Chapter 49
Kane's POV
"Kane! Lower your center of gravity."
"Kane! Anticipate your opponent's next move."
"Kane! Don't just use your eyes—use your instincts."
"Kane! Never, ever let your enemy see your weakness."
That infuriating voice echoed through my mind, low, steady, uncompromising.
Three blurred figures attacked from all sides. I barely blocked the first punch before the second one slammed into my ribs. Pain exploded through me—their strikes were sharp and precise, hitting every opening in my defense.
"Stay grounded!"
"Faster!"
"Is this all you've got? Like this, you can't protect anything!"
I gritted my teeth and swung back, only to be deflected with ease. I stumbled backward, breath ragged, sweat blurring my vision. The three shadows moved in perfect sync. I roared and lunged forward, only to be knocked down by a brutal punch.
My knees hit the frozen ground. I looked up and saw the three shadows merging into one.
The face came into focus—a man's face, weathered and worn by time.
He looked down at me with disappointment and something else I couldn't quite place. Pity, maybe.
"At this level, you can't protect what you want to protect, wolf cub."
The moment he spoke, everything shifted.
In the distance, Ella lay in a pool of blood. Her body was motionless, her crimson eyes dull and lifeless, blood still staining the corner of her mouth.
I tried to run to her, but my legs felt like lead. Every step was impossibly heavy, suffocatingly desperate.
"Ella—"
I screamed her name, the sound echoing through the empty void.
"Ella!"
I jolted awake. My entire body felt like it had been shattered. Pain radiated from every limb, each breath tugging at wounds that hadn't healed. I opened my eyes, and the first person I saw was Julian.
He sat in a chair beside the bed, his expression calm, though his eyes held something I couldn't quite read. We stared at each other for a moment, the air thick with hostility and an unspoken understanding neither of us could name.
I couldn't help but recall the moment he'd stepped in to block the Seven Claw Generals' seal—the look of absolute resolve in his eyes as the ice wall shattered.
Then Blaze's voice sounded in my mind, weaker than I'd ever heard it.
"I can't feel Sage anymore..."
I froze. Was there really magic that could seal a wolf's spirit?
I blurted out, "Sage?"
Julian remained silent, watching me. Those ice-blue eyes held exhaustion, loss, and something like suppressed fury.
I pressed on. "What about the ice element?"
Julian simply waved his hand dismissively. Clearly, the answer was already obvious enough not to need saying.
The edge in my gaze softened. Somehow, looking at him now, I couldn't bring myself to say anything cutting.
"Be grateful," Julian finally spoke, his voice terrifyingly calm. "You didn't choose the wrong side. If you'd sided with Stella, I would've let the Three Claw Generals kill you."
I snarled through clenched teeth, "I'm not thanking you."
"No Alpha expects his people to thank him for protection," Julian said evenly, with that inherent confidence of his.
I was left speechless.
The room fell into a brief silence. Outside, the wind rustled through the leaves, as if waiting for an approaching storm.
"Do you know what Brian meant by 'informant'?" Julian asked suddenly.
That memory I'd tried so hard to bury—it all came rushing back with Ella's awakening and the Three Claw Generals' arrival.
The bloody, humiliating images I'd deliberately buried surged forward like a tide.
After a long pause, I said, "It's a long story. You'll have to hear me out."
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside.
Samuel burst through the door and dropped to one knee. "Your Highness, Blood River has assembled an elite force. They're advancing toward our territory through Frostbite Canyon."
Julian gave me a wry smile. "They know about that classified route too? Time is short. I suppose you'll have to make it brief..."
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
Those buried memories cut through me like sharpened blades, reopening old scars one by one.
"It was my first year as a hostage..."