Chapter 9 My mate, my knight

Trisha's POV

Cold water slapped hard against my cheek. My eyelids were heavy, swollen from exhaustion. I opened them slowly, dragging myself back into this nightmare. I hung with my feet barely touching the ground. My hands twisted against the silver chains, tight with no space to breathe. My palms were bruised-a reminder that I had been trying to break free over and over again, but failed miserably. My vision was blurry. My body was weak and injured; the blood wouldn't stop, and it was only a matter of time before my body gave up on me.

It had been two days without food or water. That alone was enough to weaken me-since he hadn't killed me on the spot. I assumed he was keeping me alive for a purpose. My abductor had other plans. He stabbed me with a silver dagger, right in my thigh. His nails were filled with dirt when he raised my dress slightly and trailed his fingers slowly across my skin. My flesh hitched at his touch. Goosebumps broke out all over me. I felt nauseous and a sudden urge to vomit surged through me, even though I hadn't consumed anything.

His touch disgusted me to the core. It bothered me more than the dagger itself. When he plunged it straight and forcibly into my thigh, my flesh gushed blood and I screamed in pain. I'd heard about silver daggers and what they did to wolves. Did he want to know if I was one? Because he could've easily stabbed me in the chest and watched me bleed out-but he didn't. Wolf or not, I would've died without him breaking a sweat.

The place was damp and dark, with no windows-let alone light. The only way I could tell time was that big clock hanging on the wall. It was the first thing my eyes searched for whenever they opened. Was it another day? How many days more until I died? I just wanted to die. I was tired and in pain. My throat was dry and raw from all the screaming. He hadn't lied when he said no one would hear me. Werewolves had enhanced hearing, so I'd been betting on that.

I didn't remember how I got here. I'd opened my eyes to find myself hanging, my hands tied tightly with silver chains.

"Finally, you've woken up. You shouldn't die on me now. My heart almost skipped a beat thinking you were dead. You shouldn't die now-I'm just getting started," he growled. His eyes were red and monstrous. His claws were out, and I sensed the menacing urge to kill me-but something held him back.

"Why are you doing this?" The words barely came out. A question I'd asked a hundred times, but never got an answer.

I prayed for rescue. Maybe-just maybe-my mate would come and find me. I prayed desperately, but here I was, my vision blurring into the abyss of death. Did he not want me anymore? I had given up. Besides, it wasn't like I had anything to live for...

Dad. He came to talk to me the morning before my wedding. Told me about my wolf, and my mate-Alpha Crimson Stark. From the few things he said, my mate was the most powerful Alpha in the land of six.

My abductor walked close, held me by the neck, and whispered behind my ear.

"Why am I doing this to you? That's a question you're supposed to ask yourself."

I was disappointed. I thought I'd at least get a reason for being tortured to death. He had said this countless times-a reply he gave every time I asked. So considering I'd asked him a hundred times and this was always his answer, it pissed me off. For a moment-a millisecond-I was annoyed. Did he have no brains at all? How the hell was I supposed to know? I'd just found out I was a werewolf hardly a week ago. I hadn't even had time to process that.

A scoff escaped my mouth.

"Fuck you," I muttered under my breath.

As soon as the words left my mouth, a sharp, hot slap landed on my cheek so hard my jaw dislocated. Pain shot through me like electric shocks. I screamed, my voice echoing through the walls as tears spilled down my cheeks.

"Fuck me? I don't think you realize the kind of position you're in. You don't understand the tenacity of the situation. You don't," he snarled. "Nobody is going to save you. Not even that mate of yours."

His voice was venom. His red, wild eyes burned through me.

He lifted his claws and struck me. Sharp and merciless, they pierced my neck with full force. My breath staggered. Blood gushed out, and a cold chill ran down my spine. This was my end. My eyes widened as my breath hitched. I knew this was my last breath. A tear fell from my right eye.

I didn't want to die. My life was far from perfect, but it was still mine. Although there were times I'd wanted to just give up, I didn't want to die now. My body felt heavy as darkness covered my world.

"Trisha."

That same voice I'd heard when Dad was battling the brown wolf. He told me-it was my wolf. She took over my nearly corpse-like body. And something washed over me. I couldn't name it, but it felt warm. Alive.

She howled.

Loud. Fierce. Unapologetic.

Within seconds, there was a loud thud. The door collapsed-and there he was. My shining knight in armor.

Alpha Crimson Stark.

My mate. I didn't doubt anymore. I knew.

He lifted my abductor, who was standing right beside me, like he weighed nothing. He was fast. My abductor was dead before he even realized it. Crimson squeezed his neck until his soul left his body, then clawed out his beating heart. He dropped him to the floor, and his blood pooled on the ground.

The scene sent shivers through me-a realization that I was mated to the most ruthless man in the land of six. The demon wolf.

His golden-brown eyes had a shade of black now. They kept changing colors, a result of his wolf wanting to come out. Anyone could tell he was struggling to control it. I could tell because my wolf-who hadn't said a word before-wouldn't stop talking.

She kept talking to keep me awake. To keep me alive.

His gaze fell on me and suddenly softened. A flicker of worry passed through his eyes. He cupped my cheeks in his hands. Two of his men unchained me, and I dropped right into his arms.

His body was warm. His touch was gentle. He wiped the blood from my neck, and panic filled his eyes when he saw I wasn't healing.

"Mate."

This time, his voice matched his expression. He was concerned. He applied pressure to my wounds and quickly urged the doctor to do something. I was injected with something that lessened the pain and stopped the bleeding.

I drifted into the abyss, carried in the arms of my mate-knowing, without a doubt, that I would wake up in his arms.

For the first time in forever, I felt something I never thought I'd feel-love. Want. Safety. And finally, the will to live.

I wanted to live to see how it would all end.

How my life would end.