Alpha's STOLEN Mate (by Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 218

Chapter 218

Elowen

Dreams carried me away from the nightmare.

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In my sleep, I was small again-maybe nine or ten, hiding behind the weapons rack at the edge of the training grounds.

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I’d snuck out to watch him train. Again.

Kaius-barely a teenager himself-was being pushed through drills that would break grown warriors. His father, the old Alpha King, stood

over him with cold eyes and an iron voice. “Again. Faster. You think enemies will give you time to catch your breath?”

The boy’s arms were shaking, blood dripping from split knuckles. But he gripped the sword tighter and lunged again. And again. Never

crying. Never complaining. Just that fierce, stubborn determination burning in his eyes.

I’d watched, transfixed. Not because he was strong-though he was. Not because he was the future king-though he’d be that too.

It was the way he refused to break. The way he kept getting up, kept pushing forward, even when his own father seemed determined to

crush him.

I want to be like that, I’d thought, clutching my own small fists. I want to be strong enough that nothing can break me.

From that day on, I trained. Pushed myself harder than anyone expected. Because somewhere in my young heart, I wanted him to see me

one day and think: She’s strong too.

A childish dream. A girl’s admiration for a boy who probably never noticed her watching from the shadows.

“Kaius…” The name slipped from my lips, soft and yearning. “Please… don’t give up. You never give up…”

“What’s wrong? Still got time for sweet dreams, do we, little wolf?”

The voice yanked me back to reality like a hook through flesh.

I opened my eyes to find that monstrous half-wolf, half-man face staring down at me. Kaius in his Lycan form, a twisted mockery of the

boy I’d once admired.

I recoiled instantly, pressing myself against the back of the cage.

He smiled-a cold, cruel expression. “Your sleeping face looked peaceful. Such a shame we don’t get to live in dreams anymore, isn’t it?”

Rage boiled up inside me. I opened my mouth to curse him, to spit every hateful word I could think of-

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Chapter 218

But the cage door was already opening.

Kaius stepped back, adopting an oddly formal posture-almost gentlemanly, which somehow made everything worse.

“Last day. Thought I’d give you one final courtesy-let you walk out on your own two feet instead of being dragged.”

The absurdity of it snapped something inside me. I kicked the cage door open violently, snarling at him.

“Don’t you dare play gentleman now! Even when I’m nothing but a mindless beast, I’ll still remember that I need to kill you!”

His smile turned strange-knowing, almost pleased in a way I didn’t understand.

“Good. Hold onto that fire,” he said softly. “Trust me-you’re going to need every bit of it real soon.”

Then he stepped aside, clearing the path.

Confusion rippled through me, but I didn’t have time to process it. I had no choice but to follow as he led me deeper into the laboratory

complex, down corridors I hadn’t seen before.

Before we even entered the room, I could see Morgath inside-bustling around between various instruments and machinery. The space was crowded with equipment that looked like it belonged in two different centuries: sleek modern technology sitting alongside ancient ritualistic tools covered in strange runes. The combination was deeply unsettling.

As we stepped through the doorway, Morgath turned and clapped her hands together, delighted.

“Well, well! Kaius, darling! Look at you making real progress!” Her voice dripped with approval. “You’ve finally grasped the concept-even when she’s yours to break however you please, you should still grant her the illusion of dignity!” Her gaze shifted to me, taking in my hateful glare. “And that look! That beautiful hatred in her eyes! I’d bet my best grimoire that last night-exactly as I commanded-you thoroughly enjoyed yourself with her. Every possible way, every degrading moment. Am I right?”

The implication in her words made my stomach turn. I shot the witch a furious look, my hands clenching into fists.

But even as anger burned through me, confusion followed. Last night, Kaius hadn’t touched me. Not the way Morgath was suggesting. He’d sat outside my cage and eventually fallen asleep-or pretended to. He’d violated the witch’s orders.

Why?

I didn’t have time to puzzle it out. Hands guided me toward a medical table-the same one from days before. My body moved mechanically, following instructions because resistance was pointless. Fighting now would only bring more pain, more punishment.

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