Chapter 34
Ella's POV
After Ruby left, Kane stood there watching me, a cold smile playing at the corner of his lips.
"Does it hurt to watch me pleasure someone else?" His voice was low and deliberate, as if savoring each word. "Does it make you jealous?"
I lifted my head to meet those deep blue eyes of his.
Once, those eyes had been my only light in the Blood River wasteland. Now they held nothing but cold calculation.
"Why would I be hurt?" My voice was flat, devoid of any ripple. "Your Lordship, I only hope you can protect your woman well, so she doesn't meet a tragic end at Victoria's hands."
The moment I finished speaking, Kane actually laughed. The sound carried a sick kind of pleasure.
"An Omega, thinking she could become my woman?" He leaned closer, his fingers tilting up my chin. "Ella, do you really think I keep Ruby around because I like her? I just wanted to see if it would upset you. This is my revenge on you, nothing more."
I jerked my face away from his grip. "Do you know this is going to bring disaster down on Ruby?"
Kane's smile deepened, that casual cruelty making my whole body turn cold. "I don't care. Lowly Omegas die all the time. The world is full of them."
A suffocating pain seized my chest. "What about me?"
His expression changed instantly, something wild and possessive flashing in his eyes. He grabbed my wrist, the force of it nearly cutting off my breath.
"You're different." Kane's voice dropped to something dangerous. "You're mine for life after life. I'll make sure you can't live, can't die. Remember that."
I was about to respond when suddenly, a scream pierced the air from somewhere nearby.
"Fire! Fire!"
Kane and I turned simultaneously to see thick smoke billowing from Ruby's new quarters in the West Wing, flames shooting toward the sky. We both broke into a run at the same time.
By the time we arrived, Ruby was curled up on the grass outside, her face streaked with tears. The moment she saw Kane, she threw herself at him, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Your Lordship... I don't know how it started... I didn't do anything..."
I stared at the flames, my heart sinking. This wasn't ordinary fire—the flames were a strange dark purple, like blood corrupted by darkness.
Victoria.
Only she could control fire that color.
Kane wrapped his arms around Ruby, his voice so gentle I barely recognized it. "Don't be afraid. The West Wing has plenty of rooms. I'll find you a better one." He paused, a wicked smile curving his lips. "As long as you make me feel good tonight, you can have whatever you want."
Ruby nestled against him, her voice barely a whisper. "I... I'll do whatever you say... however you want..."
She stole a glance at me, something evasive in her eyes.
I stood there watching the scene unfold, unable to name what I felt. Ruby wasn't me. She didn't have my foolish fantasies or my past obsessions. She just wanted to survive, wanted her family to live a little better.
Maybe she was smarter than me.
---
Night fell. I lay on the narrow bed in the servants' quarters.
The door opened softly and Ruby peeked in, holding a small cloth bundle.
"Ella..." Her voice was quiet, as if afraid to disturb something.
I sat up and watched her approach the bed. She handed me the bundle—inside were several bottles of herbal tincture and a few hand-sewn dolls.
"This is the tincture for your concealment stone," Ruby said. "And these dolls... if you ever get another chance to see Princess Fiona, they might come in handy."
I took the bundle, my throat tightening. "Ruby..."
"I know what I'm doing might seem like I'm betraying you," she interrupted, her eyes reddening. "But Ella, I don't have a choice. My grandmother is sick, my brother is still young. I have to seize any opportunity..."
"No," I gripped her hand. "Love and desire are personal choices. You haven't betrayed me."
Ruby bit her lip, tears finally spilling down her cheeks. "Ella, you have to be careful. Don't ever let them know you have no wolf. If... if you ever get a chance to leave this place, you must take it."
She was about to stand when I suddenly called out to her.
"Ruby, that fire today wasn't a simple accident." I lowered my voice. "That dark purple flame belongs to Victoria. This was her warning."
Ruby's face went pale instantly, but soon she forced a stubborn smile. "I still want to believe His Lordship will protect me."
I opened my mouth, but in the end said nothing.
Ruby walked to the door, then turned back around.
Her eyes were complicated, like someone looking at a traveler about to embark on a long journey.
"Ella," she said softly, "no matter what happens, you have to survive. Go do what you want to do, go where you want to go. See the world outside for me."
My nose stung. "What I want most is to go to Free Haven. There's no pack politics there, just a bunch of rogue wolves doing business. There are white sails, and the ocean, and most importantly... there's freedom."
Ruby's eyes lit up for a moment. "I really want to see what it's like." She paused, then said seriously, "Ella, when you've seen it, you have to tell me about it."
"I will." I nodded.
We embraced tightly. Her body was thin, almost bony in my arms, but the warmth was real.
"You have to survive too," I whispered in her ear. "We both have to survive."
Ruby let go of me, wiped her tears, and turned to leave.
The moment the door closed, I heard Kane's low voice in the hallway.
"Are you clean?"
"Yes, Your Lordship." Ruby's voice trembled slightly.
"Good. I'll take very good care of you tonight."
The footsteps faded away.
I sat on the bed, staring at the cute little dolls in the bundle, and suddenly I laughed.
The sound echoed in the empty room, and it sounded like crying.
Free Haven.
That place with white sails, the ocean, and freedom.
I was going to see it.
Not for anyone else. Just for myself.