Page 17 of Unloved Mate

“We'll have to. He's my best friend and I don't want to hurt him.” I replied to my wolf lazily, reaching the forest grounds. I pulled off my clothing and put them into a pile, hiding it under the root of a tree.

“I liked him at first when he returned, but I don't trust him now. I trust, and I want Creed.”

“Zeke and I have history, but there's so much we don't know about Kane.” I informed.

“He’s our mate.”

“I’m not doubting our bond, Leo. I just want to know more about him.”

“Ask him when you get back to the house. If he doesn't answer, then we'll know he's hiding something.”

“Ok,” I nodded. I was about to shift when I heard a movement in the brush. Carefully stalking toward the source, I kept my eyes and ears open and drew closer and closer. Something moved behind me and I turned, but I couldn't find anything. “If this is a fucking joke, Kane. Stop it!” I was turning back in the first direction when I walked into someone's chest. Looking up, Zeke smirked wickedly at me and slammed my head into the nearby tree.

All I saw for the next two hours was darkness.

When I woke up, I was lying in the living room in the mansion where Zeke had brought me. I let out a scathed grunt and rubbed my temple, soiling my hands in my blood. Fuck, I was still bleeding. Ezekiel must have hit me so hard. I slowly rose to my sitting position, turning to the incoming footfalls. It was Zeke, and he had a tray of food in his hand. “Hey, you are awake. Knocking you out naked wasn't ideal, but I enjoyed watching you bare,” he smirked at me and put down the tray in front of me. Myface twisted in disgust at his words. “Eat.” He coerced.

“I’m not eating anything from you. What did you do to me?”

“He's marked you. That would make it hard to implant memories into your head now,” he said, trying to touch me, but I swatted his hands off my face. He was even admitting the fact that he had been manipulating my memories. Thankfully, he had clothed me. I rose to my feet and backed away with a growl. “And he's fucked some bravery into you. If you don't eat, you're going to starve,” He added, his tone rich with amusement. “I don’t intend on letting you go anytime soon.”

“I’m not staying with you. What did you do to me? Why did you make me think you were Kane?”

“Because I was protecting you.”

“Protecting me from what? Him? The only person I need protection from is you.” I pointed at him and a growl rumbled in my throat. If I had to fight my way out of here, then I would.

“You can leave now if you want to.” He shrugged and carried the tray back to the kitchen. I sighed and sauntered toward the exit. I opened the door and tried to get past the threshold but I couldn't. I tried over and over, but it was pointless. It was like there was an invisible barrier stopping me from leaving. I turned to Zeke and saw him standing opposite me with a wicked smile on his face. He knew exactly what he was doing.

“Let me out.”

“No.”

“Why? What did I do to you to deserve this?”

“Everything! Your family ruined my life. They were the reason I left in the first place,” his tone was rich with pain and torture. “I worked so hard for everything while you just had it handed over to you. I suffered while you lived in your luxurious home. I lost everything just to make you happy, and even when Iloved you. You just didn't care and now you get to walk into the arms of another man and have your happy ever after.”

“Ezekiel, I didn’t know. You could have just told me. I would have…”

“Apologize? Or what? Fought for me?” He cut me off.

“Yes, I would have fought for you!” I asserted.

“I don't need your fucking apology. I want you fucking dead!” he roared at me. “And I hate that because underneath everything I still love you, and I just want you to stay here with me.”

“But...”

“You have nothing with Kane. He's just deceiving you, luring you into his den of lies until you were foolish enough to let him trap you with the mating bond.” He said in a very convincing tone, making me almost believe him. Kane didn't lie to me or manipulate my memories to lure me out of here. He didn't kidnap me and bring me back to his own home, and he sure as hell didn't implant memories of his past into my head. With him I had free will and he respected my choices, but Zeke had become someone entirely different. Like I hadn’t known him all my life. Maybe I didn’t.

“That’s not true. Our bond is real,” I shook my head. “Ezekiel, you're hurt, and I understand that. We need to talk about this. You know I've never done wrong to you. Please don't do this. Don't ruin what we have.” I remarked and closed in on him, taking his hands and giving him a soft caress. Tears sprung from his eyes and I pulled him into an embrace, holding him as he shuddered in my arms.

“You’re wrong. I have nothing left. Kane has you. He took you away from me.” He whispered as tears trickled down his cheeks and pushed me off himself. He gritted his teeth and took back my hands, trying to drag me back, but I tussled out of his grip.

“Don’t.” I replied, shaking my head.

“Valor, you need to come with me,” he commanded with a deadly serious expression, and I shook my head. I wouldn't go anywhere with him. He seized my arms and pulled me closer. “You fickle Omega. I'll always be stronger than you,” He disparaged but I backed away. Leaving him with one option—an attack. He moved toward me at an unnatural speed and thrusted me into the wall, and I grunted out, overpowering his weight on me and exchanging our position. He struggled until he pushed me over, the impact of his strength sending me toppling into the living room. I forced myself up, but before I regained my stance; he had cleared the distance between us and seized my throat, strangling me and knocking the breath out of my lungs. My throat burned at the tightness of his grip and I struggled to breathe, my eyes rolling at the back of my head. I thrashed and struggled, choking out a plea, but he didn't listen. He lifted me from the floor, his hands still around my throat, my feet hanging inches away from the floorboards as he hurled me to the wall. I slammed against the wall then it was darkness.

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