Olive was more than scared to walk through the door and complete her mission. She had already come so far, why back down now? She belonged to a cult... Or rather, she was forcefully held in a cult where she could not do otherwise. She had to obey the laws or she'd be punished... slowly and painfully.
She had escaped from kidnappers at the age of 14, and ran to a man to help hide her. He actually did hide her, but he never let her out again. She was abused by him, sexually and physically. He made her succumb to joining a cult after much beatings. The beatings later stopped, but she turned into something else.
She was nothing but a vessel, an object to the cult. She had slept with men for them, maimed people, and killed a few too. The life Olive lived was terrible, but she had no choice. She was bound to the cult until she found her mate.
Her ultimate wish was to find that special one who would free her from the cult automatically, and make her life return to normal. She had seen how some of her colleagues were freed the very moment they found their true mates. In fact, they needn't come back to the cult-house if they choose to go with him or her that second. Oh, how she wished she could just see hers soon and fly off. She was twenty two years already, yet her wolf had not felt attracted to any man at all.
Olive heaved a deep sigh as she stared at the black door. She had to get this done. She couldn't go back. The cult would kill her if she didn't do this.
Finally, she pulled the doorknob and pushed the door open. The sound of distant music reached her ears as she stepped in. She untucked her gun from behind her and held it firmly as she walked through the dark and narrow hallway. The house would have seemed to be empty if not for the music coming from upstairs. The lights were all out.
Soon, Olive was climbing through the stairs from the living room. She reached the balcony and looked around, wondering why the whole house was that empty. Shouldn't guards be all around the house? Was Wayne Knight too confident in himself that he didn't station men outside? Well, he must have thought no one knew him in this small town and he could be all by himself. A smile crept on Olive's lips...this was going to be easy. She would kill him and be gone.
The faint music was coming from a room with a half closed door. Light was illuminating that part of the hallway from the room.
"He's in there," she said to herself. Her heart began to beat loudly. This was certainly the hardest and deadliest mission she had come across.
The man she was supposed to kill was known as The Big Bad Alpha. He was often called, The BBA. Wayne Knight was a famous bad boy amongst the creatures of the night-the werewolves, vampires and more. He was notorious and the Alpha of the biggest and most developed pack in the country. He took care of his own, but trampled on the minor packs around. He was too fast to anger and too quick to kill. He owned a lot of establishments so he was buoyant and independent...and too proud of it. He had enemies, which was no surprise. And it had to be Olive who was called upon to eliminate him. It had to be her!
Pushing the door gently, she looked in and saw that the room was empty. Her eyes widened as she couldn't believe her ill luck. Wayne Knight was not in the room. What was she going to do? Where was she going to search next with this thumping heart of hers? She could be easily detected because her heart was racing so fast and loud. She turned around and pointed her gun ahead of her. She tried pulling the doorknobs of the other doors but none would budge. She had to kill Wayne and do it fast.
"Mission impossible," she found her conscience pricking her. She took a silent breath in and walked further. Suddenly, she heard the shutting of a door behind her and she gasped and turned behind her abruptly only to see a gun pointing at her face. She felt another gun gently touching the back of her head.
"Busted," the one behind her whispered. She shuddered but remained standing firm and tough. She could still take them down. She just had to relax then attack. But as if they read her mind, she was knocked out immediately and she fell to the floor unconscious.
When she woke up, it was dawn. She tossed and found out she was on a wet and hard surface. Water was pouring on her face and flashes of light kept lighting it up now and then. She heard deep rumbles and it kept getting louder. Olive realized she was outside in the rain.
She gasped loudly and began to cough inadvertently. She opened her eyes slightly as the pouring water blinded her vision. She could see a pole right beside her and her hands were tied to it. She looked around and saw no one. Only cars parked.
"Please, help me!" she screamed even though she knew deep down that she had gotten into a mess she would never get out of alive. Alpha Knight's men were going to kill her. They would take information out of her and kill her. Just like they did to others at their own cult.
"I'm sorry, please! Don't kill me!" she yelled as the rain intensified. She could see clearly now, as her eyes had gotten accustomed to the water flowing into them though she was blinking repeatedly. Cold hugged her body like another skin and she shivered terribly.
However, she wasn't bothered about the rain. No, this wasn't torture to her. She had been whipped in the rain before. She had been raped in the rain before. She had been stripped naked during winter and left outside to turn blue. So, just being left in the rain wasn't torture.
It was what was going to happen to her afterwards that bothered her. She was getting scared to death of her fate which presently laid with The Big Bad Alpha and his men. She prayed silently for a quick death. She prayed they wouldn't torture her first. If it meant giving them enough information so they wouldn't have to torture her for it, then so be it. She'll blurt out everything she knew about The Vrek Cult and beg to be shot in the forehead. On a bright side, she was finally going to exit this world of pain and no freedom. She would be finally free from that stupid inhumane cult.
But-
She wouldn't be happy in the afterlife. She would be alone again. All what she wanted was to find her mate, so if she died without finding that special one...then her life over there would still be empty.
The thought of not finding her mate bit hard into her flesh more than the deadly cold she was experiencing. Oh, if only she could find him and get wrapped in his arms. If only she could experience love just once...just once.
Her wolf whimpered inside her at the thought of not finding their mate before departing.
Olive began to cry. She cried until her tears became distinguishable in the rain because of how they flowed in the same sequence almost more than the water pouring down her face. She looked up at the moon that was slowly getting overshadowed by sunlight.
"Please, don't let me die until I find my mate. Please, have mercy," she pleaded out loud amidst loud sobs.
Suddenly, she felt a terrible pain strike her through her shoulder. Her eyes widened with shock from the pain. She felt warmth mixing with the cold on her shoulder and looked down to see red liquid flowing down her body with the rain.
Another strike and more blood.
"No," she mumbled as another strike landed on her back. Somebody was whipping her with a whip of thorns. Her skin was getting slashed off. The pain was terrible.
She screamed as more strikes fell on her back and the whips were even coiling against her neck and face. She fell to the floor and screamed loudly. She tried to see who it was that was whipping her, but all she could see was the whip landing all over her and tearing her skin. Soon, she was in a pool of her blood which flowed with the water down. Her cries were too loud, even louder than the thunder roaring through the skies.
The person whipping her began to kick her angrily, as if the whipping was too merciful. She got paralyzed with pain and couldn't move even a finger anymore. She just laid there, all bloodied, cold and in pain. Her lovely black hair stuck to her like glue.
Satisfied with Olive's present predicament, the whipping and kicks stopped from the torturer. She moved her head with much difficulty to see the face of her oppressor. And she was more than surprised when she saw a very familiar woman.
"Hello, Olive," the woman said with a wicked smirk. After that, Olive got engulfed by darkness which was the most welcome thing at that instance considering the betrayal she had just faced.
It felt like a thousand bags of cement were tied around Olive's body when she woke up. She couldn't even move her neck to look around because it felt so heavy and painful. She however knew she wasn't outside anymore. She was still on the bare floor, but under a roof. Olive didn't stay for long before someone realized she was awake. Maybe they all came to check up on her turn by turn.
"She's awake," a man announced. Fear skittered through her heart. She was going to face another torture again.
Two strong arms pulled her up and she cried in pain. Her injuries hadn't healed at all despite the healing ability of the body of wolf shifters. Dry and fresh blood were still all over her but her hair and clothes were already dry.
She was dragged into a room and pushed to the floor roughly. She screamed and hugged the floor while crying. Oh, her life would have been roses if she had found her parents instead of running into the arms of a strange man who turned her life into a living hell. She hated him. She hated The Vrek Cult. She hated her life.
"I'm really disappointed in The Vrek Cult. They sent you? Seriously? You? Is that how badly they wanted you dead?" Olive heard the woman's mocking voice.
She opened her swollen eyelids and peered at the blurry image of Cynthia. She was the daughter of the man who made her what she was, the man who forced her to join the cult at 14. She hated both Cynthia and her father. She however couldn't believe she was with Alpha Knight. How was that possible? She was a part of their cult...she must have pledged her allegiance. How did she free herself from the blood oath? Did she find her mate?
Wait-
Was Alpha Knight her mate? If so, then Olive was doomed. Cynthia hated her as much as she hated both her and her father. No wonder she whipped her mercilessly. She wouldn't let her mate, the BBA, spare her. God! Why did she run into Cynthia here?
"She's so weak. When you said The Vrek Cult was coming after The BBA, I thought we were in for a bloody fight. Too bad, they sent a clumsy she-wolf," another man mocked and they laughed. By the sound of the laughter, Olive could tell that they were about four or more in the room.
"I'm-not-weak," Olive managed to croak. Cynthia kicked her hard in the face and her lips and nose bursted out blood. Of course, they laughed at her.
Cynthia bent down and pulled her by the hair as tight as she could that Olive felt strands of hair pulling out of her scalp. She closed her eyes in pain.
"You are a pathetic weakling, Olive. Just because you succeeded in all other stupid missions you embarked on doesn't make you a heroine. You just haven't seen a mission too strong for you. Oh! You already have and it is going to be the end of you," she spat directly into her face then pushed her head with so much force that it hit the floor hard and blood began to ooze out.
Olive prayed she'd die because of that hit so she could escape seeing The Big Bad Alpha himself.
"Tell the Alpha she's conscious enough to feel pain now," Cynthia ordered like she was the lady boss. Well, she was most likely the Alpha's mate and their Luna.
A man walked out of the room to call Alpha Knight and Olive's heartbeat increased drastically. This was it. Her death...without ever feeling the love and comfort in having a mate. She remembered her prayer to the moon earlier and her tears fell.
She opened her eyes wide so she could see a bit clearer. The men's faces were visible now even though her vision got blurred at several intervals. Her eyes were fixed at the door, ignoring all the wicked and mocking looks staged on her by the people in the room-especially Cynthia.
Finally, he walked in. He was a tall man-really tall. He was well built and looked like a soldier. But other than his terrifying stature, Wayne Knight was a very handsome man. His light brown hair was in a fancy haircut and long curled strands fell slightly over his face. His eyebrows were thick and straight, giving him a terrifying yet sexy stare. He had thick eyelashes over his medium sized eyes. His whole face was a masterpiece and Olive wouldn't mind analyzing that work of art if it wasn't for the situation she was in.
Wayne's scent filled the room and it was like the scent of rain on a dusty forest floor. Which was the scent she loved so much. It filled her head and for a second, she inhaled it deeply. Cynthia smirked at her and walked up to him.
"Hey, Wayne," she called him by his first name, showing Olive that she and him were on first name terms. Olive got the message pretty well.
"Hey," he said in the coolest and sexiest voice Olive had ever heard. It was like smoothing butter over cake.
Cynthia wrapped her arms over his neck and made him face her by the right-giving Olive a clear view. She raised her head, tiptoed and planted a soft kiss on his lips. Then she nibbled on the lower one until he took hold of her and kissed her back. She moaned softly and he unlocked from her.
Olive's already fragile heart shattered. Sure, she suspected they were mates. But seeing them kiss so passionately killed her on the inside.
Wayne's eyes moved over to Olive and settled on her face. Their gaze locked and none of them looked away for what seemed like an eternity. It wasn't like she didn't want to look away, she just couldn't. It was like her eyes were glued to his permanently. She felt like she was seeing through his glassy brown eyeballs. Like she was entering a whole new world.
Suddenly, her wolf stood on all fours inside of her and her furs raised. She felt agitated, like she wanted to jump out after finding a way out of a prison. Olive could feel her trying hard to jump out.
Cynthia brought out a gun and showed it to Wayne, even though he hadn't broken his eye contact with Olive.
"I suggest you give her a quick death. Don't want you to waste your energy when you could use it for me in bed," she whined and arranged his messy hair from his face. Olive's wolf growled angrily inside her at the mention of Wayne being in bed with Cynthia. And why was she touching his hair? How dare she touch his hair!
A muscle flicked in Wayne's face and his jaw clenched tightly. Everyone in the room knew Olive was done for. Cynthia just wanted to parade the fact that she was sleeping with him by saying what she said earlier. She wanted him to actually give her a slow death.
Olive gulped and finally lowered her eyes from his. He exhaled and looked at his men.
"Out," he ordered and they all didn't waste a minute in scampering out of the room. Cynthia placed her hand on his shoulder and stood beside him like an equal. He slowly looked down at her fingers sprawled on his shoulder then at her face...he was looking annoyed.
"You too, Cynthia," he said and her eyes widened.
"What?" she mumbled.
"Out," he ordered coldly and she exhaled angrily. She glanced at Olive and gave her a deathly look before leaving the room.
Wayne stared at Olive again. He looked all over her battered body and his fists clenched inadvertently. Her face was a terrible mess. Blood was flowing thickly from her nose down her chin and her eyes were swollen. He could hear her heart beating too fast and too loud. She was terrified.
He took a step closer to her and she whimpered and shifted back in fear. His muscles tensed with anger. He turned around and walked out of the room, banging the door behind him. Olive's heart thudded and she crawled into a ball. Wayne Knight was terrifying...but why was her heart also wishing he was still staring at her?
Olive tried to calm down but her wolf was still at alert, savoring Wayne's smell. What was wrong with that furry creature of hers? Her wolf heard her and growled the answer to her questions..."Mate."
Olive's eyes widened in shock. Wayne Knight... her mate? Was that even possible? She laughed at her stupidity. Yes, she was stupid enough to think that. She knew that it was just her mind playing with her and giving her what she desired. She desired a mate, and her mind was toying with her. Wayne was Cynthia's mate. That explained why she was with them in the first place, because she couldn't work against the cult unless she was mated.
Olive shoved the thought of Wayne being her mate back inside. She growled at her wolf to sit still and stop miscalculating things.
Though this was the very first time her wolf had acted this way with someone, she still didn't want to believe her. The Big Bad Alpha couldn't be her mate. And even though he was, she was sure to be rejected by him. That angry look he was giving her few seconds ago explained that he was not going to show her any mercy. She closed her eyes on the floor there and slept off.
***
Alpha Wayne Knight was beyond angry when he saw Olive. So, she was sent to kill him?
He walked into the kitchen where he found the rest of his men, alongside Cynthia who was the only woman.
He ignored all their looks and opened the fridge, almost yanking the door off. He pulled out a bottle of shifter-made tequila and a shot glass. He filled the glass to the very brim and chugged it down.
All eyes were still on him, seeing how angry he was, no one spoke. They thought he was having a hard time with the fact that The Vrek Cult was truly after him like Cynthia said.
"Did you kill the girl already? You look so agitated," Cynthia's smug voice rang across to him. He looked at her, scoffed then chugged down another shot of tequila.
"She's alive," he simply answered... coldly.
Cynthia smiled. By his answer, she knew he was going to give her a slow death. He was going to torture Olive because he seemed agitated and angry. She tried to walk up to him and massage him to calm him down. But he asked a question with a very deadly voice.
"Who. Tortured. Her?"
Cynthia stopped walking and blinked repeatedly.
"I did," she answered. His face reddened as he looked at her.
"You did that to her?" he asked in a calmer voice than the first question.
"Yes, I did. Did I do a good job?" she smiled at him, thinking he was impressed with her.
He raked his fingers through his messy hair and clenched his jaw.
"You did too good of a job. She looks like a battered piece of bread!" he gritted his teeth angrily. Cynthia flinched at his tone.
"If she did a good job then why are you yelling at her, Alpha?" Jake, his Beta asked. Cynthia made a puppy face.
"Because that girl lying on the bare floor, bloodied and in pain is my fucking mate!!" he barked while pointing out the door.
Everyone in the room was shocked beyond comprehension. Their hearts fell to their feet. Their blood turned lighter and reddened their skins. No one moved, no one talked, no one even tried breathing heavily. To say they were shocked was even an understatement.
Cynthia-she was killed. Yes, she felt like she had just died the very moment he said that. The body standing was just a mere pound of flesh. Her mouth was aghast, her eyes as wide as that of an owl and her breathing, seized.
"What?" her subconscious mind spoke out loud for her. Wayne kept emptying glass upon glass until he began to sway and held the counter for support.
"Shit," Jake's voice was heard.
"How's that..." one of the men, Terry, wanted to ask how that was possible but he trailed off.
The rest of the men recovered from their shock and looked at Cynthia who was still standing like Lot's wife. They knew how obsessed she was with their Alpha, and she was too possessive of him. She didn't waste a minute to flaunt him before any girl they came across. And they knew she was flaunting him to Olive too. But that same Olive turned out to be Wayne's mate. Irony of life!
"What are you going to do now?" Jake asked a very tipsy Wayne Knight. He ran his fingers into his hair and clutched them hard.
"I don't know. I fucking don't know," he muttered and was about to take another shot but Jake grabbed it and poured it in the sink. He put the bottle in the fridge and closed it.
"Is she still there? In that room?"
"Yes. I couldn't stand the sight of her," Wayne answered and closed his eyes, as if she was still before him. The blood flowing down her face hurt him badly. How dare Cynthia?
"Terry, go take her to a room with a bed. Clean her up and find something for her to eat," Jake ordered. Terry was about to leave when Wayne stood straight.
"No. I'll go clean her up. You go get her some food," he said and walked out of the room, swaying a little. Terry looked at Jake with questions written all over his face.
"What are you waiting for?" Jake asked him. He looked at the door then back at Jake.
"Are you sure that is really his mate? What if this is just-"
"Terry, how many years have you been with Wayne?" Jake cut him short.
"Roughly five years," Terry answered.
"And you've seen him sparing his victim, getting drunk for his victim, going to clean up his victim and getting so angry that she was hurt?"
Terry gulped down. Truly, what just happened was very foreign. The Big Bad Alpha wasn't one to have emotions other than hate, anger and pleasure. He didn't have sympathy, empathy, love or kindness towards any other person apart from people on his side. So, for him to spare someone sent to kill him, that was definitely something new.
"Now, go get that girl some food," Jake added and Terry walked out of the kitchen. There was no food in the house because they had come there to set a trap for Olive. The tequila bottle was the only thing in the fridge and it belonged to Wayne. It was still the early hours of the morning so it wasn't hard to find food outside.
Wayne Knight staggered until he reached the empty room where Olive was kept. He opened the door and steadied himself. He saw her lying on the floor in a ball and surrounded with blood. So, this was his mate. The one created for him... alone.
What if he had let his men kill her immediately last night when she was caught. That was how he would have lost his mate forever. He walked up to her and bent down. Her hair was all over her face. He pushed them all away and stared at her.
She was really a mess. He saw torn skin on her neck and face, and knew it must have been the whip that bounced against those places. He shuddered at the thought of how the rest of her body would actually look like. Gently, like a new baby, he carried her in his arms. She whimpered and winced in pain but didn't wake up from her sleep. He took her to a room, the room he slept last night.
After placing her on the bed, he began to tear off her clothes until it was just her undies. He closed his eyes at the sight of her skin. He had no idea that a person's wounds could affect him this much. He didn't want to look at her like that, but he didn't want any of his men to see her that way either. It would be embarrassing for her to be seen in this state... even though she was tortured in their presence.
Wayne got towels and a bowl of warm water from the bathroom, then began to wipe off her blood. She wasn't healing, making him a tiny bit worried. Some of her injuries kept seeping out new blood. He however, managed to clean her up fully.
He didn't want to see her naked, so her undies and bra were still on. He treated her wounds and rubbed healing balm made in his pack on them. Then he covered her with a blanket and gently removed her panties and unhooked her bra, all the while careful not to touch her skin. He was sure she had injuries there too, but he just didn't want to see her naked.
On a normal day, he wouldn't care if she was the curviest woman in the world. He would have seen her naked and not glanced twice. But today wasn't normal for Wayne Knight. He had found his mate, the woman he ordered to be tortured-the one he wanted to murder badly.
Olive was sleeping soundly and didn't even stir. Her face was still reddened because her blood had not cooled, she needed time to regularize her temperature. He left her there after discarding her torn clothes and undies. He closed the door, walked into the kitchen to wash his hands before heading out. He found his men at the front of the house. His face was in a terrible frown and they all stood straight, knowing he was still in a bad mood.
"Where is Cynthia?" he asked.
"She's in my bathroom," Jake answered. Wayne's brows furrowed and he looked up as if he could see through the ceiling.
"Jake, go stand by the door of my room. Don't leave there until I return," he ordered and began to walk down towards his car parked at the driveway.
"Uh, where are you going?" Jake asked.
"To go get some clothes for Olive," he answered, opened the door of his car and sat in before shutting it.
Jericho, one of his men looked at Wayne and stifled a laugh. Jake shot him a glare and he looked away immediately.
"Okay, Alpha," Jake responded and walked inside. He had an idea why Wayne had ordered for him to go and stand there. It was for fear of Cynthia doing something bad to her. Everyone knew the relationship between Cynthia and Olive was anything but love.
Alpha Knight drove out and went to buy new clothes for Olive. He didn't know her size but he could guess the one that would fit her. When he arrived, he met Jake at the door of his room.
He gave him an appreciative look and Jake walked away. He opened the door and walked in only to be greeted by the wide, extremely terrified green eyes of his mate.