Secrets of his Mate

Seventeen

Alessandro

    Her eyes reached out to me sincerely. It pulled at my heart strings the way she spoke almost choking on the tears she was holding back. It was obvious she had much more on her mind causing her pain. I wanted to hold her and make the hurt go away, but the words that came out of her mouth was a stab to my wolf's heart.

    It was my fault her head was being pulled in different directions. I believed I was helping our situation, but now guilt was washing over me as I watched her struggle with her emotions. The potion I slipped into her mouth while she slept was supposed to speed up the love process if she had any feelings for me, which I was convinced there was even if it was the smallest amount, but it seemed she was subconsciously fighting off its magic. The dark witch swore it worked best on humans versus needing a few doses for supernatural creatures. I was contemplating the theory of her not being a simple human after all with all the evidence piling up against her. I wondered if she knew what she was or if she was lied to all of her life.

    Nevertheless, my wolf ached at Elana's choice of words. He wanted to mark her already whether she wanted it or not. She was my mate for crying out loud. "Don't say that," I pleaded.

    A single tear fell down her cheek. I gently brushed it off watching her closely. "You don't understand," she said softly. "Do you think I don't realize you're my mate? I've felt the pull towards you since day one," she admitted as more tears threatened to escape. "I just can't love you. I can't go through that again!"

    I shook my head processing what she was saying. "You might have thought you loved him, but I'm your mate. Our bond is tighter and stronger than anything you ever had with that guy," I said through gritted teeth mentioning her ex.

    "No!" she sobbed. "You don't get it."

    I wrapped her around my arms as the tears she held back began flowing. Knowing she was in pain was heartbreaking. Worse was the fact I couldn't change it with a snap of my fingers. I kissed her forehead and wiped away her tears. It was a look I never wanted to see on her again.

    "Help me understand then," I told her. Perhaps if I knew what she was going through, I could use to help her and change her mind.

    She sniffed away the tears and nodded before taking a deep breath.

    Just then Roman stormed into the dining room again. I became furious instantly. I tried to compose myself during the Remembrance Supper for Elana and everyone else in the room, but it was one of the hardest times I've had. I noticed the way he stared and smiled at her the entire night. I noticed the jealousy overcome him every time he saw me touching her. It was becoming more difficult to hold myself back. "What the hell are you doing here?"

    "I thought I heard crying," the bastard dared to say.

    "You were eavesdropping?" I roared.

    "No, Alpha. I was just-"

    "It's ok," Elana chimed in squeezing my hand to get my attention. "I need to show you. He can see too."

    I was appalled at her allowing him to remain in the same room, but I wasn't going to argue with my mate in her delicate state. She opened the laptop and entered a website I had never seen before. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets watching her log in to a cam girl site. It brought up her own profile displaying a screen name of Hazel Storm with a photo of her lying on a bed with nothing but a white lace thong and a hand just barely covering her n*****s.

    Wh- What is this?" I stammered in shock.

    Without saying a word, she scrolled through the page to a video titled "R.I.P. Knight Compilation" dated a few months ago. It appeared to be the last activity on her page. She pressed play without hesitation. The screen showed a smiling Elana sitting on Brian's lap wearing red panties and black tank top greeting their fans before his hands caressed my mate's body.

    The scene shifted to her wearing orange booty shorts with an orange sports bra. There was rap music playing in the background as she began twerking over his gray boxers. Brian's dark skin and muscular body shone against the color of her clothes. His long dreadlocks hit the bed as he leaned back enjoying the view with an obvious large erection. She let out a laugh as he smacked her bouncing butt cheeks.

    The next scene turned to her sitting in on a white couch wearing a black leather bra and high waist panties with matching thigh high boots. She announced to her fans to prepare for a surprise. Brian walked into the scene wearing nothing but tight briefs showing off his bulge. He held a woman's hand who wore a similar leather outfit. She was quickly introduced to the camera before both women began kissing. Elana pushed her onto her back and kissed her chest seductively. A smile formed on her face as Brian rubbed her butt and began to slowly pull down her underwear.

    I was completely speechless to what I was witnessing. I looked over at Elana who stared at the laptop almost enjoying what we were watching. She had a longing look towards her ex. There were no words to describe how uncomfortable and disrespected I was feeling.

    I shut the laptop unable to stomach any more. "That's enough!" My brows furrowed together as I tried gathering my thoughts.

    "He loved me so much," Elana finally spoke up. "He accepted me for who I was and never judged me. Not like you. You think of me differently now," she added looking at the floor.

    I shook my head unsure of how to respond. I remembered Roman was still by the door. I didn't want to have this conversation in front of him, not to mention I already wanted to rip his head off. I turned to him. "You've seen too much. Get out now."

    "Why?" Elana interrupted before he could speak for himself. "It's not like he hasn't seen any of this? He's been one of my biggest fans."

    Roman swallowed hard and looked at her in disbelief. He knew all along who she was and never said a word. I lost all composure and shifted into my wolf letting out a venomous growl before lunging at him as he shifted quickly as well. My fangs struck his neck causing him to ooze blood, but he didn't back down. He was one of my best fighters after all. He charged at me with full force. I dodged his attack causing him to lose control hitting the table and knocking Elana down to the floor. I saw red then. My paws picked up speed before shoving him through the table onto the wall at the end of the room. He got on all fours and rapidly jumped at me biting my shoulder. I kicked him off and began attacking and biting chunks of him repeatedly.

    Suddenly, there were numerous pack members shifted trying to separate us. It took several minutes and lots of force to get me off of Roman. I looked back when I heard a voice talking to Elana.

    "Let's go, Luna," one of the older maids instructed her. "It's not safe for you here right now. I'll get you cleaned up." Elana looked at me with sad eyes before nodding to the maid and taking off.

    I was dragged into my office to calm down. Eric sat on a chair keeping a watchful eye on me. "This was about Elana, wasn't it?"

    I rolled my eyes and looked away. "He knew who she was. All this time I had you guys try to find any information on her, he knew things about her."

    Eric almost choked on his spit. "What? How do you know that?"

    "She showed us... videos," I answered picturing the different disgusting scenes again in my head. "She said he already knew about them. You should've seen his face turn, Eric."

    "Why wouldn't he mention it before? He's your Beta."

    "I swear he wants Elana for himself."

    He nodded. "I know what you're talking about." I shot my eyes to him then. "I saw the way he looked at her all night at supper. We all saw it."

    My assumptions weren't so crazy after all. I now had witnesses. "Where is he now?"

    "They took him to the infirmary. His wounds were very severe. He's in critical condition."

    "Not severe enough. I want him dead!" I stood from behind the desk slamming my fist on it. Eric mimicked my action.

    "He's your best friend. You need to sleep on this. Go check on Elana and we'll settle this tomorrow."

    "Fine." He knew she was my weak spot. I was still worried about her anyways. I made my way out of the office and up the stairs.

    Upon entering the bedroom, I found Elana lying on her side in bed wearing a large shirt and panties hugging her teddy bear. I took a glance at the dresser. The photo was still sitting where I left it earlier. I knew how much she wanted it. She must've not wanted to make me angrier.

    I walk up to her and crouched in front of the bed to be eye level with her. I caressed her face and asked, "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

    "I'm fine," she said softly. "Just got a scratch on my arm from the table."

    I let out a deep breath remembering Roman making her fall to the ground. "That wasn't from the table."

    She avoided my remark. "You're bleeding," she stated examining my bloody shoulder.

    "I'm not bleeding anymore, Love. That was nothing." I watched as her eyes fell to the floor. I wanted so badly to know what was going through her head. "Are you sure you're okay?"

    "Yeah," she answered flatly.

    Feeling as if the conversation was going no where, I stripped and took a shower to clean myself up from the filthy mess with Roman. I then threw on a pair of shorts and laid next to Elana. There was complete silence throughout the night until we fell asleep.

    In the morning I stroked her hair as she woke up in my arms. She was quiet and refused to move waiting for me to spit out what was on my mind. I sighed in defeat. "What made you tell me he knew about the videos?"

    She shrugged. "He told me I should come clean to you when I got here, but I wasn't ready."

    After a moment, I sighed again and asked, "You knew he had feelings for you, didn't you?"

    She looked me in the eyes and nodded slowly almost scared to answer. "He thought we were going to run off together, but I don't want to get in between you and your best friend."

    "He's not my best friend anymore," I said coldly. "He's the one trying to get between you and me."

    "You still want me?" she asked in disbelief.

    I sighed and looked away trying to come up with the best way to answer her. "Of course I still want you. You're my mate. I will always want you, Love."

    "So you're not mad at me?"

    "Oh, I'm definitely mad at you," I told her honestly. "What were you thinking showing me something like that with no warning in front of Roman of all people?" I almost lost my temper, but kept an even tone to protect her feelings.

    "He already watched those and more. He's seen me naked in different positions and-"

    "Stop!" I shouted. She spoke so casually with no regard to how I felt. "Do you not realize how much it hurts to see you with another man not to mention allowing another to even look at you? As long as you're with me, you will never share or show your body with anyone besides me. You don't have to do that ever again."

    Her face shifted to one of annoyed. She sat up on the bed and looked me in the eyes. "I never had to do anything. I did what I wanted to. Brian never tried to change me. He supported me and let me be free. He wasn't ashamed of me."

    "I'm not ashamed of you, Elana, You are mine. Your mind and body are mine. Nobody else's." I watched as she tried to find the right words to say. "I know you feel the same. Just tell me you love me!"

    "I love Brian," she stated matter of factly.

    I felt my temperature rising. How dare she say that to me? My wolf was enraged. Why was she testing my patience? How could she still be fighting off the potion? Perhaps the witch lied and it was already wearing off. I stood and grabbed her by the neck forcing her onto her back. "You belong to me!" Without thinking, my wolf took charge, my lips curled back, my fangs exposed, and I leaned in ready to bite.

    Her eyes widened in shock. "Do not mark me!" she gave a direct order.

    Immediately, I dropped my hold on her neck and came face to face with her. I became shocked when I looked at her. "Your eyes," I said confused. They were red just like they were in the arcade. "What-" I couldn't even form a full question.

    She quickly blinked turning her face away from me as her eyes shifted back to normal. "You were going to mark me," she said bitterly.

    "Yes I was, but if you don't want me to then I'll wait," I wasn't sure why I said that. I was about to do it regardless. Right now I was much more interested in what I had just witnessed. "What's wrong with your eyes?" I demanded.

    "Go screw yourself," she spat. "You were going to mark me by force!"

    "If you won't allow yourself to move on, I'm ready to show you what our mate bond truly feels like. You'll forget all about your ex and open yourself up to me."

    "I don't want to forget him! You don't get to decide when I move on." She rolled her eyes. "What is wrong with you?"

    "Me?" I shouted. "What's wrong with you? Why were your eyes so red?"

    Instead of answering me, she held her mouth shut and looked into the distance. It frustrated me.

    "Elana!" I tried to bring back her attention. "Answer me!"

    She slowly locked eyes with me, but held her tongue. I wanted to throw her out of the window and catch her before she hit the ground.

    "Stop keeping secrets from me," I pleaded.

    "Really? Why did you not tell me we could reject our mates?"

    I was taken aback from what she said. "Are you serious?" My blood began to boil. "Because I waited a long time to find you and you are not going to reject me!" I took a few breaths to try and calm myself. "Besides, both mates have to reject each other for it to work and I will never reject you. I just don't want to ever hear those words coming from you."

    She looked away again without saying a word. It was like she knew not hearing her sweet voice was driving me crazy, but I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

    I displayed a cocky smile. "Anyways, I know you wouldn't ever think to reject me. You have feelings for me. You said it yourself. I'm your mate."

    She matched my smile with a raised eyebrow. "You obviously don't know anything then."

    A stabbing pain jolted through me because of her harsh attitude towards me. She enjoyed taunting me, but I couldn't tell if she was sincere this time. It scared me to the core knowing she would leave me. Most of all, it hurt me deeply. All I wanted was to love and be loved by her. If I had to be ruthless and controlling with her, then so be it. I tried playing nice for too long.