I couldn't believe what I just heard. He was my mate? How was that possible? The Alpha Thorne was my mate? It didn't sound right when I repeated it in my head.
"Who are you?" His voice was gruff and insistent, demanding for a response immediately.
"Ava" I answered immediately, submitting to the alpha command in his voice.
"Who are you and why are you here like this? Who are your parents" he grabbed my arms tightly and I jerked back instantly. He let me go but his focus stayed on me.
"My father is Jackson Coleman" I mumbled. I saw the shock in his eyes.
"Jackson? I didn't know he had a daughter" I wasn't surprised. How could he know? They didn't take me out like they took Jonathan. I was always introduced as a slave so even if he wanted to, he couldn't know me.
"Why are you like this? What are you doing here?" He asked again.
I didn't know how to answer his questions. How do I tell him that I was the daughter of the mistress, so hated by her family that they treated me like the help? Most of all, I couldn't believe that I was speaking with him. That he called me his mate. Alpha Thorne who was feared even amongst the alphas. I felt calm but at the same time, my mind was going haywire.
"Ava" he called my name, coming impossibly closer and a shiver ran down my spine.
"I asked you a question" he growled at me but I stared at his lips, lost in the beauty of them. I wanted to answer his questions but my brain lacked function.
"Ava" he called again in an impatient voice, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"I...I am not the daughter of his wife" I said and his eyes widened. His shock was clearly visible in his eyes. I could tell all his emotions just by staring into his eyes.
Maybe because he called me his mate but the rumors said he was cold and he never gave anything away. How was it so easy? Was he relaxed around me?
"Come with me" he grabbed my hand again and a tingle shot through me from the point of his tough. My whole body felt alive and a small moan escalated my throat. He let go of me at the sound.
He took the tray, setting it carelessly on the stand and then he sat me on the bed. I was conscious because of my current state. I didn't want to get my filth over his bed.
I tried to stand up but he pushed me back to the bed.
"I don't want to stain your sheets"
"Don't worry about the damn sheets. I don't give a fuck about them" I blushed at his choice of crude words.
"Jackson is your father?" He asked impatiently, suddenly angry about something.
"Yes"
"Then why? Why does he let you live like this?"
"Not a slave" I quickly said. If Bianca heard it there'll be hell to pay.
"Don't tell me that" he snapped and I flinched, terrified of his temper.
"Sorry," he mumbled and I became even more shocked.
He was apologizing? I stared at him long and hard. Maybe the rumors were false. He wasn't anything they had described him to be. I thought I had to be conscious of myself and scared of making a mistake but I was far from that. I felt extremely relaxed.
"How old are you?"
"Twenty"
"When did you turn twenty?"
"Today," I said, reminded of the fact that it was my birthday.
"For fucks sake" he cursed under his breath, taking his hand through the thick mass of dark curls on his head. He was upset about something and it made me worried. He paced continuously in front of me, engaged in a conversation with himself.
I writhed my hands as I waited did him to say something else.
"Have you lived here since you were born?" He asked again and I nodded.
"Have you ever been whipped....or abused?" My eyes widened at the question and I remembered Lady Bianca's threat.
"No," I said immediately. He paused his pacing and stared at me.
"Don't you dare lie to me" he growled in my face.
"Only when I did something wrong. Nothing serious" I lied. He didn't believe what I had said but he didn't utter any other word. The door opened and I jumped, scared to be found seated on his bed.
Our alpha mate entered the room with a shirt, her eyes landing on me and I quickly averted my gaze.
"What are you doing....."
"Enough leave us" Alpha Thorne cut in rudely. Luna said nothing and walked out of the room.
"We're going to see your father now" his voice was harsh as he pulled on the shirt. He was doing the button when he stopped and looked at me.
"Never mind. Go in and have a shower and wear this" he dropped the shirt.
"Did I do something? Why are we going to see my father"
"Just do as I say now" he snapped and I moved. It took a while, but I was able to get the dirt off my body and then I cleaned up and wore the shirt.
"Have you had anything to eat?" He asked me when I stepped into the room.
"No" I mumbled. He grabbed my waist and my body tingled. He took me out of the room and took the stairs to the party. I couldn't protest even if I wanted to.
The entire guests became silent as soon as they saw us. Lady Bianca was marching up to me in the next second, an angry look on her face. Subconsciously, I moved into his side, trying to hide from her view.
"What the fuck did you do" she growled at me.
"I....." I was cut off by Alpha Thorne.
"Don't speak" he snapped, making me shut up instantly.
"Alpha" Alpha Mathew came up.
"Have you been attended to?"
"We can punish her as you deem fit" Lady Bianca jumped in.
"No punishment. I want the girl"
Alpha Thorne's words resounded in the room and then I heard a collective gasp ripple through the environment, followed by a murmur of astonishment and chaos. I felt a thousand eyes on me, their gazes burning into my skin, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from Alpha Thorne. His expression was unreadable, a storm of emotions wrecked through me as I stared at his emotionless eyes holding mine."No!"Jonathan's voice rang out, filled with outrage and disbelief. He pushed his way through the crowd, his face twisted in a snarl. He was vibrating with so much anger. "Ava is not going anywhere with you. She is our servant and you're not taking her anywhere"Alpha Thorne's gaze shifted to Jonathan, his eyes narrowing with a cold, calculating fury."You dare try to stop me?" he asked, his voice low and threatening. I never thought silence could be so loud."You must have a smart mouth. You dare challenge me" he took a step forward and the silence deepened.Jonathan's face turned red with rage,
My body didn't feel like my own. I just wanted to lie down for a moment and rest my head. Even if it was just for a little movement. My body needed rest. That much was evident in my sluggish movement and tired face.Anyone could tell but yet nobody would say a word because they didn't care about me. Born as the daughter of a mistress, my life had never been easy. Occasionally I wished I died along with my mother or that she had never crossed my father's path but it wouldn't change anything. I can't undo the mistake that brought me into this cruel world.Every day was hell for me and I longed for an escape but I was too much of a coward to try. I stopped the large bag of grains that I carried on my back. The dropping made a loud thud and I winced. That sound will definitely attract some unwanted attention.It was still very early in the morning and the time for them to wake up was still far. If I awoke Lady Bianca before the appropriate time, I would receive a whopping. I opened the ba
I managed to find some almost spoiled food and filled my stomach with it.Lady Bianca wouldn't notice it so I ate it because if she knew about it, she would rather discard it than let me eat it. Hell if she found out that I ate it, my back would be sore by tomorrow from a whipping.With some food in my stomach, I was able to function properly for the rest of the day without running into any trouble. I did my duties while managing to stay out of their line of sight.Night came and I did all I was supposed to. After dinner, I scrubbed the kitchen clean. I was supposed to retire to bed and have a good sleep but I wanted to go to the forest.It was the only place in the whole pack where I could be free where I could spend hours alone and forget the horror my life was. Where nothing mattered. Not any mother, father, or the rest of the pack who hated me. I made sure they were all asleep and I crept out of the house. I didn't want anyone to find out about that place because once they realize
After my encounter with Jonathan in the forest and the days to the party drew closer, each day felt like hell to me. Not because of the physical pain I felt, but because I was dreading the words he had said to me. He was capable of making it happen especially once the mating to the alpha's daughter is done and he becomes next in line to be alpha. But I couldn't give in to him. I was waiting for my mate. He'll be disappointed in me if I ever did something like that. And what's worse, Jonathan is my brother. It was wrong but he didn't see that. He couldn't see past his desire to get what he wanted no matter what.The thought of the slave camp made me shudder. It was a place of horrendous activities. Female slaves were captured and sent there, made to serve the men repeatedly by choice or otherwise. None of the girls who were ever sent there made it out alive. I feared being a rogue but I feared going to the slave camp even more."Run away" a voice screamed in my head but I couldn't. I c
ALPHA THORNE's POVThe night was slow and I was already having regrets about coming here. I didn't want to be here. The daughter of an alpha getting mated to a nameless boy wasn't reason enough to drag me out of the comfort of my pack but here I was, all because my uncle was a stubborn male who wouldn't leave me alone. Alliances he said but looking at these people I didn't need them and they wouldn't be of any help if I needed one.I was going to return to my pack. I wouldn't even spend the night like they had planned for me. It would be a miracle if I even lasted until the end of the night."Alpha Thorne" a high-pitched voice drew my attention and I turned slightly, coming face to face with the alpha, Mathew. His daughter is by his side with a trail of people standing next to her."I wanted you to meet my daughter," he said eagerly, pushing her forward. I didn't spare her a glance and kept my gaze on him. He looked like he was waiting for my approval or something. But when I said not