HIS MATE, His Seductress

Punishment

EZEKIEL'S POV:

The heavy silence that fell in my bedroom as Father, Mother, a few guards, and I entered was almost suffocating. For what felt like an eternity, I was trying to piece together what had happened between Rue and Elsa, who looked like she might faint at any moment. I couldn't tell if it was from exhaustion or sheer terror.

“What’s going on?” Father asked again, his voice sharp with concern.

“Alpha, I invited Elsa to drink some juice with me, and she agreed. But the moment she got the juice, she dumped it all over my hair!” Rue's words triggered a collective gasp in the room.

I wasn’t naive; I could see she was lying.

“I know Elsa and I didn’t get off to the best start, but I really wanted us to be friends. That’s why I invited her to share a drink with me as a peace offering.” Her voice trembled as if she were on the verge of tears. I rolled my eyes and turned away, trying to block out the chaos.

“Ezekiel?” Father’s voice pulled me back to reality. He shot me a quick look before turning to leave. “Take care of Rue,” he said, almost at the door, and added, “make sure to punish your maid.”

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. I would have preferred he handle the punishment himself instead of putting that burden on me. How could I bring myself to punish the very person my heart ached for?

Feeling torn, I deliberately avoided Elsa’s gaze as I ordered the guards to take her away. “Make sure she spends the night in the field,” I commanded through clenched teeth, my heart twisting in pain. I knew Elsa must be feeling the same way.

I couldn’t let anyone think I had feelings for her; this was not the right time for that.

Once Rue and I were alone, I turned to her, fury boiling inside me. I glared at her, fists clenched, struggling to resist the urge to strangle her.

“Babe?” she said, sensing my anger. “I didn’t do anything to her.” She kept rambling. “I just wanted to make peace with her.”

With every lie she told, my anger intensified.

“You don’t believe me?” she shot back after a tense silence. “Fine then.” With that, she stormed out of my chamber, muttering who knows what under her breath.

Suddenly, the ringing of my phone jolted me back to the present.

“Chris?” I grumbled as soon as I put the phone to my ear.

“Hey, man!” he shouted excitedly, which only annoyed me more. I was in a foul mood, and I didn’t need his loud voice grating on my nerves.

“If you don’t have anything important to say, I’m hanging up,” I warned, ready to end the call.

“Hey, chill out! You know my buddies from school?” he asked.

“The ones you invited for the hunt?” I replied, my irritation bubbling over.

“Yeah, those guys. We’re throwing a party, and I thought I’d invite you,” he said, leaving a silence that only added to my frustration.

I took a deep breath and shut my eyes for a moment. Chris was really testing my patience.

“What time?” I asked, glancing at the wall clock that read 6:30 PM.

“It’s already started and will go all night, but you can show up whenever you want,” he said, and I frowned.

“It’s too early, man! If I come, you’ll see me. If not, then tough luck,” I snapped, hanging up before he could protest.

I had no idea why I agreed to go to the party. Maybe it was because I wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing Elsa was out in the cold.

With a heavy sigh, I left my bedroom, heading toward Father’s chamber, meeting Mother on her way out.

“You good, Son?” she asked sweetly as she made a stop before me, her eyes filled with concerns.

Despite my terrible mood, a smile broke through.

“I’m alright, Ma,” I replied.

She nodded and patted my shoulder before leaving with a warm smile.

Closing the door behind me, I saw Father looking up from his desk, his facial expression serious.

“We need to talk, Ezekiel,” he said, his tone heavy with concern.

Instinctively, I knew this conversation would revolve around the earlier incident.

For a moment, I stood frozen, wondering if Father had figured out what was happening between Elsa and me.

“You need to fix your marriage with Rue,” he said suddenly, causing a low gasp to escape my lips. He completely caught me off guard with that.

While I was relieved that Father’s talk had nothing to do with my fears, I felt conflicted because I knew there was no way I could ever marry Rue.

I slowly sat down, bracing myself to hear him out.

Thirty minutes passed, and I found myself locked in an argument with him, listing countless reasons why marrying Rue was a terrible idea, but he wouldn’t budge.

“You have no mate, Ezekiel. So make her your mate,” he insisted for what felt like the millionth time.

I sighed, frustration boiling over, and stood up abruptly as the argument continued to escalate.

“Father, at least let me become the Alpha first.”

With that, I turned and walked out, the sound of his heavy sigh following me as I left his chamber.

After our conversation, I felt even more compelled to attend Chris’s party. I quickly texted him, and thirty minutes later, I found myself sitting in the back of the car, ready to leave.

“I forgot my phone,” I said to Elyse, my driver.

“Should I send a guard to get it for you?” he asked.

I shot him a bored look, my eyes narrowing. He nodded in understanding and headed off to fetch it.

I patted my pants pocket, knowing Elyse would likely spend more time searching my chambers than necessary since my phone was right there with me. I just needed a moment to speak with Elsa before I left.

Finding her kneeling under the full moon was harder than I expected. My heart sank at how miserable she looked.

“Hey,” I said softly, but she didn’t even glance my way, her anger palpable.

I crouched down in front of her and gently cupped her cheeks in my hands. “I’m sorry, Sunshine,” I whispered, but she still wouldn’t meet my gaze.

“F*ck off, assh*le,” she spat back, her voice laced with pain.

“You know if I don’t punish you, Father will suspect something’s going on between us,” I tried to explain, hoping to make her see reasons with me.

“Yeah, I get it. You don’t need to pity me,” she replied, her voice heavy with hurt, making it clear she just wanted to be left alone.

I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her hair, then stood up, leaving her there with a look of deep longing and disappointment in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Elsa. But until I can find a way to be with you openly, things have to stay this way.”