Zielle
❈──────༺❀༻──────❈
The door closes behind me with a solid thud, but the echo of his words follows me like smoke I can't breathe through.
"You'll break before you can break me."
I hate how it lingers.
The hallway outside the taming quarters is quiet, save for the faint rustle of servants setting up for the midday meal. I ignore them. I ignore everything—except the gnawing weight growing in my chest.
I don't head back to my quarters. Instead, I take a sharp turn and slip into the side garden. It's empty, as it always is at this hour. I sit on the low stone bench beneath the willow tree and press my face into my hands.
Why did I let him get to me?
I've dealt with worse—alphas that howled like beasts, spat at my feet, tried to lunge at me despite their restraints. I've been called every name. I've been bruised, mocked, humiliated.
But none of them made me feel… this.
Not ashamed. Not exactly. Just—raw.
Maybe it's because he never begged.
