Tormented By My Jilted Alpha Mate

ANIMAL INSTINCT

Sienna’s POV

They send me to the fighters training fields to clean up after morning drills.

The sun is barely up and I'm already exhausted. My belly wound throbs as I move. Goddess, I am going to die here. When will I even get the chance to see Lily? Mother Zuri would be worrying so much about my whereabouts. I told herI was bringing the gold bars. I am just stuck! And to make matters worse, the bond sits in my chest like a second heartbeat. It is so constant and annoying . Reminding me that I'm tied to a man who thinks I'm nothing.

Oh Moon Goddess, I prayed for comfort in a mate. Why have you forsaken me?

I grab a bucket and start picking up weapons scattered everywhere. The Nightridge wolves are pigs. They leave their equipment like they expect servants to worship them while cleaning up their mess. They spit and piss everywhere

I hate them.

I hate all of them.

But especially their Alpha. He used me last night. Grunting while thinking about another woman. He tore me open. Did he even realise that I was a virgin? I kept myself all these while only for what?

I hate that I cried and showed weakness. I should have kept my face blank and taken it without breaking. But I'm not used to being treated like an object. Even Alpha Reaver treats me better. He never touched me or treated me like my body is just something to use and discard.

Elena. He said her name. That's what broke me most. He was pretending I was someone else. Then this morning…

I throw a sword into the equipment cart harder than necessary. The clang echoes across the field.

"Careful with that, murderer." A female voice attacked me

I turn to see three she-wolves standing there. They are beautiful. They are all wearing training gear that shows off their bodies, looking at me like I'm dirt.

"That's expensive equipment," the blonde one says. "But I guess you wouldn't know about expensive things. Coming from whatever gutter you crawled out of."

I say nothing. Just keep working. I am not about to get provoked

"Did you hear me?" She steps closer. "I'm talking to you."

"I heard you." I pick up another sword and placed it right. "I just don't care."

Her face goes red. "You tried to kill our Alpha. You should be dead. Or rotting in the dungeons."

"But I'm not. So move."

"You dirty…" She grabs my arm, twisting hard right over my wound.

Pain explodes through me. I see red. It is blinding

Something in me snaps.

I punch her in the face. Crunch! Comes a sickening sound from her nose. Blood spurts.

She screams. Stumbles back. "You hit me! You actually hit me!”

“You are dead!” The brunette starts working towards me

"You grabbed my wound," I say flatly to the blonde, not minding the brunette .

The brunette is about to punch me in the face, but I weave smoothly. In split seconds I am behind her and she is on the ground

The third girl with black hair is shocked. "I'm going to tell Alpha Kade…” she says as she helps the other two up

"Tell him. I don't care." I pick up another sword. "Now move before I beat you too. "

They leave. Muttering threats. “You will regret this!”

I don't regret it. I regret not hitting them harder. Fools

The bond pulses in my chest again. I feel Kade through it. He's far away. In his office maybe. He felt something just now. A spike of my anger. But he doesn't care enough to investigate.

I finish cleaning the training field. Move to the kitchens. They put me on dish duty. Hours of scrubbing pots and pans. My hands are raw by the time I'm done. The kitchen staff ignores me, but they keep piling dirty plates. Well, this is better than the insults or threats

Midway a servant throws a plate at me, courtesy of Mira, Alpha Kade’s sister. I hear she is a healer at the medical. But what do I care? She gave me food and so what? She cannot be far from her brother; a family of cruel women hating wolves. I eat the food anyway, even though there is a possibility it is poisoned. I am too hungry to care

By evening I'm exhausted. My wound is bleeding again. I can feel it seeping through the bandage. But I just keep working even though I know that I need medical attention.

But this is temporary. All of it. I just need to figure out how to get that bounty. How to deliver Kade to Shadowcrest. How to save Lily.

My sister's face flashes through my mind. Pale. Too thin. The silver is eating her from inside. She's running out of time. Every day I'm stuck here is another day closer to losing her forever.

I can't lose her. She's all I have left. My parents are dead. My pack is destroyed. If Lily dies, I have nothing.

So I'll do whatever it takes. Even if it means betraying my mate. Even if the bond tries to stop me.

Kade made it clear last night what I mean to him. Nothing. An itch to scratch. A body to use while thinking about someone else.

Fine. He wants to treat me like an object? I'll treat him the same way. I'll use this bond. Use him. Get close enough to figure out his weaknesses. And when he is vulnerable, I'll hand him over to Reaver and take the money.

The bond protests. Pulses with discomfort at the thought of hurting my mate. I ignore it. Shove the feeling down deep where I don't have to feel it.

Through the bond, I sense Kade’s mind. It is sharp, strategic and ruthless.

And underneath all that, the pain. The wound Elena left. It sits in him like infected silver. Poisoning everything. Making him cruel.

Part of me understands it. Somehow I see a broken man under the monster.

But I don't care. I can't afford to care.

He's also beautiful. I hate that I notice. Even now, planning his betrayal, my traitorous brain remembers what he looks like.

Those ice-blue eyes that cut right through me. The sharp jawline. The thick dark hair I want to grab and pull. The broad shoulders and powerful body that dominated me last night. The way he moves like a predator. Confident. Dangerous. The kind of handsome that makes other wolves submit just by existing.

He's arrogant. Traumatized. Cruel. Everything I detest

And he's my mate.

I push the thought away. Focus on scrubbing another pot. Focus on Lily. On the plan. On anything but the bond trying to tell me I belong with him.

I don't belong with anyone. I'm alone. Always have been. Always will be.

Night falls eventually. I finish my last task. My body is screaming. My wound needs cleaning. I need sleep.

I'm heading toward the servant quarters when a pack member stops me.

"Alpha Kade wants you in his room. Now."

My stomach drops. "What?"

"You heard me. Move."

I walk through the pack house. Every step feels like walking toward execution. My heart is racing. The bond is pulling at me. Wanting me to run to him. Wanting me to be close to my mate.

I reach his door. Knock.

"Come in."

I open the door. Step inside.

Kade is standing by the window. Shirtless. I gulp hard. Damn it! Please stop being a b***h. He doesn't turn around when I enter.

"Close the door."

I close it. Stand there. Waiting.

He turns finally. Looks at me. Those ice-blue eyes traveling over my body. Assessing. Cold.

"I heard you hit Maya today."

Who is Maya? Oh! The blonde she-wolf. "She grabbed my wound."

"So you broke her nose."

"Yes."

He studies me. I can't read his expression.

"Undress," he says finally.

The word hits me like a slap. "What?"

"You heard me. Undress. I need to check your wound. You're bleeding through the bandage."

"I can check it myself…"

"I said undress." His voice drops. Alpha command. I fight the urge to obey. I'm not his pack member. I'm his prisoner. His unwilling mate. And I'm in no mood to entertain this rubbish

"No."

His eyes narrow. "What did you just say?"

"I said no." I take a step back. "I'm not undressing for you. You want to check my wound, you can look at it while I'm clothed."

"My wolf need to f**k and you will do as I say…"

"Mine doesn’t want to f**k!" My voice is rising. "You don't get to use me whenever you want. I will not undress!”

He moves fast. Crosses the room in seconds. Grabs my arm.

I react on instinct. Pure survival.

My palm crashed down hard on his cheeks. I hear a crack that echoes loud

Kade's head snaps to the side. He releases my arm. Steps back. Touches his face. Looks at his hand like he expects to see blood.

Then he looks at me.

The room goes

completely silent.

I just hit the Alpha.

What did I just do?

He is going to kill me