Chapter Three

Pierce's P.O.V

Wu-PSSSSH!

I grind my teeth together as I feel the crack of a whip hit my bare back. My hands clench into a tight fist as I prepare myself for the next one.

Wu-PSSSH!

I don't mind the pain. I would rather feel pain than the pitiful, useless, feeling growing inside of me.

Wu-PSSSH!

I want myself to become numb to everything but the stinging that came with every encounter. It's not as if I never had gotten whipped before. . . I open my eyes once I realize the pain had subsided.

I had counted forty lashes before my mind began to go elsewhere. I wanted more...I deserved more. Much Much more.

"He didn't even holler!" I hear one the men yell at the other.

"It's been over a hundred Antonio! We already went over the amount we were supposed to. Anastasia should be coming to get him at anytime." They begin to untie my arms from the two posts with groans and mutters.

"Get up!"

As much as I want to go and snap their little necks and remove their heads from their bodies, I decide not to. I should bid my time here before I choose to go back to my pack. Each one grabs me by one arm and kicks me to move. However, they're pushing it.

The wind brings on a stinging pain to my open wounds making me hiss out. " Keep it moving." Their smell is disgusting. Their accents are foreign and unattractive. I just want to bash their heads in so I won't have to hear them speak again.

The girl I elbowed in the face, stops in front of us looking me up and down with a satisfied look in her dark brown eyes. Nothing is remotely attractive about her. I'm not even too sure she is even a woman. She has to be a man, not even an attractive man at that.

"Hmph. Bring him to Cassius. He wants to see him, The Goddess only knows for what reasons. He's close to fucking crazy." The two men begin laughing as Anastasia tries to hold in her little laugh.

She walks away but not before dragging her hand down my chest with a smirk. I inwardly cringe at the mere idea of her even touching me. "He's a cute one."

"All right, move it." They push me and I let out a very low growl.

"We got a long walk ahead of ourselves so walk faster!"

My mood instantly begins to simmer. I don't know how long I can hold back with these people. There is something wrong with them all. . . but I cannot go back to my pack without completing my mission.

I will be shamed.

The sun begins to hit my face as I feel snow crunching underneath my feet as we walk outside. The air feels so fresh...not a trace of blood or even war in the air. I haven't smelled something so fresh like this in such a long time.

I begin to look around and I see many children eyeballing me. As I walk past some women they instantly begin gaping and swooning over me making my eyes squint.

They do know I am an Easterner, one of those "savages" they speak so highly of, right? I smell differently they must realize this...Do they find that attractive? As we pass a crowd of men they do almost the exact same thing the women did making me instantly cringe. What the hell is wrong with these people?

I try to look around at the weirdly shaped buildings before they come to halt in front of a very tall, heavily decorated building. "...Your business here?" One of the guards says to mine,

"...Cassius would like a word with him?" The guard looks me up and down and I can instantly feel the same feeling coming off of him.

He moves out our way after a good minute of undressing me with his eyes. " Well aren't you the popular one eh? Mr. Good Looking." They say mockingly while they laugh. My eyes narrow at their comments, but I don't bother to get into an argument about it.

After the seven flight of stairs and going down multiple long hallways adorned with maroon and gold we finally stop at a door. If they wanted to tire me out they achieved it after all of that walking. I feel like we've been on foot for hours. Once they catch their breath one of them knocks on the door and begins to bow.

Someone quickly opens up the door and by the scent of Vanilla and honey I exacty know who it is. "Cassius...sir...you wanted a word with him?"

I see his eyes widen subtly. He quickly takes my arm, pulls me inside, and slams his door shut. That weird feeling comes back filling me with some unknown need of want.

He looks at me with the strangest expression making me back away from him a little. "...Pierce."

My eyes widen as his voice fills my ear increasing my need to touch him. He's unbelievably attractive... I don't know why I feel like I am being pulled towards him. I blink as I notice I am.

"You're mine." He says in my ear as an angry whisper. " And you will not deny me!"

I feel a thump on my heart making my eyes lower and my lips part. He grabs my waist to pull me even closer to him causing me hiss out in pain. He looks at his hand and sees my blood all over them.

By the way he's dressed. . .I'd think he would be mad at the mere sight of blood covering him, but he isn't. He looks back at me and worry is heavily present in his eyes.

"You need a shower. . ." He grabs my arm and tugs to another room with his already large lavish one. As soon as we enter the room, he turns a nob and water starts coming out a spout with holes.

I look at it curiously never having been in a "shower". We're weres...so we usually bathe under waterfalls, ponds, streams, lakes anything besides inside. However, why I am I not surprised they do not?

"I don't think I-" He pushes me in there making me instantly cry out in pain as the water stings my open wounds on my back.

"It hurts. I know but bear with me." He dabbles at my skin with a wash cloth sopped with healing herbs. I bite down hard on my lip as they seer into my skin causing the pain to grow worse.

Water begins to run down my face and hair as I duck my head under the water. It's a great distraction away from the burning sensation going through me. I'm wreathing from the stuff he had been putting inside me.

I feel his lips on my back bringing an unrealistic amount of pleasure and comfort to me. One of his arms wrap around me as he begins to go further and further up my back. I bend closer to the wall as a result.

His kisses are soft and gentle and truly capable of bringing me down to the level of calmness. His lips reach my left shoulder blade and I have to fight back a sound of pleasure from escaping my mouth.

I can instantly tell the washcloth drops from his hand once I hear it plop onto the shower floor. His hands travel further down my chest making sigh out loud. He presses his lips a little harder onto my skin until he reaches my neck making me snap out of it that instant.

He stops almost immediately causing me to turn around and seeing him dripping wet. I see his body inhaling and exhaling uncontrollably as he puts his hand over his mouth and turns away from me. "...I hope that helped a little..."

I watch him step out the shower and eye me. Soon he turns away just as quick as he stared. "I had my men recover your belongings and saw that you brought spare clothes with you. You can put those on if you like..." He quickly leaves out the room before I can say anything to what just happened.

I touch my chest still being able to feel every place where his hands had been. It left a burning, pleasurable feeling all around those places. What the hell is going on with me?

After a while of useless thoughts, I unbutton my jeans and take everything off. I throw it out the shower glad to be naked again.

The water runs through my hair and body as I duck it back underneath the spout. I watch all the blood, dirt, and grim wash off of me soon make the water cooler by turning it to the left. Once the cool water touches my skin I shiver with delight relieved of that feeling and my growing curiosity.

Of course my hormones would be a little fucked up. The Goddess only knows what they put in my food or what they even put into my bloodstream when I was unconscious. As for him...well as for him...my eyebrows scrunch in confusion as I feel my wolf pacing back and forth inside me.

I step out the shower and eye my back for little while before grabbing a pair of jeans from it. Along with my bag, I see three others making my eyes fall. "...You will not be forgotten and your sacrifice will not be for nothing. I promise you that. I definitely promise you that."

With clench fists I strengthen my resolve and open the door. I see Cassius propped up in a chair faced away from me completely withdrawn from his environment. How could he be so relaxed around me? I'm the enemy. Why am I even in his room? Does he really not see me as a threat? I smirk at this. He's sadly mistaken if he thinks that.

He saved my life.

But...it still doesn't change the blood between us. My friends, my comrades are dead and I'm left to live with such a burden. There is no way in hell...I could forgive anyone who take a life so casually, like it is so simple as breathing. I don't know what he is expecting from me because he didn't kill me. It would have been wiser if he had done just that...

I walk quietly up to him and stop immediately as I feel him turning towards me before I can get any closer.

"Ah. . .so you're probably wondering why you're here? Or better yet why I saved you?" My eyes widen as I see his eyes fill with so much warmth as he gazes upon me making me take a step back.

"You're mine. It's as simple as that."

"You did save me and for that I am in debt to you, but I am not yours. I don't belong to you nor to anyone else. You were better off killing me than having me here, alive."

"Oh? Is that so. . .is that what you really think?" His eyes narrow in on me and that warmth that was in his eyes is quickly replaced with reprimand.

"Think?" I scoff. "I know. I don't want anything to do with the likes of you or your kind."

"...Why?" I blink at this question.

"You hardly even know me and murder is already in your thoughts. You think you pose a threat on my life?" He grins. " Don't judge me by my looks, I'm not so pretty and I do not so pretty things. I'm not what you assume I am. I assure you."

"What I assume? I know. I know what you are. I know what your entire kind are. Disgusting. Vile. Hypocrites that hide under such luxury and materialistic things. That value abstract ideas such as mates over more sensible, reasonable things like kin. I know enough and I rather not know anymore."

I can see a flicker of hurt in his eyes as he turns away from me with a scoff.

"I see. So you already have a set disposition of us...It's understandable considering our political ties with one another. But wouldn't you like to get know us? Me? After all, I am the one who saved your life. And from what I gathered about that code back in your territory it states that a debt must be repaid, no matter what." His amber eyes begin to hold a mischievous glint making him all the more attractive.

"Do you still hold yourself to that code of conduct...Pierce?" His voice is slick with sensuousness I never imagined could come from a person. His gaze sets on me like a burning flame making me feel like I'm melting under them.

"...Of course..." That's as much as I can respond back to him without feeling something warm and fluttery nestle in the pits of my stomach.

"Then let me repeat this one more time." He gets up and begins walking towards me with a strong sense of resolve and determination.

"You're mine. You belong to me."

"...That and this are two completely different issues." He purposely touches one of my opened wounds making me wince away from him.

"They're not."

"...Listen. I am truly in your debt...but I do not owe you my life...rather I'm sparing yours. With that our debt is settled."

"Sparring mine?" He says with a scoff. "Oh babe, you're not doing me any favors. "

I look down at his small form compared to mine making me hold in a laugh. Honestly does he really think- he tugs at the hem of my jeans pulling me closer to him. His arms quickly wrap around my neck bringing me down to his eye level causing my eyes to widen.

"I always get what I want one way or another..." His lips press against my ear as he says this causing sparks to travel down my spine.

"But. . .I won't force you to accept me. You really can't force feelings." And just like that he lets go of me making my heart beat even faster. "You'll only grow to hate me more..."

"...so...I'll make you a deal, a compromise even."

I look at his hands, his arms, all the way down his body till he taps my waist instantly drawing my attention back to his eyes. He gives me a half smile while laughing slightly. "Stay here for a month and I'll let you leave. No strings attached."

____________________________________________________________

Cassius' P.O.V

I look at my mate's face filling with such hope and vigor at the mere prospect of going home. Oh I really am such a sadist.

Only wanting him to be happy, having that little glimmer of hope deeply rooted in his mind before I uproot it and set it ablaze with a flame of lies and deceit. He already hates me, for little to no reason at all other than the nature of my bloodline. If he can hate me for such a reason as that, he will never come to accept me as his rightful mate.

Is really the contents of my blood that important?

"Fine...a month it is."

He's just going to ignore me, like I mean absolutely nothing to him. Does he know who I am? What I am? Anyone would be honored to have me as their mate. Never would I have thought me of all people would be rejected with such a detached attitude. He really doesn't care. It may not be important to the likes of his people but it's very important to us, to me.

I go and sit back on the chair not very far from where we're standing and smirk like nothing is bothering me. Ok, you want to play this little game. Let's play. I tug at the hem of his jeans exerted just how much power I have over him and let out a small smile. "For that month, you're mine."

I've long since gotten over the bad blood we share as warring territories, especially seeing his gorgeous wolf, his human form being just as gorgeous. He's my mate, there is no way I could deny him. I want to shower him and be showered with love, I want him to hold me to touch me, to give me everything that my heart so desires. I never wanted much, but when I did it was something completely unattainable.

"Yours? You keep saying that like it is supposed to mean something," He says with mockery heavily present in his voice sparking my incised anger.

"It is supposed to mean something. To both you and I. But you just do not seem to care." I've been doing good lately with controlling my temper, but he is only beginning to unwind all my efforts up till this point.

Is he doing this on purpose? He must be. I feel his eyes on me causing me to push him away from me with my foot.

"Is the contents of my blood really that important to you? Must you pass judgment on me so easily like that? We're supposed to be-" I stop myself as my face begins to grow hot. What was that just right now? Was I really just about to whine?

"Ah...I see now...you like me."

"L-like you? Are you truly an idiot? What makes you think I would like the likes of you? You're a terrible case of what bad politics can do to you. You don't think rationally, almost as if you're incapable of it. And. . .you don't take up a golden opportunity even when it's dangling right in front of your face. You're too set in your ways," I say madly while glaring daggers at him. " People like you, are the ones I hate the most."

"Then why won't you just get rid of me since you despise me so much? Obviously you hold some kind of power in your pack. You could have it done, yet you won't? You're actually saying one thing but doing the complete opposite."

I bite down on my tongue to the point to where I'm on the verge of snapping. He is beyond arrogant. "This little false dream you have going on in your head, just isn't going to happen. Do you know who I am? Do you know what pack I come from? Do you know just how many of your kin I had killed and don't feel an ounce of regret or remorse? "

"..."

"Hah. You don't do you? Yet, you would so willingly greet me with such open arms. You're naive and rather dumb."

I close my eyes trying not to let go of my burning anger churning in the very bowels of my body. Yes, I realized that the very moment I saved your life. How naive and dumb I was. . .how I knew by saving your life didn't mean you would come to accept me.

I knew you would be veiled in your hate, yet I did it anyway. I saved you and even went as far as to make your pain a little more bearable. . .I am naive for caring for a mate who wants little to anything to do with me.

"You are right. I am dumb and naive. But I rather be just that then static and grudge-filled. If I ask you one simple, little question you probably won't even be able to answer it."

"Try me," He says with so much confidence I had to stop myself from ridding him of that smirk on his face. I growl lowly under my breathe as I hold it in once again.

I look at him completely annoyed at this point. "What don't you like about me? What is it, in specific, that you hate?"

His eyes widen making me scoff. "Is it my hair? Is it my eyes? My skin? My height? My personality? My bloodline? Tell me."

"..."

"Is it my voice? The way I speak?"

"..."

"See you can't answer it. You hate me for no reason. If it is possibly for one of those reasons then I'm sorry. I cannot change any one of those things about me. But I would like for you to get to know me. I rather you hate me for a more reasonable reason then just because of where I'm from."

I see his eyes fall and soon feel his hands grip both arms of the chair as he leans over me ducking down to where he can make proper eye contact with me. I stare into his green eyes feeling like I can drown in them at any moment. They hold so much feelings and emotions it's making me a little uneasy.

"...I don't hate you. I never said that," He says close to streneous.

"B-"

"I am more than willing to get to know you. After all you are the person who saved my life. But I didn't tell you all those things to be rude or arrogant. Getting to know you means getting to know me as well. You might not like what you see...and rather getting attached I would like to stay strangers."

Attached? So he must realize. . .there is a connection between us. He isn't completely ignoring it as I thought.

"Pierce...you're mine," I say softer this time. " I don't care about the little details. You don't have to care either. Whether we're close or not...it's bound to happen. " I feel his grip tighten on the chair.

"So...for a month...be mine. Truly mine." I stare into his eyes watching him waver right before my eyes.

As I said before...you don't have to accept me. After all, we are from warring packs. It couldn't possibly work out...so keep denying me, keep rejecting me.

I'll destroy you in the most beautiful way possible...

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[A/N] I really like Cassius' and Pierce's relationship and characters! They're so fun to write! They are so different, but so similar in some aspects and from what I noticed about them is kind of funny. What one of them lacks the other makes up for. What do you guys think?? Thanks for reading my spur of the moment story! I will continue to update :3