Ch 5: You're Mine, aren't you?

Elisa's POV:

"Stop this madness! Enough! Both of you, stand back right now!"

A harsh, authoritative voice cut through the panicked silence of the courtyard, flinching everyone present.

Professor George, the academy’s head disciplinarian, stepped forward, and his face was contorted with pure rage. Standing tall at the center between Ethan and Kael, he coldly glowered at both teams who were just inches away from raging a war.

"Have you all forgotten where you are?" The professor scolded them, his icy eyes darting like daggers between their giant frames equally.

"The number one rule in this academy states that- ‘Physical violence is strictly prohibited on these grounds’.

“If you’re too immature to control your beasts, then as per the rules, both Ice Moon and Blood Fang teams will be expelled from the Ice Tournament before your first puck even hits the ice.”

Immediately after those words echoed in the air, the threat of being kicked out of this crucial tournament, which would dictate who would control the territorial power between wolves and Lycans…finally forced them to freeze.

Right after the professor left, Ethan exhaled a ragged, trembling breath. From standing at a measurable distance, I saw his chest heaving up when he forced his sharp claws to recede into his skin reluctantly.

Ethan had his fiery gaze rolled upon me once before he violently shook off Maria's comforting arm when she tried to soothe his bleeding hand.

Without a single word, he turned around and stormed off toward the dormitory building while his Ice Moon teammates quietly followed his steps from behind, without a question.

However, Maria stumbled back a little from the shock of blatant rejection, with her lips parted and slightly trembling.

She seemed clearly nervous and shocked by the sudden turn of events this evening, but right before she hurried after him, she threw a venomous scowl in my direction.

Now I could see her true face.

Her eyes burned with pure hatred, clearly blaming me for the night of our welcome party being completely ruined.

I stood in the rapidly emptying courtyard as the adrenaline rush slowly faded, leaving me shivering and cold in my backless dress.

Honestly, tonight, I had simply planned to get Ethan riled up to his very limit, but this?

The situation had exploded into something much bigger, much more volatile than I had anticipated.

Yet still, wanting to see just how deep the damage went, I decided to follow the trail of dripping blood toward the dormitory.

But as I walked away from there, a sudden, heavy lingering sensation fell over my bare shoulders.

At that moment, I didn't need to look back to know that a pair of piercing, emerald eyes was drilling into my back.

Kael must’ve been definitely watching me.

However, following the realization, a sharp chill ran down my spine when I intensely reminded myself…this Lycan prince was an apex predator, not just an ordinary boy to be played with.

When I reached the door of Ethan's dorm suite, it was already wide open.

Inside, the room seemed to echo with the noises of frantic crying.

And just as I had expected, Maria was hovering around Ethan with a white plastic first-aid box, her voice was trembling and quite desperate.

"Ethan, please, let me look at your hand. Just let me pluck out the glass pieces first. It is going to get infected if you leave it like—"

"Leave me the fuck alone, Maria!" Ethan roared aloud, and with an impatient shove, he pushed her away from him.

The first-aid box slipped from her fingers and clattered loudly to the floor, spilling white gauze and antiseptic bottles everywhere while his grunt sounded scary.

"Don't piss me off tonight more than I already am!"

However, as I watched them from the shadow of the doorstep…a bitter, hollow ache settled deep down my chest.

So…this was exactly how Maria meddled between us in my past life, behind my back…always acting like the fragile, doting comforter whenever Ethan was angry until she finally stole him away, causing my death.

But I couldn’t help but get a bit annoyed at myself.

Even though I was granted this miraculous second chance of life, I was still that girl who had once loved this man blindly.

But quickly, I forced myself to swallow that weakness down.

Let him bleed and let him suffer. I was reborn to watch his ruin, and I am going to enjoy every second of it.

"Elisa?"

Ethan’s frantic, breathless call suddenly snapped me back to reality when I realized he had noticed me standing on the doorstep.

Then, I slowly walked into the room, keeping my face completely calm and my posture straight.

I ignored Maria, who was currently on her knees, glaring up at me with a scowl as she picked up the spilled bandages from the floor.

However, without bothering about her, Ethan took fast, restless steps toward me. His breathing grew faster, his hazel eyes narrowed with a mix of anger and desperation when he pointed a shaking, bloody finger at my face.

"What the fuck was all that out there, Elisa?" He shouted, as if his voice was vibrant enough to shake the walls and ceiling of that room.

"Explain yourself right now! Why did you choose the lycan team? Why did you let that Lycan bastard touch you like that?"

I had already come here expecting his outburst, so I didn't flinch or try to back away. Looking down at his bleeding hand, I raised my ocean eyes to meet his furious gaze.

"I didn't choose anyone, Ethan," I said, my voice incredibly quiet, smooth, and deadpan cold. "You saw it yourself. The lottery chose my team…and I don’t know either how it all happened. But…I only followed the old tradition."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Ethan slammed his uninjured hand against the wall right beside my head, and the loud impact of that hit vibrated through the stone where he had pinned me.

But to my surprise, despite his aggression, his eyes were rolled wide with a strange and pathetic kind of panic which was completely unfamiliar to me.

"You asked that bastard for a kiss! You stood there in front of everyone and let him put his mouth on yours! Just thinking of that makes me want to rip him into pieces!

“You’re my girlfriend, Elisa. You belong to the Ice Moon pack. You belong to me. Have you forgotten that?"

While trying to ignore the low, trembling grunt of his wolf raging inside him, I looked down at the dark blood dripping from his palm onto the floor, and a strange satisfaction paved in my chest.

Step by step, as I had thought, my plan required me to keep Ethan close to me. I needed to play the part perfectly until I had completely ruined him in my trap.

Gently, I reached out and took his bleeding hand in mine. My fingers deliberately felt cooler against his burning, feverish skin.

"Let me take out the glass shards," I said softly, keeping my voice neutral as I tried to pick up a piece of gauze from the first aid box. "If you don’t treat it now, later, they will cause a severe infection, Ethan.”

"Don't avoid my question!"

Ethan let out a harsh, furious snarl, violently unleashing his hand out of my grasp.

Instead of backing away, he gripped my shoulders with terrifying force, shaking me slightly as his copper-brown eyes burned into mine with a wild desperation.

"Why did you let that Lycan bastard touch you? You're mine, aren't you?! Why aren't you saying that?!"]