The Boundaries of Possession - Chapter 12
Was he finally revealing his true intentions?
His voice was soft, yet the tension hidden within it heated the space between them even more. Elysia struggled to listen to his words while trying not to reveal her own vulnerability. She didn’t know how long this moment would last, but one thing was certain—her gaze was already wavering.
“And what is that…?”
Andreas’s dark, murky eyes had the air of someone accustomed to looking down on others with authority, and it felt like she could fall endlessly into their depths. Only when he finally released her chin did the breath she had been holding escape her lips in a quiet sigh.
“I’ll tell you at our next meeting.”
Elysia watched him disappear through the door, then sank back onto the chair, her body trembling slightly from head to toe.
He was no longer the Andreas she once knew. He wasn’t as kind as he had been in their childhood, nor as cold as he was a few years ago. Now, he treated her as though she were someone he resented.
She bit her lip slowly. Even if their marriage brought her misery, she had to endure it for the sake of her family’s stability. She tried to refocus on the catalogs in front of her, but her mind drifted elsewhere—to her brother, locked away in his room.
“Has His Grace already left, Miss?”
Sei peeked into the room, holding a tray full of desserts. When Elysia saw her, she managed a faint, tired smile.
“He did say it wouldn’t take long.”
“I thought he’d stay for at least an hour.”
Sei often grumbled on Elysia’s behalf when she saw her suppressing her emotions. With delicate fingers, she lifted a teacup from the dessert cart.
“Here, have some. The chef said this is something very rare.”
As the scent of black tea wafted toward her, Elysia’s lips tightened slightly. Rare. Of course, for someone born a dominant alpha like Andreas, surrounded by privilege from birth, being welcomed and showered with happiness was a given. That’s why he might be even more ruthless than she remembered.
Her reflection trembled faintly in the crimson tea as she gazed down into it.
After tidying up the drawing room, Elysia headed toward her younger brother Kian’s room. His room was so far from the rest of the mansion that it took quite a while to reach.
Even among recessive alphas, Kian struggled far more than most with controlling his pheromones. Compared to Elysia, a recessive omega who could manage hers with suppressants, Kian’s condition was much worse. She often worried about him, especially since they hadn’t been able to meet frequently since his manifestation.
‘Ah, Lourdien! In the end, I passed this curse on to our children…!’
Standing before Kian’s door, Elysia squeezed her eyes shut. Seven years. It had been seven long years. Her mother’s voice, filled with guilt and despair, was an indelible scar etched into her memory.
Overwhelmed by emotion, her slender throat bobbed as she tried to swallow the lump rising there. She knocked on the door, and rustling sounds came from within.
“…No. Not now.”
His voice was hoarse, burdened. Elysia took a few hesitant steps back. With a short sigh, she leaned against the wall for support. She couldn’t see him because of the pheromones. Biting down on her trembling lip, she forced herself to speak.
“Come find me when you feel better, Kian.”
There was no reply. Elysia turned quickly, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. Most trait-bearers were overwhelmed by their pheromones, silently shedding tears without relief. Their endless torment continued until they met their bonded pair.
Naturally, her thoughts turned to her own possible imprint with Andreas. Even if they married, there was no guarantee of imprinting. Would he ever imprint on her?
The relationship between alphas and omegas had always been clear. Alphas ruled, and omegas submitted. Alphas dominated, and omegas yielded. Even their instincts favored the alphas, trapping the omegas in a system they could never escape.
Elysia knew all too well what it meant to live as an omega. Even if they married, would a man who despised and scorned omegas ever be driven by instinct to embrace her?
“…Of course not.”
