The cage she doesn't see

Aziel Valerie King POV

I was born with an unquenchable thirst for insanity and destruction. I wore my venom on my sleeve, not my heart…I didn't have one.

In my world, having a heart is like kissing death. What runs the world is fear, and that’s something no one forgets.

I am the most powerful man in this city, maybe even the country. Everyone knows my name. Aziel Valerie King. They whisper it like a curse, like saying it out loud might bring down some kind of hell.

Maybe they’re right. Maybe I am the devil they think I am.

It had taken years of ruthlessness, years of blood spilled and lives shattered, to reach this point. I had eliminated every rival, crushed every threat beneath my heel, until only I remained at the top.

Power doesn’t ask, it takes. It doesn’t negotiate, it demands. And when it demands, people give. Every rival I ever had is either dead or begging for scraps from my table.

My eyes drew to the large window and I could see the whole damn city sprawling out beneath me.

It was a sight I never grew tired of.

This was my empire…every street, every shadow, every whispered word of fear belonged to me.

I won't let any fucking one snatch it from me.

I order one of my men, "Call Dominic."

Dominic, one of my soldiers, my right hand. He’s been with me since childhood. And there’s no one I trust more than him.

His loyalty is unwavering, not because he fears me, but because he believes in what we’ve built. He’s as much a part of this empire as I am.

"You called me?" He walked inside my office, signaling others to walk out of the room.

"Yes. I want to ask you a favor.." I said, breaking the silence. My voice is calm, but Dominic knows what I’m really asking.

"Is it about that girl?" He enquires, his voice steady. There’s a cold efficiency in everything he says. No waste, no hesitation.

"Yes, I want you to erase every trace, every information about her and replace it with a fake one. Nobody, no fucking body will learn about her identity, her existence. Do whatever it takes, kill whomever you have to kill. Never let anyone know about her at any cost."

Dominic is quiet for a moment, and I hear the faint exhale through his nose. A sign of frustration, not disagreement. Not yet.

"You're risking everything, Aziel. The empire, your status that you have built for years, everything." he finally says. His voice is even, but there’s a note of warning.

"I’m aware of the risks,” I say slowly. “But I’m willing to take them."

He crosses his arms, "Why? Because of her? That girl is a problem, Aziel. You’re not thinking straight. She’s—"

"She’s mine,” I snapped, the words sharper than I intended. I meet his eyes, daring him to challenge me. “And no one’s going to touch her. Not them, not anyone.”

“Aziel,” he says quietly, “we’ve worked too hard, built too much, to let it all fall apart because of this. We’ve had enemies come for us before. We can deal with them. But this? This is different.”

“I know it’s different,” I cut him off, stepping away from the glass window. “That’s why you need to trust me. Do what I’m asking.”

There’s a moment of tension between us, a silent clash of wills. Dominic’s always been my most loyal, my most trusted, but even he has his limits. I can see he’s close to reaching them. Still, in the end, he knows his place.

He nods once, stiffly. “Fine. I’ll erase her. But if this blows back on us…”

“It won’t,” I say with finality in my tone. “I’ll make sure of it.”

I know it was a bad idea, very bad idea. But I wasn’t listening to the rational voice inside, I was listening to the blood roaring through my veins.

She was dangerous. Her eyes had defiance. Her mouth held silence like it was a weapon. I lied when I said I’d seen prettier.

I lied when I said she was forgettable.

Actually there was no one like Elina. She was a wild thunder in a storm I didn’t see coming.

Something in her brought out the raw masculine need in me, the need to claim her, to corrupt her, to make her mine.

Nobody is going to touch her because she is mine. She just doesn’t know it yet. She will obey my authority, my orders.

Oh she would…she would learn it the way I knew how to teach, through dominance, through control. Through the way my name would echo in her mouth as both a plea and surrender.

She’d obey my rules, she’d learn to exist under my command. Because when I protected something... I did it with blood. And when I wanted something, I took it.

The drive back was a blur. The city lights bled into nothing as the car carved its way through the forested roads, each mile dragging like a chain around my chest.

The car rolled to a stop in front of the mansion gates.

I opened the door and stepped out, the night air biting against my skin, but it did nothing to cool the inferno raging inside me.

My long coat swung behind me as I climbed the marble steps, my boots echoing through the empty hallway.

The butler at the door bowed. “Sir, welcome—”

I brushed past him without a word. I didn’t care for greetings, I didn’t care for anyone right now.

All I wanted... was her.

I pushed open the door she was in, And there she was. Bathed in soft golden lamplight. Dressed in nothing but an oversized shirt…my shirt.

Her eyes lifted the second she felt my presence, and something in me cracked wide open.

Her beauty wasn’t just perfect, it was unfiltered, untamed.

Real.

“Elina,” I breathed out. I barely heard my own voice. But then I had to remind myself. I didn’t bring her here to protect her, I brought her here to belong..to me.

I’ll break her, rebuild her, and she’ll wear my very name like a collar.

My pretty little slave.