His Lover, My Mate

Eight: Locked In

*Aletha*

She knew what hell was. She'd been in it for months. Unspeakable things have been done to her before. And she was forced to endure it for never ending days before she felt her body give up and her soul collapse, wanting to leave this cold, cruel world full of endless terrors.

When Aletha was in her own hell, all she wanted was to be set free.

She remembered the fire in her old pack. Her homelands had been in ruins as she ran for her life. She'd hugged herself in the cold of the night and found predators circling her soon after her escape. And for months after she'd become their prey. She'd been tortured, raped, burned, flayed. She'd been a broken body. She'd been a vessel for release. She'd been a filthy, filthy thing just waiting to be disposed of so she could finally find peace.

She'd wanted to die more than once when she was trapped in their dark, dank prison. She prayed to the Moon Goddess to just take her away, because she couldn't endure it anymore. She'd been so young, just a girl who had flowered. She wasn't given peace until a warm hand touched her own. The hand had belonged to the one man who took her away from her hell. He had dark eyes and a pleasant smile, but when he'd looked at her that night, all she saw looking back at her was horror and torment. Who would do such a thing to a girl as the rogues had done to her?

So he took her in his arms, gently carrying her away from the prison cell and out into the night. "You will be alright," he'd assured her that night. "They won't hurt you again."

She'd felt power emanating from this male. He wasn't just any wolf. No...he was an Alpha. "Who are you?" she'd whispered to him.

"Alpha Lucien of the Shadow Pack," he answered her. "Now it's your turn. What should I call you?"

"Aletha," she told him, somewhat scared and somewhat enamored. He was her savior. "I've...I've lost my home."

He nodded gravely. "I know. That's why I'll take you back with me." His gaze lowered from her face to her breasts and below to her legs. He'd been examining her, clearly taken aback by her poor health. "You'll stay with me, Aletha." He looked back into her eyes again. A warm smile pulled on his mouth. "I'll take care of you. I won't hurt you. I'll protect you from this cruel world. Would you like that?"

She'd been too shocked to say anything. Too shocked and too relieved. So she put her face in the crook of his neck and began to cry. All around them, she'd heard loud commotions. His men were killing off the rogues that had tormented her for months. No longer would they torment her. Alpha Lucien had saved her from those monsters. He saved her from hell.

But not even Lucien could save her from the next hell she was trapped in. He couldn't save her from her own mate.

Aletha had lasted a day in her next prison before she thought she was going out of her mind. The maids had come in and brought her food in the dawn, but they never showed up until dusk. Now that Aletha noticed, no one lingered outside much in the daylight. It was like they were sleeping. It made dread coil up her chest, because it reminded her of vampires. But that wasn't possible. Alpha Rushika was a werewolf, not a vampire. She'd even seen him shift into his wolf.

She dismissed the thought and paced around. She looked at herself in the mirror. She hadn't slept for the whole night and day, and she was tired. But she couldn't go to sleep. If she did, who knew what Rush would do to her?

Her gaze travelled down to her neck, and she shuddered. Her mark was red still, and when she touched it, it burned where he kissed her. Her mark was aching for his mouth to touch her there again, to kiss her there and run his tongue over the tenderness to make it feel better.