HIS ASSIGNED MATE
Chapter 2: The Blood Bond
That poor girl is ...me? I asked myself.
I refused to believe it. Even when everybody looked at me with pity or a scorching glare, I stayed still in my spot as I watched a tall shadow about six inches, get up from the opposite side of the stage.
All eyes turned away from me and turned to look at the alluring man dressed in dark shoes, dark jeans, and a black long-sleeved collared shirt that was uncuffed and rolled messily over to his elbows, showing the line of his veins stretching down to his wrists. I could see the details of this man far from where I sat, hyperventilating.
"He is the most ruthless..."
"Relentless..."
The man finally walked up to the stage and under the glare of the bright golden lights, his dark hair and eyes looked over at the crowd around me as if searching for somebody. About the various scary things I have heard about this man, from his looks he didn't match the mental picture I had in mind. His dark stubble made him look mysterious, his long and straight posture made him look dominating as he interlocked his hands behind his lower back, asserting his confidence and aura over the crowd. What I hadn't imagined was how handsome he would be.
"Some even say that he and his wolf have a raw sexual drive and that he needs a girl in his bed every other night to satisfy himself, but those girls whom he would spend time with would never be seen again. Strange."
Biting down on my bottom lip, I squeezed my eyes shut. This is not real.
"Jasmine Haze," the host repeated my name, and I quickly looked up to see Mike staring at me impatiently, "Any time now," he forced a smile.
I could feel Alpha Liam's eyes on me, but I didn't dare meet his gaze as I stood up on my wobbly feet and walked past other people in my row, almost falling into them in the process but I was quick to regain my posture.
Sucking in a huge gulp of air, I walked down the empty path leading to the stairs beside the stage. Once I reached the end of the stage, I looked across at him, only to see his eyes trained on the ground, but a tick of his jaw was enough to make me assume he was downright annoyed by my slow pace.
Forcing my legs to move faster, I stopped a few inches away from him, my hands clasped together as the host coughed awkwardly. From all the mates I've seen get assigned today, it is nothing compared to how we both stood there refusing to meet each other's eyes.
The other people who came before me at least looked a little interested in their assigned mate, and maybe that's because they have made peace with their random fate, but I guess I still haven't. Mostly because I could feel Nicole's heated gaze on me as if she would rip me into shreds any moment. She is an Alpha's daughter, so who knows if anyone would even stop her.
"Let's let the blood bond begin," Mike finally broke the silence, almost determined to have us proceed.
Sighing softly, I was the first one to build courage and state loud and firmly, "I, Jasmine Haze, accept you, Alpha Reign..." I trailed off, hesitating in the end, "... as my assigned mate."
I watched with lowered eyes when Alpha Liam's hands uncoiled making his veins calm down as he finally turned to look down at me since he was towering over my head. Then without a word, his hand inched forward and grabbed my wrist, sending a buzz down my veins.
The ritual is simple; he must slightly slice a part of my arm, taste my blood, and accept me as his mate. As weird as it may seem, tasting the blood of your assigned mate is supposed to bring greater power to the Alphas and Betas, and since ironically, I am the chosen mate of an Alpha, I have no other way around this ritual. Werewolves of lower ranking are not asked to do it, they may if they want.
I internally laughed at my state of mind at attempting to make sense of this ritual, but this has been the ritual ever since fated mates became extinct, and Moon Goddess went into hiding. This is the only way to keep the status of Alphas and Betas going strong in this new generation of werewolves.
When Alpha Liam trailed his fingertips against my arms over to my elbow, my body became alert and I came back to reality where I stood, in front of the most powerful and ruthless Alpha. I could almost taste the aura his presence carried.
Daring to look up at his face, I froze when his devilish eyes met mine. There was a glint in them that I got lost in as I, along with the audience, anticipated the slice of my flesh and gush of blood, but the more I waited the slower his fingertips trailed against my skin. I was getting impatient because the goosebumps rising on my skin were making my cheeks flush.
That's when he stopped and let go of my arm, making me confused and look up at him. A part of me was a little expectant of him to just reject me. Alphas can do whatever they want, right?
So, what if it will be a little embarrassing and a kick to my self-esteem? At least I wouldn't be called Alpha Liam Reign's poor, poor mate!
I was about to step back a foot, as if to give him a hint of what to do next, which is just let me go, but instead, I felt his large warm hand come to rest against the nape of my neck. My eyes widened when I watched the orbs of his eyes become larger, but the dark shade of night that reflected from them made me shiver. I grabbed the wrist of his hand that was tightly clasping my neck, but he simply moved my long hair from the other side of my neck and tilted his head before burying his mouth under my ear, his nose trailing the length of my throat before his lips rested on my collarbone.
His reflexes were so fast that I barely had time to comprehend and push him away before I felt the sharp tips of his fangs elongate on top of my flesh and tear into my flesh, sinking deep. There was excruciating pain that made my toes curl, but what made the moment wilder was when the crowd erupted in an uproar, I could hear everyone kicking back their chairs when they stood up and began talking amongst themselves at the scene folding in front of them.
At that moment I couldn't care less about anyone else but I and the painful sensation my body was going through as he sucked my blood into his mouth, like a suction cup. My hand that was desperately holding his wrist began to weaken as he growled against my skin and placed his hand against the side of my waist, drawing my limp body closer to his as he fully satisfied his need.
Slowly the pain was replaced with a strange feeling, a sensation that made me close my eyes and crease my brows together. His body heat and his mouth against my skin made me suddenly feel hot and bothered, it made my stomach twist in knots the longer he held me in his cage.
At that moment I felt my sanity become destroyed because the little hope I had that he may be different than the rumours I heard about him went down the drain. He proved what he was famous for; Power and Relentless.
"Alpha!" Someone attempted at trying to wake him from his trance, and to my surprise, I felt his fangs retract from my skin, but his lips stayed. With a single sweep his tongue reached out and licked the spot clean, but that single action had me quivering and bringing my left hand to cover my mouth before I let out a sound.
He finally pulled away from me, letting my body go. I stumbled back a little and grabbed my light head, but I looked directly into his eyes. I was about to say something, but he beat me to it.
"I, Alpha Liam Reign," he began, and my eyes narrowed briefly at some blood glistening on his bottom lip, making my head hurt at the realization, "...accept you, Jasmine Haze, as my mate," he finished without any hesitation.
I felt rattled, like an object auctioned off to some crazy maniac, because the moment he finished, unbeknownst to any eyes that were frantically watching us and murmuring amongst themselves, he was giving me a small side smile. I felt trapped. It's like he found his toy.
The moment I saw the smile the next moment it was gone, replaced with a straight face that could kill. Then he turned around and walked away. I watched him as I fell to my knees, my head getting dizzy by the weakness I felt in my body. It was almost as if he drained me dry.
Stepping off the stage, he walked away past the crowd of people who rushed up the stairs to my aid, trying to shake me awake, but my eyes became droopy, and I fell into a dark void.
**
"How could he do that to her? What the hell is wrong with him?" I heard a female voice retort. "Just for power? Just because he is an Alpha he thinks he can do whatever he wants?"
I felt my heavy eyelids lift and I struggled to open my eyes so I could see the source of voice. There was a girl in a tight pink shirt and navy jeans with her blond curls bouncing behind her when she folded her arms and looked toward the door of the room, I was in.
"If he wasn't my brother, I would have-"
"Grace!" A voice shouted from the other side of the room door before it opened to reveal a frantic woman. Her hair was tied in a thick bun over her head, and she was wearing a grey plain dress that reached her knees, but it was her pearl earrings that caught my eyes when she clicked on her heels and reached my side where I lay on a bed. "This poor girl!" She frowned before tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. She had a warm feeling to her that I instantly came to like.
Poor girl... I should get used to hearing that now.
"Ryan said he tried to call him out of it, and it wasn't until she reached this stage that he stopped. He chomped on her as if she's a stack of meat!" Grace said with annoyance.
"Grace..." the lady snapped suddenly, looking back at her "...have some grace!"
That made me smile. Grace, have some grace? Ha.
"Oh, she's awake!" Grace grinned and came to sit on the bed by my feet.
I began to sit up, but the woman suggested that I continue to rest, so I rested my head against the headboard behind me and studied the two frantic women.
"Hun, my name is Analia, I am Liam's mother," she introduced herself before sitting down beside me. "I would like to apologize for his behavior at the ceremony last night, I really can't make sense of why he would do that," she tried to explain, and for some reason I didn't want to hear her apologize. It was his fault anyway.
"Don't apologize, it is... Liam who should be apologizing," I decided against calling him an Alpha. Now that he is my mate and we have completed the blood bond, as bizarre as it was, addressing him as Alpha sounded odd.
"Yes, and he will!" Analia tried to assure me.
"Oh, don't you worry, Jasmine! He will not hear the end of it!" Grace nodded her head and stood up with her hands on her waist.
I smiled a little at her determination. I'm surprised at how different Grace is in opposition to her brother. That's when I remembered his haunting eyes with my blood glistening on his mouth.
Hugging my arms around my chest, my fingers instinctively went to my collarbone where I instantly felt the two holes textured into my skin, and at the sudden touch of my fingertips, the spot buzzed with intensity that radiated all through my body. It was not a painful feeling, it almost felt too overwhelming and pleasurable.
I shivered and stared at the black duvet over my legs glumly. "Where is he?" I heard myself asking.
Grace and Analia looked at each other before looking at me, and before Analia could say anything Grace beat her to it, "He is on the training ground. It is early morning so..." she trailed off.
Nodding my head I pushed the duvet off my legs and winced a little when my legs ached. Werewolves are supposed to heal fast, but for some reason, I felt like vomit.
"Hun, you need to eat," Analia rested her hand on my shoulder, and I instantly nodded.
"Yes, I need to fuel myself before I can think of doing anything," I agreed much to her surprise. I need to talk to Liam and get his apology, even if I must walk up to him to get that I would!
When I looked around the room, I noticed how grey it was. The couch that sat by the room door was grey, along with the walls and duvet color. The carpeting was black along with the curtains, making me feel caged. "Who designed this room?" I couldn't help asking.
"Liam," Grace said instantly, and I looked at her with a nod of my head.
Of course.
"Your clothes have been hung the moment your suitcases arrived last night. Liam is staying in his room for the time being," Analia changed the topic, "Would you need any help changing?"
I shook my head, "No, I'll be fine."
Grace smiled at me, but her eyes were full of sympathy. "Okay, see you downstairs... Luna!"
What she ended her sentence with made my heart stop momentarily and stare at her.
"Tomorrow night is your wedding, you will be our Luna from then so I'm just practicing," she defended herself, and then she quickly walked out of the room before Analia could even move from her spot.
My mouth moved but no words came out as I stared at Analia.
Analia looked away from my eyes, as if a little sheepish. "See you downstairs, hun," she smiled warmly and walked out of the room. Once the door closed, I walked over to the washroom which I assumed was the door to the left side of the bed, but I opened it to find a large closet space that included a make-up table. Mentally picking my jaw off the ground, I closed the door and went to the other door.
Walking into the washroom, I was impressed by the long jacuzzi, stand-in shower, and two sinks situated on a long counter. Once I appeared in front of the mirror, I was afraid to see my reflection, but I forced my eyes to dash up and look at my reflection.
I expected to see dark circles and my cheekbones defined, but instead, my face looked plump and pink, as if refreshed. When I pushed my hair back from the nape of my neck, that's when I saw the mark on my collarbone. I was afraid to touch it again because I didn't want to feel that sensation again and forget what he had done.
Biting down on my bottom lip, I made an oath to myself.
You will apologize to me Alpha, before I become your Luna.
**
Miss_Independant647
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