "What do you think you are doing?!" However, no matter how he wanted to protest, there was no saving it. He couldn''t prevent Zuri from saying the words. The burning sensation that he felt inside his heart was enough to bring him to his knees. Yet, Zuri felt something else was wrong, because along with the pain of the severed mate bond, she felt another pain, this sharp pain that came from her stomach. She felt like her insides were being twisted and stabbed. "Ah!" Zuri bent her body, as she held her stomach. "What happened, Luna? What happened?!" Sarah immediately approached Zuri, as did Esther, while Xaden was too angry about what Zuri had done to care about her. "My stomach..." Zuri said between her tears. This was even more painful than when Xaden marked her, or when Sarah poured the hot water on her shoulders. This was more painful than any of that. "Call the healer!" Xaden hollered when he realized what happened. Despite the pain, he approached Zuri and carried her in his arms. If she felt pain in her stomach, it must be because something was wrong with the baby. Xaden wouldn''t bet on the safety of his baby. Therefore, despite the pain, he carried Zuri back to their bedroom. "I- I will call for the healer," Esther said. Yet, when the alpha had disappeared from their sight, she didn''t immediately do that. "Did you put that thing in her food?" Faye asked, her facial expression changed. She was livid that Xaden had chosen to take care of Zuri instead of staying behind with herself, but she could understand. "Yes. I put it in excess to make sure it will be more effective." Faye nodded in agreement. She smiled. "Take your time to call Sera. She must be resting now." *** The pain was there, but then the pain was gone and when Zuri opened her eyes, she felt exhausted, as if she had not just woken up from her deep slumber, but was run over by horses. She looked around her and found a few familiar faces that she recognized. It was her mother and father. The two of them were bickering with each other, but the moment they realized their daughter had woken up, they stopped. Alpha Rnd approached his daughter, while Zuri pushed herself from the bed into a sitting position. However, the first thing that Alpha Rnd did when he was close enough to Zuri was to p across her face so hard, she felt her ears ringing painfully. "Stop this! Don''t do this here!" Karina, the Luna of the River Creek pack tried to stop her mate. "How dare you reject him?!" Alpha Rnd was livid. "How dare you ruin this important union!?" Zuri shook her head lightly and then faced her father. "He cheated on me. I saw with my own eyes how they kissed each other." "So what?! That''s not enough reason for you to reject him!" Chapter 6: CRAZY MIND AND STUPIDITY

Chapter 6: CRAZY MIND AND STUPIDITY

Zuri pressed her lips tightly. She just told her father that her mate, the very man he had chosen for her, had cheated on her. He kissed another woman right before her eyes, but her father wouldn''t even give a shit about it? Rnd was not a good father and Zuri knew that, so there was no surprise here. However, it still shocked her the same and her brain must not be working properly, because Zuri started cackling, which made Rnd look even angrier. "You didn''t drink your medicine," he stated darkly. He was about to approach her, but Karina held his arm to stop him, which he brushed off and the woman stood there with a nk expression because she knew what was going to happen next. This was not the first time and even though Zuri had been mated to alpha Xaden, it didn''t mean this would be thest. Women would always be in the clutches of men and at their mercy in this world. "Why are you so angry father?" Zuri was still cackling. She thought her life was a tragedy, but as it turned out, it was aplete joke. "You always believed that I was crazy. There is nothing new here." A harsh pnded on Zuri''s face again, but instead of stopping, sheughed even harder, until her whole body was shaking. She looked crazy. Zuri felt crazy. When the world tortured you too much and you were done trying to survive, all you could do was;ugh it off. "You took a side, father." Zuri finally calmed down enough to talk coherently, while her father was standing there as if he was going to throttle her neck. His face was so dark, his pupils turned charcoal ck and his gray hair made him look so old. At fifty-five, he had long passed his prime, and now, Zuri had the strength and skill to challenge him. She could at least p him, but there was something about him that stopped her from even trying, or even thinking about it. She realized that when you were raised and trained to fear something, the fear would never fully dissipate. It would cling to you, persistent and familiar, regardless of the changing circumstances. "Why did you take his side instead of your own daughter?" Zuri felt stupid when she asked this question, but then she already felt crazy, so turning stupid wouldn''t hurt her much. "You talk about not tarnishing our family''s name, but don''t you think what he has done would drag our family''s name through the mud?" Zuri got off the bed and faced her father. She was a head shorter than him, but she squared her shoulders and straightened her back. Her mother trained her to be a perfect luna and that was how she would act right now. "Even if you don''t care about me, you should care about the pack''s image. What would people say if they hear the daughter of the Alpha of the Silver Creek pack has been cheated on by an omega?" Zuri lifted her chin. "If you couldn''t care less about my feelings, at the very least you should consider how people will perceive the news when they hear it." Zuri balled her fists, the mate bond had been severed, and the pain from it and her miscarriage was close to unbearable, but she endured it, because that was her only way to survive this. "The other woman is an omega, can''t you see how bad it is?" Zuri counted on this fact. The look in her eyes when she kissed Xaden, as if she was mocking her, taunting her with her victory because she could get her mate. That sight would forever be engraved in the back of her mind. However, Zuri wouldn''t allow her to walk all over her. She was an omega and she was the luna, she was way above her and she would show her that much. "An alpha has an affair with an omega, the lowest rank shifter." Zuri looked her father straight in his eyes. "That''s very cheap. The man you chose for me has cheap taste." Zuri leaned over and lowered her voice. "Just like you." N?v(el)B\\jnn Zuri would be foolish if she were not aware of her father''s affair with every woman that he could stick his dick into, but she was not sure whether or not her mother knew all of this. Her mother... she had always been the perfect luna. She ruled alongside her father and took her role seriously. The image of the pack was everything. She adopted the same beliefs as her mate. "That must be the reason why you sided with him, because you''re both the same," Zuri said. She knew her father well enough to know that what she said would get on his nerves. His hand was shaking. "You can p me again, but both of us know it won''t change anything. Especially the truth." A pnded on her face again, this time the harsh blow knocked her to the floor, since she was standing and her back hit the table. The pain brought tears to her eyes, as she gritted her teeth not to make even a peep. For a while, Alpha Rnd just stood like that, he didn''t move, nor did he say anything, but his whole body was trembling now. Zuri knew how much he tried not to lose control over his emotions and she kept pushing him to his limit. If only her face was not hurting so much, she would haveughed in his face again. But, thest blow was very harsh, she couldn''t even speak, it seemed her father had dislocated her jaw with that p. "Karina," Alpha Rnd called for his mate in a cold voice. "Give her medicine." Karina immediately fished out something out of her pocket, she always kept it with her. It was a bottle of white pills. She put two pills in Rnd''s open palm and watched him shove them down Zuri''s throat. Zuri coughed and curled her body inward, but her father forced the pills down her throat anyway. Chapter 7: THE FEAR THAT LINGERED

Chapter 7: THE FEAR THAT LINGERED

Zuri hated this. No. She hated everything. She bit down on her father''s hand. As she swallowed the pills, she could also taste fresh blood in her mouth. Good. She wanted him to endure the same pain. N?v(el)B\\jnn "How dare you bite me!" Alpha Rnd backhanded her face once again and this time, it was Zuri, who bled, but still sheughed. "Crazy!" He then turned around to face Karina, who had this impassive expression. "How could you give birth to a crazy daughter?!" "Probably I got it from you." Zuriughed between each bitter word. Still sitting on the floor, shezily wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "If you were willing to look closely, my brother is crazy as well. He only looks normal in your eyes because of the little thing hanging between his legs." This would be the first time Karina showed any emotions from the moment Rnd started harassing her this time around. Her eyes widened, as she red at Zuri in warning, as if telling her to stop provoking her already angry father, because the final result of it wouldn''t be something she liked. Zuri was talking about her first brother, the firstborn of Rnd. He was indeed insane to say the least. You could say he had a peculiar taste and he was the one that gave Rnd a constant headache ever since he learned the importance of his status as a firstborn. However, Zuri didn''t even look at her mother. There was no point in looking at her when she couldn''t even help her, nor could she give her somefort. She didn''t even pretend trying to assuage Alpha Rnd''s anger. "You really think you are the Luna of the pack, huh? Just because you are mated to Alpha Xaden, you think you hold an important status?" Alpha Rnd walked toward Zuri, just like a predator that stalked toward its prey. The alpha took out something from his pocket and that little thing glinted under the light. Zuri knew what that was even before she could see it. Her heart leapt to her throat. But, she was too stubborn to let her fear be known. "It seems, you have been away from home so long, you''ve forgotten your manners about how to talk to your parents." Alpha Rnd dropped to his knees and now his face was right in front of Zuri. He grabbed her arm and they stared into each other''s eyes. "You need to be taught a lesson." After saying that, he stabbed the needle into her upper arm, which made Zuri bite her tongue to prevent herself from crying out loud. Alpha Rnd pulled out the needle and then stabbed her again. He did that over and over again. Why did he choose needles to torture Zuri? The answer was simple. A wound from a needle would heal very fast, since it would only leave a prick, but the pain of being stabbed by it over and over again could drive one insane. More so, it wouldn''t often draw so much blood, so it would be less messy than when you used a knife. Rnd didn''t want to kill his daughter. He only wanted to teach her a lesson. She was still valuable to him. "Zuri, you should know that I didn''t want to do this, but you''ve forced my hand." He hurt his daughter, but he med her for that. Rnd covered her mouth with his palm to muffle her cries. He didn''t want anyone to know about this. "You need to be a good girl. This is what you should do as the daughter of the Alpha. You need to think of your pack. I will talk to Xaden about this and make sure you will not see it again." That was what Rnd said, but he had never mentioned making Xaden stop seeing the omega and despite the pain, Zuri noticed the missing reassurance that she wanted to hear. "You need to understand the situation and proceed with caution. I have taught you that countless times. You are a girl, but you are the smartest among your siblings and I trust you." Rnd kept saying the right thing, but his needle reminded Zuri of the monster he was. "If only you were a boy, I would have dly handed over the pack to you." Rnd clicked his tongue. Zuri''s ws elongated, but she couldn''t bring herself to stab her father. To w him. She had the opportunity, but her fear for him triumphed over her chance to retaliate. Right at that moment, someone entered the room and Rnd stopped stabbing his daughter. He nced over his shoulder and red at his mate for not giving any heads up. Zuri couldn''t see who hade and made Rnd stop, but she could smell his scent in the air and a secondter, she heard his voice echo inside the room. "What are you two doing here? What happened to her?" Xaden frowned at Karina and Rnd. He saw Zuri was sitting on the floor, but her body was covered by Rnd''s, thus he didn''t get a clear view of what was going on. Swiftly, Rnd retrieved the needle and hid it. He pressed Zuri''s head against his chest and kissed the top of her head. "She was having a breakdown when she learned about the miscarriage. She is very sad right now." Rnd put his hand under Zuri''s legs and carried her to the bed. "Why don''t you leave her alone for a while, we will talk to her." Rnd tucked her in. There was no trace of the needle pricks on her hand, but the pain remained. As a shifter, you could heal very fast and a needle wouldn''t do any damage to you even if you were pricked for a whole day. Meanwhile, Xaden walked across the room and nced at Zuri''s pale face, it was obvious that she had been crying. "No. I need to talk to her. I want you two to leave," Xaden said firmly. "Leave this room now." Chapter 11: THE COUP

Chapter 11: THE COUP

Rnd''s face twisted. He didn''t appreciate the way Zuri talked to him and gripped her hair even harder, which made her close her eyes in pain, but she was too stubborn to make a sound. She took a deep breath and fixed her expression, pretending that she was fine when she opened her eyes again and met her father''s eyes through the mirror''s reflection. "What task?" Zuri asked coldly. She thought that moving to the ckthorne pack would allow her to escape her father''s clutches, but it seemed his ws were embedded too deeply for her to get away. Rnd''s hand rxed against her hair, he tied her hair up and brushed it gently this time, but he didn''t immediately answer her question, instead he talked about an entirely different matter. "You will be the one to deliver the punishment to that omega." Rnd lifted his head and looked at his daughter. "You can do whatever to your heart''s content." "I am afraid Alpha Xaden will not agree to that." Zuri stopped herself before she scoffed. She had pushed her father too far two days ago when she learned about her miscarriage, but now, when her mind was clearer, she knew it had been really silly for her to let her emotions and rage get the best of her. "She is still his destined mate." "He had rejected her." "I rejected him too." Zuri reminded him. "And that omega still lives in this pack." "You can ban her." Rnd braided her long hair. "Alpha Xaden agreed that you would be the one to deliver the punishment." This was news to Zuri. She raised her brows, silently asking for an exnation, but her father provided her with none. "Chase her out of this pack, so there won''t be any more problems like this in the future." He patted her head and then walked to lean his back against her boudoir. "You have to try for another child again as soon as possible." He didn''t even feel sad for Zuri''s miscarriage, if there was sadness, it must be because he needed the baby to aplish his n and now that Zuri lost it, it set his n back. "What do you want from me?" Zuri wanted him to talk straight to the point, so she could be done with it quickly. She didn''t want to talk about the baby. It felt so weird. The time between learning she was pregnant and losing the baby was too short. She was upset, but not nearly close to a mother, who lost their child. It was only... ufortable to talk about the topic. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Let''s not waste our time and get straight to the point." Zuri stood up to be at eye level with her father, who had his back leaning against her boudoir. "What do you want me to do?" "I want you to spy on your mate. I want you to report everything that he is doing, no matter how small a detail it is." "I thought you two are on good terms, why do you need me to spy on him?" Zuri narrowed her eyes. There was no such thing as a good rtionship. They formed one because of the benefits that they could get from one another. "What do you mean by you will put me in the highest ce?" That piece of information didn''t go unnoticed by Zuri. "You will be the queen of this kingdom." Zuri''s eyes widened in shock. "Father! That''s treason!" She hissed and looked around, afraid someone could be eavesdropping on their conversation. "You can''t talk about that carelessly!" She lowered her voice, but her tone was harsh. However, Rnd looked as calm as ever, which made Zuri try to understand the situation she was in and when the realization hit her, she shook her head. "Xaden is behind this? He wants to usurp the throne?" Zuri shook her head again in disbelief. "And you are going to help him?" "If he seeded and became the king, you would be the queen and your firstborn would be the next in line," Rnd stated the obvious. Zuri knew her father was always an opportunist, but this time he had taken it too far. Treason was a big crime. They could lose their heads for that. And there was another big problem in all this. "You nned a coup with Xaden, but you don''t trust him." "It doesn''t hurt to be more precautious." Zuri couldn''t believe this at all. "You are ying a dangerous game, father." "But, the final result will be worth it, child." Rnd stretched out his hand and caressed Zuri''s cheek. "You will be the queen and your son will be the next king. You will sit on the throne with him." "I don''t want the throne." "You are his mate. There is no way out." "Is that all you wanted to tell me?" Zuri asked, she swatted his hand away from her face. She was so pissed because Rnd was right. She didn''t have a way out. "Tell me his every move, Zuri. We need to protect ourselves." "You only wanted to protect yourself and gain profits for the pack." "I am the Alpha, Zuri. I couldn''t help it. And you, as my daughter, need to y your part right. This title is not free; nothing in this world is. You need to pay for thefortable life you have." "This life is far fromfortable, father." "You will not say the same thing if you were born as an omega. Be grateful for what you have and make the best out of it." And before Rnd left the room, he didn''t forget to remind her of something that caused Zuri''s stomach to churn. "Don''t forget taking your medicine, Zuri. I don''t want your illness to mess things up for me." And two weekster, Xaden came to her bedroom. They were supposed to sleep together, trying for another baby. The thought alone made Zuri sick to her stomach. Chapter 12: VOICES IN HER HEAD

Chapter 12: VOICES IN HER HEAD

Zuri hadn''t decided on a punishment for Faye yet. To be honest, she didn''t even want to see her again, even though she had an upper hand right now and that omega''s fate was in her hands. She could ban her from this pack, just like her father told her to do. However, that was not what she really wanted. She didn''t know what she wanted. In her eyes, both Xaden and Faye were the same. It wouldn''t havee to this if Xaden had beenmitted to this union. "You need to lose a little more weight," Karina said, as she helped Zuri bathe. Her mother came to her bedroom suddenly before she dismissed Esther and Sarah and took over their job of bathing her. It had been a while since her mother saw her naked and she was always obsessed with her figure. She would know if Zuri gained even an ounce more weight and would tell her to stop eating like a pig. "I was recovering." From miscarriage. Zuri didn''t say thetter part out loud. She still felt weird with the very idea. It felt like someone gave her something, but it was gone even before she knew what it was. It also didn''t help that she had been spending her time in bed, pretending to be sick and recuperating when the truth was; she simply felt tired. She was exhausted, even though she did nothing but sleep all day long. Therefore, in the past few weeks, she had just been sleeping and eating. And because of what happened to her, nobody thought much. They assumed she was mourning the loss of her baby and Zuri didn''t have the energy to correct them. "You need to lose weight." That was all her mother said. There was no arguing with her about it. She wanted her to look perfect. Because in her twisted mind, the best weapon for women like them was their body. They needed to appear appealing in order to capture their mate''s attention, only then they could have afortable life and their word weighed something. "Zuri, do you understand me?" Karina scrubbed her skin raw. It was too hard for her liking, but she didn''t protest. She was used to the pain. Everyone in her life tried to hurt her. "Yes, mother." The answer came instantly, she had no other option to answer her differently. Karina looked at her daughter and sighed. She rubbed in more soap and scrubbed her skin again before she washed her hair. The silence inside the bathroom was a little bit depressing and ufortable. Zuri wanted this to be over, but after bathing, something more awful was waiting for her. "I know you don''t like this," Karina said when Zuri was about to close her eyes. "This will be over soon." "Do you even know that Father and my mate had been nning a treason?" Zuri blurted out and the fact it didn''t surprise Karina told her what she needed to know. "Men always crave power." It almost sounded like she was justifying it. "We, as women, should support them. They are our... mates. Our alphas. They own us." Zuri didn''t say anything, only because it was pointless. Her mother was raised with such beliefs and that became her survival instinct. It worked for Karina, but for her... n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Zuri closed her eyes again when her mother reminded her to lose weight. She wanted her to be as skinny as a stick. After that, Karina left the bathroom to prepare a night gown for her. Alpha Xaden and Zuri would spend the night together. The alpha had been away and with the reason Zuri was still recovering, Xaden slept in a different room, but starting from tonight, they would sleep together again. The thought of that was nauseating to Zuri. She felt like there were a hundred bricks pressing down on her chest, making her unable to breath. She felt like the walls were closing in on her. Clenching her fist, Zuri began to pound it against her chest, as if it could help relieve this suffocating feeling. "Zuri,e out now," Karina shouted from outside the door. Zuri opened her eyes. She was still in the bathroom. The walls were not closing in on her and there was not a brick in the vicinity. She looked up and saw her reflection in the mirror. She fixed her expression and walked out of the bathroom with an impassive face. A revealing nightdressy on the bed, and her mother told her to wear it. She did, without making a peep, and Karina said a few things again before she left the bedroom. Zuri didn''t follow what she was saying. It must be some bullshit about how to please Xaden. They had this conversation before the mating and marking ceremony. Zuri didn''t need to hear that again. Zuri stood next to the bed and stared at the door when it swung open and revealed Xaden''s figure. The alpha was tall and big. His body looked like it was built with muscles. He was handsome with brown eyes that looked almost dark and those eyes were on her. Just like all the alphas, he exuded power and authority. Even without saying anything, his presence was strong enough and he looked calm andposed, tempting Zuri to scratch his face. ''Scratch him.'' ''Kick him.'' ''w him.'' There. The voices echoed in her head. This was what happened when she didn''t drink her medicine. These heathen voices would urge her to do something outrageous, daring her to follow through. "Let''s get it over with quickly," Xaden said. How sweet. That was the first thing he said to his mate when he was going to fuck her. ''Blood will look good on him.'' ''Cut his throat.'' ''Gauge his eyes out.'' "Let''s do it." Zuri tuned out the voices in her head and started to undress herself. She couldn''t see the point in herself wearing this dress in the first ce. Xaden did the same. It was only a task for them. Chapter 13: SPENDING THE NIGHT

Chapter 13: SPENDING THE NIGHT

As they were naked, Xaden trained his eyes on Zuri''s body. He remembered how soft her skin was and how beautiful she was when she came undone. He remembered how she moaned and how her body would tremble beneath him. She was perfect, but unfortunately, that was not enough. Xaden approached her and Zuri steeled her heart. She met him in the eyes. His sculpted body glinted under the light and he looked ten times bigger in her mind. This whole scene and what they were going to do, Zuri felt like she was watching everything from the sidelines, as if she were a detached observer, a third person in the room, disconnected from the events unfolding. She watched how Xaden touched her body. He touched her shoulder at first, before his hand slid down to her breast. He stared at her, looking for some reaction, but Zuri didn''t show any. She couldn''t feel anything. At this moment, it was not her body. She was watching herself and Xaden from the sidelines, of course, she didn''t feel anything. Xaden was not happy with it. He leaned over and captured her lips, he put a hand behind her head, while kneading her breasts with the other. He licked her lips, trying to get an ess to her mouth and once he did, he deepened the kiss, as if he was going to devour her. Zuri felt how his cock was getting hard. It poked her stomach as he grinded his hips, still, Zuri didn''t do anything. Growling, Xaden leaned back and frowned at her. "At the very least, you need to try and enjoy this. It will hurt if you don''t." Zuri said nothing and this left Xaden frustrated. He shook his head. "I am not a monster, Zuri. I will not force myself on you if you don''t want it." Zuri watched herself when she opened her mouth to speak. Her voice sounded foreign, as if it was not her, who was speaking. "Just do it," Zuri said curtly. She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She tiptoed and kissed him. This time she grinded herself against him, making Xaden groan. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pushed her to the bed. Everything went quickly. Xaden told her to get on her knees and elbows, giving her back to him. This position was ideal for them, as it seemed neither of them wished to make eye contact. Zuri watched herself. Her face showed nothing, her eyes were dull. She stared into the distance. Meanwhile, Xaden bent his body and bit her shoulder, but he didn''t try to put his mark on her again. His right hand propped his body up so he wouldn''t crush her and his left hand grabbed her breast, pinching and pulling her nipple, trying to stimte her. "Do it." Zuri wanted this to be over quickly. "It will hurt," Xaden warned her, because she was not wet enough. "Do it." Zuri repeated the same thing, as though that was the only thing she could say, but at the same time, she was watching everything unfold. She watched what Xaden did to her body. How his hands touched her and how his ragged breath danced across her skin. Xaden grunted when he entered her. He entered her dry and this made Zuri flinch, but she kept quiet when the alpha started fucking her from behind. It was a monotonous movement that felt like it wouldst forever, but then Xaden''s body stilled. He filled her womb with his release, ending his duty for the night in hopes it would work. They did the deed once before and Zuri got pregnant, so they hoped it worked the same. Once Xaden was done, he straightened his back and got off the bed, while Zuri sat down on the bed. She stared at the blood between her legs. No wonder it hurt so bad, he tore her up again. And now, she was no longer an outsider in her body. The pain from her core yanked her back. Zuri watched how the blood and Xaden''s cum stained the bed. "Come, let me help you," Xaden said, as he returned with a warm towel. He told her to lie down on the side of the bed that was still clean. Actually, everything was over very quickly. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Zuri lifted her head and saw Xaden was still very much naked, but there was this concern in his brown eyes. He was still holding the warm towel and when Zuri didn''t move, he helped her lie on her back, before he wiped her down. "I told you it would hurt if you didn''t enjoy it." He cleaned her off the blood and his release and helped her put on her night dress again. All this time, Zuri only stared at the ceiling. She had this in and out of body experience. Sometimes, she would feel tired, but when she was really overwhelmed, suddenly, she would be watching everything from the sidelines, as if everything that happened to her was happening to someone else. "Here, drink this." Xaden had brewed a cup of warm tea for her and helped her sit down, so she wouldn''t choke. "Sera said this will double your chances of getting pregnant." He exined as if Zuri wanted to hear that, but she nodded anyway, acknowledging his effort. "Thank you." Xaden ran his fingers through his hair. He looked like he was going to say something and Zuri waited for whatever he was going to say. It didn''t take him long enough to start speaking. "Don''t ban her from the pack and I will grant whatever you wish for." Zuri didn''t need to ask what he was talking about. He must have known that his omega''s fate was within her palms. He had agreed to it and because he couldn''t argue with her father, he went around and talked directly to her. "Whatever?" Zuri tilted her head. "Whatever." Xaden emphasized that and Zuri startedughing, which made the alpha frown.