The Mate He Hates

Alpha Edward’s POV

He freed himself from my grip and wiped off the bloodstain from his lips due to the cut my punch gave him. Burning with anger, I glared at him, wishing I could kill him at that moment, but I knew that would be a grave mistake on my part.

“When will you accept it, cousin? When will you accept that Veronica never loved you? It was I she loved, and her death wasn’t my fault. I didn’t force her to go on that trip with me; she came on her own will. Why can’t you accept that fact?” He spat in my face, and I lost control. Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, I slammed his back against the wall and glared at him, my fangs out and ready to strike.

“How dare you?” I yelled angrily, and all he did was chuckle at my words. “And what will you do, dear cousin? Will you kill me?” He challenged with a sneer. I grunted with rage, anger boiling inside of me.

“What is going on?” I heard Aunt Victoria’s voice behind me, and I grunted.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Alpha Edward, Levi? What is going on?” She asked with uneasiness as she rushed towards us. When she got to where we stood, she held my hands and looked at me with pleading eyes. “Can you please stop it? He is still your brother…”

“He is not!” I yelled. “He ceased to be my brother when he betrayed me four years ago!” I yelled and let go of him. Grunting angrily, I left the sitting room and left the mansion.

“Are you going somewhere?” one of my men asked as I approached the gate, but I ignored him and walked out. It was late, and the night was freezing. Ignoring the temperature of the night, I walked into the dark woods. Upon reaching the woods, I removed my clothes and shifted into my wolf, something I hadn’t done for months. I hated shifting into my wolf because I felt my wolf was dead. I couldn’t claim to have a wolf whom I couldn’t feel or communicate with.

Howling loudly, I began racing around the woods with no particular direction. I continued racing as memories replayed in my head. I recalled the first day I met Veronica, my first mate. I was just 21, and Levi was 20. As cousins should be, we were so close and practically did everything together.

That fateful day, we went to a birthday party, and at that party, my wolf alerted me that my mate was present. I met Veronica, and it was love at first sight. She had brown eyes, brown hair, and a fair, slender body. She was everything I wanted my mate to be, and the moment I realized she was mine, I was overjoyed.

I loved her with everything in me, but I never knew such tragedy would befall me. Feeling exhausted, I stopped racing and returned to where my clothes were kept. After shifting into my human form, I put back on my clothes and walked out of the woods. Exiting the woods, I realized Matthew and a few men were waiting for me.

“Why are you here?” I grunted.

“The men informed me that you left with no guard, and you don’t look well, so I had to come to make sure you are okay,” Matthew responded, and I frowned, walking away. Realizing that I wasn’t in the mood to talk, Matthew remained silent until we got into the living room, where Aunt Victoria was seated on the couch waiting for me.

“You are back,” she sounded relieved to see me.

“I’ll be in my room,” I murmured and began climbing the stairs. Upon reaching my room, I sat on my bed, and my eyes fell on a picture frame on my desk. I picked it up, and with teary eyes, I glanced at the picture frame. It was a picture of my parents. A painful smile appeared on my face as I thought of them and how they were taken away from me by a ghastly car accident. Just three days after losing them, I also lost Veronica, and that made me go insane, to the point where I almost committed suicide, if not for the help of Elisa.

Taking a deep breath, I returned the picture and showered. After taking a cold bath, I put on my pajamas and climbed into bed.

Forcing my eyes closed, I tried to get some sleep, but I couldn’t. A particular lady kept messing with my head. I kept seeing her in my mind, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get her out of my head.

For hours, I struggled to get her out of my head, and when I finally did, I could get some sleep.

The following day, I was seated beside my desk, attending to some paperwork, when a knock came on the door. Perceiving it was Matthew, I asked him in.

“Good morning,” he greeted, and I nodded.

“You seem okay today,” he said, and I hummed. He took the seat across from me and glanced at me for a long while, which got me curious.

“What is it?” I questioned.

“Well…” he trailed off, and that got me more curious.

“What is it?” I asked again.

“Lycan Ethan brought a proposal this morning.”

“A proposal? What proposal?” I asked, curious.

“Well, he is offering his first daughter’s hand in marriage to you,” Matthew explained, and I sighed.

“Reject it,” I said without even having a second thought about it.

“How are you sure about this? I believe you know Lady Tonia; she is every man’s dream. She is beautiful, intelligent, and smart. Many alphas and lords are asking for her hand in marriage, but she has refused and has only accepted to be your wife. Why don’t you think about it?” Matthew tried convincing me, but I bluntly shook my head.

“Listen, I know that you are hurt because of the death of your second chance mate, and I truly understand you, but you can’t remain single forever. You have to get married, have a Luna, and have children. Why don’t you tell them to give you time to think about it instead of rejecting it?” He pleaded, and I groaned, relaxing back in my seat.

“I don’t want to give them hope, Matthew. It will take me years to be myself.”

“Then I will tell them that. I will tell them you need some time, but I won’t reject this proposal,” he stated firmly as he got up.

“Matthew.”

“No, I won’t listen to you. Apart from being your beta, I am also your friend, and I will not allow you to miss such a good opportunity,” he stated before leaving my study room. After he left, I groaned and got up from my seat. I picked up a glass of wine and sipped it, but just then, a knock came on the door, and I asked the person in. A guard walked in and bowed.

“What is it?”

“It’s your prisoner. She has been yelling, asking to see you. We have asked her to keep quiet, but she has refused.”

My brow furrowed. “She is yelling to see me?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Go get her.”