My Cursed Mate

CHAPTER 24

"Nate, how do you know him?" I ask after Walden walks out.

"This isn't my first time running into hunters."

"Are you the one who gave him the scar on his face?" I ask to confirm my earlier suspicion.

"Yes. I should've ripped his whole face off," Nate snarls.

"Do you know what he's talking about when he says 'for what is about to come'?"

"No. But knowing Walden, it isn't something good for werewolves."

"I hope it's something we'll be able to face, even in your condition."

"Once the silver is out of my system, we'll have less to worry about. I'll be able to get us out of here, don't worry. Everything is going to be fine," Nate says, easing my worries away.

"Okay, if you say so," I say, leaning my back against the wall close to him.

Nate wraps his arms around my waist and tries to pull me close to him, but I stop him.

"Nate, you're injured, you don't need my weight on you right now."

"Did I tell say that?" he asks, pulling me close to him.

"You don't have to, it's logical," I say, moving away.

"You close to me will help me heal faster," he says, pulling me close again.

That makes sense. Werewolves have fast healing abilities and proximity of one's mate can help quicken healing. The only wounds that don't heal fast are wound made by a fellow werewolf in wolf form or silver. Nate has wounds made by silver; if we had completed the mating process, I would've shared my energy with him. I can only stay close to him and hope my energy gets passed into him.

"You're right, but I don't think I should lean on you. Why don't you lean on me instead," I say, opening my arms wide.

"You want to cuddle me," Nate says, giggling. This is the first time I've seen him show a joyful expression, and it's beautiful. The way his eyes light up as he laughs at the idea of cuddling, makes him look really cute. Nate never looks cute. He always has a stern or emotionless look. Cute looks good on him.

"Yes," I say, motioning for him to come closer.

"Have you seen how big I am? My shoulders will crush you before you can wrap your arms around me," he says, laughing.

"Why are you laughing? I'm not that small," I say, pouting. I love the sound of his laughter, but he's hurting my ego a little.

"You are, mate. Don't worry. Just you sitting close to me is making me feel better already."

"That's good to hear," I say, smiling.

These days Nate accepts me as his mate. I don't know what changed for him to suddenly accept me. It makes me happy. Now that I think about it, things between us haven't been so horrible these past few weeks. Maybe there's actually hope for us after all.

***

I fall asleep against him. I don't think that was a good idea because now I'm covered in some of his blood. I woke up when I hear someone entering the cell. I'm rubbing my eyes when something lands on my lap.

"Eat up, you animals," the person says and spits on the floor before walking out.

I look at my lap. Bottles of water and pieces of bread cover my thighs. Food, finally. My stomach has been growling for hours. I tear open the nylon protecting the bread and quickly eat. I've never been this hungry in my life. I start choking because I ate too fast.

"Eat slowly," Nate says, rubbing my back, handing me a bottle of water.

"Thank you," I say and drink the water. "Why are you not eating?" I ask once I'm done drinking. He hasn't not touched his food.

"I'll never eat food given to me by humans."

"I understand you hate them, but your stomach doesn't care who you hate. It'll help you heal regardless of who it came from. Eat," I say, handing him the bread he threw away.

"No," he says, pushing it back to me.

"Your body needs food more than anything right now. It'll help you heal faster. Please, forget you hate them and eat the food," I plead with him.

"As I said, I'll never eat food given to me by humans," he says with disgust.

"Okay," I say, giving up, but I shouldn't.

Nate is the only one who can get us out of here, and if he doesn't heal fast, there's no way that'll happen. I need to find a way to force him to eat, but how? How do you force the werewolf King to eat?

I finish eating my food. While drinking water, a thought comes to mind. I pick up his bread and place it in my mouth. I move closer to him and I tap on his shoulder.

"Do you need—" he doesn't get to finish before I stuff the bread into his mouth. If looks could kill, I'dbe dead.

I press my mouth against his and push the bread down his throat. Nate's eyes don't leave mine, and he glares at me as he acquiesces and eats the food.

I'm happy my plan worked, but I forgot something in my plan. My lips are touching his. Should I consider this our first kiss? His lips feel soft against mine, just like I imagined they would. I expect Nate to pull away first, but he doesn't. I don't know if I should really kiss him or not. I don't want to try and have him reject me. That'd be humiliating. To play it safe, I move away.

I feel shy, so I turn away from him with my fingers on my lips. I miss the feel of his lips against mine already. They're full and soft. I'm sure it'd feel amazing to kiss him. I don't know if I'll ever actually experience what it feels like to kiss Nate. Our relationship might have improved, but he still refuses to mark me. Earlier in the pond is evidence of that.

***

There are no windows, so I can't tell if it's morning or night. I don't know how long we've been here, but we've been given food twice, so I'll guess two days. I've been waiting for what Walden threatened to come. I'm hoping whatever it is, Nate and I can overcome it together.

I hear the cell doors opening. The cell is made of silver, preventing us from breaking it down.

"It's time," the man who brings our food says, walking toward me.

"Time for what?" I ask as he unlocks the chains around my legs. The chains around our hands and legs are connected to the floor, but they were long enough to move around the cells comfortably

"Who told you, you can speak, animal!" He slaps me across the face. My face forcefully turns from the force of how hard he hits me.

"Don't you dare touch her," Nate growls, standing to his feet. He's about to punch the man when suddenly he falls to the ground. His body starts shaking at an uncontrollable speed. They're electrocuting him.

"Stop, please stop," I beg, running toward Nate. The man pulls me back using the chains on my hands to drag me. He shows me the remote in his hand, threatening me if I move. The implication is clear. He'll make it worse.

"Let me see you growl at me now, you beast," the man says, increasing the voltage.

"I'm begging you, please stop it. You're hurting him," I scream with tears streaming down my face. I watch Nate's veins almost pop out of his body from the amount of voltage going through him. I kneel before the man, begging him to stop harming my mate.

"Do you know you're actually a beautiful woman?" the man says, grabbing a handful of my hair. He looks at me from head to toe, eyeing my body, lust pooling in his eyes. He lingers at my breasts. He licks his lips. "If you suck my cock, I'll let him go," he says, moving my head back and forth, testing out what he wants me to do.

"Please, let him go!" I try to see if my begging will work because I can't suck this man's cock. But if I don't, Nate will die. He's barely surviving with all the silver in his body. What am I going to do?