[Salvo's Pov]
To remind myself that I am not a human… I need to make myself realize it again and again. Remind myself of what I am. What I was made to be. What the world turned me into.
A monster in human skin.
That's why—when Alfio entered the room—I didn't see him as a person. I saw a target. A possession. A pretty thing meant to break under my hands.
I was going to crush him tonight. His dignity. His shame. His hope.
It would be satisfying. It would anchor me back in my truth.
He stood there at the door for a second, frozen. Maybe a small part of him understood what he was walking into. Maybe he felt it in the air—the tension, the cold, thick thing that waited to wrap itself around his throat.
And yet… he walked in.
And he locked the door behind him, just like I ordered.
Obedient.
Good.
My lips twitched in amusement.
This was what a good pet looked like.
