The Accused Mate

Chapter 5: The Alpha's Curse

Elias' POV

I barely returned to my room when my legs failed me, and I fell against the edge of my bed, sweating profusely, my chest heaving as if I had just raced a long distance. My hands gripped my head, but nothing could stop the searing pain that was bouncing inside my brain.

The rejection hadn't worked.

I could still feel her.

Amara.

My mind called. Her name was a wound I could not mend.

Each time I reached for her, something within me shifted, the bond mate tightening, refusing to let go. I could still feel her blood on my lips, hear the fury of her voice, that wheeze whispering spurn around me. 

I tried.

And almost died.

I tore off my sweat-soaked shirt, pacing the room. I could feel my skin burning, the unnatural, hot fire refusing to disappear in spite of all the fresh air it got. There was electricity in my veins, something lurking just under my skin.

And the worst?

Every time I blinked, I saw her.

Not the Amara in that dungeon, bruised and battered. But a different, stronger one. Something was wrong with me. 

I stood there having flashes of her golden eyes burning like coals, her black hair flying behind her, something wild and feral throbbing around her.

"You were never hers."

The words fell from her lips. But they weren't hers. 

My heart raced wildly, and I stood up straight, and stumbled towards the bathroom. I held the sink and slowly raised my head to stare at my reflection in the mirror.

This is not real.

I was ugly-faced.

Sweat fell from the temples of my face, my chest breathing too hard. My face burned, veins straining under the skin, as though my body were pushing itself outward from within.

And my eyes. They glowed, but not the usual green. It was black. 

I backed up, hitting the bathroom wall. My lungs were in ragged gasps, the walls closing, my head spinning as if the room would swallow me whole.

Get a grip, Elias. You're losing it.

I pushed the sensation down, until I could breathe.

Then I took my keys.

I needed answers.

The drive to Celeste Moreau's was swift, but I was burning alive the entire time. I drove like my life depended on it into the suburb side of the city. She lived in a pricey high-rise apartment building that did not exactly call itself a home to a feral witch.

I knocked on her door.

It swung open before I could knock once more, to show a woman in silk lounge pants and loose sweater, her hair pulled up into a dirty bun. She arched an eyebrow, already suspecting why I was there.

"Alpha," Celeste said, unimpressed. "You look like hell."

I walked past her, clearly not in the mood for her taunts. 

She sighed, shoving the door shut behind me. "Let me guess….you finally realized?"

I whirled, my rage snapping. "I don't play games, Celeste. Speak clearly."

She rested against the kitchen counter, not remotely intimidated by my rage. "That's your fault, Elias. You never gave me a chance to explain."

I folded my fists curled at my hips. "I have a mate bond with Amara but I don't love her. It won't cut off no matter how much I reject her."

"You're the only witch strong enough that I know," I said. "I want to know if Kamla did something to me or if you ever helped her?"

Her smile slipped.

"Tell me the truth," I growled. "Now."

Celeste massaged her temples and took a deep breath. She then indicated the frigid black couch.

"Sit," she said. 

I refused to move.

She sighed. "Wonderful. Stand there like some pansy dramatic fucker."

I scowled, tension mounting in my chest so I gritted my teeth and sat.

Celeste crossed her arms. "Someone messed with your fate, Alpha."

The statement gave me a deranged shiver running through my body.

"What the fuck is that supposed to be?"

Celeste's face was set in a hard line. "It's the mate bond you've got. Kamla took it."

The wind was struck from my body.

"How?" I wrapped my arms around my knees, crouched over. "That's not possible."

She knew from her expression. "Is it?"

My breathing was strained.

Memories flashed in my mind. Kamla's hand, her body, and the way I was drawn to her, but there were moments when the fit wasn't exact. Like a TV screen that flickers, glitches that I suppressed because there was no cause to doubt it.

Celeste's voice softened, but the words sliced through me like a blade. "Amara was always yours."

Something snapped open in me.

Something in me.

I leapt up. "That's not…"

"The denial won't stick," she interrupted, voice tougher now. "Because your connection is not genuine. It's been fabricated."

I took a step back, fists balled into my hair, shaking all the way from toes to head.

"Each time that you hurt her, Elias," Celeste continued, "you hurt yourself."

I gritted and closed my eyes for a second.

"And the more you fight it," she exhaled, "the uglier your soul is going to get."

I shook my head and gave a hard, painful laugh. "You're out of your mind."

Celeste stood there staring at me, and for the first time ever, I had seen something approaching grief on her face.

"You are bound to her," she said quietly. "To reject her is to destroy yourself."

A burning blast of heat traveled through my bloodstream.

I growled, receding, hitting the couch with my body.

The agony hit me hard…deeper, steeper, like something ripped me in two from the inside out.

My breath was stifled and my eyes darkened.

And for the first time in my life…I was powerless.

Celeste bent over me, her tone a low whisper, almost. sympathetic.

"It's killing you," she told me. "And you don't even know why."

I gulped air, my hand clutched tight across my chest, pain so immediate I knew without a doubt that I would fly open like a jack-in-the-box.

Then, there was darkness.

I lay on the floor.

My lungs seared, my skin slick with sweat. My body hurt, although the pain had subsided briefly.

Celeste was sitting on the couch, tracing her fingers over her phone as if she had just seen me nearly break.

"What in the world is going on with me?" I asked.

Celeste dropped her phone and sighed as I struggled to breathe and forced myself to sit. "You already know the answer, Alpha."

No, I would not believe it.

I was not hers.

I was not Amara's.

But I could no longer deny it.

I felt it. Deep in the bones of my body. In my soul. I was not for Kamla.I never was for Kamla. I was Amara's.

And there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop it.