The Mate He Hates

Alpha Edward’s POV

A knock came on the door, and I asked the person in. A maid rushed in and bowed.

“What is it?” I groaned, irritated by her presence. I didn’t want to see or talk to anyone

“My lord, the young lady has passed out,” she announced, and I looked her way.

“She fainted?” I asked to be sure I heard her right.

“Yes, she fainted, and we have woken her up, but she seems so weak. Should she continue to kneel under the sun, or should we send her in and clean her up?” The maid asked, and I went silent.

Realizing she had fainted meant the punishment was severe, which was what I wanted, but I didn’t want to push her beyond her limit so she wouldn’t die. I can’t let her die.

“Take her back in, clean her up, and send her back to her cell,” I instructed, and the maid nodded before leaving.

After she left, I took a long sip of my drink. For the past three days, I have been wallowing in pain while getting drunk in my chambers. I couldn’t sleep, nor could I attend to the duty of the pack. Losing a mate for the second time was a big blow to me, and no matter how hard I wanted to move on, I just couldn’t. I was still stuck in my pain.

A knock came on the door, and without waiting for a response, the door opened, and my beta, Matthew, walked in.

“Sorry for barging in, but I knew you wouldn’t let me in,” he said as he got closer, took the glass of whiskey from me, and dropped it far away.

I groaned and glared at him. “Your council of elders are worried about you, demanding to see you. They are in the throne room waiting for you.”

“I don’t want to see them,” I grumbled.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

“Too bad. They said they are not leaving until they see you and are sure you are fine. They are worried that you might harm yourself like you tried doing four years back.”

I grunted and ran a hand through my already unkempt hair.

“Just meet with them and assure them that you are okay, that is all,” he pleaded, but I ignored him and closed my eyes. I wasn’t yet ready to meet with anyone. I wanted to stay locked up in my room and drink myself away.

“Will you stand up and freshen up so we can see the council of elders, or do you want me to bring them in here and see their alpha in such a state?” Matthew threatened, and I glared at him.

“I will be back in the next twenty minutes. Be ready,” he gave an annoying smile before leaving.

After he left, I groaned and massaged my forehead. My head was pounding with a great headache. I relaxed on the seat and closed my eyes.

I wanted to ignore Matthew and his threats, but I knew he wasn’t joking, and he meant all he had just said. Left with no choice, I opened my eyes and forced myself up from the seat. I began taking off my clothes, and after that, I went into the bathroom.

After taking a cold shower, I returned to my chambers, opened the wardrobe, and took out a simple outfit of black long sleeves and black pants. I got dressed in the outfit, and then I gelled my hair backwards and arranged it. After that, I sprayed some deodorant and left my chambers.

Getting outside my door, I met Matthew coming my way, and when he saw me, a big smile appeared on his face.

“Now you are talking,” he smiled, but I eyed him and walked away while he followed me. Getting to the door of the throne room, the guard opened the door, and Matthew and I got in.

As I walked in, my council of elders got up and bowed their heads while I nodded to their greetings until I reached my seat and asked them to take their seats.

The hall was silent for a moment before Elder Steven rose to his feet. “We are glad to see you; you got us scared,” he said in a relieved tone. It was obvious they were really scared and worried about me.

“Thank you; I am fine,” I responded, and he nodded, took his seat, and another elder stood up.

“We are sorry for your loss,” Elder Joseph said, and I hummed. He took back his seat, and everyone remained silent as they all waited for me to speak.

I sucked in a deep breath and looked their way. “I’m fine and better. You all shouldn’t worry about me,” I assured them, and they all nodded. “I know my duties are waiting to be attended to, and I will attend to them really soon.”

They all nodded, and Elder Joseph stood up. “We are happy to hear that. We also want to ask about the culprit who killed your mate. Are you sending her to be judged, or…”

“I have other plans for her. You guys shouldn’t worry about that,” I said, and he nodded and took back his seat. Another elder stood.

“My lord, we know this is too early, but we were wondering, now that your second chance mate is gone, we are sure that you no longer have a mate. So we were wondering if you would want us to look for a fair maiden for you, one from a wealthy and classic family?”

“That won’t be necessary. I don’t need a wife, and if I do, I will get one myself,” I uttered firmly, and they all nodded.

“I think this is the end of the gathering. I will call for a meeting once I am fully back,” I said while getting up. They all rose to their feet and bowed their heads as I walked out of the hall, but my beta stayed back so he could conclude the meeting.

I walked back to the mansion and wanted to return to my chambers, but then a certain someone came into my thoughts. “Where is the prisoner?” I asked, referring to Amanda.

“She is back in her cell,” my guard responded.

I hummed and tried entering my private chambers, but I was curious about her.

“Let’s go to the cell,” I told my guard, who nodded and led the way.

As we made our way to the cell, the servants who saw me bowed their heads respectfully, but I ignored them all. I wasn’t in the mood to respond to greetings. Reaching the cell, the guard led me to her cell room, and when I arrived, I stood in front of her gate and looked inside her cell.

She was lying on the cold floor; her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping.

“Open the gate,” I said to the guard, who immediately did as instructed. After opening the gate, I entered the cell and moved closer to her.

Slowly, I squatted to her level, and my eyes settled on her fragile-looking figure. Despite being so close to her, she didn’t feel my presence, neither did she move or open her eyes.

I ran my gaze over her and realized her fair skin had red marks due to the effect of the punishment. My eyes went to her face, and I used that as an opportunity to take a good look at her. She was so beautiful, and I hate to admit it. She had puffy cheeks and a long, pointed nose that fit her V-shaped face. I moved down to her lips, and damn!

I looked away and assessed her body. Just three days in the cell, she had lost a lot of weight; she looked like a shadow of herself, different from the charming little girl who opened the door for me four years ago.

I could still vividly remember that day, the day I first visited their home, and she was the one who opened the door. When I first saw her, my heart leapt with joy at the thought that she was the one who saved me. But when I realized she wasn’t, it broke my heart a little, but then I had to move on.

I took a good look at her and realized she was sweating profusely. I knew the weather was hot, but I felt something was wrong. Curious, I laid my hand on her forehead and realized she was burning with a high fever. I sighed, took my hand away, and got up. I glanced at her one more time before leaving the cell.

“Get the pack doctor to check on her or, better still, call for a healer,” I said to my guard, who nodded.

As I walked back to my chambers, I couldn’t explain the tinge of pity I felt in my heart for her. I wasn’t supposed to feel compassion for her; she was a murderer, she killed my mate, and I was supposed to hate her. Then why was I feeling this strange feeling of pity in my chest?