The Alpha's Forsaken Feisty Mate-Chapter 23: I’m exhausted, Radulf

Zenna’s sobs echoed in the silence of the night as the painful memories of her childhood surfaced.

When she was younger, she had desperately longed for her parents’ love. But as she grew older, the harsh truth unfolded: her mother was no longer alive, and her father—her only remaining parent—didn’t want her.

She had lived in solitude, confined to a quiet, cold palace that offered no comfort. That loneliness persisted until the day her father visited. She was six years old then. His arrival should have brought joy, but it shattered her already fragile hope.

Zenna had been playing with the hem of her tattered dress when the heavy doors creaked open, revealing a tall, imposing man flanked by servants. She froze, her tiny frame trembling as she recognized him.

"Get on your knees!" a servant barked, shoving her down roughly.

Confused and frightened, Zenna obeyed. She knelt there, her wide eyes staring up at the man who loomed before her.

"You can’t stare continuously at the Alpha King," the servant reprimanded sharply.

Alpha King. The words made her young mind whirl. ’My father is the King of the Nalveri Kingdom?’

Phillipe, her father, finally addressed the servants. "Why do her clothes look so shabby?" he asked sharply.

"The Luna Queen said there was no need to tailor new dresses for Zenna," the servant replied flatly.

Zenna’s head dipped lower as she listened. Her tiny hands clutched the fabric of her dress, her body still trembling.

Phillipe’s boots clicked against the stone floor as he approached her. He knelt, lifting her chin with a cold hand.

"Look at me," he commanded.

Hesitant but obedient, Zenna raised her teary eyes to meet his. His gaze was piercing, devoid of warmth or affection.

"You are a mistake your mother made before dying," Phillipe said bluntly. His words were like knives, cutting deep into her young, fragile heart. "But since you have my blood, that’s why you are alive. Don’t trouble anyone here."

Her lips quivered, but she didn’t dare speak. She simply nodded, her bruised face an evidence to her struggles to survive.

Phillipe stood and turned to leave, but Zenna, desperate for some form of connection, reached out and grabbed the hem of his trousers.

"I want to go out, Father," she said, her small voice trembling with desperation.

He stopped, looking down at her with a cold glare. Before he could respond, the servant intervened, yanking her hand away and delivering a harsh slap across her face.

"How dare you stop His Majesty like that?" the servant scolded, her voice filled with disdain.

Zenna crumbled under the blow, her sobs breaking free. Her father didn’t spare her another glance. He turned and walked away, leaving her on the cold floor.

That day, Zenna learned the depth of her father’s hatred.

Zenna’s thoughts spiraled as she emerged from the depths of those painful memories, her hands trembling as they brushed the tears from her cheeks. The weight of her past, coupled with her present, was suffocating.

’Radulf turned out to be the same... or perhaps even worse than my father,’ she thought bitterly. How much longer could she cling to this breaking tree that was her life? Her soul felt fractured, and every piece of her yearned for solace, yet none came.

She had once believed in the legends of the mate bond, those whispered tales of an unbreakable connection that could heal all wounds and unite two souls destined to be together.

But now, staring at the cold reality of her life, she couldn’t help but wonder: ’Were all those tales just lies?’

The bond she shared with Radulf felt like a cruel trick, a thread of fate that bound her to a man whose heart was encased in stone. She clutched the wedding ring on her finger, her thumb brushing over its smooth surface as tears welled up again.

The faint half-moon hung in the sky like a silent witness to her grief. Its soft glow danced across the giant lake before her.

"Is there even a place for me in this world?" Zenna whispered. Her tear-streaked face reflected in the water, distorted and blurred, as if even the world itself refused to recognize her.

The weight of her despair pressed heavily on her chest. She stared at the tranquil surface of the lake, its vastness seeming to promise an end to the unbearable ache.

With trembling hands, she slipped them off and cast them aside.

Zenna wiped her tears with the back of her hands, though they continued to fall. Her bare toes touched the cold edge of the water, and she inhaled shakily, ready to embrace what was about to come.

As she prepared to jump, a sharp voice reverberated, reaching her ears too.

"Zenna!"

It was Radulf, and she quickly turned to look at him. His eyes were a deeper shade of green as he approached her with long strides.

"Stop right there!" Zenna cried, her voice cracking as she took a precarious step back. Her heels teetered on the edge of the dock, ready to jump anytime. "I’ll jump if you don’t!" she threatened.

"Zenna, don’t do this. Don’t be crazy," Radulf growled while stopping in his tracks. "Come here. Please."

She shook her head vigorously, tears spilling down her cheeks in steady streams. "I—I’m exhausted, Radulf. I can’t do this anymore. I don’t want to live in a world where all I’ve ever received is abhorrence and rejection."

She took a brief pause before continuing, "Just... tell Pia and Gregor to forgive me. Tell them I’m sorry. I wish—I wish I could’ve kept living without thinking about my life, my situation... but I can’t. I’m so tired."

Zenna’s shoulders slumped as a shudder ran through her body. She looked back at the water. "And Radulf... I’m sorry. I never wanted your downfall. I swear, I never wanted that. I hate the fact that you lied to me before mating with me. I wish you were warm to me."