ZIELLE
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My scent brims the air, the thickness of moonlit hellebore curling into his lungs, into his bones. I see it in the way his jaw tenses, the way his hands fist at his sides. He's fighting it—fighting me—and losing.
No one was ever able to fight off my scent. If they did, I wouldn't be a tamer in the first place. I watch as he slowly loses his strength. He is not growling anymore, his jaw clenched shut.
And that's always the first sign of surrender.
"Don't fight it. You might need the energy for later." I muse. His gaze is scathing when he stares me dead in the eye, like he wants to burn me alive with the fire in his eyes. Oh, I've seen that look too many times from too many alphas to be afraid now.
"Unlock the cage." I say, walking closer to the door. One of the omegas comes to unlock it for me. But Leah, my only friend here, stops her. She cares, unlike the high omegas who only want me for my power. She is always concerned about me, always checking in on me. Always tell me to quit this job.
"No. He is still feral. He might attack you, Zi." Leah says. "Let him get used to your scent before you get inside."
"I think he is good now." I says, giving the big bad alphas a look.
"You try stepping inside, and I will fucking rip off your head." The alpha growls. But it doesn't sound as loud and scary as it did before. My scent is definitely affecting him.
I smirk, tilting my head as I meet his eyes.
"You sound more desperate than dangerous," I say softly, every word dipped in velvet.
His chest rises sharply. Rage simmers beneath his skin, but it's laced with something else now—need.
Leah grips my wrist, her voice urgent. "Zi, please. Just give him time. He's not like the others."
I squeeze her hand gently. "Exactly. He's stronger. That's why they brought him to me."
She looks at me like she wants to argue more, but she knows better. She knows once I've made up my mind, there's no stopping me.
"Open it."
The lock clicks again, slower this time. The omega standing beside us hesitates before stepping back.
The cage door groans as I push it open.
A hush falls again. Heavy. Expectant. All eyes on the tamer and the beast.
He watches me, unmoving, eyes burning holes through my skin—but his fists aren't clenched anymore. They tremble slightly, like the fight is slipping from his grasp and he knows it.
My scent wraps tighter around him. Moonlit hellebore—sweet, intoxicating, inescapable.
It's not just in the air anymore. It's inside him.
I step inside the cage, one barefoot after the other. Slow. Graceful. Measured.
His jaw flexes again, stubborn to the end.
"Careful," he mutters, voice hoarse now. "You're playing with fire."
"No." I pause just a breath away from him, tilting his chin up with two fingers. His skin is burning hot.
"I'm the one who taught fire how to burn."
His breath catches. Just for a second. Just enough.
"You don't get to win this," he snarls, but there's no weight behind it anymore. His limbs are heavy, his instincts confused, torn between fight and surrender.
"You think this is a fight?" I whisper, my fingers now ghosting along the line of his throat.
"Sweetheart, this is a lesson."
He flinches.
Not from fear.
From want.
From loss of control.
And there it is—the second sign of surrender.
His head bows slightly, just a fraction. But I catch it. I always do.
Outside the cage, someone gasps. Leah's voice calls my name, laced with fear—but I don't take my eyes off him.
"That's it," I breathe. "You're almost there."
And just like that, the beast begins to break.
I reach inside the pocket of my gown and pull out a little bottle of ashen bloom potion. He watches me closely, he looks so powerless. Completely helpless at my hands.
I pour the content into my fingers, the slimy liquid dripping from my fingertips. I rub it against his scent gland, making him jerk away with a low growl. As the liquid seeps into his scent gland, I feel him losing all his strength. He sits motionless beside me, his eyes bleary and half closed.
A bitter feeling churns my stomach. A voice in my head calling me cruel for torturing one of my own kind like this. But I try not to let it grip me. This is not as cruel as what those alphas did to my parents.
If it was not for them, I wouldn't be losing my parents— The only good thing in my life. If I'm like this today, cold and heartless like those alphas call me. It's all because of them.
I sit there and watch the alpha closely. And my mind wanders. Where did they find him? What was he doing? Are there more alphas like him out there?
"You are so powerful, Zielle!" I hear Arieth's squeal. She looks so giddy, jumping up and down like a child. "If it is going to be like this, then he will be tamed in no time! I'm finally going to mate!"
I scoff, trying hard not to roll my eyes. I don't think this alpha is any easier than the others. And I clearly don't think she is going to mate any time soon.
"And, Zielle, don't touch him much." She says with a frown. "He is my mate."
I clench my fist, "Not yet."
"What?"
"I said he is not your mate yet." I watch as Aerith seethe with anger. "And I can't tame an alpha without any physical touch."
I'm just about to lift myself to my feet when it happens.
So sudden—so brutal—I have no time to react.
A sharp gasp escapes my lips as the Alpha seizes me with inhuman force, manhandling me like I weigh nothing.
Before I can even scream, he's slammed me against the cold cage floor.
Pain explodes along my spine, stealing the air from my lungs.
I hear the omegas scream, but I can't look away from the golden eyes of the alpha on top of me.