The Mate He Hates

Amanda’s POV

“Take this to the first room on the second floor,” the head maid instructed as she handed a tray of breakfast to me. Collecting the tray from her, I made my way to the room. Upon reaching it, I knocked on the door, and a male voice ordered me in. I knew the voice wasn’t that of Alpha Edward or Beta Matthew, so I wondered who it was, as they were the only males in the mansion apart from the guards. Curious to see who was in the room, I opened the door, entered, and when I closed the door and turned, I was dumbfounded to see him seated on the couch, a cigar in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other.

Instantly, I felt uneasy, and to make matters worse, he had a victorious grin on his face, like a predator who had gotten hold of his prey. “Will you just stand there? Come forward,” he urged, and with trembling steps, I approached him.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

When I reached the table, I placed the tray of food and wished I could leave, but I knew he would have to be the one to ask me to go.

He grinned at me, but I looked away uneasily. “You now work as a maid? Impressive,” he remarked.

He got up from his seat and moved closer to me, and out of panic, I took a step backwards, and he chuckled. “How far can you run away from me, huh?” he smirked while I swallowed in fear. “Do you need anything else? If not, I would like to take my leave,” I mustered the courage to speak.

He scoffed and stepped closer to me, but I shifted back. “I want you, little one. I want to bury myself deep inside you. I want you to scream my name until you pass out. What do you say, huh?” he smirked, and a big frown appeared on my face. His vulgar intentions made my stomach churn with disgust and fear.

Summoning the courage to speak, I said, “I will not be treated as an object for your pleasure. Excuse me.” With that, I turned to leave, but his sudden grip held on to my ponytail and pulled me towards him. “Ahh!!” I exclaimed in pain at his firm grip on my hair.

He leaned towards my left ear, his breath sending my whole body into a great state of panic and fear. “Listen, you girl. I always have what I want, and in no time, I will have you.” His threats sent chills down my spine. “And if you dare mention this to anyone, be sure that I will kill you and give your body to the vultures.” He let go of my hair, and I stumbled out of the room. I hurriedly descended the stairs and arrived back in the kitchen. The maids were too occupied with their tasks to notice my uneasiness.

Inhaling deeply, I went back to my duty, but I couldn’t concentrate. His threats would constantly ring in my head, and fear and panic would grip me. Of course, I knew I wouldn’t be able to say this to anyone; not like anyone would care about it.

The thought of being abused by him frightened me, and I wondered how I would get myself out of such a situation. “Shit!” I quickly withdrew my hand from the tray of veggies.

My exclamation drew the attention of the head maid. Seeing my bleeding finger, she frowned. “What were you thinking?” she asked as she took my bleeding finger and stared at it with anger. “You can’t be in the kitchen with bleeding fingers. Go to the mansion and find something else to do,” she spoke disappointedly and took the tray away from me. “I’m so sorry,” I apologized, but she ignored me and looked away while grumbling.

Leaving the kitchen, I decided to go to the maid’s quarters; I was sure a first aid box would be there.

I was almost at the exit door of the mansion when I encountered Beta Matthew walking in. Our gazes locked, and I gulped and looked away. My eyes fell on his body, and I realized he was shirtless and wore only shorts. He was all sweaty and panting, which was a clear indication that he went out for a run in the woods.

I quickly averted my gaze and stared at the floor. We stood there in awkward silence. I wished I could leave, but I couldn’t because he was blocking my way. “You are bleeding?” he broke the silence, and I looked at my finger, which was spilling out blood. “Yes, I accidentally cut myself,” I explained.

“Seriously,” he scoffed in anger, and I had to look up at him and realize he had a big frown on his face. “What are you? A kid?” he sounded angry, and I frowned, wondering why he was getting angry over such a little accident.

“Come with me,” he ordered and began walking away. I trailed behind him, and we arrived at his room.

“Sit,” he offered, but I hesitated for a moment before obeying. He went to the drawer, took out a first aid box, and returned to where I sat. I watched him squat before me and place the box beside me. “Your hand,” he requested, and awkwardly, I gave my wounded finger to him.

As he cleaned and bandaged the wound, I couldn’t help but kept staring at him. I had yet to explain why he was being so nice to me. We barely knew each other, but he had saved me twice and had promised to find Elisa’s killer. Now, he was attending to my wounded finger. My heart fluttered in my chest. Apart from my late mother, he was the only person who had shown concern for me, something my destined mate couldn’t provide. The thought made me tear up, and I didn’t know when the tears started falling.

“Hey,” he looked at me with concern. “Why are you crying?” He sounded worried.

I choked on my tears. “Thank you, thank you so much for being kind to me,” I managed to say between sobs.

Beta Matthew’s expression softened, and he gently wiped away my tears with his thumb. “Hey, it’s okay,” he tried comforting me, but I couldn’t stop crying. My emotions were getting the best of me, and I was unable to control it.

Unexpectedly, he pulled me into a comforting hug, his arms wrapping around me gently yet securely. Strangely, I found solace in his embrace, feeling a sense of warmth and safety I hadn’t experienced in a long time. I buried my face into his chest, letting out all the pent-up emotions I had held inside.

“It’s okay; everything will be fine soon,” he assured me while I kept sobbing into his chest. I felt so at ease and comforted in his familiar arms.

“Stop crying…” His words trailed off abruptly as the sound of the door opening interrupted us. Before I could withdraw from his arms, it was too late Alpha Edward had already walked in on us.