THE ALPHA'S FATED BRIDE

Chapter 5

Cara

And for this short moment of exhilaration, I scrambled away from him and to find a pen to defend myself. It didn't take long for him to come back at me again. The pen slipped away from my hands, and as I tried to pick it up, he pounced on me again, and this time, I knew he was going for the kill. His claws dug into my sides, and I saw blood. He was on top of me again, punching my face and chest and mouth, and the fear turned to raw anger. I grabbed the pen from the floor and stabbed him against his shoulders. He let out a shriek of pain and momentarily stopped punching me.

It gave me enough time to try to pull away from him. The pen didn't do much because he seemed even more angry. He got up and kicked me hard against my stomach. I was writhing in absolute and devastating pain and could only curl myself into a ball to keep him from hurting me more.

The door kicked open suddenly.

"Suddenly" I heard someone growl.

I recognized the voice even before I saw that it was the Alpha Liam who'd come into the room now. His face turned red, and immediately, he kicked the man to the ground. I could tell that the Alpha was the most feared person around here more or so because he was the boss and showed no mercy. For the first time, I saw the man fall back in fear and terror. He held his head, but the Alpha didn't seem to care much for that. He landed on the man and began hitting him with all of his mustered strength.

He was not the man who'd saved me. He was the dangerous Alpha, the devil incarnate. I watched the Alpha manhandle the man. The scene before me shocked me but also made me thankful. He was defending me despite everything else. Standing, I started to wonder what might have happened if he hadn’t shown up here to stop the man. He landed a swift blow on his face and then another in quick successions. “How dare you touch her?” he growled.

I wanted to stop him but I did not know how to. He was evidently upset even though I couldn't tell why for certain. He was never kind to me and he called me worthless back in the garden, so why was he doing this now?

The door swung open finally and two wolves rushed in. I did not recognize either of them, but they stood aside and tried to pry the Alpha away from the bloody wolf.

Finally, he stopped and straightened. “Take him away,” he yelled. The men took the wolf away while the Alpha remained standing there, saying nothing. He balled his hands into tight fists and turned sharply to me. “Why was he in here? What did he want with you?” He asked.

“I don't know,” I stuttered. “You asked me not to leave and he…he came in and tried to touch me.”

“Look at me,” he said.

I was shaking so much and couldn't look him in the eye. He strolled to me and used a strong, big hand to raise my chin until my eyes finally met his and that was when it hit me.

He was my mate! I couldn't believe it. I felt the sharp bite deep within me as our eyes locked. Then, as if he noticed this too, he let me go and stepped back. “I have a proposition for you, Cara,” he said to me. I straightened my shoulders and looked at him. “What is it, Alpha?”

He did not hesitate. “I want to get married to you.”

“What?”

“Marry me,” he said again in a rather cold voice. “But why? I just don't understand,” I said feeling frightened.

“You have no powers,” he said to me. “You have no family and—”

“I am from the Hayden household,” I said. “I'm sure if you let me go I could—” “You have no family,” he said again, roughly. “Are they…?” But I couldn't finish this because it seemed like something I needed to know. He nodded. “They are dead!”

“Oh no!”

I almost passed out. Was that why I had ended up in the ditch? Why couldn't I remember anything? He took me by the arm and led me out of the room. I dropped the pen I had been holding and didn't say a word as he led me out. “Did you find out anything about my family?” I asked. He said nothing. He continued to lead me through hallways until we got to the garden where he had screamed at me before. Then he released my hand and made me look at him.

“Listen to me right now, Cara,” he growled. “We are going to get married. That is the only way you'll be able to save yourself and find out about your past!”

“And you are willing to help me?”

He said nothing.

“Why?” I asked again.

“Do I need to have a reason to do something?”

“You don't know me,” I said, shaking. “I don't know why you would be willing to help me. And getting married? That just sounds sudden.”

He took two steps back. “I don't care what you think. I'll give you a day to think about it. Afterward, I'm going to make my decision.”

“And what will you get in return if I agree to marry you?” I asked. He was my mate. Getting married to him was frightening and uncertain, but I figured he had a point about me being helpless. He smiled now, a sinister smile that made him look like a monster. A really handsome monster.

Alpha Liam took me by surprise by grabbing me against the wall and placing his lips on mine with a fierce kiss.