Enslaved To The Alphas-Chapter 185: Rough

"I got a little rough last night. I hope you don’t mind." Zen said as he came up behind her, placing his fingers on her neck and caressing the marks.

Ramona sat in front of the mirror and held her hair up with one hand staring at his hand and then the marks on her neck, which were clearly visible. They were dark and shaped like fingers. And her skin still ached when she breathed.

She touched the bruises and his fingers lightly. They throbbed under her fingertips.

Ramona didn’t look away from the mirror and instead watched the way his hand covered her bruises. The size of it. The shape of his fingers. The strength that had caused them. If only she could remember when it happened. Just how enjoyable would that be.

She frowned a little. Every time they were together, something like this happened. She never remembered the end and always seemed to black out. But she also always woke up sore and unable to recall the moment she wanted most to hold on to.

She didn’t understand why.

She wanted to enjoy him. She wanted to feel everything, to remember everything. She had imagined that being with Zen would be overwhelming in the best way. She had heard stories about him from others and had waited for the day she could finally have him.

Her body proved he was everything she thought he would be. Her thighs were still weak. Her back felt strained. Her neck burned where his hand had been. It should have been perfect.

Yet she could only remember fragments.

Her reflection looked tired. A little confused. A little frustrated.

She lowered her hair and let it fall over the marks. "It’s fine. I can handle it."

He smiled and she watched as he placed a kiss a hand on the top of her head and leaned down to kiss her. But in the next instant, he leaned down and instead whispered in her ear," I am lucky to have you for my mate."

She stiffened as her eyes met his before hurriedly looking away.

"You don’t day anything? Are you not happy that we are mates?"

Ramona hurriedly shook her head and said," No no. I think I am quite lucky to have you as mates. It feels... wonderful."

Even as she said the words, Zen kept staring at her, his grey eyes sharp and unreadable. Ramona felt her chest tighten under his gaze. She turned her head slightly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and looked up at him, "Why are you staring at me so intently? What are you thinking? Is there something on my face?"

Zen shook his head and she patted her face in confusion when she heard his next question. "If you weren’t our mate, what would you be doing?"

The words hung in the air. Ramona froze, her heart beating faster. Her eyes snapped to his, suddenly sharp and alert while she felt herself panicking. Had he discovered something? Specifically that she was not his mate? No no. She shook her head. If he had discovered that, he would not be here with her.

"What do you mean?" she asked making sure to keep her voice tinged with confusion. "We are mates. You and I... it’s settled. So, there is no point in discussing all this."

But Zen seemed unwilling to let go. "You always said you had plans for the future. Dreams. Things you wanted to do. But then you discovered you were our mate. And you had to learn to be the Luna of Stormhold. You had to leave everything else behind. So I ask again... what would you be doing if not for this... for us?"

Ramona shook her head, uncertainty and a flicker of fear in her eyes. "I... I don’t know, Zen. It’s been so long... so much time. And I am happy with what is happening now. I don’t want you thinking about all of this... about what could have been."

She stood slowly from her chair and took a few careful steps toward him. Her hands lifted to cup his face and her thumb brushed gently against his jaw. She leaned up, trying to close the distance between them but before their lips could meet, Zen’s hand shot out and caught her wrist, stopping the kiss. Instead, he stepped back, the shadows of his expression darkening.

Zen held her wrist lightly as his grey unyielding eyes bore into hers as if trying to read her thoughts. "Ramona, if there is anything...anything at all that you want more than being our mate... now is the time for you to say it."

Ramona blinked. "What do you mean, Zen?"

He let go of her wrist but didn’t move away. Instead, he took a careful step back, creating a little space between them and said, "I’m giving you a chance, Ramona. A real chance. If you want to change the direction you have chosen... if there’s something you desire more than this, you just need to tell me. I’ll make sure you get it. Everything. Whatever it is."

Ramona’s heart skipped. She looked at him, her mind spinning. Change the direction? Desire something more? What did he mean by that? Was this some kind of a test? She shook her head. No. Even if it was not a test, she could not take it. Her real mate wanted these three people dead. And the only way to do that was to...get rid of these three people from this world.

"I... I don’t want anything else, Zen," she said carefully, almost in a whisper. "I’m sure of the future. Of this. Don’t worry. I... I want this. I want you. I want us."

Zen studied her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he gave the faintest nod and stepped back another half pace.

"Very well. I hope you will remember your choice in the future, Ramona. Don’t come to regret it."

With that little warning, Zen walked out of the room.