Chapter 47
Julian's POV
When I opened my eyes again, I was already lying on the bed in the East Wing.
Everything around me was a blur of white—healers in white robes moving about beside my bed, conversing in low voices. I tried to move, but my entire body felt as if it had been torn apart, every muscle protesting in agony.
"Julian?"
It was my mother's voice. Luna Jenna's face appeared in my field of vision, her eyes filled with worry as she reached out to gently brush my forehead. "How are you feeling?"
I opened my mouth, my throat as dry as if I'd swallowed a handful of broken glass. "I..."
"Don't speak." Father's voice came from the other side, steady yet unable to conceal the tension beneath. Alpha Walter stood at the foot of the bed, hands clasped behind his back, spine ramrod straight, but I could see the shadow in his eyes. "The healers say you were seriously injured this time. You need to rest."
I forced myself to sit up. The healers immediately moved forward to help me, but I stopped them with a look.
I had to speak—this intelligence was too important to wait.
"Father." My voice was hoarse. "That slave named Ella... she's the daughter of the Crimson Flame Warlord, with fire element sealed inside her. She's been taken by the Three Claw Generals now."
The room fell silent instantly.
I continued, each word seeming to be dragged from the depths of my chest: "And Stella has refined the dark flame. She's colluding with the Shadow Witch and the Blood River Pack. The Blood River Pack is about to launch a war."
Walter's expression darkened, but he wasn't as shocked as I'd expected.
He nodded slowly. "I've already arranged the warrior units to guard the border. These matters... are not the most important thing right now."
He paused, seeming to find it difficult to speak.
"What is the most important thing right now?" I asked, a sense of foreboding rising in my heart.
Father didn't answer. He just looked at me, his gaze containing emotions I'd never seen before.
Finally, he said quietly, "Julian, try calling for Sage."
I froze.
Sage?
I called his name in my mind—once, twice, three times. The wolf spirit who always responded immediately was now completely silent, as if he'd fallen into a bottomless abyss, no matter how much I called out.
Panic poured over me like ice water.
I threw off the covers and practically tore open my shirt.
On my chest, three deep canine fang marks glowed with an eerie silver light, like some ancient seal burned deep into my skin. I could even feel them spreading inside me, winding around the realm of consciousness where Sage resided.
"This is..." My voice trembled.
"The Seven Claw Generals' Seal." Father's voice was soft but hard as iron. "They used this to seal Sage."
I stared blankly at those three marks, my mind completely blank.
My wolf spirit, my other half, the source of my power... just taken away like that.
"If Sage is sealed..." I murmured, a trace of despair in my voice, "then the ice element..."
"Without transformation, naturally there's no way to use the ice element." Walter sighed, sat down on the edge of the bed, and placed his hand on my shoulder. "The coming war will be very difficult."
I lowered my head. Without Sage, without ice element, what could I do? What could I protect?
But Father's next words made me look up sharply.
"However, Julian." His voice was low and firm. "The Silver Moon Pack doesn't stand only on ice element. It stands on the determination of every pack member. Don't worry about the war—just focus on recovering. That seal is not unbreakable."
His palm was warm and strong. I looked at him, then at Mother. Jenna's eyes were slightly red, but she gave me an encouraging smile.
She gently squeezed my hand. "You've done well enough, child. What you need now is rest."
I opened my mouth, wanting to say something, but found I couldn't say anything at all.
Father and Mother exchanged glances, then gestured for the healers to leave.
Soon only I remained in the room, so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat—heavy, slow, as if something was pressing down on it.
---
When night fell, I went alone to the courtyard.
The ice-sealed crystal tree still stood in the moonlight, each leaf gleaming with translucent luster. I stood beneath it, reaching out to touch the cold trunk, my mind drifting to the scene of Ella first helping me calm my elemental power.
Back then, she had carefully placed her hand on mine, her amber eyes full of nervousness and anxiety. Her presence was like a sedative, instantly calming the rampaging ice element.
"Sage, what do you think she's going through now?" I unconsciously asked in my mind, then realized—Sage was no longer there.
I closed my eyes, trying once more to summon the ice element. The power that once answered my call now felt separated by a thick barrier, no matter how hard I tried to reach it.
I felt as if part of my soul had been stripped away, hollow and powerless.
Just then, a crystal leaf suddenly fell from a branch, tracing a graceful arc in the moonlight before landing on the ground and shattering into countless tiny ice fragments.
"Sage!" I opened my eyes sharply. "You're back?"
"Julian."
A familiar voice came from behind me.
I turned to see Mother standing not far away, moonlight casting a soft glow on her long hair.
Her eyes were gentle yet sad, like looking at a child who'd been hurt but refused to cry.
"Mother..." My voice caught slightly. "It was just the wind passing by."
Jenna walked over and gently pulled me into her embrace.
Her arms were warm and safe, making me almost forget I was no longer the child who needed Mother's protection.
"Don't worry, child." She said softly, her fingers gently combing through my hair. "What's before you is like the wind—once it passes, it's gone."
I leaned against her shoulder, feeling my eyes grow hot.
Everything I'd experienced these past days felt like mountains pressing on my shoulders, making it hard to breathe.
"Mother." I closed my eyes, my voice carrying unprecedented vulnerability. "I... I don't know what to do anymore."
Moonlight spilled across the courtyard. The crystal tree stood quietly, its leaves making delicate tinkling sounds in the breeze.
And I, the Crown Prince of the Silver Moon Pack, was at this moment just a child seeking comfort in his mother's arms.