Chapter 2
Ella's POV
I was still staring at my reflection in the bathwater when Ruby knocked on the door.
"Miss Ella? Lord Kane's guard is here. He says his lordship requests your presence."
My heart stopped.
The guard waiting outside wore no expression. "His lordship is in his private chambers. He's waiting for you."
Private chambers. I knew what that meant.
My stomach churned, but I followed him anyway—in this world, bloodline determined everything, and I was just an Omega without even a pack to call my own.
The walk through the West Wing felt endless. Other servants pressed themselves against the walls, their eyes sliding away from mine.
The room was dimly lit, only a few candles scattered across the dresser. Steam drifted from the bathroom, carrying the scent of sandalwood and something that belonged purely to Kane.
He emerged from the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel slung low around his hips.
I'd seen Kane's body countless times before, but it still made me hold my breath.
Lean muscle, hard lines, his skin marked with the same scars as mine. Water droplets traced down his chest, following the ridges of his abs before disappearing beneath the towel. His black hair was slicked back, making those ice-blue eyes burn with desire.
"You took your time," he said, his voice rough as he moved toward me.
I forced myself to stand firm. "Your guard said you requested my presence, my lord."
"My lord? Since when are you so formal, Ella?" His fingers caught my chin, tilting my face up. "I wanted to see you. To talk about us."
Us? As if there was an "us."
But when his thumb brushed across my lower lip, despite abandoning all illusions, my body still responded. Heat pooled low in my belly.
"I have news," Kane continued, his voice dropping lower. "The Alpha has arranged my marriage to Victoria Vane. The wedding is set for the fifteenth of next month."
I knew this was coming, but hearing him say it so casually, as if discussing the weather, made something inside me shatter.
"Congratulations," I managed.
His eyes narrowed. "That's all you have to say?"
"I'm not feeling well," I said, pulling back from his touch. "If that's all—"
His hand shot out, gripping my wrist hard enough to hurt. "Not feeling well? Or not in the mood to play?"
Play. That's what he called it—to him, this was all just a game.
"I'm tired, Kane." The name slipped out. "I'm just... tired."
Confusion flickered across his face, then hardened into anger. He spun me around and pushed me against the wall, one hand tangling roughly in my hair.
"Tired? You dare refuse me?"
Fear pierced through me. "Kane, please—"
"Please what?" He yanked my hair. "Please let you go? Please find someone else to warm my bed?"
Tears spilled over, streaming down my cheeks.
A flash of panic crossed Kane's face. "Ella—"
"Do you remember?" I cut him off, my voice shaking. "That night in Blood River. You had a fever, and I stayed with you all night. You held my hand and said you wanted to perform the mate ceremony with me. You said when we got back to Silver Moon, you'd mark me, make me your true mate. You also said—" my voice broke, "you said you'd take me away from that hell, give me a home. Do you remember, Kane?"
He was silent for a long time, his gaze flickering as if recalling that distant night.
"I remember," he finally spoke, his voice low. "But Ella, things were different then. We were in Blood River. I had nothing, only you. But now I'm back in Silver Moon. I'm the West Wing Lord. My father is the Alpha. He would never allow me to take an enemy pack Omega as my wife. You have to understand, some things aren't mine to decide."
His words were like ice water, extinguishing the last spark of hope in my heart.
"Then send me away," I heard myself say, my voice strangely calm. "Send me back to Blood River. Or let me go to Free Haven—I've heard it's a place built by rogue wolves, no politics, no bloodline hierarchy. Just let me leave here. Leave you."
Kane's expression turned cold instantly. He turned and grabbed his shirt, yanking it on roughly.
"You're not going anywhere," he said, his voice devoid of warmth. "Blood River won't take you, and Free Haven isn't for you either. I'm the one who brought you out of that hell. I feed you. I shelter you. You think you can survive without me?"
"Then what am I?" I asked, tears flowing again. "Your possession? Your slave?"
"You're mine," he said coldly, turning to look at me with eyes empty of tenderness. "That's enough. You have no right to choose, Ella. You'd better remember that."
I felt like something had slammed into my chest.
"I've heard," I forced myself to speak, my voice trembling, "that Victoria Vane is highly skilled in combat. She's trained with the pack's best warriors since childhood. She's led warrior units with an impressive kill record. If she knows you still keep me... if she has to share you with me..." I looked up at him. "I'm afraid she'd tear me to pieces."
Kane let out a scornful laugh, his gaze so contemptuous it chilled me to the bone.
"Share?" He repeated the word as if hearing a joke. "Ella, you and Victoria aren't even on the same level. She's the warrior commander's daughter, the future Luna. And you—" he paused, his eyes raking over me, "you're just an unmarked Omega without even a surname. She wouldn't even see you as a threat. So stop worrying about things that don't concern you."
Each word stabbed into my heart like a blade.
He finished speaking and headed for the door without another glance.
The door closed behind him with a dull thud.
I stood there, my legs weak, nearly collapsing to my knees.
Don't cry, I told myself. Don't shed another tear for him.
I took a deep breath and wiped the tears from my face with the back of my hand.
He was right. Victoria and I weren't on the same level. I was nothing, had nothing. But that didn't mean I had to stay trapped here forever, trapped under his control.
I had to leave.
No matter what it took, no matter the cost, I would leave this place.