Chapter 1 – My Mate or My Foe

HAILEY STEWARTS

“Who’s that slave?” One guard asked his companion as he gawked at me with keen interest.

“Huh?” His partner asked absentmindedly.

“The slave with red hair. Who is she?” He asked again gesturing toward me as I scrubbed a stubborn stain off the floor.

The guard gave me one look then slapped his companion over the head. “Women with big ass would be the end of you, Kravinski.”

They both laughed shoving each other for a while. I barely noticed them since I was too busy fighting with the stains on the floor. Cleaning the dungeons was the most terrible assignment I had ever done in my life. Whatever it was that had gotten stuck on the floor might just be pieces of a human brain.

“Watch this.”

The second guard poked his friend and then winked at him as he moved toward me slowly. I was too focused on the stain to notice the guard until he groped me from behind. His hands crept up on my thighs moving low. I jerked up fast knocking him flat on his ass.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.” I apologized in an honestly sympathetic tone.

He stared at me wide-eyed and surprised that he had been knocked down by a woman. His pal made things worse by laughing and snorting at him.

“Mr. I’m sorry-” I tried explaining myself but the rage on his face made it evident that he wasn’t going to listen to my explanations.

He got up and marched angrily to me. I saw the punch before it hit my gut. I could have dodged it easily but I knew that would only agitate him more and most likely put me in a bigger mess than the one I had just unknowingly got myself in.

His partner yelled at him to cut it off but he ignored it just like I knew he would.

“Kravinski! That’s enough.”

But Kravinski didn’t stop there. He gave me two more punches to my rib and then hit me hard across my face, a move which sent me flying across the room till I slammed into a far wall.

Fresh blood trickled down my nose and I could feel he had busted one of my ribs when he hit me. The pain that washed through my entire body was unbearable but I bit my lower lips and let it run its course.

Just let it go, Hailey… It will heal fast. You know I got you kiddo, my wolf spoke to me through my mind which was our only channel of communication. I could tell she was feeling my pain maybe even more than I was. I knew taking both of them out in a split second would be like squatting a fly for me but I had to be rational if I was to survive in this world.

The guard walked up to where I lay in a crumpled heap on the floor and he spat on me making sure he gathered the thickest and most vile smelly spittle before discarding it with impressive accuracy on my hair.

After that, he gave me two more kicks across my good rib before moving away to meet his buddy who watched the whole show in amusement.

“Serves the bitch right!” He bawled flexing his wrist.

My hands turned to fists. At that moment I felt like rushing him and ripping his damned throat out just before I snap his friend’s neck kicking his head off. Don’t! My wolf implored calming me down. The fists flattened to become palms once again.

His buddy chuckled. They had had their little entertainment and enjoyed it even if it meant harming a helpless woman. That was the way of the world.

“Get your scrawny ass up before I come to kick you some more!” He yelled at me. “You ain’t done cleaning yet.”

“What if you’ve killed her?” his buddy asked.

“Stop clowning, Tim. I didn’t hit her that hard, did I?”

For a moment I contemplated laying there maybe I’d just play dead for a while just to fuck with them. But I knew it was just going to get me in trouble so I struggled up to my feet and wobbled to where I had been cleaning. I grabbed the brush and resumed the scrubbing. The pains in my side made me wince but I continued regardless. There was no way I was going to give the cock sucker the pleasure of watching me reel over in pain.

“I got to admit, she’s got a body on her.”

I ignored their obscene comments pretending to be too invested in my work to hear them. They were staring at my ass while talking about all the things they would love to do to it.

I completed my job and left the dungeon so they could lock it. I made sure to hurry back to the equipment room and dropped the instruments I had just used, then I rushed back on the path to my room. I needed to take care of my bruised body while it was healing and wipe away the dried blood from my face. My current look will most likely break a mirror into several fragments

I was just about to round the corner leading to the corridor that would take me to my room when someone accidentally bumped into me.

The pain in my side ached from the impact of running into another person. I cursed unable to draw in oxygen without feeling a sharp pain.

“Arrrrrgh!” I winced, cursing as I leaned on the wall. “Watch it.”

I looked up to see who had been clumsy enough to almost knock me out and gasped when I saw it was Jaden. The last person on earth I wanted to bump into me. He was the last person on earth I wanted to come across honestly. Yet there he was, watching me with a devilishly handsome smirk on his perfect face.

Jaden Perry -the son of the Alpha- who happens to be my mate.

JADEN PERRY

The sound of steel hitting steel was dominant in the arena amongst grunts, agonizing screams, and other minor sounds.

The mixture of blood, sweat, and dust brought an aura of power that sizzled with intensity.

“Watch out Jaden!” My trainer screamed just in time.

I sidestepped just on time before the blade had the opportunity to take off my arm. It had been very close. It was dangerous to get distracted on the grounds of the arena and I had let myself get distracted.

“Keep your mind sharp!”

I was trying hard to do just that but the familiar scent of Jasmine kept evading my senses. It was a scent accustomed to my mate.

I cursed as I tried to dodge a fierce combo attack from Dimitri. He was in a deadly form this morning and I knew it would be tricky to defeat him, unlike our previous duels.

“You’re in a different league today, Dimitri,” I said panting hard.

He could tell I was distracted and what he was doing was playing that to his advantage. Who would blame him for being a smart conniving bastard?

“You seem a little off today.” He commented as he rushed at me once more.

I was extremely off. Saying I was a little off was just his way of messing with me. I blocked most of his attacked and managed to kick him. The impact of the kick sent him back creating a safe distance between us.

The scent returned and for a moment I just stood motionless as it warped through me. Watch out you fool! My wolf screamed at me, bringing me out of my trance state in time to dodge the strike and counter with a quick jab. Dimitri lost his footing and I rushed him with a series of quick punches landing every single one.

He slumped to the floor unable to continue.

“Mind telling us what that shit just now was all about?” Farrel, my trainer asked.

Farrel was a legendary warrior well known for his combat skills and unmatched battle experience. He fought beside my Father while they were still lads.

My father had gotten him to train me in the meantime and he was doing a good job so far.

Dimitri was still on the floor, too exhausted to get up. He stayed there breathing heavily.

“I asked you a question, Jay.” He bawled through gritted teeth.

Most people preferred to call me Jay rather than Jaden. I took the band off my hair letting the golden strands fall freely then I gathered them up neatly together and held them together with the band in a bun.

“I’m just a little off today. Nothing more.” I said avoiding his scrutinizing gaze.

“If that’s all, I’ll be on my way to the showers,” I said.

I cursed as I left the arena. There was dust everywhere and by the time I made it to the passage, I was as white as a snowman.

The scent of Jasmine had gone away completely after my spar with Dimitri which made it feel like the devilish thing was trying to taunt me.

I cursed as I remembered how I had found out my mate was a lowly slave girl who was probably wiping off shit somewhere in the palace. I had known from the first day I saw her and I cursed my ill fate. It was proof that the moon goddess didn’t like me at all so I made it my life’s mission to fuck every girl I could lay my hands on in the pack and beyond. I was going to force the moon goddess to come down herself just to tell me how much of a bad boy I’ve been.

How would she mate a slave with the future alpha of one of the greatest packs ever? It was a sick joke. I knew it wasn’t a mistake or some kind of mix-up. The moon goddess doesn’t make mistakes. That doesn’t mean she can’t try to be funny once in a while.

Just as I rounded a corner, (still cursing the moon goddess in my mind obviously) I accidentally bumped into a girl sending her backward.

Oh no, fuck!

I noticed it was the slave girl that had been mated to me. The moon goddess really knew how the fuck with me.

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