Chapter 11
1046words
Ella barely closed her eyes. She leaned against the cold rock wall, half of her body trembling from the cold, the other half suffering from the burning "mark" on her neck.
That bond had not disappeared because of her "refusal."
It was still there.
It was like a venomous chain, with the other end firmly tethered to Karen Wolcoff's soul. Ella could feel him—that hollow, devastating pain, the silent howl of that Alpha giant wolf after losing his mate.
This backlash of pain made her nauseous and dizzy, as if a part of her soul had been violently torn away.
"Don't think about him."
Leo Wilde's voice sounded from across the campfire. He had been keeping watch all night, and was now poking at the nearly extinguished embers with a tree branch.
"That's not a bond, Ella," he looked up, his green eyes unusually determined in the dimness, "That's his 'curse' at work. He's trying to pull you back through that method. The more you think about him, the more control he has over you."
Ella nodded palely.
She would rather believe it was a curse. That was much easier to accept than believing the Moon Goddess had assigned her to a monster.
"Dawn is breaking." Leo stood up and extinguished the campfire. "We need to go. The 'camp' isn't far now."
"Camp?"
"Our new home." Leo reached his hand out to her, revealing a reassuring smile. "The place where our surviving people stay."
The word "home" stabbed at Ella's heart. She took his hand and stood up.
They traveled through the dense forest for nearly two hours in the thin morning mist. Leo clearly knew the terrain like the back of his hand.
Finally, he pushed aside a thick curtain of vines, revealing a camp hidden deep in the canyon before Ella.
Ella's footsteps froze.
The "camp" she had imagined was a village like the Red Moon Pack, with women drying herbs, children playing, and the Moon Crone telling ancient stories.
But the scene before her eyes was completely different.
There were no houses here, only rows of crude military tents. No laughter, only the clash of metal and low, harsh commands.
In the clearing at the center of the camp, dozens of werewolves—all male, and mostly faces Ella didn't recognize—were engaged in rigorous combat training. They exuded the distinctive savage and dangerous aura unique to Rogues.
This wasn't a "home." This was a "barracks."
"Leo?" Ella's voice was filled with confusion.
"We've arrived," Leo's expression remained calm as he led her inside.
His appearance caused the training werewolves to stop. They turned in unison, fixing their gazes on Ella with a mixture of scrutiny, curiosity, and fanaticism.
Their stares made her uncomfortable.
"Is she the 'antidote'?" a one-eyed Rogue asked in a low voice.
"Look at the mark on her neck... she really has been marked by Volkov!"
"Shut up!"
A tall man walked out of the largest tent. He appeared to be Leo's deputy.
"Leo, you're back." He glanced at Ella and nodded, "You succeeded. Is the test subject ready?"
"Test subject?" Ella's heart sank.
"Of course." Leo's tone became businesslike as he pulled Ella toward a special tent in the corner of the camp.
Ella smelled a strong, rotten, bloody scent, as well as the smell of silver.
"Leo, what is this place?" Ella felt afraid and tried to break free.
"Don't be afraid, Ella." Leo's grip was strong as he forcibly pulled her along. "Didn't you want to know what happened to our people? They're inside."
He suddenly flung open the tent flap.
Ella took one look and covered her mouth, her stomach churning violently.
Inside the tent lay three men. They weren't "survivors" at all; they were "test subjects."
Their arms and calves were covered with terrible, festering wounds—marks of being burned by silver. They moaned in high fever, their bodies violently convulsing from "Silver Venom".
"Moon Goddess..." Ella backed away in horror.
"Ella, don't be afraid." Leo's voice came from behind her, still gentle but devoid of emotion, "Do you remember Jason from the Red Moon Pack? He's one of them."
Ella looked at the weakest man, vaguely recognizing him as one of her father's Beta warriors.
"What did you do to him?!"
"I saved him," Leo said calmly, "But he must also pay a small price for our 'great cause.'"
"What great cause?"
"Ella, how do you think we've survived this past year?" Leo's patience seemed exhausted. He let go of her, turned around, his green eyes appearing cold and unfamiliar in the morning light.
"We've been testing," Leo pointed at the three people in the tent, "testing how long we can last after being burned with silver. We must find a way to counter Silver Venom."
He looked at Ella, his gaze so intense it made her breathless.
"And now," he said in a low voice, "we've found it."
Ella finally understood.
She recalled what Leo had said at the altar last night, and remembered Karen's ambush.
"The ambush..." Ella's voice trembled, "you used a silver-tipped dagger to attack Karen... you weren't trying to kill him."
"Of course I wasn't trying to kill him!" Leo impatiently admitted, "If I killed him, who would prove your value? I needed to 'test' you, Ella. I had to see with my own eyes if you could truly cure 'Silver Venom rage'."
Ella felt ice cold throughout her body.
Karen Wolcoff, treating her as an "antidote" and "property."
Leo Wilde, treating her as a "weapon" and "test subject."
"You used me."
"I am saving our people!" Leo's tone suddenly raised, he grabbed her shoulders, "Ella, you're too naive! Do you think tears alone can avenge us? Do you think those 'love stories' from old women's mouths can overthrow Volkov's tyranny?"
"You are our 'weapon', Ella!" Leo's gaze was sharp as a knife, "You are the blade bestowed upon us by the Moon Goddess for vengeance!"
He pulled her to the dying Jason.
"Now," he commanded, "heal him. Prove your worth."
Ella looked at Leo's crazed face, then at the Rogues watching intently outside the tent.
She had escaped one prison.
Only to jump into another deeper cage, woven from "hope" and "vengeance."
