Aldrake's head lifted weakly at the sound, his face pale, his eyes bloodshot and lifeless. The agony of rejection clung to every part of him — his wolf clawing at the inside of his mind, his chest heaving as if his heart itself were trying to crawl out of his ribs. He was suffering, but not nearly enough.
Aldus stepped closer, his hands clasped behind his back, his aura pressing down on the room like a storm.
"How does it feel?" he asked coldly. "The emptiness. The ache. The screaming silence where your bond once lived."
Aldrake didn't answer. He could barely breathe, his throat raw from nights of silent screaming. But Aldus leaned closer, his words venomous and deliberate.
"Remember this pain," he hissed. "Remember that you brought it upon yourself. And understand this, Aldrake — what you feel now is only the beginning. I want you to break. To crawl. To beg for d*ath on your knees. And even then, I will make you suffer more than she ever did."
