Alpha Bond

Ella’s POV

Oliver continues to growl at me. His eyes have a crazy bloodthirsty look which sends a shiver down my spine.

He is my Oliver, at the same time, he looks like a complete stranger.

I notice he has tied a chain around his torso, which is tightly wrapped around the large pillar situated in the corner of his room. I can sense the constant fight in his eyes.

He must have been ordered either to hurt or best to kill me. But of course, it is not the order which he can fulfill. But he has told me his guardian part is obliged to follow the order, and it is a hundred times worse than trying to defy an Alpha’s order. So he must be going through hell to resist the orders.

"We need to mark him," Blaze speaks in an urgent tone. "He needs to be claimed by us."

It takes me a moment to understand what she is suggesting. His loyalty lies with his superiors, and we need to break it. And that’s only possible when another stronger bond replaces it.

I don’t think if I weren’t his mate, he would have been able to hold it back from following his direct orders. Our mate bond is a shield and a weapon against them, and I have to use it, even if marking him against his consent is considered forceful.

But the only problem is that I don’t know how I should do it. I don’t feel any connection or any kind of pull, and these emotions are important to mark your mate.

It is not that I don’t want him, but those warm feelings are missing, which makes you feel wanted.

The feeling of acceptance and the feeling of being accepted is the thing that strengthens your bond. And at this moment, thinking about marking him is just seems so mechanical.

But I can’t see him struggling because it is killing me to see him suffer. On the other hand, someone else using their commanding power on him is making me furious as well.

Looking back at him, I let my eyes roam over him to find something that gives me the courage to carry out the marking. The veins in his neck are so strained, looking like ready to pop out, as brown fur begins to replace his skin as he fights for control. He is a few moments away from shifting, and I can’t judge how his wolf will react because we don’t know the intensity of their order.

The time of thinking is over, and now it’s time to act.

His upper lip rolls inside his mouth as he bares his teeth snarling at me when I take a step closer to him. Nothing hurts me because I know he is warning me, but even then, my eyes burn with unshed tears, thinking about how our marking is being forced.

Marking your mate is sacred, and this magical moment is ruined because of the circumstances in which we are trapped.

Blaze comforts me because she knows these emotions are so much valuable for me. Our wolves act on their need, and emotions are not as important to them as they are to us. There is no lack of love in them, but for them marking and claiming your mate is natural as they are meant for us.

I give Blaze some control, and instantly I feel a calming wave that dulls the ache in my heart. Emotions questioning my decision to mark him lock away, and my mind is only filled with determination to fulfill what I am supposed to do, what is my right as a mate.

As if something shifts in me, and I feel more relaxed rather than stressed. A teasing smile lifts my lips when I continue to eliminate the distance between us.

A look of awe and something else flashes through his eyes. Then again, a bloodthirsty look seeps into his gaze. I hold his eyes and notice how his eyes turn black instead of brown or yellow when his wolf is in control.

Placing my hand on the side of his face, I caress his face with my thumb, not once breaking my eye contact.

I can’t help but laugh when he growls, trying to warn me again.

“Hello to you, too, mate.” I smirk, “I am sorry, this is going to happen in this way. But someone needs to be reminded to whom you belong.”

“You are mine, and no power is stronger than what we have.” I speak quietly like a sacred chant, “Oliver only belongs to Ella.”

Closing my eyes, I feel my canines elongating as I bring my face near his neck. Not giving myself a chance to back down, I plunge my teeth deep into his neck.

Instantly different feelings wash over me, and then my entire body is engulfed in pain. I feel like I am being burned alive. And this burning can only be soothed if my mate will mark me.

Keeping my face in the crook of his neck, I hold back a whimper as the pain becomes unbearable with every moment. If he doesn’t mark me, I am sure I will die of this pain.

Marking is a sacred ritual, and to make sure this is not forced, Moon Goddess burns the wolves until they are not marked in return. I am going through the pain because I have marked my mate, but my skin is still not carrying his mark.

My grip on Oliver’s shoulders begins to loosen as I am on the verge of fainting. My body begins to fall back as tears escape from behind my closed eyelids.

Abruptly, I am jerked forward as I register the sound of snapping of chains. However, before I lost my fight against unconsciousness, I felt a sharp pain in my neck as a pair of canines broke the skin and plunged into my neck. I welcome this pain as the burning inside me begins to become dull.

Soon every pain is replaced by a comforting warmth as I feel myself drift into darkness.

The feeling of somebody caressing my neck forces me to open my eyes.

Blinking, I try to remove the haze in which I am, and I find myself staring into a pair of brown eyes.

“My mate.” Oliver places his lips against my forehead and gathers me in his arms, holding me against his chest.

Tears spring into my eyes as every feeling comes rushing back to me.

“This is not how it was supposed to be.” I hug him back, “Marking should not be forced, and I forced it on you.”

The sound of his deep chuckle surprises me and leaning back, I look at him in confusion.

“Ella, why would you think it was forced?” He asks, cupping my face in his palm, “Why even after I was being ordered to kill you, I was waiting here for you? Because I wanted you to break their hold on me. And I know it was only possible when you would mark me.”

“How were you so sure that I would mark you?” Relaxing his in arms, I gaze at him.

“Because I know you better than yourself.” He smiles and kisses the tip of my nose, “The Alpha in you wouldn’t have allowed anyone else commanding your wolf, and our mate bond would not have let you see your mate in pain.”

“Even though I am still bound to follow their orders because it is a part of being a guardian, these orders don’t hold the same power on me. You being a mate have changed my priorities.” He smiles wickedly, “You come before everyone else, and your word is above all. Not just as being my mate, but being my Alpha as well.”

My heart swells with different emotions as I look at his face. The moment which I thought was ruined suddenly becomes the most beautiful moment because it becomes much more meaningful. That moment I didn’t just mark him, but I freed him from his pain, and this thought alone increases the significance of the bond we have.

Mate liberates each other from pain and becomes each other’s comfort. And somewhere, we both have released each other from our pain by becoming each other’s solace.

“I love you.” Allowing myself to gather courage from him, I admit the feelings with which my heart is brimming.

Love.

This is the feeling that is consuming me when I look at him, and I don’t want to waste any time not letting him know what I feel for him.

After what he has gone through, he deserves to know he owns my heart and me.

He completely stills as if he has forgotten how to breathe. His gaze carries various emotions, but one feeling is evident in them. The same emotion which he can read in my eyes.

A smile begins to appear on his lip, and even before I can take my next breath, his lips are on mine.