Sold To The Alpha
Hated Ties That Bind Chapter 48

Nathaniel sat in the middle of his cage watching Ariana as she stared intently into the small cauldron that bubbled over the flames in her hearth. 'The rain should slow them down' she muttered to herself distractedly, 'that should give me time to prepare for their arrival.'

'Ariana' Nathaniel croaked out, his throat dry from lack of water, 'please, talk to me, let me help you heal.'

Ariana shook her head, 'I will heal, werewolf, as soon as that devil is dead' she replied as she continued to peer into the water that showed the five wolves asleep in a tiny shack somewhere, the ferocious storm that she had sent their way, halting their progress toward her. She knew that she couldn't keep the weather spell active for long, but at least she had bought herself enough time to put her plans into place.

The Alpha shifted in the cage, edging closer to the bars coughing as he tried to clear the dust from his throat. Her head snapping up toward him, Alessia glanced at the clock that was over the mantlepiece, her eyes widening in horror.

'Oh God, I am so sorry' she muttered as she rushed over to the small sink and rinsed a glass before filling it with fresh water and bringing it back to the warrior, carefully pushing it through the bars where Nathaniel took it gratefully, gulping the contents in desperation. 'Time got away from me, I didn't mean to not give you water and food' she mumbled, the corners of her lips dropping as anger toward herself etched her features.

'It's OK' the Alpha replied with a small smile, 'you were quite focused on whatever you were doing.

Ariana looked away, unable to meet the warrior's piercing gaze, 'I um, was watching your friends' she finally admitted.

Nathaniel perked up at her words, 'are they OK?' he asked hopefully, 'is everyone safe at the vampire clan, the leader was pretty angry when we left.'

Ariana nodded, 'they are fine, they are coming for you right now' she added with a smile as she looked over at him. 'They seem to care for you, the two older wolves and the younger one with blonde hair, even the devil puts on a good show' she added with a frown. The warrior smiled, 'the oldest is my Godfather, Daniel, the other my dad' he explained, 'the blonde man is my Beta Landen, they all pretty much have to care for me, they have no choice' he laughed.

The corners of Ariana's lips tipped upward again as she watched the future Alpha's face light up as he spoke about his family. 'You really love them don't you' she whispered softly.

Nathaniel laugher faded as he nodded, 'with everything I have, they are my family.. I still hope that one day they could also be yours?'

The sorceress looked down at the floor, her cheeks becoming flushed as she absorbed what he had said. 'You need something to eat' she replied quickly, hurrying back to the small kitchen area in the room and pulling open the door of the fridge, grabbing ham, lettuce, tomatoes and butter, depositing them on the table before collecting a plate, bread and a knife.

Pushing vials and stoppered bottles out of the way, the sorceress pulled out two slices of bread and placed them on the plate, buttering each piece before covering one half with ham and shredded lettuce. Taking the tomato, she cut it into thin slices, arranging them on top of the lettuce and finally covering the contents with the second slice.

Cutting the sandwich into two triangles, Ariana fussed for a few moments, arranging them on the plate before picking it up and heading to the cage. Standing in front of the bars, she frowned slightly as she contemplated the bar widths compared to the size of the plate.

Finally, with a sigh of defeat, she picked up one of the sandwiches and pushed it through the bars toward the warrior who reached out and took it gently.

'Sorry, it wouldn't fit through' she mumbled, flicking her eyes to his before looking away again quickly.

'It's OK, I appreciate you making me food' the Alpha replied as he bit into the sandwich hungrily.

Once he was finished, the young woman held the other sandwich between the bars, letting out a small gasp as electric tingles shot up her hand due to the warrior brushing his fingers against hers as he took the food from her. Flushing, Ariana withdrew her hand, stumbling back a few steps, confusion written across her face.

'Why did you follow me?' she suddenly mumbled, continuing to look away from him.

'Because you are my mate' Nathaniel replied firmly.

Ariana laughed hollowly, 'so because some mythical woman you have never met makes you feel tingles when you touch me, that suddenly means we are destined to be together?' she asked dejectedly as she crouched down and took a seat on the cold, tiled floor. 'What if it's not real? What if your Goddess is just a story that has been handed down to keep wolves in line and hopeful that there is someone destined for them?'

Nathaniel shook his head vehemently, 'the Goddess is real' he replied with conviction, 'many have told stories of seeing her, she comes to those that need her.' Swallowing hesitantly, the warrior added, 'and you believe in destined mates Ariana, or you wouldn't call that Vampire your beloved.'

The sorceress gulped at his words, fighting back tears that sprang to her eyes as she shook her head angrily. 'I used to believe in soul mates, true love and living happily ever after' she whispered painfully, 'but then Valencino was taken from me, cruelly. I then realised that it's just a pipe dream, something that is dangled in front of you, tantalisingly, but can then be snatched from your hands in seconds!

Meeting Nathaniel's gaze, her own filled with raw pain, she inched closer to him instinctively, her body subconsciously yearning for his comfort. 'What kind of Goddess gives you true love and then takes it away from you before you even have time to fully experience it?' she asked hopelessly. 'What kind of care giver allows her children to suffer that pain?'

Nathaniel moved closer to the young woman, stopping mere milliletres from the silver bars as he tried to reach through toward her.

Holding his gaze, Ariana smiled a sad, broken smile that tore at the young Alpha's heart, 'don't you see werewolf?' sorry, I don't even know your name' she added with a mirthless chuckle. 'Nathaniel' the Alpha replied softly, his fingers still questing for hers as he ignored the burns against his arm.

'Nathaniel' the sorceress replied quietly, her face softening as she rolled his name off of her tongue, 'you have to understand' she said in defeat, 'I can't be with you, I can't be with anyone.' Nathaniel drew back his hand to inside the cage, his heart breaking at her words, 'why?' he croaked desperately, 'why not? You could give us a chance, I would be a good mate!

Ariana nodded, 'I know you would' she agreed softly, 'and I could fall in love with you, give you my everything!

'That's all I want Ariana, I want you to love me, and for me to love you, forever' the warrior pleaded.

Ariana shook her head, the pain in her eyes intensifying, 'I can't' she whispered, 'you need to understand that I can't. I can't lose another love, another man who promises me my happily ever after and then gets taken away from me. Valencino's death, it destroyed me, my world ended that day, I would have lay down in his arms and breathed my last breath to be with him happily, but I couldn't, I had to live because of HIM!

Nathaniel's brow furrowed as he gazed intently at his mate, feeling her overwhelming despair through their bond, 'what did Rowan do to you that was so bad you couldn't rest?' he finally asked, fear creeping across his face.

Tears fell from the young woman's eyes as she gazed up to the ceiling, steeling herself, 'he said.. that Valencino never loved me, and that I should be thanking him' she replied with a grimace.

The warrior confusion grew, 'why would he say that, Rowan doesn't lie..' he started slowly.

The sorceress snapped her gaze back to his, anger filling her face, 'yes he does, he lied to me that day! I felt the bond Nathaniel, that need to be with him always, the calm when he was near, the fear when he was gone. He treated me like I was the most important person in the world to him, you can't fake feelings like that, he loved me!' Ariana scrambled to her feet as her fury built up within her.

'Ariana calm down, please' Nathaniel called out to her, trying to bring her back.

'No! I need you to stop distracting me, I need to finish what I started so I can finally rest' the woman mumbled to herself as she gathered up the food items and placed them back where they belonged.

'Ariana' the warrior tried again.

'Enough!' Ariana screamed back, 'I hate this! I hate listening to you, I hate that you get inside my head, I hate feeling like I'm tied to you by some invisible string that I just can't sever! I should kill you! Then I would be free to exact my revenge unhindered.' Grabbing the knife from the table, she advanced on Nathaniel who stared at her through the bars, unmoving.

'You won't hurt me Ariana' he said softly.

'Yes I will' Ariana replied, her eyes blazing, 'I did it before, I almost killed you!'

'That was an accident baby' the werewolf replied, watching her as she flinched from the term of endearment. 'You won't hurt me, I know you won't, it would break you to hurt me!

Ariana strode toward the cage, reaching through and grabbing Nathaniel's t'shirt, pulling him closer to her, the werewolf not resisting her. Sticking her other hand that held the knife through the bars, the sorceress traced it over his top as she stared into his eyes. 'Can you really do it baby?' Nathaniel asked quietly, 'can you spill my blood without a second thought?'

The young woman growled angrily, pressing the knife against him firmly but not hard enough to cut him. Slowly, Nathaniel raised his own hand, placing it over the one that she had gripping his t'shirt, his strong fingers curling around her small soft ones gently. 'You won't hurt me Ariana' he breathed softly, 'you love me.'

The sorceress wrestled within herself, her breathing heavy as she fought her emotions.

Finally, wrenching her hand from his, Ariana backed away, throwing the knife across the floor, 'I don't have time for this' she muttered, flustered, her gaze no longer on his.

Turning her back on him, the young woman stormed back to her cauldron, concentrating on the picture that was still visible as the future Alpha slumped back on the floor in the centre of his cage sadly.