Damn the mate bond
Chapter Five: Damn, the Mate Bond.
Stefan took off his jacket, throwing it on the bed. A small knock on the door, then it was opened. "Dear?"
He smiled, looking at the tall figure at his door. "You shouldn't be wearing heels after your accident with that Delta!"
She smiled, walking in. "I'm fine. I always wear heels. It boosts my confidence." She sauntered into the room with a letter. "A reply from the farmers."
Stefan watched her legs as she hurried to his desk to drop the letter; the bandages on them were falling off, and it seemed she had new bruises.
In one sweep, he lifted her off the ground and placed her on a chair, then grabbed his first aid box. "Jade, don't move! You're bleeding."
Jade stopped her wiggling and pouted.
"You look ridiculous in a pout, I told you." Stefan teased. She put on a confident smirk.
After he dressed her wounds, he released his left arm, which was holding her body intact. "Wear some flat shoes. Be easy on that leg."
Jade nodded. "Thank you. Also, I couldn't speak with you after you arrived yesterday. Congratulations on the plan working out. I'd been worried."
Stefan returned the first aid to the shelf and turned to her. "All was possible because I had a very smart fiancée to advise me."
Jade grinned. "Behind every successful man is a successful woman." She got up from the chair. "But I wonder... why is the princess alive in the dungeon?" She touched his neck, leaning on him.
He held her to himself but didn't look at her. "I am deciding what to do with her. I haven't decided yet."
"Why can't we kill her?" She stressed the 'we'. "We are getting married soon, so we should get used to making decisions together."
"We can't kill her because she's my..."
"Alpha! Something's wrong!" Cade burst into the room. Seeing them both in that position, he looked down. "We have a situation at the dungeon."
Pushing Jade away, Stefan ran out of his room. Jade glared at Cade. "You had to come now?" Cade rolled his eyes and followed Stefan.
"What the hell is happening?" Stefan asked as he rushed to Laurel's dungeon.
Cade exhaled. "Just know I didn't authorize it."
Stefan threw the Omegas out the dungeon door before they landed another hit on Laurel. Cade snapped his fingers, and the guards took them out.
He went closer to Laurel, but Stefan snarled. "Don't you dare come close." He flinched away.
Stefan stared at her beaten body in anger. He closed his ears to the scolding of his wolf.
He hadn't ordered this. And why was he feeling so broken after seeing her unconscious and hurt? Damn, mate bond.
"You didn't give them the order? Then who did?"
Cade turned to the guards at the door. They moved backwards, but before they could run, his hand went to their necks, and their gullets were drawn out.
They dropped to the floor.
"Um… They were some rogues. I told them to be guards, but later decided it was better they died." Cade said with a shrug. "I apologize."
Stefan sighed, carrying Laurel gently off the ground.
"We still haven't talked about why she's alive."
Stefan ignored him and moved out of the dungeon. "Call a doctor. Now!"
~~
Laurel first felt the soft cloth under her body. Then she noticed her body wasn't being hit on but still felt pain, so everything that happened wasn't a dream.
She felt the urge to cry and mourn everything all over, but she didn't. Elma had been quiet since.
She slowly opened her eyes but shut them again. What was she doing in a big room that had a chandelier? Last she remembered, she was being beaten to death by teenage omegas in a dungeon.
"Wait, am I in my father's room?" She snapped her neck around. She got up slowly and studied the place. It was her father's room. How did she get there?
She hadn't been there since she was three, when her father banned her from spreading her bad luck into his room. It was less familiar now.
New drapes, all the pictures, and all the arts have been cleared. It was clear someone else owned the room—the new Alpha.
Her fists clenched as she remembered him sending omegas from her pack to beat her up, lessening her more than she could ever imagine a mate would.
He didn't have any plans to love her; he was indeed keeping her for torture.
"How are you feeling?"
She frowned upon hearing his voice. "Why do you care?" She sat on the bed.
Her head became woozy, and she staggered, but two arms came around her, holding her from falling. He led her to the bed.
"Here, I brought medicine for you. Drink this soup and stay still."
She looked Stefan over. "And why should I listen to you? You're my new Alpha? And why do you care? It's surely not because we're mates."
Stefan smirked. "So you want to play difficult? You're done mourning?"
"Don't dare mock me!" She left the bed. "Kill me if you want. You've taken my pack. Why still keep the daughter of your enemy alive, hmm?"
Stefan glared at her with clenched jaws. She wanted him to kill her. Actually, it wouldn't take him anything, except that she was his mate.
He'd been searching for his mate for years and practically delayed his revenge by waiting for her. How could he kill her? How could he not love her?
Except again, she had the blood of the man who tortured his parents, beheaded his best friend, and raided his pack. So damn the mate bond.
"As I said, I am keeping you here to torture you; don't make me repeat myself." Stefan pushed her back onto the bed.
Laurel glared at him, wishing she could be stronger and less weak than she felt. She brushed off the idea of fighting back and sipped on the soup quietly.
Stefan watched her and her every movement.
They were weak but graceful, and they were small marks and bruises on her skin, which shouldn't be on a princess of her caliber.
Some marks had been there for a long time, so it wasn't just the beating she received. He turned away, keeping a blind eye to it.
She deserved whatever suffering that befell her; it was her cross to pay as the daughter of a murderer.
"I will advise you to kill me." She dropped the empty plate on the table. "Because if I get stronger, you'd regret not killing me." She meant every word.