TWICE MATED

Mate...

MAX’S POV

The fact that I even had to wait this long to meet the woman who had intruded on my pack was driving me crazy. Nobody ever kept me waiting, and I felt so disrespected, I was aware that the delay was not her fault, but I hated waiting either way. I just wanted to meet her so that I could get the information I needed from her and get it over with. I didn’t want to keep her around longer than necessary because just knowing that she was here was making me restless

I needed some answers from her, and I wished that I could have had the chance to deal with her and put this to rest already. I knew that she would have answers to the questions night had about Michael, I knew that she could tell me what plans he had because if she didn’t he wouldn’t have trusted her enough to send her here. She may have been an omega but Michael wasn’t an i***t and neither was I, he probably knew that if he sent an omega I would let my guard down and think that she was harmless but he had another thing coming. I jaunt met her, but I could feel it in my bones that she was not to be trusted, not that I was planning to keep her around anyway. I was going to get what I needed from her and then get rid of her.

There were a lot of things that I wanted to know from her, I wanted to know what was bringing her here and what Michael was hoping to gain from this I wanted to know what his plans were and if he was planning to attack my pack at all.

I knew that Michael probably didn’t believe that what we had going on here was a pack, but I didn’t care what he thought because what was happening in my pack was none of his business. I couldn’t stop thinking about all the endless possibilities of what this omega was sent here to do I had been obsessing over what this omega would tell me ever since she got here and not being able to talk to her was driving me crazy. However, I knew that I had to be patient and wait until she woke up.

I knew that I had to wait until she was strong enough to answer all the questions that I had for her. I also kind of felt like this was all a waste of time because she was going to be killed anyway, so there was no point in us making sure that she got better. But at the same time, she couldn’t talk to anyone or answer any questions in the condition that she was in. There was nothing I hated more than dealing with matters that concerned Michael and his pack because he was part of a chapter in my life that I wanted to close and forget about.

One good thing about this was that she had no way of escaping me before she told me what I needed to know, the only way she was escaping me was after she told me what I wanted to know. Even after telling me what I needed to know, I wasn’t going to let her go because the only way that I was going to let her go was if her next journey was grave.

She had been drifting in and out of consciousness ever since she got here, and that worried me a lot. She was in such bad shape that I couldn’t help wondering what they had done to her. Her condition made me doubt that she was even a spy. If she was a spy, why was she in such a bad condition? Even the doctor that was attending to her told me that she was lucky to be still alive, so she wasn’t pretending to be sick. There was a lot that I had to know from her, and it wasn’t only about her reason for being here but also about the condition that she was in.

I still hadn’t seen her, but each time I asked about her, I would hear that she wasn’t doing well at all. What had Michael done to her? How could he do that to a woman who was a part of his pack? What crime had she done that made that punishment fit for her? I went from wanting to ask her why she was sent here to wondering if she was here of her own will. Was she here because she had run away and wondered here, or had she been left here on purpose? Judging by the black dress that she was wearing, I knew that she didn’t have much of a position in the pack, she was probably just a regular wolf with no position and this was the reason why this puzzled me even more. Her scent was that of omega, and I didn’t even have to see her turn in order to see that.

All these questions that had no answers were the ones that were driving me crazy. I was now even afraid that she would die before I got the chance to question her and I couldn’t allow that to happen, I had to speak to her before she died and now was that time. I didn’t care if she was still in no condition to speak to me. She was going to tell me what I needed to hear right this moment.

I was getting increasingly impatient, and instead of waiting for Marcello to come and tell me what was happening with her, I decided to go over there and find out for myself.

When the following morning came around, I woke up with the determination to find out what was happening and to get to the bottom of her reason for being here. There had to be more to the story, and I couldn’t rest until I got to the bottom of it. As soon as the clock hit noon, I started making my way to the dungeon where they were keeping her and hoping that she would be willing to come clean with me and strong enough to have this conversation with me.

“Leave…” I commanded the guards who were watching the place, I didn’t want them to hear any of the questions that I was going to ask her because I was going to be talking about some deeply personal things. Things that they had no business knowing.

As soon as I opened the heavy dungeon door and walked in, I was hit by the string sweet scent that had been hidden behind the huge door. The door was built the way it was built for the purpose of trapping the scent of my prisoners in there. I wanted the scent that the prisoners I had to be contained in that place because that was where they belonged and also because most of the prisoners that I got were from Michael’s pack. Those wolves carried a scent that wasn’t pleasing to anyone in my pack. However, I realized that this place may have been hiding some treasure from me. It was a treasure that belonged to me and no one else.

“Mate…” I whispered as I started opening and closing all the cell doors. She was somewhere here and I had to find her. The dungeon had a lot of little rooms that we called cells, and I knew that my mate was in one of them. She was in one of them because I was the one who placed her in them. I knew all the prisoners that we had here, and that was how I knew that my mate had to be the new prisoner. I couldn’t believe that my mate was from Michael's pack. Suddenly, the idea of her being here to spy on me seemed impossible.

What seemed more plausible was that he had done something to her and driven her out. This was just one more reason for me to hate him. This was just one more reason for me to want him dead. He probably got rid of her after finding out that she is mated to me, I didn’t know how he would have found that out, but I wasn’t going to try to find out either. How was I supposed to know what went on in his small little head?

All I knew was that this was my mate, and because of him, I had imprisoned her and treated her like some kind of an intruder. This was all his fault, and I was going to make sure that he paid for it, but right now, I had to find her and make sure she was okay. The reason why I had to go cell by cell looking for her was that although I knew all the prisoners here, I didn’t know which cells they were put in.

It was as if nothing mattered as I walked from cell to cell searching for my mate. I was even getting frustrated by the fact that I was having such a hard time finding her even though I knew for a fact that she was here. I finally faced the door that I was certain she was behind, and I started frantically unlocking the door. I now found it very inconvenient that she was the one who was under such heavy security, but at the same time, I knew that this was my fault. I was the one who ordered that they do things this way because I wanted to be very cautious when it came to Anaiah.

I finally managed to get inside the cell, and there she was, in a black raggedy dress and sitting in the corner of the room. She looked scared, she probably thought I was here to kill her but I expected that by now she would know that wasn’t what I was here to do. She had to know that I was here as her mate and not as her prisoner, and yet she refused to face me.

“Stop hiding from me,” I said with a defeated and frustrated voice. I was met by silence, and it wasn’t like I could blame her for hiding from me or at least trying to because I could see her. They probably told her that I would kill her, and she thought that was what I was here to do. But couldn’t she tell that that had changed the moment I realized that she was my mate? How could I hurt my mate? It was the fact that she was a mate who made me have this sudden change of heart about her and want to keep her alive. What life would I live without my mate? Killing her would essentially be me taking my own life because I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing that her life had ended by my own hand.

“Please come out…” I begged “ I know you are here, and I just want to see you,” I said

“I can already see you” I added but she didn’t move an inch, she stayed in her position making it clear to me that she had no intention of coming out so that I could see her face.

“Only if you promise not to kill me” a voice that was so sweet and low replied. Her voice was enough for me, I wanted to see her beautiful face. Why didn’t she want me to see her? Was this her way of publishing me for putting her in this filthy place, and did she know I was here way before I found out that she was my mate?

“Why would I do that, my queen?” I asked, “when have you ever heard of a king killing his queen?”

“I am just afraid that you will change your mind once you see me. A lot of people do that” she said, and I noticed the sadness in her tone. Her heart and been broken and she had been hurt, but I was going to love her heart back to life.

“You will come to realize that I am nothing like the others. I am nothing like everyone that you have met before. I am nothing like Michael” I said

“You are only saying that because you haven’t seen me, you are only saying that because you want me to come out so that you can kill me,” she said, and I sighed

“I can already see you. You might as well come out, and if I wanted to kill, you would be dead by now. Please don’t make me come over there and pick you up” I said, and that seemed to make her move

She slowly started to emerge from the corner that was next to the bed, and although she was muddy and dirty, there was no doubt that all that dirt was hiding her beauty. All she needed was a good bath, and then after that, I knew that her beauty would shine forth and everyone would see how lucky I was to have her. I would see how blessed I was to have her as my mate even though for me, it wasn’t all about looks.

She was wearing a black raggedy dress, and the material of the dress gave away that she was nobody important nor a royal. I had a lot of questions for her, but for now, I had to convince her that I was genuine. I had to convince her that she was better at staying in the same room with me as my mate because there was no other alternative for her.

"My name is Maximilian, but I would love it if you call me Max," I said, hoping that introductions would make her feel a little more relaxed

"Maximillian...." she said, and I smiled

"What is your name?" i asked her, and she hesitated before saying anything. I could see that she was still worried that I would end up killing her.

“I would never try to kill you. You are my mate,” I said, and she scoffed

“I know some wolves that were almost killed because they were mated to someone like you,” she said, and that hurt my heart

“Why would you think I would kill you?” I asked her as I held her hand and helped her out of her hiding place. She was hesitant to tell my hand, and she was even trembling. What had she been through and why?

“All I need is assurance that you are not going to try to kill me. All I need to know is that you won't try to win my trust so that you can attack me when I least expect it. So I will ask you again, do you want to kill me?” she asked again, and I shook my head.

“I would rather you kill me right now rather than give me false hope” she added

“Mates don’t kill each other, “ I said as I picked her up and walked out of the dungeon. There was no way that I was going to leave her here whether she liked it or not. I could tell that she was very nervous and scared that I would kill her, and I realized that there was nothing that I could say to convince her otherwise right now. The only choice I had left was to make sure that I proved my intentions for her by showing her the kind of a man I was because, at the end of the day, actions did speak louder than words.

The chemistry between us was insane. It was as if every hormone in me was going into overdrive and exploding. She had the most innocent eyes. And the sweetest scent that penetrated even the scent of this muddy dress that she was wearing. I felt like I was delusional, I felt like I was seeing things that did not exist because I felt like I was the only one who could see the beauty beyond the rags. However, no one else was supposed to see my mate's beauty, and if anyone did speak about it, I was probably going to kill them out of jealousy and anger.

Her sweet scent did not make me forget about all the questions I had for her. I still wanted to know why Michael had tried to kill her. The fact that she turned out to be my mate made everything personal. Now, I had one more thing to hold against Michael. He tried to kill my mate, and I was certain that if I hadn’t found her when she would have died. My day for vengeance was going to come, and I was going to make sure that he had pain for every little thing that he had done to her. I knew there was more to the story, and although knowing everything was going to upset me, I still needed to know.