39

ELEANOR
It’s been three days since getting fake marks from Zane and almost loosing my mind in the bathroom until Jasmine came along and even the relief of her assurance of what it really was didn’t last very long.
I hadn’t been myself since the last few days and have gotten yelled at for making mistakes and messing even the littlest of things up.
My mind was in disarray because, even with how I continued to mess up, I hadn’t exactly faced any punishment: no getting flogged or dragged to the dungeon. Nothing except maybe a tongue-lashing when I was caught.
The thought of Zane being my actual mate was another reason why I couldn’t collect myself no matter how hard I tried. I was still in disbelief at the fact that it took so long for me to find out. The fact that he’d always known too and still went ahead with his usual torments. The fact that he still had the heart to force himself on me even with the way I reacted after finding out. Looking back now, even if I wasn’t marked on that night, I still had all these reasons for wanting to just give up on everything and slowly let myself wither away. Thankfully, Jasmine found me right when I’d needed someone the most, and she snapped me back to my senses. Giving up now would be too much of a waste, and it would give Zane another undeserved win over me.
“Think of your parents that were killed so unjustly, your pack that was destroyed, think about your friend Clara and those of your pack members that you found here, waiting on you, their Alpha, to come rescue them from this hell hole they are in. Do you want to abandon them? Would you be able to find peace even in death knowing that innocent blood will be spilt because of your selfish reasons?” Her words that night as she soothed me to sleep, wanting to make sure I didn’t go ahead with ending it, resonated strongly with me. Jasmine’s words gave me strength, I found reason to go ahead with my revenge once again. No way would I let Zane have the last laugh after already having been through so much in his merciless hands.
Mate. That word still made rounds in my head every other hour of the day. The constant fear at the back of my head remained. Now that I know, how do I continue to face him every day and have his hands on me without giving in on instinct? If it happened that he began to have an effect on me due to the mating bond, I would become next to useless, unable to fight against him, talk more of winning.
That sent chills down my spine. This wouldn’t do, I needed to do something. Needed to get stronger and strengthen my resolve. I needed to get better, mentally, physically, and emotionally to be able to stand against Zane and win. These were all things I needed so desperately, but how do I go about them when everything currently stands in the way? I was facing another dead end.
The sound of footsteps growing closer had me blinking away my thoughts, and I sighed in relief when it turned out to be Jasmine heading towards me.
“Hey!” She called out to me before signaling in a way that meant for me to follow her, and without wasting any time, I hurried to my feet and began to follow after her. We walked for a while, and after rounding a sharp corner, I was pleasantly surprised to find Clara waiting. Almost immediately, though, both our smiles dimmed at the same time, probably recalling the circumstances at which we parted. I was so consumed by my rage and misery that I left to find Zane with more enthusiasm than I ever had, hoping to find some kind of getaway from both her and Jasmine at the time, only to meet even more misery in front of me.
I was glad they’d both given me a considerable amount of space since that day, especially Clara. Neither of them hovered around me nor brought up the topic. I was glad my decision was being respected, but now, seeing as Jasmine had brought us together, it meant something was up.
“Hi,” Clara spoke up, unable to even force a smile as she waved at me quite stiffly.
“Hi,” I replied, the air growing even more awkward with my equally stiff reply. I had no idea how to start a conversation with her after the fallout. I knew I owed her an apology after my outburst. It was wrong of me to yell at her the way I had. I had allowed my emotions to get the best of me without thinking of the pain and agony she had to have been going through, hiding the mark and the fact she’d been mated from everyone else to avoid having to face the fate that would no doubt be hers if she was found out.
“For the love of the Moon Goddess, can you both just stop being so awkward so we can get down to the real reason why I called us here? Or have you both forgotten that we have an actual enemy against us that’s bigger than the both of you.?” Jasmine groans in frustration, looking between the both of us, and that snaps us both out of our trance.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry.”
Clara and I said at the same time, which had me huffing out a smile.
“Eleanor, I’m sorry.” Clara repeats, solemn, “I should have come to you when I was troubled, especially that night you had asked if I was okay. I should have told you but I just….. I didn’t know how to go about it, I was scared, and I thought you were already dealing with so much, I didn’t want to be another one of your burdens, adding another weight to your shoulders. But that still doesn’t justify my actions. I should never have put you up to it for my own selfish reasons, I’m so sorry.” Clara apologized, looking down at her feet. A smile finally tugs up a corner of my lips at that, and I take a step closer to her.
“I should be the one to blame, Clara. I am equally as sorry. It is true that I had so much going on, and on seeing the mark on you and realizing why you’d been so eager, I just…. Exploded. I unleashed all of my pent-up anger on you, and it shouldn’t have been that way. You are a member of my pack and my friend. As such, I have a responsibility to you too. I’m sorry I failed at being a safe space and making you feel unsure about coming to me with your struggles. I promise to do better, Clara. I will fight for you and protect you as much as I can, so will you please not keep things from me from now on? That really hurt me, and I don’t know what I would do if it happened again.” I confessed truthfully and saw Clara’s lips wobble tearfully.
“I promise,” she says, and we share a smile, reaching out for each other’s hands. With our fingers intertwined and the air around us going back to feeling comfortable, Clara spoke again, “Now, would you please tell me what is it that’s been going on with you these past few days? I was going to come to you sooner, but Jasmine kicked against it. She said you wanted to be alone and needed to gather your thoughts, and it had nothing to do with me. What’s going on?”
My hold on Clara’s hand grows tighter as I swallow at her words, unable to hold myself back as I immediately began to spill to my friend who would listen to me no matter how long or unarranged my story was. It went here and there, with no exact pattern as the words rushed to leave my lips to meet a listening ear and Clara listened ever so intently, her expressions, more than enough for me to be assured she caught every one of my words. At the end of my story, Clara’s mouth was hanging open.
Jasmine hummed almost immediately at the reaction, “Yeah, that was my exact reaction when I found her on the bathroom floor, a complete mess, and she heard everything. I was glad it was a hickey and not something else. It could’ve been bad.”
“So…. What are you going to do about it?” Clara finally gets out after a long bout of silence, “This complicates everything. I don’t know if this is to our advantage or not, but whatever it is, it sure doesn’t put my mind at ease. You have to be more careful, Eleanor. You don’t want him marking you on instinct. That’s game over if it ever happens and you know it.” Clara advises, eyes still wide, and I nod with a hum.
“I know. I’ve been thinking long and hard about it, and my plans won’t change. I was going to give up earlier on and just end my life, but fortunately, Jasmine was there to talk some sense into me and now I’m not just going to sit around and wait for that bastard to kill me when he deems me useless. I’m going to kill that bastard if it’s the last thing I do. And I’m going to free you and Jasmine and the rest of our pack members. There’s no stopping until I do just that,” I informed them confidently, and the girls shared a look that filled me with pride, as if they trusted me to do just that.
“So, just how are we going to go about it?” Clara raised concern again, and I licked my dry lips. Things like plotting an elaborate plan, like killing a merciless dictator and freeing the slaves he keeps as war spoils, were always easier said than done.
“I just need someone…… someone who isn’t scared of Zane. We need support from someone who would be willing to fight alongside us. I also need to work on getting stronger, I need to be better. In other words, we need an ally. A powerful one.” I said, my words sounding dramatic even to my own ears, but before I could cringe at them, Jasmine clapped her hands.
“And that’s where I come in, girls. I think I have found the perfect candidate for that. He is powerful and reliable and probably hates Zane just as much as we do.” Clara and I listen with rapt attention, and when Jasmine pauses, there’s an excited glint in her eyes before she adds, staring pointedly at me, “…. Easton Dawson. Your mate.”