FERAL MATE

CHAPTER 6: MATE

DEREK'S POV

I woke up; I didn’t sleep well; I kept tossing around, thinking about life after the revenge. For three years, we planned the perfect revenge plan and how to execute it, but no one brought up what happens after the revenge. I felt that strange feeling in my tummy again; I feel so sick, and the feeling from yesterday won’t go away.

Instead of feeling proud and happy that I have finally gotten my revenge and that my parents would be proud of me, I felt a void like just darkness filled my heart.

Maybe, just maybe, it was from her screams. Something about how her screams choked into sobs made me feel like I did something wrong. Her eyes and screams still haunted me.

No, I said to myself. No one would make me feel like I did something wrong by killing the ones who killed my parents.

I stood up from my bed and picked up my clothes from the cloak, threw them on, and stepped out of my room, clenching my teeth, anger filling my heart.

I got to the dungeon and told the guards to open the cage up; there she was still choking herself on her tears. She looked up at me, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

My heart pinched at me. What strange feeling is this?

I bent down and lifted her chin up.

Do you know why I left you and your remaining packs alive?

"She shakes her head with fear," I said. I am going to keep you and your packs here as slaves. You will work for us every day and night till you grow old and die.

Tears were flowing from the corners of her eyes. I raised my hands; she flinched and bent down, thinking I was going to hit her.

I raised her chins up again, and instead I wiped her tears.

She was shocked, her eyes studying mine, searching for answers to the questions I knew were running through her mind.

I bent down and whispered into her ears, "You must have a lot of water in your eyes, princess." I said it in a mocking tone. You will need to get used to all this; you won’t sleep in your soft bed anymore, but with these hard, cold floors and no maids around, you have to work really hard to earn yourself a meal. I smiled

"You are my slave now." I stood up and walked out of the cage, not looking back, while the guards locked the door behind me.

The further I walked away, I could still hear her cries; it made me angry and sad. Of course, I knew what to expect after the revenge. I have anticipated this moment, but I didn’t know my enemies' daughter was my mate. The shock when I found out was one of the very first feelings that ignited inside me. It seemed as though some things just could not be comprehended entirely until the eyes could see what the mind had imagined.

I walked into my room carefully, as if entering too slowly or too quickly would somehow make a difference; she was going to be here soon anyway. Athena entered the room holding a tray filled with herbs and pieces of cloth. She walked in front of the fireplace on the opposite side of the room, where the carpet lay on the floor.

"Come over here; I need to clean your wounds," she says as she puts down the tray on the carpet. I don’t want her touching me, but the injuries I sustained in the fight weren’t healing. I walked up to her and sat down, turning my backs to her.

She pulled at my clothes, just enough to reveal the wounds. I cleanched my fist, just thinking of how two of the silver packs Alpha held my hands while another sliced my skin with their sharp claws.

I looked over and saw some concoction in a bowl and olive leaves.

"That’s new; what is that?" I asked Athena.

Just some new concoction—I put together some herbs and plants, it was mashed into a paste, and I will use it as a salve on your wounds.

"Oh, okay. "I must have forgotten you are so good at this." I turned to look at her and said, "I have not forgotten how you and your father helped my pack when we were attacked; thank you; we have finally gotten our revenge."

She held my hands and smiled softly. "No, I should be the one thanking you." "You took us in and made me your fiancée; I can’t thank you enough for that."

My face dropped, I cleared my throat, and I turned for her to clean my wounds. Athena is not my mate; I don’t feel anything for her other than gratitude for the sacrifice her father made for my pack. She also helped treat the remaining members of my pack after the attack. I owe everything to her.

"It might hurt a little," she said as she began to clean the wounds, and I winced in pain. The room was quite; the only sounds were from my occasional wincing and the sounds of water dripping down the bowl.

When she was done, she took a thin strip off of one of the clothes and tied it around my body. "Thank you, Athena." I managed to say

"You are welcome." She stood up, took the tray, and started to walk out; she then turned.

"Hmm.. I was meaning to ask, what are your plans for the girl?"

"Which girl?

Lydia. Her name alone leaves a sour taste in my mouth. "I don’t know yet, but she would be a slave to our pack."

"Can she be my maid? I need extra maids to clean my room; the others are slacking off." I don’t know why, but I couldn’t bear her being a maid for Athena—definitely not Athena. She burned the face of her maid because she served me dinner.

"Let’s discuss her later; I have plans for her and her remaining packs." I hope she doesn’t bring it up again.

"What plans? Her eyes surveyed me.

"Athena!" I need to rest.

"Okay," she then stomped off. I wonder what she will do when she finds out Lydia is my mate.

*********

Tears weren’t flowing from my eyes anymore; my body shook from crying too much. I am cursed; I know it from my mother dying, from Mel being killed, and now my father.

Why don’t they just kill me too? I looked around for anything sharp I could use to slit my wrist, but I couldn’t find any.

There was a giggle from the front of the dungeon; I couldn’t see outside, but I could hear a girl and a boy laughing quietly together. Someone coughed, and a startled sound came from both of them.

I could hear muffled sounds as they were having a conversation, then I heard footsteps approaching that sent my heart into overdrive.

I sucked in a cold breath and looked down as their footsteps got closer to me. I turned to face the wall and tried to breathe as quietly as I could.

I was hoping I didn’t get any attention. The keys were dangling, and the guard appeared to be struggling with opening the door; finally, the door swung open. I screwed my eyes shut and pretended to be asleep.

Why is he here again?

"Look up," he demanded, jaw clenched. I raised my head reluctantly, looking at his face and trying to stop my whole body from shaking. I wasn’t afraid; I am prepared for the worst. But there was something in Derek’s voice that made me believe that he wasn’t cruel; it was an act.

He told me to sit up, so I did. My butt hurt from sitting still all day, and my knees were quivering and slamming together. My entire body was still screaming at me from the crash and the brutal way the guards dragged me. I teetered off balance, wishing I had the use of my hands to help with asserting my balance.

I turned my face downward, staring at the grounds. My hair felt in front of my face, glad for its protection; the strands created a sort of barrier between me and Derek. Something in me kept trying to turn my gaze upwards, but I fought it for as long as I could. He was pacing around the room, and I couldn’t help but look up at him.

Looking into his eyes caused a confusion of nerves in my body. My heart throbbed and then slowed for a split second, and I forgot about the abrasion that covered my body. I felt no pain.

Derek stared at me, all the hostility in his expression having smoothed out into a look of enchantment. I knew he felt the same way; I did and saw what I saw.

"Mate." The word tumbled from his lips, and my eyes widened.