Alpha's STOLEN Mate Chapter 6

Elowen

Blood filled my mouth, but I smiled anyway, showing him crimson teeth. "Don't pretend you care if I live or die."

For a moment, something flickered across Kaius's face—surprise, maybe even hurt. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, to argue, but then fury swept over his features like a storm cloud blotting out the sun.

"You're right," he snarled, crouching down until we were eye level. "I don't give a shit if you live or die. But that doesn't mean I'm giving you the choice to take the easy way out."

Before I could react, his arms slid beneath me, lifting me from the blood-stained floor with an ease that made me feel like a child. I wanted to fight, to claw at his face, to make him pay for every humiliation—but the agony tearing through my ribs and spine left me gasping and weak.

I braced myself for the inevitable—for him to throw me back onto the bed like a sack of grain, to let me feel his anger through violence. Instead, his movements were careful, almost gentle, as he settled me back against the pillows. The contradiction left me reeling.

*What the hell is wrong with him?*

The sound of running footsteps echoed from the corridor, and suddenly the room filled with medical staff. A middle-aged doctor with graying temples rushed to my side, his face pale with panic, while two nurses hovered behind him with armloads of supplies.

"Alpha King," the doctor said, his voice tight with barely controlled fear. "What happened here?"

"Just examine her," Kaius snapped, his tone sharp enough to cut glass. "Now."

The doctor's hands moved over me with practiced efficiency, checking my pulse, examining the fresh cuts on my forehead, testing my reflexes. I watched his expression grow increasingly grim with each passing moment.

Finally, he straightened, shaking his head slowly. "Alpha King, the fact that she's survived this long is already miraculous. But the wolfsbane is still destroying her system from the inside out. Combined with her recent emotional distress and these new injuries..." He trailed off, unable to meet Kaius's eyes.

"Spit it out," Kaius growled.

"I'm afraid she's... she's unlikely to survive much longer."

I felt nothing hearing those words. No fear, no sadness—just a cold sort of satisfaction as I watched Kaius's face transform. His carefully controlled mask slipped, revealing something raw and desperate underneath.

*Good,* I thought with grim satisfaction. *At least death would spare me from whatever twisted plans this tyrant has in store for me.*

But then Kaius grabbed the doctor by his coat, yanking him close with barely leashed violence. "If she dies, you die. Along with your entire bloodline. Find a solution or join the ashes of Moonridge."

The doctor's hands shook as he adjusted his glasses. "There is... there might be one option, but it's risky..."

"Talk!"

"Your blood, Alpha King," the doctor said quietly. "Alpha King blood has powerful healing properties, particularly potent against toxins. And since she's your m—" He caught himself, swallowing hard as Kaius's eyes flashed dangerously. "Since she's your mate, the effect would be exponentially stronger. It could not only save her life but heal her completely."

The word 'mate' hung in the air like a curse, and I saw Kaius's jaw clench.

"But the risk..." the doctor continued nervously.

"Enough," Kaius cut him off. "I have what I need to know."

The more I listened, the more my stomach churned with revulsion. I could see it in his eyes—that look of control returning, the satisfaction of finding another way to dominate me.

"No," I snarled, trying to push myself upright despite the pain. "I don't want your blood. I'd rather die than—"

His hands clamped down on my wrists before I could hurt myself again, pinning me to the bed with inhuman strength. It was like he'd anticipated my reaction.

"Everyone out," he said quietly, his voice deadly calm. The medical staff scrambled for the door without another word.

Once we were alone, Kaius released my wrists but didn't move away. Instead, he leaned down, his face inches from my neck, breathing in my scent like he was savoring fine wine. The intimacy of it made my skin crawl—and worse, made something deep inside me respond with traitorous warmth.

His wild, masculine scent enveloped me, more intoxicating than any drug. Despite every rational thought screaming at me to resist, I felt my body betraying me, drawn to his presence in ways I couldn't control.

He noticed. Of course he did.

"Bite it open," he commanded, pressing his wrist against my lips.

I stared at him in disgust, but something about his offered blood called to a primal part of me I didn't understand.

"You know I can use my Alpha aura to make you obey," he said softly, his voice like velvet over steel. "Do you really want me to take that choice away from you too?"

If I had my full strength, his aura wouldn't even touch me. But in this weakened state, with the wolfsbane still coursing through my veins, I was vulnerable. The thought of being puppeted by his will was worse than anything he could do to my body.

Gritting my teeth, I bit down on his wrist, tasting copper as his skin broke beneath my canines.

The moment blood welled up, I tried to turn away, nauseated by what I was being forced to do. But Kaius was ready for that too. His free hand clamped over my mouth and nose, cutting off my air supply completely.

Panic flared as my lungs burned for oxygen. Just when black spots began dancing at the edges of my vision, he released me. I gasped, mouth opening wide to drag in desperate breaths—

And that's when he pressed his bleeding wrist to my lips.

His blood flooded my mouth, hot and metallic, tasting of iron and something wild and untamed that made my wolf stir restlessly. I wanted to gag, to spit it out, but my body had other ideas. With each forced swallow, I felt strength flowing back into my limbs like liquid fire.

The numbness in my legs began to fade, replaced by tingling sensation that spread up my spine. My wolf, silent for so long, lifted her head in the depths of my consciousness, no longer crushed by the wolfsbane's poison. The healing was working—too well.

But worse than the physical recovery was what I felt happening to the mate bond. What had been a faint, suppressed connection was suddenly blazing to life, stronger than it had ever been. The forced blood exchange was feeding it, strengthening it, binding us together in ways that made my soul scream in protest.

Kaius watched it all with growing satisfaction, something dark and possessive flickering in his storm-gray eyes as he felt the bond strengthening between us. His thumb traced my jawline with deceptive gentleness.

"Do you feel that?" he murmured, his voice soft as silk and twice as dangerous. "The way your wolf is stirring? She's practically boiling with energy. I never imagined your wolf would be so... fierce."

"You rejected me for being a broken wolf," I said coldly, not bothering to hide my contempt. "Fuck you."

A dark chuckle escaped his throat. "Well, well. Looks like you've got enough energy to curse at me now. How refreshing."

Slowly, deliberately, as I visibly regained strength before his eyes—my wounds closing, my trembling subsiding, life flowing back into my limbs, he pulled his wrist away from my lips, his thumb wiping away the last traces of blood from my mouth.

I watched as his expression began to shift, the satisfied smirk fading into something far more calculating and cold.

My heart sank as I recognized that look. *There it is,* I thought grimly. *There's your true face.*

Kaius leaned back, his eyes studying me with the intensity of a predator sizing up its prey. When he spoke, his voice had lost all traces of that earlier, almost gentle tone.

"Good. You're no longer dying. No more distractions," he said, his voice turning deadly quiet. "Now we talk. Four years, Elowen. Four fucking years you've been hiding from me. Start talking—where, how, and with whom."