Chapter 46 OWNED
Chapter 46 OWNED
OWNED
KAELIA’S POV
I returned to the cave expecting the place to be as silent as a graveyard, I thought the air would still carry the smell of blood.
That was how I had left Ezekiel. I left him broken and barely breathing. I was still carrying the heat of my anger when I stepped inside, already prepared to punish him again if he dared look at me the wrong way.
Instead, I froze. I found him standing.
He was not slumped as usual against a stone. He was not curled on the ground, instead he was standing upright with his shoulders straight, his breathing was calm instead of the regular laboured breathing.
The arm I had torn from his body was there again, whole and solid, flexing slowly as if he was testing it. There was no blood on the floor, no weakness in his stance. His dark and empty eyes lifted to me, they looked sharper than before.
For a moment, something like surprise flickered through me. Then suspicion followed.
“That is impossible,” I uttered my shock in a low tone, “Wolves do not heal like that.”
The witch stepped out from the shadows before Ezekiel could speak. She looked pleased, her thin smile was stretching as if she had been waiting for this moment.
“The ritual worked better than expected,” she said calmly. “His body now responds to it completely.”
I turned on her. “Explain to me.”
She tilted her head. “The binding did more than enslave his will. It remade him. His flesh will regenerate no matter how many times it is destroyed. Whether it is his limbs, organs, even if his head is cut off, everything will return. He cannot bleed out. He cannot die unless...”
My claws flexed slowly. “Unless?”
“Unless you allow it,” she replied. “His life is tied to your command. He belongs to you now, completely.”
I looked back at Ezekiel. He did not move. He did not argue. He simply stood there as though waiting for my command. That alone told me the witch was telling the truth.
A smile curved my lips. This was perfect...way too perfect.
“You hear that?” I asked him. “You are mine. You don't belong to your pack anymore or your goddess, you are now mine and mine alone.”
He didn't say anything, rather he just nodded once. I searched his face, he was showing no restraint or anger, only obedience. That was when I knew I had broken him completely.
I dismissed the witch with a glance. She bowed slightly, her form already fading. “I will be watching,” she said softly before she vanished, leaving the cave colder than it was.
I stepped closer to Ezekiel and circled him slowly, studying the strength in his posture. Whatever the ritual had done, it had not only weakened him but had sharpened his mind.
“We’re going back to your pack,” I said to him. “You will gather your army. You will bring every soldier worth keeping to me and we will march on to Drakoria.”
His jaw tightened, but he did not protest. “As you command.”
The words still pleased me.
The witch returned briefly to cloak me in illusion, I could morph on my own but I needed her magic to help me last long. She replaced my scales with fur, my wings vanished as I took on the shape of a wolf. I hated how my body felt; It felt small and limiting. I didn't want to question it because it was meant to serve a purpose.
We began making our way back to Ezekiel's pack, traveling fast. Ezekiel didn't speak all throughout the journey and I allowed the silence. His land came into view before long, the distance before us looked gray like it was already mourning something it had not yet lost.
When we entered the pack territory, the mood struck me immediately. There was no joy, not even strength in the air. The Wolves here moved irritatingly slowly, lowering their heads as they walked. They all stopped moving the minute they saw Ezekiel.
“Alpha,” some of them said quietly.
But he did not answer.
They tried again, relief flickering across their faces, but he walked past them as if he had not heard. None of them knew that their beta was dead, nor did they know that their leader was a prisoner inside his own body.
We reached the inner grounds, and Ezekiel called out for soldiers with authority in his voice; they obeyed without question. Warriors gathered around him unaware of what they were being summoned into.
When we were far enough from the others, away from curious eyes, I stepped forward and let the illusion fall.
Fire tore through the air as my true form returned. I unfurled my wings as I broke free. The soldiers staggered back, shouting in shock. Some of them raised their weapons while the others froze.
I stretched my wings and sighed. “That disguise was unbearable.”
They moved to attack me but Ezekiel's voice cut through. “Stop,” he said firmly.
They hesitated as confusion spread across their faces. “but my lord…”
“She is not your enemy,” he said in a flat voice. “Do not raise a hand against her.”
The one who looked way stronger than the rest of them stepped forward anyway, defiance burning in his eyes.
How brave and foolish of him. I smiled at him. “You,” I said. “Come closer.”
He did, baring his teeth at me. I did not give him time to strike before my claw slammed him into the ground, cracking the stone beneath his body. He screamed once before I lifted him again and threw him into a tree hard enough to split the trunk.
Gasps echoed around us.
I turned slowly, my gaze sweeping over them. “This is a test,” I said. “Only the strongest will survive me. The rest are useless.”
Another charged me...then another. I welcomed them.
Spewing out fire from my lungs, my claws shook with force. I broke them down without mercy. A good number of them instantly fled, only one remained standing after everything I gave him.
His entire body was covered in blood but he refused to fall.
I stopped in front of him and nodded. “You’ll do.”