The Lycan King’s Abused Mate

2.

***

Pain was something Bella knew quite well. It was like an old friend, but not the kind you would want to see after a long time. She dreaded facing it each time, but such was her life that she knew no matter how much she tried to keep the pain at bay, it always came back to her.

She woke up slowly, a terrible pounding in her head and a dryness in her throat. Her visions swam when she opened her eyes, and her entire body trembled with the effort of trying to sit up. She was lying in the corner of her room, and even before she looked around her, she smelled the blood. It had dried up all over her left arm, and the memories of last night came rushing back to her. She remembered how Luke had broken into her bedroom, and the beating that followed before she passed out.

Groaning, she pushed herself up from the ground and leaned against the wall. She examined her wounds, most of them along her arm and a few on her back which she couldn’t see. The spot where Luke held her hand over an open flame had turned red and raw, white pus oozing from the edges of it. She needed to get it cleaned if she didn’t want to get an infection.

After nearly thirty minutes of sitting there and trying to regain her strength, she finally managed to stand and make her way towards the door.

Her room was tucked away at the east end of the manor, far away from every other room or living thing in the house. She knew the first aid box was somewhere in the kitchen, which was so far away that she felt exhausted even thinking about it.

“Bella?” came a soft voice behind her, and she turned around slowly to find Ava, Luke’s younger sister, hurrying towards her.

“Oh my God!” Ava exclaimed when she saw the extent of Bella’s wounds. “Are you alright? How did this happen?”

Bella was relieved to see her. In a house where everyone treated her like vermin, Ava was the only one who made her feel like she was a normal person. She had been gone for a few weeks, and it was safe to say that no one was happier to see her return than Bella, who had noticed that Luke rarely assaulted her when Ava was around.

“You’re back,” she said weakly, forcing a smile on her face and wincing in the process. Ava immediately came up beside her, and she placed Bella’s arm over her shoulder to support her.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s get you back to your room.”

“No,” Bella protested. “I-I need…,”

“You need someone to check on your wounds,” Ava said. “I’ll have a healer come and check on you right now. But you need to rest.”

Slowly, she helped Bella back into the room and laid her gently on the bed. Bella groaned as she did, and Ava tried not to look at her wounds too much. She knew exactly who had done this, and her blood boiled at the thought of Luke laying his hands on Bella. He was a f*****g coward for hitting her, and a disgrace to his title. Ava wished that she could punch him in the face for being such an i***t. Why did he think it was right to hit her? Could he not see how fragile she was? Did he not realise that it was pathetic of him to treat her this way?

“I’m so sorry, Bella,” she said. “I’m so sorry you have to face this.”

“I-It’s okay,” Bella whispered weakly. “It wasn’t your fault. I tried to escape.”

Ava was astonished to hear that. She never imagined that Bella would even have the guts to try something like that. Bella had been Luke’s mate for over two years now, and those two years were characterised only by the incessant a***e and cruelty of her brother. She didn’t blame Bella for trying to escape.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “Not the fact that you tried to escape, but the fact that it didn’t go according to plan.”

“In hindsight, it was probably a stupid plan really,” Bella said in a voice that broke Ava’s heart. She reached out and took Bella’s hand in her’s, giving it a gentle squeeze. She had already mind-linked a healer, and he was on his way.

“We’ll come up with a better plan,” Ava assured her. “I’m here now, and everything will be alright.”

Bella smiled gratefully at her before her eyes began to flutter shut. Ava remained with her until she fell asleep once again, then she waited for the healer to arrive. His name was Jonah, and he was a man she could trust; one who she knew would never betray her trust to Luke.

He arrived shortly afterwards, carrying his bag of medicines and tonics. He took one look at Bella, and flinched at the sight.

“Do everything you can to get her back to normal,” Ava said. “And do it quickly. I have no idea how long she has been in this state.”

“Well, judging from the looks of it,” he said, “and the dried up blood, I’d say this happened sometime last night. She might have some internal injuries, but I won’t be certain until I’ve checked her properly.”

“Do whatever needs to be done,” Ava said as she headed for the door.

“Of course, my lady,” he said. “I’ll be glad to help.”

—

Luke was sitting in his study when Ava found him, and he was glaring at a sheet of paper with his head bowed and a frown on his face. He did not even look up as she walked in, deciding that the paper was more important than his sister.

Ava did not even pause for a single second. She walked over to where he sat, yanked the paper out of his hand and threw it out the window.

“What the f**k is wrong with you, Luke?” she thundered, barely even flinching as his gaze shot towards her in a murderous glance.

“Are you out of your mind?” he asked in a cold voice.

“I should ask you the same thing,” she said through gritted teeth. “What the hell has gotten into you? How can you beat her just because you can? Do you have no conscience? Are you so wicked and heartless that you would keep doing this to her?”

Luke stared at her for a very long time, completely impassive and with his mouth set in a thin line. One eyebrow raised disdainfully, and he looked like he was on the verge of hitting her across the face, or screaming at her at the very least. But he said nothing, and he simply continued to look at her.

“You’re a horrible man for doing that to her,” Ava continued. “Bella has done nothing to deserve this from you. What was her crime, exactly? Why do you feel the need to torment her life every day?”

The corners of his lips tugged up in a s******c smirk, and Ava was taken about by the look she saw in his eyes. He looked completely at ease with himself, not even a single trace of remorse in him. She had no idea when her brother became this cruel. He might have been a bit of an asshole when they were growing up, but it never got to the point where he was molesting innocent and helpless women. Something in him had changed, and she didn’t even recognise him anymore.

“I’m guessing she already told you what she did,” he said icily. “Or did she conveniently decide to leave that part out?”

“Why wouldn’t she try to leave you, Luke?” Ava snapped. “All you ever do is beat her up, humiliate her and make her life a living nightmare. Anyone would want to leave you under such circumstances.”

A low growl escaped from him, and once again Luke reminded himself that if this was anyone else but his sister, they would be dead already. He refused to stand for insolence, especially from someone who was clearly beneath him.

“What happens between me and that woman is none of your concern,” he said. “I will not have you interfering in matters which do not concern you. Do I make myself clear?”

“You know what you are?” Ava said through clenched teeth. “You’re a coward. You think you’re this high and mighty Alpha, but you’re a pathetic excuse of a man who thinks he can live up to your father’s name. But you will never be half the man he was.”

In a flash, Luke had gotten around the table, and he slammed Ava against the wall with his hand around her neck. His claws were protruding already, and his eyes glowed a menacing red as he growled in her face.

“Say that again,” he thundered. “I dare you.”

Ava glared right back at him, holding back the whimper that was about to escape from her lips. She looked him right in the eye, knowing that he wouldn’t do anything to her. He might be a s******c bastard, but the worst he could do was this. He wasn’t stupid enough to try and hurt her.

“You will learn to respect me, Ava,” he growled. “I don’t care how long it takes, but if you want to remain in this pack, then you will learn your place. I am your Alpha. Do not think that I will hesitate to punish you if you step out of line. Do I make myself clear?”

She did not say anything. Luke already knew that she wouldn’t say anything. He shoved her aside, then returned to his desk with the rage in him still stirring.

All because of that pathetic woman.

“Get out of my sight,” he snapped when Ava still stood there and watched him. She remained like that for a while, before she turned around, pausing at the doorway.

“She won’t remain here for you to torment whenever you like for the rest of her life,” she said. “One day, she will leave you. And no one will be happier than me when that day comes.”

She walked out with her head held high, and Luke cursed aloud as he returned to his seat. To hell with both of them. He had far more important things to worry about than some pitiful excuse of a woman who thought she was his mate.

As if he could ever choose someone as pathetic as her.

He summoned Brandon to his study, and he arrived less than a minute after he was called.

“What intel have you gathered so far?” he asked.

“My lord, it would appear that the king of the Nightwalkers is still unaware that we are onto him,” Brandon explained. “We have been speaking to those around him, but we are doing so discreetly and they won’t get back to him.”

“Are there any indications that he knows about the murder?”

“Not yet,” Brandon said. “But we cannot be sure, unless we get much closer to him. I’m looking at a new target who can get as close to him as possible. I’m sure we will have something we can use to charge him as soon as possible.”

Luke slid out of his chair and walked over to the window. His mind was racing, trying to figure out a way to nail the bastard. Alpha Aiden was a powerful foe, and normally he would never have considered going up against him. He was the King of the Lycans, and his pack was notorious for their ruthlessness. It would be a suicide mission to go after him.

But desperate times call for desperate measures. A member of his pack had been murdered. And while he could deny the fact that he was trying to live up to his father’s name, there was no way in hell that the old man would have stood by and done nothing after a member of his pack was murdered in cold blood.

“Set a bounty on his head,” he said, and he heard Brandon’s audible gasp.

“My lord?”

“You heard me,” he said. “Five hundred thousand to any man who can bring him to me, alive or dead.”

***