Alpha's STOLEN Mate Chapter 133

Elowen

For one foolish second, I thought Kaius had broken through. That some part of him had resisted.

Then I saw Morgath's smile.

"How touching," I spat before she could speak. "Your 'perfect pet' isn't as well-trained as you thought. Can't even keep him under control for five minutes!"

Morgath's attention snapped to me. "Still so defiant. Even now." She sounded almost pleased. "That's good. Breaking a weak spirit is boring. But you..." She turned back to Kaius. "You'll fix that, won't you?"

Kaius released her wrist and stepped back, standing at attention like a soldier awaiting orders.

"You felt pain when I tried to cut the bond," Morgath said to him conversationally. "That weakness made you forget yourself. Made you forget who you serve."

She walked around him slowly, examining her work. "The bond makes you pathetic. Makes you hesitate. And the source of that weakness is right there—" She pointed at me. "—still thinking she means something to you."

Kaius's red eyes turned toward me. Blank. Empty.

"Show her what she really is," Morgath commanded. "A liability. A burden. Something to be discarded."

"No," I snarled as he approached the table. "You piece of shit, Kaius! Fight her! You're supposed to be a fucking King!"

He didn't respond. Didn't even flinch.

His massive hand closed around my throat—not squeezing hard enough to kill, but enough to cut off my air. I thrashed against the restraints, fury rather than fear flooding my system.

"Fuck you!" I choked out. "You weak—pathetic—"

His other hand grabbed my shoulder, claws extending. They pressed against the mate mark he'd given me—that permanent scar that was supposed to mean something.

And then he dragged them across it. Not deep enough to kill, but enough to tear the skin, to make me bleed, to desecrate the one symbol that should have been sacred between us.

The pain was sharp and immediate. But worse was watching him do it with absolutely no hesitation. No remorse in those dead red eyes.

"That's better," Morgath purred. "You see, Elowen? He doesn't care. The bond means nothing to him now."

"Liar!" I spat blood. "He's under your control! This isn't real!"

"Isn't it?" Morgath's laugh was cruel.

She raised her hand, red magic swirling between her fingers as she began chanting in that ancient, guttural language. The symbols on Kaius's skin flared brighter, then dimmed slightly—like a chain loosening just enough to allow movement, but not freedom.

Kaius's eyes flickered. The blank, dead quality shifted into something more aware. More conscious.

"There," Morgath said with satisfaction. "I've loosened one layer of the suppression. Now he can speak with a bit more... feeling. Show a bit more of what's really inside." Her smile turned vicious.

She gestured toward me. "Tell her, Kaius. Tell her the truth about how you feel."

Kaius's voice came out in that terrible growl, but this time it wasn't emotionless—it was deliberate. "I hate you."

I went still.

"I've always hated what you represent," he continued emotionlessly. "The White Wolf. The legend. The creature more powerful than an Alpha King." His claws dug deeper into my shoulder. "You made me weak. Made me look inadequate. Made every wolf in the kingdom see me as lesser."

"You're lying," I said, but my voice wavered.

"Am I?" His face came closer, those monstrous features twisted into something that might have been contempt. "You think I wanted this bond? To be tied to someone who constantly overshadows me? Who makes me look pathetic by comparison?"

"The magic is making you say this—"

"The magic freed me to say what I always thought," he corrected. "Morgath didn't create these feelings. She just removed the weakness that made me pretend they didn't exist."

My mind reeled. No. This can't be—

"Look at him," Morgath said, walking around us both. "Look carefully. This isn't a puppet speaking. This is truth. The mate bond might have forced him to desire you, to protect you—but it never made him actually like you."

She leaned down close to my face. "He resented every moment you were stronger than him. Every time you solved a problem he couldn't. Every time wolves looked to you instead of their King."

"Shut up," I snarled.

"The magic didn't create his feelings," Morgath continued. "It just took away his ability to lie about them. To himself and to you."

Kaius's claws raked down my arm, leaving deep gouges. I screamed—not from pain, but from sheer rage.

"You fucking coward!" I shouted at him. "If you hated me so much, why didn't you reject the bond? Why did you mark me? Why did you—"

"Because a King needs a Queen," he said flatly. "And the White Wolf was the most valuable prize I could claim. Your power made me look stronger. Your legend enhanced my rule." His eyes were completely devoid of emotion. "You were useful. That's all."

No. No, he's lying. This is the magic talking. It has to be.

But doubt crept in like poison. Every moment he'd hesitated to call me his mate publicly. Every time he'd seemed irritated by my strength. Every argument about control and dominance—

What if it wasn't the magic? What if this was always there, buried underneath?

"I can see it in your eyes," Morgath said with satisfaction. "The doubt taking root. Good. Let it grow."

Kaius grabbed my hair, forcing my head back. "You wanted to be my equal. My partner. But I never wanted an equal. I wanted something I could control. Something that would submit."

His claws traced down my neck, my collarbone, leaving thin trails of blood. Each cut was measured. Precise. Not enough to kill, but enough to mark. To claim. To hurt.

"And now you're finally in your proper place," he said. "Beneath me. Helpless. Weak."

I wanted to scream that he was wrong. That this wasn't him. But looking into those empty red eyes, hearing that cold voice—

What if this is exactly who he is?

"He chose this, you know," Morgath said casually. "Oh, the magic helped. Smoothed the path. But when his Lycan form awakened, when I offered him power beyond imagination—do you think he fought it? Do you think he resisted?"

She laughed. "He embraced it. Willingly. Because this—" She gestured at his monstrous form. "—this is what he always wanted to be. Powerful enough that nothing could challenge him. Including you."

My anger was the only thing keeping me conscious. Pure, incandescent rage burned through the pain, through the doubt, through everything.

If I survive this—when I survive this—I will kill him. I don't care if it's the magic or his true feelings. I don't care if he's being controlled or if this is who he really is. I will tear him apart with my own claws.

"Keep going," Morgath ordered. "She's not broken enough yet. I want her spirit completely shattered before we remove the bond."

Kaius's claws dug into my sides, and I couldn't hold back the scream this time. The pain was overwhelming, white-hot and all-consuming.

But underneath it, the fury only grew stronger.

I'll kill you, I thought, staring at the creature who wore my mate's face. I swear on everything I am—if I get out of this, you die by my hand.

"Good," Morgath said, watching my face. "There it is. That rage. That hatred. Perfect." She stroked Kaius's arm approvingly. "Soon the bond will be so poisoned, so corrupted, that cutting it will be a mercy. She'll beg me to remove it."