Mated To The Wrong Alpha
Chapter 44

The cacophony of thoughts swimming around in her brain was the first thing Ava became aware of as she gradually regained consciousness. It was as if someone had a remote control and they were channel surfing through her head. Ideas and feelings flit past before she could focus or make sense of them and she moved her head from side to side in protest.

“Ah!” A soft gasp of pain escaped her lips. Her neck was stiff and sore. She must have fallen asleep in an awkward position. Tentatively, she moved her limbs. They felt tired and heavy. In fact, her whole body was lethargic as if she’d just had a marathon work out.

Furrowing her brow, she considered opening her eyes, but it seemed too much of an effort. Instead, she tried to focus her thoughts again. So many feelings were tumbling about… Hmm… Regret and… Sadness? Was she sad? She hadn’t thought so, but maybe she was, otherwise why would the thought be in her head? The more she concentrated on the sadness, the clearer it became, and she felt an ache in her heart. No, it wasn’t her, but someone out there was sad and needed comforting. She should try to find them, help them… Forcing herself to open her eyes, she tried to sit up, but moved too quickly. A quick stabbing sensation from her neck had her crying out.

Instantly an intense wave of disgust and loathing washed over her and she tried to recoil from the dark, negative thoughts. What was going on? She felt confused and afraid. Was she losing her mind? She darted her eyes around the room as she searched for an explanation.

There was movement beside her and she saw that it was Arthur. Of course! It all came rushing back to her now. Their argument, the angry accusations, her emotions all over the place.

She’d pushed Arthur too far and he’d snapped and then… They’d b***d-bonded!

She quickly moved her hand up to her neck and touched the source of the pain. No wonder it hurt; Arthur had had his impressive canines dug into her flesh while they’d wildly mated. She imagined that their frantic movements had resulted in the skin and muscle being more than a bit torn. Well, the hurt wouldn’t last, but at the moment it was definitely tender.

Sitting on the far side of the bed, Arthur was hunched over. His back was to her and he had his head propped in his hands, with his elbows resting on his knees. She shifted so that she was sitting and tentatively reached out a hand to touch him. “Arthur?”

He jerked at her touch, hesitated before turning. His face was impassive, but the expression in his eyes couldn’t totally hide how he was feeling. His eyes. They were bleak pools of despair and regret.

It suddenly all made sense to her. If they were b***d-bonded, their minds now connected. Her confusion was because both of their feelings were rushing through her brain and she didn’t know how to sort them out yet. But, she frowned and felt her heart lurch. If these were Arthur’s feelings, then he was the one who was regretful. He’d b***d-bonded with her in the heat of the moment and now wished he hadn’t. He didn’t want to be bonded to her. She disgusted him!

Tears began to well up. At the same time, Arthur g*****d, closing his eyes. Another wave of loathing washed over her and she felt her lips tremble as she acknowledged how he felt about her.

Arthur wiped his face with his hands, looked back at her and sighed heavily. “Ava, I’m sorry.

This—” He dipped his head towards her neck. “It was a mistake. I never should have done it.”

Unable to stop them, tears began to spill down her face. She’d been hoping Arthur would want to b***d-bond with her and now that he had, he thought it was a mistake! He didn’t love her; she’d misinterpreted his actions completely. While he tolerated her in his home, he didn’t want to be bound to her mind, body, and soul. She felt like someone had ripped a chunk out of her heart.

Through a haze of tears, she saw Arthur lifting his hand towards her, and she recoiled back. She couldn’t bear to have him touch her right now, knowing that it didn’t really mean anything. As she moved away, his arm froze mid-air, then fell to his side, fist clenched. She shuddered; now his pain and anger swept through her. He was likely remembering the whole mixed up mess with Seth and was angry at her. It was all her fault.

She wiped her hands across her face, watching as he got dressed with angry, jerky movements, his face set in stone. He was leaving her. There had to be a way to fix this. In a trembling voice, she started to speak. “Arthur, about Seth. I swear I never did anything—”

“Just forget about it, Ava. It doesn’t matter.” His mind seemed to be building up some kind of a wall, his feelings becoming harder to read, as if he was able to lock them all away.

Grabbing a pillow, she hugged it to her chest, feeling exposed and unsure. He would know how she was feeling too, and she was desperate to hide it from him, but didn’t know how. She couldn’t let him know how hurt she was. Sniffling, she reached for a tissue from the bedside table, turning her back. There was a click behind her and she stilled. The bedroom door had shut, and she was left alone.

That was when she really broke down. Throwing herself across the mattress, she sobbed, heartbroken and mourning the loss of all her dreams. Arthur loathed and hated her. She disgusted him. How could she have been so wrong? He’d seemed to genuinely care for her, so what had gone wrong?

There was the mix up over Seth, but could that be enough to turn him against her? If he’d truly cared, he would have stayed and talked to her. She laughed bitterly at the irony of the situation. Now that they were b***d-bonded, they were farther apart than ever.

Rolling over on the bed, she stared at the ceiling and tried to find Arthur with her mind. There was an inkling, a sense that he was annoyed. She pulled her mind back. He didn’t want her bothering him. Somehow, he was managing to block her from his mind and didn’t appreciate her trying to break down his barriers. She blinked and curled up into a ball. Never before had she felt so sad and alone.

She must have been exhausted from the emotional turmoil and her restless sleep the previous night, for when she awoke dawn was breaking; she’d slept through the whole night. Once again, Arthur hadn’t come home, his side of the bed undisturbed. Melancholy overtook her, and she seriously considered rolling over and pulling the covers over her head. Unfortunately, her bladder had other ideas and she forced herself to sit up. Pushing her hair from her eyes, she clambered out of bed. After taking only two steps, pain shot through her foot eliciting a curse. Glancing down, she realized she’d stepped on the hard corner of a box that was lying on the floor.

Glaring at it, she vaguely recalled that she’d landed on it yesterday when Arthur had thrown her on the bed. She kicked it out of the way, and continued to the bathroom, deciding to find out what it was once the call of nature had been dealt with.

After relieving herself, she stared into the mirror. Messy dark brown hair and a tear stained face stared back at her while the deep green of her eyes reflected an inner sadness. Examining her neck, she noted the puncture marks and reddened skin that indicated where Arthur had bitten her.

Yes, there would definitely be a permanent mark there.

Deciding to take a shower, she adjusted the temperature, and stepped under the spray. Recollections of sharing the shower with Arthur caused her to smile faintly. She’d been happy back then, if she had but known it. The future had been filled with endless possibilities; Arthur had been eager to be with her. Now, all that was gone. Instead, she had a mate that she was b***d-bonded to and he didn’t even like her! Feeling tears starting to well up again, she abruptly finished washing and stepped out of the shower.

She spoke sternly to herself as she dried off. She had to get a grip and face reality. This wasn’t the first time life had thrown her a curve ball. When her father had suddenly decided to have her mated to Arthur and she’d had to leave Seth, she’d simply stiffened her l*p and made the best of the situation. Well, this was no different. Things hadn’t worked out as planned with Arthur, but she’d have to find a way to handle it.

As she vigorously towel-dried her hair, she ran though the possibilities. She could go home, return to her old pack. Her father wouldn’t like it, especially since it would break the alliance, but was the alliance really needed? Their packs weren’t at war with each other. The alliance was to keep developers out and from the sound of things, this pack wasn’t willing to sell out to anyone, so it was a moot point.

Grabbing a comb, she began to work the knots out of her hair. If she chose to leave she’d have to ask Arthur’s permission to do so, otherwise he had every right to follow her and drag her back. But would he? Not likely, given how he seemed to have been feeling towards her when he left.

She found an elastic to hold her hair back into a pony tail and efficiently restrained her long tresses. Yes, leaving was a possibility, but then she’d never see Arthur again, never feel his arms around her, never feel his k**s. That would be hard. If she stayed, there was still a chance that they would maintain a physical relationship, but would it be enough? She really didn’t know.

Wrapping herself in a robe, she padded back into the bedroom intent on getting dressed, lost in thought. Halfway across the room, she stopped short. There was that package, still on the floor. At one point in time, it had been wrapped in colourful paper with a pretty bow. Now, the corner was crushed and the bow was decidedly squished.

She picked it up, turning it over in her hands until she found the tag. It was written in a bold scrawl, but still quite readable. ‘Happy Birthday, love Arthur.’