His tortured mate

Chapter 3

Caylee

I wake up slowly for the first time since I was locked up in this hell hole. My senses start to slowly wake up and with it, comes the divine smell that I know can only belong to one person, Craig. The smell is so strong that if it wasn’t for the fact that I know he wouldn’t care about me aside from that one hour a day that I am sure my sister forces him to spend with me, I would’ve sworn he spent the night here. For some reason the idea of sleeping wrapped up in his arms awakens a longing in me that I can’t understand.

“It is good to see you are awake. I hope you slept well.” I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear Craig’s voice coming from outside the cell. How long has he been standing there? Could it be that has been here since I woke up and that is why his smell is literally wrapped around me? How did I miss him standing there? And why didn’t I hear him coming in? That’s it, I am truly starting to lose my mind! “I love that look of confusion on your face. Your nose does this cute thing where it scrounges up as you try and figure out why I am here so early.” He says and I can hear that smirk in his voice as clearly as I can see it. His smirk turns into a smile when he sees the blush running up from my neck all the way to the roots of my hair.

“What are you doing here so early? You always come around just before dinner. Why are you here now?” My questions wipe away his smile and I know he is here to give me bad news.

“We need to talk. I have things I need to do today and I won’t be able to come visit you later today.” He says and the amount of disappointment I feel at his words, shocks me. Why do I even care, I really shouldn’t care if he doesn’t show up at all. Damon is the only man I will ever love and I feel guilty for even wanting to see Craig. Maybe the reason I crave that time I have with Craig is only because I am lonely. I never really spoke to anyone in my pack, I didn’t really have any friends and I was alright with it, because at least I had my art and when I didn’t have anything to paint, I had Damon. Maybe it isn’t that I have a need for Craig, but just for someone to talk to. That is the only explanation for the disappointment I am feeling and this need I have for him.

Craig opens the door to my cell and steps in before locking the door again and turning to me. He slowly walks to the bed I am still sitting one. He sits down and takes one of my hands that has been lying in my lap and wraps it in his. Immediately sparks starts flying from his touch and I quickly rip my hand back and hold it to my chest. The hurt in his eyes makes me regret taking my hand out of his. Before I can do or say anything, he shakes his head and moves further away from me and I instantly miss his heat.

“Katy is getting married today.” He says and for a moment I just stare at him, letting the words sink in. My sister is getting married today. A conversation I had with my sister flashes in my mind and I remember her telling me that she never wanted to get married. She said Cole was enough for her and that she didn’t need a man, didn’t think another man would ever be able to love Cole as their own and therefore, she wouldn’t want one, because Cole was her world. I told her I wanted to get married, I wanted to have what my parents had. I wanted that fairy tale love and she went and took it from me. Just another thing she is taking from me, another reason for me to hate her.

“Your alpha is f*****g stupid.” Is all I say. Eva won’t be able to hide her true colors for long, sooner or later, she will stab him in the back, just as she did with me. She makes people love and care for her, and then she rips them apart.

“Caylee, they are true mates, they are bonded for life and he knows her inside out. He knows her every secret and her every dream. When you are fully mated, you feel every emotion of your mate, there is nothing you can hide from your other half.” He say and I can see hope in his eyes, but I can’t understand why he is looking at me like he is expecting me to give him something.

“That is bullshit. Damon and I were bonded for five years, we loved each other deeply, but I never felt his emotions.” I could see the love Damon held for me in his eyes, but I could never feel his emotions, that is just a load of s**t.

“Have you ever thought that maybe he wasn’t your true mate? Yeah sure, you guys were mates, but Caylee, if he was truly your destined mate, you would’ve been in far more pain than what you were when he died.” Craig says and my anger starts to boil.

“You have no idea the amount of f*****g pain I was in when I felt him die! You have no f*****g idea how it feels to have a part of your soul ripped from you! You have never even lost anyone you held close to your heart! What do you know about the pain I felt? You don’t know a f*****g thing, Craig Michaels!” I scream at him. I get up from the bed and start pacing. A part of me wants to attack him and claw at his heart so that he will feel just a bit of the pain I felt when the connection between me and Damon was broken when my sister took him from me, but for some or other reason, I can’t do it. I can’t hurt him.

“You know nothing of what I have lost Caylee, don’t pretend like you know anything about me. You keep yourself closed off, only caring about your own pain, so set in this little world where the only thing that matters to you is your pain and misplaced hatred! Someday you are going to have to wake the f**k up and see that you have far more to live for than that piece of s**t you called your mate! He doesn’t deserve your loyalty and Katy doesn’t deserve your hatred! I can only hope you wake up before it is too late.” He says before he gets up and storms out of the cell, locking me up and leaving me to the darkness again.

I pace up and down in my cell before I start grabbing anything I can get my hands on and throw it against the wall while I scream at the emptiness around me. He doesn’t know what I have been through. He doesn’t even know what it feels like to be mated to someone, never mind losing a mate. How my sister convinced them that she is innocent in all this, I really don’t know. She is a good actress, I will give her that much.

After ten minutes of breaking anything and everything in this little cell of mine, I crawl into the bed with its now torn sheets and cry my heart out. I try to focus on the memories I have of Damon, wanting to remember the man that I love, trying to forget the man that has been consuming my every thought. I feel like I am betraying Damon by even needing Craig, even if it is just because I am lonely. I refuse to believe there is any other reason for me needing him.

I try to imagine Damon’s touch but instead of his soft caresses, I can only think of the sparks that comes from touching Craig. I try to think if Damon’s smile, but can only imagine Craig’s cocky smirk. Every time I try to imagine Damon, his image is replaced by that of Craig. The feeling of guilt and betrayal makes my chest pain and my head hurt. I just want to stop feeling so much pain. It feels like my head is trying to burst open and I scream in pain. I can hardly feel the pain of my claws digging into my shoulders as I try to hold myself together. It feels like hours that I am stuck in this fight between tearing myself apart and keeping myself together. Pain rips through every part of my body and it needs to find a way out. I grab my head where most of the pain is and the physical pain of my claws digging into the side of my head brings a tiny bit of relieve. I start clawing at my chest, wanting my heart to stop hurting. I just want to stop feeling.

The physical pain relieves the emotional pain and slowly, everything starts to fade.