KIARA'S POV.
I woke up in my room, feeling a sense of dread wash over me. Today was the day I would see Bryant and Anna again. As much as I hated the thought of being in the same room as them, I couldn't avoid it. As his fated mate, I was expected to attend all the pack meetings and events.
It had been Three weeks since Bryant brought me to his house to stay with him, as some contract wife.
Contract wife my feet. I was more like a slave. Everyone here looked down on me and treated me like I was nobody, even the maids.
The worst was Bryant and his Fiancee, Anna Morris.
Bryant and Anna had been together for years, and their engagement had been announced not long after I had come into the picture.
I knew it wasn't right, but I couldn't help the feelings I had for Bryant. The connection between us was undeniable, but it seemed that Anna had made it her mission to make me feel worthless and unwanted.
Bryant might be my mate, but his heart and feelings belonged only to Anna, and Anna made sure to make that clear.
I got dressed and headed to the dining room where the family was gathering to have breakfast. As soon as I walked in, I could feel Anna's eyes on me. I tried to ignore her and find a seat, but she made it impossible.
"Well, well, well, look who decided to grace us with her presence," Anna sneered and I shivered.
Here we go again.
I tried to keep my head down, not wanting to engage in a fight, but Anna wasn't done yet.
"Did you have trouble picking out an outfit, Kiara? Or did you need to ask for help?" she continued, laughing along with the others.
I felt my face turn red with embarrassment. I couldn't believe she was doing this in front of everyone, in front of the maids as well.
She was making it clear that Bryant was her territory.
Bryant walked in, and Anna's demeanor changed instantly. She smiled at him, and he kissed her on the cheek. My heart sank as I watched them.
"Hello, Kiara," Bryant said, not meeting my eyes.
I nodded in response, not trusting myself to speak.
Breakfast was silent, and Anna kept on giving me cold looks and was acting like a saint in front of Bryan.
Was he blind or what?
You might wonder, why would I have breakfast with them since I was more like a slave.
It was Bryant’s father. He was the only one who treated me like a human in here.
After Breakfast, I tried to slip out without being noticed, but Anna had other plans. She grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, her grip tightening.
"I have some things to do," I said, trying to pull away.
Anna laughed. "Oh, I'm sure you do. Like what, rearranging your sock drawer?"
Bryant stepped forward, but Anna didn't let go of my arm. "Let her go, Anna," he said, his tone firm.
Anna rolled her eyes but released me. "Fine. But she needs to learn her place."
I walked away, tears streaming down my face. I couldn't take this anymore. The constant bullying and humiliation were too much to bear. Bryant is my mate and we are supposed to be together even if it's a fake marriage. I have to stay married to him for the treatment of my mother but I didn't know if I could continue like this.
The next few weeks were the same. Every time I saw Bryant and Anna, she would find a way to make me feel small and insignificant. Bryant never said anything, and I knew it was because he didn't want to upset her.
“What’s with the commotion?” I asked a maid as they started to run towards the door.
“The Alpha’s cousin, Master Oscar is here.” She said and I rushed to. I stared at the door as his cousin came walking through the door. He fixed his eyes on me and he smiled cockily.
What was that? What was that smile?
Anna had already gone on her work trip, and Bryant was on edge everyday. He seemed even more on edge with his cousin now.
“Hi, Cousin,” Oscar said and he looked at me again. “Who’s she? I haven’t seen her face around here.” He said and Bryant looked at me.
A new maid.” Bryant answered nonchalantly and my heart dropped.
My feelings were building slowly daily, as I worked side by side with him. But he was oblivious. Oblivious to it all.
“She’s pretty.” He said and walked inside.
I had a gut feeling that he was in trouble.
I went to bed that night, tired and aching all over, wanting to sleep, but not before I called the hospital to check on Mom. She was making progress after the surgery and going through rehab to fix her limbs and muscles.
I lay in bed, trying to sleep, my mind wandering to the thoughts if ever Bryant would see me as his mate, a potential woman he could fall in love with.
Then I heard the door creak open.
I sat up, heart pounding in my chest. I could barely make out the figure of a man in the dim light. He was tall and muscular, with a cruel glint in his eyes.
It was Oscar.
"Young Master Oscar? What are you doing here?" I demanded, backing away as he approached me slowly.
He smirked, revealing sharp, menacing teeth. “I have had my eyes and thoughts on you since I got here, today. You are indeed beautiful, Kiara.” He said and I cringed when his fingers grazed my cheeks.
I backed away, my fear growing. "I'm Bryant's wife," I stammered. "Please don’t do this. Leave me alone."
But He wasn't listening. “You can’t be his wife and stay in here. Stop trying to fool me.” He said and I gulped.
“Please leave me alone.”
He lunged forward, and I screamed loudly. “Help.” and then I pushed him and rushed out of the room, running and hiding in the basement.
I have stayed in the basement all night long and even till the following evening no one came to look for me and I'm scared of coming out of my hideout.
My eyes are blurry, my body is weak and I feel like I might pass out because I haven't eaten anything since the beginning of today and worst of all my throat is dried. I haven't taken a droplet of water either.
I'm not important no one will notice my absence my inner mind said to me but just then I saw him…
Bryant rushed down to the basement, with shock written on his face he must have followed my strange yet familiar scent. I believe that was the only way he was able to trace me down since we are mates. Our scent will be stronger and more familiar to each.
But why was he here? I thought he hated me.
As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw me lying on the cold, hard floor. He saw me burning up with fever and breathing heavily.
"Bryant..." I groaned as I struggled to sit up.
"Shh, don't speak. I'm here, Kiara," Bryant whispered soothingly, placing a hand on my forehead. "What happened to you? How did you end up here?"
My eyes flew open, and I began to shiver uncontrollably. "Oscar," I whispered hoarsely. "He tried to...rape me. I was so scared, I ran away and ended up here."
Bryant's eyes widened in horror. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath. "I should have stopped him. I knew he was up to no good. Are you okay now? Can you walk? We need to get you out of here."
I nodded weakly, and with Bryant's help, I managed to stand up. I leaned against him as we made our way out of the basement and towards his room.
The commotion was clear now, and the people in the house rushed out, only to see Bryant carrying me in bridal style.
“The doctor! Get me the doctor quickly!” He said. “I’m going to kill him for daring to lay hands on what’s mine. That damn bastard.” Bryant murmured as he stared at my weak face.
“Bryant... Please.. can I sleep here tonight?” I murmured as Bryant laid me down on the bed.
“Anything for you, Ki. Anything for you.” Bryant said and I nodded, before slipping into unconsciousness.
BRYANT POV I pushed a strand of hair that had fallen off of my fated mate's face, my entire body was burning up and her breathing was ragged. I turned over to the family doctor, the distress in my voice impossible to hide."Is she going to be okay?"I asked him and then he nodded that showing me it's not a terminal illness, "...just a small fever with enough rest and her taking the drugs that I have prescribed she'll be fine," he added before he left. The more I was looking at my mate the more I could feel the fury inside of me burning like a freshly lit fire that was being fed with Cole immensely, I remained in the bedroom with her for some time slowly calming myself down because I knew that if I stepped out and see my cousin Oscar I was going to do something that he was definitely going to regret.How dare he touch what belongs to me?As my fingers tightened up into a shaking fist I wondered if my cousin had any idea how lucky he was because if he had been able to succeed with hi
BRYANT POV Even though my foolish cousin was trying to appear knuckle and I could see the fear that was masquerading as nonchalance in his eyes as he was slowly backing away from me then he was looking at my grandma and father possibly for protection for what was definitely coming to him. "I really don't know what he's talking about, you all have to believe me…""Of course, we believe you!" my grandma said, rushing to stand in front of him and spreading her hands out protectively."How can you even think of hurting your cousin over the words of a wench? that's just preposterous!" I gritted my teeth and then I looked over to my father hoping for some reason from him.But he just crossed his hands and told me that my cousin was the kind of guy that could get any woman he wanted so I didn't make any sense that he would be trying to force himself on anyone. My blood pressure shot up when I heard this and it was even worse when my grandma added in."Yes my grandson is not such a perver
Kiara povI was recovering slowly and when I was able to stand on my feet even though it was a little shaky my mate told me that his family wanted to see me and my heart was already thumping nervously from that sentence alone.He could see how my face felt pale and the sunken my cheeks went, but he placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder and told me that nothing was going to happen to me and I only have to give the testimony of what had happened that night.His words gave me a bit of strength but just like I had expected the words of a woman that was basically regarded as a servant in the household meant little to nothing compared to a favored child, Bryant's grandma was constantly interrupting me throughout my story asking irrelevant and irritating questions."Are you sure that you really saw my grandson?" "This is ridiculous, why did you go and hide in the basement instead of reporting it immediately?" "How are we not even sure that you are not faking your fever as well?" When I
Kiara pov It wasn't just the question that he asked that took my breath away but the way he asked it with his eyes glazed and raking all over my body as if he wanted to feast on me.Most of the day I will feel like he was actually looking at me but the moment I turned his eyes were whisked in another direction.Perhaps it was just my imagination I had told myself, but I could see those eyes love glinting against the moonlight as he asked me; "Then why don't you invite me to sleep with you?"I was about to blush and bury myself in my sheets but then I asked myself how long I was going to keep running away from the feelings that I obviously had for this man?Even if the difference between me and Anna were miles apart and I was probably not his ideal woman if also this condition so that we had was only for a short while I should at least take advantage of the time soon as my fingers sunk into the duvet and my eyes traveled over to him I mumbled a response.Confused, he sits upright on t
Kiara pov"What's going on here?"My head immediately fell with shame and fear when I heard the alpha's booming voice. I was sure that he was angry and I was going to be scolded by him, maybe saying something like why would I neglect my work just because I was sick and allowed off my duty for sometime.I clenched my fingers together and I waited for him to start scolding me but strangely enough, he stood in front of the other maid."I believe that I asked a question just now so why am I not getting a response from you at all?!"His voice rose and I felt shivers running down my spine even though he wasn't looking at me.The other maid, unlike me, looked very confident as she shot her chest."Alpha Bryant, you won't believe the retarded behavior of this maid here…" she said gesturing towards me then she told her own version of the story that painted me out awfully.I was about to defend myself but I just bit my bottom lip and decided to keep my mouth shut.First, it was the rape inciden
Bryant pov"Alpha Bryant your father wishes to see you,"I was giving Kiara her morning prescription when I got a call from my father, without turning to look at the maid, I told her that I was busy right now and I would see my father later, however, she pressed that it was very important that I see him immediately.With a very heavy sigh, I finally turned to look at the servant."Are you sure that this cannot wait at all?"Suddenly I felt the pressure of Kiara's hand on my shoulder and it immediately sent shivers across my entire body even though I tried to maintain an expressionless face while looking back at her."I think you should respond to your father, it sounds important…"I sighed again."Well make sure you take all of your medicine, I'm going to check when I come back."She nodded with a smile that changed the pacing of my heart for a second and I quickly looked away from her and walked towards the maid who lead me to my father, sitting cross-legged and impatiently as well.
Kiara's povI knew that I should not have allowed myself to be carried away by him but I couldn't help the fact that my foolish heart had wanted to dream.Propping myself on the bed I stared at the door longingly, wondering when he was going to show up again. Soon the door cracked open and my heart beat with immense joy thinking that he was at the other side but when the person on the other side was revealed it was just a maid.It wasn't Bryant.The amount of disappointment I felt was immense as my heart sank and my back rested against the pillow on the bed tiredly.I thanked the maid but I noticed she didn't respond. Rather she was busy giving me a very dirty look, while she was holding the tray of food.In an attempt to ignore her blatant glaring, I reached out for the tray without pointing out what she was doing but then she held on to it as if her life depended on that tray of food. At this point, I could no longer stay silent."Are you planning to give this to me or are you going
Kiara povI never imagined that the Alpha would take such good care of me, to me it seemed like a dream that I was scared of waking up from. But everyday I reminded myself that eventually, I would have to.This kind of treatment from him only comes out of circumstances. Eventually, he will not welcome me with breakfast in bed.He wouldn't watch me eat with this glittery look in his eyes and he wouldn't ask if I had taken my medication…he wouldn't even care about anything other than me being under the same roof as him and being a figurehead for the position of wife.Thinking about this was enough to rapidly diminish my appetite early one morning when I noticed that I was gradually getting better and I knew that Bryant was also noticing it as well because he expressed it with much glee."It looks like the medication is working, isn't it?"He asked me, I didn't respond and just nodded in agreement. I noticed that he shifted closer to me as he sat on the bed while I was lying down on it a