C7 Mate

Marcus wiped blood splatters off his chin. He stared at the girl at his feet, disgust and hatred burning in his eyes. She was naked, her porcelain fair skin riddled with whip lashes. She was bleeding in some areas, he found the bright red blood a beautiful contrast to her fair skin. He remembered someone who had an even more beautiful contrast between her blood and her skin, and his body bristled with anger once more. He brought the whip down on her, the sound it made slicing through the air was terrifying. It connected with the girl's body, tearing open her flesh. She barely flinched in response to it, already used to the pain.

Marcus breathed heavily, his hair hanging out of it's formerly ponytail. He pushed the loose strands out of his face, beads of sweat on his brow.

"Get up." He spat with vitriol.

The girl raised her head and looked at him. She was smiling. "Wow, you're really worked up today." She said with a cheerful voice. She sat up fully and did a small stretch, throwing her hands over her head and bending her body sideways. "That took forever." She yawned, covering her mouth in a shy manner.

Marcus rolled his eyes. This wasn't satisfying at all. The excitement wasn't there. Even as he stared at her naked body, littered with his marks, he couldn't bring himself to enjoy it.

"That fucking bitch!" He roared, making the girl flinch. He threw the whip on the ground with force wishing he was throwing it at the girl he had her picture in his head.

"Ah," The girl at his feet sang, her eyes scanning his face. She then pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "This is a first. Usually your mood improves after our little play~"

Marcus stared at the girl, he was getting increasingly annoyed at her. It shocked him, he never felt this way before now. Her name was Susan, and she had the role of his stress relief doll. Susan was from a line of werewolves that were built for war. No one knew why they were so strong, with endurance, speed and stamina that surpassed that of most werewolves. Their healing time was elevated, evident in the way her fair skin was already clearing up and reverting to it's butter smooth state. The Lycanfrost pack had an abundance of warriors, this one Marcus reserved for himself.

And she didn't complain either.

If anything, she happily complied to all his requests, offering her body up each time he needed to release stress.

"Should we go for round two?" Susan asked, her voice sultry. She turned and stretched out on the floor. She kicked her legs up and swinged it in the air. She stared up at Marcus with lidded green eyes. "What do you say, Alpha?"

Marcus sighed and rolled his eyes. "Susan get dressed, I'm not in the mood."

Susan whined "Oh come on, why are you like this~"

Marcus turned away from her and walked to his bed. It was unmade. He didn't exactly care about it. It was early in the morning, around two am. He knew that if he called, there was no one in the opposite room to answer.

He untied his hair and let it flow down his back. When he got his hands on her, she would wish she wasn't ever born. Was that it...was that how he felt....

"Alpha?"

"Susan go home."

"But I can't!" She walked up to him and kneeled in front of him. She gently grabbed his face and raised his head up to meet her eyes. "There's still room for round two."

Marcus stared at her, his eyes dark. Her red lips was stretched into a smile, he could see the lust on her eyes. He knew what she wanted.

He raised a hand and grabbed her cheek. She leaned into his touch, her tongue darting out and giving his palm a kitten lick. "Susan, I said, go home."

She hummed, her eyes never leaving his. "Is this because of Elena?"

Marcus grabbed the side of her head and slammed her into the ground. She gasped, her eyes fluttering shut. She moaned softly, "yes, alpha, that's what I like to see."

Marcus grabbed her long blond hair and pulled her up. Her lip was split, and a bruise was fast spreading across her face. Just as fast as it was appearing, it was disappearing. Her cheeks were flushed with arousal, her lips slightly parted. On a normal day, the sight would have pleased Marcus greatly.

All he could feel was disgust. He tossed her aside and rose from the bed. He took a shirt from his wardrobe and put it on.

"Who would believe you're so worked up about a maid?!" Susan scoffed, distaste in her voice. "She's just an easily replaceable doll, why are you so bothered about her?"

Marcus turned to her. "Bothered?! Susan, I think you have the wrong idea here. She ran away, and got away with it. Who does that?!"

Susan flashed him a look of disbelief. "It's more than that, and you know it."

"When I find her, she will curse the day she was born."

There was a moment of intense eye contact between the two. Marcus could read the questions in her eyes. Do you feel more for this girl than you should for a servant? Will you actually kill her? Or do you just want to fuck her?

He turned away and finished buttoning up his shirt. He put on his shoes and walked out of the room without another word to Susan. On his way out he could hear her sigh. He ignored her.

Marcus felt angry at himself.

How could he lose composure over a maid, just a maid. One that was replaceable, worth nothing to him. He wondered what exactly he was doing. Elena wasn't the first servant to get fed up and run away. He never went after any of them, if they wanted to leave they could, he didn't care. He had no shortage of servants.

So why then did he go after her?

Why did her drag her back?

What exactly was he doing?!

He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling frustrated and stressed. Lately he couldn't even understand himself anymore. He was acting strange, he could tell that his people noticed. He could hear it in their whispers, the look they'd cast him as he walked past them.

He hated that look. Pity. A very disgusting emotion. And he wished he could slap their look off their faces. But they were his people, and they were allowed to have their own emotions. Still it disgusted him.

And now Susan that had never made a comment about his personal life was also looking at him that way. And insinuating that he was bothered about Elena.

The sound of hushed voices made him pause. He realized he was standing right in front of the servants quarters. At this time of the day, he expected that they should be asleep. He could hear them speaking in hushed tones, he leaned in and listened.

"...don't you think we should find her?"

"..why?!"

"...he's been acting strange since she vanished."

"...could he be in love with her?"

Marcus leaned away from the door and continued walking. They're were delusional, all of them. There's no way he was in love with her.

***

The search parties all came back empty handed. There was no trace of Elena, they said. Marcus rejected their report, and sent them back. There was no way she could have ran that far. How far can one girl by herself get by on feet?

A month passed and no results. Two months passed.

Marcus called off the search. He returned to his duties as the alpha. He got a new maid and refused to believe that he treated her better than Elena.

The blood moon came along.

All the preparations had been set in place, all that was left was for the ceremony proper to begin. Susan had showed up, sashaying her way over to him. She was dressed in a tight red gown that flaunted her body.

"Have you found her?" She asked, clasping her hands behind her. She looked like a schoolgirl to him.

Marcus looked at her. "What does it look like?"

"Sheesh. A little yes or no would have been okay." She looked around them at the pack members talking among themselves, patiently waiting for the moon goddess to bestow their mates upon them. "Hard to believe someone here will be mated to you, alpha."

"I best hope it's not you." He said.

Susan laughed heartily. "I totally understand you, and the feeling is mutual."

Marcus didn't say anything to her. He looked straight ahead, not really seeing anything. This was the night he'd be mated, to a female wolf in the pack. He looked around him, there was no one that sparked his interest. Maybe Susan, but being mated to her was going to be....he couldn't even begin to imagine it.

Maybe Elena...

That was impossible. She wasn't a member of Lycanfrost pack. And she was probably dead or something.

A hush descended upon the crowd, signalling the arrival of the moon goddess. The mating ceremony didn't typical last long, everyone who was of mating age would receive a mental image of their mate and they would then meet up with the one.

Marcus couldn't believe the image in his head. There had to be a mistake somewhere, there's no way that this was possible.

She was dead!

Howl's and shouts broke out all around him, sounds of celebration, sounds of joy. He stood frozen, unable to join in the shouts.

There was no way.

The image in his head was clear without a doubt. He would recognize that face even in his dreams.

Elena.