CHAPTER 3

"Get out! And take this mess with you. I don't ever want to see you in my study, bedroom, or anywhere close to me. How the hell do you not listen?!"

Drenched with hot coffee and sprawled on the floor in the middle of the brown mess, I can only shed quiet tears as he continues to yell at me.

I can't even look at him. It'll make me feel more trashy and miserable. The hate in his eyes has always been a poisonous blade that leaves eternal slashes on my heart.

It burns me to ashes. Makes me want to disappear from his sight. Regardless of how much I care about him. 

He tries to come closer to me but gets held back by Beta Luke. They're struggling and once again, Beta Luke is keeping away from snapping my neck.

I thought I'd witnessed the worst hardship in the world. I thought I'd gone through the worst kind of pain. But that night proved me wrong.

That night when I realized he's my mate and the other nights and days that have followed where I try as hard as I can to make him love me — They've all been hellish for me. More hellish than my past life with Father. 

Alpha Ace dislikes me. No, that's putting it mildly. Alpha Ace abhors me. He loathes me. I don't know what I've done to deserve such hate but it's there. And he shows it every time. Even when I do the simplest, nicest gesture like bringing him his morning coffee and snacks. 

It's been a month since I came to the Packhouse. We've spent a couple of nights together, but they've all been savagely bad.

Alpha Ace is a monster in bed, and he goes all out making me not enjoy the moment. He throttles me. Deepthroats me against my will. Go balls-deep and at a crazy pace when fucking me. He even fucks my asshole, even though I mentioned not liking that very much. My hands are always tied up and my mouth gagged so I can't protest.

He does everything to make me miserable. And he doesn't even stay a second with me after we're done. To him, he just wants me to get pregnant already. 

'I feel sick slipping my cock inside you, breeder. You don't know how much it disgusts me. But I have to do it because I need an heir.'

Those are his exact words. And when I do give him an heir, he'll have no more use for me and I'll be kicked out of the Packhouse. 

I can't afford to leave without making him realize that he's my mate and he belongs to me. I can't leave without making him love me, even a tiny bit. But so far, all my efforts have been worthless.

A whole month and I've only gotten on his bad side. Even though all I've tried to do is to please him. 

"It's just coffee, man. Just a damn coffee.  Chill out." Beta Luke whispers to him, still pulling him away from pouncing on me. 

"It's not about the damn coffee. It's about her. Her repulsing scent. Her ugly face. Her shabby looks. Everything about her disgusts me. How can she not understand that and stay the fuck away?!" Alpha Ace yells, almost grabbing my hair but Beta Luke pulls him back again. 

It's not the first time he has hit me. Or yanked my hair. Or drenched me with stuff. I've been through much abuse at his hands. And I've tried to accept all of them in good faith. He's my mate after all. Isn't he? Enduring his abusive treatment is the least I can do. 

"Bro, back off, for fuck's sake. Stop trying to always hurt her…"

"I can't help it. Whenever I see her, all I wanna do is snap her tiny neck. I wanna kill her, bro!" Alpha Ace yells again but this time, he's heading out of the room. He kicks at a chair and it tumbles over. 

I flinch at the noise but try to calm my racing heart as his absence leaves a bit of chill in the room. 

"Here. Let me help you." Beta Luke offers, stretching out his hand to me.

I shake my head with a sad smile. "Don't worry. I'm fine." 

Grabbing the tray and the empty mug, I stand to my feet. My face still stings from where the hot coffee had slapped. But I'm trying to suck in the pain. 

"God, you're a mess." Beta Luke gives me a scrutinizing gaze. There's pity in his eyes. It's always there whenever I get abused by Alpha Ace.

"I'm okay…"

"No, you're not, Betty. You're not okay. You're never gonna be okay if you keep doing this. Why do you even bother?"

"What do you mean…?"

"The morning coffee. Washing his clothes. Arranging his bed. Getting him flowers from the garden. Cooking his meals. Why do you do all that?!"

I refuse to answer his question.  

He looks at me and scoffs. "Is this your way of fawning for his attention? You don't seem like those desperate girls who would do anything to have his cock slip inside them."

"I'm not ONE of those girls…" I feel bitter and insulted by his words. I can't be 'one' of those girls. I should be the only girl. I'm his mate. It should be just me. I hate that he's tagging a lot of girls to Alpha Ace. 

"No, you're not. So stop. Please. I'm not always gonna be here to stop him from killing you. Leave him alone. Stop bothering him. He doesn't give a duck about your nice gestures. I'm sorry but that's the reality. You gotta accept it. So you don't get more hurt than you already are…"

"Thank you for always saving me." I reply, bowing my head. There's not much I can say. He may be right. But I can't do what he's asking.

I can't stop being nice to Alpha Ace. He may treat me coldly but that doesn't mean that I'll give up on him. 

Someday, I'm sure he'll realize that my feelings are genuine and that we're fated mates. And when that day comes, he'll apologize for all the pain he put me through.

We'll bond like mates do and slowly, I'll help him get rid of his cold attitude and become a better man. 

I have so much expectation from our mate bond. And I can't give up on them just because of his cruel attitude.

He'll change. I'm sure of it. I just need to try harder. I just need to show him more love and niceness.

Getting back to the kitchen, I wash off the cup and tray. A couple of maids are there and like always I go unnoticed. This time, it's because they're too engrossed in their gossip.

I want to walk away but their next words pique my interest.

"That's right. It's tomorrow. Master will throw his first party for his birthday tomorrow night. I can't wait!"

Alpha Ace is celebrating his birthday tomorrow? The news is thrilling and I run off to go prepare my birthday gift for him.

Yeah. Something simple and nice. Made out of love. I pray he likes it. Dear goddess, please. Let my mate love my present for him tomorrow.