[GRANT]
"You… You love me?" Nour asked sheepishly.
Grant looked at the mate he had been given. The past few weeks he had been trying his best to be affectionate with the omega. He was trying to stay sane in this bond, but there were times when it was just too much for him.
He had always prayed to have Alanor, and even though he knew that Alanor had chosen Unar for his revenge, he hoped that Alanor would come back to him. Maybe if he treated Nour better, Alanor would choose him, right?
"I do. I love you so very much," Grant said, even though he knew it was a lie he was living. Maybe if he lived this lie for longer, he wouldn't give in to the great urge to twist his mate's neck and be mateless so Alanor would come back for him.
At the end of the day, Grant had made his rejection by Alanor his personality. He hated what had happened and no matter what respect he got in the werewolf kingdom he couldn't help but be haunted by the fact that he was nothing to the young Wynter.
Alanor had rejected him without knowing him. It had been too easy and that shit fucked with Grant's head. To this day, the werewolf enforcer wished that he could go back in time and prove to Alanor that he didn't need saving.
He wished he would prove to him that there was no need for Alanor to be so protective over him. It hurt a lot, being on this side of the realm while the mate he wanted was on the other side.
Funny how Alanor had rejected him to keep him safe, only for the universe to give him an omega for a mate. This was a curse, one with a beautifully handsome face, but still a curse nonetheless.
"I love you too," Nour whispered softly, as he looked at Grant with eyes filled with love and affection. It was all so raw and Grant felt like a dick for not being able to return the feelings of the young omega.
Maybe there was someone who would want Nour and take him, right? Maybe if Grant rejected Nour, it would be easier for the both of them seeing as they are both in so much pain because of this bond, right?
Grant knew that there would come a time when the mission to look and wait for Alanor would take over everything and he knew that he would always choose Alanor over the little mate he was staring at.
He knew that it wasn't the best of things, but what else could he do then? Love had broken him and he was just a shell of who had once been. Perhaps it would have been better if he hadn't met Alanor, right? Would that have been easier?
"I'm sorry if I scared you in the past… it's just that with everything going on with the kingdom, I have to make sure that things are alright. There is so much that needs my attention and sometimes they make me so mad.
"I hope you don't take it to heart when I come home and unintentionally lash out at you, love. I really hope I can make up for my mistakes in the past," Grant said, the sincerity in his voice making Nour smile at him.
Grant could see how fragile and easy to manipulate Nour was and he hated it. If this had been Alanor, would have already known that this was a lie, right? Or maybe Alanor would have tried to make things better, right?
There were so many differences between this omega and Alanor and Granite hated it. What had happened between him and the young Wynter had been unfair and they deserved to be together.
"It's alright. We omegas are trained to bear anything. If you're angry and want to beat me up, at least just let me know and I will submit and let you have your way with me, okay? I don't mind that you're the cause of my pain, as long as you love me.
"Love can hurt, but that is okay. If it's you, I don't mind it. Besides, I know you're only doing what is best for me. I won't complain,'' Nour said and Grant held back the cringe he was feeling.
His mate was weak. A weak excuse for a creature was what he had been given and now he had to pretend that this was all okay with him. Screw the mate bond, he would burn the omega if that was the only way to get to Alanor.
He hated how submissive this mate was and he wished he could kill him and get it over with. What the fuck was eh supposed to do with an omega who was this submissive to everything he said? Maybe Nour would worship him next?
"Come, my beautiful butterfly. Let me show you around the palace," Grant said and Nour froze as he looked at the enforcer.
However, Grant, having no knowledge of the prince masquerading as a pitiful omega, was sure that Nour had frozen because he was scared of the palace. Well, he had every right to be, because the place was no home for an omega.
Most of the omegas in the kingdom never really got to explore the place because they were the lowest of the low and were not as useful to the kingdom. It was a cruel reality, but then it was the truth.
"Th… The palace? The Acrod palace that doesn't allow omegas in?" Nour asked and Grant nodded at him in reassurance. Even he knew how ridiculous this was, he needed to get out of this house.
Grant couldn't breathe the scent of this omega anymore. He just couldn't. He felt like he was about to puke and for a moment there he regretted letting him come to live with him here.
It had all been a decision at the moment but now he wanted Nour gone. Maybe he would be able to get the scent of the omega out of his chambers just enough for his chambers to be bearable, right?
"Yes, my love. The great palace. You don't have to worry about anything. You're my mate and I'm the second most powerful person in the kingdom after the king. No one will question you, ever," Grant said even though his heart checked.
He was truly powerful, but to Alanor he was just a baby wolf. Someone that needed protection and that pissed Grant even more. He had wanted to have so many firsts with Alanor, like his first kiss.
Grant had spent the months after Alanor's rejection, living in the brothels, in the hope that he would get a taste of what Alanor had given him. That he would find someone to kiss him the way Alanor had, and honestly he had always failed.
Maybe if he tried with Nour, it would work. But what were the chances that this brainless omega knew the first thing about kissing?
"You trust me, don't you?" Grant asked, even though he knew so well that the omega shouldn't have trusted him. He was bad news for Nour and he was terrified for him, but then love and a brainless omega sure did have a combo, right?
"Always," Nour said.
Grant suddenly yet hopefully kissed Nour for a moment, before he pulled back gently, though with a cruel realization.
Nour was never going to be Alanor.
No one was ever going to match the young beats of the Midlands and he had to live with that for the rest of his life. It was not fair on Grant and he hated the universe for allowing Alanor to let him go so easily.
He was a person too, and he had wanted Alanor. He had loved how brave Alanor was but then here he was, with someone who would never taste like Alanor. He would never give him those sparks and Grant wanted to growl out in anger.
"You taste so divine," Grant heard Nour say and it took everything not to turn the omega towards the wall, strip him roughly, and fuck the sanity out of him just to forget the fact that Alanor was never going to choose him.
Grant didn't care if it was consensual, or not. This mate bond was not what he wanted.
This omega just wasn't it.
"I should be saying that my love," Grant forced, before adding, "let's go, shall we?"
"That was my first proper kiss. I will remember it," Nour said and Grant held back a groan as they headed to the palace.
He really was in hell, no?