Chapter 210: I have a mate.
~Alexis POV~
I had been stuck in this camp for one month now. One whole month of being Cassius's prisoner.
The chains around my wrists were lighter now. He had changed them to smaller ones that let me move around the camp. But I still couldn't leave.
I was sitting by the fire with some of the other soldiers. They were eating dinner and talking. I wasn't really listening until I heard a woman's voice.
I looked up and saw a female soldier talking to Cassius. She had long brown hair and was very pretty. She kept touching his arm and laughing at everything he said.
My stomach twisted into a knot.
Why did I care? I hated him. He was my enemy. He had taken me away from my people and chained me up like an animal.
But watching her flirt with him made me feel sick.
She leaned closer to him and said something in his ear. He smiled, actually smiled! I had never seen him smile before.
The feeling in my chest got worse. It felt like someone was squeezing my heart.
Other female soldiers started walking over to them. They all gathered around Cassius like he was some kind of prince.
"Oh Captain, you're so strong," one of them said in a sweet voice.
"Tell us about the battle again," said another one.
They were all swooning over him. Making big eyes at him and giggling like little girls.
I wanted to throw up.
But then I got an idea. If he could have other people's attention, so could I.
I turned to the male soldier sitting next to me. His name was Marcel and he had been nice to me.
"Marcel," I said with a big smile. "Tell me about yourself. You seem so interesting."
Marcel looked surprised but happy. "Well, I grew up in the south. My father was a blacksmith."
I touched his arm gently. "A blacksmith? How exciting! You must be very strong too."
From the corner of my eye, I could see Cassius looking over at us. Good.
Another soldier named David came over. "Are you talking to our pretty prisoner?" he asked with a grin.
"She's not just pretty," Marcel said. "She's smart too."
I laughed and flipped my hair. "You're both too kind."
More soldiers started gathering around me. They were all trying to get my attention.
"Alexis, would you like some more food?" one asked.
"Here, take my blanket. You look cold," said another.
I could feel Cassius watching me. Every time I looked his way, his eyes were on me. Not on the female soldiers anymore. On me.
His face looked angry. Very angry.
Perfect.
I kept flirting with his men. I laughed at their jokes and let them bring me things. I even let David hold my hand when he offered to help me stand up.
That's when Cassius had enough.
He stood up fast, pushing the female soldiers away from him. He walked over to our group with big, angry steps.
"That's enough," he said in a cold voice. "Everyone back to your posts."
The soldiers looked confused but they obeyed. They scattered quickly, leaving me alone with Cassius.
He grabbed my arm roughly. "Come with me."
"Let go of me!" I tried to pull away but he was too strong.
He dragged me across the camp to his tent. Some of the other soldiers watched but nobody tried to stop him.
Once we were inside his tent, he let go of my arm and turned to face me.
"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.
"I don't know what you mean," I said sweetly.
"Don't play games with me. I saw what you were doing out there."
"The same thing you were doing with those women," I shot back.
His eyes got darker. "That's different."
"How is it different?"
"Because you're..." he stopped and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You're acting like a whore."
The word got me angry. "What did you call me?"
"You heard me. Throwing yourself at my men like some common whore. At least I'll be happy when I reject you soon."
Reject me? What did that mean?
But I was too angry to think about it. How dare he call me that name!
My hand moved before I could stop it. I slapped him hard across the face.
The sound felt fulfilling.
Cassius touched his cheek where I had hit him. His eyes were full of rage.
"You want to know something?" I said, my voice shaking with anger. "I already have a mate. A vampire mate. So I don't need you or want you."
I wasn't completely sure if Lucien was really my mate. But I said it anyway to hurt Cassius.
"He treats me better than you ever could. He would never call me horrible names or chain me up like an animal."
Cassius went very still. "What did you say?"
"I said I have a mate already. Someone who actually cares about me. Someone who would never be as cruel as you are."
"A vampire?" His voice was dangerous now.
"Yes. And he's ten times the man you'll ever be."
Cassius's face changed. It became darker and scarier than I had ever seen it.
"You think I would share my mate with some bloodsucker?" he growled.
"I'm not your mate!" I yelled back.
"Yes, you are. And you belong to me. Only me."
Before I could move, he grabbed me and yanked me against his chest. His lips crashed down on mine in a hard, angry kiss.
I was so shocked I couldn't move for a second. Then I bit down on his lip as hard as I could.
He jerked back with a curse. I could see blood on his mouth.
While he was distracted, I brought my knee up hard between his legs.
Cassius doubled over in pain.
I didn't wait to see if he was okay. I ran out of the tent as fast as I could.
Behind me, I could hear him groaning and cursing my name.
I kept running until I reached the edge of the camp. The guards there looked surprised but didn't try to stop me. I guess they thought I couldn't escape anyway.
I sat down on a log and tried to catch my breath.
My lips still tingled from his kiss. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might explode.
What had just happened?
I touched my lips and tried not to think about how his kiss had made me feel. I was supposed to hate him. He was my enemy.
So why did part of me want him to kiss me again? I shook my head hard. I couldn't think like that.
Lucien was the one I cared about. Sweet, gentle Lucien who had never hurt me. Not Cassius with his cruel words and rough hands.
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