Chapter 11
Julian's POV
Her scent is wrong.
Sage's voice exploded in my mind—frantic, crude, saturated with primitive possessiveness.
This little bitch is hiding secrets. Let me bite her, let me mark her—
"Shut up!" I roared inwardly, desperately suppressing the urge to tear into her, to violate her. My fangs had already pierced her skin, warm blood sliding down her pale throat, that sickly sweet scent driving Sage into an even wilder frenzy as he battered against my control.
Bite down! Mark her! She's ours—
"She's not!"
I clenched my jaw, my entire body trembling as I forced myself off her, staggering back several steps. The ice-blue light gradually faded from my eyes, fangs retracting, but I could still feel Sage raging violently inside me.
Ella curled up on the ground, eyes brimming with terrified tears as she clutched her neck, blood seeping through her fingers. She looked at me like I was a beast ready to pounce and tear her apart at any moment.
"Go back to your room," I said hoarsely, struggling to make my voice sound calm. "Now. Immediately."
She scrambled up trembling, stumbling toward the East Hall main building. I watched her figure disappear through the door before finally allowing myself to collapse onto the ground, relief washing over me.
There's something about her, Sage's voice lowered, no longer that nearly uncontrolled frenzy but carrying a thoughtful wariness. That's not the scent of an ordinary Omega. She's been sealed.
"What?" I frowned.
She's not wolfless—she might not even realize it herself! Sage said slowly. Her wolf spirit has been sealed by someone using extremely sophisticated methods, completely suppressing any trace. But in that brief moment of contact just now, I felt it. The one who was sealed... should not be close to us, might even be a wielder of elemental power.
Elemental power?
I shot to my feet, countless possibilities flashing through my mind.
"Are you certain?"
Absolutely certain, Sage said. When she touched you just now, I felt it. That power tried to soothe me, like... like moonlight on a lake's surface. That's the power of a healing bloodline, an extremely rare kind. But at the same time, I also sensed the edge of the seal, like an invisible barrier locking her true power away tightly.
I took a deep breath, looking up at the night sky. The moon hung high, its cold light spilling over the frozen oak tree in the courtyard, crystalline and translucent, achingly beautiful.
An Omega with a healing bloodline, her wolf spirit sealed. A girl who could calm the violent elemental power within me.
A "possession" my brother would fight desperately to keep by his side.
It was all too suspicious.
---
When I pushed open the bedroom door, Ella had already changed out of the bloodstained dress, wearing a plain linen nightgown and kneeling by the bed. She stiffened noticeably at the sound of footsteps but didn't look up.
"Lift your head," I said.
She slowly raised her face, moonlight streaming through the window onto her, amber eyes reflecting my image. Her neck was wrapped in white bandages, spots of blood seeping through.
"Your Highness," she said softly, her voice trembling with restraint. "I'm ready."
I frowned. "Ready for what?"
"To serve you." Ella lowered her head, slender fingers gripping the hem of her nightgown. "I know... I know my place. I'm just an Omega. Being allowed to stay in the East Hall is already an enormous grace. I won't disappoint your expectations."
As she spoke, she slowly stood up and unfastened the ties of her nightgown in the moonlight.
The thin linen fabric slipped away, revealing her slender, pale body.
Moonlight outlined her form—the graceful neck, thin shoulders, waist made gaunt by years of hard labor.
But more striking were the scars covering her back and arms—some from whips, some from burns, others from bites. She stood before me like this, eyes vacant, like a tool waiting to be used.
"Put it back on," I said coldly.
Ella froze, staring at me in disbelief. "Your Highness?"
"I said, put it back on." I walked over, picked up the nightgown from the floor, and draped it over her shoulders. "Only when you're dressed do you look like a Luna. Slaves are the ones who strip naked to sell their bodies at will."
She stood there dumbly, tears falling silently.
I turned toward the door, saying without looking back, "Rest well tonight. Starting tomorrow, you'll learn herbalism and healing arts. I'm giving you two weeks. If you can prove your worth, I'll consider letting you stay in the East Hall permanently."
"Your Highness..." she choked out.
"I don't need a bedwarmer," I cut her off. "What I need is someone who can help stabilize my elemental power. If all you want is to trade your body for protection, you might as well go back. Kane would be delighted to take you in."
With that, I left the room and gently closed the door.
The corridor was utterly silent except for the echo of my own footsteps. I leaned against the wall, closed my eyes, and Sage's voice sounded again.
You're too gentle with her.
"I just don't want to repeat Kane's mistakes," I said quietly. "He treated her as property and lost her heart in the end. What I need is her genuine loyalty."
Are you sure this is only about using her? Sage asked with a hint of mockery.
I didn't answer, just pushed open the study door and walked toward the pile of documents that never seemed to diminish.
But in my mind, I couldn't shake the image of those amber eyes in the moonlight, filled with despair and numbness.