ZIELLE
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"Look who's back."
His voice greets me the moment I step inside the taming quarter—thick, low, and tempting.
The scent of smoldering pinewood and midnight orchid wraps around me like a cloak. It feels like I'm trapped in a forest on a chilly winter night. It scares me and excites me all at once.
"You called," I say, gulping around the lump in my throat. A lone drop of sweat slides down my temple.
I'm sweating in the coldest part of the night.
How weird.
"You heard." He smirks, rising to his feet and stepping closer to the bars of the cage.
His golden eyes taunt me, pulling me closer without a single touch. These feelings… they scare me.
"I'm not deaf," I bite out, clutching the hem of my cloak.
"Everyone else was." He laughs. The sound rings through the empty space like thunder, sending a shiver down my spine.
"What sick game are you playing?" I glare at him, anger beginning to shimmer beneath my skin. I can't believe he made me come here—in the dead of night.
He scoffs, pacing inside the cage. And that's when I see the broken chains inside the cage. It was bound to his limbs before. How did he break it?
"You took me from my roots, locked me in like some wild beast—and you have the audacity to ask me what game I'm playing?"
My mouth snaps close, a mean retort dying on my tongue. How do I reply to that without sounding like an absolute evil? I don't know.
"Why did you summon me?" I ask instead, taking deliberate steps toward him. Each step I take toward him makes my heart pound louder, and my body tremble harder.
His eyes— sharp and half lidded—follow me closely, like a predator watching his prey. It's like a magnet and I'm like iron. Being pulled helplessly into him.
"Did you really think I would let you sleep peacefully after stepping on my peace?"
My breath caught at his eerie tone, the way he says it sounds so dangerous, so feral.
No alpha acted like this one. They would just spit hate at me and call me things, try to claw at me whenever they get a chance.
But never ever summoned me like this.
I still don't understand how this one did it.
How can anyone summon someone?
Curiosity fills my insides. Curiosity about him and his roots. Curiosity to know who he really is and what more he is capable of.
"You are sweating so much." The alpha scoffs, his eyes trailing down my neck. His gaze makes heat bloom in my belly, my thighs clench together.
Get it together, Zielle. I avert my gaze from his molten eyes. Maybe I should run back home and just pretend this is all just a sick dream that plugs me in the middle of the night.
"Are you scared?" He muse, voice sweet like honey.
"I've never been scared." I say, but my loud gulp betrays me.
"Then come closer."
It's a command. My omega stirs inside me, eager—too eager—to obey.
I try to resist, anchoring my feet, but my legs move on their own. It's like they don't belong to me anymore. No, no, no. I can't walk into his trap.
I force myself to stop a few steps from the cage, chest heaving, breath coming shallow. Just standing here feels like it's draining me.
"Come closer, omega."
That word—omega—coils around me like a leash. My body trembles.
"Stop it!" I snap, fists clenched at my sides.
"Come." The way he drags those words makes me take a step forward. "Closer."
And just like that, my body is moving on its own, walking straight into his trap like a moth to a flame. Ready to be burned alive. Ready to be destroyed.
His gaze follows my every move, golden eyes that make my skin tingle. I feel hypnotised. Out of body.
"Unlock the cage."
I want to scream at him to stop. To stop controlling me like I'm the puppet on his strings. But I can't.
I reach for the key hanging around my neck. Fingers trembling, I unhook the chain.
No.
I slide the key into the lock.
No, no.
And then I turn it.
His laugh is low and victorious, curling through the air like smoke. His eyes gleam with something wild as he steps forward. No more iron bars between us now.
My breath catches.
He reaches out and grabs my hand, yanking me close with a force that steals the ground from under me.
"Hi, tamer," he murmurs, a smirk curling his lips. His sharp canines glint in the lantern's golden glow.
I try to speak, to demand answers, but my tongue is heavy, my lips frozen. I feel like a statue. Carved from stone.
He tilts his head, mock concern in his voice. "Are you unwell?" he coos, clearly enjoying my paralysis.
I find my voice—thin, broken. "Who are you?"
He scoffs, his hand leaving my wrist only to grip my hip. My heart skips, breath shudders.
I feel like I'm playing with fire, one wrong move and I'will be nothing more than ashes. But I can't withdraw myself from this.
"I'm just an alpha that you were trying to tame." He says, this voice wrapped in venom, "An alpha you were so eager to break and turn into a breeding tool."
I suck in a sharp breath when he squeezes my hip. I'm sure it's going to leave red angry marks on my skin, just like the ones he left on my neck.
"The alphas that were tamed have always been treated better. They are all now leading a good life." I forced the words out of my aching throat, my shaky hand gripping his large, strong one on my hip.
He scoffs, sharp and angry. "Did they ask to be tamed?" He glares at me, "Did they ask to be caged and treated like a wild animal? Did they ask to be mated off to a high omega? Did they ask you to destroy their lives?"