The Alpha's Vessel [The Alpha's #2]
Chapter Thirty-One

TRIGGER WARNING – RAPE

If you DON'T want to read it, skip the second half of this chapter.

I'll give a loose recap of what happened in the second half of the chapter so no one misses out on the plot.

-

THEA PETROVNA

“I want to see Malik. I promise you that I’m not lying. I just want to see Malik.” Thea insisted, her voice wavering with uncontrollable emotion as she spoke. Since that very first day that he had been born in the hospital and the nurse had placed him in her arms, the most she had been away from her son were a few hours at a time, and that was usually either when he was at school or with a babysitter while she worked.

Going from a few hours at a time to a whole week had driven her near crazy and now that she was out of that cell and her son was most likely at the packhouse, he was all she could think about.

She was suffering from a serious case of separation anxiety and could only assume that it was worse for him. That was why she needed to see him but unsurprisingly, Orpheus was unrelentless.

“You’ll see him in plenty of time.” He murmured under his breath as he scooted up to join her at the end of the bed.

With bow of their hands braced on the edge, their heads bent low and their legs dangling off the bed, they were sat in perfect formation; in sync. The same could not be said about their train of thought.

“What are you thinking right now?”

Her lips stretched further into a frown as she felt like he was just wasting time now, mocking her, but she dared not ignore him.

The last time that she had seen him was a week ago and in that short period of time – even though it felt far from short to her – there was something different about him. She couldn’t exactly put her finger on whatever it was, but his overall aura was much darker and more sinister than it had previously been. As if he wasn’t evil enough before.

“Malik.” The one word passed her lips and she had to squeeze her eyes shut to keep the tears at bay.

“And you spend most of your time in the dungeon thinking about him?”

Thea nodded her head, yes.

“Tell me. What’s seeing him worth?”

“Everything.” Thea gulped around her answer, not even needing a moment to think about it.

“Well then, you know what you need to do.” Orpheus stated simply, almost as if he believed her capable of reading his mind.

A few moments passed and all she could do was blink up at him, her mind at a complete loss as to what he was referring to and what she was expected to do to see her son again.

“I don’t know what to do. I already told you everything that I heard that night.” She admitted honestly, pleading with him to believe her. “What can I get you to you to trust me? Because I’m not lying.”

Orpheus whistled lowly before he turned his head to face her, an indistinguishable glint in his eyes.

“It’s funny that you ask that.” His lips twitched at the corners. “Because I actually have an idea which would instil my trust in you. It’s just the matter of whether you’re willing to try or not.”

“Anything.” Thea exhaled without a second thought. “I will do anything to see my son.”

“You really do know your way into a man’s heart, don’t you, Thea?” Orpheus chuckled gleefully, clearly elated with her answer.

She frowned but pushed her fears aside. “What do you need me to do?”

“Mate with me.”

Thea’s body froze and her knuckles started to ache and turn white with how she was gripping the edge of the bed, unable to decipher and understand the three simple words that had passed his lips, one which he had stated simply and without too much thought, almost as if he didn’t know how it would affect her.

How could he be so cruel as to ask this of her when they both knew what he had done to her all those years? How could be so cruel, in general?

“What?” She was finally able to exhale as the initial shock of his request – or rather, demand – wore off.

“You heard me.” He shrugged, unmoving, waiting for her to come to him.

“I can’t do that.” Thea shook her head, her voice shaky and airy, her vision now clouding with tears she wouldn’t be able to hold back even if she tried. “Please. Something else, anything.” She begged, unabashed; beyond caring now. “I’ll do anything other than that. Please, don’t make me do that.”

His face pinched as he pursed his lips, clearly not fond or appreciate of her answer.

“I don’t want anything else.” Orpheus denied in his signature gravelly tone, making her feel all the more sick. “That’s the only thing that I want.”

“I can’t do that.” She shook her head softly, unable to believe the words that had just passed her lips. “I’m so sorry but I can’t do that. I can’t mate with you.”

“Not even for your son?” He cocked a questioning brow, seemingly surprised by her answer.

Unable to bring herself to answer, Thea squeezed her eyes shut, allowing a sob to escape from deep within her chest. All she wanted to do was see her son after having gone a whole week without him. How could be hold that over her head as an ultimatum, forcing her to choose mating with him if she wanted to see him? Even though they were mates, a kiss had made her sick to the stomach, all other physical intimacy between them forcing her to cry herself to sleep most nights?

What would mating with him do to her? Would she be able to go through that for a second time?

Only Thea knew how she barely been able to survive the first time, even with her little baby growing in her stomach. Him asking her for this was just taking her back to her dark place, and she didn’t nap back to present day until he snapped his fingers in front of her face to gain her attention, evidently displeased with the way that she had zoned out just then.

“I’ll give you five seconds. What’s your final decision going to be?” Orpheus asked, his tone of voice not leaving any room for argument.

Despite the overall seriousness and impossibility of what he was asking of her, she could barely believe her answer. Thea could barely believe that she was denying him when her son was at stake.

But she just couldn’t. She couldn’t do that again. Willingly or unwillingly.

She had always thought that for her son, her baby, her beloved Malik, she would be able to do absolutely anything and everything. She had always told herself that her son’s safety always came first, that him, his safety and his happiness were complete top priority in her life but now, it appeared that, that was not the case.

Thea had thought that he would always come first but here, right now, she simply couldn’t do that. She had to put herself before her son and for that, she would spend the rest of her life hating herself.

All she wanted was to see Malik but as was all other things in her life, nothing was ever simple.

“I can’t.” Those were the only two words she could manage and force out of her mouth, her stomach dropping instantly.

“You see, Thea, my little light.” Orpheus hummed aloud as he stood up and turned his back to her. “I don’t think you’ve properly thought about this.”

When he paused for her to respond and she didn’t, expecting her to either change her mind or continue pleading with him, Orpheus turned around and was surprised to see the broken shell of his mate sat slumped over the edge of the bed, harsh and dangerous waves swimming through the pale blues of her eyes.

Yet, that wasn’t enough to deter him and instead of feeling sorry for her, he pressed forward.

“As much as I want to believe you, I simply can’t.” When that seemed to grab her attention – her head lifted to stare at him in awe; awe that he had either missed or ignored all of the pleading and begging that she had done – his lips curled up into a sinister grin. “The only way that I can truly tell if you’re telling the truth is by reading your mind.”

“That’s impossible.” She murmured quietly in an airy whisper, her forehead creasing as she thought hard despite her mind having started to give up on her.

“Not if we mate.”

“What?” Thea sounded aloud without thinking. “But I just said…” She gulped, unable to bring herself to finish off the rest of the sentence.

“I said we need to mate.”

“But I just said no.” She was staring up at him with, disbelieving eyes now, a fool for believing that she actually had a choice in the first place.

Orpheus merely chuckled as he approached her, the hungry shining evidently in his eyes.

Not willing to take no from an answer, especially regarding something that was rightfully his to take and do with as he pleased, Orpheus flipped her over on the bed and quickly straddled her from behind so she couldn’t kick him.

Wanting her naked, his claws sharpened and he ran the tip of them down the sides of her body and legs, quickly stripping her of all the offending garments and fabrics that dared to hide her body from him.

As her screams were loud and plenty, her spirit strong, he knew that he needed to do this quick while he still had the chance. As much as he enjoyed her wild side, he much preferred his women willing but it appeared that, that was never the case with his mate.

Pushing down his jogging bottoms just enough to free his angry member, pulsing and thick, he settled his hands on her ass cheeks and spread them apart, only allowing her a moment to panic before he speared her with his cock up to the hilt, the mushroom head now hitting her backwall with each thrust and pound.

Oh, how he had missed this.

Throwing his head back, Orpheus rode his mate to his heart’s content, taking from her what he willed and desired, what was rightfully his, what he had the pleasure of enjoying that dark night all those years ago.

Somewhere along the way, she gave up and for that, he was thankful as it made this whole ordeal all the more simpler and enjoyable.

With his cock still buried deep in her pussy, Orpheus was able to contain himself no more.

Deep, throaty groans of ecstasy escaped him as his hips jerked against hers, his milky white cum splashing the walls of her pussy. When her pussy clenched around him again, he pressed his chest completely against her back, thrusting into her softly a few more times to elongate his already mind-blowing orgasm.

As his canines elongated and his gums ached, Orpheus didn’t think twice about rearing his head back and sinking his teeth into the crook of his neck.

Since Thea had given up with all fight, he simply brushed her hair out of the way and angled her head to give him the best angle, moaning as he forced his teeth further into her neck. When he felt his body come alive with electricity – the mate bond finally fully solidifying – he moaned against her skin and slow, oh so slowly, inches his teeth out of her; them shrinking back to their normal size by the time

Placing a kiss against her fresh mark and licking around the seems to begin the healing process, Orpheus lifted his head and dropped it on her back, having never felt so content in his life before.

“My little light,” he called out to her in a quiet, sated voice, his chest vibrating against her back with how content he was. “You need to mark me now.”

When she didn’t respond from under him, he frowned against the soft skin of her back. If she was mad, he could easily appease her but right now, she needed to mark his neck.

“I know you’re angry at me and I’m sorry.” He pushed himself up onto his arms and pressed the promise into the back of her neck, his gums aching for another taste of her; already addicted. “I’m willing to take whatever punishment you deem worthy to make up for it.”

When she refused to answer him once again, his heart ached.

“I’ll make it up to you. I promise. As soon as you mark me, I’ll take you to see Malik.” He prompted her, sitting up to straddle her again. Reaching out, he trailed his fingers down her spine but his frown only deepened when she didn’t shiver at his touch or more importantly, he didn’t feel any tingles.

What?

Not thinking straight, Orpheus pulled his now flaccid cock out of her and slid his hand under her stomach, flipping her around onto his back.

With her eyes closed, at first, he thought she was asleep but when he reached out to brush the hair away from her neck to expose his mark, there was nothing there.

A growl escaped him and he pushed her head to the side to inspect both sides of her neck.

No teeth mark. No mating mark. Nothing.

Almost as if his touch was hazardous to her, a thin stream of blood began out of her nose and down the side of her face. When he reached up to wipe it away, her lips parted and now there were two streams of blood.

As rage rumbled from deep within his chest, Orpheus reared his head back and clamped his teeth into the crook of her neck, marking her for the second time and branding her as his and his only.

When he finally pulled away, his lips stretched out into a relieved smile as he was met with his mark. Just as before, he leaned down and licked around his teeth mark, cleaning up the few droplets of blood and starting the healing process.

Except this time, when he pulled away, he wasn’t met with the sight of nothing but rather his mark, less visible and more faded than just a moment ago.

“What the fuck?” He growled out loud, unable to believe what he was seeing right now. “Thea?” He called out to her as he lifted his head but just as before, her eyes were still closed. “My little light?” He called out to her in a desperate plea but there was no point.

His mark had disappeared once again.

When he felt the bond start to fizzle and fade away at an alarmingly quick rate accompanied by a foreign feeling he could only describe as his heart stop beating, Orpheus knew he was losing her.

-

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Layla Knight

11.12.2020