The Mate He Hates

Amanda’s POV

I was dragged to an unfamiliar spot still saturated inside the mansion. The place was like a yard, but the only difference was that they were underground cages. Gulping nervously, I looked around while the men dragged me to a particular cage. They let go of me and opened the cage. The moment they did, I peered through the bars and realized it was water-filled, causing my eyes to widen.

“Will you willingly go in yourself, or do you want us to force you in?” the guard asked, and I swallowed in fear. I wasn’t a good swimmer, and I didn’t know how long I would survive.

“Maybe we should put you in,” the guards grabbed me and forced me into the cage. As I entered, I realized my foot was touching the ground, and the water stopped at above my neck. The guards chained both my hands to a metal bar above my head, and then they closed the cage. I couldn’t see anything as everywhere became dark.

“No, no,” I pleaded in panic at realizing what had befallen me.

“You brought this upon yourself,” one of the guards spoke.

“I don’t think she will make it until tomorrow morning,” the other guard responded.

“Well, I don’t care. Let’s leave.”

“No, please don’t leave me here, I beg of you,” I cried out in panic and fear.

The water beneath me was dark and cold, sending me to shivers. I struggled against the chains, but they held me firmly in place. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I realized the gravity of my situation: trapped in this cage, submerged in water, with no way out.

More tears streamed down my cheeks, and I had to close my eyes, wishing all this was a nightmare. I wished I could go back in time and rewrite my story. If I were given a chance to rewrite my story, I would make sure I abandoned him to die in the woods. I would have listened to Elisa when she had asked us to leave; I wouldn’t have tried saving him. I cursed when I met Alpha Edward in the woods; I wish that day never came.

As I wallowed in pain, I realized the temperature of the water was increasing, becoming icy. I shivered in the cold as I struggled to keep my head above the rising waterline, fighting against the panic threatening to consume me.

I had stayed in that position for more than three hours, and my legs and hands were becoming weak, but there was nothing I could do other than stay in such a position.

Hours passed, and I was numb; I couldn’t feel my body. My body felt dead, and only a little life was left in me. Slowly, I closed my eyes and thought of Mother, recalling the dream I had of her. I began to doubt her words because I didn’t believe there was any light in my tunnel. With every passing day, my situation became worse.

Soon, I began having trouble breathing; my breaths were seizing, and I felt so numb, as if life was being drawn gradually away from me.

With a tired sigh, I closed my eyes, hoping that this was death. It had to be death; I wanted nothing but death and hoped it would come quickly.

With my eyes closed, I drifted into a half-conscious state, water lapping against the cage echoing in my ears. Time seemed to stretch on endlessly, each moment feeling like an eternity as I battled against the darkness that threatened to engulf me. Memories flashed through my mind, both bitter and sweet.

“Dear Moon Goddess,” I prayed in my state of half-consciousness. “Please take my life.” I pleaded desperately. I wanted death so much and wished to escape all this suffering just by dying.

But it seemed the Moon Goddess was silent to my prayers because so many minutes passed, and I was still breathing, although my breaths were faint.

“Just take me!” I pleaded silently, yet nothing happened.

I remained lifeless as I waited for death to engulf me because I knew I wasn’t far from giving up. Suddenly, I heard footsteps. At first, they were distant, but soon they became closer, and I had to open my eyes, but darkness greeted me.

“Open up,” an unfamiliar voice commanded, and before I could comprehend what was happening, I heard the cage clicking and opening. Light flooded in, blinding me momentarily as I squinted against the sudden brightness. Hands reached in and pulled me out of the cage, lifting me and setting me on solid ground. I gasped for breath, feeling the chill of the air against my skin after being submerged in the icy water for so long.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“Are you okay?” the voice asked, filled with concern. I blinked, trying to focus on the figure in front of me. It was a familiar man, his face etched with worry as he examined me.

With a furrowed brow, I looked at the familiar man kneeling before me, trying to remember where I had seen him, but I couldn’t. Instead, I noticed my eyes were shutting down.

“She is going unconscious; pick her up,” the same voice commanded, and I felt hands carrying me before I drifted away.

Two hours later

I felt my body pressed against something soft; it didn’t feel like the coldness and hardness of the cell floor but relatively soft, just like my bed at home. Slowly, I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was the ceiling. The ceiling seemed strange; I hadn’t seen anything like it before.

Confused about where I was, I looked around and realized I was in a room, not just a room, but a room that looked like that of Alpha Edward’s chambers. The room almost looked identical to Alpha Edward’s, but the setting and the decor differentiated them.

“Where am I?” I mumbled to myself as I sat on the bed, but just then, the door opened, and the familiar man walked in.

“I see you are finally awake. You’ve been out for almost two hours,” he sounded relieved to see me awake, but I furrowed my brow as I glanced at him, finding it difficult to remember where I had seen him.

“Who are you?” I blurted out.

He chuckled and got closer to me. “So you don’t know me?” He scoffed, and I gulped in panic. He seemed so familiar, but I couldn’t place where I had seen him before.

“This is the second time I am saving your life, and yet you don’t know me?” He smiled, and I stared at him with a confused brow, wondering who he was and why he would say he had saved me before.

“Who…”

My words were interrupted when I heard the door fling open, and curious to know who it was, I moved my eyes to the door only to see Alpha Edward barging into the room.