51

ZANE
“What!?” I yelled out in anger, finding it inexplicably hard to comprehend what I’d just heard. My fingers ball up into fists and I could feel my entire body brew with maddening anger at the thought of Eleanor with another man. I give her even the slightest taste of freedom and this is what she goes and does behind my back? And Easton….. How dare he touch what I’d made clear was mine in every sense of the word?
Eleanor was mine! Mine to possess, mine to own and mine to do however I please. I wouldn’t have forgiven him for laying even a finger on her after my very clear warning, but kissing her?
He had gone way over the line and there was no way I was going to let this slide. He knew Eleanor was off limits. As if my warning the other day weren’t enough, I’d sent Mark over with a clear message that Eleanor was not to be touched. Yet, he ignored every single one of them and claimed what was mine. I couldn’t swallow down the weight of his disrespect, the sheer audacity to do something so daring.
And Eleanor. Oh, she was just asking for my wrath at this point. Hadn’t I nailed it into her head right from the start that nobody, -not even my dead father in his grave, if he were to suddenly be brought back to life – was to touch her? Yet, she dared to remain still whilst he kissed and ran his filthy hands all over her body.
The same body I paid hundreds of thousands on? That I’d branded and tailored and molded to be mine and belong to me entirely? She was definitely testing me and I would be more than willing to teach her again that my rules were not something to be easily overlooked.
She knew well by now just what I was capable of, yet she chose to defy me and allowed my enemy to lay his disgusting hands on her. Had I grown weak? Have I been going too soft on her that she’d even think of doing this? Even if he’d forced himself on her, I expect that she’d been trained to reject any such advances.
Could it be that she did not reject him because she enjoyed it too? Did she like being in his arms? Did she find the comfort I couldn’t give her when she was close to him? What more did they do other than kiss? Did she let him go all the way? Reaching places that I have only ever been?
At this point, I was heaving, suddenly feeling out of breath and didn’t even register when I found a seat to sink into.
What more could have happened between the hours my source left them and the time they arrived? Could they have plotted things against me? Did the kiss mean she accepted him as her mate? Where does that leave me then? I’m her fucking mate too, for goddess’ sake. Was she going to leave me for him? Fuck no. I shouldn’t even be considering it because there was no way in hell I would let her desert me for that bastard or anyone else.
I was lost in thoughts when I felt the warmth of a hand on my shoulder and I jerked into action. It was purely muscle memory, from always having to be alert and sleep with an eye open, that I wrestled the person until they ended up half laying on my lap, my fingers firmly wrapped around their neck. Realizing who it was, I hurriedly released her, standing up and blinking out of my daze. I had completely forgotten that she was still in the room. I should have dismissed her before allowing my thoughts to completely get the best of me.
She stared at me with something akin to fear in her eyes and I thought ‘good’. She should be scared, everybody else should be too. But apparently not Eleanor. I know she probably saw me as some crazed possessive asshole, but I didn’t mind that.
It was better than being seen as some jealous, pathetic fool. I wasn’t jealous, I just needed to set the facts straight and if the words needed to be branded into her brain, laid into it, brick by brick, then so be it. I would carve every letter of my name into her skin if that was what it would take.
“Alpha Zane,” her voice pulled my attention back to her.
Why was she still here for Goddess’s sake?
“I can replace her if you want me to. I’m sure she’s not worth any trouble, whatever she could’ve been worth has been stained…. tainted by your rival anyway. She defied you, Alpha. She knew what the laws were but the second she was let out of sight, the first thing she did was break them. It’s only right that she faces punishment for her crimes and be sent to an immediate end. Her disrespect should not be condoned in any way.”
Rival? In no way was that bastard a rival of mine. I aced him in every possible way.
She took a step closer, the space between us disappearing as she fixed me with a sultry gaze. “I was tagged your ‘special slave’ tonight, Alpha, and I wore it like a badge of honor. We could make that official when you dispose of her like the rag that she is. I can be everything she could never be. I would never question your demands, and you could have me in whatever way you please.”
At the end of her words, she started to teasingly undo the front straps of her dress and I belatedly realized what this was supposed to be -an obvious attempt at seduction. If it had been at a better time, I would have her thrown against a desk and begging for mercy, but I could not get the images of Eleanor pressed against Easton out of my head at the moment and every single one of my cells wailed with a violent need to claim Eleanor and remind her who she belonged to. I needed Eleanor right now, not this.
I was startled by the cold press of lips against my neck, and despite being frozen in place, I felt my body shiver in disgust. When her red-stained fingers began to slowly roam over my body, I could no longer hold it back, my eyes shutting in irritation and a low hiss leaving my lips as I roughly pushed her away from me.
“Leave!” I commanded.
“B- but Alpha-”
“I said leave and never let this repeat itself, or you will be made to face a punishment worse than death!” I barked, and she immediately scrambled to her feet and scampered away.
“Fuck!” I cursed out loud, kicking a table in frustration as I ran a hand through my hair, gripping at the strands. What the heck was wrong with me? Why was I allowing this to get to me so badly? Usually, I got a kick from unleashing my anger on a soft, yielding body, but now I can’t even do that.
Why was it that after she came into my life I couldn’t look at another shewolf? I couldn’t derive the same pleasure from others as I did her. Since she stepped foot into my pack, pleasure just stopped feeling the same as with her until I just couldn’t bring myself to go to a woman that wasn’t her. Was it because she was my mate or had she changed something in me that I had no idea about?
“Easton, that fucking bastard!” I cursed again, thinking back to that day in the kitchen. The way she’d broken down the second he walked away, almost like he took something of hers with him. I wondered if she’d been like that with him today too, insatiable, and not wanting him to leave, -something she would’ve never done with me.
The only things I’d ever envied in all the years of my life had always been limited to other people’s riches or land. I couldn’t believe I was burning with jealousy over something as berating and stupid as a woman’s favor.
‘Wait, jealous?’ I thought with a bitter scoff. That’s just fucking ridiculous. And what favor could I possibly seek from a slave that was mine first? Completely and utterly. Mate or not, she had crossed a line and this was not going to go unpunished. Clearly, she needed to be taught another lesson, and this would serve as an example to any others who would even dare to think of defying me.
With that in mind, I headed towards the slave chambers, shoving my fists into my pockets in order to maintain a semblance of control over the rage that was eating at me.
I was halfway to the slave quarters when I saw Mark heading towards me, bearing a huge smile on his face and my anger spiked.
The very first thought that crossed my mind was Mark being a part of this. Everything pointed at him setting everything up, maybe to prove a point, -showing me that I’d indeed been lying to myself and that Eleanor had been unconsciously placed on some kind of pedestal in my head.
But how dare he? He could have used any other method and what exactly did he have to smile about? Was he happy they kissed?! Did he not have any plans to let me in on what my slave had been doing behind my back?
Come to think of it, hadn’t I made it clear to him before leaving that Eleanor was not one of the pleasure slaves and shouldn’t be left alone with Easton? He had clearly left the part that he went against me out of his reports and reported the meeting as a success! Was that why he was approaching me with a shit-eating grin that he definitely wouldn’t have if I knew the truth? Knowing that he’d successfully deceived me? That he let Eleanor get violated against her will?
“Hey, Zane,” he called cheerily, his voice bringing me out of my reverie and a low growl escaped my lips.
“That’s Alpha Zane to you,” I gritted out and he frowned.
“Huh?”
“I said…. it’s Alpha Zane to you, or have you suddenly gone deaf?!” I barked out. I didn’t know why I was so angry and why I was pouring all my pent-up anger on him, but I knew I was very, very displeased, and I needed to let it out somehow, or I was really going to go crazy. Scratch that, he was the perfect person to unleash my anger on, given that such an outrageous thing happened under his care. Such a simple task and he still managed to fail.
“Jeez Zane-” a low growl ripped out of my throat at the mention of my name, and he immediately backtracked, raising his hands in surrender “Sorry…. Alpha Zane. What seems to be the issue?”
“You!” I roared, pointing an accusatory finger at him, my eyes narrowed into slits.
“Me!?” He repeated, completely dumbfounded and at a loss.
“The one time I leave a simple task completely in your hands, you still manage to botch that, and you dare to show up here with an idiotic smile on your face? What have you got to smile about, huh, tell me!” I lashed out, taking a threatening step forward, and he took one back, still visibly perplexed.
“Damn Zane, I’m sorry, but could you clearly tell me what’s going on? Because I really do have no idea what this is ab-”
“Eleanor, you fucker, this is about Eleanor!!” I interrupted before he could complete his statement. I wasn’t going to stand still and watch him pretend to know nothing about my evident turmoil. “What part of my orders did you not understand that prompted you to go ahead and serve her to him on a silver platter? You left them alone?…. Together!?” I growled, my finger now pressing against his chest in accusation.
“W- how did you know about that?”
“It’s not about how I fucking know about it, it’s the fact that you lied to my fucking face, singing his praises and telling me how smoothly it all went. You did all that behind my back and you’re pleased about me not finding out. Is that it? Tell me, how long have you been planning this? How much did he pay you to have you betray our years of trust, huh, how could you?”
“What the fuck Zane, where’s this coming from!? I would never betray you, you know that by now!” Mark defended, and I scoffed.
“And you expect me to believe that? Were you ever going to tell me what actually happened at any point or were you going to keep me in the dark and keep living like nothing happened!” I’d lost every bit of composure I had, and we were now practically yelling at each other right in the middle of the pack, drawing some attention, but I couldn’t care less.
Mark looked at me like I’d just asked him the most distressing question of his life, his eyes suddenly tired as he sighed, “I couldn’t do anything about it! Yes, you exempted her and a few others, but your main orders were to let nothing stop the truce from being signed in place. What was I to do? She’s a mere slave, you have thousands of them. This was a truce that took years to come to fruition. We needed this! This alliance meant everything to you, I could see that. How could I let that go to waste over a slave that’s worthless and replaceable to you.”
I abruptly seized him by the collar at the end of his words, startling him.
“You will not speak of her like that, or I will have your tongue ripped out of your face! What ‘mere slave’, that girl is my fucking-” I quickly bit back the rest of my words. I couldn’t believe I got so close to spilling the secret I’d been keeping for months now.
“Fuck!” I cursed loudly, releasing him, “Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!” I continued, kicking at nothing in particular because I really felt as though I was about to die from frustration, but Mark had already heard most of it.
“That girl is what, Zane? Go ahead and finish your statement. What is she to you, and why would you want to risk something we worked so hard for, for someone like her? What is she?” He pressed on, taking a step closer to me as I took one away from him.
“Forget it,” I said coldly, reeling myself back in. What exactly was up with me today? I was going to just turn around and leave, but on second thought, “…. take her name out of the lineup for slaves that would be attending to their packs. She is not to leave the pack grounds again …ever.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible, Zane,” Mark said, and I felt my brows twitch.
“Are you blatantly defying my orders now?” I asked and he shook his head.
“No, I’m not but listen. Without Eleanor, the truce is canceled and once the truce is canceled you know that means war, and it would be on you because you would be breaking the terms first,” Mark answered.
“To hell with the fucking terms, I am not sending her back there to get preyed on by that sneaky bastard and that’s final!”
“Why!?” Mark countered heatedly, “Why are you so hellbent on destroying everything because of a mere slave? Who is she to you? If she is a nobody like you claim, then why go to these lengths? I need answers to be able to help you, Zane, we’re supposed to be a team. How do I know what I’m allowed and what I’m not if you won’t let me in on whatever is going on in your head?” Despite the poorly concealed anger and resignation in his tone, his eyes conveyed genuine concern and I huffed.
No matter how much I wanted to tell him the truth, I couldn’t bring myself to let it get out that Eleanor was my mate, whom I was determined to keep by my side no matter what. Mark may be safe and my person, but the walls had ears, and I was a man with many enemies on every corner you could imagine.
Having a mate meant having a weakness and I couldn’t let Eleanor become mine. Even though it looked like I was doing a shitty job at not forming attachments with her, it would completely destroy me to watch her get slaughtered by one of my enemies to get back at me.
No matter how hard I tried to deny it all -put on an impenetrable front and make sure she found no crack in my facade, there was something about her that kept crawling under my thick skin, something I couldn’t shake off.
“Does your silence mean that I’m right?” Mark’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “She is important, right? Is she the one?”
“You should prepare for the party. Tonight is for us to make merry,” I settled, dismissing his claims.
“Are you going to run off instead of answering the question now?” He shot back.
“Some things are better left unsaid, when the time is right, you will know,” I answered.
“And the truce? It would be meaningless without Eleanor. What are you going to do about it?”
“Once the party is over, I’ll figure something out.” I turned to leave, but his voice pulled me to a halt again.
“You need to be fast about it because with or without your permission, she will have to leave with the rest of the slaves in the morning. This pack is my responsibility too, and I will do everything in my power to secure it and the people in it.” with those final words, he walked away before I could get another word in.