ZIELLE
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He doesn't say a word.
Just stares at me from where he's chained, like I'm something filthy that slithered into his den. There's no softness in his gaze. No confusion. No curiosity.
Only hate.
I take a step into the room, the marble cold beneath my bare feet, the edges of my taming robe brushing against my thighs.
I feel naked. Exposed. And he knows it.
"Sit up," I say, voice sharp to hide the unease crawling up my spine.
He doesn't move.
"I said sit up."
His jaw clenches, I can see it through the slight gaps on his muzzle. That's the only response I get.
But he sits, slow and deliberate, like every inch of obedience costs him something vital.
I swallow.
"You'll wear the restraint today," I add, reaching for the silk band. It is covered in my scent, it will help ease his alpha and prevent him from attacking.
"I won't," he says, voice like gravel. "you filthy omega."
I freeze. He doesn't raise his voice, but it lands like a slap.
"You don't get a choice," I snap, more defensive than I want to be. "It's protocol."
His eyes flash. "You think protocol justifies what you do to us?"
His words sink into the walls, the silence after them sharp and suffocating.
"I'm trying to help you," I say through gritted teeth. "If you resist, they'll use force. I'm here to stop that from happening."
He lets out a bitter laugh, short and dry.
"You break us before they do. That's your gift, isn't it?"
I flinch. "You don't know me."
"I've seen enough."
Something burns in my chest, but I swallow it down. I've heard worse. From others. From broken Alphas who begged and cried and cursed my name. I hate them all.
But this one doesn't scream. He judges.
And somehow, that cuts deeper.
I force myself to walk toward him, silk in hand.
"Hold out your hand," I say.
He stares at me with unflinching disgust. "What happened to them?"
"What?"
"The ones before me. The Alphas you tamed. What did they become after you were done with them? Did they turn into some machine that only moves at your command?"
I stare at the disgust in his face.
His smile is twisted. "Exactly. That's what you make them. A freaking machine."
"Whether you like me or not," I say coldly, "you're still in chains. You still need taming. So snarl all you want, but at the end of the day, you're just like them."
That gets him. His eyes darken. His shoulders tense.
"I'm not gonna break like them." he growls.
For a second, the room tightens around us, his scent sharp and heavy like a storm about to break. But I hold my ground.
Good. Let him hate me.
It's easier than him seeing anything else
"I see they dressed you like a prize today," his voice is muffled but still laced with venom as his eyes rank all over my body. "How thoughtful."
I don't respond. I don't flinch. But my pulse quickens, my heart beats louder. Feeling naked.
I step closer, kneeling to prepare the silk band for his wrist.
He jerks his hand away before I can touch him. The chains rattle.
"Don't," he growls. "Don't pretend you're any better than the others."
I look up at him slowly. "I'm not pretending," I say. "But I am trying to help you survive this place."
I wasn't lying. Even though I hate alphas, there are times I feel sympathy for them. There are times I feel sorry. If an alpha refuses to be tamed, and fights it so badly, they will be physically tortured. I never wanted that to any alpha since I know how bad it can get. No one deserves such pain.
He scoffs behind the leather muzzle. "By tying ribbons on my wrists and forcing me to breathe in your scent like a drug?"
My chest tightens. I want to yell at him—to say it's not my fault, that I never asked for this role, that I'm just trying to do what I must without losing myself.
But none of that would matter to him.
Because all he sees when he looks at me is a handler. Another chain.
"Isn't it better than hot iron and whips with thorns?" I ask, the memories of alphas being tortured flashing in my mind.
His eyes widen, "You ruined them. You omegas ruined them!" The anger in his eyes can burn down this whole kingdom. It shakes me.
I slowly lower the silk band and place it on the stone beside me.
"I won't force you today," I whisper. "But don't mistake my kindness for weakness."
His eyes flash.
A pause stretches between us like wire pulled tight.
Then, unexpectedly, he tilts his head. "Why? Guilt finally chewing holes in that shiny little Omega pride of yours?"
Yes. Guilt, it is finally creeping up to me. Everything I did, every penny I made from it now feels like dirt.
I stand up, biting the inside of my cheek. "No. I just didn't sleep, and I don't have the strength to deal with your mouth and your temper this morning."
Something flickers in his eyes. Brief. Almost curious.
"Have you eaten anything yet?" I ask him.
"Not gonna eat anything you offer me." He scoffs, "Who knows if you put poison in it."
"We don't want you dead, alpha." I roll my eyes.
"Sure. But you clearly want me to lose my strength." He says with a grunt.
"We want to maintain good health."
"Ah, that's right. You want to mate me off soon, huh."
I didn't say anything to that.
But then he turns away, chains clinking as he moves.
"You'll break before you can break me," he mutters. "They all do."
I linger for a moment, studying the slope of his back, the tension in his shoulders, the heat radiating off his skin like barely-contained violence.
Then I whisper softly, almost to myself:
"Maybe I'm not here to break you."
And I leave the silk band untouched.