Tears touched Syri's eyes as he heard Jae's broken cry. Oh, how he longed to be Jae's mate. To feel his presence for the rest of his life. To be loved and protected. Why was fate so cruel?

Syri knew he and the true blood had just met, but no one had ever cared for him like Jae had. Jae made Syri feel completely relaxed and safe like he could face everything the world had to offer as long as he had Jae.

Being a zeta, Syri had often dreamed about his mate and how it would feel to be marked and mated. But his dream was brutally crushed on that fateful day. It was two days after the zeta's eighteenth birthday, when the wolf had become of age and was ready to find his mate. Syri had been sent to the market to buy groceries and was exiting the store when an alpha bumped into him, causing him to drop the bags in his hands.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the sweet zeta apologized as he bent down to pick up something that had fallen even though he was not in the wrong. The small male's eyes widened as he smelled his mate. Syri looked up with a wide smile when he saw his mate for the first time. "Are-are you my mate?" The innocent zeta asked as he stood back up.

The man looked the zeta up and down, his eyes scrutinizing the small male's every feature. "I guess so. Come with me," the alpha demanded as he grabbed Syri's wrist and led him to the alley behind the market.

"What is your name?" Syri inquired, eager to know about his mate.

"Jisue. Yours?" The alpha answered. Though, he only answered so he would get the zeta's name as it is easier to get a wolf to submit if one knows their name.

"Syri," the zeta answered with a smile.

"Syri, submit."

The zeta's smile disappeared instantly. Why would his mate force him to do something so intimate when they had just met? Yes, they were mates, but submitting was usually done only when the unassertive wolf was ready. It was a sign of trust, love, and respect.

"N-n-now?" Syri's eyes turned down, and he shuffled his feet nervously.

"Now," Jisue growled, his eyes turning red. "Submit to me now."

The dominance and command from the alpha was too much for the zeta to handle. Before he knew it, Syri found himself sinking to his knees with his head bowed.

"Good. Now, show me your wolf's eyes."

Syri began shaking his head frantically. "Please, no." Tears began to form in the zeta's eyes. A feeling deep down warned Syri of showing his wolf's eyes to the man. He had ill intent.

Jisue kneeled down and lifted Syri's chin so the zeta was looking him in the eyes. "Now." The alpha radiated more of his dominating presence, making the zeta lightheaded and sick to his stomach. The small male's mind swooned from the intense pheromones, but his mate kept his head in place with a firm hold.

Syri's eyes watered in fear as his body disobeyed him to obey his alpha's command. The zeta whimpered as he was forced to show his wolf's eyes. Jisue's face contorted into a disgusted smirk as Aska's aqua eyes shone through.

"A fucking zeta? Seriously?! My mate is a fucking mutt?!!" Jisue threw the zeta's head to the side, so he would not have to look at his mate's eyes.

Syri's heart felt like it was being ripped open. No words had hurt more. His mate was supposed to protect him and love him, not force him to submit and call him a mutt! Syri slowly turned his face up and looked at the man standing above him with blurry eyes. A strike to the face sparked extreme fear in the zeta as his alpha sneered, "What makes you think you can look at me?"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Syri decided right then and there. He would reject his mate. As hard as it would be, he would gladly take the pain of rejecting over a life with Jisue. Tears rolled down the zeta's cheeks as he closed his eyes and took a breath. "I, Syri, reje-"

Before Syri could properly reject Jisue, the alpha backhanded the zeta before forcing him to submit again. Another whimper escaped the zeta as he became weak from Jisue's crushing dominance.

"Did you really think you could reject me? I'd rather mate you than bear the shame of getting rejected by a fucking zeta." Jisue let out a huff as he pondered. The alpha paced back and forth in thought as the zeta remained on his knees with his head bowed. The zeta's small body pulsed with silent sobs as the alpha came up with a twisted solution. "Come with me," Jisue growled.

"Wh-where are you taking me?" Syri managed to question through deep breaths.

A fearsome growl answered the zeta. "Answer me properly when I tell you to do something," Jisue snarled.

The suffocating presence of the alpha weighed down on the zeta, making it hard to breathe. Syri found himself meekly nodding his head. However, it was not enough to appease his mate. "How do you respond?" Jisue asked roughly.

Syri swallowed dryly as he tried to fight the dreaded sensation in his body. As the weaker mate, Syri was inclined to submit to Jisue. And Syri would have loved to submit to a strong mate who would love him and protect him, but he hated himself for having to submit to scum like Jisue. The zeta tried to resist his mate's command, but Jisue's presence was too much. Syri found himself answering, "Yes, Alpha," with a shaky voice.

"Good. Now, follow me. And stay quiet," Jisue growled as he turned and began walking down the alley.

The alpha could not stand the thought of being rejected by a zeta, nor could he bring himself to mate and mark Syri, so he locked Syri away from everyone, afraid of what people would say if they found out his mate was a zeta.

Syri slowly stood to his feet and silently followed Jisue down the alley towards the forest, towards that house, towards that basement, those chains, that dark room, the pain, the despair. The zeta's lips were parted in fear, and his hand was clenched as he found himself back in that room. Syri cried and whimpered quietly in his sleep. His face was stained with tears and his brows were furrowed as he twitched and moaned in fear. However, Jae's soft touch brought Syri back from the dark memories of his fated mate. The true blood remained asleep but had moved his arm and repositioned his hold on the zeta, waking Syri from his restless dream. Jae's warm breath caressed the zeta as the small wolf looked at the prince, his body crested by the moonlight.

The zeta's racing heart began to slow as his ears caught the steady beat of the true blood's heart. Syri's tears eventually stopped as he looked at Jae's sleeping face, and was reminded that he was no longer in that place. After taking a few minutes to calm and reassure himself that he was safe, Syri reached over and placed his finger on the prince's temple and began tracing the silver outline of the true blood's features.

The prince's dark eyes opened and gazed at the zeta in front of him as he felt the small male's touch. Jae's heart fluttered as Syri's hand reached the lower part of his jaw. Jae turned his head into the zeta's hand and gently pressed a kiss to it as Syri finished tracing the silver line.

Syri smiled at Jae's sign of affection as the true blood brought his hand back down to the bed. Jae brought his hand up and held the zeta's chin, his thumb stroking the zeta's bottom lip. Would it be too much if I kissed him? A tear stain on the zeta's cheek caught the true blood's attention, and he studied Syri's face. He had clearly been crying. "What's wrong?" Jae asked softly.

Syri pursed his lips as he gazed at the man in front of him. Jae was strong, yet he was so soft and caring. Syri did not want to drag the soft and caring Jae into the chaos of his past, so he put on a small smile and answered, "Nothing."

Jae could smell the residual scents of extreme fear hanging in the air and knew that Syri did not answer truthfully, but before the true blood could think anymore of it, the door to his room was flung open. Jae sat up at the sight of Yejin entering with a strained expression.

"What is it?" Jae inquired of the alpha.

"Haikon was able to link me for a few seconds. He said the alpha is on his way. The link was really weak. Haikon cut in and out a lot. He might have said more, but I was only able to make out 'He's heading towards the palace,'" Yejin informed in a hurry. The alpha was panting; he had clearly run a great distance.

The prince jumped out of bed, his eyes flashing back and forth from black to gold. "Ready the guards," Jae said in a deep voice.

Syri let out a small whimper when he processed the news. Jisue was coming for him. All the memories of his time in that house came rushing back to the front of Syri's mind. Jae caught the whimper and turned back to the zeta. "Stay here, okay? Don't let anybody in unless it's Yejin, Estan, or me. I'll be back before you know it, okay?" The true blood said softly, pulling the zeta from his spiraling thoughts.

Syri swallowed before nodding. "Stay safe."

"I will. Don't worry."

The prince started towards the door but stopped halfway. Jae immediately turned around and rushed back to the zeta. He could not leave Syri like this, not after he had clearly been crying. Standing beside the bed, the true blood hovered over the zeta. Syri gazed up at the prince as his eyes turned golden. Syri was startled when Jae placed his hand on his chin and gently turned the zeta's head into the pillow, exposing Syri's neck; however, the zeta did not protest at baring his neck. He trusted Jae. Once the zeta's neck was exposed, the true blood also turned his neck and pressed it against Syri's scent gland.

Syri gasped in pleasure as the true blood rubbed their scent glands together, scenting the zeta with his musky aroma. Through scenting Syri, Jae hoped the zeta's scent would be masked, making it harder for him to be found. Jae's wolf howled in pleasure when he smelled his scent seeping onto the zeta and mixing with that sweet scent of vanilla and roses. Syri had grabbed onto Jae's arm when the true blood's pheromones covered him and was gazing up at the man hovering over him with glossy eyes.

"I'll be back," Jae said lowly before kissing Syri's forehead and joining Yejin at the door.

Syri watched Jae walk out before bringing his fingers to his scent gland. The zeta tenderly touched his neck, and an inner squeal of excitement rushed through him.

OMG. Aska, Jae just scented us!

Mmm hmm. That's great and all, but something doesn't feel right. Syri's wolf responded with a serious tone, reminding the zeta of the impending presence he had been feeling the past few hours.

I know. Syri sighed, suddenly solemn. I feel it, too. The zeta said as he turned his head to the window. Something was coming. And it was near.