Chapter Four

Helene 

"Holy Shit!" I muttered to myself in disbelief, my eyes widening in shock.

Though I knew this was a serious and perplexing situation, for some reason I felt an urge to laugh, but it wasn't the kind of laughter one enjoys.

We both just stood there, staring at each other, and the look in our eyes said it all: we did not like this one bit.

The idea of being mated to this arrogant person sent shivers down my spine, but it wasn't fear; it was utter disgust.

I might not be a fan of the whole "mate" thing because I dislike the idea of not having a choice in the matter, but I never imagined that my mate would be someone seconds away from harming me, with the ultimate intention of killing me eventually.

"Damon, come with me," he said to the other guy, who also appeared as shocked as we both were. They both walked out of the room, leaving me alone with Owen again.

"Did you see what just happened?" I asked Owen, still finding it hard to believe that less than a minute ago, I discovered who my mate was, and he turned out to be an Alpha.

If that isn't crazy, I don't know what is.

"I guess you could say you have some luck. You're not going to get killed, but you'll be confined, whether you like it or not," he replied, and I frowned.

"Confined? What do you mean by confined? He wouldn't do that to his mate, would he?" I asked, and a wicked cackle escaped his lips.

"Don't even think about it, Missy. The Alpha is already engaged to his future Luna, and in the grand scheme of things, you don't exactly matter," Owen responded, and my heart sank into my stomach.

Am I cursed, or was I just born with the most terrible luck?

First, I was born into an annoying family that I finally managed to escape from, and next thing, my escape gets ruined, and I suddenly get to meet my mate, but it turns out the bastard is already engaged to be married.

What did I do so wrong to deserve all this?

"So, I'm assuming he loves her?" I asked in a shaky tone, feeling an odd and foreign mix of anger and jealousy overwhelm me.

'It must be my wolf reacting,' I reassured myself mentally, trying to convince myself that I couldn't care less about that idiot or his love life.

"Unfortunately for you, he does. They've been together since they were children, and I doubt someone like you is any match for Miss Brenda anyway," Owen replied with so much mockery and sarcasm in his tone that it made my blood boil.

"Okay then, I guess he and I have no business together, but the least he can do is let me go because, frankly, I don't want anything to do with him either," I blurted out, furious at the thought of being worthless to my very own mate.

I can't believe I used to think that meeting my mate might change my life for the better. I didn't like the idea of the mate thing, but seeing how everyone seemed to have happy endings with their mates, I had hoped that maybe, just maybe, I could have my happy ending with him too. But it turns out I wasn't even going to get that lucky in life.

After what felt like hours, my mate and his Beta walked in with stoic expressions on their faces. He was obviously not too happy about meeting me, and he didn't even try to hide his disdain for me, but at this point, I honestly couldn't care less. I just wanted to get out of these chains and be free.

"So what's going to happen to me now? Surely, you don't intend on keeping me here forever, or do you?" I hissed harshly at them, not giving a damn about the fact that I was speaking to an Alpha.

"Is she always this loud?" Hunter asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"Pretty much," Owen confirmed, earning an immediate death glare from me.

"Listen, dude, I know you're not too happy about my existence, and I take no offense to that because, frankly, I'm not too ecstatic about meeting you either. So, how about we just make things easy for each other? You let me go, and I swear, you'll never have to see me again," I said to him, attempting to strike a reasonable deal that sounded like the best option to me.

"What exactly gives you the impression that I'm not happy to meet you?" he asked with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Really, dude? Are we going to play that game here? You saw me, and your face immediately went as sour as a lime, so what impression does that give me?" I asked rhetorically.

"You know what? I don't care whether or not you like me. Just make up your mind about what you're going to do with me because I'm sick and tired of being tied up like a fucking dog!" I yelled out in frustration.

"If you act politely, I might consider untying your hands," he said, obviously mocking my helpless situation, and my pride took a hit.

I can't believe he's having fun at my expense. I get that he loves someone else, but he's still my mate, and I'm pretty sure his wolf wouldn't exactly love the woman he's with.

At the very least, he should consider the fact that we're mates and let me go my way, but here he was, mocking my helplessness.

A tear rolled down my cheeks, and a strong feeling of hate and fury overwhelmed me.

I don't care who he is or what connection we have, but once I get out of this alive, I'll make him wish he never met me.

"Hunter, she seems to be in pain. Why don't we at least untie her hands for a while?" Damon surprisingly suggested it, and although I still hated him very much, I was grateful for the suggestion.

"Absolutely not! She doesn't deserve that luxury. If she can't plead for mercy and ask politely, then she deserves to be tied up like a dog," Hunter replied wickedly, and I scoffed.

"You are one sick son of a bitch; you know that, right? I'm going to remember your face, you jerk, and if I get out of here alive, the first thing I'm going to do is to rip you apart slowly, and I promise, I'll enjoy every moment of it," I threatened, and something about what I said seemed to trigger laughter from both of them.

"You know, for someone who's tied up, you sure have a lot of balls to talk back to an Alpha. Didn't they teach you to respect authorities back home?" Damon hissed, and I struggled not to roll my eyes.

"You know what, boys, just kill me. Hurry up and kill me because I'm getting sick and tired of all this talking. As an Alpha, you don't have that much spare time to play slave and master with a mere rogue. So, how about you do what you need to do and get the hell out of my sight because you're starting to irritate me?" I replied through gritted teeth, and a small smile appeared on his face.

"You're quite bold; I give you that, but you don't have any right to question me or give me any orders. The only reason I haven't killed you yet is because of what you and I are both feeling at this moment and believe me, I hate that feeling even more than you do. But since it can't be helped, I'll make an exception, and I'll let you live," he said.

"I won't be letting you out of my sight for the time being until I confirm that you weren't sent to spy on our pack. But until then, you'll be locked up in a more comfortable environment. If you have any disagreements, keep them to yourself because I don't care," he added.

"Take her away," he instructed Owen, who was to lead me to an unknown location.

"Wait a minute!" I halted Owen as soon as he untied both my hands and legs.

"As you said, I can't question or order you around because, as you already know, I'm in a helpless situation, and as you know, beggars can't be choosers. But let me warn you now: I will not sit idly and watch you treat me like I'm shit," I stated.

"I already assured you that I'm not a spy, but if you use that as an excuse to mistreat me in any way, I'll make sure things get messy around here," I threatened confidently, realizing that he couldn't kill me, no matter how badly he wished to. At the end of the day, I'm his mate, and I know for a fact that his wolf already yearned for me, despite his conflicting feelings.

If he dared to lay a finger on me, he'd never be at peace with his wolf ever again, and for an Alpha, that is pretty disastrous because he'll be nothing without his wolf.

"I'm looking forward to you testing my patience," he replied with a smirk before turning back and walking away.

"Son of a bitch," I muttered furiously under my breath as various thoughts on how to escape started to pop into my head.