My Forbidden Barbarian Mate

Punishment

The truck continues, and so does the pain. I can only imagine what is going on now. No, I don't need to imagine it. I already know that this pain can only mean one thing - Anderson is finally marking his mate, and now their bond is finally sealed. Rejection words are not enough to break a bond, as some mates tend to go back to each other even after the bond breaks.

Athena whimpers inside of me, and I wince in return. We are stronger than this, and Anderson will be sorry for what he did. No one gets to treat me like this; he can't just send me off to the deadliest pack there is.

Memories of what happened after the fight flood my mind once more.

“I am not happy with what Jade did to my mate, Mrs. Parker. She has been bedridden, and I doubt she will be able to do the ceremony soon enough,” Anderson tells Mum.

“We are sorry for that, but you have to understand, my daughter doesn't act without being provoked,” my dad replies.

I can only watch the scene in front of me. Anderson glares at me, and I look away. If I start talking, things will only become deadlier than they already are.

“She has to understand that I don't want her and will never want her as my mate,” he says, more harshly this time.

Athena winces and completely closes herself off; she doesn't want to hear any more words from his mouth.

“May I know why?” Mum asks, her lips quivering, and dad puts his hand around her, massaging her shoulder.

Once again, I look away. For once, I am jealous of something so simple.

Despite spending time around humans, I never really had a real relationship I could settle for. A certain part of me still wished for a mate. It's a shame I had to end up with the devil.

“Her wolf is unruly and very large. You saw how she challenged me, her alpha. No one wants a mate like that. I just felt pity for her. Otherwise, challenging and fighting your alpha is punishable by death. She is lucky I am a lenient man, and for that, I will be sending her to the Black Hound pack.”

My jaw drops, and I scoff, folding my arms over my chest. His eyes settle on my exposed cleavage, and I glare at him, dropping my hands and closing my mouth.

“There has to be something else,” Dad says while Mum holds in a sob.

“I am afraid there is nothing else I can do, and I have made up my mind,” he replies. He gives me a devious smirk, and I try my best to appear unfazed. Like I said, I won't give him the satisfaction of watching me suffer.

“Come on, she is the future Gamma of this pack. Can't you give her any other punishment?” Dad asks, and his words make me cringe. The last thing I want is to be Gamma of this pack; it is a horror movie on its own, and I would rather go to the Black Hounds.

“I would rather go to the Black Hounds pack than be the gamma of this pack!” I announce defiantly.

Dad's head jerks in my direction so fast I fear it might roll out of its socket. His face drops into a nasty glare that would make any other person shake, but I am not.

“What did you just say?” he asks sternly.

His affinity for the gamma position is something I will never comprehend.

“I said I would rather go to the Black Hounds and be a prisoner than be here as Gamma while I watch the mate who rejected me mate another. That is more torture than being in the Black Hounds pack,” I elaborate more confidently.

Dad's shoulders deflate, and he isn't angry anymore.

“If that's what you want, princess, and please never attack the alpha where you are going,” he ruffles up my hair, and I frown. He knows I hate it; I'm not a child anymore. Very soon, I will be 25 years old.

“She will leave tomorrow morning. And can I have a word with Jade alone?” Anderson smiles, and it's the most plastic smile I've ever seen.

Mum and Dad stand up and leave the office. Finally alone with the devil himself, I turn and look directly into his blue eyes.

He smiles, and it's still as fake as ever. “It will make me happy if you die in the Black Hounds pack. Do you know why I am sending you there?” he asks.

He stands up from behind his desk and paces in front of me.

“No…” I reply bluntly.

“I heard that prisoners who are sent there don't make it out alive, and I want nothing more than for that to happen. They will be solving one of my problems. With you dead, I won't feel anything from the bond.”

Of course, despite the rejection, there are still things we will feel. I will feel the pain when he finally marks his mate and has relations with her, and he will feel it if I ever choose to be with someone else. He is such a coward that he doesn't want to experience any of that, and yet he wants me to.

I smile. “If you are done talking, Alpha, I will be on my way,” I say his title with the most disrespect to it.

He snarls and clenches his fists, preventing himself from hitting me. He knows I will fight back, and this time there isn't that Beta of his to protect him.

I stand up. “I am sure you have better things to do, like checking up on your injured mate.”

I giggle while Anderson growls. I skip out of the office, and his warriors grab my arms. I sigh; my little joy is short-lived.

“We are just making sure you don't run away,” one of them says. He looks awfully familiar, but I can't remember his name.

Silver chains are put over my wrists, and it burns. I wince as they drag me to who knows where. I am very sure it's the dungeons.

Just as I thought, I find myself in the dungeons. “Can I at least get a phone? I want to call someone - my boss at work. He needs to know my holiday is getting extended. I wouldn't want to be fired; I love my job,” I lie.

They choose to ignore me. Time passes, and I wonder if they will bring me the phone when they surprise me.

I dial Ella’s number; she is my best friend and the soon-to-be queen. Who would have known that she would get mated to the Lycan King? She was so clueless and head over heels; I always enjoyed her stories.

The phone call is short as I check up on her and inform her that I am fine. Physically, I am okay, but emotionally, I don't know. I am staying strong for my wolf, and if I crumble, she crumbles with me. I can't let that happen.

The phone call with Ella is done, and Mum and Dad once again come to the dungeons.

“I will talk to him. He can't put you here!” Dad bellows out, and I groan.

“There is no need for that. I don't mind spending a few hours here. I just want to leave this place as early as possible. And this will be the last time I am ever coming back here.”

“You can't say that…” Mum's tears never cease to fall.

“I already told you, Mum, everyone in this pack despises me. I never fit in here, ever since I was young. Everyone is afraid of Athena. They say she's wild and ferocious. They say we both are! And they can never accept us. I was better off among humans.”

She hugs Dad and cries into his chest. I simply roll my eyes. She can be hysterical when she wants to. She keeps forgetting that I am not a child anymore and that I can fight my own battles.

They don't stay long, leaving feeling somewhat heartbroken. I assure them that I will inform them of where I will be staying next after I am done with the sentence. I don't even plan to serve it. After their alpha hears my side of the story, I am sure he will let me out.

The next day, I am finally in the truck, my hands still bound with silver.

My heart drops as more pain ripples through my body. They couldn't even wait until I got far away. No, they had to take each other while I was on the truck.

I will make Anderson pay for this one way or another. The bond is slowly breaking even more as I get to experience everything they are doing, with the pain starting from my stomach and spreading to the rest of my body.

Next, my neck starts to burn, and I hiss. I could almost swear the pain caused by the silver is far better than this.

Athena howls inside of me, and I am short of breath. I begin to breathe slowly as droplets of sweat fall from my forehead.

The last thing I hear before reaching Black Hound is, "We are here!"