Surprise Mate Of The Cruel Alpha

Chapter 5

VERA'S POV

The world around me was a blur as I felt the guards' rough hands grab me, lifting me from the ground and dragging me down the cold, echoing stone corridors. My body pulsed with pain all over, and I couldn’t tell whether it was from the poison or my fight with the son of the devil earlier in his room. But even with all the pain, it was nothing compared to the turmoil raging inside me.

Kora's words still haunted me even now: "At this point, you must save the Alpha, for he is your true mate,”

What did she mean by that? Whatever it was, I refused to believe it. No, it couldn’t be. I refused to accept it.

The idea of fated mates had always seemed like a distant, almost mythical concept. Something from the ancient times and traditions that no one could tell for sure if it even exists or not. But to find Alpha Draven—Alpha Draven, the alpha I loathed above all others—bound to me by fate? The moon goddess must be playing some kind of sick joke on me. She couldn’t seriously have found any other male? Did it have to be him?

I had fueled my every breath with hatred for this man, each step motivated by the memories of my pack’s destruction at the hands of his bloodthirsty monster of a father. The thought that I might be connected to him in any way, that our lives were intertwined in some ancient prophecy, felt like a cruel trick, one I didn’t want to be a part of.

But I couldn’t ignore the evidence. The venomous poison searing through my veins even now—every burn was a cruel reminder that Kora’s words weren’t just a nightmare. If Alpha Draven died, I would die too. My only path forward, as unimaginable as it seemed, was to find a way to keep him alive. Why? Why me? Why did it have to be him?

Those were the only questions on my mind as I was thrown onto the floor of the dungeon, my head colliding hard with the cement. I barely found enough strength to wince as I fully lost consciousness.

******

I didn’t know how long I was out. I didn’t even know what time it was, if it was still night or if it was already morning. There was no way of telling time in the dark, windowless cell that I’d been thrown in. But when I awoke, I was immediately met with agonizing pain from every part of my body. I groaned as I lifted a hand to the back of my head, where it felt like someone had taken a metal bat to it. I brought my hand back to my face and was slightly relieved to see there was no blood. It wasn’t broken, something I could at least be grateful to the moon goddess for. But there was still a bigger problem I couldn’t ignore.

There were the poisonous veins currently climbing their way up to my heart, and each time my fingers brushed over the strange mark on my palm, a sharp, twisting pain shot through my chest. And I hated it more than anything else. It felt like an invisible thread binding me to Alpha Draven. Gritting my teeth in both pain and frustration, I forced myself to stand, my legs trembling from exhaustion and agony as I pressed a hand against the cold stone wall, steadying myself, forcing my mind to stay clear.

Footsteps echoed outside the cell door, loud and heavy, causing me to turn in that direction. Minutes later, the door swung open, and in its frame stood the man who had managed to ruin what was left of my life without even trying. Without even lifting a finger.

Alpha Draven.

He swept his gaze over me, cold and empty, just like his father’s. They held nothing but a calculating interest, mixed with a hint of contempt. Straightening, I pushed back the instinctual fear his presence stirred within me as I stared right into his cold eyes. I would not show weakness, nor would I ever bow to a man like him. He would have to kill me first.

"I see you’re awake," he observed flatly, with no hint of concern or emotion.

"Obviously," I replied, my voice laced with bitterness. "What do you want?"

Alpha Draven’s eyes narrowed, studying me with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. "You’ve put me in a rather… interesting position, little witch," he said, his voice low, almost amused. "You came here intending to kill me, yet here we are, sharing the same poison in our veins. Our survival is now… inconveniently linked, wouldn’t you agree?"

I clenched my fists, ignoring the poison’s ache that flared with every movement. "You think I wanted this?" I spat, breathing heavily as sweat broke out on my forehead from the effect of the poison. "I would have gladly ended you, Alpha Draven. You are a monster, just like your father. You don't deserve to live, just like he didn't. If given the chance I would do it all over again. I hate you."

His lips curled into a faint, terrifying smirk that sent a chill washing over me from head to toe as he tilted his head. "I don’t doubt it. Sneaking into my room in the middle of the night and plunging a poisoned dagger into my chest—it takes courage, little witch. Lots of it. And I commend yours; believe me, I really do. But now it seems your plan didn’t go quite as intended. Isn’t it a shame." He stepped closer, the cell’s narrow space making his already large form appear even larger, his presence almost suffocating. "If I die, you die, little witch; that much is obvious. So now you’re left with just two choices. Either tell me how to reverse whatever the hell you did in there, or keep up the stubbornness, and we can both rest in peace. In fact, I’ll have my pack bury us both in the same casket and in the same grave so we’re stuck together even in death since you seem to hate me with so much passion. How does that sound, little witch?"

At this point, I didn’t even have the strength to explain to him that I wasn’t a witch, nor that what was happening wasn’t exactly my doing. Alpha Draven seemed to believe I had him under some sort of witch spell, which wasn’t even the case. If only he knew.

"So what’s it going to be, little witch? Option one, or two?" Alpha Draven asked, but I ignored him, too tired and confused to form the right words to answer any more questions.

He didn’t take my silence well. A loud growl tore out of him, ricocheting off the walls of the cell, and it was all I could do not to fall to my knees under the power coming off him.

I felt my whole form tremble, but I forced myself to remain on my feet, refusing to bow to this monster.

"The poison is slowly spreading, witch! It’s only a matter of time before it gets to my heart—and then yours. You better start talking. Don’t fool yourself into thinking I wouldn’t resort to torture just because you’re a female. Believe me, I wouldn’t need to lay a single finger on you to make you suffer. Where is the cure?" he roared, his eyes flashing angrily, and this time I flinched, taking a step back.

"I don’t have it," I replied simply.

It was the truth. Kora hadn’t told me how to reverse the poison’s effects. I wouldn’t be able to give him what he was asking for, even if he held a knife to my throat. Because I didn’t have it.

Alpha Draven chuckled darkly as he took another step toward me. "You’re testing what little patience I have left, witch. I’m going to ask one last time. Tell me how to reverse whatever spell you cast on me with that dagger." This time, he wasn’t shouting. His voice was terrifyingly low and as cold as ice as he glared at me.

At this moment, I could tell he wasn’t messing around. He really wouldn’t mind hurting me if it came down to it. This was probably the moment where the truth was supposed to come flowing out of my mouth in fear for my life. But I’d already told him the truth—he just didn’t believe me.

"I can’t," I repeated truthfully. "I don’t know how."

His eyes grew even colder at my words, if that was even possible.

"Very well, then," he nodded. "I hope you’re ready for what you just signed up for, witch. It’s going to be both our funerals, but before then, I’m going to make sure you suffer." And with that, he turned and stormed out of the cell, leaving me standing there with the weight of his promise on my shoulders. As the gravity of my situation fully dawned on me, I felt a single tear roll down my cheek.

How did everything turn out so wrong?