CHAPTER TWO

Amanda doesn't know how long she was looking at the door before it was pushed open. The force behind it almost caused it to fall from its hinges. Mathew looked pissed off. Amanda ain't talking pissed off in that he wants to smash up a few trees, she talking pissed off in that he wants to rip heads from bodies. Not that she could blame him, she was sure it was Lucas's job to begin the torture, but instead he's demanding her release. "What the fuck is going on here?" Mathew shouted, his eyes moving to Lucas, who was still eyeing Amanda like she was the most wonderful thing in the world. If she didn't have a set of silver handcuffs around her wrists at this moment, she would have shifted and probably killed him. You wouldn't have done that though because I wouldn't have allowed you to touch him. Amanda's wolf voicing her opinion, her unwelcome opinion which wasn't going to change what she thought of Lucas. "Funny story. Turns out your Beta is my mate. Hilarious, right?" Amanda found herself laughing as the words left her mouth but it would appear. Mathew didn't have a sense of humour since he just glared at her. And swear, if looks could kill, then she would be dead right now. "You kill my men. I couldn't care less if you were my mate, there's no way in hell I am releasing you," Mathew snapped. "You know, given the choice between freedom in your pack and torture, torture wins every single time." Amanda shrugged, her eyes never leaving the blue ones of the asshole who called himself an Alpha. His previously blue ones were slowly turning an impressive shade of black, but that still wasn't enough to scare her. Amanda had met and fought bigger Alphas than Mathew. Sure, he ruled over the second biggest and powerful pack in the country, but there were Alphas out there who were just as feared as he was; he would be an idiot to think otherwise. Take Alpha Aaron Costello for example. He is the Alpha of the Thunder Rise pack and has shed just about as much blood as Mathew has in his reign, despite the fact Aaron's pack is one the smallest in the country. Still, she fought him and he released her under the promise that she wouldn't cross his borders again—a promise she kept. Other than the time she deliberately caught herself caught so that she could ask Aaron for help. But that's a story for another time. A story which is best when a more appropriate time called for it to be told. "You will speak. Even if I have to drag you to the point of death to make you speak," Mathew retorted. Amanda could tell that he was doing everything within his power not to shift, which is why she was having this much fun. "You should try something different. Alpha Killan and Alpha Justin already did that to me." Amanda chuckled, the amusement covering her face, and she wasn't even attempting to hide it. "You are really pushing your luck," Mathew replied. "Seriously? I am only just doing that? I must be slacking," Amanda said, the sarcasm dripping for every single word she spoke. If he kills us, I am coming back, and I will kill you again. Amanda's wolf was pretty much growling in annoyance at her now. Amanda was so sure if it was a real person, then it would have slapped sense into her by now. But since it was trapped under the surface, she could continue to ignore its advice. "I want you to leave, Lucas," Mathew said through gritted teeth, his eyes never leaving Amanda. "Yeah, Lucas. Mathew would like a friendly word with me about my reasons for killing eighty of his men," Amanda stated humorlessly as she threw her leg across her knee and folded her arms, the best that she could, showing him that he didn't really scare her all that much. "You know, sixty-five of those men had mates and thirty of them had pups. I find it hard to believe that you don't care about that," Mathew smiled. Give the man a medal. He actually managed to smile, though it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "I'm a rogue. . .I kill without thought. I don't have the time to care and I certainly don't have the time to pretend I actually have a heart." Amanda shrugged carelessly. "What I would like to know is how the hell you managed to overpower some of the best trained fighters, without any help?" Mathew mused, and Amanda took a moment to look across at Lucas. Lucas was probably only an inch or two taller than Amanda was, his dirty blond hair was all over the place from the number of times he had run his hands through it while we were waiting for Mathew to arrive. And Amanda would be lying if she said his muscles didn't look impressive in the shirt he was wearing. Lucas literally looked like he was ready to attack Mathew, the moment he put a finger on any part of Amanda's body. His gaze following every single movement Mathew made, if she didn't hate him and kind of want him dead, then she probably would have appreciated his protection a little more. "Who says I took them down without any help?" Amanda returned the question without hesitation. "There's not a man out there is stupid enough to help a rogue. They especially wouldn't dare help a rogue who was residing so close to the border of another territory," Mathew replied with confidence. "If that's the case, then I guess I took them all down on my own. Me, a weak she-wolf who has been living the life of a rogue for ten years, single handedly killed eighty of your best fighters. Men who had been trained from the age of twelve to fight." Amanda grinned at the simple fact. Mathew stalked across the room, to where Amanda was sitting. And Amanda could feel the anger radiating off him with each step he dared to take towards her. She almost welcomed the violence which he was about to use only, the second he raised his hand, Lucas was already in front of her and had taken the hit for himself. "Don't touch her. . ."Amanda heard Lucas growl. She looked between the two men, and she was sure Mathew would win in a fight. But then, Lucas was pissed because he had dared to touch her, so she wouldn't put it past him to be able to kick Mathew's ass right now. "Leave," Mathew stated. "I want her released," Lucas demanded, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, like he was just about ready to punch Mathew for demanding that he leave. 'This is your fault. You should have kept your mouth shut," Amanda's wolf reprimanded her, and she simply shook her head, but she knew that wasn't going to be enough for her—not when Lucas was in danger, and she could feel the things he could feel. This whole mate thing was really fucked up. Amanda didn't want to feel Luca's pain or know that he cared about her the moment he laid eyes upon her in this room. She didn't even want to belong to this man, but there was something inside her which was preventing her from fully rejecting him as her mate. Perhaps it was the knowledge that Amanda wouldn't get a second chance at this and it would be pointless to waste it now she knew who the hell he was or perhaps it was because part of her knew what was coming and knew he was going to suffer the very same as she was or perhaps she was just intrigued enough to hang on to a little bit of hope for the two of them. Whatever the reason was, full-blown rejection wasn't even an option. Not now that she had seen him for the first time because a connection had been formed. Amanda simply wasn't going to act on the connection in the way people expected her to act. "There's no way in hell that's going to happen. I want information from her and then she can spend the rest of her days locked down here, like the rest of the scum we capture," Mathew's voice was so full of hatred and venom that Amanda was surprised he didn't kill her right now. "Scum? That's a new one. Not heard that before," Amanda spoke up to remind the two of them that she was still here while they were having a battle of egos with each other. "If you even think of touching her, I will kill you, Mathew. That's not even a threat, that's a damn promise," Lucas managed to say. Amanda was impressed to see that he was brave enough to take a step closer to the man who had the power to banish him if he continued to speak out of term. "I do like a good murder. Can I have front row tickets?" 'Will you keep that mouth of yours shut. You're being childish and petty now." Amanda was getting more and more pissed off with the words of her wolf. Just because she couldn't shift didn't mean she had the right to comment on every little thing about her. "The only person who will be dying is you," Mathew finally pushed Lucas away with such force that when Lucas hit the wall behind him, a new dent appeared. Amanda must admit she did like a man with strength. "Either kill me or stop threatening to do it. It's just boring now," Amanda replied. She didn't have the time to register what was happening before she felt Mathew's hand around her throat, his strength pinning her against the wall as grip tightened and she struggled for breath. Amanda could see black dots appearing in the corner of her eyes as tears blurred what little vision she actually had left. She was amazed it had taken this long for Mathew to lose his temper, but she was impressed at his tolerance level for her sarcasm. Amanda was sure Mathew continued to tighten his grip and the black dots soon vanished. She was greeted with the welcoming sense of darkness and she didn't bother fighting against it. For the first time since she formulated her revenge plan, she didn't bother fighting against the inevitable.