Seraphina:
Freedom tasted bitter.
The moment the guards stepped aside and the door opened, I knew it wasn’t mercy. It was permission. A leash loosened, not removed.
“Walk,” one of the warriors said curtly. “Within the grounds. You are not going to be allowed out of the pack without the Alpha’s permission, and even then, you are to be escorted by two of the men. When inside, he has appointed two maids to be around you.”
I lifted my chin, spine straight, dignity intact even as my pulse hammered. They wanted to see me shaken. They wanted to see cracks.
I gave them none.
And I knew better than to bend the knee to anyone who thought that they could challenge me.
The corridors felt different as I moved through them. Lighter. Warmer.
Loving in a way that I knew shouldn’t be real.
Laught
