The Witch and Her Four Dangerous Alphas

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Moon Goddess Forgot to Take Pity on Me

Selene’s POV

I had promised myself I wouldn’t cry.

I swore it right here in this same room when Kael had dragged me here with the collar locked around my neck and stripped the last pieces of my name and freedom. I had stared at the stone walls then, numb but proud, and told myself I wouldn’t give them anything more. Especially not my tears.

But now they wouldn’t stop.

My body convulsed with each sob, my chest tightening as if ropes had wrapped around it. The cold tile beneath me was soaked through, muffling the gasps I tried so hard to hide. I pressed my face deeper into them, biting hard on my arm just to keep myself from screaming. But even that small act of control was slipping away.

The pain wasn’t just in my throat or chest.

It was everywhere. In the raw sting across my hips. In the tremble of my legs. In the places his hands had gripped too hard. There were bruises already...rising like angry flowers across my skin.

I dragged a shaking breath in, my fingers curling into my gown like claws. My arms had gone numb from how long I’d held myself there, bent forward, trying to disappear into the ground.

How could he do this?

The same man who used to chase me through moonlit halls as a boy. The same boy who once gave me a polished pebble and swore it was from the stars. He had shattered that version of himself tonight...smashed it like glass and made me bleed with the pieces.

was nothing gentle

pressure of his grip around my arms, the way his

you belong, Selene... crawling and crying on the floor, right where you belong... under my

And God help me—I believed

folded in tighter as I pulled my legs to my chest, each movement slow and aching. My gown was twisted around my thighs, torn along one side, the delicate fabric stained and wrinkled. It didn’t cover much anymore.

of his fingers. I traced one absently with a trembling hand. My skin felt too raw

that dirt and sweat could fix. But in the soul-rotting way that made you want to scrape yourself raw and still

And the worst part?

was because

horrible, frozen way when your mind goes quiet and your body

so tightly my nails broke skin. I needed that pain. I

my rationality began to return. I became painfully aware of the condition I was sprawled in on

found strength. No, I didn’t feel strong at all. But some part of

tile bit into my

pulled my knees under me. It felt like lifting a mountain. My body ached, my ribs protested, and my legs

my bare feet to the floor. The coldness shot through me like a jolt

But still I stood.

One step.

Then another.