Page 13 of Pretty When She Breaks

I nodded quickly and pulled my hands to my chest. They still hurt like fire.

“Now, go get cleaned up. You’ll both be coming with me to the Well tonight. Dismissed.”

Jule found me in the bathroom, trying to wash up, but my hands were too sore.

He helped, telling me he was a doctor and I was his patient.

We played this game a lot.

He wrapped my hand in bandages and fetched me an ice pack—my favourite that was shaped like a monkey.

He cleaned me up. He was real gentle when he brushed my hair, and he gave me a pretty braid.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking when I said that about you getting dirt on me. I just wanted him to believe me.”

“It’s okay,” I told him. “He would have been even madder if you didn’t.”

He hugged me tight, and I sniffed again. It was safe to sniff when he was here.

“You looked just like him for a second,” I said. “I had a scary dream you grew up and turned into an alpha like Father. And you didn’t love me anymore, and I was all alone.”

“Shhh,” Jule said, pulling me close again. “I’ll never be an alpha. And I’ll never be like Father. And I’ll never leave you alone. Never ever forever, okay?”

I nodded, even if I still felt a bit scared.

Because how did he know for sure?

SIX

LAUREL

I woke up in a cold sweat, my breaths coming fast and my heart racing.

Fucking nightmares.

I breathed, trying to ease the panic that had flared up in my veins. Muppet started purring, climbing onto my chest and smashing his face into mine to demand pets. I sank my hands into his soft fur as I slowly calmed down.

Control.

Steady breathing.

I glanced at my phone to see if Soren’s assistant had rearranged our meeting, and was instead faced with a summons to my father’s office. From half an hour ago.

Usually, that would have sent me running, but that spark that I’d reignited last night made me dig in my heels. I was already late.

What were a couple more minutes?

I dressed and took my time with my hair and makeup.This time felt different from all the other times that I’d been summoned. I was still afraid—my stomach wouldn’t settle, and my hands were trembling as I exited my villa—but this time, I clung tight to that fire in my chest and held my head high as I walked.

Prince had deserved that slap, and I didn’t regret finding that part of myself I thought I’d lost.

I stood outside the heavy oak doors, calming my mind before I entered. One of his security guards knocked for me, and we heard his voice call out for me to enter. The security guard opened the door, and I stepped inside.

The smell of his office—leather, and my father’s thick, bitter cocoa—made my heart rate spike and my hands go clammy. He was leaning against his fancy desk, face set in stone, arms folded. His suit was dark grey, and his black hair was thinning at the top of his head.

Although he was clean, the darkness of his stubble and the deep shadows of his wrinkles made him appear as though he had grime permanently embedded in his skin. He’d started to develop jowls in the past few years, and parts of his face were softening, giving it the texture of congealing oatmeal.

“Leave us,” he said to the security guard. “No disturbances.”